Podcasts from Community Reformed Church of Lafayette, Indiana
March 6, 2011 - God says that if we obey Him we will be a kingdom of priests – and priests show God to people. He’s saying, “Go be the agents of restoration so that when the world sees you, they’ll see me.” All of Israel got the mission that if they followed the Ten Commandments they would be restoring God’s world to the way He wanted it to be. Do we still have that same mission?
February 27, 2011 - The Israelites were fighting the Amalekites and were sworn not to forget how much God hated them and that there would be war against them from generation to generation, and the Amalekites attacked the weak and the weary and caused them to cry out. God says that He will always hear those cries. Do we?
02.13.11 - God wants to know our commitment. He wants us to show Him just how committed we are to Him through obedience. Even when things might not be easy or make sense. And even though some of those tests are harder than we ever could have imagined, we show God through our experiences and obedience. Look at Israel: with each test they grew! I’m not denying that pain is pain, but in testing pain has a purpose.
February 13, 2011 - The first thing God does with His people when they leave the shores of the Red Sea is test them. Why?
January 30, 2011 - When the Israelites left Egypt, the logical route would have been to go up through Goshen on a road known as the Philistine Road. It was a two week journey of 150 miles. But God doesn’t take them on the logical route. God takes them the way He does the Bible says, because the Philistines were great and the people might lose heart and turn back. But isn’t this God we’re talking about here? He just devastated the most powerful people and kingdom on Earth with the ten plagues – couldn’t He have easily handled the Philistines? Why does God take them into the desert?
January 9, 2011 - God heard the cry of the Israelites and chose Moses to partner with Him in leading His people into a new land. Then, God chose Israel to partner with Him in revealing Himself to the world. And God is still looking for people to partner with Him. Are you interested?
January 9, 2011 - God heard the cry of the Israelites and chose Moses to partner with Him in leading His people into a new land. Then, God chose Israel to partner with Him in revealing Himself to the world. And God is still looking for people to partner with Him. Are you interested?
December 19, 2010 - One of the unique things to John's point of view is that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Jewish festivals. Jesus was sacrificed at the Passover - the night of the Exodus that the Jews sacrificed a lamb and painted their doors with its blood. He rose from the dead on the day of First Fruits, when the Jews would present their first crops of the season as an offering to God. The Holy Spirit came on Shavuot (Pentecost) which was the day they believed God gave Moses the Law. And this passage tells the story of Jesus in Jerusalem to celebrate Succoth, or the Feast of Tabernacles. Come find out the incredible signficance of Jesus the fulfillment of Succoth!
December 5, 2010 - Mark was the first Gospel written, so he takes aim at these objections and he doesn’t try to gloss over or minimize the fact that Messiah suffered and died – instead he takes the position that Jesus was Messiah because He suffered and died. He proves Jesus was the Messiah through the suffering and dying. One of the ways he does that is in the details and the way he tells the crucifixion story.
December 12, 2010 - We’ve been talking about the four Gospels on this journey toward Christmas. While Matthew and Mark have more of an emphasis on the divine Jesus, Luke skillfully emphasizes Jesus’ humanity and his compassion for the least of these. Pick any spot in Luke and you won’t read long before you come to an experience or a teaching on the poor, the sick, women, Samaritan’s, the insignificant, the worthless, the demon possessed, and the outcasts. Come hear the story of one those outcasts.
November 28, 2010 - Have you ever wondered why there are four Gospels? Each Gospel is different, but the reason we have four is that they each tell a different point of view of the same story. If we only had one Gospel, it would be like watching a football game filmed with only one camera. If you watch a football game today there are about a dozen cameras positioned all over the stadium – they even have that crazy motorized camera that follows a guide wire on the field. They are all filming the same game, but from different points of view. Each camera provides different details of the game but it’s still the same game. It’s the same with the Gospels. We're starting with Matthew and Matthew's point of view is that of Jesus the Righteous Teacher.
November 14, 2010 - Forgiveness is not so much based on our actions but often on the condition of our hearts. It isn’t always living like it never happened, it doesn’t excuse behaviors, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t still consequences or justice. Those are different issues than forgiveness. It’s a process that takes steps and may take a while, but it’s important to keep stepping.
November 21, 2010 - Does that kind of forgiveness Jesus talks about really even exist? We’ve talked about dropping the rock and not being judgmental. We’ve talked about dropping the jawbone and letting go of revenge. We’ve talked about God’s forgiveness of us and how we need to live life without the ledger. We’ve talked about how holding on to the ledger really tortures and imprisons us and not the person who wronged us. But can we truly forgive? Maybe we can dismiss it or get over it or bury it so that it doesn’t matter anymore, but can we truly forgive?
October 31, 2010 - Revenge always goes back and forth. It escalates, and before you know it you’ve gone from foxes and crops to jawbones and bodies. Forgiveness on the other hand…forgiveness is when we put the jawbone down. Forgiveness is when we surrender the right for revenge or getting back and someone. How do we stop seeking revenge and embrace forgiveness?
October 10, 2010 - Rev. Wes Campbell preaches on Gideon.
October 17, 2010 - We’ve made it to the end of our series on Shema. But really, if Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might and a second is like it – to love your neighbor as yourself; then really all our lives, all our sermons, all our Bible Studies, all our actions and words, all our all should be about loving God and loving others. So, in terms of specifically focusing on Shema, we’re ending it today – but I hope you have seen and have felt that Shema is the core to following Jesus and that it has impacted you to the point that it will never end for you.
September 26, 2010 - God says that loving Him with all our heart, and all our soul, and all oGod says that loving Him with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our might and loving our neighbors as ourselves need to be priorities over everything else. If we disagree with someone, love should mark us in disagreements. Love. Not being right, not having the right answers, not doctrine, not skin color, not religious beliefs, not whether or not they keep their yard clean or talk differently or anything else we could judge or put ahead of loving our neighbor. Love should be our distinguishing factor with others who see things a different way.ur might and loving our neighbors as ourselves need to be priorities over everything else. If we disagree with someone, love should mark us in disagreements. Love. Not being right, not having the right answers, not doctrine, not skin color, not religious beliefs, not whether or not they keep their yard clean or talk differently or anything else we could judge or put ahead of loving our neighbor. Love should be our distinguishing factor with others who see things a different way.
October 3, 2010 - Missionaries Marlin and Sally Vis were with us and Marlin gave a challenging message on loving our enemies - who are our neighbors.
January 16, 2011 - To an Egyptian, their gods that they had understood to be the creators and sustainers of the universe couldn’t stand up to the power of the God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Great I Am. To a Hebrew, who had come to know these gods, the plagues are more than just judgment, they are a proclamation of who God wanted them to be and what He wanted them to do. God wanted them to see the world in a different way – His way.
January 2, 2011 - We often think of the Bible as two parts: old and new; but the reality of it is that it is one Word of God, one story of the victorious, powerful Creator. The Old Testament often seems like the story of Israel and not ours, but for a while, I'd like you to just try on the idea that it isn't someone else's story - it's ours. This is a series about a great battle. A battle God began in Egypt and ended on the cross. The Egyptians believed their gods were THE gods and that Pharaoh was the one who brought order to the world - but the truth is that God is THE God and the one who brings order.
January 16, 2011 - To an Egyptian, their gods that they had understood to be the creators and sustainers of the universe couldn’t stand up to the power of the God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Great I Am. To a Hebrew, who had come to know these gods, the plagues are more than just judgment, they are a proclamation of who God wanted them to be and what He wanted them to do. God wanted them to see the world in a different way – His way.
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