Pastor Gary's Audio Notebooks: Recent Episodes
Gary A Chorpenning
Human beings are not made to live for themselves. We are not designed to be the center of our own attention. We are designed to center our attention on God and others. We are designed to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving God and others is not ultimately about what we feel but rather how we live. But, alas, we are not the people we were designed to be. We have been broken, and so loving God and others does not come naturally to us. God saves us by pure grace. But he saves us for this life of love, and he gives us the disciplines of faithfulness to help us grow into the loving people we are meant to be. In this sermon, we’ll get an overview of these disciplines of God’s transformation in our lives.
Read Mark 8:27-34
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Death is a truly universal aspect of the human experience. Regardless of who we are, we all have to reckon with the reality of death. The Bible gives us resources for understanding and dealing with this fact of human existence. Coming to terms with death unavoidably involves coming to terms with grief. Not only will we face grief at the prospect of our own death, but also we all must face grief because of the deaths of those whom we love. How are the followers of Jesus to grieve? That’s the topic of this episode. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church in suburban Pittsburgh, PA on March 26, 2017.
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Death is a truly universal aspect of the human experience. Regardless of who we are, we all have to reckon with the reality of death. The Bible gives us resources for understanding and dealing with this fact of human existence. Acknowledging and accepting the fact of death can open an avenue for us to grow in wisdom and in making the most of the days we have in this life. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church in suburban Pittsburgh, PA on March 19, 2017.
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Death is a truly universal aspect of the human experience. Regardless of who we are, we all have to reckon with the reality of death. The Bible gives us resources for understanding and dealing with this fact of human existence. In this episode, we look at what God reveals about his remedy for the ways in which death impacts our lives. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church in suburban Pittsburgh, PA on March 12, 2017.
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Death is a truly universal aspect of the human experience. Regardless of who we are, we all have to reckon with the reality of death. The Bible gives us resources for understanding and dealing with this fact of human existence. In this episode, we will explore the several ways in which the Bible defines death. And we’ll think together a bit about how these various meanings of death impact our lives. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church in suburban Pittsburgh, PA on March 5, 2017.
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Everything we do, Paul tells us, we should do "in the name of the Lord Jesus." In this video, I explore the meaning of doing something in the name of someone else. It is a call to be that person's representative. What does it mean to be Jesus' representatives in the world? It means love--a genuine concern for the well-being of the other. When we love others, we embody the Lord Jesus in our troubled world. Produced October 16, 2020.
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/xZ6pumIGIOw
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Paul here urges us to sing to God with our whole being as one people together. Singing is a gift from God that is intended to help us focus our whole selves on God alone. This gift of singing our worship to God is a thing that we are to do together. In this video, I reflect on the right and wrong ways to do that and encourage us all to allow singing to draw us deeper together into love for God. Produced September 25, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/fP2l4jhjEcc
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In Colossians 3:16, Paul urges us to teach and counsel one another in all wisdom. This teaching and counseling one another in the word of Christ is a wonderful privilege and joy, not just for pastors but for all disciples of Jesus. But Satan likes to bend and distort the good things of God. In this video, I explore some of the ways in which the devil does that in our "teaching and counseling," and I explain the corrective role of wisdom which Paul urges us to attach to all our teaching and counseling. Produced September 23, 2020
In today's verse (Colossians 3:16), Paul urges us to allow the "word of Christ" to inhabit our lives abundantly. In today's video, I explore what the "word" of Christ is and what it means for that "word" to take up residence in our lives. I do that in part by telling you what a slob I am when it comes to clutter. Check it out. Produced September 18, 2020.
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/AEOdozZzri8
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Colossians 3:15
Thankfulness is fundamental to a rightly ordered relationship with God. True thankfulness requires two specific recognitions: 1) the recognition of a specific gift and 2) the recognition of a specific giver of that gift. Recognition of our dependence on God and recognition of God's good gifts produces thankfulness in us. In this video, I identify some concrete ways we can nurture an attitude of thankfulness which will enable us to grow in our trust in God and in our hope for the future. Produced September 16, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/RjObFGrcQnQ
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The Peace of Christ--the Umpire of our Hearts (Col. 3:15)
God is setting the world right in Christ. The state of being set right is the peace of Christ. Our hearts and our relationships ought to be ruled--umpired--by Christ's peace. That should shape all the motions and actions of our hearts. In this world of fear, anger, and self-centeredness, Christ's peace will make us a distinctly different sort of people...if we will allow it. Produced September 11, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/IghOhBzY3Vs.
