Things of Faith with Pastor Scott Hawkins: Recent Episodes
Scott Hawkins
This podcast is intended to be a conversation starter for families. I want this to be a place for families to listen together to the conversation starters and start talking about things of faith in the home. Faith is rooted in families and I want this to be a tool to equip dialogue and allow for new thoughts to take shape in the lives of God's people.
Last episode Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discussed what happens to us when we die. In this episode, our intrepid pastors open up that other can of worms; what do the the end times look like, how do we know they are here? Let's dive into Revelation together.
Listen as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss eschatology. Many answers to mankind's curious big question 'what happens when you die' are found in the scriptures. What is not found is an exact date. Let's go ahead and get that out of the way now! Come on, jump in. Let's talk about this together.
Listen as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss prayer. The posture of prayer takes many forms and viewing prayer as a service to others and the body should be one of those.
Listen as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops take you on a journey to understanding the gift of hope. This hope is not the verb form as we use in the common vernacular. No, Christian hope is a noun.
For some, worship is a habit or a tradition that we participate it, but it's much more than that. It is what we are made for.
Listen as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops take you on a journey to understanding how worship shapes us, molds us and brings us closer to our original design and purpose.
Discipleship is a crucial part of a relational Christian life. Often though it's a term that gives people pause. Why? It can be confusing and somewhat daunting, especially if one feels they are new or a immature in their faith.
Patsors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops help us work through the idea of discipleship and shine the light on ways to practically live it out in our daily lives.
One of those ways, allow yourself to be discipled to. Who in your life is pouring into you? Discipleship is not a one way street. It is not merely telling people about Christ. It is much more than that.
In this episode of Things of Faith, Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss the sacraments in the Protestant church. Prior to the Reformation the Catholic church held seven things as sacraments.
Protestant reformers set aside baptism and communion as the sacraments of the church by looking at spiritual elements through these three lenses.
- A means of grace
- Tied to a physical element
- Instituted by Jesus
In this episode of Things of Faith, Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss spiritual gifts. Yes, the gift of tongues is on the agenda but spiritual gifts are way more than that. Often times, that's the stumbling block to conversations around spiritual gifts.
Here's a foundation for understanding spiritual gifts and how they fit within you, the world, and the church.
- You have been uniquely created by God
- You have been uniquely placed by God
- You have been uniquely gifted by God
No one is without unique gifts. Do not look at others and think they are gifted and you are not. We are all gifted, and there is no JV squad of spiritual gifts!
Justification and Sanctification are terms many Christians say they know. But, in our day to day lives we often forget one or the other. While these astonishing gifts of God are separate, they are vastly intertwined. Come along as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss being saved by faith and growing more Christ like.
Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops offer some foundational elements on what it means to be a Christian and part of the Church.
--What does it mean to be a part of the body of Christ?
--What is the Church?
--Why is it important to gather with fellow believers?
A answer to the first question is as a believer we have more in common with an Ethiopian Christian than we do an atheist from a local zip code.
What are some of the ways God empowers the Church? Come along as Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss how God empowers the Church and the individual.
Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops conclude their discussion on the Holy Trinity with God the Spirit.
A natural tension exists in the conversation around the Trinity. If there is one God where does room for the Holy Spirit appear?
The Holy Spirit is the part of the Godhead that we are the most intimate with. Faith conversations can often jump past, or rush, the Holy Spirit to get to the gospel and the Son. However, it's the Holy Spirit that brings us to hear the gospel and experience the gift of Jesus' sacrifice.
Despite the ideas that Christians hold in tension and often struggle with, regarding the Trinity, it is one of the things that separates the Christian faith. Our God is relational. All of His designs have been to bring us back into communion with Him. The Holy Spirit is a great tour guide to a relationship with God.
Another way to view the role the Holy Spirit plays comes from John 14:16
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever..."
In this episode of Things of Faith, Pastors Scott Hawkins and Michael Stoops discuss God the Son and His role as the Savior.
Here a some of the topics the Pastors take on.
- What makes Jesus different?
- Why do we need to be saved?
- Who needs to be saved?
- Are we looking for a Savior?
- Is there something inside each of us that longs to be complete?
The fallen nature of man is that we cannot save ourselves. No matter how hard we try, we cannot fill what is longing in our hearts.
Join us as Pastor Scott welcomes Pastor Michael Stoops to discuss the Holy Trinity. In this episode, the Pastors dive into the character of the Father.
As you drive on this COVID Ash Wednesday, listen to these reflections and music to remind you of our desperate need of Christ.
The Holy Trinity. Where does it come from? What does it mean? Why do we believe in the trinity? Come along as Pastor Scott and Pastor Michael Stoops take us on an intriguing journey into the Trinity.
This is a Good Friday experience that was written by myself and produced by Francisco Calvo. It moves from the garden to the cross through the eyes of different witnesses. It was originally intended to have different stations that you sat at as you moved through the audio recording. It can be experienced simply by listening to it and then going on a short walk during the middle reflection section. I hope that it is a blessing to you.
