Podcasts about lent series

We continue our Lent Series in reflecting on art by Scott Erickson, and scripture - to Easter Sunday!April 20, 2025

Send me a Text Message!Our Lent series has carried along a minor theme of trusting God. The major theme was Jesus' last few weeks on earth, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension, but the minor theme has been the question, "Can God be trusted?" I realize most of you listening, believe in Jesus, but do you believe Jesus? Do we trust what he says enough that when he says it, we do it? Do I trust him? I think it's impossible to find the thriving value of every word that comes from the mouth of God if we only listen and learn but never lean in. So this last episode simply asks that question one more time. Do I trust Jesus?

Send me a Text Message!I love to imagine that I was there, in the upper room, in those days right after Jesus went up home. But for a moment I'd like you to imagine you missed it. You weren't there. You didn't join the group. Got distracted. Got scared. Other things were more important. You missed it. What did they have to do in order to receive the promise? Just wait. Be there. 120 waited. They prayed. They didn't have to earn it.  They just had to be there, they just had to join in. See I know there are times when we are called to wrestle in prayer, to agonize in prayer, to battle in prayer. But sometimes, I also think that God just wants us to be there. He wants us to engage with others for Him. But imagine you missed it?  

Send me a Text Message!We celebrate the incarnation at Christmas, resurrection at Easter, but that's only 2/3's of the story at best. Where is Jesus now? After 40 days of post-resurrection, earth-walking, he went up...home. This is the ascension. Can I tell you why the ascension is so important? We need to know who Jesus is now, where Jesus is now, what Jesus is doing now. It's so important because what we need we can't get on our own. Who we need to become we can't become on our own. The ascension tells us that Jesus is who we need now! He not only understands our prayer, he hears our prayers. And he not only hears our prayers, he holds the key to all our prayer's answers, because He went up!

Pastor David McBride

Send me a Text Message!One of Jesus' last words before going up home was the word, "Wait." Now everyone, at some intersection of life will have to learn to wait. Lewis Smedes writes: "Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for.  We wait in darkness for a flame we cannot light.  We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write.  We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever.  Waiting is the hardest work of hope." Don't miss that. God's "wait" is a word of hope. When God says, "wait" He's promising you that there will be a tomorrow. God's "Wait!" is a promise of more. And so in this episode, I'm asking you to join me in asking Him...for more!

Send me a Text Message!Before Jesus left his team and went back to his Father in heaven, he gave them a cause, a calling, a great commission. Go and make disciples. Haddon Robinson once wrote, "Somewhere I must find a cause that is greater than myself that is worthy of my life." We deperately need to be committed.  Otherwise we have this awful sense that our lives don't count. We want our lives to count, so Christ offersus a cause.   In John 17:18, Jesus said, "In the same way that You gave Me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."  Just like God sent Jesus on a mission, Jesus is sending us. That's our cause. I call it Grander-Mission Living! Do you have a cause that is worthy of your living and your dying?

Send me a Text Message!As we start to wrap up our Lent Series, we are looking at some moments in the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension into heaven. One of those moments, was Peter's campfire encounter with Jesus. In the last episode we set it up with a reminder of Peter's betrayal and the Rooster's notification. In this episode, we're going to the campfire breakfast that Jesus had with Peter and some of his friends. But as we go to breakfast, don't forget that image I left with you. Jesus eyes from the cross, catching Peter's eyes in his denial. And the possibility that the way Jesus looked at Peter when the rooster crowed, was the same way Jesus looked at Peter before the rooster crowed; with love. What if in that glance, Jesus is looking forward to a moment on a beach and He's already imagining his sunrise invitation to...come have breakfast? Maybe it's your invitation too!

