Engages With Neighbors - Loving Beyond Boundaries: Upside Down
Release Date: 04/29/2025
Dependent - Focus 2: Distraction of Wealth & Possessions
the Church Podcast
Focus: What treasures did the wealthy man forfeit when he turned away from Jesus with a heavy heart? What blessings do we forfeit when we prioritize our possessions over our relationship with Him? What burdens do we bear when we exalt the fleeting pleasures of this world above the eternal riches of Jesus' Kingdom? Matthew 19:16-26
info_outline
Dependent - Focus 3: Distraction of Fear
the Church Podcast
Focus: Mob mentality is strong. God’s promise is stronger. The pull to come up short in the face of the enemy is relentless. God’s will is stronger still. And, He is with us! Numbers 13:17-14:9
info_outline
Dependent - Prayer 1: Holistic
the Church Podcast
Focus: When asked by His disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus gave us perhaps the most familiar prayer of all time. In Christian worship services every week, spanning the denominations; in funeral homes, bedsides, and family gatherings you will hear, “Our Father who art in heaven…” And yet, there is much more going on here with Jesus’ teaching about prayer than meets the eye! Matthew 6:5-15
info_outline
Dependent - Prayer 3: Confidence
the Church Podcast
Focus: Steadfast love and righteousness are the hallmarks of our God! We can pray believing. We can pray with confidence. He listens. He delivers. Psalm 5
info_outline
Visible - Love 1: Visible Reflection of Jesus
the Church Podcast
Focus: As disciples follow Jesus we learn to Love from Love incarnate. As we Obey Christ, we learn how to obey God. We learn our Purpose as we follow Christ’s mission and He sends us out. And as Christ gathers us together and sends us out together with that common purpose we experience being part of Christ’s Team. The result is that disciples are Visible Reflections of Jesus. Matthew 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” John 13:12-17
info_outline
Visible - Love 3: Source
the Church Podcast
Focus: When we love only those who are easy to love, what are we reflecting? God is love, and He loved us even when we were enemies. Love comes from Him, and He is the reason we love others, whether they are easy to love or not. Everyone is important to God, and so, everyone is important to those who love God. 1 John 4:7-21
info_outline
Visible - Love 4: Model
the Church Podcast
Focus: We see Jesus’ love in big and small ways as He lives with and teaches the disciples. Jesus loves His disciples as the Father has loved Him. And He is explicit in this, disciples are to love as Jesus has loved them. I am to love others as Jesus loves me. John 15:9-17
info_outline
Visible - Obey 1: Joyful
the Church Podcast
Focus: Obedience to God's commands leads to a deeper relationship with Him, filling us with His love and complete joy. This passage encourages believers to see obedience not as a burden but as a pathway to experiencing the fullness of joy in Christ. Loving God and others is intrinsically linked to obeying His commands, which are not burdensome but are given out of love. This perspective helps believers shift from seeing obedience as a duty to embracing it as an expression of love. joyful obedience comes from a deep love for God, a desire to be in His presence, and an understanding that His...
info_outline
Visible - Obey 2: Rhythmic
the Church Podcast
Focus: Representing Jesus in the world begins with God’s gracious intervention. God speaks. He invites. We respond. This is the way to a become a visible reflection of Jesus. Think of it as “prompt-response.” Acts 8:26-40
info_outline
Visible - Obey 3: Experiment
the Church Podcast
Focus: When we receive a command from God to go and represent, how do we move from weight and obligation to wonder and anticipation? The answer is more simple than we think. And, it is way more fun, too. Luke 10:1-24
info_outlineFocus: The resurrection turns the world upside down—the grave is empty, death is defeated, and love reigns victorious. What seemed like the end was only the beginning. The first witnesses were the least expected, the risen Jesus appeared to the broken and afraid, and His command was not to retreat but to go beyond boundaries and proclaim life to all nations. In the upside-down Kingdom of God, hope is born from despair, power is revealed in humility, and victory comes through surrender. Because He lives, we are sent to love beyond all limits, carrying the message of resurrection to a world desperate for new life.
Galatians 3:26-28; Matthew 28:1-10, 18-20