Psalms scholar Dr. Saleska writes, “Psalm 2 puts us in the middle of a power dispute. Who has power and who does not? What does power look like? Who gets to exercise it? Whose side are you on?” Sound familiar?! As followers of Jesus, these ancient words can help form our prayers as we wrestle with the same questions. Psalm 2 (ESV) Why do the nation…

What does this mean? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Jesus got angry. So, is such a thing as righteous anger? What do we do when we become angry? How do we express that anger? How do we process that anger? The Psalms give us words to help us process this universal emotion. Psalm 137 (ESV) By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up ou…

It's That Easy --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

It is easy to look around and let our hearts grow cold and numb because of the brokenness all around us. The Psalms give us language to express the lament we experience. But the Psalms also teach us how to pray prayers of thanksgiving as a form of protest against the evil in this world. What does it mean to bring a sacrifice of praise to the LORD? …

Strong in broken places --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

What do you do when you feel as though God has deserted you? Jesus experienced this and he used the words of Psalm 22 to give voice to what he was experiencing as he was dying on the cross. Join us as we explore how to pray when we are overcome with grief, sorrow, and lament and when God seems to remain silent. Psalm 22 My God, my God, why have you…

Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray!” Jesus gave them what we now call the Lord’s Prayer. However, as a Jewish man Jesus’ prayer life would have been formed by the prayers in The Book of Psalms. Join us Pastor Jake introduces this beautiful book and how Jesus desires to teach us to pray as we learn how to Pray the Psalms. Psalm 1 …

As we wrap up our series of Meeting Jesus in John’s Gospel, we will see how Jesus meets us in our fears, doubts, and confusion but he doesn’t leave us there. Jesus invites us to follow him as he breathes his peace upon us, even when things don’t make sense and seem unclear. Only by His Spirit can we truly see and believe. John 20:1-29 (ESV) Now on …

Just one tiny seed --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

“What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Following Jesus is often unclear and scary. As Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples they had lots of questions about what was next. Jesus didn’t give them a step-by-step plan to follow. Rather he gave them an example of what it meant to be his disciple, of what it…

Use your CSP --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

In this story we see Jesus’ humanity and divinity come together as he and his friends stare death in the face. But Jesus is not too quick to “save the day.” Instead, he sits with Mary and Martha in their heartbreak. Sometimes it feels like Jesus has let us down. What can we learn about pain and disappointment from Jesus’ meeting with Mary, Martha, …

Free Sabbath or Sabbath-free --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Jesus meets a man born blind and miraculously heals him. The man is later interrogated about who had done this act on the Sabbath. The man could only answer by saying, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” The man’s answer infuriated the religious leaders and they began a debate about who Jesus was. Jesus quickly revealed that …

Who me? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Forty days after Easter the church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised would happen back in John 15 and 16. Join us as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday and as we exigence the Spirit-led life. Acts 2:1–21 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sou…

Dem Dry Bones --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Jesus’ words are often difficult to receive. Jesus’ words often revealed people’s true motives and allegiances. But Jesus was ok with people not following him. He didn’t hedge on the truth or beg people to follow him. How do Jesus’ words challenge our motives and allegiances when we meet him in our real lives?…

You Have My Word --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

In John’s Gospel Jesus meets people all across the spectrum of faith, from religious leaders like Nicodemus to outcasts like the women and the well. Jesus seems to be harsh with this woman, calling out her sin. But what if Jesus was doing a deeper work? What if he was actually meeting her in her deepest place of shame and in turn offering her heali…

Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus and who he was and where he came from. But Jesus did not give him easy answers. Jesus spoke about water and Spirit and being “born again.” What did this all mean for Nicodemus, for the people of Israel, and for us today? John 3:1-21 (ESV) Now there was a…

Abide in Me --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Jesus’ first disciples heard of this rabbi from John the Baptizer and were instantly drawn to Jesus. Their response to Jesus’ call was to bring others to Jesus. What have you heard about Jesus? What has drawn you to Jesus? How is Jesus inviting you to tell others to “Come and see”?By Pastor Anthony Celia

