Setting the Course Pt5

Jun 14, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Corpse on Your Back: Dying to Self for True Lordship

The stench of decay clings to what we refuse to release. Just as ancient prisoners carried rotting corpses until infection set in, half-hearted faith festers when we cling to control. True lordship demands surrendering every decision, habit, and hidden corner to Christ’s authority. This isn’t a polite handshake with God but a full-body plunge into His will. The cost feels like death because it is—death to comfort, pride, and the illusion of self-rule. Yet resurrection power waits on the other side of surrender. [40:46]

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NIV)

Reflection: What “corpse” have you been carrying—a habit, relationship, or mindset—that’s poisoning your surrender to Christ? How might laying it down today bring new life?

Day 2: Borrowed Butter and Mirror Neurons: The Sacred Work of Fellowship

Front porch neighbors sharing sugar. Babies mirroring smiles. Fellowship isn’t virtual—it’s butter-stick generosity and shared laughter that rewires our souls. Just as mirror neurons sync infants to caregivers, God designed us to catch faith like a contagion in proximity. Isolation breeds spiritual infection, but shared presence amplifies joy. True fellowship requires showing up—not just for worship, but for the messy, butter-borrowing moments where grace gets sticky. [43:04]

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”
(1 John 1:3-4, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life “mirrors” Christ’s heart to you? How might you intentionally create a front-porch moment with someone this week?

Day 3: The $100 Hamburger: Paying the Price for Mentorship

Mentorship costs more than a drive-thru meal—it demands humility’s currency. Like Paul submitting to Barnabas’ guidance or a husband investing in marriage counseling, growth requires swallowing pride to seek seasoned travelers. True mentors aren’t life coaches but spiritual trail guides who spot cliffs we can’t see. They ask the $100 questions we’d rather avoid, their wisdom earned through scars, not seminars. [53:26]

“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.”
(Acts 11:25-26, NIV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels stuck on repeat? Who has walked that path before you that you need to invite into your journey?

Day 4: Tuesday Mornings and Eternal Clocks: Stewarding Time’s Relentless Tide

Seconds tick like a preacher’s watch—relentless, indifferent, gone. Stewardship isn’t budgeting pennies but wrestling time’s tsunami into God-shaped priorities. It’s blocking Tuesday mornings to plan kingdom work before the week drowns you. Like sailors rationing provisions in a storm, we guard moments for prayer, service, and loved ones. Every unguarded hour is treasure thrown overboard. [01:03:33]

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21, NIV)

Reflection: What “hour leak” in your week—endless scrolling, procrastination, or busywork—needs plugging to protect time for eternal investments?

Day 5: Shaking Off Vipers: Staying Shipshape for the Long Haul

Malta’s shipwreck didn’t end Paul’s mission—it became a snake-shaking, miracle-working detour. Storms test our ship’s integrity: Lordship keeps Christ at the helm, Fellowship patches leaks, Mentorship navigates reefs, and Stewardship balms out compromise. When viperous trials strike, well-maintained faith doesn’t panic. It shakes off attacks, knowing the Captain charts even wrecks into redemption stories. [32:25]

“Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand… Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.”
(Acts 28:3-5, NIV)

Reflection: What “viper” of doubt, offense, or distraction has latched onto you? What daily maintenance (prayer, scripture, community) will help you shake it off?

Sermon Summary

Acts 27 lays the frame, as Paul tells sailors in a storm, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” That warning becomes a way to “make calling and election sure,” so a believer “never falls.” The ship is not the destination, but God’s appointed means to arrive. Four ships matter.

Lordship claims the wheel. Christ is not added to a life on personal terms. He owns it. Second Corinthians 5 says his love “controls” the believer, because if he died, the flesh must die. This is not a kissing gospel, this is a cross gospel. Judas kissed the doorway to heaven and split hell wide open. A church-goer can say prayers and still run the show, but “you cannot live wrong and die right.” Lordship walks room to room, empties closets, takes every thought captive, and lets Scripture, not moods, make the call.

