Podcasts from Jan 2017-Jan 2018
Christmas is a time for celebrating our Savior. Just don’t forget the rest of the story. PDF
True joy apart from God is not lasting. However, there is joy in Heaven when the wandering Christian or an outsider comes to God. PDF
Looking for peace in this stress-filled world? God is the author of the peace that we truly need. He wants to give that peace to us, and has gone through great measures to do so. PDF
What does joy mean for the church and our individual families? Joy unifies us through realizing what the blood of Jesus does for God’s people. PDF
What is New Testament joy? What does it look like? Joy’s characteristics center around God and His purposes. PDF
Looking for joy? True joy begins with knowing God. PDF
Happiness is a myth. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to seek God’s Kingdom and His righteous instead of “keeping up with the Joneses.” PDF
What does agape love mean when it’s directed toward non-Christians? It means setting a Christ-like example instead of joining the non-believers in sin. PDF
God called Christians to freedom in Jesus. However that doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want. God wants us to change. PDF
What does agape love have to do with the way the church and our own individual families treat each other? It is the perfect bond of unity. PDF
What kind of love did Jesus have for us? John says that Jesus went camping! PDF
Struggling with Your Faith Mark 9:14-18
Want to increase your faith? Jesus says that takes work! PDF
Gaining spiritual strength is hard work, but God can and will work through your weaknesses. The question is, “Will you trust him enough to let Him use you?” PDF
Unity in the Body of Christ-John 17:20-24, Ephesians 4:1-7
Growth is the goal for the church—both spiritual and numeric. This begins with truly being Jesus’ disciples and requires time together. Paul's report and Ours.
The Body of Christ - Known for Love
What does God want for Christmas? He’s got a list.
Mystery of the Messiah-Ephesians 3
What Is Your Purpose? Ephesians 2
From a Roman prison, Paul encourages the Philippians to take their cares and concerns to God in prayer. He tells them these prayers need to be mingled with thanksgiving. PDF
What do you pray for? Paul's prayer list.
Why should I become a Christian? The Apostle Paul lists a number of spiritual blessings that are only available in Christ.
In scripture, the Day of the Lord has various meanings. In the midst of Malachi’s indictments, YaHWeH promised that on one of these special days the Messiah would come to purify His people. PDF
Fixing the Sin Problem-Psalms 118
How much do we value Jesus? For Judas, 30 pieces of silver was enough to betray Jesus. What’s our price? Where does Jesus really rank on our priorities? PDF
YaHWeH sometimes uses object lessons to get His people's attention. In Zechariah 11, He uses 2 Staffs to make a point about the broken Old Covenant. PDF
Zechariah-Jesus as the Branch
Losing Self Imposed Spiritual Limitations
While the stone in Daniel 2 was not a picture of the coming Messiah, it was a picture of the Messiah's coming spiritual Kingdom--the church. Slide Show
Can dry bones come to life? Ezekiel’s vision comes to fulfillment twice-once in the life of Israel and again in ours.
YaHWeH promises a new covenant was on the horizon. This new covenant meant the rules were about to get much more personal. Slide Show
God Promises Change. Fulfilling the prophecies. Jeremiah 31
God's Lofty Promises and Jeremiah 30
YaHWeH tells Israel that the foreign nations that have caused them trouble will be punished. Then He drops the bombshell. Israel will also be punished because of their sin. However, after the punishment is done, Judah will be restored. Slide Show
Jeremiah prophesied of YaHWeH's outright anger with Israel's shepherds. YaHWeH's solution? In Jeremiah and Zechariah, He promises to send "the Branch" to do the shepherd's job correctly. Slide Show
Paul the Apostle how his resume' teaches us to not be afraid.
Where are You God?Why Aren't You Paying Attention? Israel wondered why YaHWeH was not paying attention to them. YaHWeH told Israel they were observing their fasts and Sabbath days incorrectly. He reiterated that service to Him was NOT about THEM. Serving YaHWeH requires doing things His way. Slide Show
Ironic Salvation- The Suffering Servant. YaHWeH often does things in an unexpected, often dramatic way. The offer of salvation came to us via a Suffering Servant. Slide Show
Righteousness and Salvation- The Order Bringer is Capable. 3 Things are true: 1st, Life has always been chaotic. 2nd, YaHWeH offers stability in His provisions of righteousness and salvation. 3rd, to get this much needed stability, we must obey His commands. Slide
The Hope & The Bunny- Resurrection. Easter(Ascension Day) is a celebration of the greatest miracle ever performed--the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. King David prophesied about this event around 1,000 years prior to Jesus' birth. Slide Show
The Messiah-God's Weapon of Choice Isaiah 49. Chosen and named from the womb.
The Messiah-Alpha and Omega. One of the monikers used for Jesus is the "Alpha and Omega." YaHWeH foreshadows this description in Isaiah 48 roughly 700 years before. Slide Show
The Messiah-Declaring Victory. In Isaiah 42, the Coming Messiah is pictured as the victorious warrior going before God's people. Jesus filled this role as He conquered sin and death. Slide Show
The Messiah-Declaring Newness. After declaring that the Coming Messiah would bring justice, Isaiah prophesies that the Messiah would also bring newness starting with the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and beginning of a New Covenant in the Messiah's blood. Slide Show
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Parental Warning: due to the nature of the discussion, some content in this podcast is rated "strong" PG.
Lucas concludes a 3 part series on sin. Today we ask, "Can sin be overcome? What's the most horrific thing you've ever gotten in the mail? What should our response be to sin?" To finish up the lesson, we look at the four practices to overcoming sin, and the final practice which we need to learn: practicing the presence of God.
Part 3 of 3:
The Win Against Sin!
Lucas presents the second in a three part series asking, "Is sin worth fighting? Why? Are all sins the same?" (Slideshow starts quite a bit in.)
Part 2 of 3:
Is Sin Worth Overcoming?
Lucas presents a lesson and asks not only "What is it to know God," but also, "Do you have any great fear of manatees?"
What Is It to Know God?
Caution: Manatees present.
God promised to send a prophet like Moses to guide His people. Isaiah identified that the one YaHWeH was sending to His people was actually Himself!
People serve God for a number of reasons. One of the reasons the Jews served Him was the promises of freedom and stability. God still offers the same freedom and stability today through Jesus.
Israel and Judah were a mess spiritually and would soon be physically as well. There were hundreds of years of slavery that awaited them. Isaiah prophesied that when the Messiah would come, He would reveal a Highway of Holiness leading God's redeemed back to Zion.
After Adam and Eve's sin, God promised to provide a solution. He planned to cleanse their sins. This cleansing happened through the blood of Jesus and can reach us today.
Land ownership has always been a sign of wealth. God made Abraham an incredible land promise as a foreshadowing of the believer's eternal rest in Heaven.
Sunday, 1 January 2017
Paul reminds us that once we were a fallen people but God has allowed us cleansing through Jesus' sacrifice. This cleaning requires His people to remove the sin in our lives and put on holiness and righteousness.