The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

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#1,337: Are You Using Your Spiritual Gifts? Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Your spiritual gifts determine how God wants to use your life. Are you willing to allow God to use your life, for His glory, to build the kingdom of God? Are you willing to say “yes” to God?

Main Points:

1. The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual gifts. There are at least 20 of them listed in the Bible. We don’t have time to define them all today, but you can read about them in these passages of Scripture: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.

2. Peter contends that each of us has received at least one spiritual gift when he states, “As each one has received a gift.” These gifts of grace are to be distinguished from natural talents, skills, and abilities.

3. What this tells us is that God wants to use our lives uniquely. He has gifted and enabled us to serve Him and others. God intends for your life to be a blessing to others. You have a particular role in the work of God, and by the Holy Spirit, God has given you a gift to make this happen.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

1 Peter 4:10-11 - “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

Romans 12:6 – “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

1 Corinthians 7:7 – “But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”

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#1,336: Where is your quiet place? Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Every believer needs a secret place. Where is your quiet place? Where can you regularly get alone with God in prayer? I believe the impact of our public testimony and ministry is a direct result of the time spent with God in secret.

Main Points:

1. If all we see is the public ministry of Jesus, we miss something very important. It’s not talked about much, but Jesus had a private, personal relationship with His Father. There was a vital connection to his private times of prayer and his public ministry.

2. It’s in the secret place that we can be alone with God. We remove ourselves from the distractions of daily life. There are no interruptions of family, work, school, smartphones, or social media. It’s in the quiet we draw closer to God and a new intimacy is gained. It’s here that we quiet the noise around us and within us. We open our spiritual ears to hear the voice of our Heavenly Father.

3. May you and I see the value of finding a secret place to spend time with God in prayer. In our busy, noisy world, we need this quiet place with God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Matthew 6:1 - “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 6:5-6 - “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Psalm 46:10 - “Be still and know that I am God.”

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#1,335: The Prayer of Surrender Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

Out of all the prayers we pray, there is one prayer that is more difficult than all the others. It is the prayer of surrender. The prayer of submission to God is harder than all other prayers. It requires great trust in God. It demands a letting go of our control. It’s releasing the situation in God’s hands and trusting Him to meet the need as He sees best.

Main Points:

1. The reason this prayer is more difficult is because we like control, or at least the illusion of control. If I sincerely pray for God’s will to be done, I have to allow for God’s will to be done.

2. While the prayer of surrender is often the hardest prayer we pray, it is the most rewarding. God rewards those who submit to his will.

3. Let us pray along with our Savior, “Father, not my will, but your will be done.” Let’s be willing to pray this most difficult prayer of surrender, acknowledging that God knows what

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Matthew 6:10 - “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 26:39 - “not my will but your will be done.”
Hebrews 5:7 - “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

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#1,334: Is it Possible to Become Righteous? Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Here’s the good news. Jesus is our righteousness. By placing our faith in Jesus, and believing he is the perfect, sinless son of God who died and rose again as payment for our sins, we receive His righteousness.

Main Points:

1. No matter how many good things we do, no matter how consistent our moral behavior, we all come up short of God’s righteous standard. It’s important to see that our good works will never enable us to be righteous, as God defines it.

2. When Jesus died on the cross he carried all the sins of humanity. He became sin for us. As a result, everyone who believes in Him is made righteous with God.

3. Now, having become righteous in God’s eyes by placing our faith in Jesus, we pursue righteous living. This righteous lifestyle is not an attempt to earn salvation. It is the result of our salvation.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Romans 3:23 - “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Isaiah 64:6 - “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…”

Philippians 3:9 - “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 - “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

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#1,333: God Invites Us to Pray with Confidence Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Where is our confidence? It is not in ourselves, and it is not in our prayers. Our confidence is in God. This is where we place our faith. Our faith is not in ourselves, in our prayers, or even in our faith. Our faith and confidence is in God.

Main Points:

1. I want to encourage you today to pray with boldness. Not a brash boldness that orders God around. After all, we must remember that prayer is asking, it’s not telling God what to do.

2. The Scriptures teach us to pray with confidence and believe that God will, not only hear our prayers but also answer them.

3. As we study God’s Word, as we grow in our faith, we begin to discover the will of God for our lives. The more we pray in alignment with His will, the more we can pray with confidence.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

1 John 5:14-15 - “And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.”

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.”

Hebrews 10:35 - “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!”

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#1,332: The Holy Spirit Leads Us to Truth Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

After his departure, Jesus would send his followers a Helper. This helper is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within us and though we cannot see Him, we can feel him and we sense he is working in our lives to make us more like Jesus.

Main Points:

1. Although we cannot see the Holy Spirit, we should be able to sense His work in our lives changing us to be more like Jesus.

