Pea Ridge Audio Podcast

God has given us His Word so that we can know Him, and also so that we can faithfully follow Him. We are to use the Bible to counsel one another with His truth. As we give and receive biblical counsel, we grow stronger in our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

What's the difference between pretending to love someone and truly loving them? When we truly love someone, we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for them as Jesus sacrificed himself for us. As we pursue relationships with others, we must follow the example of the early church and give ourselves to efforts of fellowship, care, prayer and fun.

In the first message of this new series, we learn that abiding in Jesus means spending time with him and with other believers. As we are devoted to him individually and collectively, the power of God moving in and through us together is multiplied and His kingdom grows.

How can celebration be a habit? Isn’t it the spontaneous response of our heart to good news? If we consider times of celebration in our lives, most are tied to regularly scheduled events. This is rooted in God's instruction to ancient Israel, to celebrate His goodness through trusting in Him to provide. When we do the same, we can truly celebrate our loving Heavenly Father.

We are wired for worship. Our attention is easily given to people and things as we walk through life, but only God is truly worthy of our worship. Cultivating a life of worship means embracing the truth that we who believe are God's temple, and therefore we can worship Him everywhere we go and in all that we do.

We enter into a relationship with God through confession of sin and trust in the finished work of Christ. And, as we continue that relationship, when continue the practice of confessing our sins to the Lord to maintain a close fellowship with Him. The good news is, when we confess, he runs to meet us where we are and offer forgiveness.

Jesus taught that his followers are to TAKE last place and serve others. Submitting to and serving others is difficult because on some level, we all desire to be great in the eyes of the world. Embracing this discipline means embracing what is true greatness in the kingdom of God.

We were created for community, but growing in our faith also requires us to spend time alone with God. Jesus demonstrated this is his life as he interacted with others and then pulled away for times alone with his Father. As we follow his example, we will cultivate a deeper relationship with our Lord.

In our western culture, pursuing a life of simplicity is no small task. Stewarding our resources, time and energy for the glory of God is worth the effort. It doesn't happen through a list of rules, however. Instead, we must seek first the kingdom of God, and allow Him to reorient our lives according to His will.

Most of us equate the concept of study with the subjects we focused on in school. However, when we closely observe anything in our world, we are involved in study. As believers, we must focus our study on what God has given us ... His Word and His creation. In doing so, our lives will point to Him.

While fasting isn't mandated for the church today, it was practiced by the early church and was clearly valued as a way of implementing self denial in the pursuit of a closer relationship with God. Rather than assume God doesn't want us to fast, we should be open to this ancient spiritual discipline and allow Him to lead us into it as we seek Him.

The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." Our Savior responded with a model prayer, and walking through that prayer will guide us into developing a strong habit of engaging in conversation with God.

In the kingdom of God, meditation is focused on the Word of God. Rob Ely of Baptist Campus Ministries shares the why and how of meditating on the Word, and the importance of abiding in Christ.

Change begins when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change. As we focus on biblical people who sought the Lord for needed change in their lives and in their culture, we will draw inspiration from their choice to surrender to God.

With the launch of this series, we begin to rebuild. We begin to rebuild our faith, to rebuild our families and rebuild our church. It starts with the foundation of the Gospel, and that foundation is formed around the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

What does Jesus look like? Many have attempted to create renderings of his appearance, but there is no way for us to know for sure the nature of his physical appearance. What we do know is, even though we have never physically seen him, we believe. This is what it means to have faith.

As we finish our journey through Revelation, we seek to understand the message of "the time is near" in light of the reality that it's been almost 2,000 years since that message was given. Regardless of how long it will be until Jesus comes again, we find ourselves calling out with John, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

John is given a vision of a new heaven, a new earth and new Jerusalem. This city is so much more than just a new place ... it is created as the perfect environment for believers to have a perfect relationship with God the Father, and perfect relationships with others who have followed Him in faith. His work has already begun, however. We who believe are new creations through a relationship with Ch...

One day every human being will stand before the throne of God as we are judged. Only those who have their names written in the book of life will be granted an eternity with God forever, while those whose names are not in that book will be cast into a place of torment. Faith in Christ and in him alone will determine if your name is in that book.

Is Jesus the Lamb of God who humbled himself to become human and took our sin as he submitted to the death of the cross? Or is the he the conquering king who judges the enemies of God and rules with a rod of iron? He is both.

The system of this world is corrupt, and we can easily see this through history, current circumstances and John's vision of the future "Babylon." It will collapse, and followers of Jesus must remember this so we don't get drawn into the corruption. For us to carry the light of God to a lost world, we must come out from its system and follow the way of Jesus.

The system of this world desires to seduce, influence and control people. But we who follow Jesus are called, chosen and faithful, and this means we must flee from evil and pursue Christ.

The framework for God's wrath is made up of His attributes of truth and justice. As we consider the wrath of God seen in these chapters of Revelation, we must also look toward the cross, where His wrath was poured out upon His Son so that people could experience His forgiveness.

The song written in Revelation 15:3-4 is referred to as "the song of Moses ... and the song of the Lamb." It is sung by those who have participated in the victory over the enemy, and this gives us a needed reminder of God's power, as well a hope that comes from knowing He will overcome evil.

As John continues to see a vision of the last days, he is given a vivid picture of the contrast between those who follow Jesus and those who reject him. While it's difficult for us to read the judgment of God upon those who reject him, we must also remember that while there is a day coming when Jesus will judge, he came first to save, and he is still saving people today!