Christ 2r Culture Podcast

When was the last time you saw a miracle? For most of us, we have never seen an honest-to-goodness biblical style miracle where a hand was restored, food was created out of thin air, or the dead were raised to life. It is easy to wonder if God is at work in our world or if we are left to fate and chance. As we study the burial of Jesus, we see another way God is at work in the world besides the miraculous. It is called providence. Join us as we learn how God is direct our future and guides our world through the miracle or providence.

The "Great American Eclipse" of August 21, 2017 is now history. April 8, 2024 is the next total solar eclipse. It will darken a 115 mile wide section of America from Texas to Maine. When Jesus died on the cross, thick darkness covered the land. Was that just a solar eclipse? If it wasn't an eclipse, what caused the darkness in Jerusalem for three hours that day? Join us for the answer.

What was the darkest hour of human history? Was it D-Day when thousands of men went to their graves? Was it World War II? The darkest hour of human history involved the death of one man, the man who was God who began sin for us. Join us as we examine the darkness of the Crucifixion as we anticipate the brilliance of the resurrection.

What was it like for Jesus to be accused of things he didn't do? In this study, we examine Jesus' Roman trial before Pilate that led to his execution. We will see how the message of the gospel displays itself in one of Jesus' darkest hours.

This week, Amy Coney Barrett is being grilled by the Senate for potential confirmation to the Supreme Court. It is a time when senators attempt to find anything in her past that would disqualify her for the position. The hope is that she would insure truth and justice in the highest court of our land. As we study Jesus' trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court—a court that was also committed to truth and fairness, we find the ultimate miscarriage in justice to send Jesus to the cross.

We live in politically divided world. As the election approaches, the hatred between political parties heats up. As Christians, how are we to speak about the other party? How are we to act toward them? As we study Judas' betrayal of Jesus, we learn how to live in these divided and hateful days.

Is anyone stressed? Statistics say 77 percent of Americans are expressing physical signs of stress. 73 percent of Americans are expressing psychological signs of stress. One in every two Americans will stay away at night because they are anxious about the future. One interesting stress statistic reported by a dentist in Iowa deals with stress and teeth. During the COVID pandemic, in spite of fewer patients, each day he treats two to five times more cracked teeth. Cracked teeth are a sign of stress because in stressful times we subconsciously grind our teeth during our sleep. What does the Bible say about handling stress? What does the Bible say we should do to live a life a faithful life for Jesus in stress-filled world? Join us as we learn how Jesus teaches us to face our stress.

In 1428, men with shovels walked into the graveyard of Lutterworth Church. They were not digging a hole to make a grave. They were digging a hole to empty a grave. Forty-three years after his burial, John Wycliffe's bones were dug up, burned, and his ashes scattered into river to rid the earth of his remains. What had he done that inspired such hatred almost half a century after his death? His main crime was claiming the bread and the wine in the Lord's Supper are not transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ. For that, he was hated. What happens during the Lord's Supper? Why did Jesus establish it? How should we observe it? What kind of blessing do we receive from it? Join us as we examine how Jesus changed the last Passover into the first Lord's Supper before he went to the cross.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are forever etched in American history. Julius worked for the United States government and was given access to top-secret military plans for jets and nuclear weapons. What no-one knew is Julius was also a communist sympathizer and Russian spy. At a time when the United States was the only country on earth to possess nuclear weapons, he shared the United States nuclear secrets with Russia and started the arms race. As a result of betraying his country, both Julius and Ethel were executed. Do you ever feel like the Rosenbergs? Have you betrayed someone? Have you betrayed God and broken your promises to Him, turned you back on Him and been unfaithful to Him? How does Jesus treat those who betray Him? Join us as we learn how Jesus handles betrayers like you and me.

William Miller, a rural New York farmer and baptist lay preacher, became popular in the 1800's when he claimed to know the date of Jesus' return. Based on his understanding of Daniel 8:14, he claimed Jesus would return October 22, 1844. What is breathing is the number of people who believed him. Estimates range from 50,000 to 500,000 people lived in hope waiting for Christ's return on that fateful day. Some who followed him, in an expression of their full-devotion, sold everything they owned in preparation Christ's return. The aftermath of William Millers false teaching became to be known as the "Great Disappointment". Can we predict the return of Christ? What must to take place before Christ's return? As we continue our study in Mark we find those answers and more as we study Jesus and the end of the world.

