St. John's Church Podcast

* Temptation itself is not sin. * Temptation is an inside job. * Temptation is an invitation to have a legitimate need met by an illegitimate source. So if you want to have less experience with the consequences of sin in your life, resist it where it begins. Knowing that you are already loved and accepted by God, ,may that give you the grace and faith to resist temptation when it inevitably occurs...

Choose joy in the midst of suffering. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds"-James 1:2 God wants to redeem our suffering by using it for good.

"Everyone prays... Even non-Christians pray. The difference when Christians do it is that they are climbing into the lap of their heavenly Father"--Pete Greig Prayer, by itself, doesn't fix things. The God we pray to fixes things.

For anyone following Jesus, conflict is always a search and rescue mission. We are reminded that God came to rescue us. And our calling is to emulate that rescue as we pursue reconciliation with others.

George R.R. Martin(Game of Thrones)-When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives- Evan Christmas shares his own Baptism testimony

We need someone willing to wade into the conflict to bring us back to who we really are -Loving correction from a Gospel-centered person who loves you can be one of the greatest gifts you can receive

Take The High Road - Dealing With Conflict by St. John's Church Podcast

Pastor Tom continues on the series Dealing with Conflict *Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see-Hebrews 11:1 *The deeper we fall away from faith in God, the more defensive and protective we get with others *Revenge never leads to relief

How often do we prioritize things that are lesser and give up what is better? He Starts with the person. You. God loves you. The most important thing in any fight, the better thing according to Jesus and according to Him, his promise is if we choose what is better, than just like Mary, it will never be taken away.

God is never finished fostering the growth of our faith. Good things take time.

If you are a child of God, you know that you are a child of the light. And the presence of darkness is a reminder that Jesus has not finished removing the barriers yet. God is not finished yet.

Are you secure enough to ask God for mercy? "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Pastor Tom preaches on Matthew 9

God cares about you. God cares about your situation, God cares about your hurts, your fears, your mistakes. He isn't just controlling the universe from a command center in the sky, he is in charge while he sits right there alongside you, because he cares for you.

Rest is a lesson we learn the hard way by finding rest in the midst of hard things...

What is the craziest thing you've ever done for some peace and quiet? Friends, our streets are stormy and busy and loud. So if you want to find peace, and allow God to still us in the places we need his stillness the most...it begins with what we do right here. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with the thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And...

Jesus didn't fight the storm with a bigger storm. He stopped it.

Be Still and Know That I Am God - We don't need to get everything done so that we can be still, we need to stop what we're doing, right now, and be stilled by God, allowing God to still the things that only he can.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a Let's drop our stones, and pick up love instead

Here to There Week 3-Numbing Out to Leaning In by St. John's Church Podcast

You are not alone because Jesus has chosen to lean into your life with his.

Hurt is attracted to hope because we need hope when we're hurting. So if you are suffering, acknowledge the pain. Hurt is attracted to hope, sing a song of hope. Because what you'll find is that those moments become your place of prayer.

What if God is using everything, even the things we avoid, the decisions we wish we never had made, to shape us into the people God wants us to be? The truth is, God's grace is always moving us--moving us from here to there, and faith isn't a destination, it's the journey.

In glory, a future glory, where there will be no more disappointment, no more pain, illness, sadness, death...where every chocolate Easter bunny is pure chocolate, where cemeteries and burial spices are obsolete, and where like Mary, Jesus will call you by name, and wipe away your tears from our eyes. He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!

It is finished....