The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#586: Forgiveness for our Sins Apr 12, 2022

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The Big Idea:

When we place our trust in Jesus, asking Him to forgive us of our sins, God applies the blood of Jesus to our hearts. Those sins that had stained and marked us are erased. He did this by paying the price for my sins. He took upon Himself the penalty of my sins. Those sins that were accounted to me, the judgment I was under, He took. He erased all of the charges against me. He set me free by sending my sins away.

Main Points:

1. All sin is great because it is against a great God. His justice will not let sin go unpunished. This is why Christ suffered and died.
2. Forgiveness costs us nothing. All of our costly obedience is the fruit, not the root, of being forgiven. That’s why we call it grace. But it cost Jesus his life. That’s why we call it just.
3. How can we respond to such a wonderful savior? Our only response can be gratitude and obedience. If Jesus would pay such an awful penalty for my sins, I will offer him my worship and my life.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Acts 10:43 - “Everyone who believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Psalm 103:12 - “As far as the East is from the West, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
Ephesians 1:7 - “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

Psalm 103:10 - “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

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#585: Jesus' Death on our Behalf Apr 11, 2022

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The Big Idea:

If you fully understand the gospel and what Jesus has done for us, you comprehend that was not just executed 2,000 years ago by the Romans. You recognize that He willingly laid down his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died for us. He took our place. With his death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins, so we would not have to.

Main Points:

1. Since God is just, he does not sweep our sins under the rug of the universe. He feels holy wrath against them. They deserve to be punished, and he has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). To not punish us would be unjust.
2. Imagine someone has committed a crime against you, or your loved ones. You would be at the court demanding justice.
3. But here’s what is truly amazing…Jesus accepts God’s wrath on our behalf. Jesus doesn’t cancel God’s wrath, he absorbs it. He diverts is from us to himself.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Romans 5:6-8 - “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 2:24 - ““He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

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#584: God's Ability to Restore Broken Relationships Apr 09, 2022

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The Big Idea:

There is one key that is absolutely necessary for a relationship to be restored. It requires forgiveness. I’ve never seen a broken relationship restored without forgiveness.

Main Points:

1. A relationship can break down from neglect. A relationship can break down from conflict. A relationship can break down from misunderstanding. The world is literally filled with broken relationships. We see it all around us. It’s possible you have some broken relationships in your life.
2. I know God can heal the pain in our hearts and enable us to offer forgiveness to others.
3. Let’s put our faith in the God who can do the impossible. Let’s ask him to do miracles and to restore our relationships, and let’s be willing to do the hard work of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Romans 5:10-11 – “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Colossians 3:13 – “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

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#583: Why We Memorize Scripture Apr 08, 2022

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The Big Idea:

Scripture memorization keeps our hearts and minds set on God. When we are daily memorizing and meditating on scripture, our thoughts are on God. God’s Word transforms our thought process and as a result, we make God-honoring decisions with our lives.

Main Points:

1. Scripture memorization gives us the tools we need to fight temptation. In Luke chapter four, Jesus quoted scripture three times as he resisted Satan’s temptations. You and I can do the same thing.
2. God will not ask us to do something that he will not also empower us to do. I believe the Holy Spirit will give us the strength and ability to memorize Bible verses, one at a time.
3. You can begin memorizing scripture right now. Select a verse that you find helpful and meaningful and begin to read it aloud, write it down, and quote it. Imagine memorizing a verse each week. In one year you would have 52 verses in your heart. I believe it would be life-changing.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 1: 2-3 - “but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

Joshua 1:8 - “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Colossians 3:16 - “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.”

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#582: Can We Truly Love Our Neighbors? Apr 07, 2022

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The Big Idea:

Loving our neighbor is not simply a good idea or an admirable ethic, Jesus called it the second greatest commandment. We first love God and second, we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Main Points:

1. The idea of loving our neighbor is beautiful to think about so long as it remains an idea. But the concrete reality of loving our neighbor, the difficulties and the challenges, strips the beauty away.
2. If God is not the love of our lives, there is no way that we will truly love our neighbor as ourselves. Something happens when you experience the love of God and then begin to love God in return.
3. God desires you and me to love our neighbors. Let’s let his love shine through our lives to those we meet. Let’s make it more than a theory, let get practical and put love into action.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Romans 13:10 - “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Galatians 5:14 - “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

John 13:34 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

1 John 4:20 - “…For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

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#581: Do you Have Confidence in God? Apr 06, 2022

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The Big Idea:

When we come to God in prayer, our confidence is not found in ourselves, our ability to pray good prayers or even the amount of our faith. Our confidence rests solely in God. We are confident in His love, His character, and his power. We are confident in His promises and that He always fulfills his Word.

