Podcasts about after easter

After Easter and Christmas, the Day of Pentecost is the most important Holy Day of the Christian Year. Without the Holy Spirit, nothing that Christ has accomplished would be available to us. The Spirit takes what is of Jesus, and delivers it to us. In our sermon this week, we will look at how each reading shows how the Holy Spirit brings order to all things. He brings order to creation, to the nations, to the Church, and to our souls. You can view the full service here: https://youtube.com/live/JJWJHw0jZoM

Send us Fan MailWaiting is one of the most honest tests of faith, because it presses on the part of us that wants control, speed, and certainty. After Easter, we sit in that tension: Jesus has risen, the gospel is true, and yet we still find ourselves praying, “Lord, come quickly.” From Galatians 5:5, we explore how Christian hope is not wishful thinking but Spirit-shaped confidence, even when the calendar drags and the answers feel late. We trace the big Bible storyline of waiting, starting in Eden with the first promise of a rescuer, moving through Israel's long centuries of prophecy and delay, and arriving at the surprising humility of Christ's birth. Simeon's moment of holding Jesus becomes a picture of what steady trust looks like when God's promises finally arrive. Then the focus shifts again: after the resurrection, a new season begins, the wait for Christ's return, and the daily question becomes how to live faithfully in the meantime. We get practical about “waiting on the Lord” as active trust, not passive inactivity: prayer, obedience, perspective, and refusing anxiety-driven choices. There's also a personal thread of grief and hope, including family loss, the joy of a new grandchild, and a healing testimony that points back to God's goodness and timing. If you're in a waiting season right now, this is a grounded, Scripture-rich encouragement to stay ready, stay bold, and keep moving forward. Subscribe, share this with a mate, leave a review, and tell us: what are you waiting for, and what do you want God to grow in you while you wait?Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries. Support the showPlease feel free to check out my first publication, it is also available on Google and Amazon Books. https://www.xlibris.com/en-au/search?query=Phillip+Barker

After Easter, it's easy to forget what the Passion felt like from the inside. In this episode, Joe Rockey and Father Boniface Hicks step back into the apostles' experience: men from wildly different backgrounds who watched miracles, trusted the mission, and still scattered in fear when Jesus was arrested. Joe names the real-life parallel: we can believe in something—and still not react the way an outside observer thinks we “should,” then carry guilt, confusion, and self-questioning afterward. Father frames it with a practical lens: we all have “parts,” and courage can collapse fast when a stronger force shows up—especially when the Roman Empire's violence becomes real and immediate. The apostles didn't yet have the lived proof we do that surrender can lead to resurrection. And Jesus' response becomes the center of hope: He knew Peter would deny Him, knew they would flee, and still gave Himself completely—Body, Blood, foot-washing love—without confusion or withdrawal. Joe also raises a pointed Holy Week question: if Jesus called out the betrayer at the Last Supper, why didn't the others stop Judas? Father offers a plausible explanation (drawing on Pope Benedict XVI's Holy Week treatment): Jesus may have spoken quietly enough that only John fully heard—while the others interpreted Judas leaving as normal Passover charity. The episode closes by tying it together with human realism: after a week of shock, danger, grief, and emotional overload, “not processing it well” might have been the most human outcome possible—exactly the kind of weakness Jesus came to redeem. Key IdeasThe apostles' fear wasn't random: real power and credible violence can collapse confidence instantly. They hadn't seen “crucifixion → resurrection” play out even once; we have 2,000 years of witnesses—and still struggle. Jesus loved them with full knowledge of their weakness: Peter's denial was foretold inside the context of Eucharistic gift. Judas' exposure may not have been public to all; John's proximity to Jesus at table could explain how details were known later. Thomas “the twin” becomes a mirror: wanting “just a little more proof” is deeply human—and Jesus meets it. Scripture Mentioned (no links)Last Supper accounts (betrayer revealed; Judas leaving)Peter's denial prediction and denialThomas Didymus (“the twin”) and the need for proofPassion themes: arrest, scattering, fear, surrender, resurrectionLinks & References (official/source only)Pope Benedict XVI (official Vatican profile):https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en.htmlCTA: If this helped, please leave a review or share this episode with a friend.Questions or thoughts? Email FatherAndJoe@gmail.com .Tags (comma-separated)Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, Easter, Holy Week, Passion, apostles, disciples, fear, scattering, Peter, denial, Judas, betrayal, Last Supper, Eucharist, Body and Blood, foot washing, Roman Empire, persecution, courage, trauma, overwhelm, human weakness, grace, redemption, mercy, resurrection, love victorious, love never dies, Thomas, Didymus, doubt, proof, faith and reason, spiritual consolation, parts work, subpersonalities, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Scripture reflection, YouTube podcast, Father and Joe on YouTube 

After Easter, the disciples were still confused, still afraid, still unsure of what came next — but Jesus kept showing up. He did not just prove He was alive, but He stayed to prepare them for the life they were now called to live. Listen in as Pastor Dom kicks off our new series called Sightings. Our prayer is that you would believe that what the world needs now is Christians who take the resurrection seriously.

After Easter, we will be going through a series on The Church. We begin this series with Senior Pastor Dr. Tyler Smiley speaking from Titus chapter 2 about what the church is.

After Easter, the story doesn't end—it begins. This sermon explores how the risen Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, transforms ordinary people into bold witnesses. From Peter's fear to courage, we are reminded that the Gospel is not meant to be kept private but shared, as God sends each of us into the world to live and proclaim His love.

What if faith isn’t about pretending everything is fine—but about telling the truth? In this episode of the Perspectives Podcast from First United Methodist Church of San Diego, Rev. Brittany and Rev. Trudy explore what it means to not be okay and why that honesty might be the beginning of real hope. After Easter, when celebration fades and real life sets back in, many of us are left carrying grief, doubt, exhaustion, or unanswered questions. Drawing from Luke 24:13–32 (The Road to Emmaus), this conversation reminds us that even Jesus’ followers wrestled with disappointment, confusion, and loss. In Part 1 of our series “The Grace of the Passion,” we explore how God meets us not when we have it all together but when we’re willing to be real. In this episode, we discuss: Why “I’m fine” culture can harm our faith and mental health The courage it takes to face grief, disappointment, and change Why resurrection hope doesn’t erase present pain The importance of community when life feels overwhelming What happens when we avoid grief—and why it eventually catches up How God meets us in confusion, not just in clarity Content Note: This episode includes discussion of deep emotional pain and mentions of suicide. If you are in crisis, please call 9-1-1 or visit your nearest emergency room. You are not alone. Reflection Questions: What are you carrying right now that you’ve been trying to hold together on your own? When has a season of “not being okay” led to growth? When have you felt that God was absent or hard to recognize? Continue the conversation by reflecting with someone you trust or join the Perspectives community online via Patreon or in person at the weekly Convergence Discussion Group. Limited on time? Jump ahead to these pivotal moments. Timestamps 00:00 Intro – Is it OK to not be OK? 00:34 Special content note & episode overview 3:26 Why the Road to Emmaus story matters 7:34 When hope dies after disappointment 10:09 You’re not OK – and that changes how you see things 15:04 Rethinking suffering, faith, and God’s role 19:07 Faith, mental health, and the danger of “just be OK” 21:10 The pressure to pretend in culture and church 23:17 Standing still in grief 24:58 “If you don’t sit with your grief…” 26:43 Reflection questions and closing

••• After Easter What Next?, Ep 424••• Bible Study Verses: Matthew 28:1-20, John 12:24, Luke 24:49, I Samuel 2:9, Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:3, 1 Corinthians 15:17-20 . ••• “Those who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it”, Charles Spurgeon † . ••• “Waiting for God means power to do nothing save under command. This is not lack of power to do anything. Waiting for God needs strength rather than weakness. It is power to do nothing. It is the strength that holds strength in check. It is the strength that prevents the blundering activity which is entirely false and will make true activity impossible when the definite command comes”, G. Campbell Morgan †† ••• "Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts", Elisabeth Elliot ††† ••• "You can save a lot of time waiting on God”, Adrian Rogers ††††••• “The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him” Lamentations 3:25 KJV . ••• After Easter what next? ••• Why must you encounter the empty tomb? ••• What are at least 3-things that the empty tomb tells us? ••• Why did the disciples worship?••• What were the disciples waiting on?••• Why did the disciples wait? ••• Are you going to ask someone to pray that you will wait for the promise of our Creator, the Lord Christ Jesus through the power of Holy Spirit so you can be most effective with your short time on this earth? ••• Pastor Otuno expounds on this and much more on the exciting journey of Fresh Encounter Radio Podcast originally aired on WNQM, Nashville Quality Ministries and WWCR World Wide Christian Radio broadcast to all 7-continents on this big beautiful blue marble, earth, floating through space. Please be prayerful before studying The Word of God so that you will receive the most inspiration possible . ••• This Discipleship Teaching Podcast is a listener supported production by all the beloved of God who believe in its mission through prayer and support. Thank you . ••• Broadcaster's Website - https://www.lifelonganointing.com/ . ••• Exceeding Thanks to Universe Creator Christ Jesus AND photo by Thong Vo Photography, Hanoi, Vietnam, unsplash.com, thongvophotos@gmail.com, Ph: +84 946 787 970, https://www.instagram.com/titi_wanderer/ , unsplash.com, Art Direction by gil on a mac with free mac layout software . ••• † https://www.christianquotes.info . ••• †† https://www.christianquotes.info . ••• ††† https://quotefancy.com/elisabeth-elliot-quotes . ••• †††† https://quotefancy.com/adrian-rogers-quotes . ••• SHARING LINK: https://shows.acast.com/fresh-encounter-radio-podcast/ep424-after-easter-what-next . ••• Study Guides at - https://shows.acast.com/fresh-encounter-radio-podcast/episodes . ••• RESOURCE: FREE Max McLean Chronological Audio Bible! https://tinyurl.com/godspeaks777 . ••• RESOURCE - Prayer Requests: PRAYER@SWRC.COM . ••• RESOURCE - https://www.soundcloud.com/thewaytogod/ . ••• FERP250411 Episode#424 GOT250411 Ep424 . ••• The Need For The Cross: After Easter What Next? ††† . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 328: After Easter reflections (and a few stories involving pools, squirrels, and unexpected repairs), Lori and Vonda dive into a conversation that hits close to home for every business owner - control.From slow seasons in flower shops to tough leadership decisions and the emotional weight that comes with them, they unpack the constant tension between what you can control and what you simply have to release. Whether it's sales, customer reactions, team dynamics, or even your own expectations, learning that difference is where growth really begins.They share real-life experiences from the floral industry, including navigating uncertainty, managing emotions, supporting struggling shop owners, and making decisions that don't always make everyone happy. Along the way, they explore practical ways to regain a sense of peace - through mindset shifts, gratitude, vulnerability, and focusing on the actions that actually move your business forward.This episode is a reminder that while you can't control everything, you can control how you respond—and that's where your power is.Sponsored by: Flower CliqueFlower Clique Prep SchoolReal Life Retail Florist

On this episode of the Older Pastor/Younger Pastor Podcast, Dave and Ryan continue their annual After Easter episode tradition.

