Extra Takes

Welcome to Extra Takes this week with Pastor Gus Davies and Matt Shiles as they dive deeper into Pastor Gus's sermon on Genesis 11. Matt brings his regular questions about a one-word summary, and takeaways from the weekend, and discusses what new thoughts preparing the sermon brought for Pastor Gus. They also discuss some subjects that were cut from the sermon for the sake of time. Join us for this special edition of Extra Takes!

After a preview of coming attractions, Matt takes Pastor Josh into a discussion of this week's sermon on Noah, from Genesis 6:11-22, including takeaways, and connections to other elements of the Bible. Finally, Matt leads Pastor Josh into a discussion of his teaching point of "W.A.L.K. ing" with God and how this all wraps into the story of Noah.

Join Pastor Josh and his usual sidekick, Matt Shiles as they unpack this week's sermon about a blended family and a broken heart, from Genesis 6. Matt walks Pastor Josh through much of this sermon's content and asks him to further explain some of the finer points, including how judgement is loving.

Genesis 5 shows a pattern: born, live, die. But Enoch's life broke the cycle. In this episode of Extra Takes, Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles recall harrowing car rides and the executive retreat from last week. Then talk a little about how Pastor Josh constructs his sermons before diving into the life of Enoch and how his life compared to the others around him in bible times and today. 

Ride along with Pastors Josh and Gus as they matriculate down the motorway and discuss Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-16. Pastor Josh's main point was "Sin left unchecked unravels love for one another – while God's love is unreal for the other." He goes on to explain in more detail how Cain and Abel were so different in their love for God. Pastor Gus then leads PJ through a discussion of how you know if you have Cain's heart, and not Abel's. Join us for the first in-motion Extra Takes!

A calf-conscious Pastor Josh and Matt Shile dive deeper into the Easter sermon concerning: The bad news is that humans chose to love themselves supremely which led to nakedness and shame; The good news is that God chose to love unloving humans, unconditionally, so that they may be clothed and saved. Pastor Josh explains that "When you receive God's Love and you begin to love Him the way he's created and designed you to love and you begin to reciprocate that love to others, you actually join Him in remaking the world."

Join Masters Tournament hopeful Pastor Josh Laxton and his trusty caddy, Matt Shiles as they discuss this week's sermon from Palm Sunday regarding God's Love. After a discussion of how this sermon came together, they move to the main point: People lost the Garden because they lost their love for God. They conclude with requests of how we should pray leading up to Easter.

Join us for another episode of Extra Takes where Matt Shiles leads Pastor Josh in a further discussion of his Genesis sermon on work, and how it's a secondary purpose and a natural blessing, not necessary burden.  Further, they'll discuss how even if you're not working in the church, you can be working for God's Glory.

In this episode of Extra Takes, Matt Shiles takes Pastor Josh into a further discussion of the Sabbath. Pastor Josh spends time pointing out the legalism that has increased the difficulty for Christians to follow what Jesus explained we should do to follow Him. Join us for this rich discussion of a vital part of our Christian flourishing!

In this episode of Extra Takes, Matt Shiles takes Pastor Josh through a discussion of this week's very practical message regarding God's organizational example in Genesis. Through Creation, He showed us how to put systems in place to clear the way for flourishing in our lives. Be sure to stay for the end when Pastor Josh exclaims about our "microwave society". Good stuff on this week's episode! 

Join in for another episode of Extra Takes where Matt Shiles guides Pastor Josh through a discussion of this week's "bonus" sermon about Glory being the Fuel of Life. Pastor Josh gives further discussion to his questions, "Would you choose the Promise of [worldy] success without the Presence of God?" And, "Would you choose the Presence of God without the Promise of Success?" Then further discussion develops regarding your "glow" and dedicating your life and work to Jesus.

Join "Dr Josh Laxton" and Matt Shiles for a further discussion of this week's sermon from Genesis 1:26-28. Humanity was the crescendo of creation, that was to establish and extend God's Home aka Kingdom on Earth. Pastor Josh talks about some of the things he wished were included this week, as well as explaining how we should reflect and mirror the way that God has related to us. The discussion wraps up with an explanation of how this all relates to what Pastor Josh's goals are for Northland.

In this episode of Extra Takes, Matt Shiles leads Pastor Josh—sporting his snazzy pickleball shirt—through a discussion on Genesis 2:4-17, where God creates a house and makes it a home. They explore key questions: How does God make Earth a home? What makes creation God's temple? And why does it matter? Pastor Josh also reflects on the importance of shaping culture rather than letting culture shape us, emphasizing that God's intention has always been to bring Heaven to Earth.

