October 19: “Jesus: The Heartbeat of God” (Luke 2:41-52, Hebrews 5:7-9)

Jesus spent the first 30 years of his life in the commonplace as a carpenter in a small town. But leaders’ hearts are shaped in everyday routines. Sin is the failure to surrender life, moment by moment, to God’s rule. Jesus never sinned. Jesus learned to obey God in everyday life before he could obey […]

Continue reading

October 12: “Paul: A Heart Captured by God” (Philippians 3: 4b-11, 1 Corinthians 15: 9-10)

The life of Paul can be thought of as a process in which God shapes the self-righteous heart of a Pharisee into a missionary’s heart on fire for Jesus Christ. Like other leaders, God used culture, call, community, communion, conflict, and the commonplace to shape Paul’s heart. The common thread in all those six arenas […]

Continue reading

October 5: “David: A Heart After God” (Psalm 56)

Leaders are thrown into conflicts, but God can use conflicts to shape leaders’ hearts. Conflicts can make a person more hardened or more trusting of God. In conflicts, the leader has to examine one’s critics, examine oneself, rely on God and godly advisors, and forgive the opponents. Leaders’ hearts are shaped like God’s heart as […]

Continue reading

September 28: “Moses: A Heart on a Mission” (Exodus 33:7-11)

God uses six arenas to shape the heart of a leader. When Moses was the Prince of Egypt, his heart was shaped by two cultures. When Moses was a fugitive in the desert, his heart was shaped by the Midianite community. When Moses became Israel’s liberator, his heart was shaped by his communion with God. […]

Continue reading

September 21: “Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil” (Matthew 6:9-13, James 1:2-4, 12-15)

The Greek word for “temptation” in our text can also mean “trial” or “test.” Though God does not tempt his people, He does test his people. But Satan uses God’s test to tempt us. How can we resist Satan from making God’s test into temptation? Just as Jesus did, we can resist with God’s Word […]

Continue reading