A conversation that begins with Girl Scout Cookies and sweet cereal slowly finds its way to something deeper: what home really means. Father Damian and Father Eric reflect on hometowns, family houses, Jesuit communities and the places that shaped them,, while wondering how those places still live in them. Somewhere between nostalgia, laughter and prayer, this episode asks a tender question: Where is the place, or who is the presence, that lets you breathe differently and be fully at rest? About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/societyofjesus Two Jesuits Talking is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Learn more: jesuitmedialab.org/

On this special Good Friday Mission Minded, we not only explore the type of week Jesus had, but also how it's supposed to feel for us spiritually AFTER Easter. #MissionMinded #GoodFriday #Easter #HolyWeek #TKR #101TheTruth #ChristianRadio #MikeAndTony #Bible

Lent has a way of bringing the word "sacrifice" to the surface, and we're not just talking about giving up chocolate. Father Damian and Father Eric share stories about family, adoption, commitment and the quiet ways love asks something of us over time. From the Eucharist to everyday relationships, this conversation leans into a simple truth: Real love always costs something, and that's precisely what makes it sacred. About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/societyofjesus Two Jesuits Talking is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Learn more: jesuitmedialab.org/

Gymnastics. Theater. Sacraments. Muscle memory. Fathers Eric and Damian talk about the body, not as something separate from faith, but as the place where faith actually happens. Movement, gesture, breath, touch: Our bodies preach, pray and remember. Grace isn't abstract. It's embodied. About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/societyofjesus Two Jesuits Talking is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Learn more: jesuitmedialab.org/

Friendship is not accidental in Jesuit life; it's foundational. Fr. Eric and Fr. Damian reflect on trust, vulnerability and the risk of being known, and how real friendship shapes ministry and discipleship. Grounded in Jesus' own invitation to friendship, this conversation explores how human relationships can quietly mirror divine love. About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/societyofjesus Two Jesuits Talking is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Learn more: jesuitmedialab.org/

Every life has a soundtrack. Fathers Eric and Damian swap stories about the music that formed them, the songs that carried faith, doubt, longing and joy. Along the way, they wrestle with sacred versus secular, passive listening versus real attention, and why music so often becomes prayer before we even realize it. About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/societyofjesus Two Jesuits Talking is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Learn more: https://jesuitmedialab.org/

Two Jesuits. Real life. Real faith. Today's episode: Nighttime! There's something about nighttime that loosens the soul. In the quiet, defenses drop, memories surface and prayer shifts. Fr. Eric and Fr. Damian talk honestly about being night owls, about what darkness reveals, and about how surrender often happens when everything else goes still. The night isn't empty, it's inhabited. About the show: Two Jesuits Talking is a Catholic podcast hosted by Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, and Fr. Damian Torres-Botello, SJ. Through candid, unscripted conversations, they explore Ignatian spirituality, Catholic life, ministry, culture, prayer and the everyday questions that shape modern faith. This isn't a lecture. It's not a debate show. It's two Jesuit priests talking honestly about what it means to follow Jesus today, with humor, depth and real friendship. Whether you're a practicing Catholic, spiritually curious, returning to the Church, or just interested in authentic conversations about faith, you're welcome here. During Lent, Two Jesuits Talking episodes will appear here on the AMDG feed every Saturday. After Easter, we'll move the show onto its own dedicated feed. You can also watch episodes of the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/societyofjesus

Here's an exciting announcement: We here at the Jesuit Media Lab have a brand-new podcast we're producing. It's called Two Jesuits Talking. (As you can tell, we are not trying to be subtle with the show title.) The two Jesuits in question are Father Damian Torres-Botello and Father Eric Immel, both priests from the USA Midwest province who are also close friends. We're working with Damian and Eric to make a conversation-based show about spirituality and faith that doesn't take itself too seriously. We're aiming for deep and funny, human and surprising, warm and accessible. And we're also hoping that two Jesuit friends sharing stories and reflections with each other in this sort of laid-back forum will be a way to pull back the curtain on Jesuit life a little bit, helping all of us who aren't Jesuits learn more about their life of faith and service. Each Saturday in Lent, we'll bring you a new episode of Two Jesuits Talking right here on the AMDG feed. Today, we have the first-ever episode for you. Our regular AMDG episodes will continue to drop on Wednesdays. Also, if you want to watch Fathers Damian and Eric instead of just listening to them, Two Jesuits Talking is a video podcast, and you can find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXxQTtosZfI&t=1s After Easter, our plan is to move Two Jesuits Talking over onto its own audio feed, but you don't have to worry about that for now. We'll let you know when that happens and where to find it. In the meantime, during Lent, enjoy getting to know Fr. Eric and Fr. Damian a little bit, and I think you'll find out quickly why they're two of our favorite Jesuits around. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Lauren Fletcher reflects on a season of unexpected challenges—unmet career goals, personal setbacks, and the responsibility of caring for her mother and grandmother. Drawing from Romans 8:28, this devotional reminds believers that God works all things together for good, even when life seems off-track, showing that His timing and purposes are perfect. Highlights Life may not align with our personal plans, but God’s purposes are always at work. Unexpected seasons can provide opportunities to serve, care, and grow spiritually. Trusting God’s timing allows us to see His provision even in difficult circumstances. Psalm 139:16 reassures us that every moment of our lives is already known and held by God. What may feel like disappointment can be part of a larger, “brutiful” (brutal yet beautiful) plan. Join the Conversation How have you experienced God’s timing in unexpected ways? Share your story and encourage others to trust His purposes. Tag @LifeAudioNetwork and use #TrustHisTiming #FaithInAction #Romans828 to join the conversation.

Jesus didn't say, "I've overthrown Rome! Now we'll have peace!" He simply said, "Peace be with you," while showing them his wounds. His peace bears the marks of suffering. It doesn't deny pain; it transforms it. It doesn't require the elimination of enemies; it embraces them. This is why passing the peace is indeed a political act. Every time we say to one another, "Peace be with you," we're rejecting the peace of empires. We're declaring our allegiance to a different realm with a different sovereign who rules in a different way. After Easter, we acknowledge that true peace, God's peace, can't come through domination or be secured through violence. Subscribe to us on iTunes! Sermon text: web | doc

How do you make sense of something that doesn't make sense? Most of us freeze with indecision or “Paralysis by Analysis.” It's like trying to choose something to watch on Netflix but not being able to pick what show to watch. So, What do you do AFTER Easter? Can you even begin to imagine what it was like for Jesus' disciples after realizing: “He's Alive!?” What about you? How has His resurrection made a difference in your week?

Dave Brisbin 4.27.25 We're back in count again. We just finished counting forty days of Lent, and now we're counting again. The count of Lent signifies a time of preparation for Easter, and the count now is also preparation for a second liberation on the fiftieth day after Easter—Pentecost. Our liturgical calendar is overlaid on that of the Jews, who for 3,500 years have counted seven weeks of seven, forty-nine days plus one, from the second day of Pesach/Passover to Shavu'ot/Weeks. Originally a festival marking the barley harvest, Passover became linked with Exodus, the physical liberation of the people. Shavu'ot, at the wheat harvest, was linked with the giving of the Law on Sinai, the spiritual liberation of the people and the beginning of a deeper relationship with God. Ancient Hebrews saw a shape to their spiritual journeys that passed through a wilderness between two liberations. That even when freed from physical bondage, humans are not fully prepared to live freely. Only time in the wilderness, the hard work of introspection and self-examination, shows us how free we really are. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born a second time, that he was born physically of water, but would not be prepared for kingdom until born of spirit as well. After Easter, Jesus' friends eventually recognize that he and God's promises still live, but they were not yet prepared for the insanely radical nature of that reality. They needed another forty days plus ten—ten signifying integration and completion—before their Pentecost moment, the full impact of spiritual liberation, became apparent. The shape of their journey is ours as well. If we answered the call to seek something greater than ourselves, joined new communities, accepted new beliefs and traditions, we've had our physical Exodus, liberation from the illusion of separation. But this is just the beginning. We remain in count. Calvary, the loss that begins the wilderness of stripping off all to which we cling, is the fulcrum between our two liberations. The way to Pentecost begins at Calvary and is traveled living as if God and God's promises are more alive than life itself.

Dave Brisbin 4.27.25 We're back in count again. We just finished counting forty days of Lent, and now we're counting again. The count of Lent signifies a time of preparation for Easter, and the count now is also preparation for a second liberation on the fiftieth day after Easter—Pentecost. Our liturgical calendar is overlaid on that of the Jews, who for 3,500 years have counted seven weeks of seven, forty-nine days plus one, from the second day of Pesach/Passover to Shavu'ot/Weeks. Originally a festival marking the barley harvest, Passover became linked with Exodus, the physical liberation of the people. Shavu'ot, at the wheat harvest, was linked with the giving of the Law on Sinai, the spiritual liberation of the people and the beginning of a deeper relationship with God. Ancient Hebrews saw a shape to their spiritual journeys that passed through a wilderness between two liberations. That even when freed from physical bondage, humans are not fully prepared to live freely. Only time in the wilderness, the hard work of introspection and self-examination, shows us how free we really are. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born a second time, that he was born physically of water, but would not be prepared for kingdom until born of spirit as well. After Easter, Jesus' friends eventually recognize that he and God's promises still live, but they were not yet prepared for the insanely radical nature of that reality. They needed another forty days plus ten—ten signifying integration and completion—before their Pentecost moment, the full impact of spiritual liberation, became apparent. The shape of their journey is ours as well. If we answered the call to seek something greater than ourselves, joined new communities, accepted new beliefs and traditions, we've had our physical Exodus, liberation from the illusion of separation. But this is just the beginning. We remain in count. Calvary, the loss that begins the wilderness of stripping off all to which we cling, is the fulcrum between our two liberations. The way to Pentecost begins at Calvary and is traveled living as if God and God's promises are more alive than life itself.

On this episode of the Older Pastor/Younger Pastor Podcast, Dave and Ryan provide their 2025, After-Easter commentary.

Join Pastor James Crawford as he delves into "Authentic Christianity" in his latest sermon from the After Easter series. Reflecting on his personal journey from being a poser in faith to transformative baptism, Pastor Crawford explores the restoration of Peter and the crucial role of obedience after redemption. Discover why prayer should be our first line of defense, not a last resort. Don't miss this powerful message on living a truly authentic Christian life.Make sure you subscribe to this channel and follow us on all our platforms to always stay up to date with our latest content!And you can always head over to our website for any general information!https://godspeak.comPrayer/NeedsIf you have any needs, or have a willingness to be used to meet various need in the body, please email info@godspeak.com. Also, let us know if you need prayer for anything.Giving is part of our worship time, and in this season, the easiest way to do that is online. If you go to our website, godspeak.com, you will see the "Give" tab in the top right corner. Or you can simply click this link https://pushpay.com/g/godspeakAny questions?Please feel free to email us, comment here, or DM us on Instagram any questions that you may have.Please Subscribe to this channel and turn on your notifications to be notified when our Livestreams start so you don't miss out! We hope you are blessed by the service!-The Godspeak Team

Welcome to Faith Church Online! We are After Easter people; meaning we resurrection people, we are people of hope, people of life! Today we are studying Jesus' teaching about the 4 main responses when we hear God's Words spoken. We call these the 4 soils, in Matthew 13. During Easter many big decisions are made for Christ and today Pastor Jeremy helps us understand that big decisions lead to changed priorities in our lives. We hope this message serves you well!

Happy Easter! This year Pastor David dives into the significance of Easter. He unravels a beautiful message of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. From his personal stories to biblical passages, Pastor David creates a safe place to… Read More Before & After // Easter The post Before & After // Easter appeared first on Refuge.Church.

From the series “Becoming Biblically Literate” (The Book of Acts). After Easter weekend, Jesus went to his disciples and commissioned them to go and take the good news of the Kingdom to the world. The Book of Acts tells the story of how the first disciples responded to Jesus' call to go. 