Fellowship keeps the soul lifted. Enoch walked with God 365 years until God said, Come on up here. First John says fellowship with the Father and with the church makes joy complete. That is not reels and comments. It is faces across a table, prayers in a living room, and worship that pulls someone “up where he is,” so mountains look smaller from higher ground. Mirroring neurons preach a quiet sermon. Whoever someone sits with, they will start to look like. Isolation in a storm is a guaranteed shipwreck.

Mentorship puts wise eyes on blind spots. Proverbs says safety lives in a multitude of counselors. Barnabas pulled Saul close in Antioch for a year. Real help looks like calendars, hard questions, and submission, not shopping for voices that agree. Pride says, I can read the map alone. Wisdom says, Find a guide and show the checkbook. When a crowd drags a soul into the pit, love sometimes has to let go so they hit a wall and finally find God.

Stewardship treats time, treasure, and gifts like they belong to the King. Matthew 6 ties the heart to wherever treasure sits. Calendars tell the truth, so time with God, God’s people, mentors, and service must be scheduled on purpose. Second Corinthians 5 says every believer will stand before Christ and answer, not for sin already judged at the cross, but for waste or faithfulness. Friday nights given to testimony, hours given to widows and orphans, moments seized to pray with the grieving, all of it will be remembered by the One who runs the clock.

Key Takeaways

1. Lordship keeps Christ at the helm A believer does not keep one hand on the wheel and ask Jesus to co-pilot. If he died, the flesh must die, and decisions bow to his Word. This cross-shaped obedience is the difference between sentimental religion and saving surrender. Kissed doors do not save, but carried crosses do. [33:51]
2. Fellowship lifts burdens and completes joy Fellowship with the Father and with the family pulls a soul higher until problems shrink in God’s presence. Joy is not manufactured by headlines or feeds, but formed in shared worship, prayer, and table life. Proximity shapes character, so the right crowd is a form of soul care. Isolation in the storm is a setup for shipwreck. [46:50]
3. Mentorship guards against blind spots Guidance and accountability keep someone from circling the same mountain year after year. Submitting to seasoned voices, asking hard questions, and sticking with the process beats hunting for easy agreement. Barnabas-and-Saul rhythms model how growth accelerates when a life is brought close and taught over time. [58:14]
4. Stewardship treats time and treasure holy The calendar and the checkbook reveal what the heart actually worships. Scheduling time with God, God’s people, mentors, and service is not legalism, it is love that plans to be faithful. The judgment seat will weigh waste against faithfulness, so urgency is wisdom, not panic. Today’s minutes are somebody’s last chance to do the next right thing. [64:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:13] - Prayer for changed hearts
[26:11] - Worship like fire in the bones
[27:34] - Serve Day: widows and orphans
[29:28] - Make calling and election sure
[30:54] - Stay in the ship to be saved
[32:25] - Shipwreck at Malta, shake it off
[33:51] - Four ships God gives
[34:20] - Lordship, not a kissing gospel
[42:41] - Fellowship with God and church
[52:37] - Mentorship, counsel, accountability
[58:14] - Barnabas and Saul model
[61:48] - Stewardship of time and treasure
[65:45] - Four practical calendar moves
[64:14] - Judgment seat and urgency

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 27:31 (ESV)
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

Observation Questions

What does Paul’s warning in Acts 27:31 reveal about the relationship between obedience (staying in the ship) and salvation?
According to the sermon, what are the “four ships” God provides to help believers stay on course? [33:51]
How does 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 define the role of Christ’s love in a believer’s life? [37:38]
What practical examples of stewardship were highlighted in the sermon? [01:01:48]

Interpretation Questions

Why is isolation described as a “guaranteed shipwreck” in the context of fellowship? [49:50]
How does mentorship guard against spiritual “blind spots,” and why is pride a barrier to seeking guidance? [56:22]
The sermon contrasts a “kissing gospel” with a “cross gospel.” What does this distinction reveal about the nature of true surrender to Christ? [35:39]
How does Matthew 6:19-21 connect the stewardship of time and treasure to the condition of the heart? [01:01:48]

Application Questions

Lordship requires surrendering every area of life to Christ. What specific “closet” or habit have you hesitated to let God clean out, and what step will you take this week to address it? [35:39]
Fellowship involves intentional community. How can you prioritize face-to-face time with believers this month (e.g., meals, prayer gatherings) to strengthen your joy? [46:50]
Mentorship requires humility. Who is one person in your life you could ask to hold you accountable in a specific area (finances, relationships, spiritual growth) this month? [58:14]
Stewardship demands planning. What one hour this week will you block on your calendar for prayer, Scripture, or serving others? [01:05:45]
The sermon warns against mirroring negative influences. Are there relationships or habits in your life that consistently pull you away from Christ? How will you set boundaries? [49:50]
The judgment seat of Christ will evaluate faithfulness, not just sin. What daily or weekly practice could help you live with greater urgency for eternal priorities? [01:04:14]

Sermon Clips

29s

#StayInTheShip

“And not everybody that says, lord, one time will enter into the kingdom of heaven. The Bible says that we are to pick up our cross daily and to walk after him. And so this looks like what this looks like to me as as I found the the scripture in Acts chapter 27 verse 31, Paul was on a journey to Rome during a violent storm, and there's some sailors trying to abandon the ship. And here's what Paul says to him in Acts 27. He says, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

21s

#LiveUnderLordship

“When you talk about lordship, that means I don't do what I wanna do anymore. I don't go the places I wanna go anymore. When I got right with god, I went home and started opening up doors, and I started opening up closets and getting things out that didn't glorify him. It's time that we make a real step in our life of lordship, and we start saying, I'm a get some things out so he can come in in Jesus' name.”

22s

#SeekMentorNow

“I don't understand it. I don't understand it. I'm talking about when you hit a roadblock and you keep coming up to in your marriage, you need a mentor or you need a counselor. When when you when you keep coming up to a roadblock in your spiritual life and you can't get past it, you need a mentor or you need a counselor. We hit roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. And what the what we do as people in the flesh is we go around till we find someone that agrees with us.”

17s

#ScheduleSpiritualTime

“But but it was hard to fit it in this week, but I still had to plot my time. You say, that's too disciplined. Well, then just go last week and see how it worked and line up. When did you steward your time? When did you steward your time with God's family? When did you steward your time with the mentor? What did you do? And then reflect on last week, and if you've done it, do that again.”

24s

#EmbraceAccountability

“So what do you do? Well, if you wanna hear the screaming, you grab her up and you put her down and I'll do that. I've endured that. But sometimes I let her go. And then sometimes she realizes the handrail's further than she can reach and boom, down she goes. See, we fall again and again and again because we won't come under the subjection of someone that can teach us. I had someone say this here about a few years ago. They said being accountable to someone's not in the scripture. I said, what bible are you reading?”

16s

#PlanForSpiritualGrowth

“But for me, I need a plan, y'all. I need a plan. Listen. Lordship keeps us under the captain. Fellowship keeps us connected to the crew. Mentorship keeps us experience with experienced people that can speak in our lives, and stewardship ensures that we don't waste what God's entrusted to us to do.”

21s

#AlignLifeAndFaith

“Knew I didn't wanna be in a place where the bible says the worm died not so your mind will be alive forever, where you'll fall for an eternity. And I looked up that preacher and said, I wanna be in said the prayer of the preacher where the preacher wanted me to say. But the thing is my life didn't line up with what I thought the bible said I should do. And don't think that you're you cannot live wrong and die you cannot live wrong and die right.”

16s

#JoinSmallGroups

“We don't have small groups. They all start up in August. There's people that'll help you and mentor you. But out of those groups, many times, you'll find community, but you need to reach out to someone and say, god, what god has put it on my heart to have you help me. And then you need to listen to the advice that they give you.”

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Setting the Course Pt5

Devotional

Day 1: The Corpse on Your Back: Dying to Self for True Lordship

Day 2: Borrowed Butter and Mirror Neurons: The Sacred Work of Fellowship

Day 3: The $100 Hamburger: Paying the Price for Mentorship

Day 4: Tuesday Mornings and Eternal Clocks: Stewarding Time’s Relentless Tide

Day 5: Shaking Off Vipers: Staying Shipshape for the Long Haul

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Setting the Course Pt5

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