Neighborhood Church Podcast

At some point in your faith journey, you will settle into a bargaining posture with God. “God, if you will... , I promise I'll... .” We all do it. That’s just part of religion — every religion. In fact, it’s so much a part of human nature that even some atheists and agnostics do it when they find themselves in desperate circumstances. But is that really how God wants us to relate to him? The probl...

Guilt is powerful. Shame can be crippling. We all have things in our pasts that haunt us. We have sin. It only takes a word, a picture, or a name to bring it all back. We know we can do better from this point forward, but how are we supposed to fix the past? We can say we’re sorry. We can ask for forgiveness. But some of the things we've done hang over our lives like a cloud. What can wash away ou...

Practically speaking, rules are often the centerpiece of religious life. Many people think the Ten Commandments are rules that make a relationship with God possible. If you follow the rules, God will be happy. If you don’t, he won’t. But what if a relationship with God doesn't depend on our obedience? When it comes to your relationship with God, what is the role of rules?

To only know God as a Father would be like only knowing daytime but never night — to see the sunrise, but never the sunset. In this message, Forrest Jenan looks at how Scripture tells the story of a God who, at times, takes on motherly characteristics; feeding us, nourishing us, giving us what we need to grow and thrive, taking care of us in big and small ways, knitting us back together with love...

The three largest faith traditions — Judaism, Islam, and Christianity —claim the same starting point: a man named Abraham. All three agree that sin made a mess of the world and God started his clean up operation with Abraham. God made a series of promises and Abraham’s response to those promises didn't just have implications for his personal starting point or the starting points of Judaism, Islam,...

Everything that exists had a starting point . . . including you. You may have started on purpose. You may have started by accident (from your parent’s perspective). You may even have started through the magic of medical science. Whatever the circumstances, you had a starting point and it began before you were aware of it. Physical life is one of many starting points. Your formal education had a st...

We’ve all been picked on for something we had no control over. It’s dehumanizing. In all likelihood, you’ve also picked on others. It’s such a strange thing. It’s such a human thing. The easiest way to feel superior is to find a person or group we feel is inferior and power up. And we’ve probably all been guilty of that outwardly or inwardly. One of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to cha...

If there is a God, we all want to know what he’s like. We’re curious. Our tendency is to look in nature, outer space, or within ourselves to find clues about him. But that only provides us with an incomplete picture. Jesus made a radical claim. He said if you want to know about God, look no further than him. If you’ve seen the Son, you’ve seen the Father.

If you think about it, one of the craziest things we believe as Christians is that the God who made the world became one of us. Two thousand years ago, a man named John who hung out with Jesus wrestled with same question. And he was an eyewitness of everything Jesus said and did. Why in the world would God do that?

The stigma attached to singleness isn't a new phenomenon. It has been around a long time. It turns out Jesus had important things to say about being single.

Are the Bible's teachings about women relevant? In this message, Steve Harms explains that Jesus' teachings about honoring women were extremely counter-cultural in the first century. They remain so today. So Christian men especially need to transform their thinking. And there are two simple steps to start with. *Please note, this message is not appropriate for all ages. Parental guidance is sugges...

Culture convinces us - and sometimes we convince ourselves - that sex is only physical. But if that is true, why is the pain of sexual sin so deep? Because sex is not just physical. It was designed by God to be so much more. In this message, Forrest Jenan addresses common myths about sex outside of marriage and has two specific challenges going forward. *Please note, this message is not appropriat...

"When I meet the right person, everything will be all right." This way of thinking creates trouble in our dating lives and sets us up for trouble in marriage. In this message, Steve Harms challenges us to ask ourselves: "Am I the person the person I'm looking for is looking for?" And he previews God's list of behaviors that will lead to success in dating and marriage.

At some point in our attempts to get the most out of life, we lose control of our lives. We try to force one more thing in to our already busy lives and we reach a breaking point. Too much pressure causes an emotional breakdown. Too much debt causes a financial breakdown. Or maybe you're on the verge of a breakdown in your relationships. What do you do when your worklife is so full you don't have...

We live in a culture that continually tells us to pursue a higher standard of living in order to improve our quality of life. But "standard of living" and "quality of life" aren't the same thing. One has to do with the stuff we accumulate. The other is about the peace we experience regardless of our circumstances. What if your pursuit of a standard of living is undermining your quality of life?

We're all busy. Our schedules are packed with career, family, friends, church, and other responsibilities. Sometimes our days are so full that we don't enjoy anything because we're trying to do everything. Our relationship with God and with others benefits when we create breathing room in our schedules. But where do we start?

Our lives are busy and fast-paced. The lack of margin increases our stress and shortens our tempers. It can distract us from the most important things in our lives . . . and our relationships suffer. It can even affect our relationship with God because there's a connection between our willingness to create margin and our faith. Life is better with breathing room.