Episodes
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Feeding the Hungry | Rev. Wil Cantrell
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Gabriel tells Mary that her son will “fill the hungry with good things, but send the rich away empty.” In the beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Throughout his life Jesus shows special care both for those who are physically hungry and spiritually hungry. Those who are not spiritually hungry often think they don’t need what Jesus as to offer because they can take care of themselves with their riches. Those without riches seem to more easily recognize the needs not just of their bodies and their souls. Is Jesus your greatest hunger? Is learning God’s ways and following God’s will the greatest desire in your life? This Lent we will be focused on the spiritual discipline of fasting. It is a way of increasing our reliance on God by decreasing our reliance on food. Throughout Lent, we want to challenge you to fast on Fridays. You have 3 options: 1) Friday from 9am-3pm 2) Friday until 3pm or 3) Friday until Sundown. It is Christian tradition to fast on Friday as it represents the day Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for us.
Scripture - Luke 1:51-53
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Feeding the Hungry | Rev. Brooke Hartman
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Gabriel tells Mary that her son will “fill the hungry with good things, but send the rich away empty.” In the beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Throughout his life Jesus shows special care both for those who are physically hungry and spiritually hungry. Those who are not spiritually hungry often think they don’t need what Jesus as to offer because they can take care of themselves with their riches. Those without riches seem to more easily recognize the needs not just of their bodies and their souls. Is Jesus your greatest hunger? Is learning God’s ways and following God’s will the greatest desire in your life? This Lent we will be focused on the spiritual discipline of fasting. It is a way of increasing our reliance on God by decreasing our reliance on food. Throughout Lent, we want to challenge you to fast on Fridays. You have 3 options: 1) Friday from 9am-3pm 2) Friday until 3pm or 3) Friday until Sundown. It is Christian tradition to fast on Friday as it represents the day Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for us.
Scripture - Luke 1:51-53
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Loving Others in our World | Rev. Brooke Hartman
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
What does it look like to love others in the world, i.e. those with different values, who may identify with other Christian denominations or religions, or who live in other countries? As followers of Christ we are called to love those who are not like ourselves. One way of doing this is to find common ground. Even though we may be different in many aspects everyone wants to feel appreciated and loved. We need to focus not on our differences but on our similarities. It is a fact that even when we disagree with someone on an idea, there is still 10% of our discussion that we can agree upon. Let us work to focus on the 10% that we agree upon with those who are different than us. This is a starting place rather than a final goal but it is a good place to begin. When we learn to shift our mindset to what we have in common instead of focusing on our differences we see each other in a different light. Discovering what we have in common with others begins with us.
Scripture - 1 John 4:11-21; James 1:19
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Loving Others in our World | Rev. Wil Cantrell
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
What does it look like to love others in the world, i.e. those with different values, who may identify with other Christian denominations or religions, or who live in other countries? As followers of Christ we are called to love those who are not like ourselves. One way of doing this is to find common ground. Even though we may be different in many aspects everyone wants to feel appreciated and loved. We need to focus not on our differences but on our similarities. It is a fact that even when we disagree with someone on an idea, there is still 10% of our discussion that we can agree upon. Let us work to focus on the 10% that we agree upon with those who are different than us. This is a starting place rather than a final goal but it is a good place to begin. When we learn to shift our mindset to what we have in common instead of focusing on our differences we see each other in a different light. Discovering what we have in common with others begins with us.
Scripture - 1 John 4:11-21; James 1:19
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Loving Others in our Local Community | Rev. Sabine Collins
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
The church was never designed to be an inclusive place just for members only. God calls each one of us to extend the love he provides to us to those in our communities. A significant way we do this is to be involved in one of the many on-going missions and outreach activities that we in our church. Recently, our church held our annual Mission Blitz where we were involved in a vast variety of activities. However, this is not the only time that we have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with others in our local community. We have many ways for us to reach out to others with a welcoming and hospitable spirit. When we do we meet the needs of those around us who might otherwise be forgotten and lost. Is God calling you to serve in one of our many ministries or is God leading you to notice a need that is currently not being addressed in order to start a new ministry? The early church knew that they were called to meet the needs of the poor and others who were not being cared for in society. We are called to do the same.
