the Church Podcast

Focus: When it comes to sharing your confidence in Jesus, do you think you have to win an argument or answer every difficult question? Is that why we are so often reluctant to witness? Peter reminds believers living in a skeptical culture to be prepared. Not because they're experts, but because Jesus has become the hope that shapes their lives. Gentle confidence, humble conviction, and genuine lov...

Focus: Questions about what God commands seem to frequently aim for the minimum required to fulfill the law. What does a minimum requirement for the law of love look like? The Rhythm of Grace teaches us again to begin with God's love for us, how much He loves and how far He goes. The question changes from how far must I go, to how far does love go? Luke 10

Focus: The rhythm of Grace in the kingdom of God fundamentally begins with God showering us with His grace. Then, from the position of those who need God's grace, and receive it, we share that grace with others. When we're in conflict, both parties are those who need God's grace, and both would be lost if God limited forgiveness to seven times. Matthew 18

Focus: Life's rhythms can weigh us down, and leave us tired and weary. Jesus invites us to come to him, to be yoked to him, and to find rest as we abide in and with our humble servant King. Matthew 11:28–30

Focus: We can easily waste so many moments looking for the next thing that promises to make us happy, only to find that those things don't deliver lasting happiness either, so we have more to strive for. Paul challenges us to be content with enough food and clothing, and seeing any extra as a gift to be used to bless others. The Gospel in our homes replaces the greedy storing up of more and more w...

Focus: The effects of the peace Jesus restored through his life of love, his death and resurrection, echo and ripple through our lives and world. As our lives continue to be woven into the fabric of God's story, as the hands and feet of Christ we continue the work of announcing peace and God's mercy, as we also show God's mercy and work for justice every day in our lives and in our community. Mica...

Focus: God calls us to imitate him and live a life filled with love following the example of Christ. In our closest relationships we're called to radical submission, giving up our own preferences and even our lives as Christ gave himself up for us. It is a complete paradigm shift from how the rest of our society encourages and values living. But it's a beautiful picture of peace, love, and mutual...

Focus: God is just as present in the boardroom, the classroom, the kitchen, the construction site, and the neighborhood as He is in the sanctuary. Every conversation, every task, and every act of service becomes another thread in His unfolding tapestry. When Christ is at the center, there is no such thing as ordinary work, only ordinary people participating in God's extraordinary purposes. There a...

Focus: Jesus never hid the price tag of discipleship. Following Him means laying down lesser kingdoms so we can receive the greater one. Every "no" we say to ourselves becomes another "yes" to the life Christ is calling us into. What feels costly in the moment becomes the pathway to a freedom, joy, and purpose that cannot be found any other way. The cross always costs something—but it never leaves...

Focus: Following Jesus isn't about adding Him to our lives; it's about giving Him our lives. The old self no longer gets the final word because Christ has taken up residence within us. Day by day, He is rewriting our story from the inside out, replacing fear with faith, pride with humility, and self-centeredness with sacrificial love. The most convincing evidence that Jesus is alive may be the lif...

Focus: The cross not only reconciles us to God; it changes the way we see every person around us. As Christ's ambassadors, we carry His forgiveness, hope, and peace into a divided world. Wherever followers of Jesus go, reconciliation should have a chance to begin. 2 Corinthians 5

Focus: God doesn't simply improve our old life. He gives us a new one. As the Holy Spirit renews our minds and reshapes our hearts, our ordinary lives become living sacrifices that reflect the mercy of Christ. Transformation isn't about becoming a different person; it's about becoming the person God created you to be. Romans 12

Focus: God's grace is not simply something we receive; it becomes the pattern of our lives. As we encourage, forgive, and bear with one another, we reveal the character of Christ to a watching world. The strongest witness to the world is often not what the Church says, but how the Church loves. The Gospel is meant to be seen as well as heard. Ephesians 4

Focus: What happens when people with different backgrounds, histories, personalities, and convictions are brought together by Jesus? The early Church is about to find out. As questions arise and tensions emerge, believers learn that unity does not come from everyone being the same. It comes from sharing the same Savior. Guided by the Spirit and grounded in the Gospel, the Church becomes a communit...

Focus: The Gospel refuses to stay put. As persecution scatters believers and unlikely doors begin to open, God pushes His Church beyond familiar borders and comfortable assumptions. An Ethiopian traveler hears the Good News. A Roman centurion receives the Holy Spirit. Again and again, God surprises His people by showing them just how far His grace reaches. The Church discovers that God's mission i...

Focus: The promised Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples, transforming fearful followers into bold witnesses of Jesus Christ. Through the preaching of the Gospel, people from many nations hear the mighty works of God in their own languages and are gathered into one body through faith and baptism. Pentecost reminds us that the Church is born not through human effort or strategy, but through the...

Focus: Jesus is alive! There is forgiveness and freedom for all who repent, and this Good News needs to be shared! Our lives after Easter have been woven into Jesus' mission. We are His hands and feet, sent to embody and proclaim the Good News wherever we go. John 20; Acts 1

Focus: Jesus, the Messiah, is really Risen! If not for this fact, we would be like the disciples on the road who said, "We had hoped he was the one." But praise be to God! Christ is indeed risen, and because He lives, the threads of our lives are eternally woven together with His, safe and secure. Because He lives, we too shall live. Luke 24

Focus: The King, Jesus, the Messiah, the very Son of God, the Word made flesh, is rejected by his own people who say, "we have no King but Caesar." Our sinless King, forever woven together with our lives, hangs on a cross bearing our sins, and dies. Luke 23:26-49; John 19:1-30

Focus: Jesus asks the question that stands at the center of every life: "Who do you say I am?" Peter confesses Him as the Christ, yet soon learns that Jesus is not the kind of Savior many expect. He comes not first with earthly power, but through the way of the cross. This week invites us not only to confess Jesus rightly with our lips, but to follow Him faithfully with our lives. Mark 8:27-38

Focus: Jesus enters the wilderness, overcomes temptation, and then announces that the long-awaited promises of God are being fulfilled in Him. Good news for the poor, freedom for the captive, sight for the blind, and favor for the broken are no longer distant hopes—the Kingdom has come near in Jesus. This week calls us to turn from lesser kingdoms and receive the healing reign of Christ in our liv...

Focus: Before creation began, Jesus was. The eternal Word through whom all things were made has now stepped into our world in flesh and blood. He comes not from a distance, but near enough to be seen, touched, heard, and trusted. In Christ, God is not hidden. He is revealed, full of grace and truth. This week invites us to behold the glory of Jesus and receive the new life only He can give. John 1...

Focus: God's promises never fail. After 70 years in exile, God used another King to return a remnant of His people to Jerusalem to begin to rebuild. Isaiah 40; Ezra 1

Focus: Even in exile, in the midst of the consequences for rejecting God, He is with His people. God especially blesses Daniel, and as He raises him up He encourages Daniel and Israel though His prophets and a promise that there is a future where they are restored. There is no where God's people can be sent or where they can go where God will not be with them. Jeremiah 29; Daniel 1

Focus: David's son, Solomon, started out so well, seeing his need for wisdom to rule God's people. God honored and blessed Solomon. And still, Solomon's heart was slowly drawn away from God. From Israel's most financially prosperous and peace-filled 40 years, to the judgment that Israel would be split and exiled, we see what happens when God's people choose to worship something other than the only...