Join Pastor James Crawford in the compelling first installment of his new sermon series, "After Easter," where he explores the enduring power of relationships through the lens of Christ's resurrection. Emphasizing that the miraculous event of the empty tomb was just the beginning, Pastor Crawford delves into the concept of covenant relationships, destined to last eternally. He highlights the transformative realization that in our relationship with God, we bring nothing to Him; God lacks nothing. Instead, God's profound desire is for a relationship with us, the very purpose for which Christ sacrificed His life. This sermon invites us to reflect on the depth of God's love and the true meaning of our connection with the divine in the aftermath of Easter.Make sure you subscribe to this channel and follow us on all our platforms to always stay up to date with our latest content!And you can always head over to our website for any general information!https://godspeak.comPrayer/NeedsIf you have any needs, or have a willingness to be used to meet various need in the body, please email info@godspeak.com. Also, let us know if you need prayer for anything.Giving is part of our worship time, and in this season, the easiest way to do that is online. If you go to our website, godspeak.com, you will see the "Give" tab in the top right corner. Or you can simply click this link https://pushpay.com/g/godspeakAny questions?Please feel free to email us, comment here, or DM us on Instagram any questions that you may have.Please Subscribe to this channel and turn on your notifications to be notified when our Livestreams start so you don't miss out! We hope you are blessed by the service!-The Godspeak Team

For the Second Sunday of Easter, Fr. Frank reflects on opening the doors of our hearts and minds to the Risen Christ. Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources. Listen to Fr. Frank's more of weekly reflections and recent blogcasts.

For the Second Sunday of Easter, Fr. Frank reflects on opening the doors of our hearts and minds to the Risen Christ. Follow us:The Catholic Apostolate CenterThe Center's podcast websiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastsSpotify Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. also appears on the podcast, On Mission, which is produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources. Listen to Fr. Frank's more of weekly reflections and recent blogcasts.

Was Jesus literally resurrected from the dead? Do we have to believe in the resurrection? How do we keep God's promises in mind during trials? After Easter, Pastor Jeff and Jordan discuss our living hope in Jesus and take a sneak peek at our upcoming spring sermons.   —   This episode of The Beyond Sunday Podcast expands upon the sermon “God | 1 Peter 1:3–9” in “Decided,” our 2023–24 sermon series reexamining the basics of following Christ. Submit a question: bit.ly/BeyondSundayQuestions

On this episode of the Older Pastor/Younger Pastor Podcast, Dave and Ryan provide their 2024 After Easter commentary.

Rumors regarding the whereabouts of Kate Middleton intensified with unconfirmed claims suggesting that the BBC has been instructed to be prepared for a significant announcement from the Royal Family in the near future. However, the broadcaster has not made any public statements to confirm such alerts.Viral posts on social media have fueled concerns about the royal family's well-being, particularly after some Twitter users erroneously pointed out a perceived change in the BBC's social media branding. The confusion stemmed from a tweet by user @FieldsLeaf, alleging that 'BBC UK' had altered its logo from red to black on Instagram, a change historically associated with significant events like the death of Queen Elizabeth II.However, it's important to note that the claim in the tweet is inaccurate. The BBC operates multiple social media accounts across various platforms, each with its distinct branding conventions. The main account, 'BBC,' typically features its logo on a black background, while its news accounts, such as 'BBC News,' use a red background—a standard branding practice maintained by the broadcaster for years.(new story)Kate Middleton appeared “happy and healthy” as she was spotted alongside Prince William doing some shopping near her Adelaide Cottage home, as per reports.Kate and WIlliam  were observed at one of their preferred farm shops on Saturday, located approximately a mile away from their residence within the Windsor Home Park grounds, according to an elated onlooker who spoke to The Sun.Curiously, there were no photos of thai reported sighting.  The Sun used images of Kate for their cover story but they were not from this appearance.A witness to the unphotographed sighting in an era where everyone has a cellphone told The Sun, “A witness at the farm shop in Windsor said: “After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there.“Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well.“The kids weren't with them but it's such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.”Kate's floated return date is now April 17th, which is indeed “After Easter.”

Updated: 6:15 p.m.After Easter and Christmas, Valentine's Day is the biggest holiday for chocolate sales.  Maybe you're a chocolate lover yourself. But do you know the difference between a bonbon and a truffle? Or where cacao beans are grown?   MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three Minnesota chocolatiers about what goes into making their luscious treats and how they fell in love with making chocolate that the rest of can enjoy—on Valentine's Day or any day. Guests:  Mary Leonard is the founder and owner of Chocolat Celeste, which has been making chocolate for more than 20 years in St. Paul.  Monica Jimenez is the founder and CEO of Chocolate San José-Minneapolis, which imports chocolate from her family's cacao farm in Ecuador. She also sells a line of chocolate products made in Minnesota.   Robyn Dochterman is the founder and co-owner of St. Croix Chocolate Company in Marine on St. Croix, which last fall won two awards at the International Chocolate Awards in Florence, Italy.The following is a transcription of several questions asked during the show. Use the audio player above to listen to the full episode.How do you become skilled in experimenting with different flavors?Mary Leonard: It's just a testing kind of thing. It starts with a basic recipe that is actually the same in all the flavors and it's just the addition of a variety of different flavor notes. There's the ones that everybody loves and there's the ones that are more unusual. I'm not as much of a fan myself of the ones that everybody loves — champagne and raspberry, I always think to myself, “oh, let's get more creative than that.”How do you harvest the beans to get chocolate?Monica Jimenez: The harvesting process starts by cutting the mature pod from the plant. Then we break the pod and extract the seeds and select the seeds by hands. I like to explain that the seeds come covered with a white, little sweet bulb that we use to ferment the seed. This way we can get all the nutrition that is in the plant. The seed has a lot of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, magnesium and all this nutrition.What trends have you noticed in making chocolate since you started?Robyn Dochterman: When I first started, we were still explaining the percent of chocolate. So if you have a 70 percent dark chocolate, that 70 percent refers to the chocolate mass or what comes from the cacao tree. So what that tells you is that other 30 percent is probably sugar, vanilla, milk powder if it's a milk chocolate which it's not going to be if it's 70 percent, that's going to be a dark chocolate. People have learned quite a bit about chocolate ... so we're a lot more educated but at the same time, we're getting more advanced. People also want to do more snacking. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.  Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

Encouragement today from the week AFTER Easter!

Sermon title: "What's After Easter? Part 1: Holy Spirit" / Scripture: John 20:19-31 (NRSVUE) / Preacher: Rev. Akiko Van Antwerpen

He is risen! He is risen indeed!Happy Easter to our entire Hymn Talk Twin Talk family!This episode is scheduled to drop the day AFTER Easter. It is a beautiful hymn all year round, but it really is so perfect for Holy Week. Did you sing it in your church this year?We pray that you will be able to listen and reflect on just how wondrous His love is!Here are some links to the things we talk about in the episode:Next Steps MinistriesSt. Olaf CollegeWhat Wondrous Love Is This sheet musicWilliam Walker historical marker in Spartanburg, SCRev. Stith Mead Prayer StoneThe Big Singing event in Benton, KYKentucky Lake Cowboy ChurchKentucky OpryMt. Zion Baptist Church in Dry Ridge, KYTo purchase some of our exclusive Hymn Talk Twin Talk merchandise, please check out our web site: www.hymntalktwintalk.com. Fill out the google form and let us know what you'd like!Thank you for finding Hymn Talk Twin Talk. Thank you for listening! Would you be so kind to share a review of the podcast on iTunes? This helps others find us! Click here to write a review or give us a rating.Love in Him,Kerrie and KelliePsalm 104:33Instagram: @hymntalktwintalkFacebook: Hymn Talk Twin TalkTwitter: @hymntalkhymntalktwintalk@gmail.comwww.hymntalktwintalk.com

