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154 Endings and Beginnings

After 4 weeks in the book of Joel in our corporate worship gatherings, we're finally going to take some time to talk about it. But as some things come to an end, other things are just getting ready to begin. On this episode of the podcast, Josiah chats with Andrew about what led him to the book of Joel and what was most impactful in that study for his own life, before abruptly changing the conversation to questions about the future, as big life transitions approach.

153 All in the Family: A Conversation with Brett Harris

As a local church grows in size, it can become increasingly difficult to actually know everyone in the community and, thus, to be blessed by everyone in the community. This is unfortunate because there are no unnecessary members (1 Corinthians 12:7), none who are ungifted (Romans 12:6), and not one who isn't called to the "work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" unto spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11–13). Said another way, we need one another as Spirit-indwelled conduits of God's grace to propel us toward holiness and, when unable to be around one another and to know one another, this process is hindered. With that in mind, we're going to try and "shrink the church" a bit today and, hopefully, provide an opportunity for one particular Oakridge family member to "build up the body of Christ" from afar. On this episode, Andrew chats with Brett Harris about his walk with Christ, the greatest struggles in his Christian life, lessons he's learned along the way, and much more.

152 I Vow...

Many times throughout the Bible we see people making a vow or swearing an oath—sometimes to God or before God, sometimes in the name of God. But what does it actually mean to make a vow, what was the purpose, why is it so serious, and is this something to be avoided by Christians now? Where does marriage fit in, or commitments to God for his sake and glory? Join with Tim and Andrew on the podcast this week where they discuss the concept of biblical vows.

151 All is Vanity!

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." This is the way that "the preacher" starts his exploration of life and purpose in Ecclesiastes 1. It's a fascinating, philosophical book in the middle of the Old Testament where the author wrestles through the meaning (or lack thereof) of humanity and our limited time on earth. This week on the podcast, Andrew and Tim spend some time discussing the book of Ecclesiastes and the at-times confusing nature of its content, doing their own exploration into vanity, life, and purpose.

150 Sin: What's the Big Deal?

As Christians, we know that sin is bad, right? It's wrong, it's opposed to God, it ruins everything, and ultimately it is why Jesus had to die. But even with all that head-knowledge, it's not uncommon to find ourselves in situations where we don't take sin as seriously as we ought to. Perhaps we justify it, rationalize it, minimize it, or just straight-up ignore it. But the Bible is very clear just how dangerous destructive sin is; something to be taken very seriously. This week on the podcast Josiah and Andrew discuss some challenging verses on sin from 1 John 3, all with the goal of helping us avoid it and abide in Christ.