DIY Together

We are back with another episode of the podcast! Britt Kizer joins Kelsey and Austin for our next two episodes as we talk about singleness. Whether you are currently single, dating, engaged, or years into marriage, how we approach singleness is incredibly important. For single people, singleness is more than just a waiting season until you have a spouse; it is a gift that the Lord wants you to utilize for the kingdom and maybe a calling your whole life. For those in relationships, seeing your single friends and inviting them into your life to know them, not just setting them up, is a great way to make them feel seen.

In our final episode of the Discipleship series, Austin, Kelsey, and Jason discuss finding someone to disciple us. Like the oreo example Kelsey gave in our previous episode, if we don't have someone consistently pouring into and teaching us, we will slowly burn out. We need to have someone in our lives who is more mature in their walk with Jesus as a teacher is integral for us growing in our spiritual maturity.

In the fourth part of our Discipleship series, Austin and Kelsey sit down with local church elder Bob Walz. Bob has been making disciples and equipping others to do the same for more than thirty years and shares his thoughts on how important it is to teach others to make disciples. Spiritual multiplication is arguably the most important task that we as Christians have been charged with.

In the third part of our "Discipleship" series, we discuss who you should look for as a disciple. We only have a limited time in the day, week, and earthly lives. Austin, Kelsey, and Jason talk about the traits and types of relationships you should seek to find in a disciple and how to approach those people with the same intentionality that God approaches people.

In this next episode of our discipleship series, Austin, Jason, and Kelsey talk about how to practically go about making disciples. One of the biggest hindrances to people making disciples is that many people either don't create a goal for discipleship or don't connect at a personal level. While a significant aspect of discipleship is teaching, another huge factor is having a life-on-life relationship.

In the first episode of a five-part series on discipleship, Austin, Jason, and Kelsey discuss how you know you are ready to disciple someone. They talk about what it means to disciple a person and why it is so critical for the edification of the church. They also talk about how you, as a discipler, need to have a healthy and active relationship with Jesus if you want to lead someone else well.

One of the most helpful tools we have as Christians in sharing the Gospel of Jesus is our personal story or testimony. How we first come to know Christ impacts so much of our walk with Him and also is reflected in how we approach others with the Gospel. However, it can be really easy to tell our story about ourselves rather than what the Holy Spirit did in us. This week, Austin sits down with Kelsey and Jason to talk about how we can change the way we tell our testimony to point more to Christ rather than simply being a biography of our life.

Austin sits with Anthony Belling in the second part of our series on how to live on mission. The last episode talked about living on mission locally, and in today's episode, we talk about living on mission globally. Anthony and Austin point out that living for God's global mission is not something reserved for the "Super Christian" but is, in fact, a command for all of God's people. However, Anthony shows us that doesn't mean we all go across oceans but could be as simple as going next door. He also shares some practical ways to live out that mission

For our next two episodes, we will discuss what it looks like to live on mission. In this first episode, Austin sits down with Jason Harms to talk about what it looks like to live on mission in a local context and how we have made it much harder than it has to be. Jason gives very practical advice to help us approach people we see every day about Jesus!

In this episode, Austin is joined by local church elder Bob Walz to talk about memorizing the scriptures. Often one of the most neglected spiritual disciples, scripture memory is critical in helping us read and learn about God's Word. When we memorize scripture, we are writing God's word into our hearts so that we can minister to others, fight sin, and learn to love our Creator in whole new ways!

In our second episode on generosity, Austin is joined by church elder Bob Walz. Austin and Bob give tons of practical steps we can all take in our approach to giving. Regardless of background, everyone has a perception of what it means to give and how we should give. Bob gives great insight on what it looks like to give cheerfully and some ideas of how to find who to give to.

In this episode, Pastors Austin and Jeff sit down to talk about generosity. The Bible mentions money some 2,000 times and yet it is one of the many topics that most people, even us as Christians, feel uncomfortable talking about. What's worse is that we live in a culture where we are constantly worried about money or what money will buy us and that leads to our finances becoming an idol in our life. Jeff and Austin talk about what it means to be generous and how generosity leads to having a more complete relationship with Jesus Christ. The pastors also talk about a few great practical tips to start being more open-handed with our finances today regardless of what stage of life you are in!

In our last episode, Brett and Austin sat down with Kelsey talking about how to make new spiritual friends. In this episode, we look at the other side of friends. Have you been friends with someone for a long time and yet find yourself never talking about your shared faith? Whether it feels weird to talk about or it just never seems to come up naturally, talking about Jesus with old friends can be challenging. Yet we know that it is essential for us to sharpen one another. Brett and Austin share a few easy tips and tricks to help you talk about Jesus more with your friends and why it's so important.

Whether you're a social butterfly or the world's biggest introvert, making friends can be hard. Making friends who also spur you on in your faith can be even harder. In this episode, Brett and Austin sit down with the one and only Kelsey Hullman. As the women's leader for the local college ministry, Kelsey is a pro at making lasting friendships and raising up disciples who make disciples. Kelsey shares with us a few tips and tricks for how we can go about making friends who will grow with us in our faith. This isn't just for women, these tips can be used by men as well! Making friends doesn't have to be as complicated as we have made it.