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Rightly ordered and oriented love is the heart and soul of the Christian life. Here in Colossians 3, Paul tells us that to become a disciple of Jesus is to die and be raised up to new life in him. That is a transforming event in our lives, and it will result in a whole new pattern of living. In Colossians 3:14, Paul tells us that it is love that will be what molds and motivates that new life. That is, of course, exactly what Jesus has said as well (see Matthew 22:34-40). Paul is telling us that love looks like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness (Colossians 3:12-13). Produced September 8, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/ratS4R1rdWY
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One of the most important ways the Christian character will show itself in our lives is through our willingness to forgive the people who hurt us. Paul sees forgiveness as a natural outgrowth of the kind of Christian character that he describes to us in Colossians 3:12. The foundation of our willingness to forgive should be the fact that we have experienced Christ's forgiveness of us. When we forgive, it results in healing: our own healing, the healing of our relationships, and the healing that comes as the gospel of forgiveness is spread throughout the world. Produced September 4, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/oRH8PTnQrZ4
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Here in Colossians 3:12, God calls on us to clothe ourselves in the character trait of patience. He uses a Greek word here that explains exactly what that means, and I explore that word a bit with you here. Over and over God tells us that he is slow to anger (for example Exodus 34:6). Paul tells us that we are to be like God in that. In this angry, hostile, quick-tempered world, we are called by God to show people what his patience and mercy look like. Let's ask him to make us his special patient people. Produced September 1, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/uUgraY04nM0
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Paul calls us to become famous (to "clothe ourselves") with a set of character traits that he lists here in Colossians 3:12. Today I take us on a deep dive into the Greek word that is translated often as "meekness." The Greek word "prautes" is often translated as "meekness," but is that really what it means? Jesus says that he is the embodiment of "prautes." In this video, I offer a definition of what that means and a challenge to live it out in your life, a life of non-domineering gentleness. Produced August 27, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/a16ekr2GXfc
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In this video, I step back and take a big picture look at what it means to become a disciple of Jesus. Paul says that means that we've been dead, and Christ has made us alive. Being a Christian is much more than just adopting a new set of ideas or a new creed; it's much more than just adopting a particular code of moral conduct. Becoming a Christian means being changed inside and developing a new character, a new approach to life. Then Paul describes what that character looks like. It is defined by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. That more than our ideas and more than our moral code should be what Christians are known for. Only when what we are doing is colored and shaped by those characteristics is it genuinely Christian. Produced on August 25, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, to go: https://youtu.be/knZQwMME31w
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Humility is a wonderful and tremendous challenging calling for those who want to be disciples of Jesus. In this video, I explore the virtue of humility at Paul refers to it in Colossians 3:12 and also in Philippians 2:3-4. In a nutshell, humility does not mean thinking badly of ourselves. Humility means not thinking about ourselves at all but focusing all our attention on others. In that, Paul is calling us to follow the model that Jesus set for us. In that way, humility sets us free. Produced August 6, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/ngwS8qlV7qU
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Christians should be known as kind people. Kindness should be one of the defining traits that Christians are known for. Why? Because we are the children of a kind God. In Colossians 3:12, the apostle Paul says that we are "chosen by God, holy and dearly loved." God has made us his own and is filling us with his holiness and his love. If that's who we are, then we should show the character of God in the way we live our lives. That's where kindness comes in. In this session, I briefly trace this word "kindness" through the Bible and explain why it is so important for us to live lives of kindness. Produced August 4, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/tpFmr-0--nw
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The Christian witness isn't just words; it's a way of living. Here in Colossians 3:12, Paul describes what the Christian life ought to look like in us, not only in the good times but especially in times of stress and challenge when the world squeezes us hard. He lists a set of characteristics. In this session, I explore what Paul means by "compassion" or, as he literally puts it, "a caring heart of compassion." In those hard, stressful times, does anger, resentment, and hostility come out of you? Or does this caring heart of compassion show itself in your life? Produced July 31, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/3UJz_mjrm3o
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The Christian faith is not merely accepting a set of ideas or doctrines. The Christian faith comes about in us because God does something in us, to us, and with us. When God enters our lives, our lives change. The way we approach life and the way we respond to the world changes. We begin to become like Jesus in that. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience become defining characteristics of our lives. And because of that, people are able to see Jesus by looking at us. In Colossians 3:12, Paul challenges us to strive to develop habits of life that reflect the presence of Jesus in us. Produced July 28, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/KyuqwHPNSIA
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Self-esteem is a good thing if it is based on the right foundation. Based on the wrong foundation, it becomes ugly and dangerous. Those who are in Christ are, the apostle Paul tells us, dearly beloved by God. But God loves us apart from any lovableness or worthiness in us. God's love and acceptance of us come before we do anything good. We are valued by God but in a most humbling way. The humbling fact of God's undeserved love and grace can motivate us to live in a way that pleases him, not SO THAT he will love us but BECAUSE he ALREADY loves us. Produced July 23, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/s_VTI3t52-I
