Calvary Podcast: Recent Episodes
Calvary Baptist Church
Welcome to the Calvary Podcast! Here you'll find encouraging messages and discussions for your everyday life. To learn more about Calvary go to calvarythedalles.org.
Join us as we dive into John 1:6-8;15-34 and look at who John the Baptist was and the role he play in the Gospel story.
In Reframing Jesus, we do not desire to reinvent Jesus into someone He is not or make Jesus into an image we are more comfortable with. Instead, we seek to have our portrait of Jesus reframed by the Word of God in John's Gospel to see him as accurately and glorious as possible.
Join us as we continue in our Zechariah series! Thank you for your grace as we continue to record from our gym while construction continues in our sanctuary.
Join us as we continue in our Zechariah series! Thank you for your grace as we continue to record from our gym while construction continues in our sanctuary.
Join us as we continue into the prophecies of Zechariah! We apologize for the audio quality, and we thank you for your patience as construction continues at our church!
Join us as we walk through Zechariah's vision, learning what God has spoken to His people during a time of captivity.
Join us as we continue to learn from the minor prophets and hear what God is saying to His people.
Join us as we continue our Zechariah series and learn about what the Lord has to teach us through His Scriptures.
Join us as we begin a new series and learn from the Scriptures and what the Lord says in Zechariah.
Join us as we finish out our 1st Corinthian series, looking at Pauls final remarks to the Corinthian church.
Join us as we near the end of our 1 Corinthians series and hear some of the final words that Paul says to the Corinthian church!
Join us as we continue in our 1 Corinthians series, looking at what exactly Paul is and isn't saying.
Join us as Paul leads us through the building up of the Spirit as we dive into 1 Corinthians 14.
Come and listen as we speak of love and our need for love and to love. Join us as we take time to pray through this wonderful Scripture.
Join us as we go over the controversial topic of spiritual gifts in the church. Come and listen as we decipher this important passage.
Join us as we seek the Lord in His Scriptures, diving into 1 Corinthians 12 and seeing what Paul has to say to the Corinthian Church.
Join us as we dive back into our 1 Corinthians series, discussing a pretty hot topic passage. Come and listen to what our pastor has to say on the matter!
Join us for testimonies and sermons as we partner with GAP year ministry to bring the Word of God and encouragement to Calvary Baptist Church.
Join us as we dive back into our 1 Corinthians series and see what Paul has to say about putting God above all others.
Join us as we take a break from our Corinthian series and work through Ephesians 4, talking about what God has done and what we as Christians are called to do.
Join us as our pastor talks us through the lengths that Paul is willing to go for the sake of the Gospel.
Join us as our pastor speaks about the issues of faith, rights, and the strength of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Join us as our pastor transitions us in Paul letter from the focus we have on God to the issues that the Corinthian church struggled with back in the first century.
Join us as we dive further into Pauls words to the Corinthian church about the things of this world and how finite they truly are.
Join us as our pastor speaks about marriage and the difficulties that Paul addressed in the Corinthian Church.
Join us as we dive back into our 1 Corinthians series and catch back up with what Paul has to say to the Corinthian Church.
Join us as we see what the Lord expects from us as Christians as we serve Him during our time here on Earth.
Join us as one of our elders preaches to us the word of the Lord. Listen with open hearts and ears to what God is speaking to you through His Scriptures.
Listen in as our Pastor reminds us of the love that Christ has for us, and how He is always with us.
Join us as we see what Scripture has to say about our reining King, Jesus Christ, and His love for the world.
Join us this Christmas season as we zero in on Christ, who He is, and what He came into the world to do!
Join us as we begin our advent season focusing on our theme of What Child is This while continuing to preach the 4 Sundays of Advent, leading us up to our Christmas Eve Service.
Listen as our pastor takes you through what it means to have gratitude during this wonderful holiday! Come and find out the importance of giving thanks in all times.
