Living Spring Podcast

No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, we can all agree that there is a tension between what we know what we want to do with our lives and what we actually do. In almost every area of our lives we live in this tension. This week we talk about why that is and a very practical way to move the needle towards what we know we should do.

The Apostle Peter tells us to be alert and of sober mind. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion trying looking for someone to devour. This week pastor John talks about how our enemy wants to scare us away from the table that our Lord has prepared for us in the presence of our enemies.

It is easy to get distracted with life and all that goes on around us. It is important to remember that the Creator of The Universe wants to commune with us and have a conversation. This week, we are reminded that the Lord is our shepherd and we lack nothing.

We all have two brains. One tells us the truth and the other manipulates us into doing things that can be destructive. This week we talk about how to avoid the lies we are told and the ones we tell ourselves in order to create new pathways of truth.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is because of this we have been saved to eternal life with a relationship with Him. He is risen!

We are all building something in our lives. Relationships, careers, mental or physical health or deepening spiritual growth. But what good is building something if it’s not protected? This week we talk about walls and gates and why it is so important to keep them strong and well maintained.

As we prepare for Palm Sunday, let’s meditate on Jesus’ words to the Pharisees: If his disciples don’t cry out in praise the rocks will! We are created to worship God! Don’t let the rocks take your place!

It’s easy to get discouraged when trying to accomplish the vision God has for us. After all, if God gave us vision in the first place why would He allow it to be so hard? This week we look at Nehemiah and his example of how he handled resistance to the vision God has for him. We learn that not only will we experience conflict, we should expect it. 

Being outraged, angered or bothered is not vision. Vision is the tension of a current situation and what it is supposed to be. That tension doesn’t go away until there is action. We can’t wait for someone else to act. We must do it. But how? This week we talk about the reality that our job is “what” and God’s job is “how”.

What breaks your heart? In our current culture we have never had more access to events that cause us alarm or even worse, trauma. But what if God wasn’t as concerned with your emotions but, rather, what you do next. This week we look at a man named Nehemiah and how God initiated a response and followed it with the beginning of orchestrating an action. 

Our culture here in America says you need to be number one in all you do. The wisest man who ever lived recognized that this was like chasing after the wind. This week Pastor John talks about how our Heavenly Father wishes us to be at peace with who we are and what we are already blessed with.

Have you ever thought that the sacrifice Jesus made for us all doesn’t count for you? The distraction of regret can lead us to beleive that to be true, but it isn’t. We are not qualified to judge ourselves, only our Heavenly Father is. This week Pastor John covers scripture where the Apostle Paul tells us to press on and let God be God.

All too often we find ourselves imagining how it all “should” be. God wants us to leave fantasy and meet Him in reality. This week, Pastor John talks about how David failed by living in fantasy and how we can lean on Him to accept and deal with reality.

This week, we celebrate several baptisms in our church with a short message of what it means to be baptized. That is to die to oneself and rise to newness of life with Christ.

Our culture in America has us think that being a reactionist is the way we ought to be. This week Pastor John talks about the 3rd value in our mission statement at Living Spring Church, and that is to RESPOND to the move of The Spirit.

The great news is that our Heavenly Father is in the restoration business. The not so fun news, is that it involves a process. Often much longer than we would like to admit to ourselves. Fortunately, Jesus is not one who will ever give up on transforming our lives into more than we could ever dream of. This week, Pastor John talks about how that process is through wholehearted surrender to our Savior.

We all have a role in the church to reach our local communities as well as our circles of influence. This week we talk about the first of 3 parts of our mission statement at Living Spring Church, to reach our neighborhood and surrounding community with the love of the Father.

Epiphany is the celebration of the revelation of Jesus. Through the help of the story of the wise men we will explore how God reveals himself to us and how we are invited to reveal Jesus to others.

2022 wrapped up a couple years of stalls, distractions, polarization and confusion. If we are to move forward we will need to figure out what we value and then stay focused. In this series we will be reviewing some missteps of our past and encouraging each other to move forward in health. Let’s stay focused together. We all go through various transitions and chapter changes in life. Some we bring on ourselves and some our brought on us. This week we look at a person in the Bible that encounters God in a unique way. While we may never encounter a burning bush, what we learn from that encounter can be applied to anytime God wants us to move forward. 

Our culture tells us we need to be informed and have a steadfast opinion about whatever the hot topic subject may be. Following Christ is not an ability to be informed, but a willingness to be transformed. This week Pastor John talks about how Mary’s curiosity and a willingness to be transformed helped with her calling to give birth to the Son of Man.