York Alliance Church Message Podcast

We live in a story-shaped culture, and stories help us make sense of the big questions of life--Who are we? Why are we here? What's wrong with the world? How do we fix it? The Bible presents a unified story that leads us to Jesus; but it's also an alternative story that challenges the way we often see the world and challenges us to live in line with the true story of God's world.

Jesus didn't view what we call the Old Testament Scriptures as a historical narrative that had limited impact in either His day or in ours. Instead, He recognized the way the Hebrew Scriptures revealed Him as the Messiah and acted as a witness to Him. In the same way, we must read the entirety of the Bible through the lens of the gospel as we learn to see Jesus in every part of Scripture.

As we step into this practice series on the Scriptures, the first question facing us is what the Bible is and how we're supposed to read it. The Bible makes several profound statements about itself: That it is true, that it is written by humans, and that it is inspired. These truths help us to see that the right way to read is not literally but literarily. This posture allows us to read the Bible...

As we wrap up our practice series on Sabbath, we need to recognize that Sabbath calls us to remember. It is a reminder of our humanity, that we're not God, and that we are called to delight in the world around us.

We live in a 24/7 culture of productivity, distraction, burnout and anxiety. If left unchecked, this system will destroy our souls, our bodies, our relationships and our society. Regardless of the world around us, followers of Jesus need to enter into the rest of God in order to display the freedom we've been given in Christ and the hope that Jesus has for the world.

Sabbath has its roots in the creation narrative where God models the rhythm of work and rest. However, much of that rhythm has been lost in our modern world. The deep and ancient roots of Sabbath provide a beautiful framework for pursuing a rich life in Christ.

The human condiition has always been restless, but this seems to be especially the case today. Our digital distraction and rampant consumerism create barriers that blur the lines between our humanity and the never-resting world around us. However, in the midst of this chaos, Jesus offers rest.

Developing a rule of life is foundational to life as an apprentice of Jesus. However, it's still a means, not an end. We are called to be a community of love, and move toward maturity, which is measured by loving as Jesus does. A rule of life that doesn't lead us toward love is a lot of effort with no real reward. Jesus is still the goal.

Conspicuous by it's absence in many of the lives of followers of Jesus is the presence of joy. Yet it was one of the things that Jesus said would mark those who abide in Him, and it's chief among the fruit of those who are walking in step with the Spirit. How do we enter in to the joy of Jesus, or maybe better said, how do we not miss out on the joy that is rightfully ours in Christ? The answer is...

Part of a healthy rule of life is an honest wrestling with the brokenness of the world around us. Those we love get hurt, people and situations disappoint us, and much of life does not go as we have planned. Lament is a vitally important action that allows the fullness of joy in our lives. Lament has a beginning and an end and, when accomplished, gives way to real joy.

As created beings, we must learn to embrace the fact that we have limits. Jesus left many things undone, and yet, He accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do. We must do the same. This can only happen when we come to grips with the fact that God has created us with limits, even though we live in the midst of a world that seems limitless.

It's not just the hurry of the modern world that pulls us away form the life of Jesus, it's the sheer noise. While the noises in our modern world are admittedly different, this isn't a new problem. Jesus modeled for us a rhythm of retreat into silence that allowed Him to regain the Father's perspective for His life and world. We are called to do the same.

The pull of hurry is possibly the greatest enemy of the spiritual life, and the digital world stokes this fire of hurry while sabatoging attentiveness to the way of Jesus. When we learn to take refuge in God and allow firm lines to be drawn, we find that true fulfillment comes from Him alone.

Using the metaphor of a vine, the call of Jesus is that we abide in Him. In the midst of a world filled with smartphones, hurry, and all forms of digital and tangible distraction, how can we obey this call? The answer comes in the form of another metaphor: a trellis, or as the ancients called it, a "rule of life." By establishing a rule of life, personally and communally, we establish a framework...

Developing a rule of life is less about the activities that we do than it is about the loves and desires that act as the foundation of our lives. The world around us often teaches us that we're at the mercy of our desires and that our loves are just animalistic urges. However, both the Bible and the history of the church teach us that we are able to curate our desires through the way that we live.

If we're honest, there are many times when community just isn't convenient, enjoyable, or even desirable. However, our call to be an apprentice is to follow the model of Jesus and set aside our own preferences in order to love those in our community. By committing to journey with one another in a way that prioritizes the lives of others above our own, we model Jesus to one another and to a watchin...

God exists eternally in relationship and has invited us into that relationship. This means that we must learn to live authentically with one another, being loved just as we are. We receive and model the love of God as a steady flow to those around us. Like God Himself, we live lives that invite others to experience the love and grace of Jesus.

The predominate New Testament metaphor for the community of Jesus is that of family. This is rooted in Jesus' teaching and modeled throughout the history of the early church. The community of Jesus is called to be a counter-cultural expression of strong bonds developed with one another. We are saved not just into forgiveness and eternity--we are saved into a family.

Honor is a concept that is foreign to many of us as Westerners. We live in a culture of sarcasm, shaming, entitlement and disregard--a culture of contempt. However, the way of Jesus is honoring one another, even above ourselves. When we take this call seriously, we enter into a life-bringing and life-changing practice for our community and for the world around us.

Community was an intentional practice of Jesus that formed Him and those around Him. His community was diverse, committed to one another, and far from idealistic. Jesus' model was that of a servant, willingly setting aside His own rights to care for those around Him. This call is central to what it means to be an apprentice of Jesus and is powerfully formational for us as we follow after Him.

We are called to forgive because it's only through forgiveness that we find freedom. However, when we remain in unforgiveness, we also remain in bondage. For us, the call to forgiveness is grounded in the love of Jesus, even when it's difficult. There is deep power that comes from forgiving one another, both on a personal level and societal level. When living a lifestyle of forgiveness, we find th...

Forgiveness is our personal act to release the one who sinned against us from our personal right to collect on the moral debt for their offense, with or without their participation in the process. Reconciliation, however, is when we move toward another and work to restore a broken relationship. We must work beyond guilt and shame as a community to embrace the life and freedom Jesus offers.

Forgiveness is releasing the personal right to pay back the one who has hurt me and absorbing the pain with God’s help. The process of forgiving someone can be laced with deep and powerful emotions. The memory of the wound and the offender has the ability to influence my behavior--relationally, emotionally, and spiritually. One of the hopes in the journey of forgiveness is to move from anger and h...

Receiving and granting forgiveness are some of the central actions of every disciple of Jesus. Forgiveness is not just releasing the personal right to payback the one who has hurt me, it is also personally absorbing the pain with God’s help. But it doesn’t stop there – God wants to take the wounds and pain of our lives and turn them for good. When forgiveness happens, we act in grace. When it does...

Forgiveness is one of the most counter-cultural practices in the life of Jesus. When we forgive, we choose to release those who have sinned against us from our right to collect on the moral debt of their sin. A community practicing the way of Jesus not only practices this with one another, but lives this way in the world around us. If we are to engage it in a healthy way, we must understand what f...