Pastor Joel Solomon

Send me a Text Message!At the very heart of this next story, a story that took place after the resurrection and before the ascension, is a breakfast with Jesus. It was a meal around a campfire and a moment of renewal between Peter and Jesus. I think you could say that Jesus never met a meal he didn't like. He just had this way of turning every table into sacred space, every meal into an encounter with God. Is it any wonder that a hallmark of the early church was the practice of hospitality, the sharing of their table? See long before the church had pulpits, she had tables. And the invitation to meet Jesus often started with "Wanna do lunch?" Or in this case breakfast.But before we get to that campfire breakfast, we need to set the stage, put our souls in Peter's sandals and be reminded, that I'm not a loser if Jesus loves me. 

Send me a Text Message!For the next few episodes as we close our our Lent series, we are going to look at a few of Jesus' days between the resurrection and his ascension. In this episode it's that guy who has the nickname that kind of sucked but totally stuck. Doubting Thomas. How would you like to be remembered with that nickname for a couple thousand years? But Thomas' story is an excellent reminder that that quest for faith is sometimes difficult. If you have ever wrestled with doubts, and I have...then Thomas' story will encourage you and remind that...Jesus is ok with your doubts!

Send me a Text Message!From the earliest days of our movement, a greeting arose that was so meaningful. The early Christians greeted each other with the constant reminder that their story was not over and the best was yet to come. The one to initiate the greeting would say, "Christ is risen." The one responding would say, "He is risen indeed." From the very beginning, true Christianity has been a movement of the indeed. He has risen indeed. To those who say that the resurrection is just a metaphor; to those who imagine that after Jesus died, his disciples found  themselves still moved by his life and his teaching and at some point said, "Let's honor his memory by talking about him like he's still alive.  We say, "No he is risen indeed." Resurrection Sunday is an indeed day.

Send me a Text Message!As the story unfolds, it's Saturday. The disciples are in this in-between time; the  time in between hopeless and hopeful.  They don't know what's available so they aren't living like what's available is really available. It's life in the in-between.  Can you relate to that?  As a follower of Jesus do you ever feel like you are living life in the in-between? You're not quite hopeless, but not quite hopeful.  You believe in God, but a vital relationship?  Sometimes you put forth quite a bit of effort to be a good Christian, but it seems like duty and you're not sure God cares.You don't consider your life broken, but on the other hand, you hear these promises about abundant life and you wonder if you're missing something.  Sometimes we wake up to find ourselves in the in-between life and we don't even know how we got there but more than anything else we want to know how to move on. Are you living life in the in-between? 

Today, Kaylyn Lloyd reads from John 19:38-42 and Luke 23:54-56 as we sit with Jesus at the tomb in waiting and wonder at what has taken place.Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

Today is Good Friday, join us as Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel reflects on Jesus' interaction with the thief on the cross.If the thief on the cross can turn to Jesus at the very end and Jesus welcomes him, then it's never too late for us.Today's Scripture: Luke 23:32-43We hope to see you tonight at our Good Friday service and again on Sunday to celebrate the beginning Easter!Learn more at atltrinity.org.

Send me a Text Message!The cross is the ultimate, blow-out love-burst of God. Think about it. From the eyes of heaven, the resurrection was no big deal. Do you think the angels of heaven  waited with bated breath to see if God could raise Jesus from the dead? Were they surprised that the creator of life could give life to the bringer of life? In heaven's  eyes the resurrection might have been a bit ho-hum. But the cross? "O my God,"they must have whispered in the halls of heaven, will he really do it? Does he love them...all of them so much that he'll climb up on that tree and take all the sin and shame of the world upon himself and experience their loneliness and brokenness. Does he love them that much?And the answer was yes.

Today is Good Friday.  Liz Kannel reads from Mark 15:21-41 as we join Jesus at the cross.Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

Today is Maundy Thursday. Join us today as Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel reflects on the Last Supper.How is Jesus nourishing us so that we may move toward freedom? Can we participate with Jesus this Maundy Thursday?Today's Scripture: Luke 22:14-30To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!Thursday of the last week was the very first communion in the history of the world! So in this episode we have a very simple focus on communion. This mini-drama set in the context of the Passover (a great celebration of deliverance) remembers, celebrates, even revels in the death of Jesus. That's what communion is all about; we proclaim the Lord's death. We celebrate Christ Crucified.  I'll be honest, part of me cringes when I put those three words together. Celebrate  -- Christ -- Crucified.  It is a mysterious wonder that they could be put together and still have meaning. But they do, such a deep meaning that transformed the foundations of reality. Are we ready to celebrate Christ crucified?

