Shartel Church of God Podcast

Throughout history, there have always been things that distinguished the people of God from the rest of the world. Festivals and feasts, holy days and sabbaths, rituals, and even dietary habits. One of the key points of Jesus' ministry was that all those other things didn't really matter. What DID matter was one Big Thing. That big thing was love. Love would be the way the world would know we were His.

One of the ongoing arguments that disciples had was probably the most annoying to Jesus. They wanted to know who would be the “greatest.” Jesus called them back to reality with one of the most unbelievable acts He could have done shortly before He died. He washed their feet. That's how a true leader leads.

Barnabas is one of the quiet, unsung heroes of the early church. He wasn't famous for much, but he had an incredible impact on untold lives simply by using his main spiritual gift. Encouragement. He was a lifter, not a leaner. His name was actually Joseph, but his helpful nature and generous spirit earned him the nickname, “Barnabas.” That means, “Son of Encouragement.” Maybe, if WE encouraged more, God would pick us to be a Barnabas.

This passage was a strategic shift in how the Kingdom of God would advance. The Church was growing, and the needs were growing with it. When the disciples faced the dilemma of how to keep the widows fed, they challenged the leaders to pick seven who would take on that responsibility. As those seven stepped up to meet the need, the Apostles were released to do their job. And the Kingdom of God ADVANCED!

Many people think they can't witness because they're not Bible scholars or trained in evangelism. But the most powerful witness in the world is OUR STORY! When the demoniac was healed by Jesus, he wanted to hang out with Jesus and the other disciples. But Jesus picked him to go back to those who had known him before and let them see what the Lord had done. His story gave God Great Glory!

The people thought Saul would make a great king because he was tall and strong. But God knew that it's not what's on the outside but what's on the INSIDE that really matters! God picked David because of His heart, not his muscles or his smarts. When our hearts are open and submissive to God, we become incredibly powerful for His Kingdom. David knew what others didn't. Ultimately, the battle belongs to the Lord!

There was a huge crowd following Jesus. Over 5000 people. Maybe as many as 10,000 or 15,000. After a long day of teaching, they were hungry. The disciples had no food, nor enough money to buy food for that many. Then, a young boy offered his lunch. Jesus picked HIM to be the catalyst for a miracle! Jesus reminds us again and again, “Little is much when God is in it!” What's your “little” that God is waiting for YOU to offer?

It was out of a fresh, new vision of God that Isaiah became passionate about being picked by God. When we really see God, we remember who He is and what He can do. And we renew our passion to be about His work.

In this message, we'll explore what it is in this past year that we need to leave behind. Paul says that we need to “forget” the past. The word actually means to “set it aside.” This message will help identify those things in our lives that are keeping us from being all God has called us to be and to let them go.

In this message, we'll explore what it is in this past year that we need to leave behind. Paul says that we need to “forget” the past. The word actually means to “set it aside.” This message will help identify those things in our lives that are keeping us from being all God has called us to be and to let them go.

As we celebrate Christmas Eve, we will reflect on Jesus as our Light. He brings warmth to our lives. He brings hope to our lives. He came as the Light of God's Welcome to us. And He stays as the Light of God's Guidance to us. To a people who are prone to wander, He is the Light that shows the way.

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Truer words have never been spoken. But the love the world needs is not a love that it can create on its own. The Bible reminds us that “GOD is love.” This last Sunday before Christmas, we will celebrate that Jesus came to us as the highest expression of God's love for us. He came to show us how to BE loved, RECEIVE love, and to GIVE love. It is a gift that can change the world.

The world can be a dark and dangerous place. Life can be hard and overwhelming. It's easy to forget as we forge our way forward that life wasn't meant to just be endured. It was meant to be enjoyed! This Sunday of Advent we celebrate Christ's coming with a reminder that He came to do more than just give us New Life. He came to give us Abundant Life. He came to restore our JOY!

It almost seems funny that in the busiest season of the year, we talk about “peace.” But the peace that Christ brings isn't the absence of chaos. It's being anchored in the midst of the chaos. It's the stability and security that comes when we remember who He is and whose we are. He is our “Prince of Peace.”

Hope—Is there any greater need in the world than that? Hope for healing. Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for a way out, a way through, a way forward. It was to a world that was utterly hopeless that Jesus came. And He brought to the world on Christmas what He brings to us today—Hope.

Kings come and go. Governments rise and fall. Those who are considered the wealthiest, or the most powerful, or the most invulnerable, will all fade away. But there's one Kingdom that lasts forever. That's the Kingdom of God. That's why our God is our Rock, our Strong Tower, and our Foundation. This message will be about building our lives on something that is UNSHAKABLE.

