Faith and Life Podcast

Trusting that a dead man rose to new life and that we will also raise from death takes ridiculous faith. We know from the reports of those who saw Jesus risen from the dead that believing what they saw and heard did not come easily or consistently. Realistic doubts filled their minds. And yet, every one of them eventually trusted that Jesus rose from the dead and they faced persecution for the res...

The Word of Forgiveness - "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 - Aaron McCullough The Word of Promise - "Today you shall be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 - Laura Whistler The Word of Love - "Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!" John 19: 26-27 Anthony Janutolo The Word of Loneliness - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 - Abby Zaino The...

What specifically does it mean for you to wash feet? The answer to this question will vary from person to person. After exploring what it meant for Jesus to humble himself and wash the feet of his disciples, time will be given for people to reflect answer the question, where in your connection with others is God nudging you to humble yourself in order to serve the needs of the other person ahead o...

We all have a sacred responsibility to raise up the next generation to trust and follow Jesus. There is a persistent temptation in our lives and ministries to just finish our own race faithfully. An essential step on our discipleship path is pouring into the next generation with everything we have to effectively raise them up to trust and faithfully follow Jesus. This sermon will teach ways to eff...

Through Christ, God kept his promise and proved He can be trusted. Christ calls us in return to follow him. It is through Jesus that we tangibly see God's love in action, fulfilling the new covenant promise he made through Jeremiah.   Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33

  Refocus this prayer to the Lord, "Watch over and protect me/us/someone" to "No matter what, use me." This is like when Jesus refocused his prayer in the garden from "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me." to "Yet not my will, but yours be done." We live in a world that is broken by sin and because of this everyone suffers to some degree and dies. Sooner or later the "watch over and...

Refocus this prayer to the Lord, "Forgive me." "I forgive as you forgive me." All of our sins, past, present, and future have already been forgiven, so our prayer response is to forgive those who have sinned against us. This is the first step on God's path of restoring our relationships with those who have wronged us and moves us away from our self-destructive desire for revenge.   Next Step: Cont...

When life gets hard, God brings new possibilities. When we experience loss, we grieve for what we had hoped would have been our future (Option A). At the same time, God helps us to see new possibilities that may not have happened without the loss (Option B). In an amazing juxta-position that only God can create, God helps us to see, enjoy, and fully live these new possibilities while at the same t...

When life gets hard, God brings more meaning in life. God works through our loss and suffering to clarify what is most important and give us a grandeur vision for our life.   Next step: Identify how hard times have helped you to clarify what is most important and given you a grandeur vision. Thank God for that clarity and vision and live to fulfill that vision. Gain greater resiliency and joy from...

In the most mind-blowing move, God has come to live in us as the Holy Spirit. More than saying "The Lord is with you.", now we can say, "The Lord is in you." God is all in us. So instead of praying "God be with me.", we refocus our prayers to say, "God, live through me to accomplish your mission."  Next Step: Trusting the God lives in you, pray for God to live through you to accomplish his mission...

When life gets hard, God brings deeper relationships. Truly knowing that you are not alone in your suffering deepens your relationships with those who stand with you when life gets hard. The relational bonds that are created when friends stand by each other in times of adversity are deep, abiding, and bring great comfort. God ministers to us through these deepening relationships. What are some pra...

When life gets hard, God brings a deeper level of appreciation for what we have. God helps us to see with greater appreciation blessings that we normally overlook. While we still may suffer, God awakens in us a clarity to see and appreciate the many good gifts he has given us.   Next Step: Start a thankful journal. Allow this discipline to build in you greaterresiliencyand joy.     Lessons: Psalm...

Being more aware of your mortality, more deeply embrace your reconciliation with eternal God. On Ash Wednesday we are graphically reminded that we will all soon die. This convicting truth drives us to seek what only God can give, eternal life. God laid on Jesus our sin and death, so that in Jesus we would become right with God and have the assurance of eternal life. Embracing this great gift in Je...

When life gets hard, God brings personal strength to face the trials. Because this personal strength comes from God,it is beyond what we thought, it is based on what Jesus accomplished for us, and it helps us to face the future with confident hope.   Next Step: Pray for God's personal strength that builds resiliency, trust that it will grow in you, and recognize it when it happens. Allow yourself...

Sermon Outline Inspired by Option B, written by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, this series will teach five ways that God brings meaning to the suffering and loss we experience in life. When life gets hard, God brings post-traumatic growth through the direct ministration of His Holy Spirit and the consolation of His people. Through this, God works to build in us greater resilience and help us find...

Jesus is God's answer to evil. God's answer to evil is to silence it in our lives, drive it out of our lives, and ultimately defeat it through the resurrection of Jesus.   Next Step: Identify what is pulling you towards false belief and despair. Trust that Jesus commands this evil to be silent and to come out of your life. Trust that all evil is ultimately defeated in the resurrection.   Lessons:...

We see in Scriptures of people dropping everything to follow Jesus in the Bible. But what was the actual cost for them to do this? In this day and age, many people say they want to follow Jesus but are we truly willing to accept the cost of following Jesus   Next Step: If we say we want to follow Jesus then we need to figure out what he is calling us to do personally in our faith and as a church b...

Warmth is to be in the DNA of our church family. The warmth of our relationships with one another is to in every cell in the body of our community. Engaging preaching, dynamic worship, excellent programs, effective outreach, and a well-kept building are important in our mission, but the warmth of our community trumps everything. Jesus said that the world will know that we are his followers by the...

What happy people do is live by God's values. Using a country music song, titled "Happy People," and Psalm 1 as a text, this sermon will teach that we experience happiness when live by God's values, share the good news of Jesus, and help those in need.   Next Step: As a step towards being happy, wisely start of 2018 living by God's values, doing outreach, and serving others.   Lessons: Psalm 1, Ph...

Fear can completely overtake us and be the sole power controlling what we do. Even in trusting God and remaining strong in him, fear can still enter into your life. You are not alone in this, it happens to everyone. Continuing to push these fears away and putting on a brave face to the outside world does nothing but make them worse. Rather than pretending all is good in your life, Jesus encourages...

God's answer to "Why?" is Jesus who entered into our chaos and we become God's answer when we enter into the chaos of another. The shocking reality of Christmas is that God entered our world in a human baby born into a human family. God is experienced in family and community. Faith is lived in family and community where God enters into the chaos of others through us.   Lessons: Isaiah 7:14, Galati...

Through forgiving our sins, Jesus made it certain that we will be with God, now and for eternity. The Jewish people clearly understood is that our rebellion against God's values (sin) separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 This is why there was a question whether Most Holy God would dwell among sinful human beings in a temple built by human hands. Will God really dwell with us? The answer to the quest...

Jesus is God with us who gives us real life in tangible ways. He makes our paths straight. As Christians, we can sometimes become too focused on the life to come after we die. The Jewish people had a healthy understanding that God dwells with us now in this life and God's dwelling with us now makes all the difference as He provides justice, restoration, and teaching to give us real life.   Next St...

Sermon Outline   Knowing that Jesus dwells with us gives us the peace and courage to face troubles in the world because Jesus is God and he has overcome the world. The Christian claim that God came to dwell with us in Jesus is shocking. Such a claim was always shocking. When Solomon built the first temple, there was some question as to whether God would actually dwell among his people in the templ...