Port City Community Church Podcast

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Advent Meditations - "Bread of Life" Nov 28, 2022

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Today, we encounter Jesus right after He pulled off a culinary miracle by feeding 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. With their hunger pains gone, the crowd marveled at what transpired. Having a captivated audience, Jesus took the opportunity to speak about a different type of hunger and thirst - this time a spiritual one.

"Anticipation" - Mike Ashcraft | Blessed Hope, Part 1 Nov 27, 2022

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The Christmas season often centers on Jesus' birth. A baby in a manger is safe and adorable and doesn't require much from us. We can celebrate the story and go about our business - no disruption, no changes. But there is so much more to Advent than "there being no room in the inn." His arrival has implications. Advent means "coming." where we not only celebrate Jesus' first coming but also anticipate that He will come again. It's the season of "already/not yet." In the space between, we make room in our hearts for Christ to reside while living with hopeful expectations. Rather than a dreadful ending, His return is a blessed hope that brings redemption and reconciliation to all things.

"The Return" - Mike Ashcraft | GOODNESS, Part 4 Nov 20, 2022

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Love isn’t passive at all; it is a force that acts on the world profoundly, often disrupting the patterns that protect the status quo. It is the force that breathes worth and value into the soul of another. Jesus invites us to a radically different way of life under the rule of a fundamentally different authority. God’s love is the source of goodness, expressed in reconciliation. Goodness is the fruit that comes when God’s love overflows in our lives. God doesn’t call us to change or fix the world; He urges us to love it as we trust Him.

"The Expression" - Mike Ashcraft | GOODNESS, Part 3 Nov 13, 2022

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Jesus continually elevated love as the highest call, yet, embracing this love when it requires us to extend it to someone else is easier said than done. Love needs relationships and cultivated spaces where relationships can flourish. We pursue reconciliation and redemption in all places. It's the message we carry with us wherever we go. An encounter with Christ's love influences how we interact, respond and care for those around us. It shapes the way we see others. Goodness is the fruit that comes when God's love overflows into our lives.

"The Source" - Mike Ashcraft | GOODNESS, Part 2 Nov 06, 2022

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Formation is the process of becoming, which enables God’s Kingdom to become more normal and less foreign. Yet, old habits die hard - there are still other voices and values that still hold weight. Forced good creates “good” habits devoid of the deep goodness in your heart. To remain and stay aware of His work and intention is to walk in the Spirit. We take our cues by capturing our thoughts while listening to His voice. To live in submission to God is not our duty; it is our design. When we encounter the goodness of God, the call to goodness isn’t a command; it is an invitation to belong and become.

"The Fruit" - Mike Ashcraft | GOODNESS, Part 1 Oct 30, 2022

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What makes something or someone "good"? What do you think of when you hear the word “goodness”? For most of us our minds naturally drift toward the concepts of virtue, morality, or being well behaved. But the picture Scripture paints goes much deeper than behavior. From the creation story, to the ancient confessions, to the life of Jesus, to the early church we see a weaving of good that is both attractive and compelling. Goodness is not a forced morality that demands others comply with our standard, rather it is a fruit produced in us as we abide in Christ. The source of goodness is God’s love that forms us and shapes us, and then leads us to love others! Redemptive love is the expression of goodness that compels us to care, to not give up hope, and to honor another person without manipulation or control. Goodness then, is the return to God’s original design made possible in our lives and in our community by the good news of the gospel.

"Living Wholly" - Mike Ashcraft | CARE, Part 4 Oct 23, 2022

Show notes

The reason you struggle isn't that you're broken - it's because you're human. However, the direction in which you struggle matters. You struggle in the right direction when you struggle toward Jesus Christ and His Lordship and head toward being known, challenged, and loved in community. You have to have people around you who long for your formation. Care is cultivating space to live freely to live wholly. We experience God's fullness the same way we receive God's grace. It is available in the moment, sufficient for the moment. Wholeness isn't a state in which we arrive but rather a reality of dependence from which we live. It's the integration of our fractured hearts and scattered souls.

"Beyond Crisis" - Mike Ashcraft | CARE, Part 3 Oct 16, 2022

Show notes

The world exposes us to many competing and inconsistent philosophies about who we are and how we should live. Unfortunately, if we listen to them long enough, we allow these lies to morph into our story. These default narratives become well-worn roads we travel down; following them sends us down paths we never intended to travel. The hope of the Gospel is the start of a new story. We no longer need to settle for the story we find ourselves stuck in. Instead, we can think our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. The people we trust play a part in our formation process. We must surround ourselves with voices that speak louder than the enemy's lies. We care for others when we help them encounter Jesus and His redemptive work.

"Brave Enough" - Mike Ashcraft | CARE, Part 2 Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

In authentic connection, we trust others enough to struggle together. To live safely within the care of a community does not mean that we are left unchallenged or always agreed with. Instead, living safely actually requires bravery! We must be brave enough to trust. We must be brave enough to share our stories, and brave enough to enter into someone else's story. Instead of trying to control the outcome of our healing, we simply avail ourselves to be known and allow our struggle to find a safe place to be shouldered.

"The Foundation of Care" - Mike Ashcraft | CARE, Part 1 Oct 02, 2022

Show notes

We often view the need for care as a sign of weakness on our part. If we were strong enough, we'd be self-sufficient; so when we encounter something we can't handle on our own, we reason there must be something wrong with us. However, care is not a result of being needy but rather part of the human experience. Rather than preventing healthy connections, accepting care and tending to others causes trusted, formative relationships to flourish. If we don't develop strong enough connections to struggle together, we will never trust enough to belong. Care is where we find ourselves free to bring who we are (which includes what has happened) with the hope that we will become who God created us to be. Caring for the needs of our community requires a collective effort and a shared responsibility.

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