Parker Hill - Podcast

Following an affirmative vote to become part of the LCBC Church family, Mark Stuenzi lays out a road map for what to expect in this transition and challenges us to remember who we are supposed to be and what our mission is.

Change is a non-negotiable part of life. So what do we do when life doesn't measure up to our expectations? It all comes down to perspective—we have to choose to change our perspective.

We can spend a lot of time and energy pursuing things that don’t really matter all that much. We can get to the end of a year, a decade, or even the end of our lives and realize that we were chasing all the wrong things. We all have a tendency to lose sight of the things that really matter, and give our attention to things that really don’t.

This next scene in the story of Jonah may be one of the greatest pictures of God's grace anywhere in the Bible. If you've ever felt like you messed up too badly, did something unforgivable, or that it was simply too late for you—well this message is going to be good news for you.

Sometimes we have to feel some pain before God gets our full attention. But God allows us to experience that pain because he knows it can bring us back to him.

Making good decisions requires good information. Throughout this process, our objective has been to inform our church family of all the facts regarding this merger. As we bring the series to a close, Mark answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the merger.

Whenever we face change in our lives of any kind, there are certain emotions we feel: uncertainty, apprehension, even fear. These are natural responses to the unknown. What's important is how we respond to the fear we feel and whether we will trust God to help us overcome it so we can experience what God has planned for us.

When it comes to advancing the mission, unity is the key to victory. That’s true on the battlefield, that’s true in any team sport, and it’s certainly true when it comes to accomplishing our mission as a church. When God’s people unify around a common mission, great things begin to happen.

When it comes to planning for the future of our church, the most important question that must be asked is "Will this advance the mission?" In this message, Mark unpacks the many ways that merging with LCBC Church will advance our mission of helping people find the way back to God.

If you’ve ever found yourself knocked around, lost, blind, or confused, Jesus wants to lead you out of that and put you on a path in a new direction. That new direction is counterintuitive and counter-cultural, but it is the way of Jesus.

We've all been handed the script when it comes to sex—what it is, what its purpose is, what its value is, and even how we should be having it. In this message, LCBC's Jason Mitchell offers a different script that addresses the lie that sex is just physical.

If you're dating, want to be dating, or have a child who will someday want to date, then you know it can get complicated. In this message, Mark outlines four steps to help you—or others in your life—navigate the ins and outs of dating.

LCBC Church’s senior pastor, David Ashcraft, shares some important practices that lead to a strong and healthy marriage. Even if you aren’t married, many of these principles can be applied to all the relationships in our lives.

There's a myth perpetuated by society that tells us that if you're single then you're incomplete; that if you don't have somebody, then you can't be somebody. But that's not what God intends for those who are single. In this message, Mark reveals the ways God uses seasons of singleness—if we let him.

We put a lot of emphasis on finding the right person. But that's an impossibly tall order for someone to fill. In this message, LCBC's David Ashcraft points us to the reason we can't expect someone else to fill a role that only God was meant to fill.

Money has an incredibly powerful hold over us. No matter what your financial situation, money plays a major role in your life. Rich or poor, saddled with debt or rolling in the dough, there is a tension between your faith and your finances. In this message, David Ashcraft answers this question: How can I change where I am with my finances?

When we truly and deeply and honestly connect with one another, things start to change! We start to change. The people on the receiving end of our love start to change. Hear more about how community encourages change in this message.

It takes time to learn how to listen to God’s Spirit. It takes time to learn how stay close to Jesus. It won’t happen overnight. In this message, Jason Mitchell from LCBC Church illustrates the ways we can know we're changing over time.

Change is hard. Particularly when we rely on our own strength to achieve it. But if you're a follower of Jesus, you have access to the Holy Spirit to give you the power to change.

When we get serious about making the changes God is calling us to make, it can feel like running into the wind. Why is there always so much resistance? There is a reason—and when we understand that reason, we can be prepared for it.

At the turn of a new year, the desire for change is often on our minds. Out with the old, in with the new, right? In this message, we'll talk about how real, lasting change can happen in your life.

We can all agree that 2020 has been a challenging year. So no one would blame you if you were feeling a little bit grinchy about Christmas. But in-spite of all that’s happened this year, there really is a reason to celebrate. Joy and hope are still here!

Life is messy. We try our best to do the right thing, but sometimes the decisions we make leave us elbow-deep in our good intentions. In this message, we'll be talking about what it looks like when we can't get ourselves clean on our own, and what it means when God shows up in the middle of our mess.

Shame is a tool that Satan uses to keep us feeling like we don’t belong. And that can cause us to feel isolated and hopeless. But an unlikely, and often skipped-over, part of the Christmas story offers a different perspective. Even better, it offers hope and redemption. This week’s message comes from David Ashcraft, Senior Pastor of LCBC Church.

The original Christmas story bears no resemblance to the sanitized version we sometimes imagine. Jesus was born into a messy world. That was intentional. When we look at our circumstances and wonder if anything good could come from them, remember the messy circumstances of that first Christmas.

We've all been there. Overcome with frustration and left with nothing but unmet expectations. How should we respond? Do we suck it up and get on with life? Do we just lower our expectations? Or is there another way? If anyone understands this, it’s Joseph. He expected a beautiful wedding and a quiet life with Mary. But all of that was upended, and Joseph had to face some deeply troubling unmet expectations.

