The Damascus Road Podcast

Week 2 of Come to Worship Teacher: Ryan Miller  In a culture where many are clamoring to be seen and heard, the posture of kneeling can feel the most strange. We don’t want to submit, we don’t want to surrender, and yet many of us find ourselves (figuratively) bowing before our work, our pursuit of pleasure, or something else. How might learning to surrender and release control, bowing before...

This Christmas season, let's revisit a series of Christmas pasts. Join us for The Gift , a 2020 Damascus Road series exploring the significance of the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus (gold, frankincense, and myrrh). We will connect the symbolism within the story of Christ’s birth to our relationship with Jesus. We will seek new insight on the birth of Jesus to gain a deeper understanding of wh...

This Christmas season, let's revisit a series of Christmas pasts. Join us for The Gift , a 2020 Damascus Road series exploring the significance of the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus (gold, frankincense, and myrrh). We will connect the symbolism within the story of Christ’s birth to our relationship with Jesus. We will seek new insight on the birth of Jesus to gain a deeper understanding of wh...

Week 1 of Come to Worship Teacher: Megan Miller In this season we can be over-focused on getting things, accumulating decorations and cookies and gifts to help satisfy what we are longing for. But the posture of lifting our hands, whether in worship or prayer, helps us learn to surrender, to offer our praise to God rather than try to get something from God. Let’s learn from the posture of the wise...

Week 4 of Bitter Herbs Teacher: Dave Chojnacki  When our pain and vision are turned toward God and we begin to heal, eventually our desire for God’s intervention diminishes. Instead, that desire is replaced with a longing to simply be with God. He is the wellspring from which peace and healing flow. When we seek those things, we find God instead. Simply being with Him in the pain, in the suff...

As we explore grief and trauma in Bitter Herbs , let's revisit Joy & Mourning , a 2020 Damascus Road series that explores both the peaks -- the times of delight and exuberance and joy and feasting -- and also the troughs -- the times of emptiness and sorrow and disappointment and mourning of the human experience. In order to embrace our humanity and the complicated messy lives that God has ble...

Week 3 of Bitter Herbs Teacher: Megan Stibrich  The Bible assures us that what was intended for evil, God will use for good. However, after experiencing trauma or suffering, our sight becomes inward focused. We despair for all that was broken and cannot be fixed. Our vision narrows. We cannot lose sight of the goodness of God and his kingdom. God is weaving our suffering, trauma, and pain int...

As we explore grief and trauma in Bitter Herbs , let's revisit Joy & Mourning , a 2020 Damascus Road series that explores both the peaks -- the times of delight and exuberance and joy and feasting -- and also the troughs -- the times of emptiness and sorrow and disappointment and mourning of the human experience. In order to embrace our humanity and the complicated messy lives that God has ble...

As we explore grief and trauma in Bitter Herbs , let's revisit Joy & Mourning , a 2020 Damascus Road series that explores both the peaks -- the times of delight and exuberance and joy and feasting -- and also the troughs -- the times of emptiness and sorrow and disappointment and mourning of the human experience. In order to embrace our humanity and the complicated messy lives that God has ble...

Week 2 of Bitter Herbs Teacher: Tyler Stibrich Living in our present circumstances does not mean we are passive. If we cannot immediately fix our pain, we have two options for where we can direct it. First, we can direct our pain downward. We can bury it deeper and deeper under layers of distractions until we are numb. However, if we deaden our pain, we cut ourselves off from the possibility of fu...

Week 1 of Bitter Herbs Teacher: Andrew Ayon Healing from trauma is not immediate. As much as we would like our pain to end or to skip to the end of the process, we can only live in our present moment. However, waiting in the midst of pain is counter intuitive. All our survival instincts tell us to escape, to get back to how things were. We exhaust ourselves in our search for immediate answers or m...

Join us for Attachment Disorder , a 2020 Damascus Road series, as we consider how secure are our divine attachments. Why is faith hard? Why do we experience insecurity in our relationship with God? How can we help heal our disordered attachments and experience the peace of deep faith in our Heavenly Father? Part 3 of Attachment Disorder   Teacher: Ryan Miller    Original Date: Octob...