Send us a textIn this sixth installment of our Lent series Hearing Voices, we turn our attention to a group we often love to judge—the Pharisees. Found in Luke 19:39–40, their demand to silence the crowd during Jesus' triumphal entry reveals more than just religious rigidity—it reveals a heart resistant to uncomfortable truth.In this episode, Pastor Jason gets honest about his own bias against the Pharisees and his struggle to sympathize with the "older brother" in the prodigal son story. But as we dig deeper, we discover that the Pharisees' reaction may hit closer to home than we'd like to admit.What if their fear, pride, and resistance mirror our own when God's truth threatens our comfort? What if we, too, try to silence the very voices meant to draw us closer to Jesus?This message invites us to examine our hearts, surrender our defenses, and embrace the bold, sometimes disruptive, truth of Christ—no matter how it comes. Because when the people are silent, the stones will shout.Linkoln shares his story on why he started coming to Ravenna Church of the Nazarene and shares why you should consider doing the same.Ravenna Church of the Nazarene530 Main Street, Ravenna, KY 40472Enjoy this message? Consider visiting Ravenna Church of the Nazarene where Pastor Jason is the Senior Pastor. Have a prayer need? Want to share something with Pastor Jason? Help spread the gospel through this podcast by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing this episode.

Today, Erin Shetler reads from Luke 22:47-53 and Mark 14:66-72 as Jesus is arrested and Peter denies him. Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

For Holy Week, Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel is walking us through the events of the last week of Jesus' life. Today, Kris reflects on Judas's betrayal of Jesus.How much is Jesus' life worth? If Jesus was betrayed by sinful men, then he knows what it is like to be in agony and loneliness. Listen in as Kris teaches us about failure and mercy.Today's Scripture: Matthew 26:1-5; 14-25To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!Who was Judas? Well he was chosen by Jesus. When Jesus was putting together his inner circle, when he stayed up all night praying, asking the Father who should the twelve be, Judas was in his mind. He must have been trusted at least to some degree by Jesus. I mean he was the treasurer; he was in charge of the team's money.And I believe that Jesus loved Judas. He washed his feet. He showed Judas the full extent of his love. Yet, despite being chosen and trusted and loved by Jesus, Judas betrayed him. How is that possible? How do you hang out with Jesus for three years? See what he did and meet how he healed and listen to the voice that calmed the storm, and heard him teach? How do you meet with face-to-face, sit next to Jesus at the table…and then after all of that turn around and betray Jesus? All I can say is that I don't want to be Judas!

Lent Series speaker from 4/9/25 at Church of Our Saviour.

Today, Catherine Golladay reads from Mark 14:32-42 as we join Jesus as he prays in the garden.Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

For Holy Week, Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel is walking us through the events of the last week of Jesus' life. Today, Kris reflects on Jesus cleansing the temple. The church is meant to be level ground where all are invited, but the temple of Jesus' time was not level ground. Jesus is pushing against the system of oppression. What does it look like to align our lives with Jesus in this way?Today's Scripture: Mark 11:15-19To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!When Jesus died on the cross, the viel in the temple, which kept everyone away from the very holy presence of God, that curtain was torn in two. We've all thought that the message in that moment was "Come. You're invited. Come into God's presence." But what if God tore the curtain in two as a way of saying, "I will not be put in a box. Walls cannot contain me."  That could change everything.Do you understand? Since the resurrection, any place can be a sacred space, because Christ is let loose and His presence brings the sacred to every space He touches. There is no box that can keep God in!