You wouldn't be alone if you find it difficult to be thankful right now. It's been a tough year. But the times when it’s most difficult to be thankful are the times when it’s most important! In this message, we learn about how gratitude can transform our hearts and our relationships.

We believe the best is yet to come. And not just for our church family, but for the tens of thousands of people in our community who are finding the way back to God. In this message, Mark Stuenzi lays out a plan that will help us be the church that NEPA needs.

In this first Vision Weekend, Pastor Mark Stuenzi will share some of the lessons we’ve learned through the Coronavirus shutdown and how it has pushed us to find creative ways to accomplish our mission. The lessons we have learned will serve us well for many years. At the same time, we face some real challenges as we rebuild from the effects of the pandemic.

In this political season, so many people are feeling anxiety, cynicism, and despair. The reason we feel that way is because we have bought into some toxic myths about the importance of politics. In this final message in this series, we'll look at three of the most poisonous myths and help you find the proper place for politics in your life.

How can you tell what’s right and what’s wrong? Fortunately, many would say, we live in an age where objective truth has disappeared. What’s true for you isn’t true for others, and what’s wrong for you isn’t wrong for others. But is it truly good for us when morals change from generation to generation and you can write your own? Or, are we missing something?

What exactly is the purpose of your life? Well, you’ve heard it. Live your best life. Become the best version of yourself. You do you. But is self-fulfillment really all it’s cracked up to be? You might be surprised to find out that a life of self-denial is ultimately more rewarding than a life of self-fulfillment.

Many people in our culture see the Bible as nothing more than a collection of legends or religious folktales. The conventional wisdom of our culture tells us that the Bible has been badly distorted through multiple translations and isn’t a credible source of information or inspiration. Why would anyone living today trust the Bible? We long for a source of direction and hope, yet we are told that the Bible can’t be trusted.

Religion is basically how ancients understood the world, but science has taken us so far beyond that. However, if we think deeply, we realize that there are many deeper questions for which science does not provide satisfying answers; questions such as the origin of the universe, the meaning of life, the complexity of our world. The truth is, scientific discoveries can actually be a source of revelation about God – what theologians sometimes call ‘’general revelation.”

The Biblical picture of eternity is far more compelling than what we normally imagine. Scripture describes a place of perfect community, meaningful responsibility, incredible beauty, and unlimited joy. The Bible describes us as having real bodies, not just existing as disembodied spirits or “angels”.

Have you ever wondered what the end times will look like? Or if we're living in them now? Here are six signs of the end times according to Jesus in Matthew 24.

There is a strong sense within our hearts that there must be more to this life than just this life. We try to ignore this longing or bury it under a flurry of activity, but in our quietest moments, that still, small voice can be heard. Much of the depression and anxiety in our culture could be traced back to the loss of belief in Heaven. Having lost sight of eternity, we try to find heaven in this world. Ultimately, we become discouraged because life doesn’t work out the way we thought it should.

Hebrews 3:12-13 warns us about the potential of “turning away from the Living God.” The way to prevent this from happening is to “encourage one another daily.” Barnabas (whose names means “son of encouragement”) embodies what it looks like to be an encourager.

Esther was forced to wrestle with a very important question: Had God placed her in a royal position “for such a time as this”? Was her influential position all about her own comfort and security, or did God have something bigger in mind? We should all be struggling with that same question, “Why has God brought us to this position in this place at this time?”

Gideon was a man God used to take an army of 300 men and defeat a strong military force. Gideon first thought the task was too big, but God promised He would always be with him. Sometimes what we think God asks of us is too big to accomplish. But the difference between fear and faith is our focus.

John The Baptist was a man who lead many people to Jesus. One day he was thrown into prison, and he started to doubt Jesus. When our circumstances make us question God, we need to remember to doubt our doubts and trust God with His plan.

Ehud is a character in the Bible that not many of us heard of. He was an ordinary man and a judge that God used to save the Israelites from a controlling King. If you think God can't use you to do his greatest work, think again! Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary people of faith.

When we pray, God hears us. God wants us to come to Him when life is good and when life gets tough. A life with constant prayer empowers us to be better followers of Jesus.

James uses three examples of patience: a farmer, the prophets, and Job. We all get weary and are tempted to give up on God when life doesn’t seem “fair.” Stay faithful for the long-term and allow God to reward us in His time and in His way.

We are never guaranteed another day on this earth. Time goes by quickly and most of this time is trying to build our kingdom instead of God's kingdom. We need to live wisely by remembering we live briefly.

Pride and greed are two of the most common driving forces in our hearts. We all have desires, but when those desires go unmet, we turn on others, ourselves, and even God. When we align our desires with God's desires, we turn to Him instead of turning on each other.

Independence Day is a celebration of the birth of our nation. But now more than ever, instead of being a nation that is united, we are a nation divided. It's okay to have different opinions about things happening in our country, but if we disagree politically, we should love unconditionally.

Even when we’re right, we have to be right in the right way. We need to be thoughtful and principled in our beliefs. However, we can easily slip into arrogance, believing that we have all the answers. We can also be overcome with selfishness, pursuing our personal agendas even at the cost of damaging the people around us. God's wisdom leads to peace and a wise person is a peacemaker, not a point-maker.