Eternal Church Podcast

Parties usually have a purpose. A birthday, an anniversary, a graduation, a new home, Christmas, something to give focus to the celebration.  Last Tuesday, the 6th of January, is an important celebration of the gospel in much of the world. Most of us don’t keep it, and many of us have no clue. But the purpose of this party is central to our text today. There is a major party theme that runs throug...

Chris Peterson, the renowned football coach at Boise State and then the university of Washington, had a very simple recruiting philosophy. He told his coaches “go find me RKG‘s,” the “right kind of guys” to fit their program. He sought certain physical abilities of course, but also personality traits, team loyalty, personal values.  There’s always a danger in the church and kingdom of Jesus that w...

During my freshman year of college I worked at Chickfila, like every good Christian kid. Occasionally in the drive-thru, a customer would pay for the order behind them. This usually started a chain reaction: The person whose order was paid for was so grateful and decided to pay for the next car. One day this happened for 13 cars in a row! The kindness that was shown to them, was then shown through...

Did you know “Joy to the World” was not originally written as a Christmas carol? Isaac Watts wrote it as a poem inspired by Psalm 98, a picture of all creation celebrating the day when Christ comes to reign and when sin and sorrow are finally gone. Even so, the joy he described, the joy of a world made new under its rightful King, traces back to a quiet field where angels announced good news of gr...

I remember this pithy statement from when I was a younger Christian; No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace. That sounds great, but I hear just as many Christians complain of the lack of peace (busyness, chaos, depression) during this season as any non-Christian.  Do we truly know His peace? And how can we experience it anew if we’ve misplaced it? Looking forward to reviewing and renewing Jesu...

Our world seems to love decorating for Christmas. Home Depot had displays up in October. (No comment here about commercialism…). Why are we so fixated on a celebration months away? I believe it is in anticipation of a joy that is sure to come, NOT in hopes that it might possibly come. It’s that certain anticipation (and not that weak maybe) that marks the biblical definition of hope. God began to...

This Sunday we explore Luke 13:22–35, where Jesus turns a question about how many will be saved into a powerful picture of who will sit at the Kingdom’s banquet table. From the story God has been writing since Genesis—calling a people, forming a family, promising a worldwide blessing—Jesus shows that the feast is far bigger than anyone expected. He invites us to enter through the narrow door and t...

Martin Luther is reputed to have said “every night I go to bed grateful for the saving grace of Christ, and every morning I wake up thinking I must earn my salvation.” Overnight hearts and minds reset to the restless default of fear.  Our world seems to live in a relentless tug of war between grace and merit. Grace, simply put, seems too easy, too free, too…unfair. Yet grace remains the problem fo...

Every generation has a moment of tragedy that leaves its mark. In the aftermath of tragedy, familiar questions rise to the surface: Why did this happen? Whose fault is it? What do we do now? These questions come from hearts trying to make sense of suffering. But as people of the Kingdom of God, how are we called to respond when tragedy comes? This Sunday we will look at the words of our King addre...

Pundits these days are ready and willing to interpret this cultural moment. "It’s the end of democracy! A (new) gilded age has arrived! These are desperate times for the environment! These are great days for the economy!" Few pundits dare to make predictions about “what time it is” in the advance of the Kingdom of God. God’s Spirit is moving to reconcile all things to himself—all things in heaven...

Have you ever tried to tell someone who was upset to "calm down?" How did that work out for you? It's kind of like telling someone who's worried to "not worry about it." And yet, Jesus says to his disciples: "Do not be anxious about your life..." So what does the Lord mean by this command? Is it theoretical or practical? And how does he expect those in the Kingdom to respond today? 

Ever been accused of being a hypocrite? Ever accused someone else of hypocrisy? In our world, hypocrisy usually functions as an accusation against Christians, people who are supposed to be living as an all-of-life-witness to Jesus the King. But in today's passage, we understand the deeper dangers of hypocrisy. It’s more than inconsistency; it’s fraud and it exposes a faith without loyalty to our S...