Join Pastor Josh and his sidekick, "Lefty", as they spend time examining the finer points of this weeks' sermon. "The first week of creation provides us a good first impression of The Creator, and a good first response of what we should do as the created". After a discussion of the creative process Pastor Josh used for his creation video, the discussion moves to the characteristics and nature of Elohim. Finally the discussion wraps up with an explanation of the differences between Elohim and Yahweh. 

Join Pastor Josh and his temporary co-host, Pastor Gus as they dive deeper into this first message of the Genesis series. Pastor Josh starts by discussing how important this part of the Bible is, then he and Pastor Gus dive into the challenges of Modernity and Post-Modernity, and the role of Moses and The Big Story. Finally, they get more personal with how you choose which big story that you're a part of, then a breezy discussion of Theistic Evolution and Creationism.

Join Pastor Josh and his trusty sidekick Matt Shiles as they wrap up the Vision series. Pastor Josh reviews the Old Testament basis for the series, and the difficulties humans have experienced though all time trying to live up to these commands.  Then Pastor Josh outlines the microchurch specifications, as promised in service.  Also, a bonus discussion of apparel is included. 

Witness a sleepy Pastor Josh become energized as Matt Shiles brings the discussion about this past week's sermon, "Sustaining Believe". You must endure the sabotages for Believe to succeed. This is a discussion about keeping your faith in Jesus as the Cosmic King alone and rejecting the saboteurs who might confuse that clarity. Pastor Josh then talks about the fear of change or loss in one's life that this clarity of faith might bring. 

Join Mathew William Shiles and Pastor Josh as they dive into the second installment of the Vision: Believe series. Listen in as Pastor Josh talks about how the problems experienced  in Exodus are still with us today, and how to look at those problems through a biblical lens. There are also hints about upcoming sermons and how this series will wrap up.

Matt Shiles is back to lead Pastor Josh through a discussion of the first sermon of his vision series, "Believe". After a lively discussion about new year's resolutions, they talk about our needs (peace, redemption, and purpose), how we respond to those needs, and whether we're doing what the Lord has called us to do. 

Listen in to this special edition of Extra Takes where Lauren Travers joins Pastor Josh in the studio to dive deeper into the subject of Soul Care and how attention and care of your soul can lead to flourishing and being fully alive in King Jesus.

Great Scott! Join Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles as they wrap up the last sermon series of 2024, which culminated on Christmas Eve. Listen in as Pastor Josh talks more about his “alternate timeline” that Adam ad Eve set in place, as demonstrated by his Back to The Future II illustration. Matt Shiles and Pastor Josh talk about how Jesus restores his Shalom into his people. Matthew 1:1, 18–24; Luke 1:67–79; 2:8–15; John 1:1–5

Tune in for as Matt Shiles takes on a new role as the the one answering questions! After Matt taught the message this weekend, Pastor Gus has many questions to drill down further on Matt's message from 2nd Chronicles. Listen in as Matt talks about his preparation, and how Pastor Josh talked him into teaching his first message ever! 

In this special episode of Extra Takes, Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles welcome you to 2025. They look back at the sermon series that were preached in 2024, and do some character study into how Pastor Josh approaches his preparation. Then they look forward to 2025's upcoming preaching series. Further, Pastor Josh shares some of his goals and vision for Northland's future! 

This week's Extra Takes is quite the delight, Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles, they're ready to ignite! They'll chat about sermons with wisdom so grand, "God speaks redemption, a Savior's at hand!" Now, what's this about a Grinch, you might say? Well, Pastor Josh has a favorite—hurray! Then Matt shifts the talk to the here and the now, Where are the people, and what's God's vow? How does He save them, and why does He care? Why redeem us all? Well, they're here to share!

In this episode of Extra Takes, Matt Shiles returns to his regular post to guide Pastor Josh through a discussion of the second sermon in the series “Breaking the Silence”. After a brief discussion of wardrobe choices, they get down to discussing how important your purpose in life is and how that becomes your mission. Pastor Josh goes on to explain how lost humans can become when they lose their sense of purpose, as has become common after the Enlightenment. Finally, Matt and Pastor Josh discuss how difficult it is to experience Godly flourishing.

Join Pastor Josh with Tom Horvath, while Matt Shiles is on vacation. Tom leads Pastor Josh through a discussion including some Santa Claus talk, and how hard it is to preach every year on the birth of our savior, then moving into this weekend's sermon on Shalom. Pastor Josh provides lots of details about Genesis and how important each element is. Finally, Tom leads Pastor Josh into a discussion of the Shalom of the Sabbath.

