Spiritual Growth Archives | Saturate

by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 15, 2018

When the Soul Feels Its Worth

    This past week, each reflection has focused on the theme of Peace and the Kingdom Jesus’ birth brings. It all seems so wonderful. The birth of the saving king, so glorious. The highest glory has come to us!…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 14, 2018

The End of War — Healing of the Nations

    My favorite Christmas movie is Joyeux Noel. It tells the true story of a Christmas Day Truce in the trenches of World War I between the Germans, French, and British. The cost of World War I was a…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 13, 2018

We’ve Been Brought Near

    We all have a complicated relationship with the Church. It’s a ruckus communion of saints. It’s for many a place of quarreling, a place of scheming, a place of power, and even for those same people, a place…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 12, 2018

The Kingdom that Divides

    Growing up, my family spent each night of the holidays sitting beneath the glow of the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies. We watched the original Miracle on 34th Street and the “new” Miracle on 34th Street (which…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 11, 2018

How the Long Expected Jesus Came

  How does the king come? We know He comes to change the world. We know He was born into our world. But how does Jesus come? What is the manner, the posture, the practice of Jesus’ incarnation? Returning to…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 10, 2018

A Child and Big Government

  Wherever he reigns, his thriving and flourishing will be there, too! His law is peace. On May 19, 2018, Prince Harry of England married Meghan Markle in Windsor, England. The event was marked by the usual fanfare of such…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 9, 2018

Peace on Earth

  At the center of the angel’s announcement on the first Christmas night is this phrase found in Luke 2:14; it’s what Linus quotes at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas: “Glory to God in the Highest, and peace…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 8, 2018

Mourning with Hope in a Tragic World

    Christmas can be a time of lights, trees, parties, and decadent food, but it is definitely a season of grief and sadness. For some, it’s the grief of a lost childhood; the holidays remind us of all the…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 7, 2018

A Humble Baby?

    “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,     though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me     one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,     from ancient times.” Therefore Israel…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 6, 2018

Responding to the King’s Arrival

  Go on up to a high mountain,     O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength,     O Jerusalem, herald of good news;     lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,     “Behold your God!”  Behold,…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 5, 2018

Life from a Stump

    As I mentioned previously, our family always cuts down a Christmas tree. Each year, we leave a stump in the ground—something that was once growing is now dead. Stumps in Oregon are a part of life. In fact…

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by Nathan Cedarland 0

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DiscipleshipGospelGospel ShepherdingIdentityLeadershipMissional CommunityPastoringSpiritual Growth

December 4, 2018

We Need “Good Shepherd” Theology

  During our family meal last week, my five-year-old son Caleb perched attentively on the arm of the padded chair in which I sat––my Bible sprawled open on the coffee table in front of us. “What does it mean for…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 4, 2018

Jesus Came into the World

    “Jesus came into Galilee” is offered as hope, the first hope. After centuries of silence, of struggle, and continued sin, the resignation of the people was, “No one is coming.” And yet, Jesus came into Galilee. “No-one-is-coming” is…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 3, 2018

The True Story of Hope

    On a December morning in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, children and teachers were likely gearing up for a day filled with gluing cotton balls onto Santa beards when a 20-year-old man came into the school shooting and killing…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 2, 2018

Why Did Jesus Have to Come?

    Christmas is a magical time for kids as they see the glow of lights, trees in the home, and packages accumulate. It’s also the season when we get to regularly articulate the meaning and nature of God coming…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 1, 2018

Preparing for Advent

    Christmas Tree Hunting In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in…

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by Adam Breckenridge 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelGospel ShepherdingLeadershipMissional CommunitySpiritual Growth

November 29, 2018

What to Expect from People in DNA Groups

  Expectations for being in a DNA Group Deep discipleship and transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Rather, deep growth occurs in the soil of trusting relationships, where we can be known and loved, challenged and encouraged. This is the purpose…

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by Brad Watson 0

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Bible & TheologyChurchDiscipleshipGospelLeadershipPastoringSpiritual Growth

October 25, 2018

Words Lived Out

  I broke down last night. Hunched over our kitchen sink and weeping, my wife told me it wasn’t silly to grieve a person I never personally met. On Monday one of my heroes had died. As a sixteen-year-old preacher,…

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by Jonathan Dodson 0

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Bible & TheologyDiscipleshipGospelHoly SpiritSpiritual Growth

October 9, 2018

Sizing Up the Holy Spirit

  The Holy Spirit. Three words couldn’t divide the church more. I suppose “I hate you” is up there, but that’s more of a division between people rather than churches. Entire swaths of Christianity have divided over the third person…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelGospel ShepherdingHoly SpiritSpiritual Growth

September 25, 2018

All of Life is Worship

  We were made to worship. We were made to adore, to long for, to delight in, to desire. We were made to have the deepest longings of our hearts met by someone or something outside of ourselves. Always Worshiping…

