Patience (Part 2) - Patience with Sin

Ajith Fernando

Romans 13:1

Patience is an often sought-after virtue, but it is not achieved in the Christian life without trials. As we encounter sin, we are faced with an opportunity to be refined. Even in times when we have been greatly hurt by others, we can forgive by the power of Christ and learn to endure patiently, without having to take vengeance on our own shoulders. This fruit of patience brings relief and freedom into our lives.

God's Truth About the World's Oldest Oppression

Paul Herbert

Luke 7:36-50

When Jesus interacted with prostitutes, he showed mercy and compassion instead of contempt and judgement. This practice of prostitution still enslaves many women today, and in this workshop Judge Paul M. Herbert provides a different perspective on this practice. We must shift our perspective from drawing a hard line between human trafficking and prostitution, something we are able to do once we examine the stories and statistics behind women who fall into prostitution. This workshop ends with a testimony from one of the very women who found redemption from this lifestyle.

How to Keep Loving in Difficult Relationships

Bev DeLashmutt

2 Timothy 2:24-26

Christ's call for us to love another as he has loved us is not exclusive. He calls us to love even very difficult people, and to do that effectively, we need to bear several things in mind. First we need to gain insight into the lies and sins of difficult people to avoid getting hooked into their relational patterns. We must ensure our motive in responding to people is in line with Christ's love. And finally, we must implement strategies to effectively give both compassion and discipline simultaneously. With these things and the abundant help of the Spirit, we can love in a way that, even if it does not change the other person, it will change us.

Humility and Love

Lee Campbell

Matthew 11:28-30

One of the most common and greatest sins is pride, something that hinders our love for both God and people. As we seek to become more humble believers in Christ, we must first understand the biblical definition of humility, that it is to see ourselves as we are and to think less often about ourselves. It is the freedom from self that inclines us to love others and to love God. Thus, we should seek to humble ourselves before the Lord, cultivating both a hunger for the glory of God and a hunger from God. This, combined with meekness, can truly change the way we love others.

Love Can be Polarizing

Chris Risley

1 Kings 1:5

In any given body of Christ, there often are believers in a variety of different places in their maturity with Christ. When people become stagnant in their faith and possibly heading in the wrong direction, we are called to lovingly step into their lives. This workshop defines polarization, addresses some key considerations, obstacles, issues to address, steps, and how to strike the right tone. With these things in mind, we can be better equipped for the ongoing conversations needed to polarize people.

Five Memorable Lessons

Scott Risley

Luke 17:1-19

Five lessons from Jesus on how to have successful relationships with others and with God are: 1) Don't be a stumbling block; 2) Rebuke and forgive; 3) Faith; 4) Have a servant's attitude; and 5) Gratitude.

Cain and Abel

Jim Leffel

Psalms 51:14-15

A study of Cain and Abel provides a penetrating picture of the human inner life. Cain's legacy was corrupt as he sought to appease God through ritual rather than a trusting relationship. Failure and sin mastered him.

The Worst Thing that Could Ever Happen to Us

Scott Risley

Luke 11:37-12:3

Jesus speaks to the Pharisees against hypocrisy. Christians are not hypocrites when they sin. They are hypocrites when they pretend to be spiritual on the outside yet harbor sin in their hearts. Jesus hates hypocrisy because it shifts our focus to the external and ruins peoples' lives. Three negative impacts hypocrites have are: 1) they make following God seem hard; 2) they tell people to try harder vs. personally engaging people and helping them and 3) they isolate people vs. building a safe community. Grace is the only cure for hypocrisy.

The Fall (Part 2): Fallout from the Fall

Jim Leffel

Genesis 3:7-24

With the fall of Adam and Eve, the human condition changes. Alienation enters humanity: alienation within, alienation from God, and alienation from other people. Paradise is lost, but God has an amazing plan for redemption.