1 John 5:18-21Rev. Erik Veerman2/2/2023Final Reminders and AssurancesIt's been a difficult week. Like many of you, the tragedy in Nashville at one of our sister churches has weighed on my heart. I considered focusing our worship and sermon this morning on finding hope in tragedy and evil. Instead, we're going to do that next Sunday, Easter. Ultimate resurrection hope.This morning, we'll look at the last few verses in 1 John. There are some elements that relate to our hope – which I trust will be an encouragement to you.Sometimes when I am preparing, I realize that there's not enough time to cover everything sufficiently. Well, on Friday, I realized there was too much to work through in chapter 5 verses 16-21. Usually what I usually do is zoom out a little bit and cover the passage at a little higher level. The problem with doing that with these verses, is they contain a couple of phrases difficult to understand. I don't want to leave you guessing.So, I want to do something a little different.We're going to focus this morning on chapter 5 verses 18-21. Instead of starting with verse 16, we'll start with verse 18.After Easter, we'll have 1 more sermon on 1 John. It will be to tie up some interpretive loose ends, including verses 16 and 17 as well as a couple of other verses earlier in 1 John. But the other thing I want to do in that sermon is talk through why we, at Tucker Pres, methodically work through books of the Bible rather than topical sermons. Well, at least 90 or 95 percent of the time. I think you'll find that helpful. That sermon will be on April 23rd, just to give you a heads up.So, let's now come to God's word. 1 John 5:18-21. In the pew Bible, that is on Page 1213. This is God's holy Word.StandReading of 1 John 5:18-21PrayerWell, even though this is not our last 1 John sermon, we've come to the concluding words.Recently, I heard a pastor say that he avoided preaching through 1 John for the first 25 years of his ministry. He wasn't quite sure how to handle it. But then he preached it, and he said it was a great blessing. I hope and pray that this short book has encouraged you as well.I've used a few analogies to try to capture the apostle John's purpose and approach. • Like a spiral staircase, as we've circled back around to common themes, but from different perspectives. • A washing machine with different cycles, as John has sought to cleanse and purify the church. • Or do you remember the obsidian blade, the sharpest in the word, as John carefully cut a line between light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil, God and Satan, true belief about Jesus and false belief.The beautiful thing about this letter has been the care and love John has displayed over and over. Even though he has been very clear about the nature of sin, and even though he has called out false doctrine, calling those who teach it antichrists, yet he has been very loving, and he has pointed to God's love for those who are born of him. Being loving doesn't mean compromising on truth or error or righteousness or sin. In fact, compromising is not loving. John has modelled what it means to “speak the truth in love.”Related to that, there's been a theme in 1 John that has come up over and over. It's come up every chapter, almost every paragraph. You could say this theme is the glue of 1 John. If you don't remember anything else about 1 John, I hope you remember this one theme.The theme is assurance for the one who truly believes in Christ. Assurance of salvation. Assurance that you are a child of God. Assurance of the eternal life that God has given you. And the key word related to our assurance is the word “know.” John has written, “So that you may know.” Or “that you may know that you know.” Over and over. The two Greek words for the English word “know” are used 38 times in these short 5 chapters.The question has been, how do you have assurance that you are one of God's children? The answer - You know because you believe in Jesus as God's son. You know because you seek his forgiveness from your sin. You know because your life testifies to your faith.You see, assurance is the very reason that John has written about true belief and false belief. In order to have assurance, you have to know where the line is. John needed to be clear about faithful belief concerning Jesus's nature and divinity versus unfaithful belief. All of it with the goal to give children of God assurance.That is exactly how John ends his letter – a reminder of that assurance. He writes “We know” four times, here. And he concludes by grounding our assurance in Christ.And let me say, the need for assurance is not distant from us. I don't know of a single Christian who has not at one point or another had doubts. The Barna Group did a survey in 2020 and found that 35% of practicing Christians had active doubts about their salvation. You and I are not alone in our struggle.Assurance is something we long to have. We want to know that we are secure in Christ. We want to have confidence that our faith is genuine – that the Gospel is true. And when we mess up, we want to know that God still loves us. Or when the world presses in against our faith and belief, we desire that sure foundation of truth and grace.If you're here today, and it seems like the ground you are standing on is breaking apart, my prayer is that you will leave this morning with a renewed confidence in the grace and love of God… and the truth of the Gospel. Know that there are brothers and sisters who understand and who want to come along side of you in this time.Many of you have heard of Augustine. Augustine, or Saint Augustine, or Augustine of Hippo lived in north Africa in the fourth and fifth century. Since the early church, Augustine has been the most influential theologian in all of church history. But Augustine struggled with his own doubts about his faith. He wrote this short famous prayer as he grasped more and more of God's love for him. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” We're going to come back to Augustine's life in a minute, but these concluding 1 John verses direct our hearts to rest in God for our salvation.You see, having an assurance of faith is more than just an intellectual understanding of assurance. We can know what assurance is, but until we realize it deep in our soul, we will not truly rest in the assurance of God.That's what John is directing us to in these concluding verses. And he deals with real life. He deals with the very things that cause us to question our faith. Our own sin, the evil one, and the world. That's verses 18 and 19. And then he concludes by grounding our assurance in the immovable rock of Christ.So, that is how we'll work through these verses.Protected from Sin, the Enemy, and the WorldSo first, assurance in the face of the very things that cause us to question our faith! Sin, the devil, and the world.John uses a very helpful word in verse 18: “protect.” If you are a child of God, you are protected forever from those enemies of the faith.And I think you would agree, out of those three, the one that causes us the most worry when it comes to our assurance is our sin. Sin is one of the main reasons we can doubt our faith. Sin is when we fail to obey God's commands or when we break God's commands – that's either in our hearts or our actions. When we sin, we therefore ask ourselves “does that mean I'm not a Christian? I mean, after all, I'm struggling with a sin and sin is disobeying God.” The answer from these verses is “no.” Christians still struggle with sin.Look down at verse 18. It says, “everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning.”“But wait a second,” you say, “I do keep on sinning. That must mean that I'm not born of God, right?” Actually, “wrong.” You may be tempted to interpret verse 18 in that way, but in reality, it's saying the opposite.This is where it's important to go back to what John had written earlier. Let's do that. • In chapter 1 verse 8-9, John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”• And very similarly, in chapter 2 verses 1-2, he said, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins.”A Christian still has the presence of sin in his or her life, but the power and the penalty of sin has been broken. As these earlier verses make clear, if you have come to God in Christ, you are forgiven of your sin – past, present, and future.  So then, what then is chapter 5 verse 18 is talking about? Well, that language is very similar to what John has also written in chapter 3. It's talking about an ongoing practice of intentional sinning, a life marked by sin. If you have been born of God, you still sin, but your sin does not define you. Yes, some sin is very hard to overcome, like addictions. The test is whether your heart is repentant as you struggle by God's grace to overcome it with the help of others. That is very different than an unbroken pattern of unrepentant sin. When John says, “everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning” he's speaking of that unrepentant sin, including and especially the sin of unbelief.Let's go back to Augustine for a minute. His own sin was the cause of his greatest doubts as a young believer. You see, early in Augustine's life he rejected the Christian faith of his mother. Before he came to faith, Augustine was caught up in all kinds of sin and idolatry – sexual pleasures, materialism, selfish ambitions… and he described how enamored he was with different worldly philosophies opposed to God.But he found that they were all empty pursuits. And one day, when he was about 30 years old, Augustine was in anguish over his sin, he was reading the book of Romans, chapter 13. He read, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Those words so overwhelmed Augustine. He described how the weight of his sin was lifted off his shoulders and how he found the truth that he had been seeking for so long. But even after his conversion, Augustine still had times of doubt. At times he was so distraught over his past sins, and he still struggled with certain sins. He felt guilt and shame and worried about God's judgment. All of that caused him to have doubts about his faith.But the more Augustine studied the word, the more his faith grew, the more God gave him assurance of salvation. He began to embrace more and more that salvation was a gift from God. In fact, one of Augustine's greatest theological contributions is his teaching on assurance from the Scriptures. God preserves his children all the way to eternity.That is the promise of 1 John 5:18. And look what it says next! “but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” It is a promise of protection.Now, let me say, the pronoun “he” is a little unclear. “He who was born of God.” I think it's likely referring to Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, which has been emphasized over and over in 1 John. So, he, that is Jesus, protects us. It's also possible the pronoun “he” is referring to a Christian who diligently prays for his brother or sister struggling in sin. That would be a reference back to verse 16. Either way, it is God who does the protecting, and he certainly uses our prayers as we studied last week. The point is that God protects us.And besides our sin, there are two other things that we are protected from. Two other realities that cause us to question our faith. (1) the evil one, as he's called here, and (2) the world. The end of verse 18 says we're protected from the evil one. Literally, “the evil one does not touch him.” (the one born of God). Beloved, the great enemy of the faith, the devil, would like nothing more than to have you question your faith. He wants to undermine your faith and cause you to lose sight of the truth and the assurance you have. But he cannot touch you, meaning, he cannot cause you to lose your salvation. All he can do is lie.And besides trying to use your sin to undermine your faith, another avenue through which he deceives is the world. Verse 19 connects those together. “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”Here, the word “world” is referring to the priorities, the philosophies, the sensual desires, the temptations, and the idols of a cultures. “World,” here, is not a neutral entity. It is opposed to God. The apostle John makes that clear, the world is controlled by Satan, through his lies, his deceit, and the way he perverts goodness and truth. He uses the world to try to undermine your faith.Yet, despite all the temptations and distractions and attacks from Satan, if you are a child of God, he will protect you. Indeed, he promises to.Since we're talking about great theologians, Martin Luther, the protestant reformer, felt constantly attacked by the devil. Legend has it that when he was translating the Bible into German, he was feeling particularly attacked. It is said that he was so angry at the devil that he took his inkwell and threw it at the devil. Of course, it hit the wall and left a stain. Supposedly you can still see the ink stain. The truth is, that story probably didn't happen, but Luther did write about the temptations of the devil.In his commentary on Galatians, he wrote, “When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: 'I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also.'"Protected Through ChristThat quote is a good transition to verse 20 – Because we have to ask the question, Upon what is our assurance based?You see, the question remains, “how?” “How does God give us assurance?” In the frailty and fallenness of the human condition, what hope is there? We feel vulnerable to our sin, the devil, and the world. I mean, there's nothing in us that deserves this protection – in and of ourselves. No, we are full of shame and guilt and deserve nothing but death. We feel that. It's the source of a lot of our doubts about our faith.How does God protect you from all of those things? The answer, as Luther pointed out: God protects you through Christ.Verse 20 is a beautiful conclusion to this book. We'll get to the postscript in verse 21 in a minute.But verse 20 give us a blessed assurance.Our assurance comes through Christ. Notice how many times the word “true” is used in this one verse. Let me reads, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true;” that's the first time. It continues, “and we are in him who is true,” the second use. Verse 20 concludes, “in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” Three times, and they are all about Jesus. John concludes by emphasizing what he has been saying all along. Jesus is truly God. Fully and truly. He is the foundation to true faith.This verse is all about Christ. • He is the one who gives us understanding to know him. That's the first part of the verse. • We are in him, in Christ. We abide in him and he in us – as John has said over and over. That's the second part of the verse. • And the last part is also about Jesus. He is God and eternal life. In him, we have eternal life.Past, present, and future. Our assurance is based on Christ, from the beginning of our faith through to eternity. This is why we can be assured of our assurance! It's not based in our works or worthiness. It's based on Christ, his work, and our worthiness in him.And finally, the very last verse. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” It seems a little out of place, doesn't it? Some have suggested that maybe an early transcriber added it, or that we lost a final section. However, all of the earliest manuscripts we have of 1 John or the end of 1 John conclude with this verse. Something like 200 manuscripts.And I would say, John's concluding words do make sense. He's reminded his readers about the testimony of their lives. We've seen over and over. We do not come to faith because we are good enough, no, we come to faith through Christ, verse 20. But our lives should then reflect Christ in us and our faith. And so, John ends by calling to their attention, once last time, what true faith looks like. Keep yourselves from the very things that are contrary to God, false idols, false beliefs, false pursuits. Set them aside and pursue that which is pleasing and acceptable in his sight.ConclusionAs we draw to a close, one thing is clear from the book of 1 John. The Christian life is not easy! We'll be tempted to sin, the world with its philosophies and values will press in on us, the church will be attacked from within and from without. There's no promise of smooth sailing through this life. Rather the promise is that through all of it, God will protect you, he will bring you through to the end, and he will do that through the power of the Gospel - faith and hope in Christ for what he's done on the cross. And nothing can take that away from you, because it is not you, it is Christ in you. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”May we rest assured in the promises of God in Christ.

If you haven't caught on by now, we are in a final series this spring dealing with Paul's spiritual tri-fecta. I Lent we talked about Faith. After Easter we spent some weeks dealing with Love. Now we talk about Hope. Faith, Hope and Love. I realize we got them out of order, but that's just to keep you on your toes. But really, this order makes more sense, because if we have faith and love, then we are going to be people of hope. We are going to have hope and give hope. So this series uses HOPE as an acronym to consider the different ways we are called as people of faith and love to bring hope to the world. So today we consider how H.O.P.E. means Hang On, Peace Exists! See sermon notes and more at stlukesumc.com/sermons  To support St. Luke's in our mission to be an open, antiracist, justice-seeking church, visit http://stlukesumc.com/give.   We are an open community of Christians helping people find and give hope through Jesus Christ - regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, or socioeconomic background.    ——  STAY CONNECTED  St. Luke's UMC Facebook: https://facebook.com/stlukesindy  St. Luke's UMC Instagram: https://instagram.com/stlukesindy   St. Luke's UMC Twitter: https://twitter.com/stlukesindy  St. Luke's UMC YouTube: https://youtube.com/stlukesindy  St. Luke's UMC Instagram: http://vimeo.com/stlukesindy 

I've spent the past decade pushing back on what I would now call the “toxic positivity” of evangelical Christian culture, pushing from within at first, and now speaking from outside, about the dangers of soul-crushing theology dressed up as personal transformation, and that culture's tendency to bury the ones who are crushed in the process. What if the way toward Easter life is found in the wisdom of our own mortality, in the real and powerful acknowledgement that we are limited creatures, here for a limited amount of time, and invited to make the world a place that looks like the kind of life Jesus offered in his resurrected body: whole, scarred, on the other side of hell, transformed, and transforming others through forgiveness.  In this week's podcast, I'm thinking about the days that come AFTER Easter, how we view our time and mortality, and also a sloth curled up in the rain (because I'm a mom of boys).  Links: This reflection and practice were also published this week in The Slow Way Newsletter. Click HERE for free downloads/printables for our Easter themes. If you feel like it, check out the docuseries with the sloth here.  Read Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman here. Find a transcript of this episode here.  Find Micha's website and sign up for her weekly newsletter here Check out The Slow Way online store Find Micha on Instagram Find Micha on Twitter Micha's other podcast, The Lucky Few, is all about Down syndrome advocacy. She cohosts it with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara. Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer is available everywhere books are sold  

Masterclass, Relationship with God, After Easter, Pray About Everything, He's with You, Easter Dinner, Breaking Animal News. Baby Moon, Holy, Tallest Family; Quotes: “You can talk to God.” “Easter is not a one-off celebration.” “Your eternal life starts now if you trust God.”

