Parker Ford Church's Podcast

This week we take a one week pause from our Romans series to talk about some of the things going on in the life of our church family. We’ll hear updates regarding various ministries at PFC and talk about the mission, vision, and direction of PFC. 

As we’ll discover this week, you can be born into the right family, read the Bible, disciple others, be marked for God but not be truly marked by God. The outside of your life may look fantastic, but the inside (your heart) tells another story. It doesn't matter what other people think—what matters is what God thinks of you because He knows the condition of your heart. It’s heart-check time this Sunday at PFC!

Romans 1:21-32: This week we are continuing in our study of Romans 1. We were created to live as heart-soul-mind-strength beings. When our head and our heart are not connected, we fail to be who the Father has made us to be. Therefore, if we desire to be more like Jesus, we must understand and grow in the head-heart connection. 

Today, we’ll continue to unpack the lie from Romans 1:25 (idolatry). One of the areas where we’ve exchanged God’s truth for lies and turned our worship away from God is with our physical bodies. In this text, Paul specifically addresses our sexual impurity and humanity’s broken sexuality. We’ll take a solemn look at this reality but then turn our gaze to Jesus who offers us redemptive wholeness.

Paul’s audience, the Roman house churches, were experiencing tension along several cultural and spiritual fault lines. There was the racial issue - Jews vs. Gentiles. There was also the “Strong” vs. “Weak” divide addressed in chapters 14-15. Romans 1 addresses issues that the “weak” could get behind (God’s wrath against pagan behavior). But then Paul flips the whole argument on its head in Romans 2 to show that everyone, even the “elect”, are equally broken and in need of the grace of God. The great lie that all people buy into, whether Jew or Gentile, weak or strong, is the lie of idolatry - exchanging love of God for love of something created.  

Today we start reading Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. He builds his opening remarks to a bold declaration that he is not ashamed of the Gospel! We’ll unpack this statement and the reasons he gives for why we need not be ashamed of the good news of the story of Jesus. 

As we jump into the book of Romans we'll tackle the "who, what, when, why, where" questions surrounding this magnificent text. To help find grounding and context, we begin our series in Romans at the end of the letter - chapter 16. Romans 16 will set the stage, introduce main characters, and help us orient ourselves in the foreign world of ancient Rome.

Next week we are going to dive into a new series where we walk through the book of Romans.  But before we dive into that, we just wanted to take a week to re-focus on our “Purpose.”  As one of our kiddos asked this week, “Why did God make humans?”  And it was so awesome to hear our other kiddos say “To know Him and show Him!”  Today we are going to look at this idea…. “ministering” to the Lord. What does it mean, why does He want this from us and how do we do it?

This weekend we celebrate the saving and redeeming work of Christ symbolized through baptism. Baptism is a picture of our death into the death of Christ, our burial with Him, and our hope in the future Resurrection. When a person goes down into the water it shows that they have been crucified and buried with Christ. When they emerge from the water it reveals that they have been raised to new life in Jesus. "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4, NIV). 

This Sunday we’ll be wrapping up our summer series by eavesdropping on a conversation among Jesus and two other men who were all uttering their last words while hanging on crosses (Luke 23). We are all one of these two thieves. We are all guilty because of our sin but forgiveness has been extended to us through Jesus’ love and sacrifice. Which thief are you - the repentant one or the unrepentant? We’ll close our time by taking Communion together – thanking Jesus for His grace and mercy! 

We all want to live at peace, or at the very least, have moments of peace. This week we are going to look at how our view/mindset around work and rest must be appropriately aligned for us to experience God’s peace. While work and rest seem like they do not go together… they do. From the beginning of time the Lord created both work and rest for the good of mankind.

How many times have you exclaimed, “If I only had more time!” So how do we balance our schedules, priorities, commitments, and boundaries in a world that never sleeps? We’ll see Jesus’ unhurried example and teaching about prioritizing the important over the urgent. Sometimes we have to say no to good things so we can say yes to the best. Join us this Sunday at PFC as we wrestle with this important topic.  

When Jesus sent out the first apostles in Matthew 10, He told them that He was sending them out as "sheep among wolves." He follows this warning with a strange piece of advice. Jesus says, "Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." This statement by Jesus highlights a point of tension for Christians as we follow Jesus in a sometimes hostile world. No matter the situation, we are to act with innocence (righteousness) towards others, and we are also invited by Jesus to be shrewd (wisdom).

The Bible was not written to us but it is for us. There are parts of God’s written Word that are real head-scratchers and difficult to understand. There are other parts that are clear and simple enough for even a child to read and comprehend. This Sunday, we’ll explore the various reasons for this as well as pick up some tools that will help us wrestle with the difficult parts of Scripture. We’ll even look at an example of a clear/unclear part in John’s Gospel, utilize some of these tools and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate it’s meaning so we can apply it to our lives. 

As we continue our Life in the Balance series, this week we will be looking at the tension between God’s sovereignty and our free will. What role do we play in God’s plans? Do the choices we make really matter? Is God trustworthy? And what should be our posture in the tension held within God’s sovereignty?

What is a follower of Christ’s posture toward the powers that be? Whether it’s a boss, a teacher, a bus driver, a manager, a coach, a government official, a parent … we all have authority in our lives. What is a Christian’s default response toward authority? Are there any exceptions? Join us this Sunday as we dig into Scripture and seek to walk this balance act when it comes to submitting to authority.  

Author Andy Crouch says, "The defining emotional challenge of our time is anxiety, the fear of what might be instead of the courageous pursuit of what could be." As we continue our teaching of living in the balance of joy and grief, we'll explore the idea that the anxiety we experience is an opportunity to step deeper into the peace and presence of Christ. 

The Bible presents love as one of (if not the most significant) defining characteristics of God. Love of God and neighbor is the Greatest Commandment. Faith, hope, and love will remain in eternity - but the greatest of the three is love. The Apostle John says, "God is love." But in a broken world love is not always seen, received, experienced, or given appropriately. This is where grief comes in. Joy and Grief are the two primary expressions and emotions of love. Love received results in joy. Love that is missing or abused results in grief. As those who follow the Way of Jesus we are called to live in the balance of joy and grief. In a broken and fallen world love is found at the intersection of joy and grief. 

Justice is simply when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. These seem to be incompatible. How can we administer true justice and yet show mercy and compassion to one another? (Zech. 7:9). Join us this Sunday as we wrestle with these questions and what it means to “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8).