Real Life Church Podcast

When we read the stories of the Bible from the comfort of our modern homes and conveniences it's easy to forget that life for those we're reading about was difficult. Often they faced death as a daily part of life but even more so for early believers who's lives were so transformed that that their friends and family wanted them dead, not just quiet. But that's the nature of the Gospel message; it'...

Paul preached in Thessaloniki for not more than 21 days yet the people were so transformed by the work of God over those 21 days that their lives were forever changed. They allowed faith to work in them and then through them, laboring from a place of love for others and held onto the hope of Jesus' return despite difficult persecution. 21 days and everything changed for them - what about us?

We've look at how Jesus challenged the Jewish understanding of culture, gender-roles, the future and nationalism and now we'll see Jesus begin to shift the understanding of family. In a patriarchal society where family was HUGE (consider how most names in the bible are so and so begat so and so) Jesus says your church family is ALSO your family with all the baggage and beautifulness.

Jesus used apocalyptic language to talk about the future - not to share specifics about what would happen in the future, but to give a framework for coming to grips with the future. One phrase on repeat was, “no one knows the day or the hour except the Father.” This was not mysterious language this was well known marriage language. In part 2 of Future we’ll discuss how we should look at the future...

During the time period of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, women faced oppression and very low status among their male counterparts. Men had the power, women had very little of anything. But the Bible actually gives women prominent placement, elevates their names and calls our attention to them. The Apostle John includes a story of a woman who bucks convention and shows us how to love and w...

In Mark 13 Jesus speaks to His disciples about what’s to come in what some people call the little apocalypse. There has been much speculated about the future and a lot of fear surrounding the future - that was not the biblical authors intention. Apocalyptic literature, even in the bible isn’t supposed to be about what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen but WHY it’s happening and WHO’s...

Jesus was a Jew who never renounced His Jewish heritage or told others to stop being Jews. Instead, Jesus impacted His culture by loving God and loving others. If Jesus is your King and you're working for His Kingdom to come and will to be done then you've got to stop making enemies and start loving everyone.

Easter is an exciting time for followers of Jesus because we know how the story ends, but for those who where there that first Easter morning it was a much different story. Whether your new to faith or have been a follower a long time the Empty tomb and Risen Jesus changes everything.

When Jesus cleared the Temple He was angry because those who had come to worship God were being denied access because of their financial position, physical condition or place of origin. Jesus clears the Temple area then heals those who had been denied access to the Temple because of their physical condition so they could draw close to God spiritually. On the cross Jesus did the same for all of us,...

TJesus' 3 temptations are a symbolic do-over of Israel's 3 tests. The 3 tests were all about community. Jesus first, middle and last demonstrations of who He was not only show His commitment to community but also have a connection to water, bread and sacrifice.

Jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days when the devil showed up to tempt Him. First he tried to tempt Jesus with bread that wasn't about bread at all but whether or not Jesus trusted God - who was supposed to be providing for Him. The second attempt satan tried a different tactic, using the writings of Moses, just like Jesus had. Only, satan didn’t just use what Moses said, he abused it. Jes...

Some ways seem right to us, that’s why knowing God’s Word helps us determine the right way from the wrong. Satan gets more desperate in his third temptation but once again Jesus doesn’t fall for it and succeeds in the wilderness where Israel had failed. Jesus rightly points to God as the source, the One True God, the ONLY one worthy of our worship and service, even our lives.

I don’t like the dark when I’m outside. Too many things you can’t see, too many dangers. When you’re in the wilderness it’s unknown territory, same is true for the spiritual wilderness and spiritual darkness. But even in the darkest of times we can trust the truth of God’s Word to see us through the light of day.

When Jesus came to be baptized by John, John was concerned because he wasn’t sure what was going on. How could one beneath Jesus baptize Jesus?! It didn’t make any sense. When we follow God into the wilderness we may not always know where we’re going, but we can always trust that He goes with us.

When you head into the wilderness it’s good to have a guide, to know where you’re going and how to get there. John the Baptizer was that guy for the Jewish people who braved the wilderness between the way they had been living and the way God desired them to live. While John couldn’t get them where they needed to go, he was able to get them ready for the journey.

In today’s culture the primary focus and highest level of love is often assumed to be the love of self. If someone says their on a journey to learn to love themselves or that they have to learn to love themselves first or put themselves first... well, let’s be honest the outcome may be beneficial for the individual but it comes at the expense of others. Are we supposed to love ourselves? Why the b...

In today’s culture love is often a synonym for sex but sex is often not at all about love. We can use love both as an expression of love and as a weapon of our changing feelings (or as a weapon to manipulate someone else's feelings). But God never meant for sex to be separate from love, or a synonym for love, God meant for sex to be a support to love shared freely and vulnerably within the circle...

Like the Blue Swede song says, our culture today is hooked on a feeling and that feeling is love. We love to talk about love, chase love, write songs about love but usually we just abuse love. Part of the reason for that is because we treat love like a feeling and not a comprehensive practice of interactions.

Jesus obeys His Mother and saves the day by providing wine for the wedding of a family member when they ran out - a huge embarrassment and mistake. But He does so by turning water into wine, the best wine anyone had ever had.

Jesus baptism, temptation (trying) and the first time He’s referred to as the Messiah.

Jesus runs away from Joseph and Mary and into the Temple where He spends 3 days listening and asking questions of the religious leaders of His day. Panicked Parents find a confused Jesus who doesn’t understand why they would be looking for Him or upset... sound familiar?

In the Bible we learn what love is and what it isn’t. God loves you and wants you to know what love is so you can experience real love in your life, so you know how to show it to others and so we’ll all look more like Jesus - who loved us so well. God also loves everyone... yep e v e r y o n e... and wants them to know what real love is, which is where you and I looking more like Jesus comes in to...

What does it mean to have hope? When life is a struggle or you don’t know how to move forward hope gives you the ability to push on instead of giving in or giving up. God wants you to have a hopeful life. A life that considers the impossible not just possible but probable.

The first thing on God’s Wishlist for your life (after your salvation 😉) is Abundant Life. What does it mean to have abundant life? Is it a life filled with money, power or position… or a life of connectedness, contentment and joy that comes from the Lord? Alan Funk will be kicking off our 2024 Christmas series with a look at what it means to have an abundant life.

We often think worship is what we do in church on Sunday mornings with the band or guitar... or maybe it’s what happens in the quiet of the morning when we’re alone with our Bible and God... But worship isn’t something that we can pigeon hole to one or a few activities. Worship happens whenever we live, love or look like Jesus. When we live out our faith, when we act with a servant’s heart or we g...