Local Church St. Pete Podcast

Where do you look when you feel broken beyond repair? When the heaviness of shame doesn’t lift? Where do you find strength to endure when you want to give up? Hebrews 9 describes what Jesus did as “once for all.” Something so decisive and complete that it restores what is broken, opens the way to what was previously shut and empowers us to endure. There’s nothing more we could add and nothing more we need.

An update from Emilio & Hannah Marrero on Bidea Donastia, a church in the Basque region of Spain. 

Have you ever been so distracted or caught up in the difficulties of life that you forget the value of what is right in front you? With one painful trial after the next, we can start to wonder if what we have in Jesus is really all that “better” than what we had before? Hebrews 8 describes what we have in Jesus as far better than what’s come before and invites us to make the comparison until we see it too.

What is our reputation? What do we hope others will say about us as a church? In 1 Thessalonians 1, we discover a young church that, only months before, had never heard about Jesus but is now setting an example for others. Their lifestyle revealed the truth they embraced. Their faith rang out and echoed on, and everyone was talking about it. How were they living? And why is it our prayer for Local Church St. Pete?

It’s easy to allow the hardships of life to overshadow the significance of what Jesus accomplished. When that happens, we can be tempted to turn back to what we came out of or begin to think something else needs to be added to our faith. Hebrews 7 encourages us to press into the significance of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. It reminds us that he is our ‘forever’ priest, who not only meets the deepest needs of our lives but offers us a ‘forever’ assurance to rest in.

There is hope. Not simply wishful thinking or an optimistic state of being, but something more, something certain. In a day when despair and cynicism are on the rise and culture’s answers leave us empty and searching, Hebrews 6:13-20 gives us a promise to stand on. Like an anchor of the soul, we’re invited to hold onto this hope and walk the path it opens for us.

Has someone ever loved you enough to call you out? Whatever you were doing was detrimental to your well-being and they refused to stay quiet. Like a loving friend, Hebrews 5:11-6:12 refuses to stay quiet, confronting spiritual complacency and inviting us into spiritual depth.

“No one understands, no one cares and no one can help.” Ever feel this way? Hebrews 4:14-5:10 describes Jesus as the one who understands our weaknesses and was in every way tempted as we are. Because of that, he has opened the way for us to “draw near” and find the help we need in our darkest moments, in our deepest fears and in the face of unrelenting temptation.

We live in a culture desperate for rest. Hoping to find it in the next purchase, accomplishment or season of life, we keep coming up empty and more exhausted than ever. Hebrews 4 holds out the promise of true rest, the obstacle that stands in the way and the only voice that will get us through.

With so much information coming at us (and so fast), we can easily end up settling for a superficial, surface knowledge of things. Hebrews 3 takes us beneath the surface of faith in Jesus and invites us to stay there – to make him the daily preoccupation of our lives. And to do so with careful observation, fierce resolve and a humble assessment of our own hearts.

Local stories are stories of God's grace at work in the lives of those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete.  We want to highlight his activity and celebrate his grace.

Have you ever thought, “I just want someone to understand what I’m facing - someone who ‘gets’ how I feel and can actually do something about the brokenness and fear I’m experiencing”? Hebrews 2:5-18 answers back with the one who was made lower, who suffered, was tempted and tasted death for us. But how do Jesus’ humility and triumph bring order to our chaos, wholeness to our suffering and help when we’re tempted?

Over the course of time, many people drift away from the most important things in life as apathy, laziness, and fatigue pull them off course. How do we stay anchored to what matters most? In Hebrews 2, we see Jesus and his salvation as the true north that guards us and keeps us.

What do you do when life is hard and God seems distant? When opposition is strong and pressure to walk away from faith is more attractive than ever? With artistic beauty and spiritual depth, Hebrews 1 announces that Jesus is everything God wants to say to us in human form. A voice to turn to and a portrait to carry with us – no matter what comes our way.

It all seemed crazy; totally absurd, like a fairy tale when they first heard it. Luke 24 takes us behind the scenes on the day Jesus rose to life. In documentary style, we’re given the unfiltered response of his first followers trying to make sense of his resurrection. As they move from skepticism to astonishment, devastation to faith and panic to peace – we’re invited to go there with them.

In spite of all the mockery, all the injustice, all the blasphemy, there is something that John highlights in brilliant clarity. Jesus is a real King, and He is establishing a real kingdom. In spite of all the evil, against all odds, Jesus is a King who accomplishes His plan perfectly.

The book of Proverbs doesn’t dance around the issue of God’s design for sex. It doesn’t ignore the temptation we all face to embrace a distorted view of it either. Unwilling to keep silent, unable to ignore the pain and ruin it brings, Proverbs 7 sets out to warn us about this temptation and keep us from giving into it.

When something is important and we want to remember it, we write it down. Proverbs 3 essentially begins with, “This is so important that I want you to write it over your heart; the very center of who you are.” Spoken with tenderness and love, Proverbs 3:1-12 is an urgent appeal to give God our full attention and total dependence. What does it look like in everyday life to trust him with all your heart? What does it produce?

Can you remember a time in your life when you were brought to a crossroads moment? A decision had to be made that you knew would impact everything. 2 Kings 22 is a crossroads moment for Josiah. After years of pursuing God the way he thinks best, this young king discovers and reads God’s word. It had been lost, neglected and dismissed by previous generations, but had found in Josiah a responsive heart. What does a responsive heart look like? What does it produce?

Carolyn Bothwell shares a brief testimony about what God is doing at Created and ways to partner.