GBC Podcast: Recent Episodes
Courtney Wise
Welcome to the Greenwood Baptist Church Podcast where Courtney and Shane talk each week about everything from the sermon on Sunday to what‘s happening in the news. Join us for the fun!
There WILL be people left behind when Jesus returns. It will break his heart. What can we do as the church to make sure we get everyone face to face with Jesus? Galatians 1:11
Col3 1-12 TRUTHFILLED by Ruth Chou Simons ONE IN A MILLION Priscilla Shirer STUDIES IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT Oswald Chambers
Failing to meet potential, stick in wilderness, sound familiar? 30 minutes of free chicken, press listen!
Phil 2:14 “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”
Ephesians 6:7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.”
What’s your purpose? TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Mat5:14-16 so then, what does sanctification and edification have to do with it? Shane explains.
Hypocrisy in the church. If we can take the principal out of it and just practice on getting people to Jesus and He will shake out the rest.
Anyone know Shane is a cook? Me either. Hard family issues: Read John 14 and 15. This is what it looks like to follow Jesus.
Shane abs Hannah had their baby! What to do about social media? And, how your works define you. John 8 Hebrews 2 Genesis 4 Genesis 25
Just how closely is the truth from the schemes of the devil? Listen to this podcast to find out
If you don’t confess your sin, are there consequences? How do you teach your children (or anyone) to confess their sins? What’s the difference in confession, atonement and repentance?
There’s a lot of feelings going around these days and there are just times to feel angry, to feel sad, to feel happy and to feel all the things. In this episode Courtney and Shane dive into our myriad of feelings, specifically what’s bubbling up during the pandemic and everything happening over this past year.
Looking deeper into the feeling of anger and when we feel it and what triggers it, Shane and Courtney talk about anger in our relationships and even within marriage and what causes a spouse to feel angry. It often has to do with the expectations of the other person. Talking through these expectations and these feelings can not only bring us closer to the other person, but it ultimately brings us closer to God as he believes in restoration and relationships.
Today Shane and Courtney talk about 2 Corinthians 12 and boasting. In the middle of verse 5, Paul says I will not boast about myself except about my weaknesses. Paul knows who he is in Christ and is confident in himself, yet chooses to write about his weaknesses and what God has to say to him. Instead of bragging about what God has done through him, he brags about what God has done in spite of him.
Shane and Courtney talk about the idea of pride and how it affects our lives as well as how pain can be used for something positive even if we don’t see it in the moment. In a year in which so many people have experienced deep pain and may not see a purpose, Paul reminds us that God uses our weaknesses and even our pain for a greater good.
Courtney asks Shane the question that so many of us have asked over the last year, “Have you ever felt like you’re in the middle of the desert and experiencing a drought?” She ponders if she needs to pray more or if seasons of drought are because God wants you to experience hardships. These are big questions that we may all ask but not know where to turn to find the answers.
In this episode, Shane dives deeper into Courtney’s questions and guides us through scripture and how God works in our lives in different ways. Listen to today’s episode and be encouraged to learn about purpose and God’s plan in our lives while being careful to not harden our hearts through the process.
Shane and Courtney dive into scripture today talking about some tough topics, such as judging others and our motivators for giving. It’s important to remember what Jesus had to say about all of this when he gave the Sermon on the Mount. He talks about giving, forgiving and judging. What you give, you will receive.
Many people say “If you do something, you will be blessed.” But we wonder if that thought should be driving our giving, are we only giving so that we receive? Shane answers that question and more in this episode as we look at our motivation and emphasis on why we do what we do.
In a political climate such as the one we’ve all been living in over the last year and specifically a few months, it’s important to look at the scripture to see what sort of insight we can find there. As Shane points out, we’ve been in the “last days” since the resurrection and we can see signs of the “last days”, such as people being lovers of themselves, money, boastful, and the list goes on. Rather than focusing on looking for a candidate to “be Jesus” and save us during this time, let’s focus on ourselves and ask ourselves “Are we loving our neighbors?”
Let’s remember that no matter who is in charge politically, we can see in the Bible that God appoints leaders. List off all the presidents the US has had and God has appointed all of them as he allowed them to get elected. We may not always see the purpose in who gets elected, but God is still sovereign and still understands. And no matter who leads any country, we can still make sure that we are helping our neighbors, loving those around us and living as Jesus did and would and live a full, abundant life in Him.