Today, Josh Allen reads from John 13:1-17 as Jesus washes the disciples' feet.Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

Welcome to Holy Week. This week Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel is walking us through the events of the last week of Jesus's life. Today he will reflect on Jesus being anointed by the unnamed woman in Bethany. As we journey to the cross, how often does sin define a place for us and keep us in a place of shame? What would your life look like if it was free?Today's Scripture: Mark 14:3-9To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!The four gospels are basically biographies  of Jesus, but unlike most biographies you've ever read, the gospels pretty much ignore the first 30 years of Jesus' life. They dive into his last three years, but of his last three years, about 1/3 of the pages of the gospels are dedicated to his last week. Sunday to Sunday. 8 days. Apparently the people who knew him best felt we could not get Jesus if we don't get this week in his life. What happens in these eight days is the hot burning  center of his life. So here is what we are going to do for the last episodes of this Lent-series. Each episode will land on a story, an event, a truth from that day of that week. Which means that maybe, I'll even do In-between Saturday and Resurrection Sunday. If you want Palm Sunday go to our youtube page youtube.com/calvarycwow. That was my message for this weekend. But for Holy Monday...we're talking about the problem with sacred places!

We continue our Lent Series that is centered around scripture and art - leading us to Easter Sunday.April 13, 2025

Today Mike Gierhart reads from Luke 22:7-23 as we join Jesus at the Last Supper.Join us each day of Holy Week as different members of our church family lead us through Scripture and reflection, journeying with Jesus to the cross. To follow along with our Lent Series, Vice & Virtue check out lakewoodvineyard.com/vice-virtueTo find out more about our Easter gathering, check out lakewoodvineyard.com/easter

Joel Solomon

Today Katie Wilson walks with us through the forgiveness and sanctification of our emotional life. The God of the universe wants to know the depths of our hearts, so let's not dismiss our emotions. Can we be bold enough to let God see the raw emotions in us?Look back over the week of reflecting on your emotional life – what will you take with you into the new week?Today's Scripture: Isaiah 55To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!Spread throughout John 14-17 (which begins with the words, "you will have trouble") are these amazing prayer promises that center around the word, "whatever" -- like "Whatever you ask for in my name, God will give it to you." Whatever. Whatever you ask. You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute Dan, we've got to be careful how people take a verse like this. It's like we want to protect God's fragile reputation. We don't want people to have unreasonably high hopes in God. And I know, it's not like life was easy with Jesus. Not every ending was happy. There was trouble, hardship. But let me simply tell you, prayer matters to God. If it didn't matter to God, Jesus wouldn't say, "Whatever you ask." 

Kids & Youth Discipleship Pastor Dave McCune and Youth Discipleship Pastor Haley Naylor talk about what it means to align with God emotionally. God profoundly cares about our emotions. So, where do our emotions come from, and what do they tell us about our soul?Today's Scripture: Matthew 16:21-23To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!You will have trouble! Jesus made it clear that this is normal. You will have trouble  in the world. All kinds of trouble. You're going to go through circumstances that will cause doubt and fear. You will lose friends. The world will hate you and people will persecute you. The enemy of your souls, the prince of this world is coming and there may be opportunities for you to lay down your life for your friends. There's going to be trouble, but listen... We often find trouble just before we get to a breakthrough. Right? It's always darkest before the dawn. Difficult times are a catalyst for spiritual growth. You will have trouble, but...breakthrough is coming! 

Every Wednesday during Lent, we are inviting our church community to fast and pray together in order to draw our attention to areas of sin in our lives. This week Care Pastor Jason Faulkner leads us through these practices with a focus on our emotions. Fasting is a practice that Jesus engaged in when he was in the wilderness facing temptation. Today, as you are able, we encourage you to fast from food for part or all of the day.  We will also use these days to walk through the Prayer of Examen together. We hope that the Prayer of Examen provokes a kind curiosity in us and a movement toward repentance as we seek to live more connected to ourselves, God, and others.To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!We live in neighborhoods filled with people in need of hope. And I believe that somewhere within us is a desire, a stirring to make a hope-filled difference in our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, all throughout our communities. At least in part, I hope that's why you are listening, and I hope that along with that stirring in your heart to make a difference, you have at least a suspicion that you can't do it on your own. That perhaps like the early church we are better together. That's what this episode is all about. I have a deep conviction that not only are we better together, but that actually we cannot accomplish all the dreams on our hearts, if we do not constantly and consistently aim our lives and our churches toward the dream of Christ's heart. What is His dream? Well the dream on Christ's heart is the prayer on his lips!

