Known and Loved

You have been invited to a royal wedding- would you dare going not dressed for the occasion? You can only come into the King’s presence- dressed appropriately. Isaiah 61 says: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord for he has clothed me with garments of salvation, covered me with a robe of righteousness. The question is not who is at the banquet- the question is are YOU at the banquet? Where is your h...

Would you RSVP to Prince William and Princess Kate’s Wedding reception and then decide you had something better to do that day? HOW ABSURD! Today we look at the Parable of the Wedding Feast and the response of those who have not only been invited, but already RSVP’d that they would come and then refuse. This is a parable about two themes— The Heart of God and the Heart of Man. We see these two the...

What is the purpose behind being ready, waiting and working until Jesus’ return? The Parable of the talents tells us one of the key purposes is BUILDING something while we wait. Today we look at how the working, waiting and readiness help define and build the Kingdom. But the Kingdom is nothing without the people in it- in fact the Kingdom IS the people! Ask yourself: WHO is right in front of me r...

What is the purpose behind being ready, waiting and working until Jesus’ return? The Parable of the talents tells us one of the key purposes is BUILDING something while we wait. Today we look at how the working, waiting and readiness help define and build relationships. The only thing that lasts forever is people… building our relationship with Jesus and with others is the most important investmen...

What is the purpose behind being ready, waiting and working until Jesus’ return? The Parable of the talents tells us one of the key purposes is BUILDING something while we wait. Today we look at how the working, waiting and readiness help define and build our character. The whole point of our existence is to know JESUS and be conformed to his character. Like him we want to be shaped into Good and...

What was a talent in Biblical times? It is where we derive our English word for talent- or natural gifting. In Jesus days it was a weight or measure of money equal to about 6,000 denarii! One denari is a day’s wage- meaning it would take a day laborer 20 years to earn just 1 talent. That is of HUGE value! Even just one talent is a vast resource to be given responsibility over from the Master. That...

Which king will you serve? In the parable of the Minas, after the master calls his servants to account, he goes to his second task— dealing with the citizens of that country who hated and rejected him. They said “We will not let HIM be king over us.” They deny the king's authority over their lives, hate him and reject him… but in the end, no matter how they reject and deny him- The King will r...

How does what you do with what you have reveal who you are? The Parable of the Minas is about more than the resources in your pocketbook. In fact, in this parable the master gives each servant an equal distribution of resources- everyone gets ONE mina. This represents the idea that there are some gifts that God bestowes on every believer. The question is- are we doing the master’s business in a wa...

Today we go a layer deeper into the parable of the two houses and the wise and foolish builders. We are diving into the themes of “building a house” through the contrasts between wise and foolish “builders” illustrated in various Psalms and Proverbs. What does a house built on wisdom- on Christ- look like? contact us at knownandlovedpod@gmail.com YouTube Our website: lifewithgrace.net

Today we look at the parable of the two houses and their wise and the foolish builders. While the sower parable is about receiving of the Gospel, the parable of the builders is about obeying it- living it out, actually building our home, or in other words our lives, on the message and words- the truth and beauty of Jesus. Contact us at knownandlovedpod@gmail.com Known & Loved is also on YouTub...

The parable of the sower gives us four kinds of "soil" or hearts for hearing and receiving the Gospel. Remember the issue is not the seed. The seed is always good! The issue is the KIND of soil the seed falls on.... It is the soil’s job is to receive the seed. But it's the gardener’s job is to pull up the weeds! Who is the gardener? Remember- Jesus is the answer. Jesus is always the...

What speaks to your heart in a powerful way that might have you really learn spiritual truths? One of the best ways to teach is through storytelling. Jesus often told stories, or parables for this very reason. Jesus’ stories are opportunities so see our own spiritual condition. Today we begin to look at the Parable of the Sower and examine the different ways people hear and receive Jesus’ teaching...

How do you take inventory of your heart's real condition? What speaks to your heart in a powerful way that might have you really learn spiritual truths? One of the best ways to teach is through storytelling. Jesus often told stories, or parables for this very reason. Jesus’ stories invite listeners to enter the narrative and engage at a heart level. They are opportunities so see our own hearts...

