Meadow Park Church of God Podcast

The moment you encounter Jesus, you're never the same again. If you haven't experienced that personally, Mary's story will get you started. Just a teenager, part of an arranged marriage, struck with the news that God chose her to carry a child to full development that would be born the Son of the Most High. That's the kind of news that turns your life around 180 degrees. Yet with all the news, Mary still had things to do. She had to prepare her mind for the change in her body; she had to prepare for the transformation happening in her heart. She even had to prepare a nursery... in a stable with a manger. (Not exactly Pottery Barn's best selling pattern or crib design, for sure.) But Mary did her best to make ready. The question God asks us through her story is this: are we ready? Because if Jesus changes everything, be sure that includes you. Are you ready for that? 

Have you ever been in charge of giving someone news? I have, and I've given all kinds of news: good and bad. In every case, there is a weight that falls on one who bears the responsibility to communicate important information. Consider, then, what it must be like to prepare to deliver "Good News" only to have the recipients question the message. This is the position the angel of the Lord is in: sent by God to reveal the coming of the Messiah, the awaited One, the long-expected Jesus. But the news is met with unbelief (Zechariah), questions (Mary) and hesitancy (Joseph). Some 2,000 years later, the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ is met with the same responses from people, and they've not even encountered a messenger from God... or have they? Ever consider maybe God wants to use you to make the announcement? 

Do You See What I See Week 1

For years I've participated in a daily "gratitude" project each November, either writing privately or sometimes publicly (on social media) the people/things for which I am thankful. The exercise is enriching and always keeps my focus oriented toward the blessings in my life, rather than any set of circumstances which may be challenging or disappointing. If you don't engage in this practice, allow me to encourage you to do so.  However, let me offer a caution. I believe that a verbal expression of our "thanks" is not a sufficient action in and of itself to show thanksgiving for all that God has done. If fact, we most often get the "thanks" part down really well, but not always the giving. We will gladly tell God that we appreciate His blessings to us; we just don't always show Him with the same conviction. Until we do both, we haven't experienced the greatest part of thanksgiving at all. How can I suggest this? Well, last week God reminded us that because He is Plenty-FULL, He gives to the overflow, both to provide for us and for others. If that's truly the case, then as a people of thanksgiving it's time to take the next step toward fulfilling His purpose for us. It's time to live thank-FULL by giving it away! Join me this Sunday as we encounter a non-traditional Thanksgiving story in a brand new way, and join me also in asking the Lord today how He wants you to "give" thanks so you can experience "life to the full."

The apostle Paul said he knew what it meant to live in seasons of "plenty" and "want." This means Paul saw great times of abundance and times of leanness and sparse means. Yet Paul experienced God in every season as the One who "will supply your needs according to His glorious riches" (Phil 4:19).  However, if we're honest, sometimes we interpret God "meeting our needs" as  only addressing the "bare minimum." That is, we want and expect God to do more according to our standards. Sadly, when we view God through this lens, we misunderstand one of the greatest parts of His character. A God who meets our needs doesn't mean that God is stingy or that His gift to us is small. God gives in abundance and we don't really know just how big that is. Join me this week as we uncover the truth that our God's abundant provision exceeds our understanding and our expectations. Because of how plentiful He is, we can live "plenty-full" too.

When Jesus offered "life to the full," it's easy to assume that meant we'd be filled with happiness in knowing Him and growing in Him. After all, the world says that the key to a rich life is a "happy life." We even sing the catchy tune: "Don't worry; be happy!" as a way to de-stress and find the settledness we're looking for. However, the key to a FULL life isn't happiness, it's joy, and the difference is significant. Happiness is based in our circumstances; joy is possible in spite of them. The encouragement from Scripture is to "be joyful always"... but, how? This week, we'll discover together the not-so-secret ingredient to God's fullness in us: how to have real JOY in the Lord.

We may not want to admit it, but many of us are running on tanks that are low on fuel. We carry so much responsibility in so many areas of life, it can be easy if not habitual to tolerate living in the "less than" spaces. The problem with this is that God's desire is that we live FULL lives, aware of His provision for every circumstance and functioning in the strength, mercy and grace He provides.  During this new series, we'll seek together what we need to experience life "to the FULL."  This week, in particular, we'll learn the emptiness we feel is because we've made God too small, and we will work to recapture a spirit of reverence for God, to become a people FULL of wonder again.

