Church On The Edge

Elijah expected immediate results after the fire fell on Mount Carmel. Instead, Queen Jezebel vows to end his life. Questions and doubts fill the prophets heart and mind. He takes those doubts to God. And God honors Elijah’s transparency and vulnerability. He will do the same for you. Don’t walk away from it all. Take your anger, pain, doubts, and questions to God. For more from Dan check out his...

The confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is a turning point in this great story. The drought will end, the rains will fall, and God’s Living Word will return. It won’t be all at once. In fact, it will be a process that takes several years. But it begins when one man courageously confronts the source of spiritual drought among his people. Do you have the courage to confront the spi...

Ahab called Elijah a troublemaker. And so he was! Today’s comfortable, drought-stricken church needs more troublemakers. More followers of Jesus who refuse to go along with the crowd. More willing to question the authority of leaders whose track record in our day demonstrates how far from the way of Jesus they have fallen. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www...

Carrying a dead Gentile boy up to his room wasn’t exactly kosher for a Jewish prophet. Neither was placing that boy on his bed and laying his body over the boy’s dead body. Clearly prohibited according to God’s Word in Leviticus. But mercy trumps sacrifice, and religious rule keeping contradicts the love of God demonstrated so clearly in Jesus. We need more rule breakers in today’s church. For mor...

Jesus’s parable of the “Good Samaritan” is not unique. It is anchored in the teaching of Scripture. God sends Elijah to Zarephath, the stronghold of Baal worship, to be cared for by a Gentile widow with an orphan. When Jesus implied that this was because there were no widows in Israel with this kind of faith, his fellow members in the synagogue at Nazareth tried to push him off a cliff. The more t...

“The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” These are the words of Jesus to the Roman politician, Pilate. Pilate responded cynically, “What is truth?” In these days of alternative facts and conspiracy theories, of high paid lawyers who know how to “work” the system, Pilate’s question makes a lot of sense. But truth can be found for those who seek it. We just have to...

I’ll be back. Until then just read the Book. That’s not what Jesus said, but you wouldn’t know it by the way many teach in today’s American church. The worship of the Bible has replaced the worship of God. God’s Living Word is desperately needed. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan...

Passing the living flame of God’s presence and power is how Christianity works. That’s not happening today and the church in America is dying as a consequence.  For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref=

Unlike physical drought, spiritual drought often goes unnoticed. Churches and denominations dry up, wither, and experience slow deaths. But no one seems to notice. Welcome to the twenty-first century church in America.  For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref...

Dan ends this season with some final thoughts on God's wisdom, rejecting the Martha model of ministry, and learning to walk in the unforced rhythms of God's grace. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref=

The way of God has always been opposed by institutionalized religion. In this episode Dan explains that if we follow in the ways of a prophet like John the Baptist, and our Lord and Teacher Jesus, we can expect criticism and opposition by the insiders. But Lady Wisdom proves us right by our deeds done in the gentleness and humility seen in God’s people. For more from Dan check out his website, med...

John the Baptist stood directly on the dividing line of history. He was the greatest servant of God born of women. But unlike those of us born of God's Spirit, and living on this side of the cross, John was unable to see and comprehend the wisdom and ways of God's kingdom found in Jesus. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/chu...

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom? What does that even mean? Is it “reverential respect”? In this episode, Dan tries to steer us away from the religious jargon and helps us understand in plain words what “The Fear of the Lord” really means. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon...

As followers of Jesus, we are to be as crafty as serpents, and as innocent as doves in dealing with those who are guided by the wisdom and ways of the world rather than God's kingdom. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref=

The smoke screen of the world hinders us from seeing the reality of God's Kingdom all around us. In this episode Dan points to Jesus' message to stop casting your pearls before pigs. Jesus calls us to reorient our thinking and priorities from those of the world and the smoke screen that keeps us seeing the reality of God's Kingdom. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and book...

Each of us has a kingdom over which we exercise personal authority. In this episode Dan explains that as we manage our kingdoms in accordance with God's will and ways, we will become a blessing to those around us. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref=

As we grow in God's wisdom, Dan explains that two inevitable things will take place in our lives: we will grieve over the brokenness of our world, and those who are suffering, while at the same time experiencing the inexpressible joy that comes from our entering into God's eternal kingdom. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/c...

If you could ask God for anything, what would you ask for? In this episode Dan explains that when we make God's wisdom the priority of our lives, we can be certain that along with it, God will grant us the desires of our hearts. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY...

Like the merchant on the hunt for the pearl of great price, you and I must diligently seek God's Kingdom. But where do we begin our search? In this first episode of the season, Dan explains that the answer is found in the greatest sermon ever preached. Jesus's Sermon on the Mount has been called His Kingdom Sermon. It begins with the words "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom...

As we conclude our study of "Galatians: Confronting Cultural Christianity," we look at the final characteristic of those who are called to be the Israel of God in our day - they are dead to the world and the world is dead to them. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08...

Who are the true members of God's family? Who are considered children of Abraham and members of Israel? That's the question Paul answers throughout this letter, and as he concludes he describes the markers of those who are truly the Israel of God. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Da...

As Christians, we are free from living according to the law, that is, rules and regulations governing our behavior. In this episode, Dan points to  Galatians 5:16-25 to show that to do that successfully, we must live according to the Spirit. As we walk in the Spirit, we inherit more of God's kingdom blessings in our lives, families, churches, and communities. For more from Dan check out his w...

Expectations that have nothing to do with God's grace that comes to us in Christ are the bane of the church in our day. Those who stand firm against these expectations are labeled social pariahs. We need more social pariahs as we serve together as God's church on the edge. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge...

How does the average non-Bible scholar church member learn to distinguish false teaching from those whose Bible knowledge far surpasses their own? Listen to this week's podcast and find out. For more from Dan check out his website, medium articles, and books at: www.danarmistead.com www.medium.com/church-on-the-edge https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Armistead/e/B08HY8JLVF/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Using well-known Greek teachings on friends and friendship, Paul draws a stark difference between his relationship with the Christians in Galatia, and the unhealthy relationship they have with the Jewish teachers ministering among them. In doing this, he demonstrates the incarnation truth of gospel ministry - become like me for I became like you. For more from Dan check out his website, medium art...