Church On The Move Podcast

When it feels like it’s impossible to escape the upsetting things in our world, look at Jesus. Pray, and take heart because He has overcome the world. We can have peace in the middle of trouble. Pastor Blake continues through our teaching series, Advent.

Hope is a positive expectation of the future. People need hope. In fact, it's necessary for human flourishing, but Christian hope is different. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." All other hope is shakeable and abstract, but Christian hope is specific, certain, and communal, rooted in the promises of God.

God calls you by name into His story. He knows the best things about you and the worst things about you. You’re not an extra in the mission of God. He has something unique for you. Pastor Lee continues in our teaching series, Missio Dei.

Our Lead Pastor, Whit George continues through our teaching series, Missio Dei, and shares some exciting updates on where we faithfully believe our church is headed over the next few years.

This week, Pastor Whit talks about what it looks like to partner with God and what we can expect when we do. When we determine to follow God into some place new, there will be opposition. But when we walk with God through the valley of the shadow of death, we become the kind of people who can face anything. God has been faithful in generations past to bring us to this moment. We can have confidence that He will continue working in and through us for generations to come. 

Whatever God does in you, He wants to do through you. People often think of their walk with God as running a race, but perhaps the most accurate picture of what following God should look like is running a relay race. This picture reminds us we’re part of a larger story, and we’re meant to pass the baton on to the next generation. To do this, we have to be willing to let go of what has been to step into what’s to come.

Has it ever occurred to you that God has a mission? The Bible has one through-line, a thread that begins in Genesis 1 and weaves itself all the way into the book of Revelation: the mission of God. You can't separate God's work from His people. If you're going to follow God, it's going to require movement, and it's going to require risk. But one thing is for sure: He'll always lead you back to life. 

Our Founding Pastor Willie George walks through God’s covenant to Noah and Abraham found in the book of Genesis.

Our guest speaker, Steve Smothermon, is the Senior Pastor of Legacy Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He reminds us it's easy to have reasons for not doing something, also known as excuses. But excuses will keep you from reaching your goals and doing what God has for you. What is it that God is calling you to? It could be just a small step of faith that will have an eternal impact. He promises to give you the strength and the courage to do it.

We want every story to have a great ending, and it's no different from the book of Revelation. Luckily, the ending doesn't disappoint. God's plan was always to dwell with His people - the end of the story is that He will. In the final week of our series on Revelation, we'll look at the vision John describes, the pattern it reveals, and the invitation we have to be a part of what God is doing.

We usually don’t want to know the end of the story. In Revelation, John spoils the end; but because we know the ending, we can live in the hope of what's to come. We can live differently in the present because we know what’s at stake. We must remember, we’re not fighting for victory but for victory.

In Revelation, John gives us a picture of the Anti-Christ’s nature, reality, and mark. In Revelation 12, we see a cosmic view of the battle between the devil (the dragon) and God’s people, and in Revelation 13, we’re introduced to the beast (the anti-Christ)–a man whom the dragon gives his authority to. These passages remind us to be careful how much faith we’re putting in other people and force us to ask, whose mark do I bear?

Revelation puts in front of us some of the biggest objections people have to Christianity: the reality of suffering and judgment. But what if the real story here is not a God of judgment but a God of mercy? Revelation 6-8 reveals the true nature of judgment, the sacred nature of endurance, and the certain faithfulness of God.

In Revelation 4-5, John experiences some of the most captivating scriptures in the whole Bible. He aims to describe the indescribable. Before the Lord shows John a picture of the future, He shows him a throne standing in heaven. These passages urge us to live our lives in light of this revelation: God’s plan will be fulfilled.

In Revelation 2-3, we read John’s letter to seven churches. These passages are Christ’s words to His Church. The letter to Ephesus reminds us that our witness is broken when it’s disconnected from love. The letter to the church in Laodicea reveals that apart from God we can do nothing. God has chosen to speak primarily to and through the Church. So, what is the Spirit speaking to Church on the Move?

There may be no other book in the Bible quite as compelling yet equally mysterious as the book of Revelation. So, how should we approach a book like this? It’s important to look at the book both as a prophecy and as a letter. The Church is missing something significant when we don’t read Revelation; it’s a story that reframes our perspective, strengthens our resolve, and calls us to worship. 

In the final week of our series on Proverbs, our Founding Pastor, Willie George, reveals that all throughout Scripture, God blesses His children with three different kinds of storehouses. God doesn’t want you to worry about your money, but He does want you to think about it. He wants to take what you lay down to multiply it and glorify it.

One of the most well-known Proverbs is Proverbs 3:5-6. But we rarely stop to grasp the weight of its meaning. It says to trust God with your heart, not trust God in your heart. Entrusting your heart to Him is altogether a different thing. Trust is complete and total surrender. When you lean on your own understanding, you’re putting your weight on something that can't support it. To acknowledge the Lord is to have a daily reliance on Him, built on a deep and intimate knowledge of His character.

We have easier access to people than ever before, yet we are more isolated in so many ways. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the need for friendship and community – not a generic kind of friendship, but biblical, life-giving friendship. We need to be around people with whom we can be truly vulnerable and receive encouragement and correction. A friend isn't just someone who doesn’t leave, but someone who moves towards you in all seasons.

This week in Proverbs, we dive into the topic of money and how we tend to have a distorted lens around this topic. Through the teachings in this book of wisdom, we can develop a new lens to view money. When we learn to see money as a gift from God and a way to honor Him, we can find a joyful and meaningful experience with our finances.