In this unique episode of Extra Takes, join Pastor Josh from Tennessee, as he welcomes Pastor Gus to the podcast. Pastor Josh guides Pastor Gus through a discussion first of some African proverbs, then how we are to make decisions according to the bible, and finishes up with a time of thanks to mark the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Pastor Josh is remote in this edition of Extra Takes, from Tennessee. Matt Shiles guides the discussion from the regular studio at Northland as they look into some of the details regarding this week's sermon on biblical friendship. After Pastor Josh takes a brief walk down memory lane, he digs into the differences in the different levels of friendship and what it takes for a "Biblical Friendship", and what the real benefits of such a relationship are. 

Matt Shiles leads Pastor Josh through a discussion of this week's message, titled "A WEALTH of WISDOM makes you WISE towards WEALTH".  Pastor Josh talks about how difficult it is to preach on this subject, and how careful he was crafting the sermon. Matt takes Pastor Josh into more tricky areas regarding wealth and its uses, leading to some interesting discussion, revealing some of Pastor Josh's insights into this tricky subject. 

Proverbs 1:1-7 Join a rather punchy Pastor Josh and a regular Matt Shiles as they discuss the first in this new sermon series, "Word to the Wanna Be Wise", from the book of Proverbs. Alon with a discussion about this book of the bible, Matt leads Pastor Josh to discuss questions like: Where does wisdom come from, Why do we need wisdom, how do we get wisdom, what happens when we get wisdom, and, do you have His wisdom. 

Join Matt Shiles as he hosts Pastor Josh and Chris Storms to explore the complexities of political engagement from a faith-based perspective. They discuss why we consume political news, whether engagement is an opportunity or a trap for believers, and how to navigate the messy middle without falling into divisive tactics. They'll also cover the differences between church leaders and congregants in political involvement, the importance of guarding our hearts against negative influences, and offer practical advice for moving forward after the election.  LINKS- Josh Laxton—Leveraging the Rights of our Earthly Citizenship: Why We Should Vote https://joshlaxton.com/2022/01/19/appealing-to-caesar-leveraging-the-rights-of-our-earthly-citizenship Josh Laxton—6 Questions to Ask Before Voting for Someone https://joshlaxton.com/2020/11/01/6-questions-4-exhortations-and-a-prophetic-whistle-a-christians-guide-for-the-coming-election Josh Laxton—Four Things I'm Praying for During this Political Season https://joshlaxton.com/2016/02/29/prayer-and-politics-four-things-im-praying-for-during-this-political-season • List of Voter Guides https://www.christianvoterguide.com/.../southeast.../florida Voting Guides for Amendments: • Amendment 4 https://justfacts.votesmart.org/elections/ballot-measure/2877/florida-amendment-4-right-to-abortion-initiative • Other Ballot Measures — (This link gives you a list of all the amendments throughout the years. Find the Amendments that are up for voting for November 5, 2024) https://justfacts.votesmart.org/elections/ballot-measures/FL https://www.christianvoterguide.com/states/southeast-region/florida  

Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles bring the series to a close (after a quick promotional discussion of the Northland Cafe). Pastor Josh discusses the overall ideas from Revelation about what the Church's calling is, the societal pressures She experiences, and how to evaluate the condition of the Church. The discussion wraps up discussing Pastor Josh's hypothetical letter to Northland.

Tune in for the 8th episode dealing with Pastor Josh's series entitled "Letters To His Church", dealing with the book Revelation. Matt Shiles leads Pastor Josh through a discussion of this week's sermon, The Good For Nothing Church. They'll discuss whether your deeds reflect your declaration, whether you're producing fruit that Jesus is the main object of your faith, and whether or not you give Jesus credit for every good thing in your life; as well as Pastor Josh's focus on being a praying church.

This week, Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles discuss the 7th sermon regarding what The Spirit says to the churches. The main idea was: Gospel Revolutionaries live to PLEASE Christ and will see Jesus work to make them a PILLAR that weathers every storm, OR: A life PLEASING to Christ transforms into a PILLAR made by Christ. Listen in as Matt leads Pastor Josh through a further discussion of what it means to become a pillar.  

Join Pastor Josh and Matt this week as they share about the 1-star review church in Sardis. Also hear about the special giving moment and time of intercession for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Learn from Psalm 46 how we can rest in God no matter what.

Join Pastor Lee Stephenson and Tom Horvath as they discuss Pastor Lee's message from this past weekend regarding staying connected and producing fruit, as in a vineyard with all branches connected to the vine. Pastor Lee shares personal stories illustrating how this idea has affected his life. 

Join a very travel-weary Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles for this special edition of Extra Takes from the Lausanne Conference near Seoul South Korea. Pastor Josh discusses what they're seeing and learning from 13 hours into the future! This congress is held every 14 years and includes people from all over the world. 

