Local Church St. Pete Podcast

Local stories are stories of God's grace at work in the lives of those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete.  We want to highlight his activity and celebrate his grace.

Sometimes life can feel like a desert land - a wilderness experience with no relief in sight. Isaiah 35:1-10 is a prophetic announcement of joy that overshadows our exhaustion, anxiety and fear and chases away our deepest sorrow. It isn’t fabricated or temporary, it isn’t found in fleeting things or circumstances. It’s a permanent, unshakeable joy rooted in the promise of God’s arrival – and we’re...

Maybe you have felt beyond repair, scattered, fragmented and broken. Maybe you lack peace – and wonder where God is in all that you’re facing. With poetic imagery Isaiah 11:1-11 describes a small twig growing out of stump, a world without hostility and a banner held high for anyone and everyone. What do these images have in common? Why have they been celebrated for centuries? How are they meant to...

In this conversation Daryn and Mark discuss four questions on the topic of discipleship: • What does it mean to be a disciple who makes disciples? • How do we determine who to disciple? • Why do we make disciples? • Where does our motivation to make disciples come from? The goal in talking through these questions is to encourage you in and towards disciple-making. We pray they help demystify the t...

Have you been in the depths of despair, discouragement and shame? Maybe you’ve been living there for some time. The Bible doesn’t ignore the hard aspects of life, but shows us these are normal experiences of living in a broken world. The Bible also helps us to see there’s a bright way forward filled with hope and joy in the midst of that brokenness. Psalm 130 shows us where to go when we’re in the...

Local stories are stories of God's grace at work in the lives of those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete.  We want to highlight his activity and celebrate his grace.

A Spirit-empowered community is marked by the pursuit of love. Not a relativistic love, not a sentimentality but a self-giving love that tirelessly looks to encourage, comfort and build one another up. That’s why 1 Corinthians 14 instructs followers of Jesus to first pursue love and then eagerly desire “spiritual gifts”. This is about living with open hands and open hearts, with a readiness to rec...

The church is comprised of people from diverse backgrounds, all brought together by the Holy Spirit. How will we work together given our differing perspectives and unique abilities? In 1 Corinthians 12, we see that the Spirit gives each of us exactly what we need to play a unique and significant role in the body of Christ. 

Local stories are stories of God's grace at work in the lives of those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete.  We want to highlight his activity and celebrate his grace.

A lifestyle includes the habits, attitudes and standards of an individual or group of people. We all have one. It’s a whole way of life directed by convictions and motives, carried out in the decisions of everyday life. Jesus invites us into a new lifestyle, a whole way of life, with new patterns of behavior that reflect who we become in him. Galatians 5:16 instructs followers of Jesus to “walk by...

When someone is empowered they receive all the necessary resources to accomplish a given task. Jesus told his disciples to “wait for the gift my Father promised” – that they would receive the empowerment needed to be his witnesses. Fast forward to present day and imagine all the authority of heaven backing us up. Imagine the personal presence of God enabling us to hold high the truth of Jesus here...

In the midst of circumstances that were overwhelming and totally out of their control, they expressed dependency on God through prayer and were filled with the Spirit. Acts 4:23-31 is a window into the lives of the early church, showing us what it looks like to live under the influence of the Spirit. Showing us that a Spirit-empowered community is a praying community. What if prayer becomes our re...

When something dwells it takes up residence, it inhabits and shapes the environment in which it’s found. If we’re going to live under the influence of the Spirit then according to Colossians 3:16 we must allow the message about Jesus to dwell in us. But this isn’t only an individualistic call, it requires the church community, together practicing habits of expressed dependency. The result? Lives s...

Local Stories are stories of God's grace at work in the lives of those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete. We want to highlight His activity and celebrate His grace.

Maybe you’re brand new to Christianity and learning how to “walk” – how to live in light of who you’ve become. Maybe you’ve been following Jesus a long time but you’ve grown weary, a bit callous. Maybe you’re stagnant, lack motivation or feel you’ve plateaued. Convictions don’t run as deep, affections have diminished. Or maybe you’re pursuing maturity in Christ and pressing in like never before. R...

Have you ever been upset with God? So much so you wanted to run as far away from him as you could? Maybe that describes you right now. The book of Jonah is the dramatic story of an ancient prophet who is angry at what God is asking him to do. So caught up in his own ideas of what is fair and good, so afraid that God’s love will go “too far”– he runs. And in the most unexpected way imaginable, God...

Faced with betrayal and denial, Jesus calls his followers to love another. With less than 24 hours left to live, he holds up the defining mark; the distinguishing characteristic of those who follow him. It isn’t our buildings, programs or cultural engagement. It isn’t our eloquence, theological precision or ability to win an argument. According to John 13:34-35 people will know we belong Jesus by...

Has someone's kindness ever left you speechless? Their actions were too good to be true, or were so unconventional you couldn’t have seen them coming. In John 13, Jesus loves his disciples in a way that no one could have expected, and then he tells them to love just like he did. This is a love that shocks and inspires, and has the power to change us and the world around us.

We’re interested, but we have questions. We’re eager to know more. Can we see him? What would he require of us if we were to begin to follow him?” That’s the idea behind the request found in John 12:21 “we want to see Jesus.” It’s a request from a group of outsiders in every way. It’s also a signal that Jesus’ “hour” had finally come; what had required years of preparation and anticipation was her...

Have you ever watched someone express love or gratitude and think, “Come on now, this is over the top! Settle down, you’re taking it too far!” Maybe it got awkward, a bit embarrassing for those watching? John 12:1-19 begins with an act of extravagant devotion and ends with shouts of enthusiastic expectation. Both scenes are uncomfortable and controversial, but totally appropriate and exemplary. We...

It doesn’t get much more desperate or agonizing than seeing someone you love suffering with sickness, barely hanging onto life. Feelings of helplessness to do anything to change their situation colors everything. This is the scene we enter in John 11. Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus is dying, they’ve run out of options and turn in desperation to Jesus. In a wholly unexpected way and time, J...

It’s all too common for political and spiritual leaders to misuse their power, take advantage of others and operate out of selfishness and greed. This is the climate we live in and it was the climate of Jesus’ day as well. In John 10 the good shepherd is on the scene and when he lifts his voice it’s as controversial as it is comforting. When you hear “good shepherd” this imagery is rooted in proph...

He was an outcast, a beggar, blind from birth. His life one of total darkness and dependence on others for daily sustenance. People were used to seeing him near the temple, begging for money or food. And then one day he was gone, news spreading fast of his supposed healing. A man blind from birth receiving sight? How could this be? Who did this? How did it happen? What does it all mean? John 9 is...

True freedom is something every human longs for and seeks after. We celebrate political, intellectual and personal freedom in our culture but Jesus teaches we need to experience a deeper freedom still. John 8 describes what this freedom is from and where this freedom is found. Jesus’ words reveal humanity’s greatest need and push against the assumptions and traditions of those who believe they are...

Local Story's are stories of grace from the lives of those who go to Local Church St Pete. We want to highlight His activity and celebrate His grace.