Word of Life Church Podcast

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Making Disciples of the Jesus Way Nov 17, 2013

Show notes

At the core of being an authentic expression of the Kingdom of Jesus in the 21st century is following King Jesus. As we follow him, we hear him calling us to go and make disciples. We are followers of Jesus who are called to make followers of Jesus. We invite people to follow Jesus and welcome them into the family through baptism. From baptism we continue the disciple-making process by teaching them the ways of Jesus. He enables us to make disciples by being present with us. He has promised to be with us by his Spirit, transforming us into the kind of people who want to follow him.

Immersed Nov 15, 2013

Show notes

To be a Christian is to confess faith in God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and is himself God. Part of the ongoing ministry of Jesus is to baptize us or immerse us in God's life-giving Spirit. The picture of this baptism is not so much of individuals getting the Holy Spirit within themselves. Rather the picture of full immersion in the Holy Spirit is Jesus gathering his church together and plunging us into the depths of the Spirit. We need the Spirit like our body needs each breath and as we live immersed in the Spirit we find a life of righteousness, peace, and joy.

Enter The Mystery Nov 10, 2013

Show notes

Christianity is inherently full of mystery. Christianity is not an explanation, it is the confession of a sacred mystery. At the heart of the Christian faith is the great mystery of the Incarnation. Most Christian heresies come from trying to relieve the tension of the Incarnation. In trying to lessen the tension we either diminish the deity of Christ or the humanity of Christ. We must learn to enter the mystery and live within that tension, that Jesus is fully human AND fully God. The flesh and blood of Jesus is both human flesh and blood and divine flesh and blood. When Jesus offers us his human flesh and blood, he offers us divine, life-giving flesh and blood. Don't try to explain this mystery, don't resist this mystery, don't balk at this mystery... Enter The Mystery!

Your True Self Nov 08, 2013

Show notes

One of the primary goals of spiritual formation is to become your true self. The real you is calm, content, wise, and unafraid. It is only the false self, the shadow self, that is agitated, grasping, foolish, afraid. You may have had very little contact with your true self. The self who is calm, content, wise, and unafraid is who you really are deep inside. Why are we more often agitated, grasping, foolish, and afraid? We have been distorted by sin. The fallen world has marred the image of God in our life. And so, we lift up our soul to God that we might recover the proper image and that we might escape our false self and find our true self. The psalms are meditations that bend the soul toward calm, content, wisdom, courage. This is one of the primary purposes of daily praying the Psalms: to lift up our soul to God and discover and recover our true self.

Authentic People / Authentic Church Nov 03, 2013

Show notes

Jesus is a king, the king; and he has a kingdom. To be a Christian is to confess that Jesus is the world’s rightful king and to enter that kingdom by faith and baptism. Our calling is to live as citizens of the kingdom of Jesus here and now, in the 21st century. We don’t live in 2nd century persecution or 12th century Christendom or 20th century modernity. We live in the 21st century postmodern world with its own challenges to the gospel and its unique opportunities to embody the Christian faith. If we can learn to live as a people faithful to Jesus we will be a city on a hill.

A Tapestry of Grace Oct 27, 2013

Show notes

God doesn't cause all things to happen, nor does he always prevent bad things from happening. But God does cause all things that happen to work together for good. But God is able to take all the events of your life, the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly, and weave them together in such a way that in the end the whole story is beautiful! Sometimes in the present moment our lives seem to be a confusing, painful mess. But the One at the loom working on the story of your life has a hand of grace. When dark, ugly, and painful events come into our life, we suffer. But never let go of the promise that, in the end, the tapestry of our lives will be beautiful.
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes… and there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And he who sits upon the throne says this: 'Behold! I am making all things new!'" –Revelation 21

A Temple for the Imperfect Oct 25, 2013

Show notes

When imperfect people aspire to perfection, the results are disastrous. And when people find themselves in a culture where perfection is expected, (in their family, or church, or job), they are forced to fake it. Perfectionism requires hypocrisy, and requires people to live outside of reality. But Jesus saves us from all of that! Jesus saves us from the pressure to be perfect. This is really good news! When you don’t have to be perfect, you can begin to be good. The glory of God is seen in mercy, not perfection. Jesus has established a temple for the imperfect. Being perfect is not what Christianity is all about. The church is a place where broken people can find acceptance, forgiveness, and healing in Jesus Christ. The house that Jesus builds is a temple for the imperfect. The church is to be a temple for the imperfect, a place where the glory of God is seen in mercy.

Paul's Thorn Oct 20, 2013

Show notes

We don't like to admit it, but it's not always our weaknesses that get us in trouble. Sometimes it's what we are good at— our strengths, our successes, our victories— that cause trouble to find us. We pray for success, and some of those prayers are answered. But too much success can become a stumbling block. If the Apostle Paul had nothing but success and smooth sailing in his ministry, it would have been his undoing. But Paul suffered, he felt weak, and knew he had to depend on the grace of Jesus. In this way, Paul’s life reflected the contours of the cruciform. Paul would have never achieved the same authority if he had not been subjected to great suffering. Paul gains both grace and credibility because he suffered deeply.

Quietness and Trust Oct 18, 2013

Show notes

Everywhere Paul went there were riots. But riots were never Paul's doing or desire or intent. Paul didn't advocate for angry, loud, public protest, but just the opposite. He wrote to the Thessalonians that they should “aspire to lead quiet lives." Paul advocates not for a riot Christianity, but a quiet Christianity. In a world that grows weary of the endless noise of ideological anger, the church is to be a haven of quietness and trust, a quiet refuge of peace. Isaiah dreams about what it will be like when righteousness returns to the earth. He write that the effect will be peace and the result will be quietness and trust. The result of righteousness among God's people is not riot and protest, but Quietness and Trust.

Peter's Tears Oct 13, 2013

Show notes

In the garden of Gethsemane, the disciple Peter was ready to go to prison and death with Jesus. But when he attempted to defend Jesus from the Roman soldiers who had come to arrest him, Jesus rebuked Peter, telling him to put away his sword and renounce violence. Peter was disillusioned and began to follow Jesus only at a distance. Before being redeemed, Peter would end up shedding some heavy tears. In in our own lives, often deep spiritual transformation happens only through the shedding of tears. Tears are necessary to soften the soul. But Jesus will not leave those tears unredeemed, they serve a holy purpose. Jesus remade Peter after his greatest failure, which caused those heavy tears. God, by his grace, uses our sins and failures to form Christ in us. Before you can be remade, you may have to be undone- and that will involve shedding some tears.

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