The rugged crossroads where faith and wisdom meet. InstaChurch 2023-12-24 | Continuing the conversation from my last video about the wisdom books of the Bible and where they lead us. On this #instachurch
What can we learn from a kiwi? InstaChurch 2024-10-13 | God is constantly reminding us to expect the unexpected. To prepare and look for a new world that is being prepared for us. My life and travels as of late has reminded me of this. “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” - Isaiah 43:18-21
Sanctuaries, Eden and the three Rs in between. InstaChurch 2024-10-06 | Rules are all around us. Some seem obsolete, others there to oppress, but some have reasons that echo into eternity. Let's explore on this #instachurch.
What’s the antidote to violence and who should receive it? InstaChurch 2024-04-28 | On this #instachurch…
Is Eye for an Eye a call to violence? Is turn the other cheek an invitation for abuse? InstaChurch 2024-04-21 | Let’s discuss on this #instachurch!
Easter bunnies, us and growing beyond the rest of the story… InstaChurch 2024-03-31 | What happens when we pick up some bad eggs along the way? What should we do with those?
The New Jerusalem and us… InstaChurch 2024-02-18 | Forgive me is this is a little clumsy. I had five minutes to record and it took six to connect a lot of theological dots in an effort to make a point that, I hope, makes some sense. In short, Christ’s version of a city looks a lot different than ours does. Walls in His city become a ceremonial reminder of borders that at one time were used as justification for destruction, persecution or killing and gates remain open as self-sacrificial love is the dominant rule of law. We are called out of Babylon (height of worldly desire) to be that town on a hill. Quite simply, the New Jerusalem belongs to anyone who is willing to follow Jesus and his ‘Sermon on the Mount’ ideals.
Happiness and the cosmic importance of a smile. InstaChurch 2024-02-04 | While Christ recognizes on the one hand the very real and often times unavoidable difficulties of our human existence, he calls us to do our part in being happy, which requires us to be bold in choosing peace and harmony in our relationship with God and mankind. So my follow up question to you is, are there areas in your life robbing you of the all-important smile? What is within your power to change those circumstances from a joy killer to a joy filler?
Introducing you to Tim Mackie on Jesus, Being Single, and Sexuality. InstaChurch 2024-01-21 | Watch his sermon here: youtu.be/1xvt6AMaBow?feature=shared
The first city. InstaChurch 2023-11-05 | What does scripture have to say about cities? What do city’s say about us? On this #instachurch
What to do with fear. InstaChurch 2023-10-29 | On this #instachurch..."Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV
In response to yet another mass shooting by a white Nazi terrorist… let’s talk about comfort. InstaChurch 2023-08-27 | If any part of this conversation makes you want to attack me for talking politics… it’s because you’ve got a bit of that nazi in you. Nazi-ism is all about creating monsters to attack as a group. Because who likes to be alone?
Where conflict SHOULD abound in the church. InstaChurch 2023-08-06 | *An important caveat to this conversation is that these ideas are for general purposes. I am not talking about relationships where extreme trauma lies such as human/sex trafficking, homes with domestic or child abuse or situations involving rapists etc. Please don’t look for the extreme traumas in our world in an effort to undermine this very important distinction that can apply to most situations and relationships. That’s a separate conversation.
A satanists understanding of Prayer and Free Will. InstaChurch 2023-07-09 | And how to respond… on this #instachurch
A Special Father’s Day #instachurch InstaChurch 2023-06-18 | We can’t speak to Fatherhood without talking about the importance of healthy, committed relationships… so here we go!
What’s your problem? InstaChurch 2023-06-04 | In this Alan Ritchson discusses which kinds of problems we should work to have.
Embracing God the Paradox. InstaChurch 2023-05-21 | Paradoxes are everywhere in scripture. Many use this as a reason to avoid faith or religion. It’s in this reality that I think we more fully come to know God… paradoxically. For example, we are called to ruthlessly, savagely go to war against sin in our own lives, yet at the same time we are called to serve a sinful world (even unto death on a cross). These apparent contradictions are how we can find and demonstrate the unknowable image of God.
Two ingredients to a healthy marriage. InstaChurch 2023-05-07 | Christ demanded these of the early church in Smyrna and went so far as to offer an interesting proposal to any who succeeded… I cover what these two things are and more in this #instachurch.
The most powerful picture of who you really are is discovered through the story of Easter. InstaChurch 2023-04-09 | There’s another side to Easter and it can be found in the book of Revelation and in our personal journeys whenever suffering is part of our story. This message is crucial anytime we need to be reminded of the tremendous potential that lives within us.
For those of us with tattered mental health; depression, bipolar, addictions… you’re wanted. InstaChurch 2023-03-05 | I’ll show you how on this #instachurch
Forever daily. InstaChurch 2023-02-27 | A happy Monday to you? Not the normal time for an #instachurch but here we are… Psalm 61:8 here to guide us today: “So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.”
No, not one… InstaChurch 2023-02-05 | Some questions to mull over after watching:Who is good? How far are we willing to go for wicked men? What about God?Who is God’s enemy if none are good?
Like water to a stag. InstaChurch 2023-01-22 | The sufferings and struggles of this life can at times feel like the result of a broken world abandoned by God, or at the very least like problems God doesn’t care about. Suffering can be supernaturally antagonistic. But it’s also possible that it’s not a punishment but a battle scar, “the price of loyalty in a world which is at war with God.” Derek Kidner writes. Whatever the Genesis, Psalm 42 leads us out of that place and back to the living waters that quench all honest thirst.
A kingdom in the wild. InstaChurch 2023-01-15 | “The kingdom of heaven has come near” - Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 4:17)
The nothings. InstaChurch 2022-12-18 | What takes up the most space in your life? Is it everything and nothing all at once? If it is… scripture has a word for it. On this #instachurch
For the approval of all (or none) InstaChurch 2022-11-27 | "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967)
Why I love Jim Carrey (hint: it’s not because of his movies) InstaChurch 2022-11-13 | And the evolution of the tabernacle… on this #instachurch
Part 2 - Where objectification and Twitter collide InstaChurch 2022-11-07 | This is a continuation of two conversations simultaneously, the Twitter news that seemed to have ruffled some feathers and the most recent #instachurch video on objectification. These two seemingly unrelated events actually pair quite well for this weeks conversation. So, with no further ado…
Why Elon Musk’s Twitter is a dangerous idea. InstaChurch 2022-11-05 | I know this video is slightly off topic. But I feel social awareness that alerts others to abuse, or the potential of it, is an important role for the church to play in society. Plus there’s a parable! So feels familiar enough. I’ll be deleting my Twitter in the coming days. Joining me or no?
Pornography, serial killers and what we have in common... InstaChurch 2022-10-30 | The insidious nature of objectification. On this #instachurch
A story of addiction and straight lines. InstaChurch 2022-10-02 | On this #instachurch with Alan Ritchson.
The Power of Prayer… with some special guests… InstaChurch 2022-09-11 | A few verses related to prayer:Mark 11:24 ~ "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."Matthew 21:22 ~ "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."James 4:3 ~ "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."John 14:13-14 ~ "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."John 15:7 ~ "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.John 16:24 ~ "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."Luke 11:13 ~ "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”Psalm 37:4 ~ "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."Isaiah 65:24 ~ “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”Proverbs 15:29 ~ “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”Psalm 66:18 ~ “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear;”