Listen in as our Pastor preaches through this difficult passage and hear what Paul has to say to the Corinthian church regarding their sin, and their freedom in Christ.
When brother sues brother, the whole church suffers. Should we not instead handle disputes amongst ourselves instead of leaving our judgement outside the church? Come listen and find out what Scripture has to say as we dive into 1 Corinthians 6!
Join us this week as we talk about the serious topic of sin, and how we as a church should deal with sin within our own church. The seriousness of sexual immorality will be pushed back to a later sermon, as this was our family Sunday service.
Join us as we go back and take a look at what the wisdom of the world is compared to the wisdom of the cross. We are in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 this week, diving into Scripture. Come and give it a listen!
Listen in as we continue in our 1 Corinthian series and we see the vertical relationship between leaders in the church and God, and leaders in the church and the body of Christ.
Listen in this Sunday as you hear 7 testimonies from people getting baptized!! And stay tuned as our pastors present the Gospel and interview some of faithful congregants about the ministries they are involved in.
Skipping chapter 2 for now, come and listen as our pastors speak from 1 Corinthians 3. We are diving into the contrasting viewpoints of wisdom from the world, and the wisdom that comes from Christ.
Join us as we dive into the end of the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. If you're loving our Sunday Sermons, then join us this Sunday at 10:00AM for our Sunday morning service!
Listen as we dive into the beginning passages of 1 Corinthians, where Paul begins to address the division within the Corinthian church. Come and see how this Scripture can apply to your own church, and life today!
Join us as we dive into our new series on the book of 1 Corinthians. We will be going through this Scripture for the foreseeable future, so buckle down, break out your Bible and your coffee as we go through the 1st letter to the Corinthian Church.
We are in week 4 of our 5 week series of that which belongs to the Lord. This week we are focusing on The Lord's Mission. Come and listen as we unpack His Mission, and how many in our community have lived out His Mission in their own lives.
Join us as we finish our 5 week sermon seires on that which belongs to the Lord. Listen as we talk about the Lord's Kingdom and what Scripture has to say about Christ's coming Kingdom.
Listen as we continue our 5 week series on the things that are called and belong to the Lord. This week we talk about the Lord's Table and what God says about His table and the elements.
3 weeks into our 5 week sermon on the things that are called the Lord's, we talk about the Lord's People. Listen as we discuss both the Old Testament and New Testament message about the Lord's People.
Listen as we begin our 5 week series on the things that belong to the Lord. Our first sermon focus's on what Scripture has to say about the Lord's Day!
Listen as Pastor Andre shows us the actions of a true worshipper of Christ through the witness of the woman at the well!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor Andre preaches through the story of the woman at the well and reveals to us how to be a true worshipper of God!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Listen as Pastor David preaches through the book of Esther, exploring the significance of God's providence in Esthers story and our own!
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
In this episode we will wrap up our first season of this Calvary Baptist Podcast. We have made through almost 50 episodes together and we thank you so much for listening! Today we will share a little church life news and talk about some of our favorite things from the last year of doing this podcast. We'll talk about some summer plans and ministry updates as well. Thank you again for listening - we'll be back soon.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
We have a special guest for today's podcast. Melanie Hall joins us for a very open and honest conversation about her struggle with alcohol addiction and the freedom from it that she is finding through Celebrate Recovery. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12 step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind. Melanie recently celebrated one year of freedom from her dependence on alcohol. We celebrate with her and rejoice over the work that God continues to do in her through Jesus Christ.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
With the rise of Christian media in the past few decades the church has also seen many of it's prominent speakers and leaders rise to the level of something that looks like Christian celebrity. These people are still sinners in need of God's grace but often their sins and failures become very public. Today we discuss a few of these recent situations, what healthy accountability within church leadership looks like, what what we should do when these situations seem so shocking to us (spoiler alert: we might need to check our own hearts).
