Walnut Grove Lutheran Church Podcasts

When conflict is personal, establishing peace is easier said than done. That’s because peace always comes at a cost and we are not usually willing to lose in a conflict so that others can gain. Thankfully, Jesus came and paid the cost for us to have peace with God. With that peace at the center of our lives, we then seek to live in peace with those around us. Love is what brings peace. (Based on 1 John 3:11-24.)

When things are bad and getting worse, we can wonder why God is taking so long to straighten things out, especially when others say we are foolish for having any hope in God. God views time differently than we do, yet he is at work in all time, even now, orchestrating events according to his divine plan which will lead to the glorious new heaven and earth. We know how the story will end. Therefore we have hope. (Based on 2 Peter 3:1-13.)

Go to any major sporting event and you will see people that identify with their team. They cheer, shout encouragement and perhaps even wear their team’s jersey. All with the hope of being on the winning side. But what does it look like to be on the winning side of life? Though rejected by people 2,000 years ago and today, Jesus won the victory for humanity that changes everything. With him as the captain of our life, we are on his winning team and we represent him to the world as we greatly bless others in his name. (Based on 1 Peter 2:4-10.)

Faith is often thought of as believing that what we want to happen will happen. But the “Hall of Fame of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11 paints a far different picture of faith. Faith is believing in God’s promises for the future and aligning our actions with those promises, even if those promises are not fulfilled in our own lifetime. How do we know we can trust God’s promises? Because God is faithful. (Based on Hebrews 11:1-16.)

A builder is known by the greatness of the buildings they create. As profound as a beautiful bricks and mortar building can be, gathering and giving life to a redeemed and restored community of humans is infinitely better. That’s what Jesus is doing. Therefore, we can bring our broken hearts and lives to him and know that he will make us part of the great human “building” he is creating. (Based on Hebrews 3:1-14.)

The idea that we have to earn the good things of life is hard wired into human nature. But it won’t save us from the destiny of destruction our sin sick soul is leading us toward. Any attempts at repairing our life are insufficient. We need a totally new life, and that’s exactly what Jesus has given us as a completely free gift. Therefore, we live for what is good because we already have been given a good life. (Based on Titus 3:1-11.)

Insecurity makes us tentative. It is hard to be strong when our weakness is so evident. But Jesus has joined his life to our and, in our weakness, we have his strength. Faith is what connects us to Jesus and helps us to live in his strength. Therefore, with God’s help, we fan the flames of the faith that has been given to us. (Based on 2 Timothy 1:1-14.)

When the hope we have for a better life is being ground down to nothing by persecution or life-stealing circumstances, it’s time to re-examine our foundation for hope. A hope foundation built on the things of this world will never last. But a foundation built on Jesus’ promise to return and restore us and all things will give us the hope we need to endure until those better days come. (Based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14.)

We tend to become what we focus on. Broken as we are, we humans tend to focus on the baser aspects of life in this world thinking that they will satisfy the appetites of our heart, but they never do. Thankfully, Jesus came into this world to redeem us lost and broken souls and give us a greater life with him that will last forever. Therefore, we direct our focus toward heavenly things, the things of Jesus, for he is our source of life. (Based on Colossians 3:1-17.)

One of the important ways to grow into becoming the kind of person we want to be is by choosing a mentor and patterning our life after theirs. We are making such choices whenever we click on “Like,” “Follow,” or “Subscribe.” But are we being thoughtful and intentional about who we allow to influence us and the depth of influence that we give to them? Will following them lead us into the life that we want to live? Jesus is both the ideal human and our Savior and he will lead us into a life that will be far greater and grander than anything we could ask for or imagine. (Based on Philippians 1:27-2:11).

There is a lot of emphasis on rule-based living these days. While having some basic rules for our life can be helpful, for we all need some structure in our lives, it is important for us to remember that the rules are not our life, and neither is living without any rules. What we really need for fruitful living is to be enlivened, empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit. Our best life is lived with the Holy Spirit. (Based on Galatians 5:13-26.)

