Spiritual Growth

Spiritual Growth

Bible Study Guide Downloads:

Back to Basics (6 lessons)

Ever wondered why schoolteachers drill young students on basics like addition, subtraction, and the alphabet? Consider this: those few simple exercises are the foundation that all future learning—and all future success—is built on.

That’s also true of your life as a Christian. If your spiritual building blocks are firmly in place, you have a strong foundation to support your future growth and withstand even the worst of life’s pressures.

In this study, we survey the bedrock principles of Christianity—and helps you anchor your life to them.

Overcoming Materialism (5 lessons)

Ask most Christians the following question and they start to squirm. “What does God think of the way you handle your finances?”

The good news is, God wants your heart, not your money, and your money need not be a source of guilt. This study Overcoming Materialism helps you assess your attitude toward wealth, and it exposes myths about how Christians should—and should not—spend money. Think of it as a biblical grid through which you can filter future buying, saving, and investing decisions. You’ll also find comfort and encouragement for making it through times of financial worry.

Books:

War of Words
A Homework Manual for Biblical Living: Volume 1-3
Desiring God
Humility: True Greatness
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
The Secret of Self Control
Anxious for Nothing

	War of Words (Paul Tripp) ". . . an important and biblical book about our words and our God. Few of us really think about the power, the blessing, the gift, the effect, and the danger of our words. This book will make you think before you speak. Best of all, it will make you think of him before you speak. Read it. You'll be glad." STEVE BROWN ". . . filled with searching and realistic and honest illustrations . . . coupled with large doses of biblical truth. . . . you will be challenged, convicted, enlightened, and encouraged in this extremely important dimension of your relationship with God and with other people. . . . a volume to which you will turn again and again." WAYNE A. MACK "Paul Tripp does not offer superficial solutions to our failures of communication. He recognizes that the spiritual quality of our words emanates from our hearts. This book is must reading for all of us." TREMPER LONGMAN III "If your mouth is your downfall, don't pass over this book for fear of getting your knuckles rapped. Author Paul Tripp has blown it too! But he's learning how to change by God's grace, and he's sharing that grace with anyone who will listen." STEVE ESTES
	Homework Manual for Biblical Living Vol 1 & Vol 2 (Wayne Mack) Specific assignments for counselors to assign clients, or for counselors to work through to gain insight. Topics include: anger, blame-shifting, dating, obesity, pride, sex, sleep, work, many others. Vol 1: Personal and Interpersonal Problems Vol 2: Family and Marital Problems
	Desiring God (John Piper, Softcover, Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Now revised and expanded, Desiring God reveals how delighting in God can motivate us to glorify Him through worship, stewardship, loving our neighbor, rejoicing in suffering, and other "duties." John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn't truly exist: Delight is our duty. Discover how to lay a biblical foundation for a life of celebration by truly desiring the Lord.
	Humility: True Greatness (C. J. Mahaney, Hardcover) God clearly states that he is drawn to the humble. He's also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue? C.J. Mahaney paints a striking picture of the daily battle quietly raging within every Christian and asks whether you will passively accommodate the enemy of your soul, pride, or actively cultivate your best friend, humility. When you acknowledge the deception of pride and intentionally humble yourself, you become free to savor abundant mercies and unlikely graces. You will find a new life is yours - a life God richly favors. A God-glorifying life you don't want to miss.
	Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands (Paul David Tripp, Paperback, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands is a comprehensive treatment in the lives of others, people who themselves are in need of change. In many ways, the church today has more consumers than committed participants. We see church merely as an event we attend or an organization we belong to, rather than as a calling that shapes our entire life. The author explains how his work follows an "all of my people, all of the time model." If you followed the Lord for a thousand years, you would still need the ministry of the body of Christ as much as you did the day you first believed. This need will remain until our sanctification is complete in Glory.
	Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Donald Whitney, Softcover, Spiritual discipline sounds great in theory, but actually putting it into practice can be a challenge. Where do you find the time? How do you grow in godliness while avoiding the trap of legalism? Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will help you on your way! Based on the rich heritage left by the early church fathers, Puritan writers, and Jesus Christ Himself, Whitney takes you through a carefully selected array of disciplines. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them on a long-term basis, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to embrace life's greatest pursuit, the pursuit of holiness, through a lifelong delight in the disciplines.
	The Secret of Self-Control (Richard Ganz) ·"No matter what I do, it's hopeless; I'll never change." ·Eventually I'm back to my old ways and the old me." ·"I can't change my past, and I can't change who I am." If you've ever bought into these lies, take heart. God has provided a way to overcome unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, silence the victim within, and gain the self-control you seek. It's a matter of taking charge of your life--His way. In these pages a longtime Christian counselor and former clinical psychologist lays out the differences between a "God-changed" and a "self-changed" character, explains why anchoring yourself in God's Truth is so important, underlines the necessity of obedience, and suggests how the resources of God make a Spirit-filled, self-controlled life possible. This practical, powerful approach to victorious biblical living can truly help you change for good--for God's glory.
	Anxious for Nothing (John MacArthur, Paperback, 222 pages) Designed to help Christians better understand and apply the Bible, this book explains key biblical truths and provides the reader a guide for personal reflection and group discussion. In this revised version of Anxiety Attacked, now titled Anxious for Nothing, John MacArthur reveals the inadequacy of using psychology to cure anxiety and instead returns readers to the sufficiency of Scripture, demonstrating how to practically combat anxiety. 222 pp. Softcover.