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What is Truth? What is Lying? These are important and challenging topics for Christian people living in this fallen and troubled world. In this session, I explore the nature of truthfulness and lying, its effect on our relationships, and its effect on our witness to our splendid and truthful God. Truth is to be our master, not our servant. Our relationships and our witness depend on that. Produced July 16, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/MX9BjZfjI-E
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What do lives that are conformed to this world look like? Paul spells it our here in Colossians 3:8. He describes such a life as being marked by self-serving anger that expresses ugly, demeaning, hurtful speech. I explore here briefly the nature of anger and its role in undermining our faithfulness and our witness to the goodness of Christ. Produced July 1, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/bvG4RWzlwQw
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We are not any of us the people God wants us to be. We aren't even the people we ourselves want to be. Christ's death on the cross brings God's redeeming, healing power and purpose to bear on our lives to do a transforming work in us. In his grace, God invites us to bring the bent and broken aspects of our lives to him that they may be put to death and so that we might become more and more the glorious creatures we are meant to be. Produced June 26, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/XBeFRSNGnAo
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As we live in the trials and struggles and dangers of this life, we have the promise that God has bundled us up in Christ where he shelters us and prepares us for a new life in a new and redeemed world. In these verses, Paul assures us that we will participate in that new life and new world through the grace of God. Produced June 24, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/C6BuTnafSFc
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A new creation is in the works! It is the result of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who was and is poured out on us in Pentecost, is the one who is making that new creation a reality in our world. The Holy Spirit is not given merely to save our souls nor merely to make us feel good nor merely to make us holy nor merely to empower for ministry. The Holy Spirit is given to make a new heaven and a new earth where all will flourish. Produced May 23, 2021
Read: Isaiah 32:12-18 & Ezekiel 47:1-12
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/DSFa4bQDrHQ
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Repentance is not a burden; repentance is a gift. Guilt and shame are the burden. The grace of repentance is relief, restoration, and rest. Here we learn from the sinner David how to find that redemption through repentance.
Read Psalm 51
Produced February 17, 2021
For video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/zwe6Qx_44nc
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We are made for God. But most of the time, we allow voices other than God's voice to be the most powerful influences in our lives. The apostle Paul wants our hearts and minds to be shaped by God and not by the voices from this fallen world. In this reflection, I offer some suggestions about how to take charge of the influences that you allow to shape your view of life and the world. Produced on June 18, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/NIWV9K6pe9Y
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Christ was raised from the dead, and when he was raised from the dead, we were raised with him. That means that the life-transforming power of Christ's resurrection is at work within us. He makes us into new creatures. When he does that he gives us a hunger for more of him. Paul urges us to true that hunger for Christ into an active pursuit of more of Christ. He urges us to seek our identity in Christ, to allow Christ to be king in our lives, so that our lives are not directed by the things of this world but by the heart of Christ. Produced on June 17, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/IFRzxFmhRrE
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God wants to be transforming our lives to bring them more and more into alignment with his heart and will. This transformation isn't just something that takes place in our behavior but is instead something that happens inside us, a transformation of our desires. As we live out the love of God through positive acts of service to others, we demonstrate the heart of God for people to see. As we live lives of love and service, we do what Paul calls us to in Romans 12:21: we overcome evil with good. Produced on June 11, 2020
For a video version of this episode, go to: https://youtu.be/KZG0vq7G5Xg
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Revenge will never bring about good. Revenge will never accomplish good. Revenge is not God's way of dealing with the world that has rejected him. God calls us to join him in a different way. God calls us to overcome evil with good. At the heart of the gospel is the act of blessing an enemy. That is the essence of the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ is that God blesses his enemies. Here in Romans 12, Paul calls on us to follow the example of God in the way we deal with those who hurt us. Paul calls on us to bless our enemies. Produced on June 9, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/rdvqZMFXAxE
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In a fallen world, fallen human beings hurt one another. In Romans 12:19, Paul declares that God cares very much about that. God is incensed by the hurts that human beings give to one another. He acts to set it right. That fact about God's reaction to our hurting one another, especially to the hurts that the powerful do to the vulnerable, bears a message both for those who hurt others and for those who are hurt by others. If you do hurt to someone, be assured that it is God you will have to deal with not your weak victim. If you are hurt by someone, be assured that God will deal with it. Revenge is an act of unbelief. Instead, trust God. He will bring justice. Produced on June 4, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/bJsUfDrFJZU
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This brief Easter sermon is preached from Luke 24:36-49. In it, Pastor Gary explores the meaning of the physical resurrection of Jesus for our eternal life and for our mission in the world.
