Wawasee Bible Podcast

The early Christians often found themselves in trouble due to their faith. Pastor Josh spends some time at the beginning of the message reviewing the difference between descriptive and prescriptive passages of Scripture. This week's passage starts off with Luke describing some of the incredible ways God was at work among the early Christians in Acts 5:12-16. However, their testimony got them into...

In Acts 4:32 and following, Luke gives us a brief summary statement of the good things happening in the early church. It was a time of God pouring out his grace to provide for this people and his power to protect them. There was great unity among them. Luke gives two examples, one good and one devastating, as these things played out. Barnabas showed great authenticity as he followed the Lord and e...

Acts 3-4 is the chronicles a crazy 24-48 hours for Peter and John, and all the believers. We read about Peter and John going to the Temple to pray. En route they heal a man, then later get arrested for preaching about Jesus and are forced to appear before the Sanhedrin council. The council–due to fear of the people–lets them go but sternly threatens them not to speak of Jesus any more. After they'...

Founding Pastor Tom Speicher preaches from Philippians 3:12-14 and shares his heart for Wawasee Bible in the new year. Life is full of changes. We're instructed to make the most of every day and press on as we follow Jesus.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He announced this during the Feast of Tabernacles, an annual feast celebrating and remembering how God had led his people from Egypt, through the wilderness, and home into the Promised Land. God did this with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night to light the way. In the s...

We wrap up our series turning our attention toward not only Mary but Joseph. Joseph’s biggest claim to fame is who he wasn’t. We just know him as “not the real dad” of Jesus. Did you also realize that he never speaks a word in the text? In any case, Joseph and Mary both were facing a lot, and God men them in all of it. Christmas reminds us that no matter what we're facing, Almighty God is with us!...

The night of Jesus's birth was an intense one for Mary and Joseph. They had just traveled 70 to 100 miles on foot (or possibly with an animal for Mary to ride on) from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It was a hard journey in general, but especially for someone nine months pregnant. Then there was no place to stay, so Jesus's birth happens in a stable (likely a cave) and he's laid down in a feeding trough t...

Mary was an exceptional young women, a great example to us in her obedience and faithfulness to God. But her saying yes to God was also saying yes to struggle and suffering. This week we see Mary & Joseph's obedience affect Jesus's. While he was young they had him circumcised and dedicated to the Lord according to the Law. Their obedience as parents would affect his future obedience. But it also l...

We’re looking at the biblical account surrounding Jesus’s birth through the eyes of Mary. Mary was a teenager when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced (all because of God’s grace) that she would give birth to the Son of God. In Luke 1:39-56 we see Mary travel to visit her relative Elizabeth whom God also blessed with a child in her old age. Mary then sings a song of praise to God that...

No one had an experience of the first Christmas like Mary did, and no one else will. This Advent season we’re looking at the biblical accounts of Jesus’s birth through the eyes of Mary. We’ll see her faithfulness as a model for us to follow. This week she’s visited by the angel Gabriel who reveals God’s incredible call on her life. In the face of all kinds of risk and danger and surely fear… with...

If you choose to become a Christian and follow Jesus, life will get better… but it probably will not get easier. When we obey and follow Jesus, opposition is always waiting to discourage, derail, and if possible sabotage our faith. The Apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Jesus says to us, “If the world hates you, k...

Repentance gets a bad rap. Often in our culture we think of repentance as a bad thing... a weakness, admitting a wrong done, finding nowhere else to turn after an epic failure. But Biblically, repentance is actually a very good thing. A refreshing thing, even. After the Holy Spirit used Peter and John to heal a man who had been crippled since birth, he then empowered Peter's speaking. Peter procla...

Do you believe in miracles? Acts 3:1-10 record a miracle where Peter and John bring healing to a man lame from birth in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Miracles are anchored in the twin truths that God cares about you and God has limitless power. Miracles are rooted in the historical Jesus Christ of Nazareth who went to the cross for us and rose from the dead. Believers live not in despair o...

In Acts 2:42-47 Luke gives a summary of what was taking place in the Church in its earliest days. This passage (like much of Acts) is descriptive rather than prescriptive, meaning it simple tells us what happened. To apply it, then, we must pull out principles to apply to our own life and context, not simply mimic exactly what they did. God gives much freedom in how each local church functions, bu...

After the Spirit’s descent, Peter gives the first Christian sermon in Acts 2:14-41. Preaching was what God used to grow the church. On the surface preaching seems a bit foolish, but God has chosen the proclamation of his Word to be at the center of his work in and through the Church. Peter (who had been cowardly afraid of some middle-school aged girls only 50 days earlier) stands up with courage t...

In Acts 2 we see the Holy Spirit descend and empower his people. This week we step back to explore what "spiritual gifts" are. In short, they are God-given and Spirit-empowered spiritual abilities given to every believer in Jesus, according to God's grace, to help them fulfill their God-given personal purpose as part of the Church. God gives common gifts to everyone (common grace) and spiritual gi...

In Acts 2, God's people are celebrating Pentecost (the Festival of Weeks). As part of it, they are remembering God's provision and how he came in power to Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19-20ff and gave the Law. While all this is going on, God shows up again in a history-changing way. Rather than descend on a place in power, the Holy Spirit descends upon a people in power as the Church begins. When someone b...

Before Jesus left, he told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. In Acts 1:12-26 we see them waiting and making a big decision about who would replace Judas on the team. From their process we can discern some principles for making decisions ourselves that honor God. One thing not to miss as we keep going through Acts is that Acts is not about super-Christians, it...

As Acts begins, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit before they do anything. All through the book of Acts we’ll see the Holy Spirit at work in powerful ways. This all begs the question, who is the Holy Spirit? Before we go any further in Acts, we should be sure to understand who the Holy Spirit is. Jesus calls him the “Helper”, even going so far as to say that we’re better off wi...

We begin a new series through the New Testament book of Acts. Pastor Josh covers some helpful background info on the book and works through the first 11 verses of the book. Jesus left us with a mission, but to do it we need his power—we need the Holy Spirit!

Habakkuk was an Old Testament prophet with a problem. Specifically, a problem with God. He was troubled both with God's silence and his actions. Yet as we read the book of Habakkuk, we see him discover the solution of living by faith, trusting God to prevail, assured he would come through. We can trust God in the same way through the midst of our own struggles and doubts. (Tom Speicher is the foun...

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells "the Parable of the Talents", giving more instruction on how we should wait for his return. A talent is simply a measurement of weight, and it was often used of money. In his parable we learn that we should wait for Jesus as servants who are commissioned to increase his assets. Following the sermon is a presentation leading into our Annual Meeting for 2022.

We’re in the midst of waiting for Jesus to return, and he will. But how are we supposed to wait? On the one hand he says he could return at any moment, and on the other he tells us it could be a long time. Jesus gives a series of vignettes and parables in Matthew 24-25 that are intended to answer these questions. We look at three of them this week. We should wait ready for Jesus’ return so that we...

In Matthew 24 Jesus’s disciples ask him about the end times, when Jesus will set up his Kingdom on earth and reign as king. Jesus replies with some details around what will take place before his second coming, things we should pay attention to so we’re ready. But it’s important to remember that the purpose of prophesy in Scripture is not so that we can sit around and predict the future, but so tha...

Pastor Dave Winters teaches from Matthew 21:28-32 and Jesus's Parable of the Two Sons. Following Jesus means honesty, a change of mind, and obedience.