Leavenworth Church of Christ's Podcast

(Mt 25) God has blessed us with many opportunities to serve in the name of Christ, which we have not buried in the ground. Christ could come at any time, when means we are staying ready and watchful by investing what he has entrusted us with in order to serve those in need in the name of Christ

As the historical Nicholas of Myra has been distorted and morphed from Nicholas, to Saint Nick, to Sinterklass, to Santa Claus, we must be careful not to do a similar thing with Jesus, but to come to the real Jesus, not a caricature, and devote our lives to him as God who came to earth in the flesh and became our crucified and risen Lord and Savior.

The reason we have traditions is to pass on and root us in our inherited identity. God has given us certain traditions for this and he also allows us to have our own traditions as long as they do not conflict with his will and instructions for us. Therefore, we ought to sanctify all of our traditions, otherwise they are nothing more than an empty habit rather than a rich tradition.

(Ex 3:1-6; Hos 11:1-11; Isa 6:1-8) We need to avoid caricatures of God that emphasize his love and compassion to the exclusion of his righteousness and holiness. Otherwise, it will cause us, in serving something of our own making, to twist the idea of purity and holiness, and to cheapen the idea of grace and mercy, which will in turn affect our mission in such a way that we do not come to terms with the fact that people are lost without Christ.

(Psalm 100) In response to God and his gracious works for us, we respond in a way that is fitting and pleasing to God, which includes energetic joy and praise along with service in his name and blessing him wherever we go by giving him the credit, honor, and glory for our redemption and reconciliation.

The songs, My Jesus I Love Thee, and The Love of God reminds us of the vastness of the love of God, enabling us to love in return

(Luke 10:25-37)Thee great commandment to love God and your neighbor involves being willing to minister to people who may be different from you because they are precious to God and made in his image. It may involve taking some sort of risk to minister to them. It is worth the risk because people are important to God and love trumps ritual.

The Church is not a place, but the holy family of God that worships and serves him while proclaiming the Gospel that destroys the devil's stronghold and brings life and peace to us under the reign of God

(Acts 13:1-12) When the church follows the lead of the Holy Spirit in advancing the Good News, it will collide with many "Bar-Jesus" types, but the church needs to be frank in exposing false teaching while making meaningful connections with those who are open to hearing the word, which is what ultimately will bring faith and salvation.

(Acts 11:27 - 12:25) When faced with persecution, Christians respond with faith by praying to God and continuing to serve and minister to others while encouraging one another, reminding one another that God acts in ways we don't sometimes expect

(Acts 10:1-11:26) God did something exceptional in the way the Holy Spirit manifested himself in the conversion of Cornelius, showing us that regardless of a questionable background on one hand, or devoutness on the other, all people need Jesus in order to be saved, which means we as Christians need to take the Gospel to all who will listen.

(Acts 9:32-43) The story of Dorcas inserted in a cluster of conversion stories reminds us that in the midst of all else we do, we must never underestimate the importance of ministries of mercy. It was important enough that when Dorcas, a servant of widows, died, we was brought back to life and presented to the widows. Like Dorcas, we are at our best when we simply use what we have in order to minister to others who are in need.

(Acts 9:1-31) The Lord can break through even the worst kind of blindness, bringing sight and conversion through the word, transforming us into guides who share sight with others who do not yet see, bringing opposition and persecution from those who refuse to acknowledge Christ as Savior and Lord.

(Acts 8:25-40) God’s plan for the salvation of the world didn’t stop with Christ or the Apostles, but continues with ordinary Christians whom God uses to bring additional light of the Gospel to those who have an open heart so that they may respond by accepting God’s offer of redemption through Christ

(Acts 8:4-24) Belief and baptism must be accompanied by true change on the Lord’s terms, which means giving up any futile and poisonous attempt to true and manipulate God, which would only result in bondage to sin. Instead, we must accept his gift the only way we can receive it, which is as God’s gracious and undeserved gift. This means trusting in God to rule all of our life.

(Acts 6:8 - 8:4) If we are truly serving in the name of Christ, we will face opposition and persecution. We should be spiritual and emotionally prepared for it by knowing what we believe and being ready to share or defend it, focusing on Jesus more than on defending ourselves and keep in mind that our conduct may strengthen or discourage other Christians and move bystanders to consider Jesus

(Acts 6:1-7) As the church progresses, new challenges often arise from within, which requires a type of leadership that models healthy humility, encourages cooperative participation, and empowers new godly servant leaders. This helps to strengthen unity in such a way that the entire church can more effectively carry out God's purposes.

God created a good creation, but sin corrupted it. God's solution was for Christ to become flesh and die for us to provide a means for redemption for those who would come to him in faithful obedience.

(Acts 5:17-6:7) Our purpose is to serve God even when local authorities instruct us not to do so. When they threaten and persecute us because of Christ, we are not overcome by shame or fear, but consider it a sign of honor to stand with Christ as we continue to teach and serve others in his name.

(Acts 4:32-5:16) Jesus has filled us with abundant grace, which should affect our perspective and attitude by focusing outward through generous sharing rather than inward on self centered wants and pride that God is opposed to. This will unite the brethren in the sharing of the ministry of the Gospel.