132 – What happens after Easter? Do we just go on with our lives as if nothing special has happened?All too often, we get busy with family activities, projects at work, planting the garden, planning a vacation. The list goes on and on. In and of themselves, these activities are probably good and needed. But honestly, how much do we continue to remember and be inspired by the resurrection two, three, or six months after Easter?In this week's episode, I talk about What would happen if we constantly had the power and spirit of Jesus's resurrection in our hearts and minds?Is there something holding us back from completely embracing the resurrection?Do we have doubts and uncertainties about how to share the good news of Jesus's resurrection with the world?Do we ever feel unworthy or incapable of bearing witness to Jesus with  others?Jesus did not want any of his disciples to carry around the guilt and shame they may have felt because of how they fell asleep when he asked them to pray, abandoned him when the Romans arrested him,  or like Peter, denied he even knew him. Jesus wanted them to be drop this mental baggage so they could get on with the business at hand, preaching the gospel to all mankind.If you had been there for the morning meal with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (see John 21) he would have looked into your heart and tenderly flooded you with so much love, you couldn't possibly hold onto any feelings of doubt, fear, unworthiness, guilt, or whatever else it might be that would keep you from fulfilling your spiritual purpose in life.This is true today just as it was almost 2,000 years ago. Christ tenderly comes to your heart and floods it with love so powerful that you can't help but let go of the hurts, the doubts, the fears, the insecurities, or the pride – all the negative and egotistical self-talk we take part in. Christ keeps pouring in love until you are spiritually baptized and every thing and thought unlike God in your life is washed away.This may begin with a moment. But it will continue for a lifetime. Jesus's resurrection is not a one-time event that happened centuries ago. It is continuous, ongoing manifestation of the power of life over death, good over evil, and love over hate.In that sense, there is no “after” the resurrection, because it is always taking place. So maybe we need to change the question from “What do we do after the resurrection?” to “How can we participate in the ongoing resurrection of Christ in our lives and in the world?”Download the prayer project:Click this link, then check your download folder: 22 Ways to Pray with the Mindset of Jesus in 2022Subscribe to the podcast∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.To register for the 10 week class, The New Testament Angels Still Speak to Us Today, go to Angel ClassSupport the show

What did Jesus exactly mean when he said "judge not" in Matthew 7? Plus, what about His words about getting to Heaven? Rachelle talks about what comes AFTER Easter? What's next? Rachelle & Carder host a radio morning show in Houston, TX. You can listen on 89.3 KSBJ or online at ksbj.org.  The Anything But Quiet Time Podcast is now a part of Hope On Demand! Life can be hard and overwhelming, and you might not always know what to do. Through videos, podcasts and blogs, we help connect you more deeply with God so you can live with hope. You can watch, read and listen at hopeondemand.com.

This week we concluded our "After Easter" series with more reflection on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost: What does it mean to be "filled with the Holy Spirit"? What does the Holy Spirit DO? We looked to Jesus' teaching in John 14-16 for answers.

This week we came to the final event in our After Easter series: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We considered why this event is "a new Sinai that reverses Babel," and how to think about the topic of "speaking in tongues" today.