This is a question we all ask ourselves, “How do we know?” which decision is the right one when we have several options in front of us, whether we’re looking at a career, relationship, decision, or anything that requires us to choose. There are times we may be asking ourselves the wrong question and we lose focus of what we want and what we need. If we look at Matthew 6, Jesus reminds us to seek first His kingdom.
Another passage that gets quoted often is that “God will give us the desires of our heart.” And yes, God does often give us the desires of our heart but it’s not necessarily that He gives us everything we want. The more that we are in relationship with Him, the more aligned our desires are to His will in our lives. If we flip the question we ask ourselves, we will feel more at peace. Listen to today’s episode and be encouraged to remind yourself that you’re a child of God.
In this episode Shane and Courtney focus on words. Not that words don’t matter, but rather that words are not matter. As in they are not physical matter. Yet words are important and we’ve all been given the gift of putting words together to influence others, even vent from time to time on Social Media or encourage or hurt others depending on how we string them together.
It’s so important for believers to remember that the more time we spend in God’s word, the more we will live out His word and speak His word in our lives. If we can start out our days with God, we will be more equipped throughout the day to speak like Him. In such a year as the one we’ve been experiencing with a pandemic and a tense election in the US, it’s easy to get heated or opinionated and use our words strongly towards other people. Shane reminds us wrapping up this episode that in James, we read clearly about wisdom and being peace-loving, gentle and yielding to others. Focusing on that will change our narrative as we use our words with others.
Humility is a posture, it’s described physically as literally laying down on the ground or lowering your head. But humility is also a posture we can live out in our daily lives as we think of others as more important than ourselves. If you look in the New Testament, Jesus says that the greatest commandment is loving others.
And when we think about humility, we often think about self-sacrifice instead of self-serving. It’s really about being open and willing for God to use you as you grow and love others.
What is servant leadership and how can a leader be a servant? In this episode Shane and Courtney dig deep into this idea of servanthood and how it pertains to leadership.
It sounds like a trendy concept to be a servant leader and may be more mainstream these days thanks to social media or other platforms, however servant leadership is something that is deeply rooted in the Bible and throughout the stories we read. Shane and Courtney also touch on the idea of seasons in our lives and how things don’t necessarily happen overnight. Take a listen and be encouraged learning about the biblical roots of being a servant in modern times.
There’s times in life when you simply feel an urge or a push to do something or talk about something. Shane shares more about this in today’s episode as he looks at Jeremiah 9, a part of scripture that he felt was really speaking to him. Yet, as a preacher it’s often easier to focus on “pure encouragement” while preaching. There’s times when you feel an urge to talk about something or write something or share something, yet it’s not always comfortable.
As Shane reminds us at the end of the day, we can’t know exactly where we are going. We don’t determine our path, but we can keep taking steps day by day in getting to know God. And that’s what both Jeremiah and Philippines talk about, the relationship and knowing God is more important than knowing exactly where you’re going.
In these tough days we are all living, some days we may be tempted to say “Jesus, you’ve said you’ll only give me what I can handle.” And what we’ve seen in scripture shows us that there are times that Jesus does allow us to go through hard times and difficult moments in which we need to turn towards Him. Look at the story of the disciples in the stormy sea needing Jesus to rescue them as He walked on water towards their boat.
Saying “Jesus, take the wheel” is appropriate and necessary for these stormy days we are experiencing and also how social media has affected our relationships with others we love as we see so many opinions on Facebook and elsewhere. Remember that when God gives us more than we can handle, it often reveals something about Him or about us. Keep that in mind as you navigate these days.
In Episode 12, Shane and Courtney talk about Shane’s sermon when he said “Don't allow fear to derail what God wants to do in your life, every great purpose of God will be met with the power of hell.” They unwrap this idea and talk about personal experiences and what we can learn from the Bible when it comes to following God’s purpose in our lives and the fear that often accompanies the journey.
There are so many areas of our lives in which fear may keep us from doing something and how God can still work out His purpose in spite of us and the mistakes we may make from day to day.
Sometimes we need to remember that God loves us in spite of ourselves. We may tend to be more like Martha and craving recognition and acceptance, and God still loves us. Being able to relate to Martha or Mary is what makes the Scripture comes alive.