Week 3 of Verdict Not Guilty Teacher: Ryan Miller How does the Body of Christ help the truth of "not guilty" get into our hearts? When we don't have enough grace for ourselves, our Christian brothers and sisters help carry us with their grace.

Join us for Attachment Disorder , a 2020 Damascus Road series, as we consider how secure are our divine attachments. Why is faith hard? Why do we experience insecurity in our relationship with God? How can we help heal our disordered attachments and experience the peace of deep faith in our Heavenly Father? Part 2 of Attachment Disorder Teacher: Megan Miller   Original Date: September 27th, 2...

Join us for Attachment Disorder , a 2020 Damascus Road series, as we consider how secure are our divine attachments. Why is faith hard? Why do we experience insecurity in our relationship with God? How can we help heal our disordered attachments and experience the peace of deep faith in our Heavenly Father? Part 1 of Attachment Disorder Teacher: Andrew Ayon Original Date: September 20th, 2020 When...

Week 2 of Verdict Not Guilty Teacher: Megan Miller Even if our eternal destiny is secure and we are not condemned because of our sin, our sin still has consequences. What are the consequences of our sin, even if all the charges are dropped?

It is time for a throwback! In Verdict Not Guilty , we have been exploring God's love and grace through the imagery of a courtroom, but there are many more images for understanding and relating to God in scripture. Join us for Loaf + Linen , a 2017 Damascus Road series, as we explore some of the overlooked images of God, such as clothing or a laboring woman. Part 2 of Loaf + Linen   Teacher:...

It is time for a throwback! In Verdict Not Guilty , we have been exploring God's love and grace through the imagery of a courtroom, but there are many more images for understanding and relating to God in scripture. Join us for Loaf + Linen , a 2017 Damascus Road series, as we explore some of the overlooked images of God, such as clothing or a laboring woman. Part 1 of Loaf + Linen Teacher: Tyler S...

Week 1 of Verdict Not Guilty Teacher: Tyler Stibrich  What is the true theology of the cross? What does “there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus” really mean? Is there really such a thing as a “guilty Christian?”

Week 5 of Shareable Teacher: Devynn Brankel  Oftentimes, when Christians speak about evangelism, this is step one. Other times, when we try to do things differently, we don’t include this step at all. But sometimes, our friends need more than time and space and good food to accept Christ. At some point, they may need us to challenge and encourage them in their own commitments. Are they ready...

It is time for a throwback! After learning about how important relationship is to sharing the Gospel, let's dive into how we form deep relationships. Join us for Friending , a 2018 Damascus Road series, as we will learn how to create a strong foundation for new, Godly friendships, how to relate well to our existing friends, and how to be a friend marked by love. Part 4 of Friending  Teacher:...

It is time for a throwback! After learning about how important relationship is to sharing the Gospel, let's dive into how we form deep relationships. Join us for Friending , a 2018 Damascus Road series, as we will learn how to create a strong foundation for new, Godly friendships, how to relate well to our existing friends, and how to be a friend marked by love. Part 3 of Friending  Teacher:...

Week 4 of Shareable Teacher: Ryan Miller What exactly is the Gospel? How do we actually share it with others? We may have experienced many ways to share it with simplistic metaphors or pamphlets, but those can fall short at calling people into real life change. Before we share God’s good news, we need to understand what it is we are sharing. Is it an escape from eternal judgement? Is it that we ca...

It is time for a throwback! After learning about how important relationship is to sharing the Gospel, let's dive into how we form deep relationships. Join us for Friending , a 2018 Damascus Road series, as we will learn how to create a strong foundation for new, Godly friendships, how to relate well to our existing friends, and how to be a friend marked by love. Part 2 of Friending Teacher: Ryan M...

It is time for a throwback! After learning about how important relationship is to sharing the Gospel, let's dive into how we form deep relationships. Join us for Friending , a 2018 Damascus Road series, as we will learn how to create a strong foundation for new, Godly friendships, how to relate well to our existing friends, and how to be a friend marked by love. Part 1 of Friending  Teacher:...