We wrap up our series on Hebrews with a great challenge to stay focused on Jesus. If we focus on ourselves, we'll get discouraged. If we focus on others, we'll become jealous or disillusioned. Jesus is our goal, our model, and our coach. Let's make sure we're keeping our eyes on Jesus!

None of us got here by ourselves. There were people who went before us to pave the way. There were people who led us Christ, helped us grow in Christ, and were there for us along the way. Now, it's our turn. We have the baton. This message will focus on what it means to run the race faithfully for those who are coming after us.

Faith is not just “a key” to our walk with God, it is The Key! It takes faith to open the door to God. It takes faith to stay connected to God. It takes faith to be obedient to God. In every part of our journey, faith is a necessary piece. This message will look at why faith is so important and why our faith is a “reasonable” faith!

There is great power in community. God designed us in such a way that we grow better, stay safer, avoid discouragement, and stay truer to our commitments when we do life TOGETHER! This message will examine the power of community and what it takes to make it work.

One of the challenges on our journey of faith is not allowing ourselves to become hard-headed or hard-hearted. This message will focus on listening to the voice of God and becoming immediately responsive to what God is saying. God will protect us and shape us if we keep our lives MOLDABLE!

Peter Pan was the storybook figure who determined that he would never grow up. Unfortunately, many Christians take that same approach to their walk with God. Though we will always be “children” to God, He doesn't want us to remain immature. This message will focus on what it means to “grow up” in the faith.

The Hebrews writer challenges us to not hold back when we come before God. We can come confessing bold sins. We can come with bold praise. We can come before Him with bold requests. There God will meet us at our point of need.

We're often overly hard on ourselves as we struggle because we think God expects MORE. We often forget that God became as human as we are and struggled with same of the same things we do. Though He was sinless, Jesus understands our struggles, fears, and temptations. We can go to Him because He “gets us.”

Let this blow your mind: There are no secrets. In a world of endless cameras and cell phones, most things you THINK aren't seen usually are. But even if NO ONE sees and NO ONE knows, God knows. God sees our unspoken fears and our hidden sins. This message will look at how God calls us out of our “hiddenness” and into His Grace and Mercy. Whatever we're facing, whatever we're going through, God knows.

God's Word is the most direct way that the Lord speaks to us. It is also the tool that God uses to help us see ourselves and change our attitudes and behaviors. Like a scalpel in the hands of a master surgeon, God uses His Word to remove the disease of sin and bring healing and wholeness to our lives.

One of the challenges on our journey of faith is not allowing ourselves to become hard-headed or hard-hearted. This message will focus on listening to the voice of God and becoming immediately responsive to what God is saying. God will protect us and shape us if we keep our lives MOLDABLE!

Most of us don't just up and walk away from our faith. We drift. We slowly, for a variety of reasons, lose our grip on our commitment to God, our beliefs, and who we want to become. This message will look at how we can stay on course and stay tightly connected to our faith.

Jesus wasn't just another teacher or prophet. He was God in the flesh! That fact changed everything that we knew about God. No longer was God mysterious or hidden or unknown. He came and we “beheld His glory.” Everything we wanted to know about God we find in Jesus.

We SAY that our relationship with our family and friends is one of the most important priorities we have. But is it? This message serves as a reminder that love is one of the most precious gifts God has given us, and it needs to be protected and cherished. We'll remind ourselves that life is meant to be enjoyed, not merely endured. Learning how to actually CHERISH the journey may be the most important road lesson of all.

Don't you just love the people who ignore the “no parking” signs? It's almost as if they think they can park anywhere they want, anytime they want. We often let those kinds of people invade our lives until we can no longer stand it. In this message, we'll look at how to set and respect healthy boundaries. We'll look at why boundaries are a biblical and necessary part of our relational lives. We'll also explore how boundaries can actually save our relationships as well as our own sanity!

In this week's message, we see how turning to God and His Word shapes our thoughts, our emotions, decisions, and ultimately our lives.

In a world where we're pushed to pave our own direction, we're reminded through scripture that God is our true north. His ways are higher, His power greater, and His love steadfast. We are to trust in Him with everything, even when it's difficult.

Though it's not always easy for us to admit, there are times when we need to be able to walk away from a relationship. Like when the relationship has become toxic or harmful, or dangerously unhealthy. Or like when we recognize there is a vast difference in our values and ethics. Or like when there is abuse taking place. Here we'll explore the times when a relationship is going nowhere and how to end it properly. Sometimes a New Beginning starts with an ending.

Have you ever known people who just run other people over? It's almost like they're oblivious at times to the people around them. Sometimes, they are! This message will focus on how we can learn to become more “people aware” and sensitive to those we're in relationships with. We'll learn how to pick up on the signs we may be running over people without being aware of it, and how to become more caring, relational drivers.