Do you remember when Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit at the revelation of the Kingdom? His heart leapt for joy that what was once hidden had now been revealed! But as we come to Luke 11, that joy gives way to righteous anger—because what was revealed is now being concealed. Over the course of a single meal, Jesus exposes that it’s not just bad behavior or misguided morals, but an entire belief system...

As the Iron Curtain was coming down in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, the gospel was on the move. Many in the “orthodox” churches were spiritually numb; they never read the Bible, never heard the gospel preached, and were, as a consequence, never changed by the Word of the King. But a gospel revival began as the Curtain fell, and those who came to a faith in Christ that transformed them were often m...

This Sunday we continue our series in Luke with a strange yet hopeful passage (Luke 11:14–28). When Jesus casts out a demon, the crowd is divided: some accuse Him, others demand another sign. In response, Jesus tells two parables — one about a divided kingdom, the other about an empty house. Both reveal the same truth: evil is real, but Jesus is stronger. In a time where evil feels so present, thi...

The President visited the King. So, there are “royal protocol” issues. How to address a King? Do you reach out to shake his hand or wait for him to shake yours? What are the “no-nos”? Apparently, US Presidents don’t have a good track record with such things. Today’s passage raises the same concerns. How do we talk to our God? What may we say? What should we say? Are there tricks to assure we recei...

In John 15, Jesus famously states, “…apart from me you can do nothing.” In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus seems to be saying, “With me you should do nothing.” Such a familiar story. So easy to relate to Martha. So easy to misunderstand what Luke was getting at by including this passage where the did, the way he did.  Looking forward to being together this Sunday to get clarity on what this st...

Most of us know the story of the Good Samaritan. But what if this parable is about more than just being kind to strangers? What if Jesus is showing us something deeper about ourselves, about God, and about what it really means to “love your neighbor”? Join us this Sunday as we explore one of Jesus’ most familiar, yet most surprising stories.

A child is born. A dragon roars. A war erupts in heaven. The dragon is overrun and hurled down like lightning, but the question echoes: Who is this child, born King of the Nations? In Luke 10, Jesus reveals Himself as the King of the nations, the defeater of the enemy, and the one who writes our names in heaven. Together we’ll discover that our greatest joy is not in what we do for the Kingdom, bu...

We all want to be great at something. Even those who might appear to shy away from it or minimize it probably do so as a result of having failed to achieve it previously.  Jesus’ disciples were no different. They find themselves in a disagreement about who is greatest…or which one will end up as Jesus’ right hand once the kingdom fully comes. Jesus offers several rebukes and rebuttals to patiently...

I’m excited to have the added privilege of opening God’s word with you all this Sunday, we will pick up from last week in Luke’s gospel. Read Luke 9:29-45 in preparation for this Sunday. This text is so rich, and Lord willing we will be able to engage well with the passages before us.

Some argue the Christian faith is worthwhile for what you get out of it. “Enlightened self interest” it’s called. Heaven > hell. But Jesus’ approach is different. He calls us to bear crosses, to deny self, and per Bonhoeffer,“to come and die.” Are you all in? We learn Sunday just why his calling is infinitely better.

What if God called you to something big… and told you to pack nothing? This week we’ll explore Luke 9:1–17, where Jesus sends out the twelve with no supplies - only His power and authority. What follows is a story of empty hands, overwhelming need, and a King who provides more than enough. Join us as we discover what it means to carry the message of the Kingdom in a world that’s starving for life.

Ever been to a funeral? Ever touch the hand of the deceased, or kissed his/her forehead? Funerals aren’t as common as they once were, as cremation has taken the place of burial. Old practices of honoring the dead have given way to new customs. Ever wonder why? Might it be because we fear death? In today’s passage, we hear of Jesus’ power to “heal” death. To overturn all the ugliness of death in th...

Chaos. It's a word that's hard to define but easy to relate to. It can be very personal, but it can also be communal, national, or even global. It can be an event, a season, a person, an inward feeling, and so on. It's the idea that things are unordered and out of place, not the way they're supposed to be.  In Luke 8:22-39, we find one continuous story where chaos has been reigning. But the King h...