For a video version of this sermon, go to: https://youtu.be/iC43NTfXWS4
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A Christ-transformed life is a life that is defined by a particular way of relating to others, especially those who differ from us or who are openly hostile toward us. One aspect of the Christ-transformed character is its peaceableness toward everyone. This characteristic is crucially important to the mission of the gospel, because the nature of our gospel calling it to win others to willingly and joyfully embrace Christ. We cannot persuade people to embrace Christ through hostility and quarrelsomeness. We cannot win people to Christ through coercion or aggression. We can only do that through a peaceable approach. Yes, we are called to pursue truth and righteousness, but we called to pursue it peaceably and with love. Produced on May 28, 2020
For a video version of this shortpod, go to: https://youtu.be/FOQNUgXLi5M
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A narrative reflection on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/QjDjmSGZ2vE
For the written script of this podcast, go to: Bible Note #47: Mary Magdalene--A Holy Week Meditation
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A narrative reflection on the crucifixion of Jesus
For a video version of this episode, go to: https://youtu.be/OhPwb0hWSag
For a written script of this episode, go to: Bible Note #46: Simon of Cyrene at the Cross--A Lenten Meditation
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A narrative reflection on the crucifixion of Jesus
For a video version of this episode, go to: https://youtu.be/qBwRBBslAeQ
For the written script of this episode,go to: Bible Note #45: Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimathea at the Cross--a Lenten Meditation
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A narrative reflection on the crucifixion of Jesus
For a video version of this meditation, go to: https://youtu.be/XBzOwZ4DWkI
For the written script, go to: Bible Note #45: The Centurion at the Cross (gachorpenning.com)
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This episode is part of a series of Lenten meditations based on the people and events surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This episode is a narrative reflection on Peter's denial of Christ.
For a video version of this episode, go to: https://youtu.be/xnBUj-KCfyo
For the script of this episode, go to: Bible Note #43: Peter's Denial/Following Jesus--A Lenten Meditation
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We interact with lots and lots of people in our lives. We have to decide how we will treat those folks. All too often how we choose to treat others is based on how they treat us. If people treat us well, we choose to treat them well. If people choose to treat us badly, we treat them badly in return. When we do that, we are conforming our lives to the ways of this world. God calls us to something quite different. He calls us to treat others the way he treats us--with grace, mercy, forbearance, and forgiveness. When we do, we demonstrate to the world what our God is like. Produced on May 26, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/9jpu2zTZTA4
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The Christ-transformed life is a life of loving what Jesus loves. Paul recognizes that loving God and loving our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-39) naturally and necessarily creates relationships and community life. Living with that kind of love draws us together and lines our lives up with people who share the same heart as Jesus, loving the same things as Jesus and, therefore, loving the same things as all the people of Jesus. Love brings us into community together. The world's way is very different, and the world is always trying to get us to comform to its ways. The opposite of love--Christ's ways--is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is a form of pride, arrogance, narcissism. This self-centered life most often expresses itself in the form of competition, declaring "I'm better, more important, more valuable than you." Love calls us to give up that kind of competition in the humility and other-centeredness of love. Produced on May 21, 2020
For a video version of this pod, go to: https://youtu.be/v88cIMAHp1o
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The Christ-transformed life is one marked by selfless love. That selfless love creates a community of shared lives. Sharing our lives with each other means caring about one another and feeling the joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears of the people we love. It means caring about the concerns and experiences of others. This shared life is vitally important as the people of God don't agree with each other and must make decisions together. Maintaining loving community especially in times of difficult and complicated decision-making calls for us not only to be right but to be right in the right way, being right in a way that is bathed in love and mutual respect. Produced on May 19, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/v9LWeTv_NzI
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The Christ-transformed life is a life of love but not just a love of those who love us. Paul calls us to a dramatic departure from the ways of this world. He calls us to love those who intentionally and maliciously hurt us. And the love he calls us to is a love that is expressed in positive action--"Bless those who persecute you." We are called to actively seek the well-being of those who hurt us. But of course, as followers of a crucified Lord who died to bless and save those who crucified him, we have a high example to follow. Let's love the way Jesus loves. Produced on May 15, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/pDcN05V7318
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Paul calls us to a God-Transformed life and tells us that the crucial mark of that transformation in us is love. In the first half of Romans 12:13, he shows us that that love involves a sharing of our lives with fellow Christians who are in need. In the second half of that verse, he pushes the boundaries of love out to include the stranger who is not part of "our people." The word he uses for hospitality is "love of the stranger." That kind of love looks weird to our world. In these angry, divisive times, the world really needs the followers of Jesus to show them what that kind of love looks like. Produced on May 14, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/AWXgS5zpi8A
