The B4 Podcast

Jesus taught that those who seek to save their lives will lose them, while those who are willing to lose them, or give them away, for his sake will save them. This is one of the most counter intuitive truths of the historically orthodox Christian faith; The way of sacrifice leads to the most lively, […]

“I get knocked down, but I get up again” is the refrain of a popular song from the late 90s that celebrates resilience. It could also be a summary of the main theme from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, specifically in chapter four. Within this installment of the Follow series, Pastor Bo follows Paul's […]

This week, our series focuses on interdependence, what the Bible often refers to as unity, and why it is so important. God created humanity to work together to reflect his image and to do His work in the world. However, the reality of sin has marred his image, twisted the work, and caused all kinds […]

This week, Pastor Bo Stern-Brady continues our Follow series that examines practices designed to help us follow Jesus along ancient paths in life-giving ways. This week, she focuses on the way of truth. We know that our minds can convince us to react or behave in ways that don't line up with the truth. The […]

This week, we continue our series on what it truly looks like to follow Jesus by examining the practice of rest. In a nonstop, frenetic society like the one we live in, Jesus calls us to a different way. Because we know that our value and the outcomes of our lives ultimately depend on God […]

In our current sermon series, we are looking at ancient practices of the church that connect us to God in a deeper, richer way. This week, Pastor Brad examines the role that beauty plays in our lives. The Bible is full of examples of when and how God has used nature, beauty, and awe to […]

This is the first message in our new series, Follow: Finding New Life on Ancient Paths, where Pastor Brad talks about what it means to follow Jesus and what truly is the “way of Jesus.” He walks us through what it looks like to be a person who lives listening to Jesus, and what practices we […]

During this third week of our Illuminate series, we focus on what it means for us to be People of Light. Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew that, together, we are the light of the world. We don't have to work to become that, he has made his people to be a light. […]

At times, life seems dominated by darkness, chaos, and brokenness. And we appear bound to walk in it. But Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Following him, Paul claims that we're all feeling our way toward […]

People feel more secure and active in the light. Darkness lessens our energy and activity. Moreover, things that “go bump in the night” always seem scarier. It seems like this kind of rhythm is baked into us, which is what we might expect if we take Genesis 1 seriously. The ancient world associated light with […]

Ordinary people matter to God. They did when Paul wrote Romans — in fact, the apostle mentions dozens of them in chapter 16 — and ordinary people matter to God now as well. He knows their names and their stories. He works in and through them to invite others into his Kingdom. And, he expects […]

Echoing Jesus' teaching, the Apostle Paul instructs us to go beyond bearing with one another's weaknesses and actively seek to build one another up. Pastor Alex offers us some practical advice throughout this encouraging message, beginning with: be formed by the Scriptures even as Jesus was.  In the course of our spiritual formation, we lean […]

This week, our series continues with a deep dive into a crucial five-verse passage that is dense and challenging. We look at how one can be strong in faith. There are practical considerations for how Christians of strong, and weaker, faith are supposed to live with their brothers and sisters in ways consistent with God's […]

This week, we continue our series in the first half of Romans 14. This passage contains some hard truths about what should happen when Christians disagree. Paul acknowledges that there are many actions and behaviors that are not inherently sinful or wrong, but might be sinful or wrong for some people in certain circumstances. He […]

During the last two weeks of this series, we've looked at the first two sections of Romans 12. This week, we look at the last section and some very practical instructions that Paul gives to the Roman church.  Even though thousands of years separate us from the people in the church at Rome, Paul's instructions […]

Paul specifies how Christians should live within a vibrant faith community. His main areas of focus?  Faith, unity, and a clear sense of self. Paul is adamant that we all are part of an organic whole, which he describes as Christ's body. That body has one head, the Lord Jesus, but many members — all […]

Pastor Brad, unpacks the implications of Romans 12:1-2 in this stirring message, beginning with a question: What does it really mean to be a Christian? If Jesus is who the Gospels depict him to be, then that's a really important question. Paul thought so, and he spends 11 chapters of his letter to the Romans […]

