The Amateur Christian Podcast

One week away from Election Day, how should we vote? No, not who should we vote for... but how should we think through and prepare to cast our ballot on November 3rd? We as Bible-believing, followers of Jesus have a responsibility to steward our resources and decisions well. So whether you decide to vote or not vote, vote Republican or Democrat or other, may you place your vote with a conviction that God will be honored by your decision, with a desire to promote unity in the body of Christ, and with a firm hope that no matter the outcome, He is still on the throne.

After watching the popular Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, how should we as Christians engage with social media and the ways that technology can often become addictive and destructive? We live in a culture that is constantly bombarded by notifications, social media posts, news stories (real or fake), and pressures to be constantly connected. How are we to glorify God through all the noise?

This week, we decided to rebroadcast a past episode on the Sabbath in light of our current sermon series through Genesis and how we see the God of creation set the precedent for work and rest. How can we pursue worshipful rest in our lives and celebrate the good gift of rest that the Lord has given us? Let's be a people who work hard for the glory of God and rest and renew our souls to the glory of God!

Religion and politics, everyone's favorite topics. We often try to separate these two things, but it is important for Christians to engage with politics in a way that is honoring to God. So how do we do that? How do we engage in conversations about government, how do we know what to believe about different candidates and parties, and how do we keep from making politics an idol in our lives? Let's talk about it! Let us know any other questions/comments you may have at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas.

A quick teaser for upcoming episodes of the podcast on politics. If you have any questions or ideas for us to talk through in these episodes, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas. Stay tuned for TWO episodes on Christianity and politics coming in the next few weeks!

A list of some of our favorite things, what we are reading, watching, listening to, eating, and more. God has given us good gifts of things to enjoy! Have something you want us to talk about? Let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

In this episode, we talk about the growing thought process of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. The idea that: Moralistic - God wants us to behave Therapeutic - Life is all about being happy Deism - There is a God, but He isn't personally involved in the everyday lives of people. On the surface, some of these things sound good. But it can be very dangerous when it sneaks into the way we view God and live our lives.

Music is everywhere! In every store, in every movie or show, it's taught us about Alexander Hamilton, even elevators have their own music. God gave us music as a gift and He makes it pretty clear through scripture that we are to sing, play instruments, and make joyful noises to the glory of Him. Let's talk about the power of music.

It seems like darkness, hatred, injustice, sadness, and pain is all around us. Everywhere you look, every time you scroll through social media, every time you turn on the news, you're confronted with another death, another criminal act, another argument. So how should Christians live through all of this? How are we called to respond? We are called to live differently from the world, but what does that look like? Let's start the conversation and seek to love God and love others together.

Woah... these last few months have been crazy. So much has happened and it's hard to even summarize where we've been. But we are committed to relaunching The Amateur Christian Podcast to navigate this broken world together as followers of Jesus who have no idea what we are doing, but are thankful for a God who does.

The world has seemingly come to a halt in response to COVID-19, the Coronavirus. Events canceled, travel bans placed, economic chaos as stocks plummet and businesses lose customers and traffic. Things seem pretty scary. But what should the Christian's response be to all of this? How do we guard against fear and worry and love people through it all? If you have any questions or feedback let us know at the following link: bit.ly/amateurideas

When we come to faith in Christ, He reconciles us to God. We know the joy of being a new creation reconciled to our holy creator. But then God does something awesomely outlandish. He entrusts to us the ministry of reconciliation and of telling others that they too can be reconciled to God through Christ! So how do we join in on this ministry we've been given from the Lord in sharing the Gospel with others? This is the last episode in this series of conversations about what we are called to be as the Church. We hope this has been helpful and encouraging to you! Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Disciples of Jesus work for Jesus. What do we mean by this? It means all of us have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve the body of Christ in love. If we are in Christ, we have gifts from Christ to serve the body of Christ. For any of us to not use our gifts in love will mean the family will suffer. But what does it look like for us to use these gifts and serve others? Tune in each Tuesday over the next 2 weeks as we have a conversation about what we are called to be as the Church! Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Over and over again in scripture, we find walking to be the picture used for the Christian life. We are told to “walk not as unwise but as wise.” We are told to “walk with the Lord.” We are told to “walk by the Spirit.” But what does it look like to walk by the Spirit? Tune in each Tuesday over the next 3 weeks as we have a conversation about what we are called to be as the Church! Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

We're in the midst of a series about the church and we've gotten to a point where we're talking about what followers of Jesus do-- Worship. Walk. Work. Witness. This week we dive deeper with a discussion about worship- Whole life worship and also the worship that happens during the gathering on Sunday. Tune in each Tuesday over the next 4 weeks as we have a conversation about all these things! Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Simple yet profound. The life of a disciple is to follow. To go where Jesus is going. To do what Jesus is doing. To hurt over what Jesus is hurting over. To rejoice in what Jesus is rejoicing in. We must learn to follow. And as we grow to know and love Jesus and follow Him in all things, He equips us to invite more to follow Him as well. He equips us to be a master fisherman for the Kingdom. Tune in each Tuesday over the next 5 weeks as we have a conversations on what we are called to as followers of Jesus. Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Over the next 6 weeks, we are doing a deep dive into the church. What is the church? What is the mission of the church? How do we as normal, everyday Christians participate, engage, and love others in the church? The local church and the global Church. Tune in each Tuesday over the next 6 weeks as we have a conversation about all these things! Like always, if you have any questions or feedback let us know at the link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Merry Christmas 2019! We love Christmas time and this year it also marks one whole year of The Amateur Christian Podcast. We got together for the last time in 2019 to talk about this last year and look forward to the next. Thanks so much for listening! If you have any feedback or suggestions for us, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Are we called to keep the Sabbath or is that just an old rule that people followed in Old Testament times? What does it look like to sabbath in a modern world and what is the purpose of it? The guys get together to talk about resting and depending on the Lord through sabbath.