In this bonus episode, Pastor Austin sits down with Worship leader Jeremy and Worship resident Naomi to talk about singing in church. For many people, worship happens right before a sermon and not much else. Maybe you have a few songs you sing in the car about Jesus, but there's no way you would sing them as loudly in front of people. What Jeremy and Naomi show us is that not only is worship not just a once on a Sunday event, it's a posture of our heart towards God. Jeremy and Naomi share what they think worship is and how we can open our hearts to the Lord deeper through singing together. Get familiar with the songs we sing with our playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38V2ZweXtVlSbOIsRd42B9?si=e391bb676af64d53

In our second episode on enjoying the Bible, Brett and Austin talk about what it means to cherish God's Word and how to strategize your reading plan. Brett points out a couple of great resources that can help anyone with their reading plan and how you can best approach developing a consistent reading plan.

Let's be honest; reading the Bible can be challenging. Whether we feel like there's not enough time in the day, we don't understand what we are reading, or we don't have a strong desire to read, it can be easy to neglect our time in God's word. In this episode, Brett and Austin talk about how we can learn not to simply read God's word but deeply enjoy it. Brett reminds us of the great privilege of having access to God's word, and enjoying it doesn't have to be hard. Brett also gives a few practical tips that can help you engage with scripture and help aid in your understanding of the Bible. As you listen to this episode, pray that God would give you a new hunger and desire for His word!

In the second segment on pursuing purity, Brett and Austin talk about what that looks like in a relationship. Whether we know it or not, when we enter a relationship, we come in them with ideas of what we think about sex. Regardless of those ideas, the Bible tells us that sex is beautiful and sacred. We as Christians should then want to protect the sanctity of sex. Austin lays out some great practical tips for pursuing purity and the amazing benefits we reap when we do. Even if you have struggled with pursuing purity in your relationship, there is still a waterfall of grace from Jesus that can inspire you not to give up.

For our first episode on the topic of purity, we are pleased to have our first guest speaker Kellan Heavican with us. Austin, Brett, and Kellan talk about how pervasive and dangerous pornography is. One of the reasons pornography has become such a big problem is that we have failed to talk about it. This lack of clarity has led us to believe so many lies about it. While this is a heart-breaking reality, Kellan shares what it can look like to walk in freedom from pornography. Learn about the true problem that pornography is at https://fightthenewdrug.org/ Want to take the next step in fighting for purity? Download Accountable2You at https://citylight.accountable2you.com/

We are diving back into discerning God's will for our lives in this episode. We tend to think that discerning God's will is something reserved for the "spiritually elite" and that we should ask someone, like a pastor or mentor, about all of our big life decisions. Or, in some cases, we look to the world to tell us what we want to hear. The reality is that God has given us everything we need to know about acting in obedience. God gave us His Word and prayer as ways to openly communicate with Him, and they offer us an invitation to trust in Christ. On a practical level, though, Brett gives us a few questions we can ask ourselves to see if we are pursuing God's will rather than our selfish desires.

One of the hardest questions we as Christians ask ourselves is "How do I know what God wants me to do?" We often feel anxious when it comes to making big life decisions because we want to honor God in them. This very often leads to a sort of paralysis in which we are so afraid of making the wrong decision, that we make no decision. In this episode Brett and Austin talk about what it looks like to trust in the Lord and His sovereignty. The best thing we can do when we want to know what God wants us to do, is to go to His Word.

Austin and Brett talk about celebrating in the second episode of our two-part series over Sabbath. For many people, Sabbath means doing absolutely nothing on a Sunday. For others, Sunday is just another day of the week to fill up with a "to-do" list. In either case, we lose out on what true biblical rest looks like. As we saw in the last episode, Sabbath does involve slowing down and ceasing our daily tasks. However, it also means taking time to rejoice and celebrate what God has done throughout the week. It means intentionally carving out time in your week to enjoy the gifts God has given us, whether that be reading, going for a run, cooking, or spending time with good friends. Sabbath wasn't created to be another task that we rush to finish, but a healthy rhythm that connects us back to our Creator!

In the first episode of the podcast, we begin with a topic that many Christians in today's "grind" culture struggle with Sabbath. Over the next two episodes, Brett and Austin will examine why having biblical rest in today's world is so critical. This first episode covers the idea of ceasing. Whether it's work, school, or social media, to have a genuinely healthy Sabbath, we have to stop the normal rhythms of our life so we can deeply reflect on where our walk with Jesus is. Brett and Austin will talk about what ceasing looks like on a practical level and give suggestions for doing it.

In this episode, Brett and Austin explain why the podcast came to be and its vision. Each episode will take a topic and break it down in four ways: Demystify, Vision, Equip, and Compel. By the end of each episode, you should walk away with valuable tips that you can apply that very day.

Have you ever taught yourself how to paint a room, cook a steak, or make furniture? Do you feel like your relationship with Jesus would be so much better if you just had some practical tools to help you? Then the DIY Together podcast is here to help! Join Pastors Austin and Brett as they discuss topics like Sabbath, knowing your bible, purity, making friends with other believers, and much more. We have designed this podcast to give straightforward tips and advice that everyday Christians can implement into their daily lives and grow in a deeper relationship with Jesus.