It’s a living text that we can still experience and find relevance in 2000 years later. It’s a gift when we take the time to read scripture and apply it to our lives.
We may struggle with the story of Mary and Martha, because we want to be like Mary but feel like we relate more to Martha. And always trying to fit into someone else’s shoes is hard, even impossible and not how we’re called to live. Don’t force yourself into the character of someone else, yet we can strive to be more gentle with ourselves and allow us to just be who we are.
Today’s episode closes with a question, “What is it that makes you insecure?” Ask yourself and join us on this journey as we unwrap these questions and more with the GBC podcast.
In times of stress and anxiety, we tend to want an easy fix or to do something fast to make things better. We live in a world that has immediate responses, yet when we see people doing well or in successful positions, we often don’t realize how much work it took them to get where they are.
Everything we do comes down to our intentions and our heart behind the actions. Jesus knew what Mary’s heart was feeling and what Martha was looking for when it comes to recognition. So often we do the same thing in our own lives. We are looking for recognition and affirmation with our actions, rather than being content just being and soaking in Jesus’ word.
There’s also an aspect of sibling rivalry in the story of Mary and Martha as we see ourselves in Martha getting annoyed with her sister. How often do we do that in our own lives when we compare our own efforts to the efforts or lack of the people around us?
Listen to this episode and be encouraged knowing it’s normal to feel that way and we can all work on being content with just being in the moment and using our time to spend more intentional time with Jesus.
In Episode 8, Courtney and Shane, talk about the story of Mary and Martha. Many of us have heard this story over the years when it comes to how we act when it comes to stress or anxiety. Do we choose to be like Mary who sits at Jesus’ feet while he is visiting or do we try to get everything just right for Jesus’ visit like Martha was doing?
Many times that we’ve heard this story over the years, we may have thought it was just Jesus, Mary and Martha. But as Sean points out, Jesus wasn’t traveling alone, he very well had an entourage of 100 people with him. It’s no wonder that Martha was stressed trying to get their house and meal ready for all the people.
Mary, sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. Martha, was concerned about all the things that had to be done in that moment. There’s a moment in the story when Jesus asks Martha about her anxiety and not what’s she doing on the outside, but truly what her intentions are behind her actions.
We too can choose to serve with love and grace or we can show up and serve out of anxiety and worry. This comes to light especially with Covid-19 as we are all feeling anxiety, overwhelm and even fear about what’s to come. Yet, it’s a time we can all quiet down, like Mary, and soak in God’s presence during these times of uncertainty.
And as Sean and Courtney remind us, check your heart. Why is it that you are doing what you’re doing? Is your anxiety and worry driving you? Or are you allowing yourself to rest and feel peace in the midst of chaos? Use your time to be with God and not always trying to “do something” to please God.
Being generous with your time is something you can still do even in the midst of a pandemic as you look for ways to help your neighbors.
Whether your neighbor is an elderly community member, a single mother or just someone that needs help. You can be a blessing to other people.
And even if we don't all agree on everything these days on Social Media, we can still use our social media networks to positively influence others and use the little influence we have to remind others to be generous and show love.
We can also ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" to help others and be generous in such a time as this, thinking about what we can do to personally make a situation better for someone else.
During this time of uncertainty and feeling unsure about everything, many people may be hesitant about what generosity can look like in such a time as this. Courtney and Shane talk about using what we have to make this season better for other people, whether it's using our influence, noticing someone in need and offering to help shovel their driveway or mow their lawn. It all comes down to caring for the other person as Jesus taught us to do in so many different stories in the New Testament.
Listen to this episode and be encouraged to use what you have to help others this holiday season as we can all be generous with our time, resources and talent.
There’s a lot of feelings going around these days and there are just times to feel angry, to feel sad, to feel happy and to feel all the things. In this episode Courtney and Shane dive into our myriad of feelings, specifically what’s bubbling up during the pandemic and everything happening over this past year.
Looking deeper into the feeling of anger and when we feel it and what triggers it, Shane and Courtney talk about anger in our relationships and even within marriage and what causes a spouse to feel angry. It often has to do with the expectations of the other person. Talking through these expectations and these feelings can not only bring us closer to the other person, but it ultimately brings us closer to God as he believes in restoration and relationships.