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
In today's podcast we spend some time digging in to David's sermon from a few weeks back on Genesis and the Creation account. Much time and study has been spent on the details of creation in an effort to provide validity for God's Word to an unbelieving world. To be sure, these are important things to study and understand. But today we will revisit one of David's main points from his message: that the big idea of the Genesis account is not necessarily about how creation happened but who made in happen through the power of His word.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
As we return to more normal church and building activities, we want to communicate how that return is going. There are many encouraging things happening as well as some difficulties to overcome, so we'll take a few minutes today to discuss all those things. It has been such a joy to be with our body and worship Jesus together and we thank you for your patience and grace as we navigate gathering in the midst of COVID and other building issues!
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
On today's episode, we are diving a little deeper into an idea that we will be spending a lot of time with this next year. The idea that the Bible is a cohesive story - the most important and truest story ever written and told. It is a narrative book that has common threads and themes and one big subject - Jesus Christ. We hope and pray as you journey through the Bible this year, that God's Word would dwell richly in you and grow you in faith and Christ-likeness.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
In today's podcast we will talk about our renewed focus on Life Groups as a method for spiritual growth and discipleship. Our Life Groups at Calvary are modeled after the idea that community and relationship are a vital part of our growth as individuals and as a body of Christ followers. If you are interested in knowing more about Life Groups, please get in touch us! You can email office@calvarythedalles.org for more information.
On today's podcast we will talk about our sermon series for this year. It is titled Year Of Biblical Literacy. This series was created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project. Our hope and prayer as we walk through this series this year is that it will help grow in all of us a deeper hunger for the Word of God. And that we - as a body and as individuals - would be transformed by His Spirit as we read the story of Jesus.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Welcome back to the Calvary Baptist podcast! We took some time off during the holidays to rest and refocus but we are very excited to be back sharing this time with you. We have a lot of exciting things coming up as we turn the calendar on a new year. We'll take some time today to get our podcast legs back under us and share a lot of these communication items so you are aware of church life happenings.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
Our Year of Biblical Literacy preaching series is based on resources created by Reality SF and Bridgetown Church in partnership with The Bible Project.
We enter the Advent Season! The word advent means coming, and we will talk today about how we are actually celebrating and remembering three distinct comings of our Savior. We celebrate that he first came into our world, that he comes into our hearts by faith, and that one day he will come again in all of his glory.
We'll also talk about the Advent Conspiracy - which is our sermon series for this month. The heart behind this is to purposefully move from the consumer-driven culture around us and give more of ourselves and intentionally love those around us with the love of Jesus. A couple ways to do that are our Stockings of Love program and our partnership with Angel Tree. Please check our Calvary The Dalles Facebook page for more information.
Let us give thanks! This is a wonderful time of year - when we collectively take a pause to remember and give thanks for all the ways that we have been blessed. And while Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, the Bible is filled with encouragements for all believers to remember the goodness and blessings of God in our lives.
Today we'll talk about some fun Thanksgiving stories and memories - and we will explore some ways to remember - with hearts full of gratitude - all that God has done and continues to do in and through us.
For many of us, thinking back on this year brings thoughts of sorrow and loss; and joy can seem to be a fleeting thing. Even if we have been graciously spared from pain in our own lives, we may still be brokenhearted over the division and hurt that seem fill the space in which we live. Current events only seem to highlight the broken nature of our world.
While the circumstances may change, sorrow and loss are common to the human condition. We all go through it. Or we have. Or we will. But it serves a strong purpose in our lives - it shines a light on our need for a savior to redeem and rescue us from our brokenness.
Today we get to talk about some experiences that have brought sorrow into our lives and the ways in which God has redeemed and restored those hurts. Life can be hard - but God is so good.
The election is over and many of us are left with a big question - now what? The aftermath of such a passionate, divisive election season may have left some of us with relationships that are in need of care. Or perhaps we look back now and see that we were too wrapped up in and distracted by party politics. Maybe we are now fearful of what America is facing regardless of the election outcome.