2. Truth has never been more scarce than it is today. You and I live in a time where it is culturally appropriate to not believe in absolute truth. Rather, we are told that truth is personal. It is said that something may be true for one, but not true for another. Truth is what we want it to be.

3. In the last days many will be deceived by false teaching and false doctrine. None of us listening today believes we will be deceived, but there are many New Testament verses that speak of the deception of believers in the end times. So, we pay careful attention the Scriptures. We listen for the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit so that we will stay focused on truth.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

John 16:5-7 - “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

John 16;13 - “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”
1 Timothy 4:1 - “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow d

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#1,331: You Can Be a Strong Christian Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Today, you and I can work on our foundation. In fact, we never stop working. We are to keep growing in God’s grace. We continue to pursue a closer relationship with God. We go deeper in His Word. We grow in our faith. We use our gifts to serve God. We obey His Word. All of this contributes to a strong foundation for our lives.

Main Points:

1. We are all building a spiritual house. What foundation are you building on? Are you taking time to build on a solid foundation? The storms of life are sure to come. The rain will fall and the winds of adversity will beat against your spiritual house. Will you endure the storm?

2. How foolish it would be to know the Word of God and to know how to be a strong Christian, and yet fail to take action to put it into practice.

3. Today, you and I can work on our foundation. In fact, we never stop working. We are to keep growing in God’s grace. We continue to pursue a closer relationship with God. We go deeper in His Word. We grow in our faith. We use our gifts to serve God. We obey His Word. All of this contributes to a strong foundation for our lives.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Matthew 7:24 - “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

James 1:22 - “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

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#1,330: Is Jesus First Place in our Lives? Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says we are to seek God, but he goes on to say that we are to seek him “first.” This is a matter of priority. We all seek something. We might seek opportunity, position, resources, and open doors. We could seek pleasure, enjoyment, comfort, success, and fulfillment. We might seek friendship, family, and connection. We all seek something, but Jesus said that for those who would follow him, we must seek God and his kingdom first.

Main Points:

1. To seek is to pursue, to look for, to desire to obtain, and to discover.

2. Today is a good day to ask ourselves some important questions: Is Jesus in first place in our lives? In all of our seeking, are we seeking God first? Is there practical, everyday evidence that we are putting God first in our lives?

3. Your life and mine are filled with worry. We live with a certain amount of anxiety about our needs being met. Let’s focus on this powerful promise from Jesus. If we begin to seek God first in our lives, God is faithful to meet all of our needs.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Matthew 6:33 - “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

1 Chronicles 22:19 - “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.”

Colossians 3:1-2 - “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Psalm 34:10 - “…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

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#1,329: You Have a Story to Tell Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

Your story is one of your greatest ministry tools. I meet people who feel they have nothing to offer the Lord. In their minds, they feel incapable of serving in some ministry. Yet, every one of us has a story. It’s a God story. It’s a story of how we met Jesus, the circumstances of your salvation, and how Jesus has changed your life.

Main Points:

1. When I think of the explosive growth of the New Testament church in the Book of Acts, we see two things at work. People were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and second, they shared their testimony with others. Sadly, it seems as if today we have stopped telling our story. But you have a story to tell. It is a story of God’s grace.

2. A personal testimony is the most non-threatening way to tell an unbeliever why Jesus is important to you. It allows you to be open about your life while giving God the glory. You can rave about the power of Jesus to transform a life, and even someone hostile to the gospel will listen because you are not asking anything of them.

3. Your story is simply an account of how God has changed your life. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then surely He has done miraculous things for you. People are looking for evidence that God exists and that He is personally involved in people’s lives. You can’t make God appear on the spot to prove His existence, but you can certainly point straight to Him by talking about how He has worked in your life.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

John 7:46 - “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”

Acts 4:33 - “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”

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#1,328: God Wants You to Grow Spiritually Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

The author of the Book of Hebrews makes the case that we simply can’t stay with the basic, elementary teachings about faith and spiritual growth. We must move forward to a deeper and more mature understanding of our life in Christ. This makes sense, doesn’t it?

Main Points:

1. Here’s an important truth: God wants you to grow spiritually. He wants you to mature and develop a strong faith. He wants your understanding of his Word to grow so that you can move past the elementary stages and move on to deeper doctrines.

2. We grow by being diligent in our pursuit of knowing God. We read and study His Word. We develop a consistent prayer life. We grow as we regularly gather with other believers and we share our faith together.

3. If you want to grow in your faith, begin to take small steps of obedience to Jesus. With every step, you move away from the basic, elementary teaching and advance to maturity.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Hebrews 6:1 New Living Translation - “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”
2 Timothy 2:15 - “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

James 1:22 - “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

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