Jesus Counts by Ones --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

John first met Jesus when they were both in their mothers’ wombs. Yet, in the first chapter of John’s Gospel John the Baptizer has to come to grips with who he is and what his calling is in light of who Jesus is and what his calling is. Who are we as the people of God and what is our calling as we confess with John, “I have seen and have borne witn…

A New Life Lived in Grace --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

How and why does God reveal himself to us? Is it through nature? Through dreams? Through an ancient book filled with wild and crazy stories? All of those questions could be answered with a maybe. But the Gospel of John gives us a clear and concise answer to how and why God reveals himself to us. The answer is Jesus; that we may meet him and come to…

Only The Beginning --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Guided to Humility --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

After Forgiveness --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Grace-i-tude --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Last Sunday we got an image of how Satan messes with the harvest. In this parable he isn’t snatching the seed before he takes root he is sowing seeds of destruction – weeds. Many times we wonder why God just doesn't just get rid of it all but to pull the weed is to pull out the wheat. So evil and good co-exist and grow together until the end when e…

There's a new temple in town --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Knowing Christ means we are in an all out war against the devil. We fight against sin and seek faithfulness not because we believe we can save ourselves but because Christ has saved us and we want to live faithfully and push back against anything and everything that would try to pull us away. 1 John 3:7-10 (ESV) Little children, let no one deceive …

Evil is not just a struggle with greed or lust; this is a spiritual struggle with spiritual forces at play. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, to undo what God has done. We see this with Job and we see this in so many ways in our own lives. However, no matter what Satan throws at us: loss, death, pain, etc. we know it is all temporary because…

Get Behind Me --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Satan is a creature and ultimately has no power. He is powerless in the presence of Christ but he isn’t something to be toyed with or underestimated. The name of Christ isn’t something to be used for fame, recognition, or some demonstration of “magic”. Acts 19: 11-20 (ESV) The Sons of Sceva And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of P…

Evil is not just a struggle with greed or lust; this is a spiritual struggle with spiritual forces at play. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, to undo what God has done. We see this with Job and we see this in so many ways in our own lives. However, no matter what Satan throws at us: loss, death, pain, etc. we know it is all temporary because…

How to Pray After You Have Sinned --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

The last character we are looking at is Jesus. Jesus’ entire life was one of surrender to his Father’s will (John 5:19). As we get ready to enter into the season of Lent we are focusing on Jesus’ act of giving up control and how through his faithfulness to his Father’s will he brought life to all people. Jesus went to the cross for us. And because …

The Ultimate Superhero --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Before meeting Jesus, Paul had placed his identity before God and other people in things like his heritage, his religious activity, and career accolades. As people living 2,000 years later, we often fall into the same trap. What enabled Paul to let go of these things to the point that he could call them rubbish?! Join us as we begin to discover how…

Trust Your Power --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

This is a fairly well-known Bible story that is used to teach us to focus on Jesus. But we don’t often address what is going on in our hearts that makes it so difficult for us to “choose the good portion” which is Jesus. Maybe we have placed our worth in the hustle and maybe Jesus is asking us to surrender the hustle of life to him as we follow him…

By Whose Authority --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

King David was a man after God’s own heart. Yet, David had committed adultery and murder which had negative consequences ripple throughout his life and throughout the generations of descendants to come. How did King David continue to move forward after his great moral failures? How do we learn to let go of our past sins as we move forward in life? …

Solid Like a Rock --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support

Moses had been called by Yahweh to lead his people out of slavery into the Promised Land. Moses spent his life anticipating that day he would set his feet on the land Yahweh had promised him. Yet, with an outburst burst of frustration that dream was taken away. Nothing was guaranteed to Moses and yet we will see how Yahweh used Moses' disobedience …

A Person-to-Person Call --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blcwarren/support