Known and Loved

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...

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 for adults too. Fairy Tales engage our imaginations and contain i...

Who is my neighbor? This is the question the lawyer asks Jesus in Luke 10. Jesus answers him with the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus asks the lawyer to answer: Who is the true neighbor to the fallen man? The lawyer answers just as Jesus intended: The one who showed mercy. Then Jesus instructs him- GO and DO likewise. So who is your neighbor? And how can we set aside our pride to “Go a...

What is the obstacle for us that must be moved out of the way so that we can really be servants and love our neighbor as ourselves? Ultimately it is our pride, our “ego” that we wear as an outer garment to protect and define ourselves. It is our pride that directs us inward to selfishness and says not to love and serve our neighbor, but to serve ourselves… What does this look like and how can it b...

What does it mean when Jesus says to “love your neighbor as yourself? Do we really have a good idea of what that means? We spend the next three episodes examining the radical call to love our neighbor, the obstacles to love and finally defining exactly WHO our neighbor might be based on Jesus’ teachings in  Luke chapter 10.

What does it mean to love God with all our strength?  There are 3 ways to consider this. First, strength means well toned muscles. So in order to Love God with all my strength I need a faith and a love for God that is well toned. Another way to define strength is as something that we have in abundance or something that we are particularly good at doing. So loving God with all our strength is to lo...

Webster's dictionary defines the soul as the spiritual part of us. The soul is our deeply felt moral and emotional being. These characteristics are only present in rational beings- that would mean human beings. It is our soul that embodies the deepest part of us and it drives our search for meaning and purpose in this world. So what does it mean to love the Lord our God with all of our soul?

What does it mean to love the Lord our God with all our mind? How does our thinking about God shape who we are and how we relate to the world? We started answering these questions last episode as part of our series on the Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your MIND and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Today we go deeper into...

What is the purpose of the mind in our faith? How does what we think about God shape who we are? The Greatest Commandment says to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your MIND and all your strength. There is an important aspect to our loving God and others, that is more than just an emotional rush.  Real love is deliberate. It is purposeful. It is thoughtful and it takes...