Join us for further discussion of sermon number 5 of our Letters To His Church series. Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles dive even deeper into the story of Jezebel to drive home the main point which Pastor Josh summarized 3 ways: 1: Revolutionary living rejects friendship with the world to remain faithful to the King, or 2: Revolutionary living renounces that which Jesus rejects, or 3: Revolutionary living requires faithfulness to the word of God rather than friendliness to the ways of the world. This is a longer episode that deals with your personal interface with the world.  

In this week's Extra Takes, Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles discuss the 4th sermon of the Letters to His Church series. Matt Shiles leads Pastor Josh through a discussion of Revelation 2:12-17, where Jesus reveals what is IN alignment, what is OUT OF alignment, how to FIX what's out of alignment, and finally, what happens when they do and don't achieve alignment.  

Join us this week as Pastor Josh and Matt continue to dig into Revelation 2 and how the Church at Smyrna was able to be faithful to end. Learn about the three gladiators we face in this world as well as whether we should engage in cancel culture. We also get a preview of the coming week's message.

Welcome to another edition of Extra Takes! In this episode, Pastor Josh talks with Matt Shiles about his vacation to California, and then dives into discussing how he prepared for this more difficult message from Revelation. Matt asks Pastor Josh to discuss how people can fall out of love with Jesus, or maybe miss the whole thing from the start, working off his main point of: Revolutionary living requires love for Jesus rather than a religious lifestyle that might look like Jesus.

Join us for another episode of Extra Takes as Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles introduce this series. Pastor Josh will spend a few minutes giving advice on how to listen to a sermon, then they dive into further explanation of how Revelation is a letter, and how we can embrace our Revolutionary Lord and his Revolutionary Life. 

Join Pastor Josh along with his usual co-host Matt Shiles as they welcome "The Dans", Pastors Dan Elkins and Dan Young into the studio. Pastor Dan Elkins' sermon from this past weekend is discussed, along with conversation about the Next-Gen programs that are being launched here at Northland. As a bonus, careful listeners will find out what Pastor Josh's original name for this podcast was! 

Join us for the final thoughts on our summer A&E series! Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles spend lots of time going over why we have such a summer series, and diving into the struggles with engaging the larger culture from a Christian perspective. Pastor Josh shares his heart for bringing Christians to a place where they can see Jesus in the most unlikely places.

This is part one of two of a very special Extra Takes, wrapping up our summer A&E series for 2024. Join Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles as they start to discuss this weeks sermon which dealt with the songs of Music Megastar, Taylor Swift. Pastor Josh spends time talking about how we should be different in the way we engage culture, rather than simply boxing it out and condemning it. Be ready for Part Two, coming up next week, where Pastor Josh and Matt will close out with the conclusion of this series.

In this episode of Extra Takes, Pastor Josh and co-host Matt Shiles continue their "Same Song, New Humanity" series, focusing on pain and suffering. They analyze Benson Boone's song "Beautiful Things" from a biblical perspective and discuss its cultural impact. The episode highlights the need for discernment in guiding younger generations and explores the inner journey of artists and their influence. They also reflect on the story of Job and its correlation to the themes in Boone's song

Join in for the discussion of this week's sermon with Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles. They"ll spend time explaining why we have the A&E series, then dive into the message regarding the song, "Saturn", by the artist Siza. Pastor Josh spends time explaining what we as Christians do with culture: create, celebrate, consume, critique or condemn. Finally, there's discussion about the Church in general dealing with the culture around her.

Join Matt Shiles as he guides Pastor Derwin Anderson through a further discussion of this week's sermon, featuring the story of Anthony Evans, concerning the difference between "playing hurt and playing injured" and when it's time to ask for help. Pastor Derwin takes us through his sermon preparation, and how sometimes he finds himself saying something he didn't plan to say, which is the work of God. Stay with us until almost the end to hear Pastor Derwin sing a little of his favorite Anthony Evans song!

Join us as Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles unpack the second part of the final sermon of this year's T.E.D. series, "How Then Shall We Live?", where we examine Jeremiah 29, and our place as exiles. Pastor Josh also takes time to talk about how we should react to the world as we live in it. Also, we start with opinions about tchotchke verses. 

Join Pastor Josh and Matt Shiles as they discuss the first part of this week's sermon, "How then shall we not live?". Matt guides the discussion through the 5 points from the sermon, and Pastor Josh reflects on how season 4 of The Chosen deals with some of the same themes. This is part 1 of a 2 part discussion of the weekend. Bonus- find out what the "Jam" in June Jam stands for! 

Join us for another deep dive into our T.E.D. series. Matt Shiles asks Pastor Josh clarifying about the weekend's 2-part message. Listen as Pastor Josh takes time to further explain his six questions to ask yourself before casting your vote. Then Matt leads Pastor Josh into a discussion of the second part of the message regarding the differences between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man, using the story from Daniel 3 as an illustration.