What defines your worth? What speaks to your heart in a powerful way that might have you really learn spiritual truths? One of the best ways to teach is through storytelling. Jesus often told stories, or parables for this very reason. Jesus’ stories invite listeners to enter the narrative and engage at a heart level. They are opportunities so see our own hearts and spiritual condition.  Today we l...

What speaks to your heart in a powerful way that might have you really learn spiritual truths? What do you really value in life? One of the best ways to teach is through storytelling. Jesus often told stories, or parables for this very reason. As human beings we are all living out a story- the story of our lives. We are captivated by stories because the story gives us an emotional connection betwe...

Who is the Holy Spirit and how does He act in our lives? This episode we look at the Holy Spirit as the one who treasures us as a Pearl of Great Price. Because he treasures us he infuses his power in us through: Praying for us, Equipping us, Assisting us, Reminding us and Leading us. In each of these aspects the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power to live day to day and be conformed to the lik...

Who is the Holy Spirit and how does He act in our lives? This episode we look at the Holy Spirit as the one who gives LIFT to our spiritual lives by Loving us, Illuminating Scripture for us, Filling us and Teaching us. This LIFT allows us to take flight in our spiritual life and soar!

Who is the Holy Spirit and how does He act as our Advocate? This episode we look at the Holy Spirit who testifies or argues with us about the truth of WHO we are and WHO God is. Romans 8:16 says  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. The Greek word for "testifies" means a star witness in court giving legal testimony. The Holy Spirit acts as your advocat...

Have you ever wondered about the Holy Spirit and just felt he was all too mysterious? Who is the Holy Spirit? How can I know the Holy Spirit the way I know God the Father- or Jesus the Son? THOSE are the questions we dive into in this series on the third person in the trinity- The Holy Spirit. Today we look at the role of the Holy Spirit as our advocate who argues against the sin and temptation we...

Have you ever wondered about the Holy Spirit and just felt he was all too mysterious? Who is the Holy Spirit? How can I know the Holy Spirit the way I know God the Father- or Jesus the Son? THOSE are the questions we dive into in this series on the third person in the trinity- The Holy Spirit. Today we focus on the role of our two Advocates: our advocates- Jesus as our advocate in heaven and the H...

Have you ever wondered about the Holy Spirit and just felt he was all too mysterious? Who is the Holy Spirit? How can I know the Holy Spirit the way I know God the Father- or Jesus the Son? THOSE are the questions we dive into in this series on the third person in the trinity- The Holy Spirit. Today we focus on the question: Who is the Holy Spirit?  find Josh_Howerton's video on Instagram ⁠her...

How many of you know the story of  The Littlest Angel ? I’m a fan of old school Christmas music—Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby.  The Littlest Angel  is a Bing Crosby classic. Without fail, every year, whenever I hear THAT song, it moves me to tears. Ok, so I’m a sap, but a few years ago I made an effort to contemplate why this particular song has this power over me. If you are inter...

How do you keep Christmas? And do you keep it year ‘round? At the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol when Scrooge is redeemed from his selfish and miserly life it says that he knew how to keep Christmas all the year ‘round. What might that look like? Have you thought about your New Years’ Resolutions this year? I think Keeping Christmas Year ‘round is going to be mine!

How can we see the Gospel of Jesus in the well loved tale of Beauty & the Beast? In 1939 Tolkien gave a lecture at St Andrews on the subject of Fairy Tales. It was transcribed into an essay and the basic questions he grappled with were: “What IS a Fairy Tale?” And what is the “USE of a Fairy Tale?” Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis would argue that Fairy Tales are not just for children- they are...

How can we see the Gospel of Jesus in the story of Snow White? In 1939 Tolkien gave a lecture at St Andrews on the subject of Fairy Tales. It was transcribed into an essay and the basic questions he grappled with were: “What IS a Fairy Tale?” And what is the “USE of a Fairy Tale?” Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis would argue that Fairy Tales are not just for children- they are serious literature fo...