We wrestle with all these thoughts today and offer these ideas: love those God calls you to love, pray for our leaders, and keep your eyes firmly fixed on the Lord!
In Ephesians 4, Paul calls all believers to strive for unity and maturity in the body of Christ. This can be difficult under normal circumstances as we all seek to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which (we) have been called". Lately this has proven even more difficult as we all wrestle with our own feelings regarding the COVID pandemic and how it has affected our lives and the life of the church.
Today we will wrestle with some different responses to the way that Calvary and other churches are choosing to operate during this season. Unfortunately some of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ have become disheartened with the Church during this time and we feel a strong response and reminder of what the Church truly is appropriate. And sometimes circumstances arise that do call for leaving a particular part of the body, so we'll touch on ways to walk through that process that still maintain unity and bring glory to God.
In today's podcast we get political! The 2020 election is a week away and we want to take some time to discuss the current climate of politics in the country and how it has invaded so much of our lives. Unfortunately this "team politics" has even invaded the body of Christ - His Church.
We'll wade in to these waters a bit today with David and Bobby and call ourselves and the Church to something higher. Jesus tells in Matthew chapter 22 that we are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Let us remember that above all else as we participate in the voting process this November.
The results from the 2020 Ligonier Ministries State of Theology survey are available and the results are very surprising. Their conclusion states "The 2020 State of Theology survey reveals widespread confusion in the United States about the Bible’s teaching."
It goes on to say "These results reveal an urgent need for clear biblical teaching on the person of Christ, the gospel of grace, and the way that the truth of God informs our ethical decisions in everyday life."
We'll spend the episode today talking about some of the most concerning results in our opinion and what we believe to be some of the 1underlying causes beneath them.
You can read more about the Ligonier survey here:
https://thestateoftheology.com/
Or take the survey here:
https://thestateoftheology.com/groups/7hHsc58dc
We have spoken to this truth before: that we as God's creations are wired for discipleship. And it bears repeating that we are always being discipled by the culture around us. The music and movies, friendships and community that we partake in are conforming us into the image of themselves. How important then that we as followers of Christ strive to be conformed into His image alone!
We recently had a meeting at church to introduce what we believe is an exciting and healthy model of intentional discipleship. We will speak more today about the structure of that model and it's benefits. We will also share some of our experiences in discipleship and our growth as a result of this.
If you are interested in hearing more about our plan for discipleship in the coming year, please join us at Calvary on November 11th at 6pm. You can also find more information on our website.
On today's episode, Pastor David will lay some groundwork for us as we get into our latest preaching series at Calvary. Titled "Foundations" - this series is meant to combat the current climate of uncertainty that surrounds us and to call us back to what the Church is - built on Jesus, by Jesus, and for Jesus. We will spend the first four weeks learning what the Church 'is' and move into what the Church 'does'. We pray that this sermon series will encourage and strengthen your faith as you study along with us.
2020 has been and continues to be a uniquely different year in our collective memory. As much as we all may tire from experiencing and talking about the craziness that has come to define this year, it is pressing and relevant to keep encouraging one another in looking to and clinging to our hope that is in Christ!
We'll sit with Brandon, Bobby, and David today to discuss how maybe we shouldn't be so cavalier in calling 2020 "the worst". There will be some who will look back on this year as the year when God did something new and powerful in their life.
And we'll get a timely reminder that through all the ups and downs of life - we walk by faith in Christ! As we begin the season that will take us to the close of 2020 let us remember to trust in the LORD with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding.
We are entering a new season together - both literally and figuratively. Fall is upon us - bringing changes to life and schedules in our homes and our church body as well. We wanted to take a little time to share some upcoming happenings that we are excited about! We'll hear from David, Brandon, and Bobby today about plans for a couple new sermon series, a marriage course being led by the Casady's, and an exciting new focus on discipleship for the next year. More information can be found on the church website.