Have you ever noticed how many times you have to merge as you drive? How about in your relationships? When you move into a new neighborhood. When you take a new job. When you marry. When you have kids. When you “blend” your family with another family. This message will look at those transitional times and how to navigate them without crashing into each other and creating relational crises.

Rough roads are a part of EVERYONE'S journey at one time or another. Though we come to expect a few twists and turns in our relationships, we usually don't foresee all the potholes and debris we will encounter. One of the most important skills we can learn is how to navigate on troublesome relational roads. Learning how not to overreact or overcompensate can save your life while driving. It can also save your relationships!

Problems occur in our relationships when we move too fast. We tend to microwave almost everything, relationships included! We make commitments before we actually know the person, or we allow others to dictate the speed. In this message, I will focus on some of the speed limits we need to consider, whether in a business, personal, or romantic relationship. If we want relationships that are healthy and last, we need to slow down and live!

We often say that being a Christian is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is a very true statement. Sometimes, what we miss is that this relationship is not one where we come in and stay the same. Jesus doesn't call us into a relationship and desire us to be the same. He calls us to become a New Creation. He calls us to leave our life of flesh, to let the old things pass away, and to become new in Him. Have you embraced this New Creation that He is calling you to become, or are you clinging to your old things? Join us this Sunday as we see what it means to be "Living as a New Creation!"

This week's message focuses on what it means to be spiritually grounded, not in our accomplishments, performance, or outward success, but in the unchanging love of God.

The problem with most of our kids is US! The attitudes they have, the values they choose, the character they develop…most of it comes from what they've seen in their own home. Though ultimately our kids must choose for themselves, they absorb an awful lot from us. This message will look at how to address our own “stuff” so that our kids might not repeat the sins of their parents.

On this Mother's Day, we will be doing a Child Dedication. But what is OUR role? What is it that God wants US to do with these children? This message explores the purposes of parenting and the plan God had in mind when He created us to live in families.

Paul was religious but not victorious. He knew the scriptures but he couldn't live them out. He knew a lot about God but he didn't really know God. In Romans 7 he details his defeated life. Then he experienced the Resurrected Jesus. Paul discovered that he needed more than knowledge. He needed POWER. And that power comes from the Resurrected Christ living in us and through us. You can discover how to live a victorious life as well!

Have you ever been afraid? Sure you have. Fear has a paralyzing quality to it that can keep us from moving forward with our lives. Especially when that fear comes from failure. Peter experienced that. When Jesus needed Peter the most, Peter denied he even knew Him. Peter, gripped by fear, retreated and hid. But then came the Resurrection. And that fearful, cowering disciple became a powerful preacher. Peter found the strength to not only overcome his fears but to become the best version of himself. The Resurrection can renew courage in you as well!

When the disciples discovered that Jesus had risen from the dead, it was as though THEY came back to life, too! Their JOY was restored. Their BELIEF was renewed. And their souls were filled with HOPE. This Resurrection Sunday, we will look at how Jesus can be that same Living Hope for you. No matter how bleak your circumstances have been, there is a Resurrection waiting for YOU!

Have you ever lost faith? Most of us have, along the way. Disappointments, losses, and setbacks all have their way of taking the wind out of our spiritual sails and filling our minds with doubt. Thomas is a good example of that. He was a faithful follower until he saw Jesus arrested and crucified. Then, doubt took over. That is, until he experienced the Resurrection for himself. May God restore YOUR faith too!

Baptism is such a beautiful visual of the Resurrection. It reminds us that we can bury our past, bury our failures, and bury our shame. Just as Christ rose to a New Life, so can we! We not only come up out of the water with clean bodies, we come up with a clean slate upon which we can write a New Story. The Resurrection means that no matter how “dead” we may have been, we can live New Lives!

One of the names God revealed Himself by was “Jehovah Raphe, the God who heals us.” One of the primary ministries of Jesus was as a healer as well. So, too, as the Church, we are to be a safe place for people who are hurting. We are to open our doors and our arms to those who are wounded, those who are struggling, and those who society often casts aside. In a world filled with hurting people, we are a Hospital.

The church is more than an organization. It's an ORGANISM! It's a living, breathing extension of God Himself. Because of that, we only have life when we're connected to God. This message will explore how to “abide” in Christ and allow His love and strength to flow through us.

Christ came from heaven to earth with a mission: To bridge the gap between God and those far from Him. And then He gave that mission to US! Paul reminds us in this week's passage that we are ambassadors—agents of God's grace, emissaries of His love, and spreaders of His gospel. This week, we'll look at how we can carry out that role in our homes, schools, offices, and neighborhoods.

From the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant, God has called His People to be His Army on earth. As we pray, speak, and step up and step out, God's Spirit battles through us. This message will look at the armor that God gives us and the weapons that God gives us to fight the good fight of faith here on earth.