About three years ago, Student Ministry began a campaign talking about "1." You might remember the random "1's" placed around the Bethel Campus. The goal was to make an impact with them getting noticed and thereby getting students and others thinking about the "1" they are pursuing who does not know God. Who is the lost sheep that God is calling you to pursue? It was a great conversation with our students, and, in fact, it is one we have been having for the last month, also.  And please know that I take it seriously, too. "Who am I pursuing?" "Who am I intentionally praying for and passionate about coming to know Jesus?" I, personally, have a pretty long list of people who are on my heart--people who I pray about when I think of them. However, I don't believe that I am intentional in sharing. I don't believe that I would immediately recognize an opportunity to talk about God and talk about Jesus and talk about why He matters to me. So, that's why I am super excited for us to have this conversation. I am really praying that God continues to bring His message. That means a message for His church that we, myself included, need to hear about why the lost sheep is so important to God and to us. The only thing I ask is that you ask yourself this question before the weekend, "Why am I not more passionate about people coming to know Jesus?" I believe that your answer to this is so important to us really hearing this weekend's message and doing something with it. Please don't let your answer be a reason for guilt.  That is not my purpose at all. Just let your answer be honest.  We will be focusing this weekend on: Luke 15:1-7. I really do think it will be a fun conversation! Pastor Steve

Do you remember what your first impulse was after becoming a follower of Christ?  If you are like me, it was to tell someone else about your experience so that they, too, could experience the joy of knowing Jesus as their Savior. We are called to be on mission with God but sometimes we can lose focus and allow competing missions to distract us. But God wants something better for us. God has invited us to experience the joy of being on mission with him. He has entrusted One Mission to us as individuals and as his church. We will experience this One Mission as we dig into Acts 9:1-18. I hope you can join us as we look at the actions of Anaias and explore what it looks like to Be the One to reach the one.

ONE God.  ONE Church. ONE Mission. With so many people a part of the body of Christ, if there were only ONE gift or role or function, and everyone had the same task, the church wouldn't get very far in communicating the gospel and, quite frankly, we would be boring. But our multifaceted, diverse and glorious God, who said "Let Us make man in Our image," has given the body MANY gifts with which to serve and live and grow. Maybe you didn't know you had a gift. We can help you discover it. Maybe you know you have a gift, but haven't used it. We can help you find a place to do so. But maybe you've never really received God's gift. Come this week and learn how to unwrap the potential God placed inside you... and why it matters that you do!

For a large portion of my life I have wrestled with a question that seems to plague us all. Who am I? What is my identity? Where is it found? We've forgotten our individual identities. We've forgotten how to find them. We don't seem to realize that the core of our identity is not found in our gender, our race, our sexuality, our job, our bank account, our heritage... At the very core of who we are, we are persons in whom Christ dwells. Christ defines and provides us with the core of our true identity. And, just as we individually struggle with who we are, we also struggle with who we are together in Christ. But, what if Jesus gives us not only our individual identities, but our corporate identity, as well? This weekend we will journey together to find how God defines His people as a collective. Struggling with who you are? Struggling with who WE are? Be sure to engage your daily devotions in your alignment guide. Be certain to discuss in your Biblically-Relational Community Group. And be sure to come this weekend to discover what it means that "Together we are one."  

Join us this weekend for the second message in our "ONE" alignment series: Worship ONE. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Duet. 6:4)" This week's passage is from Deuteronomy 6 which gives us the commandment to Love the Lord with our heart, soul, and strength. Jesus also shares this in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke known to many as The Great Commandment. We will be looking at this passage and its implications on our church community and as families and households. How do we impress a love for God upon a rising generation? This commandment has an impact on families of all shapes and sizes, whether you have children in your household or not. We all have a circle of influence; we can impact for God. I encourage families to sit together in worship this Sunday and think of a few conversation points you can share during a meal later in the day.