Brandon is back and in a sleep deprivation stupor so we thought we would ask him to try and string a few sentences together. He and Tasja and Titus recently welcomed Kolton into their family and we rejoice with them for this new life God has created! Today we'll let Brandon talk about this new experience so far and how God is growing him through it. We'll also spend time sharing some parenting experiences and kick around how we're currently approaching the discipleship of the children God has entrusted to us.
We are going to spend the next three weeks at Calvary studying the Biblical principle of giving. Titled "First Fruits", this series will shine a light on our giving as an act of worship in response to God's generosity and faithfulness in our lives.
The world and its culture are constantly encouraging us to be dissatisfied with who we are or what we have. And that by buying and spending we will be better or feel better. God calls us to reject this materialism, trust Him for all of our needs, and to find our identity in His son Jesus. Today we sit with Brandon, Bobby, and David to lay some framework for our hearts as we walk through this series.
We have spent over a year studying the Gospel of John and a lot of life has happened at Calvary. We brought David on as Lead Pastor, then COVID arrived, we suspended our regular gathering, and studied peace - all before returning to finish John.
As we close out this preaching series, we thought it would be good to take a moment to pause and reflect at what John is showing us in his writings. Today, Pastor David walks us through a brief overview of John's gospel and it's unique perspective. And we take another look at John's point in writing it - that we would have life in Jesus' name!
Our mission statement at Calvary is "Be Disciples Making Disciples". But what does that really mean? How do we live Jesus' instructions for those who would follow him as laid out for us in Matthew chapter 28? As Pastor David shows us today, discipleship does not and can not only happen during our Sunday gathering or personal quiet times. True discipleship comes as we embrace a whole-life approach. We must spend our lives walking with and learning from our Rabbi - Jesus. And we must bring others along, walking through life and following Jesus together.
A quick look at the world around us can give us much to be sorrowful over. Pain, illness, death, division, injustice - the list can go on and on. And on a more personal level, many of us have walked through deep and painful trials in our own lives. While the answers to all these hurts may not come quickly, we are given given a beautiful, Biblical model of how we can work through the pain with our Heavenly Father - Lament.
What is lament? How do we step into it and how do we work through it keeping reverence for God and His holiness? Pastor David takes us to some Psalms today that give us examples that show us how God actually invites us to lament and work out our faith before Him.
Here are some videos to further explore the ideas of lament and the book of Lamentations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKKtwXyQr3o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8GDFPdaQZQ
In this episode we sit with Pastor David to clear up and expand on an application he gave us a few weeks back in John chapter 20.
God has blessed us with this life and our physical bodies that we might enjoy and glorify Him in the times and places he has given us (Acts 17.26-27). So how should we, as followers of Jesus, keep our minds set on our future glorification and perfection while still caring for our present, physical bodies so that we can engage in the kingdom work Jesus calls us to? Especially in this time of heightened awareness around health and disease, what is our posture toward our own well being while not being overly attached to this world and this life? We'll get into all these thoughts today.
What do we look to and cling to during the storms and trials of this life? If we don't guard against it, the uncertainty in the world can lead us to a place of doubt in our spiritual journey - and to be sure, there is much that is uncertain in the world around us. How do we keep our eyes fixed on Him "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change"? - James 1.171
We are given Biblical instructions to HOLD FAST to God's faithfulness and to the work that He began and continues to do through the death and resurrection of Jesus. David and Bobby help us explore that idea and give us practical ideas for holding fast when life seems uncertain.
We all understand that our words have meaning - both for us and anyone who hears them. For us, words can reveal the contents of our hearts as Jesus tell us in Luke chapter 6. For others, our words have the power to give life or take it as we read in James 3.
Today we sit with Riley and Brandon to discuss words and how we say them. We touch on social media and how Christians can engage there in affirming ways. We also discuss how to grow in healthy speech and how we can submit even our tongues, a small but powerful part of our bodies, to the authority of Jesus.
