Local Church St. Pete Podcast

If we’re honest, sometimes prayer feels like a burden. It can feel awkward. We question if it is worth it, or if it accomplishes anything. Luke 11 meets us in our weakness and doubt, and paints a picture in which prayer is not a burden, but rather an invitation into the heart of God.

Where does your inspiration to press forward in faith and obedience to God come from? When the odds are stacked against you, when hope seems lost, when you have no idea how God will make a way? It’s against the dark backdrop of Genesis chapters 3-11, that God chooses one man to leave what he knows behind and to hold onto divine promises. This is God’s answer to the brokenness of humanity. A totall...

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 search for significance, safety and control has been happening from the very beginning of humanity. Genesis 11 tells the ancient story of humanity’s united defiance and failed attempt at finding those things apart from God. It’s a modern dilemma still. Aren’t we supposed to take control of our own destiny, do what feels right and push against every boundary that threatens our personal comfort?...

Knowing someone is totally committed to your well-being is extremely comforting. In Genesis 8 Noah and family are found hidden, floating and waiting. They must be wondering “God, what’s next? How will this all play out? It’s been a long time, have you forgotten us?” There, in the darkest hour of human history, God’s commitment makes a way for a new beginning. What does a bird with a leaf in her mo...

We read the headlines and don’t know what to do with them. Our stomachs turn as we recall the unthinkable cruelty, violence and injustice humans have committed against each other in the last century alone. The story of Noah begins with a flood of human corruption and violence. It’s so pervasive and deep that all of humanity is caught up in it. And it breaks God’s heart. How does the broken-hearted...

Life outside the Garden of Eden unravels quickly. We find Adam and Eve’s son lying lifeless, the victim of his brother’s rage. How did we get there? How did we get from the perfection of the garden to the devastation of the grave? In the emotional story of Cain and Abel, we see just how destructive sin has become, and how God’s grace offers hope.

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. 

Alienation, guilt and death. Everyone has experienced these things. We all know this world is broken. It’s one of our common experiences as humans. But how did things become so broken? Christianity answers that question with an ancient story – the historic, poetic and unforgettable tragedy of Genesis 3.

We all have questions about the meaning of life, our purpose and existence in the universe, who God is, what God is like and what it means for our lives today. The opening chapters of the book of Genesis begin to answer those questions by setting the stage for the entire storyline of the Bible. Here we come face to face with the artistic genius of our Creator and the divine value and purpose he’s...

Everyone is deeply influenced. Sometimes we know it, other times we don’t, but it always comes out in the decisions we make and the lifestyles we choose. Ephesians 5 instructs us to be filled with the Spirit; to come under the influence of God’s presence and power and form habits of expressed dependency on the Spirit that will strengthen and shape us.

At the start of 2022, it’s important for us to hit the pause button and ask a very important question: what is this about? What are we doing here? Why does Local Church St. Pete exist? Simply put, we are disciples who make disciples; followers of Jesus inviting others to follow him. Let’s lift the veil of mystery over what it means to be disciples who make disciples. Let’s reject perfectionism and...

A new year is upon us. How will we follow what God wants for us in 2022? Whatever resolutions we may have drafted, our greatest resolve is to be a community that knows and does God’s will together. For this to happen, we must stay in step with the Holy Spirit, and we must stay together.

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 end of the year is a time of reassessment. Often times we discover things we should be paying attention to have been neglected or ignored. No one is exempt from falling prey to that slow drift away from what is most important as a follower of Jesus. Distractions, temptations, indifference, the busyness of life, heartache and pain. Add to that the many voices coming at us from every angle. This...

In the middle of everyday life, to a young girl planning her wedding. In the middle of heartache and pain, to a man who found his wife-to-be is pregnant. In the middle of the night, to a group considered outcasts of society. A divine announcement came, “Don’t be afraid, you can put your fears to rest now, God’s promises have come true at last!” This is the story of Christmas; this is the announcem...

At Christmas, it seems that love is in the air. It’s a time of gift-giving, mistletoe, and predictable romances on the Hallmark channel. And yet, with all this focus on love, we can still lose sight of its real meaning. In Isaiah 55, God’s love is on display, and it is compared to a feast or a party, and the invitations have been sent out far and wide. The real question is, will you and I partake?...

When was the last time you heard something that brought great joy? The kind of joy that produced a physical response (shouting, dancing, clapping)? The kind that caused you to share the news with everyone around you? That’s the joy Isaiah invites us into. It involves feelings and emotions but isn’t controlled by our circumstances. Instead it’s rooted in the promise that our greatest obstacles have...

We all long to experience peace. Something to not only quiet the noise and calm our thoughts – but to go beyond that. To make right what we know is wrong, to restore what we know is broken. The prophet Isaiah saw a day when broken things would be made whole and wrongs would be made right, a day when true peace would be available for everyone. With poetic imagery Isaiah describes the arrival of a p...

Maybe you’ve been living without hope or struggling to find it in the midst of the relentless pain and brokenness of life. Biblical Hope isn’t a subjective, feelings driven expression or desire. It isn’t wishful thinking or speculation. It describes the assurance of rest in the midst of chaos, rescue out of darkness and restoration no matter the brokenness. Hope is a word of promise, rooted in the...

Have the claims of Christianity ever seemed unbelievable to you? Have you ever had the cloud of uncertainty and skepticism hang over you leading you to doubt your faith? Are you currently walking through the desert of cynicism and uncertainty? In John 20:24-31 we see that Jesus isn’t intimidated by our questions and doubts. He is willing to meet us right in the midst of them and walk with us throu...

How do you face difficulties and troubles? How do you cope with the dramatic ups and downs of life? Where will you find the strength to face whatever is coming next? Popular culture and modern philosophy says, “Look within! All you have to do is look within yourself!” Self-sufficiency, self-reliance and autonomy is the air we breathe. Philippians 4:10-23 tells us the secret of contentment is found...

Anxiety affects us all. Whether we are currently wrestling with it, or we love someone who is, what do we do when anxiety attacks? In Philippians 4, we have parting words from Paul which give us tremendous hope that we can maintain sanity of mind, and even rejoice, when we wrestle with anxiety. It is not enough to just “will” it away, and positive thinking or Christian platitudes will only get us...

We live in highly volatile times. From politics, to COVID, to race reconciliation, people are fired up and taking sides. These are important issues but what happens when followers of Jesus disagree on the way forward on these or any other issue? Philippians 4:1-3 is an inside look on how the truth about Jesus is to be walked out (imitated) in the midst of conflict and disagreement. How should ever...

In Philippians 3:17-21 the apostle Paul lays out two patterns. One pattern he invites us to imitate and to walk in, the other we’re to grieve over and avoid. Learning to walk (live) as followers of Jesus involves imitating others. What we quickly discover when we imitate others is that we are called to set an example ourselves - to model what it means to walk in the way of Jesus for someone else.