Mercy Commons Podcast

How we view and handle money is a powerful means of testifying to the truth of the gospel. It should set us apart in a unique way from those around us who do not believe.

Proverbs 3:1-8 // As we lean on God and trust in Him to make our path straight, we grow in our ability to make wise decisions.

Proverbs 12:26 // A wise friendship is a space where you are known, loved, and challenged to remind you who you are and how to live.

Proverbs 8:1-14, Proverbs 9:13-18 // Wisdom is knowledge correctly applied, through intimate relationship with the Spirit, for a flourishing life lived for the glory of God.

Proverbs 1:1-9 // Our pursuit of wisdom isn’t the pursuit of a concept. It is truly the pursuit of a Person – of a relationship with Jesus, the One who is wise.

Matthew 4:18-23, Matthew 5:13-16 // The greatest thing that will help us to be resilient disciples of Jesus is to understand that we are here for a purpose. We are the salt of the earth, we are the light of the world, and we are called to be fishers of men. God, where in my life am I able to include people in what I already do so that I can be salt and light to them? And then maybe I will also be...

Ephesians 1:3-7, Galatians 4:4-7 // We are adopted by God, our Heavenly Father because of what the Son has done. And it is the Spirit inside us that enables us to cry, "Abba Father." None of this we can do on our own, but there are some things that we can do that will kind of activate that deposit. One of the ways that we can respond is to forgive. Maybe we need to forgive our earthly fathers. One...

Philippians 4:1-9 // We choose joy through pursuit, prayer, and praise. Prayer is us choosing to enter the garrison where Jesus is present and where I know that the peace of God comes by going to God. There are always things happening in our lives that will try to steal our joy. Joy is an emotion that is comfortable being in the presence of other emotions. And just because we are fearful or just b...

Ephesians 4:1-6 // Community builds resilience through shared experiences, shared resources, and shared convictions.

Mark 6:30–38 // The goal of both self-care and self-denial is that others would taste and see that the Lord is good and they can only taste and see that the Lord is good if we are living in a way that shows people the Lord is good. Only Jesus has the capacity, ability, and desire to care for you the way you deserve to be cared for because only Jesus died and rose again for you.

Ephesians 4:1-16 // Christians come together, not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe Him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus Himself, they commit themselves to doing what He says—and He commands them to love one another. In this light, they are a band...

Revelation 21:2-4 // Heaven. Our true home. Why is a view of heaven important for our lives on earth? What is absent from heaven? What will we experience in heaven?

Hebrews 4:15 // True resilience is a beautiful and it's a wonderful characteristic. It's something that God himself will shape in us as we continue to turn to Him little by little as best we can. Learn to abide in Christ, to connect to Him. Jesus is the source of our resilience. He is our strength. He is the one who gives us a different reality to stand on. When we do that, we find that the resili...

1 Peter 4:12-13, James 1:2-5 // Only a re-imagining of suffering can lead to rejoicing, and only an understanding that something precious is being shaped in me can give me a sense of Spirit-empowered resilience. I can have a sense of joy in the context of suffering because there is a deeper intimacy that I experience with Jesus when I've gone through a time of suffering.

2 Samuel 6:6-12 // We can learn from the life of David that failure can build resilience, but sin builds hardness. When David was faced with the crippling consequences of his sin, he chose to repent and turn to God. Our failures can help build resiliency because we learn more about ourselves, we grow from our mistakes, and learn to ask for help from God and our community of fellow believers.

John 15:1-20 // Resilience is not the sweet fruit from trauma’s tree. It is abiding in Jesus, connection to others, and purpose (fruitfulness). Adversity is inevitable as a follower of Jesus Christ. Life with Jesus is not about what we do, but about how we respond to what Christ's Spirit is doing in us. Being held by God, abiding in Jesus, and being connected to His body (the Church), gives us ete...

Luke 24:1–12 // The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was the hinge point in history! We are not saved because we follow His teaching, we are saved because He rose from the dead — He is alive! He doesn’t just live — Christ lives in me! What does that mean for our lives? To be a Christian is someone whose life is transformed, who is able to give and receive comfort, and who has an eternal hope and a cur...

Matthew 20:29-21:11 // Jesus came to earth in unexpected ways. He came in humility - not pompous. He didn't come to conquer Rome (worldly enemies) – He came to conquer the curse and bondage of sin and death. When the King comes into our lives, we are tempted to tell Him what we need. But, He actually tells us what we need – we need Him.

Galatians 5:24-6:5 // How can we love others the way that God has called us? This scandalous love can only come by keeping in step with God's Spirit. When we abide in the love of God and walk in the Spirit, it becomes natural for us to love and to also automatically obey the calling of God. We will not do this perfectly, but over time we will see growth and progress. Keeping in step with the Spiri...

Galatians 5:16-26 // We are in a daily battle between warring desires – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit. How does God want us to live? We can not just muster up the strength not to give into the flesh. God has called us to walk by the Spirit. In doing so, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Faith the size of a mustard seed is part of what we bring to this battle an...

Galatians 5:1-12 // What you see in this letter is Paul, over and over hitting the same thing from multiple angles. He's desperate for the Galatian believers to get what's at stake – the scandalous freedom that we have in Christ and what it means for living a life worth living and throwing off the weights, of sin, the law, and what you yourself and what other people will try to put on you to prove...

Galatians 4:21-31 // Don't rely on the law for your standing with God. We are under a new covenant paid for by the blood of Jesus. Our faith is not in our works, but in the promise of God to adopt all who trust in Him.

Galatians 4:8-20 // Speaking truth to our brothers and sisters in Christ is not optional. Galatians is a letter by Paul addressing the members of this church who are being led astray by a false gospel. This can and does still happens to this day. As humans, we want affirmation not truth. It is not always easy to hear the truth or to speak the truth. Yet, it is our responsibility to stand up for th...

Galatians 3:24-4:7 // Before Christ came we were under guardianship of the law. Now in Christ, all who believe are sons of God, through faith. We are one in Christ, but not the same. With guardianship and separation over – adoption gives us a new family and Father. The purpose of absolution is adoption. God has grafted us into His family.

Galatians 3:15-23 // "But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." The promise is not a wage. It was the gospel given to us in the Old Testament. Why did God give us the law? It restrains sin, it provokes sin, it reveals sin and it leads us to God's grace. As Jesus spoke, "Do not think that I have come to abol...