Scripture - Luke 14:12-14
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Loving Others in our Local Community | Rev. Wil Cantrell
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
The church was never designed to be an inclusive place just for members only. God calls each one of us to extend the love he provides to us to those in our communities. A significant way we do this is to be involved in one of the many on-going missions and outreach activities that we in our church. Recently, our church held our annual Mission Blitz where we were involved in a vast variety of activities. However, this is not the only time that we have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with others in our local community. We have many ways for us to reach out to others with a welcoming and hospitable spirit. When we do we meet the needs of those around us who might otherwise be forgotten and lost. Is God calling you to serve in one of our many ministries or is God leading you to notice a need that is currently not being addressed in order to start a new ministry? The early church knew that they were called to meet the needs of the poor and others who were not being cared for in society. We are called to do the same.
Scripture - Luke 14:12-14
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Loving our Church Family | Rev. Brooke Hartman
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Belonging to a church family requires us to demonstrate love for each other through our words and actions. One simple way to do this is to be intentional about implementing the 3-minute 10-foot rule before and after each worship service. We need to extend a warm greeting of welcome not only to those that we already know but also to people who are unfamiliar to us. By being welcoming and hospitable we extend the love of Christ to others and make them feel loved and appreciated. Another way to demonstrate love for our church family is to volunteer in one of our many Sunday morning and Wednesday evening Welcoming ministries, serve as a Sunday School teacher or Nursery worker, or volunteer in our Children or Youth ministries. Paul tells us that the body of Christ is comprised of people who use their particular skill-set and passions to serve the church. When we find our unique place to serve we demonstrate our love for our church family as the body of Christ.
Scripture - 1 Corinthians 12:12-28
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Loving our Church Family | Rev. Wil Cantrell
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Belonging to a church family requires us to demonstrate love for each other through our words and actions. One simple way to do this is to be intentional about implementing the 3-minute 10-foot rule before and after each worship service. We need to extend a warm greeting of welcome not only to those that we already know but also to people who are unfamiliar to us. By being welcoming and hospitable we extend the love of Christ to others and make them feel loved and appreciated. Another way to demonstrate love for our church family is to volunteer in one of our many Sunday morning and Wednesday evening Welcoming ministries, serve as a Sunday School teacher or Nursery worker, or volunteer in our Children or Youth ministries. Paul tells us that the body of Christ is comprised of people who use their particular skill-set and passions to serve the church. When we find our unique place to serve we demonstrate our love for our church family as the body of Christ.
Scripture - 1 Corinthians 12:12-28
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Loving our Neighbors | Rev. Brooke Hartman
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Most of us are so consumed with our family and friends that we don’t make a point to know our neighbors. Who is our neighbor? Jesus challenges us with the parable of the Good Samaritan which teaches us that we are called to love those who we usually don’t even think about or want to know at all. However, what if we took his mandate literally and started making a point to get to really know those who physically live around us. Do we know the names of our neighbors? Do we know what struggles they have? As followers of Christ we are called to love and be welcoming to those who live around us. When we are more intentional about loving our neighbors we have the opportunity to extend the love of Christ in our neighborhood and change it for the better.
Scripture - Luke 10:25-37
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Loving our Families | Rev. Brooke Hartman
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Let’s face it, sometimes it can be easier to love those who are not in our family. After all, we don’t have to see them every day and if someone gets on our nerves we can simply walk-away from them. Not so with our families. However, our families are important because this is how we learn to interact with others, are provided with a safe place to be nurtured and grow, and where we are loved and appreciated for who we are. Jesus understood the importance of family and how growing up in a healthy family is important for us to be nurtured in our faith. A healthy family is one where each member is welcoming and hospitable to each other.
Scripture - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Ephesians 4:2