God is on the move.  He is always on the move!  Can you see what He is doing around you?  Did you know that the Holy Spirit is working all the time as He continues to workin your life and mine.   He is working on all those people in your sphere of influence.  Can you see Him working and how He equips you to be His mentor to others as He is working in their lives?  Are you ready?  God is on the Move, in Isaiah's time, with St Paul in prison, in Africa today and here in Canada, at Walnut Grove.  Come and join me as we put on the eyes of faith to see where He is working today.

The standard human operating system is to live life in this world guided by what we see and for our own personal enrichment. The hollowness of this OS is revealed when we come to the end of life in this world and end up with nothing. But Jesus paid the full cost of our forgiveness so that we could be reconciled to God and have life with him. Therefore, we live differently in this world. We are guided by faith, not sight, and our goal is for there to be more people in God’s Kingdom. So we serve as Christ’s ambassadors to the people around us, urging them to receive the gift of reconciliation that Jesus gives. (Based on 2 Cor. 5:6-21.

We usually think of freedom as the ability to do whatever we want, but that kind of freedom can lead us to harm others and ourselves. With Jesus, we have been freed from feeding our sinful, self-centered desires. In the freedom we have from Jesus, we mold ourselves to connect with others so they might know him and the freedom he gives. (Based on 1 Cor. 9:19-27, 10:23-11:2.)

A lot of the challenging issues in our society these days, such as sexuality, gender, and abortion, pertain to the human body and who controls what we do with our bodies. Is it the government or the individual? A common response is to say, “It’s my body and I can do whatever I want with it!” As we look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we will see that this isn’t even the right question to ask or the right answer to give. God thinks more highly of us and our bodies than we do, and through Jesus, he has made it possible for our bodies to serve a much higher purpose. (Based on 1 Cor. 6:12-20.)

With all the challenges we face, it is easy for us to become discouraged and cynical about life. Our hearts are empty, and we have no use for other people, unless they can give us what we need. But Jesus gives us the endurance and encouragement we need to keep moving forward in this challenging world. He makes sure that all our needs are met and his love fills our hearts to over-flowing. Fully loved and cared for by Jesus, we are able to be truly selfless and love and accept others just as Jesus has loved and accepted us. (Based on Romans 15:1-13.)

Central to the Christian journey is the faithful reading of Scripture and fellowship with Jesus and his followers. This is vividly illustrated in the dramatic encounter between two disciples and the risen Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The disciples recognize who Jesus is, and are able to proclaim the gospel, only after he explains Scripture in relation to himself and when they share a meal in communion together.

We humans inherently try to justify ourselves on the basis of what we do, who we are, or what we have. But none of those human-centered approaches work. Thankfully, because of his own goodness and love, God has reconciled himself to us by sending Jesus to pay the full cost of humanity's forgiveness for our sins and give us his righteousness in return. Therefore, we abandon our efforts to justify ourselves and, freed from that fruitless burden, live in the peace and joy of a reconciled life with God. (Based on Romans 5:1-11.)

In times past, the surrounding society supported and encouraged faith in Jesus. But not anymore. In times of pressure or persecution, we may forget the power of the Gospel and be tempted to hide our faith to preserve our life in this world. But there is more power in the Gospel than there is in us. The Gospel message about Jesus has the power to create faith in our hearts, and through that faith we receive salvation. (Based on Romans 1:1-17.)

Human life is like a funnel. When we are younger, we have lots of opportunities to make choices. As we grow older, our opportunities to make choices narrows up to the point that, at the end of our life, we have almost no opportunities left. Without help, we will inevitably have regrets at life's end. But Jesus forgives us for all our failures, redeems our mistakes and gives us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. Therefore, we seek the Spirit's guidance in determining our main goals in tasks in life. With God's help, in the end, we will have no regrets. (Based on Acts 20:17-32.)