In this episode of QUICK HITTERS, we talk about communion. What is communion? Who is it for? Is there a specific way and time to take communion? This is the second of our sacrament QUICK HITTERS. Check out our other episode on baptism if you haven't already. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

In this episode of QUICK HITTERS, we talk about baptism. What is baptism? Who is it for? How should people be baptized? Over the next two episodes of QUICK HITTERS, we will dive into the sacraments of the Christian faith: baptism and communion. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Over 60 million people worldwide have been displaced from their homes and seek refuge and safety in other countries. In Syria, a population of 22-23 million people, half of the population has either been displaced or killed. Immigrants flee to the United States in the hope of finding safe and better lives. These issues, now a hot topic in our country, have huge implications for Christians. How should we as Christians react and engage with refugees and immigrants? Are we called to make a political stance? We believe that Christians cannot stay silent when it comes to speaking up for the refugee and the immigrant. We are called to love. But what does that look like? We hope to start that conversation in this episode of The Amateur Christian Podcast. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

In the first edition of "QUICK HITTERS," we get together to talk about Bible translations. Why are there so many? If we believe that scripture is the Living Word of God, why are there different versions? If you have any topic or questions that you would want to hear us talk about on the podcast, follow this link (bit.ly/amateurideas) and let us know your idea!

Let's be honest... when we think about heaven as an eternity in the clouds singing worship songs... that sounds pretty boring. Eventually, that would get pretty old, wouldn't it? But what if there is more in store for those who have trusted in the Lord? In this episode, we talk through some of the biggest questions we have about heaven and realize that our thoughts on what heaven will be like should greatly impact the way we live now.

Forgiveness is a difficult thing. It's not natural. But scripture clearly calls us to it. But what does forgiveness look like? Do we have to forgive everyone? Do we have to forgive someone if they don't ask for forgiveness? Do we have to forgive even when we are still really upset? In this episode of The Amateur Christian Podcast, we wrestle through these questions and seek to understand how we can pursue forgiveness.

We all eat food. We love to eat food. We often structure our days around eating food. But what kind of relationship should a Christian have with eating? Do we just eat in order to fuel our bodies? Do we look to food for comfort? Do we hold to our diets so tightly that we elevate ourselves and our preferences above loving others? We take a second to talk about what we are putting in our bodies each and every day in this episode of The Amateur Christian Podcast.

How do we as a church think biblically through the role of women in ministry? What is Complementarianism and what does it look like in practice? At Harvest, we believe God has created men and women in the image of God with equal value, while also having distinct but complementary roles in marriage, family life, church leadership, and elsewhere. On this episode, we talk about what it means to be a complementarian church and we learn more about how the Bible calls us to live that out in practice. If you would like to give any feedback on this podcast or want to share ideas for future episodes, please let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

Jesus gave us the command to go and make disciples of all nations. But what does that actually mean? What does that look like? Why should we make disciples? And how do we figure out who we should disciple?

What are spiritual gifts? Do I have them? How do I know what my spiritual gifts are? Are all spiritual gifts still used today? The team talks about all things spiritual gifts in episode 11 of The Amateur Church Podcast. Have a topic you want to hear us talk about on a future episode? Let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

If church is just singing some songs and listening to a good sermon, can't I just do all that from my couch? Can't I just go to church online? What is the point of being plugged into a local (physical) church body? Thanks for listening to this episode of The Amateur Church Podcast! If you have a question you would like for us to talk about in a future episode, let us know at this link: bit.ly/amateurideas

"Winter is coming." "Will you accept this rose?" "Want to play a game?" There is media and entertainment EVERYWHERE! And it affects us more than we even know. How should Christians think through what they watch and listen to and are there shows that we should avoid?

Did Jesus really rise from the dead or was His body just stolen from the tomb? Was He even dead in the first place? Was this just an elaborate lie that was made up by the disciples or a legend that was created years after Jesus' body was taken down from the cross? We'll address all of these issues as we discuss if the resurrection of Jesus actually happened.

Scripture tells us that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. But what does that actually look like? On this episode of the Amateur Church Podcast, we talk about loving others well and share some practical tips on how to take this commandment from the Lord seriously.

Does science disprove the Creator God? Are scripture and scientific study at odds with each other when it comes to creation? On this episode of The Amateur Church Podcast, we dive into how normal, everyday Christians should begin to think through the creation of the universe and how science influences our understanding of it all.

In a culture where fewer couples are getting married and more married couples are getting divorced, we ask the question, "Does marriage even matter anymore?"

On this episode of The Amateur Church Podcast, we ask the question, "Can I love God AND Sports?"

On this episode of The Amateur Church Podcast, we wrestle with the question, "How could a loving God allow some to perish?" This episode and more will be available in the iTunes podcast app coming soon.

On this episode of The Amateur Church Podcast, we talk through the question, "How can I actually enjoy reading the Bible?"

In the very first episode of The Amateur Church Podcast, we talk about our heart behind this podcast and what you can expect in future episodes.