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The mark of a transformed mind (Romans 12:2) is love. Love, the apostle Paul tells us, should lead us to share our lives with others, to open our lives, especially to those in need (Romans 12:13). The world tells us that need should divide people. But Paul sees need as an invitation to God's people to open their lives and to share their lives with others. That is something that God's people should be showing the world, especially now in this time of great need. Produced on May 13, 2020
For a video version of this short pod, go to: https://youtu.be/uO0v6RxBM2w
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All these weeks of being bottled up can lead to unhealthy and unhelpful responses in us, such as "What's the use?" and "I can't take it anymore!" Neither indolence nor outrage are godly ways to serve the Lord. Paul calls us to make serving the Lord the focus of our identity. No matter what the circumstances of our lives, our identity can and must always be that we are those who are serving the Lord. And Paul tells us that the hallmark of that service to the Lord is seen in our joyful hope, patience in affliction, and persistent prayerfulness. Read Romans 12:11-12
Produced on May 8, 2020
For a video version of this Short Pod, go to: https://youtu.be/jN-JF2_Gq18
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Hard, scary, frustrating times can cause us to think, speak, and act in ways that we should not. Such times can cause us to become all focused on our own concerns. They can cause us to make ourselves the most important thing in the world. Self-interest, self-protection, and competition with others do not lead us to be the kind of people God wants us to be. Here in Romans 12:10, Paul calls us to place our passionate love on others rather than ourselves and to hold others in higher esteem than we do ourselves. In this way we demonstrate the character of Christ, we live into the joy, peace, and love that we are made for. Produced on May 7, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/iTxlr0-rcD0
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Here in Romans 12:9, Paul calls us to love others sincerely. As I've pointed out in earlier sessions, loving others means to work for their well-being. Loving others means doing that which contributes to their well-being. But how do we know what that is? The good is that which contributes to human well-being; evil is that which undermines human well-being. It is God who defines that for us (see Romans 12:2). Knowing and loving what is good will show us how to love others--all others both our friends and our enemies. Now is the time for us to show the world what that kind of love looks like. Produced May 6, 2020
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Paul uses a word related to the English word "hypocrite" to help us understand what genuine love should look like. Genuine love is love that has no pretense about it, love that is sincere, authentic, real. The great poison for this genuine love is self-interest. Self-interest kills genuine love. And when are we most prone to self-interest? When are we most prone to focus on ourselves and our own needs? It is when we are afraid. So, let's beware. These are frightening times. Let's be very careful not to allow these scary times to poison our ability to love. Produced on May 5, 2020
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In this verse (Rom. 12:9), Paul gets to the heart and soul of this great chapter of the New Testament. He calls us here to an unconditional, selfless, unself-interested commitment to the well-being of the other. A love that is utterly non-coercive. This love (agape) is to be the instrument of transformation that God uses in us and through us in the world to bring about his kingdom. The world sees political power and crushing our opponents and angry words as the way to go. Paul, following Jesus, says, "No. It is love that changes the world." Jesus proved that on the cross. The followers of Jesus dare not take any other course. Produced on May 1, 2020
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God has designed us to be in relationship with others and to live and work in interdependence and cooperation with each other. That is especially so for the church. We are to be the body of Christ in the world, living our God's love and redemption, each contributing what we have been given in coordination and cooperation with other followers of Jesus. The world needs that from us now more than ever. Read Romans 12:6-8. Produced on April 30, 2020
For a video version of this Short Pod, go to: https://youtu.be/6pvrZ-nZQ4g
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Social isolation can make "doing Church" a lot easier in some ways. We don't have to deal with all those other church members who can be really irritating sometimes. A church of one--just me--will always be just the way I like it. But according to the apostle Paul, being a Church after Christ's heart calls for more effort. It calls for us to love fellow followers of Jesus who might often annoy us, to live out our faith in fellowship with people who may be very different from us. Let's don't get too comfortable with our social isolation churches of kitchen, coffee, and computer screen. Let's long for and seek out the church of annoying and beautiful differentness. Produced on April 29, 2020
For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/nO9e_Cpp8oY
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This is a sermon preached four days after the riots in the U. S. Capitol. In it, I reflect on the presence of signs, banners, and flags indicating that some of the rioters were violently assaulting the center of American government in the name of Jesus. What role do violence and coercive force have in the advancing of the kingdom of God? What effects will the violence in Washington, some of it done n the name of Jesus, have on the mission of Christ in America in the future? What does Jesus have to say about the use of violence in his name? In this sermon, I will explore those questions using the event described in Luke 9:51-55. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church, McDonald, PA on January 10, 2021.