The world says we should strive to be no. 1. But the song says it's the loneliest number. At times, that's very true... even in a room full of crowded people. But there is a value to "one" that's often overlooked. One voice, one life, one uniquely made person in a world full of other uniquely made people - God made each of us one of a kind. And yet Scripture also tells us that we are made in the image of God. One God. Not many gods. One, but three persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Creating, speaking, leading with one voice. Could it be there's more to ONE than we thought? I hope you'll take the journey these next 6 weeks as we align our hearts and minds with the truth of God's Word and with each other as we gather in groups to talk about what it means to be "one." After all, Meadow Park can't be ONE without you!

Many of us, when we were younger, had imaginary friends. Never seen, but often heard from, these invisible companions talked to us, gave us advice, comforted us when we were sad, and were always there for us. Even as adults, we celebrate when children use their imaginations in this way because we understand that the mind's creativity is a wonderful gift. However, when the conversation shifts and adults start talking about an invisible Friend who speaks back to us, eyebrows raise and questions are asked. Your God really speaks to you? Does the God of the Bible still speak today? And if He does speak to us, as our definition of prayer suggests, what is God saying and how do I listen for His voice? Even more, how do I know what His answer is? We'll talk about these things this week as we wrap up our Pray[ER] series and we'll learn together how we hear from God so we know how He speaks when we pray.

Why? is the favorite question of every child. It's not one adults ask as much anymore. Whether it's because we think we know more, or we've lost the innocence of caring to know, most of us don't ask as many whys as we used to. And even when we do, they're usually masking other questions: Why did this happen? is often what we ask when we mean Will you sit with me in my grief over this event?  The one Why? we must start asking honestly is this: Why do we pray? If prayer is conversation with the Creator, but we're talking to someone we cannot see, Why do we do this? Without examining the reason behind our prayer, we may never arrive at its most beneficial purpose. Do we pray because it's what we've always done? Or because we have to? Or is there something more that drives us to want to talk to an invisible God? This week, we'll bravely ask the question together... and deal with the truth of our answers.

Because God is all-knowing and all-powerful, it's a natural tendency to tell Him everything we need Him to do for us when we start talking. After all, if we're not powerful and wise, don't we want the One who is taking care of everything to take care of our everything?  However, think about what kind of relationship you'd have with your spouse or a friend if that's all they ever heard from you. God desires more in our conversations than just our wish list for the great Santa in the sky. In fact, He wants us to speak... and listen. Jesus taught His disciples - at their request - how to pray; He gave them the "what" in terms of content. And while you may be familiar with the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, you may be unfamiliar with what it means you're really saying. This week we'll listen together and learn from Jesus what to say in a way that honors the Father in our conversation.

Prayer. It's a word almost everyone knows. But, not something everyone understands. However, it's interesting to me that whether people have a relationship with God or not, many people pray, or at least don't hesitate to ask someone to pray for them. Inherently, doesn't that imply people understand that praying has power? Jesus certainly knew this. He did it. Even as God-made-flesh, Jesus still got away to talk to the Father. And when He taught others, before He emphasized how, Jesus pointed to prayer as an absolute in the life of a believer. Not if you pray... but when. During the next four weeks, we're going to take a look at prayer - the what, the why and the how. But we must begin with the when. If that's where Jesus began, that's where we'll start too.  Grateful to be on journey with you. Would you begin praying now for God to speak to me and to you?

Join Seth, Alex, and Kerri as they talk about Creation, the first word of worship. Listen and reflect as they talk about their thoughts on just what worship is and where all they worship, including in the car on the way to work.

Jesus followers who are brave enough to be IN the world know how tough it is to exist in a space where we feel conflicted. How are we supposed to respond to people who are not living the way we think God calls us to live? How can we judge other people when our lives were - or maybe still are - as broken as theirs are? We know God has a standard, an "ideal" for us to meet; the stress and strain comes for us when we recognize that God consistently used broken people to accomplish His purposes in times before. Is it still true today? Does God use broken people, and if so, does that make maintaining a life of questionable living OK?  

Join Sarah, Seth, Roger, Alex, and Nathan in the pilot episode of the Worship Arts Podcast. This week the team jumps into the introduction of The Seven Words of Worship. Listen in as they discuss the idea of worship in our lives and different ways we can all worship the Lord.