Harold Camping is famous for being a false prophet. On billboards around the country, he told the world Jesus was coming back on May 21, 2011. As we all know, he was dead wrong. As Jesus leaves Jerusalem for the final time, he predicts Jerusalem's destruction. Unlike Harold Camping, he was right. This provides further proof that Jesus is God, because only God know the future.

Most pastors do not want to talk about money. Nobody wants to sound like a rabid televangelist wearing an expensive suit grinning with a plastic smile and too much hairspray. While many pastors shy away from the topic of money, God doesn't. There are over 800 references to money in the Bible. Twenty-five percent of everything Jesus taught related to money. How we use the money God entrusts in our hands is one of the clearest indications of the true state of our true spiritual life. Join us as we learn the truth about money and the role it plays in our life with God.

The Indy 500 is the largest sporting venue in the world. It has a seating capacity over 235,000. Add infield seating capacity, and they can handle over 400,000 people. While everyone loves a good race, the only way you can place in a race is you need to finish the race. Blowing an engine or crashing into a wall leaves you with nothing. The Christian life is like the Indy 500. What matters more than starting the Christian life is enduring to the end and finishing the Christian life. As Paul begins to wind up his letter to the Philippians, he gives them five hurdles they need to conquer if they are going to stand firm in Christ for the long haul. They are the same challenges we face if we want to be faithful to Jesus until the end of our days. Join us as we learn how to stand strong for Christ until we finish the race of life.

One of the challenges in America is the rioting in our cities. If a crowd has a thousand, it is easy to think they are all rioting for the same reason, and with the same passion. In truth, many rioters are in protests because they are following their friends. They have not thought through the issues. People around us are strongly influential on us. As Paul continues teaching about spiritual maturity, he instructs us about the importance of finding and following Godly examples in our life. He also tells us about the importance of avoiding the ungodly examples in our life so we are not drawn away from Christ. We are strongly influence either for Christ or away from Christ by those we keep around us.

Usain Bolt is considered the best sprinter in the world. An eight-time Olympic gold medalist, Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 and 200 meter titles in three consecutive Olympics. What is the secret of his success? What can we learn from him about the Christian life? In this study, we learn the importance of not just being saved by faith in Jesus but working hard to pursue becoming more like Jesus. We are to pursue knowing Jesus with the focus and intensity of a sprinter heading for the finish. Join us as we learn seven principles of spiritual maturity everyone needs to know.

It surprises some people to know the Bible uses bad words. When the Bible uses bad words, it uses them to describe bad things, so the words are a fitting description. In these verses, the Apostle Paul, who is usually a joyous person, uses strong words against anyone that tries to lead us away from simple trust in Jesus to be saved from our sin. Paul gives a refresher course on what it means to be a Christian and what sets simple faith in Jesus apart from every other religion in the world.

It is said the most powerful form of teaching is what is caught, not what is taught. Seeing how people live is more important than hearing what people say. In Philippians 2, Paul taught us about humility as a principle. He also taught us about humility by Jesus, the ultimate example. The problem with Jesus is the humility in his life feels unattainable. Wouldn't it be nice if we could see what Christ-like humility in the life of ordinary people looks like in everyday life? That is what we have in these verses. Paul shows us what God-honoring humility looks like in the life of real people like you and me, Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.

Where does spiritual maturity come from? Is spiritual maturity found in hard work, study, sacrifice and the pain of turning away from sin or is it about ending all of our effort and simply relying on God to change us? Is spiritual maturity something we do or something God does in us? Join us as we learn where how spiritual maturity comes from in the Christian life. We will also learn how spiritual maturity changes our attitude.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was arrested for using a fake $20 bill. The arresting police officers abused their position of authority. One placed his knee on George's neck taking his life. An outraged community protested. Unfortunately, some of those protests turned violent as police were attacked, buildings were burned, and stores were looted. This rioting spread across the country and even around the world. As a result was that the racial divide between blacks and white was widened, not brought together. There is now more anger and hatred, not less. What does the Bible say is the path to unity in our broken world? The path to unity is not through rioting, it is through humility instead of hatred. In these amazing verses, we see how Jesus is the model of humility that we are to follow. It was his humility that restored our relationship with God. It was his humility that led him to the position of highest honor, not to shame.

In seminary, I have a number of Korean friends. Spending time with them, I learned they take church very seriously. They can also have strong opinions on the way church should be done. As a result, Korean churches are know for splitting. One statistic I read claims the average Korean church splits every eight years because of turmoil. Not all churches are that way. Some churches manage to weather storms of conflict and come out stronger on the other side. How do that do it? In this message, we learn the difference between churches that divide and churches that survive.