Mercy Commons Podcast

God’s Word is alive and active, offering a direct encounter with His character and will. Solitude allows us to experience God's presence by silencing distractions and attuning our hearts to Him. When we immerse ourselves in Scripture, we meet the God who speaks and transforms, and as we quieten our souls His Word speaks louder.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom...

Ruth, once a destitute immigrant in a foreign land, rose above the traps of her circumstances—choosing selflessness over selfishness, faithfulness over fatalism, and flexibility over stubbornness. By God’s grace, she was redeemed and grafted into the family line of Jesus, becoming His great-grandmother. Her story reminds us to shift our focus from what disqualifies us to the One who qualifies us—o...

The uncovering, covering grace restores us to God and this grace is embodied in Jesus Christ who was the punished Son and the promised Son, and is now the present Son.

Advent invites us to prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ birth and His promised return, reminding us that His coming is God’s ultimate breakthrough, redeeming and restoring even the darkest places in our lives. Through Tamar’s messy yet redemptive story, we see how God’s grace works unexpectedly to bring hope and transformation, pointing us to Jesus, the light that overcomes all darkn...

God’s plan of redemption unfolds beautifully, tracing the journey from Eve’s brokenness to Mary’s hope, and highlighting Sarah’s transformation from doubt to steadfast faith in God’s promises. Through His grace, God works through flawed individuals to accomplish His purposes, inspiring faith and perseverance in His redemptive work.

The conclusion of the Colossians series calls us to actively pray for others, restore broken relationships, and faithfully pursue the ministry God has entrusted to us. It urges us to follow Jesus’ example of sacrificial love and grace, building up the body of Christ through encouragement and action.

We are to embody Christ’s love and humility in all relationships, creating “tremors” through our small, faithful actions that point others to Jesus. Each act of selflessness in marriage, family, and work reveals God’s promises and gently shifts the world toward His Kingdom.

Followers of Jesus are encouraged to embody compassion, kindness, humility, and patience in a polarized world, especially amid political and social tensions. By focusing on our identity as chosen, holy, and beloved by God, we can foster unity and dismantle a culture of contempt through Christ-like qualities, love, and forgiveness.

Paul starts to get practical in Chapter 3, reminding the Colossian church that their new life in Christ should result in a new lifestyle. But, these imperatives must be grounded in the gospel! These indicators are more like a "uniform" (worn in order to represent something) as opposed to a "dress code" (worn in order to secure access).

After losing his four daughters in a tragic shipwreck, Horatio Spafford penned "It Is Well With My Soul," demonstrating deep trust in Jesus despite immense sorrow. His faith, along with Habakkuk’s call to trust in God’s eternal sovereignty, urges believers to anchor their hope in God’s unchanging promises through life’s greatest trials.

In Colossians 2:15-17, Paul reminds believers that the rituals and laws related to food, festivals, and the Sabbath were simply a shadow of the things to come, with Christ as the true fulfillment. He emphasizes that focusing on these external rules can distract from the greater reality found in Jesus. Through His death and resurrection, Christ has accomplished what these practices pointed to, invi...

This week Nick looks at how believer's baptism has replaced circumcision, and the depth of what that physical act represents in terms of the spiritual significance of having been buried with Jesus. Our debt of sin has been paid. Our enemies have been disarmed and triumphed over in the cross. We've been set free from the power and penalty of sin, and experience resurrection life now through the gif...

Colossians 2:1-10 emphasizes Christ’s supremacy over deceptive philosophies and human traditions that oppose His truth. Paul urges believers to stay rooted in Christ, growing in faith and unity, so they are not led astray by plausible but misleading arguments. In Christ, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found, offering believers true fullness and protection from worldly deception.

God's purpose extends beyond simply saving and guiding His people; He desires to dwell with them, as symbolized by the fire cloud that led Israel. The tabernacle in Exodus and Jesus' role as the ultimate dwelling of God's presence among us, encourages believers to not merely stand at a distance but to actively welcome and experience God's indwelling presence in their lives.

The greatness of Christ's sacrifice illustrates how the value of a gift is magnified by the recipient's unworthiness. It connects this idea to the church, emphasizing that because Jesus is supremely worthy, the church is worth serving and sacrificing for. Paul’s teachings in Colossians emphasize: joyful suffering, the mystery of Christ in us, and the importance of spiritual maturity. Churc...

This week we kick off a new series out of Paul's letter to the Colossian church. Paul's opening prayer for them is underpinned by the supremacy of Jesus!

The parables of the fig tree and the watchful servants emphasize the importance of being prepared for Jesus' return, even though the exact time remains unknown. As Christians, we are called to long for justice and be active in sharing the gospel, knowing that while the exact timing of His return is a mystery, our readiness should not be. The return of Christ is not just an event to anticipate...

This parable is used to illustrate the disparity between the mercy God shows us and the mercy we often withhold from others. True forgiveness comes from the heart and is a reflection of the grace we have received from God. Withholding forgiveness traps us in a prison of bitterness while forgiving others releases us from this emotional and spiritual bondage. Forgiveness is only possible when we rem...

In this parable, God is the owner of the vineyard and like the tenants, there is a danger of taking God's kindness for granted and not acknowledging His sovereignty. Life is difficult and we can't easily forget how good God has been to us. We don't embrace His lordship when we overemphasize Jesus' saving and loving characteristics and forget or ignore that He is Lord and King. God&...

Many of us know that the kingdom of God grows in ways we often don't understand. God's power, patience, and the smallest acts of faithfulness lead to the massive growth of His kingdom.

As believers, we all know the importance of letting our light shine. In this Parable, we'll explore Mark 4:21-25, discussing how openly sharing our faith can profoundly impact lives and communities while allowing Jesus' truth to illuminate our own lives.

We’re all familiar with the Parable of the Sower, but perhaps there is more that lies beneath the surface. Dig into Mark’s masterful telling of the story within the greater story of Jesus, the Son of God.

Just as the pharisees mistakingly misattributed the work of God to the work of Satan, we too can sometimes get our lines crossed. Our error could spring from a total lack of faith in who God is, or just a subtle misconception and misunderstanding of His heart for us. Jesus confronts the pharisees about their particular lack of faith using a story about a divided kingdom, a household and a strongma...