Why does it matter that Jesus was a person? How can a person be fully God? These are ideas that cause many to stumble with Christianity. But, you don't have to. Come along as we prepare to discuss the Person of Christ.
As Christians we are often hit with questions from friends, acquaintances, and even ourselves about the identity of Jesus and the seeming contradiction that prevents Him from being God. The gospels don't shy away from it. They admit man struggled with the idea that Jesus is God. Remember, they were saying to Him 'Why don't you save yourself? Come down from the cross.' And, moments later, at Jesus' last breath the soldier knew that Jesus was God.
So what do we do with this? The answer is simple. Although it requires you to willingly, and joyfully hold two ideas in equal and unfailing reverence. Jesus is fully God. Jesus is fully human. Why did God make this choice? Why does it matter that Jesus was a person? Listen as we tackle that question.
As we experience this novel Coronavirus and how it impacts our whole lives, let us look to the living God for calm. We have the God of life in us and allowing us to not be guided by a spirit of fear, but of His presence.
Faith, knowledge, doubt, trust; we encounter and act on each of these everyday. Many times we don't think about it or realize what's going on from moment-to-moment. With that in mind, let's think about it! What would the world look like if we only operated with full and complete knowledge?
This sermon begins our Lenten 2020 series talking about Idols. During this sermon series we are looking at the different idols in our lives. This sermon provides an overview on the idea of idols and why it's important that we have a jealous God.
If you have faith then you don't have doubt. This is one of the most common but incorrect thoughts regarding faith.
The stigma a doubting Christian often feels can bring great shame. Shame and darkness are destroyers of faith. They lead to isolation, and isolation is where the evil one wants us.
Is it possible to grow in faith in the midst of doubt? Yes! By leaning into God in times of doubt we can grow in faith.
You see, it's not doubt or faith that matters. What matters is the object of your faith. Is your faith in Jesus or in something else?
Remember, faith is not something we can manufacture. God gives faith as a gift, and He will pursue you even when you're doubting.
Join us as Pastor Scott welcomes Pastor Michael Stoops to discuss the relationship between faith and doubt.
In a world where Easter is often criticized or discussed as impossible, it's important to understand the validity of the scriptures, specifically the gospels. What gives them their meaning, their power, their standing? Yes, it's the word of God. But, God gave us silly humans ways to understand and methods to demonstrate their truth to non believers and doubters alike.
Listen as we discuss why the scriptures are so crucial to the resurrection and its place in fact and history.
The resurrection is a topic that can and has sparked many a debate and oftentimes physical suffering for those who profess it. Struggling with the idea that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is not a new development in modern Christianity. Early believers suffered for years at the hands of rulers who found the resurrection incongruent with their agenda. Today, in our secular world it often serves as a punchline for comedians or a stumbling block in personal and professional conversations.
But, remember, it's not up for debate, or even in question that something happened in Jerusalem in the early AD period. Most major religions and historians point to a world changing event that undoubtedly occurred. The scriptures offer first-hand accounts of the resurrection as well as historical records.
The Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes. This passage of scripture is very familiar to most Christians, but can be often confusing. In this sermon we show how important these opening words of Jesus are, and what does it really mean to live #blessed lives.
The resurrection is what separates Christians from the rest of the world's major religions, but what does the resurrection mean to you? How can we live out the resurrection in our lives?
We believe God took on human flesh, drank when we was thirsty, slept when he was tired, and ate when he was hungry. This has a tendency to make some uncomfortable because our temptation is to set aside — the world tends to tell us we must — God as something wholly (and holy) other, yet God took on flesh so we could know Him. As Hebrews teaches, we have a God who knows what's like to hurt, to experience joy, and to laugh with friends.
To struggle with the resurrection is not only OK, it's often necessary to unlocking your faith and living your life for Christ.
What is it to be truly known and loved? This episode looks at the idea of friendship and presents the question of why did Christ choose to use the word friends in John 15:13. Friendship is often overlooked relationship in the life of a Christian, but it should be a relationship that we all value and pursue.
We are in the middle of a sermon series on Living Out the Gift of Christ. In this sermon we look at what it is to be called by God to radiate His love to our neighbors. This is a sermon from Ascension Lutheran Church on January 26, 2020.
Maps are a wonderful thing. They often provide context to a physical area. So much so, we can frequently glean the importance of a location simply by what points to it. History also lends itself to this phenomena. History is undoubtedly colored by those that are telling or exploring it, but imagine removing all of the man-made elements and touch points. What would we be left with? When we peel back the layers of the world, mankind finds itself at a central point. Jerusalem. How you view the documented events of early A.D. Jerusalem will develop and inspire your faith journey.
This is the first episode of the confirmation ministry for Ascension Lutheran Church in Rancho Palos Verdes Ca. This is a brief introduction for how the podcast teaching will work.