Main Points:

1. It’s possible to bring a lack of confidence into our prayer lives. We pray without certainty and assurance. We pray lackluster prayers, not really sure that God hears us or that He will answer.
2. I want you to see that our Heavenly Father wants us to come to him with confidence. God wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, to recognize that He is a good Father who cares about His children. He wants us to feel confident that we can bring any need, whether small or big to God.
3. When you think about those in your life that you have confidence in, the reason you have such assurance in them is because of your relationship with them. You know them. You know their life and their character. Over time they have proven they are reliable and trustworthy.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Hebrews 4:16 - “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

1 John 5:13-15 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Psalm 34:15 - “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

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#580: A Case of Mistaken Identity Apr 05, 2022

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The Big Idea:

What a tragedy it is when there is a loss of spiritual identity. I believe you can lose your true identity, give it away, forget it, waste it, or change it for better or worse. It’s also possible that some individuals go through life searching for their true identity and never find it.

Main Points:

1. If you don’t know who you are, then you are vulnerable to other people telling you who you are. But the concrete, solid, gospel truth is that as a follower of Jesus, you are who God says you are, and no one else has a vote in the matter.
2. The phrase “in Christ” is used about 140 times in the Bible. We are said to be “in Christ.” It is the most used term to describe a follower of Jesus. God’s Word is saying to us that if you are trusting Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord – “You are in Christ.” This is your new identity! This is who God made you to be. This is the real you!
3. Reject any label the world tries to give you. As a believer in Jesus, your Heavenly Father has given you your true identity as a child of God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

John 1:12 - “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Galatians 2:20 - “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

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#579: What the Cross Meant to Jesus Apr 04, 2022

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The Big Idea:

We understand that those who don’t believe in Jesus, can’t see the immense value of the cross of Jesus. But there is also a danger for the believer. There is the danger of the cross and the gospel message becoming so familiar to us that it loses its value, its meaning, and its impact in our lives.

Main Points:

1. The message of the cross must be the central truth we believe and proclaim. Without the cross there is no forgiveness of sins, there is no freedom from the power of sin, and there cannot be a relationship with God.
2. For Jesus, the cross meant obedience. Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins was a concept that originated in the heart of our Heavenly Father. Out of His great love for us, God created a plan of salvation.
3. From our human perspective, one of the most inconceivable truths about Jesus is that he, the eternal Lord of glory, was willing to humble himself like that for our sakes. This is what Jesus did for you, and for me. He stepped down from a position of equality with the Most High God to share his riches with us.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Isaiah 53:10-11 - “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a sin offering…after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life.”

Isaiah 53:3 - “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face.”
2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

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#578: What To Do When You Become Discouraged Apr 02, 2022

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The Big Idea:

Can I ask you an important question? What do you do when you become discouraged? You need an answer to this question. You need a plan, and you need it now. Discouragement comes to us all. Everyone will face it. Everyone will battle it.

Main Points:

1. Discouragement will make you want to quit. Maybe even right now, as you listen to this podcast episode, you have been fighting the feelings of wanting to quit.
2. There are going to be times when you have to encourage yourself in the Lord. No one else is around. The pastor is not there. No friends are around to help you. Your family is not there. Do you know how to encourage yourself in the Lord? Have you done this? Can you grab God’s Word and feed your soul, can you find a place of prayer and pour out your soul before the Lord. Can you worship in times of trouble?
3. If you are discouraged right now, remember God's past faithfulness and begin to thank Him for what He has already done. As you worship, watch the discouragement disappear.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

1 Samuel 30:6 - "David encouraged himself in the Lord.”

Galatians 6:9 - “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

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#577: Start with Integrity Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Character matters. Your integrity matters. Living by biblical values matters. Our integrity will be tested. It will be tried. But if you remain resilient and determined, you can honor God, and yourself by refusing to compromise your values.

Main Points:

1. Integrity is the personal choice to hold yourself consistent with your beliefs and moral principles. It is who you are when no one else is looking. In our culture of shifting values, your integrity will come under attack. It is important to pre-determine your values before you face the temptation to compromise.
2. The test of your integrity never starts in the big decisions. It always starts with the small ones. It’s tempting to think that small decisions don’t matter. They seem insignificant. We’ll tell ourselves, “no one knows and it won’t hurt anyone.” Yet, small decisions matter because they never stay small. A small acorn eventually becomes a mighty oak tree.
3. It’s always easier to resist the winds of change if your roots run deep in God’s truth. God wants to use your life to make a difference, but to do so, you must start with integrity

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Luke 16:10 - “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

Proverbs 4:23 - “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

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