Even though Covid seems to have put a hold on much of our life and church in particular, we want to shed light on the fact that the body of Christ is still at work helping to bring God's message of redemption and life to those around us!
Today we get to hear from Tiiu Vahtel and Chris Zukin about the incredible Community Meals program. Community Meals is a truly homegrown effort to provide for the physical needs of people in The Dalles. Many different organizations and people are involved for a variety of reasons, but this is an amazing way for the body of Christ to take the love of Jesus to a community in need.
You can find more information on how to be involved at www.communitymeal.com or reach out to Tiiu at estonian@gorge.net
Let's be honest: no one really enjoys waiting. It can be a very hard thing to wait - uncomfortable, even painful at times. And yet it can be an important, growing thing in our journey with Christ. The Christian walk is living by faith as we wait for the rest of the story that God has already written.
Times like these in our world can cause discouragement as we wait to see God's plan and His Glory revealed through the trials. David and Brandon join us today as we discuss waiting on the Lord when he seems far or when we can't see where or how He is at work.
We are joined today by the Dynamic Duo of Shirley and Carol. In the Saints Series we want to highlight the multigenerational aspect of Calvary. We have a rich depth of wisdom and experience to draw from if we take the time to hear from those in our body that have faithfully followed Jesus before us.
As Shirley and Carol share their lives with us, we get to hear how God has worked through difficult life circumstances to grow their faith and the faith of those around them - and ultimately to bring glory to Himself and His son Jesus. They will share some words of encouragement to those younger than themselves and offer all of us some perspective and hope as we look at the world around us.
Freedom! We're sitting today with David, Brandon, and Bobby to talk about the freedoms we have living in America but ultimately we want to celebrate the freedom we have been given through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is victorious over sin, we have been freed from it's power over us. But now we serve a risen and reigning High King - this idea seems to run contrary to our ideal of American Independence. So we'll dig into that idea a bit more.
We'll also talk about some fireworks stories and memories from childhood. (Safety Disclaimer: please do not engage in any of these activities! By the grace of God we have all of our fingers and toes)
In this episode we sit down with Riley to discuss all the fine details about our reGathering plan. We have prayerfully considered how to both abide by state guidelines for gathering and balance the need to gather with the need to be responsible and loving as we begin meeting together again. Above all, as you will hear, we ask for your grace in this process.
In this episode we sit with David and Bobby to discuss the idea of community. That word can have many different meanings to us, so we want to look at what it means biblically and how we can lean into healthy community as the body of Christ. How do we work through conflict in community towards the goal of growing together for the purpose of proclaiming Christ to the culture around us?
Our current Covid-related way of being in community and doing the work of ministry has changed significantly. So how can we make the most of this time to engage those around us in community? What are some new ways we can carry the Gospel into those communities and relationships we have built?
In this episode we sit with Pastor David to discuss some tangible plans to reopen Calvary for regular church services and other ministry uses. We have clearer state guidelines now that have helped us make what we believe is solid plan for moving forward. Please understand that as a staff we have done our best to look at this from different angles and have tried to develop a plan that, while not perfect, is well-intentioned and well-informed.
There will be more detailed information concerning our ReGathering Plan coming to you soon
Jesus told us that the two most important things are to love God and love our neighbor, but there is no shortage of issues in our nation and world right now that can easily get us off track and losing direction. David spends some time talking to us about what the posture of our hearts should be as we engage with an ever more polarized world.
Join us as we sit down with Bobby and Brandon to discuss what God has been showing them about who He is and who they are as HIs beloved children.
We all have a lot to learn about God and His nature and character during this different time. With so many sources offering "answers" and so many "experts" telling us what this all means, we hope and pray that we all are seeking the Father's heart for wisdom, guidance, and growth. Brandon and Bobby have been in that process and have some great insight and real talk to share with us.