For a video version of this sermon, go to: https://youtu.be/-AsvNSCqx_s
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I explore Romans 12:3 raising the question of how important we are in our own eyes. Paul calls us to humility in this verse. That humility is necessary if we are going to be able to love others. If we are the most important thing in our lives, then we will be driven by self-interest, and we will be in competition with everyone else. If we are guided by humility, we will be able to engage in true love and self-sacrifice. And when we can do that, we will be modeling Jesus for the world to see. Produced on April 28, 2020 [For a video version of this podcast, go to: https://youtu.be/S9fOqFP04i0]
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This session is the first in a series of installments that will explore what God has to say to us for our times from Romans 12. We are being bombarded by voices all around us trying to stir us up to anger, fear, outrage, resentment. That is the way of this world. God's voice will never be aimed at making us afraid or angry or resentful. God's transforming voice aims to plant in us the Fruit of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and to transform our character. (Read Romans 12:1-2 for today)
Produced on April 24, 2020
A video version of this podcast is available at: https://youtu.be/Towrv2aGOyE
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In this sermon, I explore the nature of biblical hope. These are angry, fearful times, even or maybe especially among American Christians. What do anger and fear reveal about the state of Christian hope among God's people? I take us into a strange event in the life of the prophet Jeremiah and look at it in light of what Paul tells us about hope. Read Jeremiah 32:1-15 and Romans 8:18-26. Preached at Venice Presbyterian Church near Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, December 27, 2020; a video version is available athttps://youtu.be/T8PUnnqUXT8
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Everyone's past is full of meaning. Like gold from mountains, we can mine wisdom from our past as we reflect on it and learn from it. In this episode, we will explore some of the ways in which our past experience can be refined into rich wisdom and maturity for our lives into the future.
Read Deuteronomy 8:1-20
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God is at work in our lives all the time. Often we don't recognize that at the time, but an important part of making peace with our past is looking back and seeing how God was doing all along. Sometimes we can only see God's blessings after some time has passed. Then, the right response is gratitude. Our lives can take on new meaning when we are able to look back and realize what God has been doing all along. Look back over your life, discover God's faithfulness, and spend some time thanking him. In this episode, we'll explore some ways to do that.
Read Luke 17:11-19 and I Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Important relationships in our lives can often become damaged by things we have done and by things others have done. Those broken relationships don't have to remain broken. We can't go back and undo the hurtful things that were done, but through forgiveness and reconciliation, we can change the meaning and the power of those past wounding events. In this episode we explore a famously ruptured relationship between brothers and their strange and surprising reconciliation. How might reconciliation work in your life?
Read Genesis 33:1-16 and John 13:34-35
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Many of the wounds that we carry with us from our past are wounds caused by others who have mistreated, betrayed, failed, or harmed us in some way. One of the most important resources that God has provided us for dealing with these wounds. That great resource is forgiveness, the act of forgiving those who have wounded us. The refusal to forgive is, in fact, a self-destructive act that perpetuates our wounding. Forgiving is an act that initiates the process of healing. It sets us free. In this episode, we will examine the nature and practice of forgiving those who have wounded us.
Read: Matthew 18:21-35 & Colossians 3:12-17
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In this episode, we explore one of the resources God has provided us with for making peace with our past. All of us can look back over our lives and see actions and patterns of life that were wrong, unhealthy, and harmful to ourselves and others. We can go back and undo our past. How can we find relief and release from these self-inflicted wounds and burdens from earlier in our lives? Repentance is an important means that God has given us for healing and restoration.
Read Psalm 51:1-19 and 2 Timothy 2:22-26
For more content from Gary Chorpenning check out:
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