Istrouma Ascension Podcast

What Would You Ask? "What Does God Say about Sexual Identity?" Genesis 1   Rooted in creation Number of genders Nature of genders Reflected in conduct Sexual boundaries Sexual brokenness Redeemed by change Checkered past Clean present

"¿Por qué le suceden cosas malas a gente buena?"    "… En el mundo tendréis aflicción; pero confiad, yo he vencido al mundo " (Juan 16:33b)   La realidad del sufrimiento Problemas garantizados Victoria garantizada   Las razones del sufrimiento La transgresión contra Dios La transformación de Dios   La respuesta al sufrimiento Confianza en el Señor Compartir del Señor  

It happened on June 8, 2017.  A volunteer student mission team from Birmingham, AL was headed to Africa on a mission trip.  Their bus was involved in a crash.  Over 20 team members were injured and one of the teens, Sarah Harmening, 17 years old, was killed [picture of Sarah with her family].    Here was a text she sent to her younger sister, Katelyn, just before her death: "We are like a wisp of...

¿Que le preguntarías a Dios?   ¿quiénes serán los que irán al cielo? Juan 3.1-16   Sincera Religiosidad Alta posición Raíces sanas   Verdadero Dilema Nacer de nuevo Nacer del Espíritu   Extraordinaria Relación El cielo responde El Corazón recibe  

This morning we're starting a brand new summer sermon series called, "What Would You Ask?"  We invited you to submit questions that you would ask the Lord.  And you accepted the invitation!  We received dozens of questions.  From them we've chosen six that we will try to answer from God's word over the next six Sundays.    Let me give you an idea of some of the questions that we will tackle in com...

El Plan de Dios para los Padres " Padres, no hagan enojar a sus hijos con la forma en que los tratan. Más bien, críenlos con la disciplina e instrucción que proviene del Señor." (Efesios 6.4)   Lo que los padres no deben hacer No ser ausentes No ser hipócritas No ser abusivos No ser permisivos   Lo que los padres deben hacer Deben ser protectores Deben dar libertad Deben disciplinar Deben sacrific...

Fight "God's Playbook on Parenting"   "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).   Parental d on'ts Don't be absent Don't be hypocritical Don't be abusive Don't be permissive Parental d o's Do be jealous Do be angry Do be surrendered Do be sacrificial  

A young man, newly married, went to see his pastor.  He said, "I think I love my wife too much."  The pastor was surprised and a bit curious.  "What makes you say that?"  "Well," replied the young man, "I can't get my mind off her.  I think of her first thing in the morning.  I think of her throughout the day and can barely get my work done.  I can't wait to get home to see her in the evening.  I...

There have been some long wars in human history.  For example, the U.S. has been in Afghanistan for 14 years (by comparison, WWII lasted only 4 years).   In Europe, the French and English actually fought for 116 years over the rights to the French crown.  That war was called the "Hundred Years' War."   But the longest-standing battle in human history hasn't lasted 10 years or 100 years or even 100...

For the adventurous among us, there are some exciting and dangerous treks that you can take.  I'll mention three (see attached photos) that I've taken from a list of the world's top ten most dangerous hikes.   One is Mount Huashan in China.  It is a very steep mountain, with sheer drops of hundreds of feet.  The trail leaves you breathless.  In Spain there is a similar trail called the "Caminito d...

I suppose we all know what it is to fight with our family.  Even the best of families fight each other.    One of the most famous figures of the 20th century was Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was a preacher and a dreamer.  He dreamed that the day would come when, as he put it, "my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the c...

I love "Fixer Upper."  It is a show starring Chip and Joanna Gaines [show pic].  They take dilapted, dated houses and transform them into beautiful, welcoming homes [show pic of before & after of a home they've renovated].   The climax of each episode is the "reveal" when an old photo of the home obscuring their view is removed.  Now the new façade is unveiled to the delight of the owners.    This...

A well-known jingle says, "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there."  The ad campaign is built on the whimsical idea that you can sing that jingle and, "poof," a State Farm agent will appear and save you from whatever danger or disaster you face.  That'd be nice, wouldn't it?  But we know that there are times when our need is so great, no insurance agent or any other person can meet it.    Fortu...

In March of 1836 Mexican forces under General Santa Anna besieged the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.  The Alamo was defended by a ragtag band of less than 200.  The Mexicans numbered in the thousands.  The Alamo's acting leader, Colonel Travis, could see the gravity of their situation.  In a voice trembling with emotion he described the hopelessness of their plight.  He drew a line in the sand and said...

Amazing Grace is perhaps the best loved hymn of all time.  Here are the words to the first verse: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found.  Was blind but now I see."   The author of the hymn was, by his own admission, a "wretch."  He was a slave trader, a blasphemer, a rebel, an immoral man, and a torturer.   As a boy, John was captivated...

One of my favorite characters in J. R. R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings triology is Samwise Gamgee [show pic].  He is the ever loyal sidekick of Frodo Baggins.  From Samwise comes a saying that has made its way into our vernacular.  I think you'll know it.  Please finish this familiar expression: "Where there's life, there's              ."    Yes.  Where there's life, there's hope.   The idea is th...

Signs: So You May Believe "Lessons from the Loaves" John 6:1-15   Go after Jesus   Run to him   Remain with him   Give to Jesus   Though it is small   Though it is all   Get from Jesus   The gift of satisfaction   The gift of surplus

By 1940 WWII was underway in Europe.  The Allied western front in Europe was crumbling before the Nazi war machine.  The Germans drove the Allied forces all the way back to the English Channel.  They felt that they had them trapped.  They had them surrounded and the sea at the Allieds' back was thought to be an impassable wall.    But the English mounted a daring rescue known to history as the "Mi...

Desperate times call for desperate measures.   On April 26, 2003 Aron Ralston set out on a solo hike through Blue John Canyon, in Utah, near the Canyonlands National Park. While he was descending a narrow canyon, a boulder shifted while he was climbing down from it. The 800 pound rock smashed his left hand, and then crushed his right hand against the canyon wall.  Ralston had not informed anyone o...

Señales "Sucedió en una boda" Juan 2.1-11     Una escena modesta.   " Al tercer día se hicieron unas bodas en Caná de Galilea; y estaba allí la madre de Jesús. Y fueron también invitados a las bodas Jesús y sus discípulos ." (Juan 2.1-2)   un lugar   un lugar       Una situación embarazosa.   " Y faltando el vino, la madre de Jesús le dijo: No tienen vino. 4  Jesús le dijo: ¿Qué tienes conmigo, mu...

Three teenage buddies, Kevin, Brian and Randall, had spent a fun evening bowling near Tampa, FL.  As they headed home, they cruised into an intersection and were struck by an eight-ton Mack truck.  All three were tragically killed.   They had not been drinking.  They had not been doing drugs.  They had not been texting.  They had done nothing wrong.  But, unbeknownst to the them, someone else had....

VALORES "NUESTRO OBJETIVO" (Mateo 28:16-20)   La declaración de nuestro objetivo Jesús la declara Jesús la delega   La estrategia para alcanzar nuestros objetivos Conectar Crecer Servir Ir   La sinergia en torno a nuestro objetivo Tenemos una comunidad Tenemos un compañero      

A little boy got a real bow and arrow for his 10th birthday and immediately went outside to practice in his yard. A few minutes later his father stepped outside to check how he was doing and was amazed to see a dozen arrows dead in the center of a dozen different bullseyes that were painted on the trees in the backyard.   "That's astounding, Son! You just got that bow a few minutes ago. How do you...