The Church At Bradenton Podcast

Ephesians 6:18-20. The single most effective church growth strategy is found in this passage, and in 1,000 passages and stories and examples just like it throughout Scripture. Why? Because it isn't about personal growth (how to make ME better) or church growth (how to make MY church bigger).

Pastor Andrew Pelt (TCAB Students Pastor) joins Pastor Tom Pelt in talking about how to pray over and with your family and being in God's word together. God has always called His people into His presence, right to the very Holy of Holies, the Altar of His presence.

Pastor Sarah Copeman (TCAB Children's Pastor) joins Pastor Tom Pelt in discussing ways for the family to be around the table together, to avoid distractions, and to connect with one another.

In our homes, there are conversations… and as Christ followers, Including the name of Jesus and speaking God's Word as we talk about the good, bad, and ugly should be a NORMAL thing. Knowing that this isn't easy for any of us, let's explore how do we create healthy CONVERSATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS that are centered in the things of God. ~ Pastor William (TCAB worship) teaching.

What does it mean to put family first? The fact is, you can put your “family first” in many ways and not bring Jesus into the equation. I've known some wonderful people with good marriages and who are all about their kids but they simply don't include Jesus. Anyone would say, “That's a strong family. Look how involved they are, how much they love each other!” The question is, “Involved in what? Loving each other, how?”

What it means to live in sacred communion with God and others. We framed it in a question, “Why should I gather in groups as a follower of Jesus?” We explored what it means to be devoted and then applied it to the Apostles teaching and fellowship.

Because of many factors at work even before the events of the last two years, more than ever people are asking, “Why should I?” “Why should I gather in a group?” Even believers are asking, “Why does it still matter if I do or don't?” That's what we will answer together today from the Word.

The enemy has and is seeking to disperse God's people, to “divide and conquer.” So much so it has people wondering, “Do I really need to be with other believers, “go to church” or small group, serve as a body of believers? YES. More than ever!

We are called to be men and women of courage and character in the face of the growing storm of evil in this world. But there was a subtle clue about something deeper Jesus didn't want His disciples then or now to miss. When we don't understand the lesson of the loaves, we can get hard hearts, cynical, bitter. Then, again, maybe we miss the lesson because our hearts are hard, cynical and bitter? Either way, that's not what God wants for us. In a world where it's so easy to have a hard heart, we need the lesson of the loaves...

Praying for Afghanistan, troops/families, Christians, leaders, those in path of Ida... As we continue to worship and get our hearts and minds ready to dive into God's Word in a few minutes… let's begin with some context from early on in Jesus' ministry in Mark 6. After all, this moment in history for the Body of Christ isn't much different than then and what they faced. It was hard. Jesus had been rejected in Nazareth, opposition came early. He sent out the 12 Apostles with little to go on. John the Baptist is beheaded. They fed 5,000 men (10,000+) with little to nothing to work with. The people were described by Jesus as sheep without a shepherd, thinking only of themselves, while the disciples couldn't rest long enough to eat (6:31). It was a difficult, discouraging and uncertain time. Sound familiar?

The time has never been more right to be “all about it,” to be all about what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in and through His Church. Let's be clear. Jesus' Church is at her best when the world is at its worst. This is us and there has never been a better time for us to be all about it, together.

We live in a world where being first, best, most, highest, and greatest is coveted in the context of a never-ending sense of competition to reach the top. But how did Jesus live? What does Jesus say...?

When did the world get so mean? The tone is ugly, almost as ugly as the hate-filled words that are being spoken, posted, shared, and tweeted around the nation and world. This ugly escalates from tone to words to action like wildfire. What about mercy....?

There is a lot of talk in 2020. Some of it is even true. Still, are me missing it? Could it be that because of the noise we aren't hearing what the Spirit of God is saying? What about the injustice? Justice doesn't just happen; justice is a verb...

Woe! Our behavior is bad: bad preaching, bad tweeting, bad following. But, there's a way out: the Word, the Thing... JESUS

What's in a name? Are we stuck with the names we've been given? Am I talking about the ones our parents gave us or the ones someone else labeled us, the one we've given ourselves...?

Where are you looking? Who are you looking to? Who has your attention the most? God's people were looking in all the wrong directions and places and listening to all the wrong voices.... are we guilty of looking around because we are looking within...?

What do we know about us, about people? We are a mess! People were a mess then and not much has changed. Micah's words were spoken some 2,700 years ago, and "the more things change, the more they stay the same." What we need is the "The Thing," it's the Word of the Lord...