In today's episode, Kids' Discipleship Pastor Katie Oosse explores the breadth of God's emotions. Listen in as she guides us through the practice of imaginative prayer and asks us to put ourselves in the story of Jesus and Peter. What might you learn about your own emotions and their relationship to Jesus from this story? Today's Scripture: Matthew 16:21-23To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. People said to him: "We've got the finest facilities here in D.C., why go back to that little town?" Rayburn's response came from his deep desire for community. He said, "Because in Bonham, Texas, they know if you're sick, and they care when you die." Perhaps some things are even more important than the finest medical facilities. If no one cares, you're truly alone. So who cares?In this episode we'll start where most good things start, with Jesus. Because the  more we get to know Jesus...the more our hearts get saturated with the undying reality that Jesus Cares. In fact, Jesus not only cares for us, he cares that we care. 

Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel introduces our fifth and final section of the SPIRE model – emotional. Being emotional is not the same as being emotionally aware or emotionally mature. We are being invited by God to expand our emotional bandwidth. What emotions live underneath the emotions you express? Can we treat our emotions like a child we treat with compassion and kindness?Where are you emotionally?To find out more about Holy Week at Trinity, visit atltrinity.org/lent.

Send me a Text Message!How do you measure greatness? Whether it's for a country, a business, a community or perhaps even more importantly for a person, for you and me. How do we measure greatness? What does glorious greatness look like? How do you recognize it?  We may have different pictures of greatness in different fields. So how do you measure greatness?  To what greatness do you aspire? That's easy for me, I want to be a great dad and a great husband.  I want to be a leader of a great movement that touches people so profoundly, that whole cities are transformed. I want to go on glorious adventures...be involved in great missions to love people all the way to Jesus.But is there a glory, a greatness that superseeds all other categories? That's the question we're asking in this episode. The true essence of greatness is...?

Dan Backens

Welcome to the fifth Friday in Lent! In today's episode, Associate Pastor Katie Wilson speaks words of grace and peace and forgiveness over our relationships. Look back over the week of reflecting on your relational life – what will you take with you into the new week?Read in today's episode: “A Blessing of Friendships” by Alice ZaccarelloTo find out more about Lent at Trinity and download our podcast companion guide, visit ​​atltrinity.org/lent.

Kids & Youth Discipleship Pastor Dave McCune and Youth Discipleship Pastor Haley Naylor talk about how we learn to relate to God as people in relationship with God and others. God has always been about restoring relationships. Are there any relational patterns that might have worked for us in the past but that we need to look at differently now? Today's Scripture: Genesis 37:12-36To find out more about Lent at Trinity and download our podcast companion guide, visit ​​atltrinity.org/lent.

Every Wednesday during Lent, we are inviting our church community to fast and pray together in order to draw our attention to areas of sin in our lives. This week, Care Pastor Jason Faulkner leads us through these practices with a focus on our relational lives. Fasting is a practice that Jesus engaged in when he was in the wilderness facing temptation. Today, as you are able, we encourage you to fast from food for part or all of the day.  We will also use these days to walk through the Prayer of Examen together. We hope that the Prayer of Examen provokes a kind curiosity in us and a movement toward repentance as we seek to live more connected to ourselves, God, and others.To find out more about Lent at Trinity and download our podcast companion guide, visit ​​atltrinity.org/lent.

In today's episode, Kids Discipleship Pastor Katie Oosse explores the relationship between Joseph and his brother. Listen in as she guides us through the practice of imaginative prayer and asks us to imagine ourselves in the narrative of deep relational pain and brokenness in Jacob's family.Today's Scripture: Genesis 37:12-36To find out more about Lent at Trinity and download our podcast companion guide, visit ​​atltrinity.org/lent.