The Big Dream Podcast by Meadow Heights Church

Jesus came in the flesh to help us get back what’s good, beautiful and true and to oppose everything that isn’t. When we live as Jesus we fight like Jesus—for what he’s for and against the injustice that opposes it.

We’re tempted to view work as either a necessary evil or an idol to chase. But Jesus came in the flesh to show us that in God’s kingdom, all work is an opportunity to reclaim the joy of partnering with God to love and care for one another and our world.

We often feel pressure to deny our humanity or be more godlike in order to follow Jesus. But Jesus came to show us how and set us free to be more human, allowing God to be God through us.

Jesus came in the flesh to show us how to live in our flesh. We miss the incarnation when we view Jesus only through his death on the cross instead of through his life in the neighborhood.

Good news has to first of all be good, which is why it can’t be about religious legalism, empty ritual, or personal judgment. The good news Jesus brings is that more of the life and love from up there can show up down here in our every day lives right now. For links and more info, visit: https://www.meadowheights.com/hub

Bad religion, bleak lives and a broken world have always made it difficult for people to see God for who God really is. Jesus came in the flesh so people can see the real face and character of God and so our lives can reveal God now, too.

God longs to return to the good, beautiful, and true reality he created. So Jesus came in the flesh to get it all back and to show us the way. Because of his power over sin, death and hell, the dream God wanted from the beginning is once again coming true!

For links and more info, visit: https://www.meadowheights.com/hub

The story of Jesus is a story to hear and a story to share. In a bad news world, naming good news in my life can help others name good news in their lives, too. The best stories are the ones we tell together.

There is no brokenness or need we’ll encounter in our world that God doesn’t already see and care about more than we do. Because He is already present and working to bring his healing love to every situation, we get to partner with him to meet the needs of people and places around us in practical and impactful ways.

In a world full of increasing loneliness, isolation and division, intentional shared meals have the power to transform us. Eating together removes barriers, builds bridges and communicates belonging like almost nothing else can.

We live in a world where there’s more talking and less listening all the time. But when we listen with compassionate curiosity, God will reveal the desires of people he loves and the needs of places where he’s at work.

As God’s much-loved children, we have access to the blessing of life in God’s kingdom of love. When we notice where God is at work in and around us, we get to help him extend that blessing to others where we live, work, learn and play.

When we don’t know how we got the Bible, we won’t know how to read the Bible. But understanding the plot of the story and connecting the parts of the story helps us lean into and live out the point of the story.

When we can’t see God at work within an old story to tell a better story, we can lose hope. But a perspective bigger than the present moment often leads to a new story full of God’s goodness.

When we don’t know where we came from or why we’re here, our story gets lost among every other story. But when we recover the unique source of our story, we also discover the meaning we long for.

When what we expect from the Bible doesn’t square with what we experience of the Bible, we can be tempted to abandon the Bible & the God it represents. But knowing the backstory of the Bible raises our confidence in the Bible and the God of life and love it reveals.

Nothing can change the bad things that happened to you, but God cares. His heart is broken by the bad things that happen in our world, and his love is capable of healing your broken heart.

Focusing on negative thoughts perpetuates the world's system of death and destruction in us and around us. But when our thoughts are directed by God’s Spirit, we operate as God’s agents of life and peace in the world.

When we focus on the worry, we let our minds run wild with it. When we focus on our Father’s love and provision, we wake up to a God who is with us and working for our good.

I can feel beaten down until I even despair of life itself. But my feelings aren’t forever. God always provides help and hope when I need a way out.

Our overwhelming culture can lead us to be anxious about many things. But, we are not alone in our anxiety and we can practice an anxious free life that God invites us into.

Jesus is enough but my current capacity for trusting Jesus may not be. God makes help available when something blocks my access to peace while I’m learning to trust him more.

It’s unthinkable that death is the end of someone we love. That resistance deep inside us is an echo of the heart of God. We rejoice because Easter declares that LOVE, not death, gets the final word!