1 Peter 2:2-3 ESV - Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation– 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
- We all
- Spiritual babies thrive on the
1 Peter 2:3 ESV - if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
- The milk of the Word enables us to grow into our
Psalm 103:2-6 ESV - Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2 ESV - But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready
Signs of Spiritual Immaturity
1 Corinthians 3:3-4 ESV - for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
- Tolerance of gross
1 Corinthians 5:1 ESV - It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
- Dishonest business practices.
1 Corinthians 6:8 ESV - But you yourselves wrong and defraud–even your own brothers!
- Using your liberty with no regard for the welfare of
1 Corinthians 8:9 ESV - But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
- Refusal to support the work of the Gospel with
1 Corinthians 9:7-11 ESV - Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
- Refusal to examine one’s self during
1 Corinthians 11:27-28 ESV - Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
- Failure to walk in
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV - If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- Lack of concern for
1 Corinthians 14:19, 23 ESV – …in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
- Lack of belief in the
1 Corinthians 15:12-14 ESV - Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
Growing People Change
Six Books to Help You Grow
- The Power of a New Identity by Dan Sneed
– How to overcome rejection, fear, guilt or shame through understanding your identity in Christ. - Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
– How to set appropriate boundaries for all the relationships in your life. - The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
– You CAN take control of your money. Build up your money muscles with America’s favorite finance coach. - The Pleasures of God by John Piper
– Fresh insight about God that will enlighten you whether you’ve known Him for fifty years or are just beginning a walk with the Lord. The byline is, “We really don’t know someone until we understand what makes that person happy? And so it is with God!” - Praying Through the Names of God by Tony Evans
– Ways to grow in your prayer life. - Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
– In-depth biblical teaching on important doctrines in God’s Word.