0 (0s): So a big welcome to you. We have info center that's that has all the information that you'll need to find out about plugging into harvest church. And just in case, this is your first time here at harvest, and you want to find out more about us. We actually have a four week class starting today. It's called harvest growth track and that's opened the parsonage. So if you feel like I want to find out more about harvest today, you can go jet up there right now, Chris, he's about ready to start. That's that's that's today. A few other things we've got M six gathering tomorrow. That's men gathering at a thousand Hills ranch out in, I don't know where it's at. Actually. I haven't been yet. So a thousand Hills ranch, we have the men's gathering. 0 (43s): There's a free dinner worship and then testimonies. And you're asked to bring a friend. So if you've never been, maybe grab a friend, go out to the M six gathering. There's no RSVP needed to show up. And then lastly got one more announcement. That's the Kings, the kids spring keeps saying Kings. I don't know why. I'm sorry. The kids spring choir. And this is the last week to sign up. So if you have a child from second grade and up and you're, and they're interested in joining the choir performance at the end of may, email Leslie or head for the info center for more information on that in the rehearsals will be on Sundays from 10 20 to 10 50. So we've got those things going on and yeah. 0 (1m 23s): Good to see you guys all here and I'll let Tim take it over from here. 1 (1m 28s): Good morning, please stand. We're going to worship together this morning. I'll just a quick word of prayer, dear God. Thank you so much for the opportunity to have a building, to worship in, to have a sound system that works and all this stuff. God, that just, just, it just helps us facilitate Lord. And I just thank you for, for being our God this morning, first and foremost is asking to meet each and every one of us here in a new way this morning, we just want to get out of the way and just become aware of you guys. Just to make it less about us. More about you this morning. 1 (2m 11s): Jesus name 2 (5m 1s): Say worthy is the key and just seeing and declare how much we love you. 3 (16m 48s): Our hearts and minds and soul is drained. Every part of us, Lord, we love you. And we know that love is reciprocated. In fact, we know that we love you because you first loved us. You started this whole thing and we're so grateful. We're so grateful. Lord, You got to pray that you would touch every person in this room and on this campus whoever's watching online. I pray that every person who would be touched with the reality of your great love, And then that would trigger a response in every person, this kind of response that we've been singing this morning. 3 (17m 31s): God, that we love you. 2 (17m 35s): We love you, Lord. We love you. Lord, 3 (17m 39s): Refresh us in that love Lord, both ways, got to refresh our love for you and refresh God, our understanding of your love for us. Thank you, Lauren. It's good. Just to praise and sing and pray and to just be in your presence. Lord, we bless you God, as we open up your word this morning, and as we avail ourselves to your truth, I just, I know God that you're going to download something of power to us, not to believe that it's just good stuff in store for us today. 3 (18m 20s): That's true. Every time we open up your word and avail ourselves to your truth, Lord, that you've just gotten life, transformational, power change for us and challenge for us. And so I pray that we'd just be anxious and hungry for it. Lord, like, like we're anxious and hungry for a good meal. When we're really hungry, Lord that we would just be anxious and hungry for our time with you today. And then God that you would fill us to overflowing with abundance. So we leave this place filled up with you and, and we can spill it out on everybody else, Lord, and with love and grace and truth and hope kindness. 3 (19m 2s): Thank you Lord. We need you. We love you, Lord. Bless us. Now we pray. Continue to bless us. I should say, Lord, continue to bless us. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. You can be seated. Thank you. Worship team. Then you worship team. 4 (19m 16s): Oh, it's just good to, yeah, it's good. Just to be in the presence of the Lord. I, since I was a young guy, I've just always appreciated worship and the time just that, that is set apart just to seem to the King and to give our hearts fully to him. And so I'm thankful for the opportunity this morning, thankful for Easter last week. So many people came out and spent days setting everything up. Mike Apadaca was out there with his tractor, grading, everything and our back area and dozens of people helping to set things up beginning like on Thursday and through Friday and Saturday and Sunday. And it was just really, really powerful. 4 (19m 60s): And then the cleanup, you know, happen in a couple hours, thanks to so many people who just, who stuck around and, and helped us out with that. It was just really, really good. After Easter. We had this crazy idea that we'd go backpacking. So we, my son and I, so the youth were planning this backpacking trip and they were planning to leave Tuesday to go back off of figure a mountain off of one 54. And it's about a 6.8 mile hike. And so Jeremy, our youth and family pastor said, Hey, why don't you guys leave a day early and make sure that there's actually camping spots available for another 25 people or so coming back. 4 (20m 40s): So, so Curtis and I got up after the long Easter weekend and we left about seven 38 in the morning and we began to hike and just had a wonderful, wonderful time as I was hiking. I thought there's so many parallels, so many parallels to the Christian life, the Christian walk and this hike we're on this backpacking trip that we're on. In fact, when we finally made it there, we, we didn't, we didn't share this thought with each other until we actually got to the, the, the destination we both said to each other, Curtis said, Hey dad, if you weren't with me, I probably wouldn't have made it all the way. 4 (21m 21s): I probably would have stopped and camped along the way, because there were, it was just a lot of uphill and that sort of thing. I said, Curtis, that's exactly what I was thinking. If you weren't here, I would have stopped like a mile back and just said, that's enough. But we both realized we would have totally missed the amazing destination that we experienced if we would have given up and so much like the Christian walk, the Christian life. If we don't have people spurring us on holding us accountable and challenging us to continue what we're going to settle for something far less than what God has for us. And so I was super grateful. Curtis was there and then we got there and there was plenty of spots. And so we called back to Jeremy and said, Hey, come on out, man. 4 (22m 4s): There's lots and lots of room. And so he came out and they all 25 of them, it was really, really powerful that the day that they were supposed to come out, it was getting about four o'clock and they had been on the trail for a while. So I was kind of getting anxious for them to be out there and I wanted to see them. And so I just started down the trail and I got about a mile back from the, the main campsite there and there they were, they were all settled there and kind of taken a break before they made the final descent. And it was yeah, really, really good. But one guy had pulled a muscle in his leg and he was really struggling carry his backpack. And so we got a chance to help him carry his backpack. The last mile that isn't, that just like the Christian life. 4 (22m 44s): Sometimes we get injured or we're discouraged. We don't know how we're going to press on. We don't know how we're going to finish and get to the destination, but others come along, come around us and help us to carry the burdens that we have to get us moving. And to our destination, I tell you, what is the best, most beautiful destination? There were two waterfalls. I should've brought a picture, a video right. Or something, but there were two waterfalls coming down and flowing into this big, big, like eight foot deep pool of water that you could swim in and refresh yourself. And it was so amazing, so much better than the campsite that was a mile earlier, or even the ones that were just along the way we would have totally missed it. 4 (23m 29s): I think that's kind of, God's message to us is that we will totally miss out on God's best if we give up and maybe you're here today and you're kind of wondering whether you want to press on in your faith as your, as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And you've got this big backpack on and you're just kind of feeling weary and just kind of feeling worn out. I just want to encourage you that God is with you and he will help you get there. He will help you get there, but maybe you got this pack on and, and there's, there's an art to packing a backpack, right? Like you don't want to pack too much. There are things that you need. Like, you need a tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad. You need, you know, cookware and food and that sort of thing. 4 (24m 10s): But there are certain things that you don't need to carry in like big, heavy stuff that just kind of wear you out. So you gotta be careful not to have too much on your pack. Otherwise it's cumbersome and it's difficult to keep going forward. So some of us in our lives, we're carrying all of this extra unnecessary weight, this baggage, this burden burdensome stuff that the Lord just wants to lift off off of us. It's it's really a picture of God's. You know, Jesus said, my yoke is easy, so there's a yoke, but he said, my burden is light. So he wants to lift it off of you. So if you're carrying around just old baggage from past mistakes and failures, sins, whatever it is, just confess that to the Lord. 4 (24m 54s): If we confess our CNC is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what he'll do is he'll lift that, that bag of that burden off of our bag. And then we'll be able to kind of March on through. I remember when I got to the campsite and took off the backpack, it was just like, Oh man, you feel like you're walking on air because all of that weight is off of you. I think that's kind of the experience that God wants us to have like something of a lighter load in our lives. So confess whatever you need before the Lord today, and just watch his grace and mercy wash over you and watch your, your law, your load kinda lighten up. It was just a powerful deal, but as kind of back, as long as we were walking and I'll just kind of share this story for a little bit and the, can we start the clock? 4 (25m 37s): Thank you. Because now I'm not, I'm not going to know how much time I have and it doesn't really matter cause I'm just going to go till I'm finished anyway, but now there we are, but it's helpful to know that I'm over, right? So it's just helpful to know. So as, as we were hiking, there was a lot of incline and my son would tell me, he kept, he kept telling me, Hey, dad look up. Cause I'm I got, you know, I'm just going, you know, it's just trying to get the job done. And he would tell me, look up Dan, look at, look at what we're hiking in. And, and he would just remind me of all of the beauty, the wonder of what God had created and is sustaining even now. And it was just like this refreshing experience. 4 (26m 18s): We're going to be talking about a biting with God today. We're actually going to be answering the question. What does godliness look like? What does godliness look like? And I, I couldn't help, but make a lot of para a lot of comparisons to that backpacking trip because I was reminded of so many wonderful things as I just chose to look up and abide with God and appreciate his presence 5 (26m 45s): And appreciate his beauty. I think sometimes we can just get busy, right? We've got our head, 4 (26m 49s): It's Dan, we got stuff to do. And we don't look up 5 (26m 53s): And just say, thank you Lord for life and for breath and for 4 (26m 57s): Family and for whatever it is that you want to thank the Lord for, we can get burdened down by maybe illness or disability or whatever it is. And we don't, if we don't look up, we're just kind of stuck with our heads down. And like my son told me, I'm telling you look up, look up, God's doing some really, really amazing things. If we'll just stop and pay attention. So what does godliness look like? We're going to kind of unpack that today. We're going to kind of discover that today because I think God wants us to experience something of newness in our walk with him, our relationship with him. He wants to breathe life into us in such a powerful way that we walk out of this place with new perspective. 4 (27m 42s): I remember just sitting around the campfire when we were there just before the kids got there. And even after the kids got there, just sitting around the campfire, just being so filled with gratitude for what the Lord has done. I mean, I just, I looked around at his creation and then that caused me to ponder about my, my own life and my family and the way that God has just blessed our church and taking care of us. And I just, I just was filled with this refreshing gratitude. It was so important and so necessary for, for my life as I just sat there and just thought about the Lord. There's something about abiding with him and allowing him to buy it to abide in us. That is just life-giving and powerful. And we get busy and distracted and we miss out on those things. 4 (28m 26s): So let's take a look at what Paul wrote to Timothy in first Timothy chapter four. And we'll get to that answer. What does godliness look like with that? Let's say as you guys turn to first Timothy four, I just want to pray, 5 (28m 37s): Lord Jesus. We just pray. And we thank you for your presence here. 4 (28m 42s): We were able to sing that last song and just talk about how much we love you with all of our hearts and minds and soul and strength or got God. I know you're blessed by that Lord. And I just want to declare that as a church, we love you Lord, and we want you to have your way with us today. 5 (28m 59s): We want you to speak to us where we need. 4 (29m 2s): I need you to speak to us, to challenge us where you need, where we need to be challenged, Lord God, that we would be 5 (29m 10s): Encouraged today and put back on the right path. Maybe it's been a tough journey and some of us are feeling the burden, the weight of it all. Lord, I just pray that you would bless us as we trust you in Jesus name. Thank you, Lord. Amen. 4 (29m 28s): The 41. Now the Holy spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, in the last days, some will turn away from the true faith and they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings come from demons. There's a temptation as the return of Christ draws near. And this has been going on for the last couple thousand years since its Ascension, there's this, there's this temptation to walk away from it. So walk away from the Lord and to pursue other things. But God has got us on this path and he doesn't want us to give up. Although there challenges and difficulties along the way, coming back out of the hike while going into the hike, I had been wearing these boots and they weren't, I guess they weren't broken in very well. 4 (30m 16s): So I was getting these hotspots and these blisters. And so I decided just to put on my sandals, he saw these, you know, strap on sandals and I hiked the rest of the way. And then I was hiking out and I realized I'm getting gnarly blisters on my feet. As I'm hiking out with these sandals, I would've wore socks with the sandals, but then I would've been, looked like an old guy. So I, I didn't want to look like an old guy. Although I do typically wear socks with sandals, but I decided I would just, just go for it. I thought, what choice do I have? Like I gotta get outta here. Like I five miles from the trail head. I gotta just keep going. I can't stop and wait here for three days until my blisters heal up. Right? Cause then I'm going to walk another mile and get some more blitzers I got to stop again. 4 (30m 59s): I think the challenge for us is that we've got to just continue to move forward two hours or destination. Although we do deal with troubling things, temptation and sickness and all kinds of challenges in our life. But what I noticed is that God gave me the grace just get to continue to walk out. I literally have silver dollar size blisters in between my toes, but I was like, I know they're there, but I'm not going to look at them. I'm just going to keep marching forward because I don't have a choice, right? I'm not going to, you know, I'm not going to stand out there until, till they get cleared up. So what I noticed is that God gave me the grace and then I get home. I get to my destination. 4 (31m 39s): Wife makes this hot water with Epson salt, you know, Epsom salt. I don't know what it's called, but you put your feet in there and it just creates this nice soothing experience. I wouldn't have had that soothing experience if I were to quit on the trail, right? God's got such blessing for us. If we just don't give up, if we refuse to give up, but continue to March forward. Now the Holy spirit tells us clearly that, that in the last time, as the time of Christ return draws near some will turn away from the true faith and they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. Listen, there's only one true faith that leads to heaven. 