In Matthew 16, Jesus takes his disciples on a trip to Caesarea Philippi. There he questions them, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Pressing further, he asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replies with his now famous confession of faith, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” […]

As Pastor Alex points out, Romans chapter eight ends with a crescendo celebrating the loving faithfulness of God. It seems like a mic-drop moment, after which no more needs to be said. However, Paul is conscious that his teaching poses a serious question. If Jesus is both Israel's Messiah and the savior of the world; […]

In the second half of chapter eight, Paul reminds us that God has adopted us into his family as his heirs. Our identity is not based on anything that we have done, but rather on what God has done and who he says we are in Him. Embracing this gift of grace means that we […]

We all have the desire to be truly free. However, as Paul has written in Romans thus far, we aren't really free if we are living according to our sinful nature. If we want real freedom, then, as Christians, we pay attention to the Spirit who lives in us. We listen and let him lead. […]

In Romans chapter 7, Paul expands upon the failure of the Old Testament Law to produce righteousness in us, and our sinful natures. The Law helps us recognize sin and name it. Sadly, despite the Law's inherent goodness, there is no human way to escape sin's influence. However, Paul uses an example from marriage to […]

Paul uses the word slavery 15 times through 23 verses of chapter six, and most often he's referring to sin. When he tells his readers that they are free from sin, the word he uses means “not a slave.” Literally. It seems like he's trying to tell us all something: living in freedom is an […]

This message spotlights a problem that we all have in common. We sense it. Things just aren't right, not everything anyway. And though we seem to enjoy small celebrations of goodness at times, most of us also suspect that those are the exceptions rather than the rule. We hold elections. We spend money. We change […]

Within the first couple of verse in chapter five, Paul outlines chapters 5-8. However, in verse three he turns quickly to the question of suffering. Human suffering presents us with one of life's greatest challenges. Why does a good, loving, and all-powerful God allow suffering? Rather than offer an apology, Paul asserts that we should […]

Addressing a mixed community of Gentile and Jewish believers, Paul seeks to offer them clarity. Some of the churches in Rome leaned towards a Gospel of good works: be good and God will bless you. Others, leaned into tradition and religious ritual as a means to remain in right relationship with God. The Apostle offers […]

We all judge other people. It's a very human thing to do but it's not a Jesus thing. Why? Because judging others makes us a hypocrite. When we judge others, we also judge ourselves. We agree that there are standards they fail to meet, and when we make that assessment, we unconsciously include ourselves. If […]

Romans chapter one, verses 18-32, painted a bleak picture of a hopelessly broken and sinful humanity. Chapter 2 takes this even further, pointing out that even those religious people who have tried to “do the right thing” fall short of God's standards. God demands absolute perfection, meaning that no one is in right standing before […]

As we continue our series, we discover that Paul has some hard words for humanity. In Romans 1:18-32 Paul describes the reality of the situation between God and the people he created. While God reveals himself to all, but many people have rejected him. They have exchanged the goodness of God for what seemed good […]

Having greeted them, identifying himself, Paul offers his readers a formal introduction in the manner typical of an Ancient Classical letter. These ten verses are densely packed, addressing Paul's gratitude for the faithfulness of the Roman churches and his deep desire to be with them, sharing mutually encouraging ministry, The Apostle also shares his life's […]

The Apostle Paul is a towering figure in the history of Western Civilization. Few would argue with his importance as a philosopher, theologian, and socio-political reformer. Almost single-handedly, Paul established the importance of Jesus the Messiah's birth, death, and resurrection for the non-Jewish world. He was unique within the history of his own people as […]

Unity is a rare commodity. In fact, almost everything in our culture is designed to celebrate expressively individuality or provoke an us-versus-them animosity. However, as people of the Kingdom, we are designed to be unified. We are supposed to exhibit a contrasting view of human community where unity is the norm. But it's hard, isn't […]

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, a distinct marker of the Christian life, and an important theme that presents itself repeatedly within the Scriptures. A biblical understanding of joy challenges our contemporary notions since our culture tends to confuse joy with circumstantial happiness. For Christians, joy is a deeper, more abiding quality of the […]

