Local Church St. Pete Podcast

Have you ever been given a task, a stewardship that reframed everything in your life? Maybe it was becoming a husband or wife, maybe it was becoming a parent, maybe it was a time when you were entrusted to lead others. For Paul, it was when God called him to minister and help steward His church. This call to minister, to selflessly serve for the benefit of others, reframed everything in his life:...

Ever watch a potter center a lump of clay on the potter’s wheel? It’s crucial for the clay to be centered, or the entire vessel will be lopsided or even worst fall apart. In one of the most beautiful poems written about Jesus, Colossians 1:15-23 has a centering effect on all who read it. 

Hope has been the theme of political campaigns, the driving force behind revolutions and a lifeline in the midst of difficulty and pain. Hope always has an object or person it rests in, a future it anticipates. Colossians reminds us that hope in the good news of Jesus isn’t a wishful thinking or an “I hope this all works out” attitude. It’s the soil everything we need grows out of. 

What do you do when an egomaniac who dresses like a rock star is so threatened by the message about Jesus he kills one of your leaders and imprisons another? Filled with tragedy and triumph, irony and humor, Acts 12 shows us what the First Followers of Jesus did when a political leader turned violent against them. It also shows us who’s really in control when everything seems out of control.

Have you ever faced something so difficult, so heartbreaking it’s caused you to question God’s goodness, presence and love? We’ve all faced things that have kept us up at night, things that have sent us spiraling. Psalm 77 is a song written in response to intense heartache and loss. Just about every question you could throw at God is brought up. But the psalm doesn’t stop there. The honesty is ref...

A politically explosive, racially divided, cultural center. Antioch was a city of wealth, power and popularity, known for its immorality and polytheism. This is where a group of unnamed men brought the good news of Jesus. What formed is something beautiful - a community that pushed against racial divide, cultural norms, hatred, idolatry and division with the love and grace of Jesus.

Acts 10 gives us a front row seat to a huge moment in church history, a time when God makes clear that any ethnic, cultural or geographical divide previously set up has been torn down in Christ. Peter is given an unexpected opportunity to speak of Jesus to a man who is in every way on the “outside looking in” divided by ethnicity and culture. What preconceived bias does God crush in Peter’s heart?...

Have you ever thought you were heading in the right direction in life only to later discover you were completely off course? Maybe a friend or family member intervened – asked a question, called you out, somehow got your attention. Sometimes the most loving thing a person can do is get in our way. But what happens when the person who gets in our way is Jesus?

Each of us have been shaped and powerfully influenced by people and circumstances. Those influences are expressed in all kinds of ways. What kind of influence is God’s grace through Jesus meant to have on our day to day lives? And how do we keep ourselves under its influence? 

“Do you understand what you’re reading?” That’s the question Philip (a follower of Jesus) asked a wealthy foreign dignitary on a dusty desert road. Maybe you’ve tried to read the Bible and it just doesn’t make sense to you. Maybe you’ve found in it something incredibly appealing but you’re still trying to grasp what it means for your life. This is the story of God meeting us right where we are – q...

Prejudice, animosity, deep suspicion and hostility. Add to that a city under the power of an egomaniac sorcerer. That is what Philip (a follower of Jesus) walked into when he arrived in Samaria. Obstacles like this would be intimidating to anyone. Where would you begin? What would you say?

What did it look like for Jesus’ First Followers to care for the poor in their midst, stand up under the weight of false accusation and faithfully tell the story of Jesus? We’ll learn from the life and death of a man named Stephen found in Acts 6 & 7 who left an unforgettable impression and whose story invites us to do the same. 

Hypocrisy from within the community of Jesus’ followers threatened to undermine everything they were about while opposition outside the community wanted to silence them. It was a mess! God answered this hypocrisy and opposition in a shocking way reminding us he’s not ours to control but he is ours to trust.

Understanding who we are, having a clear grasp of our identity, impacts how we live. Followers of Jesus throughout history have discovered they have a “double identity” – they are called out and sent in . But called out of what? And sent in where? The answer to those questions shape Local Church St. Pete in every way. 

Imagine if every professing follower of Jesus had a genuine faith. A faith that yearns for and trusts God's leading. A faith that responds to the brokenness in the world with compassion and generosity. A faith that doesn't quit but perseveres and fights when things get tough. A faith that knows following Jesus will cost everything but Jesus is better than everything we have. What would t...

Jesus’ First Followers responded to persecution and threats with prayer. They didn’t ask for personal safety or even for the threats to stop. They asked for something better. What could be better than safety? What could be more important than personal comfort? 

Have you ever been told by someone, “Just mention my name…tell them I sent you, and they’ll take care of you.” ? Once you mentioned the person’s name everything was different. Acts 3-4 shows us what it looked like for Jesus’ First Followers to teach and minister in his name. It meant hope and joy for many but was a threat to anyone clinging to their own authority and power. Come explore what “in t...

How would you describe the church ? What should matter most to a community of people who claim allegiance to Jesus? Acts 2:42-47 presents a stunning portrait of the early church; a window into the daily lives of Jesus’ First Followers. What were they devoted to? It’s a portrait that impacts Local Church St. Pete and the things we’re devoted to.

The time has finally come! Jesus pours out his Spirit on his disciples and the place erupts with noise! Something like wind and fire fills the room where they were waiting. A crowd gathers quickly because each one hears the disciples speaking in their own native tongue. Some think the followers of Jesus are drunk while others ask “What does this all mean”? Never before had the climate of expectati...