4 (32m 19s): There are many faiths in the world, many counterfeit faith, but only one faith leads to the God who created and sustains the universe. There's one God that offers salvation by grace, through faith. And some are tempted to turn away. Some will turn away from faith in Jesus alone, and they 6 (32m 40s): Will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. So anything that is contrary to the scripture and what the scripture says about Jesus and who he is and what the scripture says about God and who he is is, is a contrary gospel. It's a counterfeit gospel perpetuated by demons by the fallen angels. That the enemies 5 (33m 3s): Of God, there's one God that offers salvation through grace, by grace, through faith. And the Holy spirit has revealed this 6 (33m 12s): Truth, that in the as time wears on, 5 (33m 15s): And this has been going on for the last couple thousand years, people will be tempted to walk away from the faith. 6 (33m 21s): Mark 1322 says for false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders. So as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones, watch out. I have warned you about this ahead of time. So there's a warning of, for the church, for the believers of Christ that says, Hey, be careful not to get distracted or to be hindered from your faith in the Lord. Jesus Christ in acts 2029. Luke wrote, I know that false teachers like vicious wolves will come in among you. After I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and 5 (34m 1s): Start the truth. In order, in order to draw a following, 6 (34m 6s): What kind of people would do this? Like what kind of people would intentionally draw others away from the truth? Well, Paul tells us in first Timothy four, two, these people are hypocrites 5 (34m 16s): And liars and their conscience is, are dead. 6 (34m 21s): So these people are not who they claim to be. They are deceivers like their father, the devil himself, who is the father of lies. And they, they are without a functioning conscience. So their conscience and sear, they're dead, they're liars and deceivers. So these are the people. These are the entities that are trying to draw us away from our faith. And so don't, don't be surprised when you feel like giving up. It's it's an age old ploy of the enemy to get us distracted and hindered, getting us to refuse, to believe the truth of who Jesus is and what he wants to do 5 (34m 59s): In our lives. These people are not who they claim to be. 6 (35m 2s): They're deceivers without a functioning conscience, they will do what counterfeit religious leaders have always done. Counterfeit religious leaders have always heaped, heavy burdens and restrictions and expectations on 5 (35m 15s): Their followers. That's what we see throughout the throughout history and in the scripture of religious leaders, 6 (35m 23s): This is what verse three says. They will say it is wrong. These these religious leaders, they will say it's wrong to be married and wrong D certain foods, but God created those foods to be eaten with. Thanks by faithful people who, the truth, the Bible knowledge commentary States, the false teachers plaguing the Ephesians church were the forerunners of the Gnostics of the second century. The Gnostics believed that spirit is good and matter is evil. So anything that is got matter to it is evil, but spirit is good. So they believed all appetites relating to the body are therefore evil and should be rooted out, including normal desire for sex and food. 6 (36m 9s): And so they're saying don't get married, don't eat certain foods. It's all of these heavy duty restrictions that these religious leaders want to keep on us trying to get us to conform to their, their plan and purpose. So it's wrong to be married. Ron, what does God say about that? This is, this is what needs to be our response to anything that we hear that is sideways or seems different than the, than the word of the Lord. What does God think? Genesis two 18 in the new living translation, it says, then the Lord, God said it. It's not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him. And so God has created marriage to be a blessing to humanity. 6 (36m 49s): Now there are single people in the world who are called to it, or just in their circumstances. They're single right now. And God's blessing is upon them, but God has created marriage as a good thing for the world. The early deceivers also said that it's wrong to eat certain foods. What a bummer. I got a quick, quick joke. So this Catholic nun in this Catholic school was in the cafeteria with all of the Catholic kids. And there was this big bowl of apples in the line of the food. And so the Catholic nuns brought a little note that said only take one, Apple, God is watching. 6 (37m 31s): So, but at the other end of the line and the cafeteria was that big old platter of chocolate chip cookies. And so one of the students said, take all you want because Dodd is watching the app 7 (37m 44s): Bulls. 6 (37m 48s): I would prefer a chocolate chip cookie over an Apple any day. In fact, the only reason I eat healthy food like apples is so that I can have a chocolate chip cookie and enjoy the food that God has had called, called us to enjoy. But the early deceivers would say, it's wrong to eat certain foods. What does God say that? What does God think about that? And acts chapter 10, the apostle Peter fell into a trance and had a vision from the Lord acts 10, 11 through 16, says this. He saw the sky open and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners in the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, get up Peter kill and eat them. 6 (38m 33s): And what does Peter say? No, no Lord was his response. Listen, it's never a good idea to say, no Lord, it's a contradictory term. Like it's an oxymoron. You can't have Jesus as Lord and leader and King of your life and say no to him. Because by saying no to him, it declares that he's no longer your King and Lord and leader. And so for Peter to say, no Lord, he was showing a bit of his old nature. Have you ever had that creep up in your life where your old nature pops up and you're like, no Lord. Like I was arguing with the Lord the other day about meeting with some guy for prayer. 6 (39m 13s): It's like, Lord, I don't have time. I don't want to meet with this guy. Although I felt like I was supposed to meet with the guy. As soon as I'm having this argument with the Lord, I get a text from the guy that I'm supposed to. Hey, are we still praying together? I'm like, of course we're still praying together. Get over here. So, but we have this tendency to resist the good stuff Lord wants to do in our lives. No Lord Peter declared. I've never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean, but the voice spoke again, do not call something unclean. If God has made it clean, the same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. 6 (39m 55s): Verse four says since everything God created is good. This is back to first Timothy four. Since everything God created is good. We should not reject any of it, but receive it with things where we know it has made acceptable by the, by the word of God and prayer made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. So now we have, I have to think, okay, God has created all of these wonderful things in the world and they're all good. Can we just indulge in anything and everything that God this created. And so we think about this, you know, this, the, the, we have this idea when it comes to food and when it comes to this new legalized thing called marijuana, and we think, well, if it's legal, then it must be okay, but it's clear that we're not to take anything that altered our mind. 6 (40m 49s): The scripture's very clear about this. So these are the guidelines for how we're to enjoy what God has created. We follow the word of God and we enjoy what God has provided for us with prayer. And thanks giving. So can I have anything I desire without measure? Well, let's look at a couple of verses here. You Zeke, you'll see. 1649 says Sodom sins were pride, gluttony and laziness. Well, the poor and needy suffered outside the door. So we know that we're allowed to enjoy everything, everything that God has given to us in the area of food, as long as we're not doing it in excess gluttony, we have to exercise some self control. 6 (41m 30s): So I, I stand up here and I, my gut constantly sucked in because if I don't suck it in, then it shows my Ponch, right. But my Ponch is there because I refuse to exercise. Self-control regarding sweets in my life. And so yesterday my wife said, Hey, would you like a cinnamon roll? And I said, no, I'm not going to eat the cinnamon roll because I just had a snack. I'm not having another snack. So an hour later, she's outside in the garden and I decide it's time for another snack. So I had a cinnamon roll that she made for my birthday because my birthday was just last week. And she made these amazing homemade cinnamon rolls with all of this icing on top. 6 (42m 10s): And then my daughter had, had bought me some, this, these donuts that I enjoyed as well. And then Jolene also had made this Apple pie that was just calling me. So I had donuts and I had Apple pie and I as cinnamon roll. And there was no, no wonder why I wasn't hungry for dinner, but I found a way to get dinner in me as well. It was just this incredible experience. And so that's called the sin of gluttony and I did lose 10 pounds, but I need to lose about 10 more. I, I, I, I think if I lost 10 more, I'd get rid of that gut. I wouldn't have to suck it in everywhere. It's uncomfortable to have to suck in your stuff 4 (42m 48s): Like everywhere. But that's what I gotta do. Cause I'm bill gluttonous. One of the, 6 (42m 56s): The fruit of the spirit of self-control. And I've realized that when I'm like, self-control in one area of my life that tends to spill over into other areas of my life. And so we have to be careful, 4 (43m 5s): Well that we're exercising. Self-control in all areas of our life. Now I know some of you is like, shut up Henry about your gut, right? You're like, I can barely hear 6 (43m 14s): You. See it. Listen. If I took my shirt off, you'd really see it right. Took it off bare chesty to be like, whoop, all of a sudden, there it is. Right. I've never had a gun. So now that I got one, I'm like, 4 (43m 26s): I'm trying to, I'm trying to hide it. That's why I wore these flowery shirts. They kind of nevermind, whatever. 6 (43m 33s): What else does the Bible say about our appetite? Galatians five 19 through 21 says when you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear. Sexual immorality in purity, less skull pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I had before that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom 4 (44m 5s): Of God. So there's 6 (44m 7s): A word in verse 20 that mentioned, it's mentioned it's the word is sorcery. That word is also witchcraft. The Greek word. There is farming KPI, a pharma Kia, depending on how you pronounce it. And it means which 4 (44m 21s): I think what happens is, is when we avail ourselves to the, the unhealthy 6 (44m 33s): Use of drugs in our life, whether we're smoking dope, listen, 5 (44m 36s): The kid smoking dope is my favorite thing to do in the whole world. Why? Because it's a great escape, right? I would smoke. I would get high. I would go to sleep and I'd be out for a few hours. He was great. 6 (44m 48s): But then I realized that God has called us to live a life that we're not meant 5 (44m 54s): To escape from. And 6 (44m 56s): When I realized that over the course of my life, I realized I don't need to run 5 (44m 60s): Toward farming, farm 6 (45m 2s): Makiah. I don't need to run toward drugs. I can run to Jesus and find this stuff that I need. Often we're running to the wrong stuff, whether it be food 5 (45m 12s): Or drugs, 6 (45m 13s): And especially with legalized marijuana. Now I just got back from Colorado about a month or so ago. And 5 (45m 19s): There's, there's dispensaries 6 (45m 21s): All over. Like you can walk in anywhere and get marijuana. It's just a 5 (45m 26s): Early thing. It will wreck your life. I'm just going to tell you it will wreck your life. And just because it's legal in California, doesn't mean that you should be taking it. Anything that is going to alter your mind, whether it be drunkenness or any really any kind of addiction, some are addicted to sex or pornography. Some are addicted to wine. Alcohol, some are addicted to drugs. I know a guy who was addicted to drugs, painkillers for a year, 6 (45m 55s): And I've known this guy for years. And I, I I'm on the phone with him one day. I'm like, dude, are you loaded? Seriously? You sound like you're loaded. And I didn't know that he was loaded, but he was loaded. Right? And it was a wake up call 5 (46m 7s): To him. And he realized 6 (46m 10s): That he was hooked and he needed to get clean from his drugs. And so he's been clean for about the last year, 18 months or so. And you know, what's improved in his life, 5 (46m 19s): Everything right? His, his financial problems got cleared up. Why? Because he stopped spending so much money on drugs because it's black market drugs that he had to get because he couldn't get his doctor to prescribe anymore. His marriage got fixed. His family got fixed because he wasn't jacked up on drugs anymore. His spiritual life got squared away because he wasn't jacked up on drugs anymore. Listen, drugs, 6 (46m 43s): Addictions, all of these things will Jack 5 (46m 46s): You up. 6 (46m 48s): I didn't even realize how jacked up he was until he got off the drugs. When he got off the drugs and he realized, man, my, this is the life Jesus said, I've come that you might have life abundantly. This is you can't enjoy that. If you've 5 (47m 1s): Got an addiction in your life, you just 6 (47m 3s): Can't. You got to get all of the addictions out of your life and trust Jesus in every arena of your life. Addiction is just an escape, right? 5 (47m 14s): It's a way to get some, some help, kind of a counterfeit help and escape. When we're in trouble. God doesn't want that for you. He wants you to be free in Jesus name. And he just want you to be free. He makes the way to freedom possible because he's good. And he's faithful. Somebody told me this morning, I've turned that 12 step program into a two-step program. She said, I decided to quit drinking. And then I quit drinking. 6 (47m 46s): I said, what a great story? You know, we, we run to the wrong stuff. This is the wine capital of like, I mean, there's wine everywhere, right? So we have this temptation to run to all this alcohol and that 5 (47m 58s): Sort of thing. And listen, I'll say wine 6 (48m 0s): In the scripture tends to be spoken of in a positive light. It's a blessing, but drunk. 5 (48m 5s): And this has never spoken of in a POS in a positive light. It's Ephesians five says don't be drunk with wine. They will ruin your life instead. Be filled with the Holy spirit. So if you're drinking to excess, getting yourself drunk, you just need to stop. If you're running into pornography, trying to find fulfillment there by God's grace, she just need to stop. If you're running to drugs, trying to find something to numb your life, God, God, hasn't called us to live a life that we're trying to numb. 6 (48m 39s): He's trained. He's called us to live a life that 5 (48m 41s): We're trying to enjoy by his grace. We can do that. So run from all of those things that are deceptive and destroying your life. Drugs 6 (48m 50s): Bugs that alter our mind or alcohol that alters our minds is not for God's people. So there are some parameters 5 (48m 58s): For the stuff that God has created in 6 (49m 1s): World. Paul told Timothy, if you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ. Jesus. So Timothy's responsibility was to explain this truth to his people. He would be a worthy servant of Christ. Jesus, who, if he did this, who one, who would be one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teachings you have followed. So pastors and Bible teachers actually do. 5 (49m 31s): I don't have a choice, but to teach the whole counsel of 6 (49m 35s): God's word, it would be easier to talk about rainbows and butterflies, but that's not what you want to hear. And that's not what I want to talk about. I don't think you want to talk about rainbows and butterflies. I think we need to hear the word of God, that truth and allow that truth to be, to challenge our lives so that we properly align ourselves with him so that we can abide in him and have him abide in us. James three one says there's actually a stricter judgment for pastors and teachers for teachers of the word of God. We're actually going to stand before the Lord and give them 5 (50m 10s): Account for what we taught. I don't want to be in trouble. 6 (50m 16s): I don't want to be in trouble with God and I don't want to be in trouble with you. So I'm just going to teach God's word to the best of my ability, 5 (50m 23s): Where we need to get challenged and move forward. Amen. Verse 4 (50m 28s): Seven says do not waste time. Arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales. Instead, train yourself have to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. So what does godliness look like? Number one, God, Salinas is abiding in God, John 15. Jean says that if we abide in him and he abides in us that we will, we will produce spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit is eternal. It doesn't have a shelf life. It's always credited to our account. So spiritual fruit is anything that, that impacts the kingdom of God for eternity. 