I had only been a pastor for a few years when a mentor of mine shared an observation with me. Having worked with dozens of pastors and younger leaders, he had concluded that we have a crisis of confidence in ministry today. That is, pastors don’t believe in themselves as much as they should.
Granted, pastors aren’t like athletes. We don’t get to boast and dance when we hit a sermon out of the park. Having said that, we do tend to tell other people that, on the basis of who they are in Christ, they should walk with spiritual confidence.
So no matter who you are or where you serve, I want to remind you today about the five truths I’m sharing in this week’s message idea, which is based on Romans 5:1-8.
- We can walk in spiritual confidence because Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
- We can walk in spiritual confidence because we have been justified and declared no longer guilty.
- We can walk in spiritual confidence because we have peace with God in the middle of a chaotic world.
- We can walk in spiritual confidence because the Holy Spirit is present in our lives as God’s gift to us.
- We can walk in spiritual confidence because our suffering makes sense in light of Christ’s suffering.
You might know that, by chapter 8, Paul is reminding the believers in Rome that they are “more than conquerors” because of Jesus. And that’s true for all of us who access God’s power through Christ’s victory by faith.
So walk in confidence today. God’s got you!
Keep on growing!
Brandon
PS – In case you missed it, I sent a note the other day about Ariel Nieves’ upcoming 5-day challenge for pastors and church leaders, The Breaking 100 Bootcamp, where Ariel will teach about how pastors can empower others, invite and minister to new guests each week, and make more disciples.
Learn More About the Breaking 100 Bootcamp!
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This Week’s Big Sermon Idea
Walking with Spiritual Confidence
A sermon idea based on Romans 5:1-8.
Because God loves us so deeply and works in us on the basis of grace, we get to walk through life with great spiritual confidence, no matter what suffering we face, because the work of Christ in the past has provided peace for our present and hope for our future.
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Links for Leaders
- APP: Readwise – my favorite tool for collecting and sharing highlights from my Kindle books.
- POST: They Don’t Learn Anything Important This Way – a post from one of my favorite blogs, The Daily Dad, about how our kids usually don’t learn when they’re forced to do so.
- ARTICLE: How to Develop the Three Essential Qualities in Kind Leadership, by Scott Cochrane.
- BOOK: A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing, by Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer – particularly relevant these days.
- ARTICLE: 5 Traits and Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs in 2023, By Brandon Peña in Entrepreneur – especially #2.
- TOOL: SermonShots – a resource I use every week myself to turn message videos into social media video posts, Instagram Reels, etc.
If you have a resource relevant to pastors and church leaders that you’d like for me to include, feel free to message me. I can’t always promise inclusion but I’ll definitely take a look.
The Latest from Walk Humble
Walk Humble is where I host an ongoing conversation about life, faith, and relationships among people brave enough to admit they don’t have life all figured out yet. Here’s the latest if you’re interested…
- Surfing the Waves of Grief
- Leaping Into the Arms That Are Mighty to Save
- The Goal of the Christian Faith
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