Local Church St. Pete Podcast

Cedric Lauchner is the Lead Pastor of Dream Church, a church in Jacksonville, FL. We partner with Dream Church through friendship, prayer and more. Today we heard an update on Dream Church and Cedric shared a message with us on the assurance of hope we can have in Jesus.

Entrapment, injustice and corruption-all from religious leaders who are supposed to be modeling what it means to walk in the light. They bring to Jesus a woman, caught in an act that could end her life. They want to trap Jesus; get him to say or do something that will prove he’s a phony. It’s in the heaviness of this spiritual darkness that Jesus turns the lights on, exposing and comforting, decla...

It isn’t about an event with lights and loud music. It isn’t simply a Ted Talk either. It isn’t meant to be an optional add on to our lives and yet so often church is viewed that way–again, more like an event than a family. What is the church? Why do we gather? Ephesians 3 unveils a mystery that had been hidden for ages but has now been made known. This mystery revealed instills in us a breathtaki...

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.

What do you do when the foundations of your faith in God's goodness are shaking? Where can you go when you have serious doubts that God's way is best? In times of disillusionment, Psalm 73 is a gracious reminder that things are not as they seem, and living for God is worth it.

The tide is turning. Our culture is changing. Public opinion about Jesus and those who follow him is perhaps at an all-time low. And yet, in the midst of rising opposition, Jesus remains the source of life and the answer we are all looking for. He offers himself freely and fully. For those who are weary of this world, Jesus refreshes and renews.

There’s a deep hunger inside of every human that cannot be met with temporal, physical things. Even though we know this is true, we find ourselves endlessly preoccupied with what we have, what we become or what we accomplish. In John 6:25-71 Jesus compares these cheap substitutes with the real thing; food that spoils with food that satisfies. He does this with a metaphor that is totally offensive...

Have you ever faced a situation where you were totally overwhelmed, you had no idea what to do; it was all too much? Have you ever felt completely out of control and paralyzed by fear because of what stood against you? John 6:1-24 is the story of provision in the midst of inadequacy and panic, deliverance in the midst of fear. It’s what happens when we bring all that we have and all that we are to...

Jesus made some incredibly bold claims about himself. They were threatening and offensive to some; life-giving and beautiful to others. The same is true today. What did Jesus say about himself? And what witnesses did he provide to back it all up? John 5:16-47 is the first-hand testimony of Jesus. No one is left guessing what he believed about himself, but all of us are left to evaluate what we bel...

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.

What does it mean to be a Christian? How does being a Christian transform destructive and broken patterns of life? How does it empower a new way of being and behaving? In Colossians 3:1-17 we’re going to learn about a unity with Jesus that brings a whole new identity and power with it. An Identity that empowers us to become who we were made to be.

When you take someone at their word you’re making a decision (then and there) to trust they will come through on what they’ve said. This is the essence of faith in Jesus. But what does it look like to takeJesus at his word? To live our lives on the basis that his word is true? In John 4-5 we meet two men in the midst of deep anguish and desperation, fear and hopelessness. Jesus does for them what...

Maybe the trauma of your past haunts you. Maybe thoughts of your future depress you. Maybe the reality of your present experience feels empty. Nothing feels certain, no one feels safe. John 4 is the story ofJesus encountering someone in that very place-a woman who is the recipient of cultural prejudice, relational shame and religious frustration. Jesus offers her a drink of living water; something...

A conversation with Jesus that gets to the heart of it all. That’s what John 3:1-21 is.  An incredibly popular religious figure sits down with Jesus late into the night bringing his assumptions and his questions with him. Jesus patiently explains what he (and what we) need most–to be born again. It’s something only the Spirit of God can do in us and something only the love of God makes possible. W...

What does a wedding banquet filled with joy and celebration (that suddenly runs out of wine) and a temple filled with people buying and selling have to do with a clear understanding of Jesus? Two scenes challenging us to let go of empty tradition and misplaced devotion. Two scenes showing us Jesus came to fill what is empty and replace what is broken. Two scenes inviting us into something new, som...

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. 

When we see Jesus for who He really is, we stand at a crossroads. Will we follow Him? If we do, what might that mean for our life? Just like the first followers of Jesus, we soon discover that Jesus changes our life, and we will never be the same.

Have you ever tried to describe something so beautiful but your words fall short? Something so shocking and unexpected, your words don’t do it justice? You keep trying to find words that express the magnitude of what you’ve seen and how you feel because you want others to experience it too. That’s what we imagine the Apostle John doing as he sets out to describe the most amazing event in history:...

Just as you might imagine, the story of followers of Jesus finding his tomb empty is filled with a range of emotions. Anxiety, fear, sadness and doubt. Joy, wonder, hope and faith. Regardless of feelings, no matter where we are in coming to terms with it, the resurrection of Jesus is central. It defines a movement, fulfills a promise and opens the way for true peace to be found.

It’s important to slow down and allow what Jesus did for us to sink in. Jesus was falsely accused, the victim of injustice, mocked and treated less than human. Why did he willingly give up his life? What does an archaic method of execution, and all the drama surrounding it, have to do with his rescue plan?

Everyone experiences conflict. We all wrestle with unforgiveness and resentment. When all we want to do is retaliate, get even or write someone off, Jesus teaches us that a lifestyle of peacemaking is filled with promise and power. An identity defined and life shaped by peacemaking; that is what we’re invited into.

Have you ever wanted to step out with faith and courage but fear was paralyzing you? Matthew 14:22-33 is a story of faith when afraid; trust in the face of terror. It invites us, in the midst of fear and doubt, to rest in Jesus’ presence and power. In many ways this story has become a picture of the Christian life.

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. 

The story of Jonah reminds us that God’s goal is redemption (of people, cities and nations) and he uses messed up people to bring the message of his love to others. What could God do through us here in St. Pete?

Faith involves saying ‘no’ at times, drawing lines, standing against what you know isn’t right-and doing so no matter the consequences. Daniel 3 is the ancient story of a quiet resistance that quickly became a public spectacle. It remains a powerful example to us today of faith that requires resistance.