4 (51m 10s): So when people get saved, when we're do a good deed for someone, when we pray for someone, when we love the unlovely, all of those things. When we're allowing the spirit of God and the word of God to come out of us and to bless those around us, we can, you can't actually accomplish anything of spiritual value. Apart from that abiding relationship with Christ, we can do a lot of busy stuff. We can volunteer for Sunday school for 10 hours a week. We can serve in all kinds of small groups. We can greet at the front door. We can write large checks to the church, but none of that stuff actually matters if we're not biting in Christ, right? 4 (51m 52s): Sometimes people write a big check to the church and that substitute that's kind of a substitute for their abiding and their service to Christ. But God has called us to serve him and love him wholeheartedly with all of our time, talent and treasure so that we honor him. And the way that we live our lives abiding in Christ gives us the grace to do all the things that he's called us to do. I was talking with this young couple and we're doing some counseling with them. They're about ready to get married. And, and they used to come to church here, but now they live in Nashville. And so I was doing stuff over zoom and doing some counseling and it got to, you know, we started talking about finances and I went on this rampage about tithing. 4 (52m 38s): I said, Hey, I'm going to talk to you was about tithing because it's really just gonna be foundational to your walk with Jesus. And so I did this whole teaching on tithing and I said, what do you guys think? And they said, Oh yeah, we already give 20%. It was like a total waste of my time and to talk to them about diving. But they're there something about, there's something about trusting God. And we're going to look at that in the next portion, but there's something about trusting God and believing him that comes out of that abiding relationship with him. What does godliness look like abiding with God, number one, number two. What has godliness like obedience to God abiding and obedience? 4 (53m 23s): Obedience is defined the general concept 6 (53m 28s): Of obedience, both in the old and the new Testament relates to hearing or hearkening to a higher authority. So hearing it or hearkening is not just 4 (53m 38s): Hearing, but it's actually hearing and doing it's obeying 6 (53m 42s): One of the Greek terms for obedience in the Bible conveys the idea of positioning oneself, 4 (53m 48s): There, someone by submitting to their authority and, 6 (53m 52s): And another Greek word for obey in the new Testament means to, this'll be surprising to us to trust another word in the new Testament for obey is actually it means to trust. We will never fully obey God. If we don't fully try. 4 (54m 10s): I asked him with our lives, our time talent and our treasure 6 (54m 15s): Measure, according to Holman's illustrated Bible dictionary, a succinct definition of biblical obedience is to hear God's word and act accordingly, to hear and act, to hear and respond, to listen and obey IRD men's Bible dictionary States, shew hearing, or obedience involves the physical hearing that inspires the hearer and a belief or trust that in turn motivates the hearer to act in accordance with the speaker's desire. Thus biblical obedience to God means to hear trust, submit, and surrender 4 (54m 53s): To God and his word. So 6 (54m 56s): Part of godliness has everything to do with obedience. Eight reasons why OBD 4 (55m 2s): Hands to God is important. Let's take a look at these really quick eight reasons. I don't know if they're up on the screen or not, but let's just go for it. 6 (55m 8s): Jesus calls us to obey is number one. What a great reason to obey simply because Jesus has called us to obey. I was talking to pastor Dave earlier. We were talking about baptism and he was having a conversation with the person where the guy about baptism. And he asked the guy, why should you get baptized? And he kept trying to come up with all these theological reasons why you should get baptized. And Dave said, Hey, why can't the answer be? Because Jesus told us to be baptized. I mean, if Jesus asks us to do something, we don't need to jump through all kinds of theological hoops to make our point. We just say, yeah, Jesus told me 4 (55m 42s): To do it. God told me to do it. So I'm going to do it. 6 (55m 44s): Jesus calls us to obey Jesus. John 14, 15 says, if you love 4 (55m 48s): Me, obey my commandments. 6 (55m 51s): Number one, Jesus calls us to obey. Number two. Obedience is an act of worship. Romans 12 tells us to give our whole lives. All of our bodies, everything is an act of worship to the Lord. Obedience is an act of worship, more so than singing and lifting up our hands along the same lines as worshiping. And when we come, come together gathered because what we do when we obey God is we declare that he is God and that he is worthy of our adoration. He is worthy our obedience. And so when we walk out obedience before the game of games were declaring worship before him and say, because you are God and I am not because you are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, I will be obedient to you. 6 (56m 37s): OBT obedience is an act of worship. Number three, God rewards obedience in Genesis 22. God told Abraham, listen, your descendants in the whole world will be blessed because of your obedience. To me, 5 (56m 54s): Obedience is rewarded by God. You'll see it in your life. As you decide, 6 (57m 0s): I'm going to be a person of obedience. Every time the Lord asks me to do something, I'm just going to do it and watch the blessings that the rewards that come your way as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ it's and it's so much, so much fun. It's more fun than just kind of wrestling with God all the time about everything that he asked you to do. If you just say yes, Lord, not, not Peter, no Lord, no Lord doesn't work. As, as a kingdom follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Yes, Lord works every time. Number four obedience to God proves our love. All you have to do is read first and second, John, and you see that there's a direct correlation, a connection between obedience and the love that we say. We have the book of first and second, John clearly explains that obedience to God demonstrates love for God, loving God implies following his command. 6 (57m 48s): So we can't say we love God. If we don't walk obediently in his presence. Number five obedience to God demonstrate 5 (57m 55s): Space. Interesting. Huh? When we open 6 (57m 59s): Bega, we show our trust and faith in 5 (58m 2s): God. It's an, it's a demonstration 6 (58m 6s): Of our faith. We're saying, Lord, I believe you. And so if you're asking me to do this, 5 (58m 11s): I'm going to trust you. I believe it. Lord. 6 (58m 13s): I'm going to, I'm going to demonstrate my faith by saying yes to you. And first John, two, three through six, it says we can be sure that we know him. If we obey his commandments, if someone claims, I know God, but doesn't obey. God's commandments. That person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 (58m 33s): But those who obey 6 (58m 35s): God's word surely show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives. As Jesus did obedience to God demonstrates faith. Number five, number six, obedience is better than sacrifice in the old system. The old covenant old Testament. If somebody said that they would offer a sin, offering an animal sacrifice, but that's not what God was after. That was God's grace extended in that time so that people might be forgiven. 5 (59m 15s): But the scripture 6 (59m 17s): Says obedience is, 5 (59m 19s): Is better than sacrifice. 6 (59m 25s): Obedience is better than the sacrifices 5 (59m 27s): That we offer. New Testament. We, we sin and we say, Lord, forgive me. And then that's a great model. Obviously. That's what God wants us to do. But how about if we just decide we're going to be obedient. Obedience is better than sacrifice. I mean, I don't want it 6 (59m 41s): Offer. I don't want to have to offer. I don't want to have to say forgive me 5 (59m 44s): Lord and said, I just want to walk purely before the King of Kings. Thank God for his mercy 6 (59m 50s): Sanctification means I I'm asking for forgiveness less and less in a sense I'm still sending, but it's not the same old gnarly sins that I used to sin in. Maybe it's sins that are representative of my, my growth in Jesus. We still have to guard against a moral failure. We still have to guard against the pride or the flesh and pride and all of those things. But, but sanctification, meaning that the longer we're walking with Jesus means that we're not doing those same gnarly sins that we used to do, but there's an obedience connected to our 5 (1h 0m 29s): Lives and obedience that honors the Lord and requires us less of us grovelling before the Lord and saying, God, I'm sorry, I've done this a thousand time. There's victory available for us in Jesus. Number seven, disobedience leads to sin and death. The disobedience of Adam brought sin and death into the world. This is the basis of the term original sin, but Christ perfect obedience restores fellowship with God, for everyone who believes in him, Romans five 19 says for as by the one man's disobedience, Adam, the many were made sinners. 5 (1h 1m 12s): So by the one man's obedience Christ, the many will be made righteous in first Corinthians five 22. It says for as Adam, for, as in Adam, all die. So also in Christ shall all be made alive. First Corinthians five 22, number eight through obedience. We experienced the blessing of Holy living. And that's what I'm talking about. There's a blessing connected to Holy living. That is the decision to be obedient. And listen, if you're, if you're jacked up with addiction, you're going to miss out on this blessing. You're going to miss out on his blessing. I don't want you to feel picked on today. I want you to feel like there's hope today. I want you to feel like man, there's hope on the other side of this addiction, whatever it may be. 5 (1h 1m 54s): There's hope maybe you're here today and you're struggling with porn online porn, pretty, pretty pervasive sin in our culture for men and for women. There's a there's art there's software that you can load onto your computer called covenant eyes. That will hold you accountable for what you're watching online. You get an accountability partner and you say, Hey, I want you. And that accountability partner will actually get a report of everything that you read. I looked at online and, and they'll flag things that are inappropriate so that you have one more opportunity to say no to that sin. 5 (1h 2m 43s): So maybe yeah, this online porn or some other kind of sex addiction, maybe it's just an addiction to wine, alcohol drugs. There are paths forward. We have a, an AA program that meets here on Thursday nights for people who are trying to overcome their addiction to drugs. There are Christian based recovery programs that are available in the community for people who want to get free from drugs and alcohol and other types of addiction. So there's steps that can be taken if we will just decide to take it by God's grace and move forward in freedom through obedience, we experienced the blood sings of a Holy life. 5 (1h 3m 26s): What does godliness look like? Number three, discipline disciplined under God, disciplined unto God. Godliness speaks of a disciplined life in word thought and deed, listen, we're all in this journey, carrying our backpacks, moving toward a destination, just to be on the journey requires discipline. You've got to pack your bag and take the stuff that you need to take. You need to put on the armor of God and do what God has called you to do so that you survive the experience and thrive in the experience. It's it's the, the root of the word disciple is discipline. And God has called us to go make disciples of all nations. 5 (1h 4m 8s): He's called us to be disciples and to go make disciples of all nations. And so that means that we must activate discipline in our lives and be disciplined unto God as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And with that activation of discipline in our lives comes victory comes the ability to be obedience comes just joy and speakable and full of glory. Some of us don't even realize what we're missing out on because we keep falling short of the destination. We keep missing what God has for us and we fall short. And so we keep, keep missing out on God's best discipline is what God has for us. If we will move forward in that we will experience godliness like never before. 5 (1h 4m 53s): Let me just wrap up these last few verses and then we'll call, call the worship team back in just a few minutes and we'll stand and worship here. It says, this is a trustworthy saying verse nine and everyone should expect apt it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle for our hope is in the living God, who is the savior of all people. And particularly of all, believers teach 6 (1h 5m 18s): These things and insist that everyone learned them. Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say in the way you live in your love, your faith and in your purity. I think we have way too low of expectations for young people. That's why I love it. When we've got young people here on the worship team, people, young people greeting young people involved in leadership because obviously Paul had an expectation of this young leader named Timothy. He said, don't let anyone despise you because you're young. Sometimes we, we think, wow, I'm young. It's my time to mess around. 6 (1h 5m 59s): And then I'll get serious with the Lord later on. Don't waste your time falling into that trap. Sometimes though, we, we, when we get old, we fall into that same trap. We say, ah, I'm too old to be doing anything helpful for the kingdom. I'm just going to play golf or do whatever I do and don't get me wrong. I love golf, but not at the expense of the kingdom work that God has called us to do. There's kingdom work that God has called us to do so, whatever your hobbies are, make sure they're in alignment with God's plan for your life. And if you're young or old, make sure God is on the throne of your life. And if you're middle-aged and you're raising kids, you've got all this stuff going on. Make sure Jesus is at the throne is on the throne of your life. He'll make you a better parent and make you a better husband, make you be a better spouse wife to make you a better person in Jesus' name. 6 (1h 6m 44s): Don't let anyone think less of you because you're young. Be an example to all believers in what you say and the way you live and your love, your faith and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the scriptures to the church, encouraging to believers and teaching them do not neglect the spiritual gifts you received through the prophecy, spoken over you. When the elders of the church laid their hands on, you gave you your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation, Timothy and the salvation of those who hear you. 6 (1h 7m 24s): What does godliness look like? It looks like a biting obedience and discipline. How's your backpacking trip. How's your journey with that? Let's go ahead and stand up and we're going to invite the worship team forward and we're going to worship some more and just see what the Lord will do as we honor him with our time. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for this time. Be glorified. As we sing, be glorified. As we think about ponder and decide what we're going to do with this information, help us to decide to abide and to be obedient and to be disciplined in you in Jesus name 2 (1h 8m 52s): . 2 (1h 13m 27s): Jesus died for me. I see his wounds, his hands, his feet, him down to the edge by heavy stone. 2 (1h 14m 16s): robes, Y blazing shop yeah, blazing C sharp. 2 (1h 16m 28s): And 1 (1h 17m 56s): Just ask you to help us each one of us be obedient in that next step. Like what are you calling us to God? What are you calling us to to give that's that we're trying, maybe we're trying to escape from, from the life that you count on us to leak out. And I just, we should just convict each one of us. If something there's always something we can do to get closer to you. God, just ask really? If I just ask you for that Jesus name. Amen. If you guys, if of you guys want prayer, we always have staff and volunteers up here are willing to pray for you. So come on out, but otherwise, thanks for coming. We'll see you next week.

Jesus is still writing his story! The story doesn't end with the death, burial, or even resurrection of Jesus. After Easter things would never be the same, but a new storyline has begun. Jesus is still actively building his kingdom, and still inviting others to be a part of it.

Jesus is still writing his story! The story doesn't end with the death, burial, or even resurrection of Jesus. After Easter things would never be the same, but a new storyline has begun. Jesus is still actively building his kingdom, and still inviting others to be a part of it.

Host Brian Frye (Twitter: @brifrye) in conversation with Resonate Monmouth's site pastor Colin Luoma. After Easter, we are celebrating the reality that Jesus is alive. Brian and Colin explore what implications this reality has on the life of every believer, and how we can each discern the will of the living God in our lives. Colin (Twitter: @colin_luoma) was a part of the initial church planting team to Ellensburg, Washington and Central Washington University. Later he moved as the site pastor to plant at Western Oregon University (WOU) in Monmouth, Oregon. Resonate Monmouth is now preparing to send out a church planting team to Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon.