Christian Formation

Andrew, one of the pastors at Providence, underwent a kidney transplant surgery in the fall of 2021. He is now in recovery and is learning more about God's goodness, no matter his physical circumstances and outcomes. Join us as we are encouraged by and learn from Andrew's story of trust in God's sovereign plan. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us form...

We read books, listen to sermons, and indulge in podcasts about Jesus, but many of us might have the same frustrated  thought, "WHY am I having trouble actually resting in Jesus?!" On this episode, one of Providence's pastors, Jared, dives into the difference between religious acts vs. remembering Jesus is a person, and what it looks like to seek relationship with Him. This is the f...

During the busy holiday season, it is easy for all of us to fall into unhealthy patterns and sin tendencies. We continue our series on "Health for the Holidays" by discussing the idea of slowing down and communing with Jesus. One of Providence's pastors, Jared, references the book Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund and Matthew 11:28–30 to teach us practical ways in how to slow down an...

During the busy holiday season, it is easy for all of us to fall into unhealthy patterns and sin tendencies. On this episode, we discuss how to be spiritually healthy during the holiday season. One of Providence's pastors, Jared, references the book  Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund and Matthew 11:28–30 to teach us how to fully be ourselves and rest in Christ. Connect With Us providenceomaha....

Every year leading up to Christmas, Providence observes Advent, a season where we learn to both reflect on Jesus' coming to Earth and long for His return.  In this week's episode, Madi Shultz, a member in our congregation, and Jake Peterson, one of our co-directors for the college ministry here at Providence, join the Christian Formation Podcast to explore what Advent is, why Christians...

As Christians, we value overseas missions, but why? Why do we use resources to send people overseas when we have people in our city who are not saved? In this podcast, we head back to episode 74 to revisit the importance of Global Missions in God's sovereign plan.  Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

Reverence for God is something that we've been talking about a lot around the Providence office. One question that we've asked ourselves is, "Does what we wear on Sunday mornings reflect our reverence for God? Should we be dressing up or does  what we wear really matter?" In this episode, we discuss whether our Sunday morning clothing reflects our reverence for God. Join us as...

We see the term "unity" in the Bible, yet, we have so many different church denominations. Why is this and do we need to care about denominations? In this episode, we explore the advantages and pitfalls of church denominations and discuss why it is important to know how your own church's denomination operates.  We are joined by Kent Sovine, who serves as the Multiplication Catalyst...

With our recent discussion on the Enneagram and whether the origin of an activity should dictate whether or not we participate in that activity, we travel back in time to revisit our discussion on yoga from a year and a half ago. Yoga is prevalent in our culture today but its Hindu roots bring controversy in the church over whether or not we as Christians should be practicing yoga. In this podcast...

We explore the question of, “Should Christians engage in the Enneagram?” With its focus on self and mystical origin, is it OK for Christians to use? We don’t have concrete answers on this episode. For some of us, the Enneagram is OK in moderation, so long as our primary identity is in Christ. For others, they might avoid the Enneagram because it can lead to an excessive focus on themselves rather...

We received a question from one of our congregation members about Common Grace.  "What is common grace, where is common grace in the Bible, and how does common grace impact us if we acknowledge it exists?" In this episode, we dive into all of these questions and ask ourselves if Common Grace only applies to non-Christians or to believers as well.  This episode asks more questions than pr...

Throughout our summer in the Psalms series this past year (see episode 99 for more details), we saw the repeated theme of the psalmist suffering because of his own sin. This prompted the question of:  "How do we know if we are suffering because of our sin or because of God’s discipline?" In this episode, we dive into how we would biblically define God’s “discipline,” where we see His dis...

“What does the Church need today?” A person in our congregation asked us what the church needs to remember or hold on to in the midst of tension this last year.  In this episode, we provide encouragement for our church family to remember the truth of God's word, the comfort of Jesus, the sovereignty of God, and wisdom that comes from God. We also discuss how these how these ideas will help us...

We wrapped up a 6-part series on the elements of our Sunday gatherings and why it’s important to consistently attend a church gathering. We also looked at all of the elements in our Sunday gathering and explained the meaning behind them (check out episodes 103–108 to hear more). In this episode, we take a step back and talk about how we should prepare our minds before we step into the church build...

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow..." The Doxology has been sung for thousands of years and is one of the elements we have at the end of our Sunday gatherings. For our final episode on our Sunday Liturgy series, we dive into why we sing the Doxology and end with a Benediction every gathering.  Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providence...

In this episode, we continue our Sunday Liturgy series discussing the importance of Scripture Reading and Preaching in our Sunday gathering. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

We continue our Sunday Liturgy series discussing the Meet & Greet, the Vision & Values (also called announcements in some churches), and Prayer during our Sunday gatherings. Join us as we share the value in meeting the person sitting next to you, the change in language when we talk about "announcements," and the value of prayer in every church gathering. Connect With Us providenc...

We see throughout the Bible that worship—musical worship—is an integral part of worshiping God. It almost seems if we were created to sing. In this podcast, we look at why the church today sings and how songs are chosen for a Sunday gathering. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

Is the Call to Worship us calling ourselves to worship or responding to God? Why do we confess sin aloud in our Sunday gatherings? Why is it important to profess our faith during a Sunday when their are non believers in the room? Join us as we continue our series on Sunday Liturgy, with this second episode focusing on the call to worship, confession, and profession of faith elements in our Sunday...

Many of us attend a Sunday church gathering without knowing the significant impact it has on our lives. In this episode, Andrew, Ravyn, and Steve discuss why Sundays matter in the life of a Christian. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

We are back for our 5th season! In this episode, Andrew and Ravyn give a personal recap of what happened this summer and then dive into an overview of the podcast's upcoming series: Sunday Liturgy. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

For our final episode in our Doctrines of Grace (also known as Calvinism) series, we answer questions that YOU submitted. Join us as we discuss whether we are "forced" to love God and why it matters that we understand the theology behind our salvation.  Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

The Doctrines of Grace series is our longest series on the Christian Formation Podcast. This second-to-last episode in the series highlights two key passages that are highly debated in the doctrines of grace conversation. Join us as we dive into these passages and explain how they are used against the Doctrines of Grace and how we would respond in favor of the Doctrines of Grace. Connect With Us p...

The Psalms are filled with rich imagery and a lot of emotion, however, not many of us know the true depth of how valuable the Psalms really are in shaping our view of God and our prayer lives. In this episode, we discuss the background of the Psalms, why it is important for Christians to read the Psalms, and how reading the Psalms can shape our prayer life and view of God.  We are joined by Dr. Ma...

In this podcast, we discuss how those who are chosen by Christ are covered by His grace to continue to the end, otherwise known as perseverance of the saints. Join us as we discuss the "P" (perseverance of the saints) in the acronym TULIP, which stands for the 5 points in the Doctrines of Grace, or Calvinism. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@p...