Christ 2r Culture Podcast

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.

Remember elementary school. What happened when the teach left the room? In about 20 seconds people were misbehaving. The same thing happened in high school when a teacher didn't show up for class and it was just students in the room. Things fell into chaos. Paul was the founding pastor of the church in Philippi. He was gone a long time. While he was gone, the church was misbehaving. While they believed the Christian faith, they were not living out their Christian life. Their faith and their life were out-of-sync. In this passage, Paul talks about what it means to live as citizens of God's kingdom where Jesus reigns in our life.

In 1993, while fishing St. Mary's Glacier, Bill Jeracki had a boulder crush his leg. Alone in the wilderness, without a jacket or communication equipment, with a snow storm bearing down upon him, he had to make a frightening choice to survive. Using his shirt as a tourniquet, he amputated his leg using his fishing knife. He then crab-walked to his truck and drove himself to the hospital. People will do almost anything to avoid death. Each of us is innately terrified by it. What if we could peer behind death's door and find out what lies on the other side? If we could be certain death wasn't terrifying, wouldn't that change the way we live? Join us as we peek behind death's door and discover why Christians have nothing to fear because Jesus has made death better than life.

As the pandemic continues, it appears more damage is being done to people's lives by social distancing than by the virus. Graduating seniors don't get to enjoy open house parties. Large wedding are reduced to a bride, groom, parents and a pastor. Businesses are shut down and struggling to survive. A virus has stopped everything. The good news is that there is one thing this virus can't stop. That is the gospel. It is when Christians are most constrained that the gospel grows best. Join us as we discover the unstoppable life-transforming power of the gospel.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, our nation struggles as they are stuck at home. While phone calls and Zoom video chat help us stay connected, we are still lonely. Nothing can replace face to face conversation. More people are struggling with loneliness than the virus. Loneliness is not exclusive to the pandemic. Even before the COVID-19, 40 percent of Americans considered themselves lonely. Social media relationships are up, but real relationships are down. How do we solve the problem of loneliness? Where can we find deep and satisfying relationships? Join us as the Apostle Paul introduces us to a different kind of relationship called gospel partnerships. These are relationships than deeper and more fulfilling than anything ordinary friendships can offer.

We live in a world committed to happiness, that comes from circumstances. As we begin the book of Philippians, we find a book about joy. Joy comes form our relationship with Jesus in spite of our circumstances. Join us as we learn how the joy we have in Christ gives us hope in tough situations and how God uses that joy to spread the gospel and grow the church.

Since the first COVID-19 death on February 29 of this year, 24,000 Americans have died. While this may sound like an astronomical number, in the same period of time, over 353,000 Americans died of other causes. At this time, the average American is 15 times more likely to die of a car accident, cancer, falling out of bed or some other random form of death than COVID-19. This reminds us that even if we wash our hands, cover our face with a bandana while in public and avoid the virus, all we can do is delay our death. We can not avoid death. It finds us at an alarming rate. The good news of Easter is for those who love Jesus, he transforms death. A Christian's death is not something to fear. It is something to celebrate as they are brought into the presence of God. Join us as we see how the resurrection changes everything about death… and life!

This week, President Trump told the nation that social distancing will remain in place until the end of the month. While everyone is thankful for a government that protects its citizens, the social isolation and lack of employment is a heavy burden on the heart. At times like this, it is easy to grumble, whine, and complain. When we turn to God's Word on this topic, we learn that grumbling is dangerous. It is a serious sin. It is not to be part of the Christian life. Join us as we we learn what God says about how to handle tough times without a grumbling heart.

As we continue in the COVID-19 pandemic, the borders between states are closing. Minnesota has a shelter-at-home order. The National Guard is called out in a number of states. Our nation's anxiety increases by the hour. As jobs are lost and income dwindles, how can we follow Christ well in these chaotic days? Join us as we see what the apostle Paul tells us about standing for Christ when times are tough.

This past week, our life changed. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down our nation and our economy. As a nation, we face the possibility of multitudes losing their physical life while our nation loses economic life. As anxiety overwhelms us, how should we face these uncertain times? Join us as the Word of God shows us where to find peace in our uncertain world.