Christ 2r Culture Podcast

The best way to tell people about Jesus is not what you would. Instead of telling people the good news about Jesus, we need to begin with the bad news of our sin. As the Gospel of Mark opens, we meet John the Baptist telling people about their sin to prepare their hearts to hear the good news of Jesus.

The way to understand a book in the Bible is to understand its background and its author. As we begin our study of the Gospel of Mark, we meet Mark the book and Mark the person. We learn how God loves to use ordinary people in extraordinary ways to advance Christ's kingdom.

What happens when you visit the Full Gospel Church of Seoul, South Korea? Three people greet you at the door. One of them becomes your personal host for the service helping you find your place and sitting with you. Your host will take you to the church bookstore after the service and insist on buying gifts for your children, then they offer to take you to lunch. One of the reasons this 850,000 member church has growth to staggering proportions is the intentionality they give to hospitality. In this study, we learn God's vision for hospitality in the church and why it is important.

In 1851, an English missionary named Allen Gardiner was shipwrecked. He and his shipmates landed on a small uninhabited island off the coast of South America. Over the next six months each of them died of starvation. As far as we know, Allen was the last one to die. As a Christian, he spent time in the word of God every day until he died. The last entry in the journal that was found beside his dead body had his reflections on Psalm 34:10. In this entry, he summarized his thoughts on this verse by essentially saying, "I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God." How could a dying man be overwhelmed by God's goodness? In this final chapter of Habakkuk, we discover how to be overwhelmed by the goodness of God even when the world around us is falling apart.

For a month our nation was captivated by the sudden disappearance of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student, After a month of pursuing leads, Cristhian Rivera was charged with her murder after he led investigators to her body in a field that was covered with corn stalks. While her family grieves her death, we are grateful for the law enforcement officers who worked tirelessly to solve her murder and begin the process of a measure of justice being served. Sadly, unlike Mollie, many crimes are not solved. Murders get away with killing. Thieves get away with stealing. Where is God when we face injustice? In Habakkuk we learn that God is on his throne and he is handling out justice, not just in eternity but many times he orchestrates this world to bring a measure of justice in this life. Nobody gets away with anything.

Fifty-three percent of professing Christians claim they do not struggle with coveting. Yet coveting is one of the most subtle sins. It is easy to commit because it exists one in our thoughts. Join us as we learn how to replace coveting with contentment in our thought life through our knowledge of God's good plans for us through Jesus.

When he finally turned himself into police, the amount he stole was $64.8 billion dollars. Bernie Madoff pulled off the largest financial frauds in U.S. history and the largest Ponzi scheme in world history. How did he do it? It was based on his ability to lie. He was such a good liar that almost 5,000 people entrusted their savings into his hands. While Bernie pulled off one of the largest lies in world history that damaged the US economy, we are inundated with hundreds of smaller lies every day, which seek to damage our history. Join us as we learn the source of lies and God's plan to restore truth.

Only 1 in 10 Christians believe they have broken the eighth commandment. Stealing is more than cold-hearted thievery. It can be done in much subtler ways, especially at work. Join us as we learn what God says about being a thief.

Pornography is thirty percent of the traffic on the Internet. Over forty percent of those who are married admit to having either a literal or emotional affair even though they are married. Clearly sex in America is out of control and the family is under attack. When God gave this commandment, he gave it to protect the family and for our good. Join us as we discover how to enjoy the blessing of fidelity and avoid the trap of seduction.

The Ten Commandments are hard to keep. The seventh commandment, which warns us about adultery, according to Jesus is violated whenever we lust. Every one of us has broken this command. The tenth commandment, which warns us about coveting our neighbors stuff, is a commandment that magazines and junk mail encourage us to break every day. The sixth commandment, which warns us against murder, is the one command most of us are confident we haven't broken. When we look at the command a little closer, we find it is actually the one command we break more than any other. Join us as we discover God's vision for the sanctity of life.

We live in a time that glorifies rebellion, especially against parents. Good luck finding a teen band that sings, "Have you helped your parents lately?" Good luck finding a teenage magazine that encourages you to help with chores around the house. Teen rebellion is glorified while honoring parents is vilified. God calls us to swim against the current on this one. The Bible promises that fighting against parents takes away life while honoring parents is the key to blessing in life, not just in your teen years but even through your adult years. Join us as we learn the importance of honoring the God-ordained authority figures in our lives.

How many of us put too much on our plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet? Most of us pile our plates full. That doesn't just happen at a buffet. It also happens with our schedules in life. We try to do too much and end up feeling overwhelmed. Do you ever wish you could take a break? Thankfully, you can. As a gift, God gave us one day each week as a day to rest so we can be refreshed physically and spiritually. God commands us to take a break. Join us as we learn why God gave us the gift and command of the Sabbath.

It was January 8, 1697 at 2:00 in the afternoon. Thomas Aikenhead was led to the gallows on the road between Edinburgh and Leith. The rope was put around his neck and the hangman kicked the ladder from underneath his feet. The 20-year-old boy's body was suspended in the air until dead. What was his crime? Persistent use of the Lord's name in vain. At one time, speaking of God disrespectfully could lead to a death sentence. Today, very few speak of God with reverence. How we speak of God is not inconsequential. It is the third commandment. Join us as we learn why God is concerned for His name.

There is a dramatic difference between and old Catholic Church and a Protestant church. Catholic Churches are often ornate, filled with color, beautiful paintings and stain glass picturing scenes in the Bible. Protestant churches are rather plain. It looks like they fired the architected before he could do something creative. Why is there a stark different? The answer isn't found in the church budget. It is found in the second commandment. Join as we find out why.

 In 1993, the Church of Scotland debated over a proposal to adopt the stance that salvation was found in Jesus Christ alone. The resolution failed 400 to 300. This is because there is so much cultural pressure to believe in more than one God and more than one way to God. The first commandment tells us this is not true. Our God is a jealous God who wants us to pour out our affections only to Him and His Son. Join us as we learn why God doesn't tolerate rivals.

In 2003, the media was focused on the Ten Commandment judge. Roy Moore refused to comply with a lawsuit brought by the ACLU to have a large stone copy of the Ten Commandments from the state judiciary in Alabama. No matter what you think about the appropriateness of the presence of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, what isn't debatable is the Ten Commandments being the basis for most of our judicial and legal system. In this message, we are introduced to the Ten Commandments and learn why God gave them.

After Jesus, the two of the biggest decisions we will make in our life is what we do for work and who we will marry. In this wrap up to our study on discovering God's will, we take these two questions and learn to think Biblically and wisely about approaching these important decisions.

Sometimes God's will is difficult to find. In difficult situations, it is helpful to change the question. Instead of asking, "What is God's will?", what is a better question that can help us determine what God wants us to do?

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a man driving through Washington DC wanting to become a missionary. His car stalled in front of the Philippine embassy. He felt that was a sign from God this was the country God wanted him to go. As Christians, how do we discern God's will? Should we look for signs and coincidences? In this message, we learn how God reveals for 95% of the choices we face every day.

Easter is one of the best parts of the Christian calendar. While Jesus' resurrection is good news, for many, it is news that is hard to believe. We live in a world of smartphones, computers and the Internet. Someone rising from the dead sounds like a theme from the latest Marvel Comic movie, not something you can base your life upon. In this message, we examine 10 reasons why we can be sure Jesus rose from the dead and how the proof of the resurrection changes everyday living.