We live in confusing times. Never have we had more access to more information, but with more information comes more confusion. If we Google “will coffee help my eyesight?” We will get hundreds of results that say it will. But if we Google “does coffee make me go blind?” We would also get hundreds of […]

The Bible says that, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Gal. 5;1) Pastor Jamie shares how we embrace that freedom as she teaches from Matthew 16:24-25, where Jesus offers us a paradox: that we must lose our lives to gain them. How can losing your life yield freedom? Is there another […]

Empowered by God, Daniel interprets the King of Babylon's dream, a prophetic vision of the world's kingdoms. Each great empire is less powerful than its predecessor, with all of them represented by a giant statue constructed of man-made materials. In the end, a great rock, “not made with human hands,” crashes into the statue demolishing […]

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” Isaiah calls Jesus the “Prince of Peace.” And when Christ was born, the angel announced that this poor baby from Nazareth who would be God's King signified, “Peace on earth and goodwill to all people.” Why then is peace so elusive? […]

We know love when we see it in action. We know when we feel it, but still, love is notoriously difficult to define precisely. That difficulty is compounded when we consider the love of God. How can a good and all-powerful God, who supposedly loves us and the world we live in (John 3:16), allow […]

In this first message of the series, we look at an idea that dominated Jesus' preaching: the Kingdom of Heaven has come! Upon hearing that, we might ask, “What kingdom, and what does it mean to be a people of that Kingdom?” As we dig deeper, we see that Jesus taught about his Kingdom as […]

In John 14, Jesus tells us that he will make a home where a godly people can live with their just and loving God. However, there's a problem: sin and the injustice it breeds. We cannot live in a just and loving space with God while sin persists. The story of Easter is about addressing […]

While the story of Palm Sunday may be familiar to some, and a regular part of the Christian calendar, it offers some really confusing details. When we embrace these unsettling elements of the story, we can learn new things about who Jesus is and who we are called to be in His Kingdom. As Jesus […]

How do we lose the sense of wonder and awe that the world is a beautiful place for of good potential? Is it as simple as “maturing?” Do we simply grow weary, ground down by the cares of life? Or, is it possible to retain the joy, trust, vulnerability, hope, love, and dependence of a […]

Jesus told his people to love and bless everyone, even their enemies. Literally. Everyone. For most of us, that's a practical impossibility, because don't know everyone. However, as this message points out: our ability to love everyone is dependent upon our willingness to love anyone. More to the point, if Jesus teaches us to love […]

Why should Jesus' people be welcomed as a transforming presence into a community that holds a low opinion of Christians? Popular media makes it tough when it portrays Christians as hypocritical and ignorant. Admittedly, sometimes we live up to that press. But, how do these descriptions align with what Jesus demonstrates in the story of […]

Jesus described the Kingdom of God two ways: close to us and available. He also characterized it as priceless and desirable, so much so that someone would sell all they had just to have it. How do those descriptions resonate today? We live in a culture where almost anything we want can be shipped, streamed, […]

Is doubt the opposite of faith? Or, is our struggle to believe more like indifference versus faith? As we'll see in this message, developing a solid and resilient faith will require us to dialog with doubt. Why else would John record Thomas' resistance and Jesus' response? Reasonable people don't readily accept the idea that a […]

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For freedom Christ has set us free…” Without any further context, his statement begs the question: free from what? St. Paul answers us within the same verse (Gal. 5:1): “…stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” In this message, we see how Jesus offers us […]

This message unpacks an unusually intimate conversation, where Jesus offers his closest followers a high definition look at the coming Holy Spirit and his work. John captured the conversation that took place on the night of Jesus' arrest, his trial, and coming execution. He did so in order to introduce us to the Person of […]

Jesus wasn't like any other teacher. In this message, we see that his audience agrees. They understood that he taught with an authority which superseded any of Israel's Scribes. In Matthew 7:13-29, Jesus makes two key points as he teaches: everyone is on a road to somewhere and everyone is building their life on something. […]