Fresh Start in Christ with Viroqua Nazarene

The Eurasia region is on everyone’s mind right now. With the war in Ukraine and Russia, what would the Nazarene churches from those and surrounding countries have us pray for them? The answer might surprise you.

This week, Asia-Pacific region comes into focus as Pastor Matt unravels a bit about what people in Australia, the Philippines, and Myanmar have been dealing with this past year. Hear of generous gifts sent to help others in great need. Shatter your expectations of missions as we join ministry already in progress, rather than ride in on a white steed to save the day.

Give Peace a chance. Many of us have peace on our mind today as various world areas are warring. But the peace of the world, our idea of peace may not always line up with God’s peace. Let’s learn a bit more about the missional work in Africa Region and the biblical concept we are praying for that region: Peace.

What do leaders need most? I know, we all enjoy a good rhetorical question.      I believe the answer is Wisdom and Guidance. We will take a look at scripture to see how we are called to pray for our leaders and learn about some actual leaders in the Church of the Nazarene that you and I can pray for this week. 

“I’m no prophet, I’m no preacher” you might say. Well, they all needed 3 things and these three thing relate very much to you and me. Acknowledging their call, taking Action, and helping others Apply God’s message to their lives. Did I say 3? I meant 3 plus 1.    There is 1 top thing they all had that we need to have too to be successful in introducing people to their fresh start in...

Personal loss has always been around, however it seems that we have a heightened awareness of death and dying in the past few years. How can or should we deal with it? Ezekiel dealt with his own personal loss in a strange way...for a divine purpose. King David had his own way of processing his loss and Jesus may have surprised a few people with his reaction to the death of his close friend. It all...

Plants are all around us. Well, maybe if you look outside your window during the winter season they are all covered with snow. But they are there. They are important. They also make a great illustration as far as expressing biblical truths. The question we face in this podcast: Plants produce something, but is what is produced any good? Furthermore, is the plant producing anything at all? Well eva...

White Washing. A painting technique used in external and even internal property design, it has been around for a very long time. So much so that it even became and idiom or expression meaning something deeper. Through a couple of passages in Ezekiel and one in Matthew, we'll see how white wash was connected to rebuking those doing wrong. 

You ever noticed how if there is a hole in the wall, someone put it there? Misplaced hammer blow, door handle smashed into dry wall, remodeling team decided that wall just needed to go. Lots of reasons for holes in walls. Between Ezekiel, Saul/Paul, and Jesus, they had and used them for very different purposes. Join us for Echos of Ezekiel. (This podcast features sounds effect demonstrations! You'...

What would it be like to have God asked you to eat something gross. What would you do? Would you object? You might know the "The Five Second Rule." If you drop something edible on the floor, but pick it up in less than five seconds, it's like it never happened. No germs or virus' transferred at all. Well, so says the "rule" but when put to the test, the dropped food still gets germs and such crawl...

Ezekiel had experience with God talking directly to him, calling him to do seemingly crazy things for God’s purpose. God used Ezekiel to make a point to the Children of Israel of his day. But the words and imagery God used in Ezekiel’s day were not just for that generation. They echoed, rippling through time to the era of the New Testament. We will look at New Testament connections to these lesson...

Two things seem to linger after the Christmas celebration: Wrappings and Returns. Wrappings as in left over paper, hastily torn off the concealed present and Returns, that thing that no one looks forward to doing but are sometimes willing in order to actually get what they want. What if I told you these festive illustrative concepts will help us understand something deeper about the Christmas Stor...

In this service we walk through all five candles of the Advent Wreath: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and the Christ's Candle. Join us for the Movements of Advent.  Merry Christmas to you and yours! [This recording is the worship service from Dec 19, 2021 at Viroqua Church of the Nazarene. I hope you join in on the worship. If you find there are elements missing to the recording, you can find them p...

In life, words stick to us...negative things we internalize. Whether we thought them or someone said them about us...we became "Labeled." In this Podcast we look at overcoming Labels, that last of the three Ghosts of Christmas Past. Remember, we need to deal with the Ghosts of our past...here in our present so we can have a Future (a good one!)

We've heard the expression "shame on you!" But what does that do to a person? It messes with their Identity.  In this podcast we will look at the difference between guilt and shame and how the scripture points us to Overcome Shame. (Big thanks to Life. Church for developing and sharing this series with churches.)

For many, the most wonderful time of the year isn’t so wonderful. A painful past or our own insecurities can overshadow the joy we’re supposed to be feeling. What if this year could look different? It’s time to let God heal the Ghosts of Christmas Past. This episode all all about Overcoming Offense. Offenses Big or small can ruin our Christmas season and our lives...if we let them. (Original serie...

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? For many families, it is a tradition to watch the "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" special. In this podcast, we will look at the biblical topic of giving thanks using this film as a frame of reference. We'll answer the questions: 1. Thankful for what? 2. Thankful to whom? 3. What if my circumstance stink? 

We've just completed a series on the Core beliefs of Christianity. The Basics of Faith. But what's this "Church of the Nazarene" thing all about? In this podcast I hope you express the 3 core values of the Church of the Nazarene and perhaps give you a better idea of who we are and why we do what we do. I want to give credit to Dr. Scott Sherwood for the message that inspired me to share this one w...

Christianity is so name because of its core belief in Christ...but who is Christ Jesus? In this podcast we will look at 4 core things about Jesus Christ that can't be removed from Christianity. 

What was your first exposure to the concept of Heaven and Hell? Was it someone knocking on your front door, asking you questions and handing you pamphlets? Maybe someone shouting scripture from a bullhorn on a street corner? Even though all Christians haven't done the best job at consistently explaining the afterlife, it still is important to the basics of the faith. Who better to turn to for guid...

You've probably heard of the bible...but what is it? Some dusty tome set on your mantle place? A family heirloom that no one touches? Maybe you're not quite sure what to think about it. Christians over time have turned to it for understanding, but is it more than just an instruction manual for the "religious?" How was it put together and in what way is it still relevant to our daily lives? Journey...

We're looking at the basics of the Christian faith in this series, but none of that matters if you don't have faith. Dig into Hebrews 11 with me and see how others who've gone before us had faith, what that looked like. Also see how it worked out for him. Ultimately no one else's faith journey can give you you're own. You've got to make the choice yourself to trust fully in God.

Have you ever thought the Christian faith seemed too complicated? Well perhaps religious ceremony, garb and architecture have over shadowed the most basic of Christian faith beliefs, overwhelming people in the process. In this series we intend to look at the basics of the Christian faith in easy to understand and easy to relay terms. Using visual aids (see blog page   https://viroquanaz.home....

Jeremiah makes a point in a big way in this chapter...but will the people "get" it? Sometime it take a sudden, shocking noise to make us take notice of the judgement coming out way if change does not occur. 

Tips on pottery and sermon illustrations straight from God himself. Who could ask for more? So Jeremiah didn't have the easiest job, proclaiming doom and exile on the people of Israel, but God sure was helpful to hand craft some visual aids to help get the point across. Join us again as we look through Jeremiah 18, the properties of clay and how that connects to us today.