In this episode we sit down with Pastor David to discuss some recent changes at Calvary related to staffing needs and our Elder team. We feel it is very important to hear about these changes straight from church leadership in order to understand the process and the heart behind them.
As some gathering restrictions start to ease in our area, we talk about what it may look like to return to gathering together and Calvary's plan for that.
With so much Covid-related emotion and information swirling around us all the time, we thought it very pressing to spend some time discussing what the response of the church should be and how we can lead with a message of hope instead of adding fuel to the fires of fear and disunity.
At Calvary we are incredibly blessed to be a multi-generational church family. So we wanted to start a series on this podcast called the Saints Series. We want to make the most of every opportunity that we have to hear from those in our church who are of the older generation (not in spirit or heart!) and give them an opportunity to share with us their experiences and wisdom gained from a life-long pursuit of loving God and following Jesus. We pray that you are blessed and encouraged by these conversations.
In this first Saints Series we share our own thoughts on aging so far, the type of person we want to be as we age, and who we might end up becoming without God's continuing works of grace in our lives.
We would like to introduce you to a new series that we are simply calling - the Worship Series. Worship is a vital part of our spiritual growth, both personally and as a church. We thought it would be fun to talk with those in our body who serve in a worship capacity about their heart for worship at Calvary and we will kick off this new series by hearing from our Worship Pastor, Bobby Mason. We pray that these conversations are an encouragement to you. And that God would be drawing your heart into deeper love and affection for Him that pours out in worship!
We're joined in this episode by Brandon Wolters - our Youth Pastor! As we look at the possibility of a gradual return to some pre-Covid normalcy, we discuss some of the thoughts and feelings we have about the way we have been "doing" church. The blessings of technology have brought more safety and comfort to the idea of a church gathering. But is the convenience it offers us a good thing? We discuss why gathering together, physically, as the body of Christ is so important. And why we should look forward to, and long for, the day when we can fully do that!
We came across an article on The Gospel Coalition website that we thought was worth talking over. In it, the author makes the case that the disruptions to life that some of us are viewing as strange and "abnormal" my just be a return to the rhythms and patterns of life that we often talk of wanting to return. Maybe this is "normal" again. We kick around this idea and tie it to our other discussions from the last couple weeks. But mostly Bobby wants to leave and go fishing.
Here is the link to the article. Please consider reading it prior to listening to the podcast. It is very much worth your time and thought.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/normal-again-covid-19/
In this episode we discuss how we continue to deal with life changes and the loss of the way things "used to be". We talk about positive, productive things we are doing that we have been enjoying. The realization that the effects of this health crisis may be with us for a long time can, understandably, bring many of us serious discouragement. So we talk about some ways to combat this, both practically and with God's Word!
We're still all housebound, so what are we doing to spend our time? Looking for some silver linings, we discuss what we're doing to enjoy this time, what goals we have for growth, and what resources we are leaning into to foster that growth. As Pastor David is fond of saying "Insulate, don't Isolate" and the trending #dontwasteyourquarantine
Resources mentioned in this episode:
http://biblememory.com - Bible Memory App
http://rightnowmedia.com - contact the church office for login info
http://tiny-theologians.com
http://bibleproject.com
http://readscripture.org
We hear about David's upbringing and his journey with Christ. He talks about the challenges and lessons learned in planting and growing a church and how that time prepared him as he brings his family to Calvary. Riley and Bobby look at how God has been preparing Calvary for this new season as well.
PARENTAL CAUTION: In talking about how God redeemed the events around David's birth, he uses the words 'rape' and 'abortion'. They occur around 4:15 - 4:35. It's an amazing story but we wanted to you be aware.
In this first episode, we introduce a new team member and a new direction. We discuss our responses to the current worldwide health crisis and get some ideas from David on what this means for his transition to our church. Since our church and so many others around the country and the world have suspended normal operations, David shares his thoughts on what this means for the future of Calvary and maybe the Western church at large.