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by Jeff Vanderstelt 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySpiritual Growth

September 4, 2018

Listening Well

  I recently observed a conversation a few Christians were having with a man who has yet to come to faith in Jesus. It was amazing to me, and saddening, to watch the Christians missing the point of this man’s…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelGospel ShepherdingMissional CommunityResourcesSpiritual Growth

August 21, 2018

Discipling Each Other

  The most meaningful relationships in life are symbiotic: the people involved mutually benefit, encourage, and foster growth in each other. Growing as a disciple requires this kind of relationship by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the…

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by Nathan Cedarland 0

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FoundationsGospelIdentityMissionMissionarySpiritual Growth

August 2, 2018

Sabbath Action

  “Man was created on the sixth day right before God rested, so man was created as it were to enjoy the weekend with God.” – Michael Wilcock Summer Camp and the Already but Not Yet Reality During most of…

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by David Achata 2

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DiscipleshipGospelIdentityLeadershipMissionPastoringSpiritual Growth

July 5, 2018

God’s Calling, Man’s Driving

  If you’re a leader reading this, be encouraged: your mission is to teach people to be content with waiting on the Lord. “For consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySpiritual Growth

June 21, 2018

Change is God’s Work

  We Can't Change on our Own Realizing that change is something that has to take place in the heart is just the first step in the battle for change. Once we understand this, it moves the battle for change…

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by Sondra Chamberlain 0

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GospelGospel ShepherdingHoly SpiritLife IssuesSpiritual Growth

April 26, 2018

Resting In Jesus

  He wants me to rest in Him and invites me into what He is doing for His glory. That doesn’t sound like a burden that sounds like freedom. I remember it well. I was sitting in my dining room…

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by Nathan Cedarland 0

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Gospel ShepherdingHoly SpiritLife IssuesPastoringSpiritual Growth

April 17, 2018

This is War!

  Under Attack You’re dealing with health issues again. Someone you thought was committed to doing life with you has disappeared. Someone else is saying things about you that aren’t true. A magnetic individual in your community seems to be…

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by Brad Watson 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSpiritual Growth

April 3, 2018

Not Just Broing Out

  This is a guest post by Casey Samulski. Casey is a husband, writer, and entrepreneur who loves Jesus and making disciples of Jesus. He has led and coached missional communities in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles…

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by David Achata 1

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DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelHoly SpiritIdentityMissionSpiritual Growth

November 16, 2017

The Call & The Power

  Apart from God’s miraculous intervention, my teaching will only go so far. Our methods alone are dead ends. We’ve got to pray for this power. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine…

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by Rich McCaskill 0

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DiscipleshipFoundationsMissionPrayer

November 14, 2017

The Beauty of Rest

  Sabbath ceasing means to cease not only from work itself but also from the need to accomplish and be productive, from the worry and the tension that accompany our modern criterion of efficiency, from our efforts to be in…

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by Rachel Swartley 0

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GospelHoly SpiritSpiritual Growth

November 2, 2017

The Root of Insecurity

  The Gospel brings hope of unconditional love that has no interest in dwelling on our faults and transgressions because of Jesus’ ability to absorb our punishment. Imagine a world with people who cared for one another deeply. A culture…

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by Brad Watson 0

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Current EventsDomains of SocietyIdentityPrayerSocial Justice

October 24, 2017

Thy Will Be Done

  We pray for his resurrection hope in every moment of death. We pray for his great reconciliation in the face of every sin. We pray for his advancement and victory over every kind of evil. You don’t have to…

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by Brad Watson 1

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ChurchDiscipleshipGospelMissional CommunitySpiritual Growth

October 23, 2017

Gospel Fluency Handbook

  Jeff Vanderstelt and Ben Connelly, wrote Gospel Fluency Handbook: A Practical Guide to Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life for those who’ve realized they disbelieve God, His goodness and His gospel in areas of…

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by David Achata 0

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DiscipleshipGospel ShepherdingMissional CommunitySpiritual Growth

October 3, 2017

The Call & The Wilderness

  Scripture shows consistently that when God calls someone, he sends them to the wilderness. If it’s an important enough category for God, then we need one too.  Moses, Israel, David, Elijah, the Apostle Paul, even Jesus all were sent…

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by Jeff Vanderstelt 0

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Bible & TheologyGospelPrayerSpiritual Growth

September 26, 2017

This is How We Go to War

  The Apostle Paul directs the church in Rome to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). Then, while instructing the church in Corinth on how to engage in the…

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by Brad Watson 0

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ChurchCommunityDiscipleshipEveryday RhythmsFamilyGospelHoly SpiritKidsLeadershipMissionMissional CommunityMissionaryPastoringPrayerResourcesServantSpiritual Growth

September 4, 2017

Tools for The Upcoming Season

It's Labor Day, which means summer officially comes to a close, and we all gear up for the "normal" life that fall brings. The summer has been really busy for us, too, and we want to highlight a few of…

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