Public Church

As a follow-up to Sunday’s Gathering, Josh and Julia Morrison plus Cory and Kristen Arp continue their conversation about parenting. They go deeper into the specifics of their families and give practical insights into how they parent. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

A way we live out our vision is to help you understand that following Jesus directly impacts how we parent. Therefore, today is a conversation with Josh and Julia Morrison plus Cory and Kristen Arp about parenting. If you are not a parent, early on Josh shares why this conversation is still beneficial to you. We invite you to check out Part 2 on our Podcast, which will be released on Tuesday. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

When we think about our lives prior to March 2020, we can feel some nostalgia and a lot of discouragement. We could use something to aim towards, partially because there is no timetable on Covid-19, which means we can’t just aim for a specific date when it ends. Peter, the leader of Jesus’ 12 disciples, provides a focal point for us. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

The world needs to see Love Displayed now more than ever. Jesus’ love is best displayed when family, the church, shows His love to others by displaying unity and humility, especially in times that are uncertain. When the thought of this is overwhelming we must look to the cross for a clearer perspective. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Many of us feel pressed and crushed by this season, so today we empathize. We sit in our pain because Jesus can handle our emotions. Gently, Jesus shows us a path forward. We are faced with this question: will we trust the King? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Chris Walker and Todd Stevison have a conversation about the beauty and benefit of wrestling with God and his Word, especially pertaining to justice. Chris is on staff with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the wisdom he brings is needed for us to remain in the wrestling. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Racism between Jews and Gentiles is a theme of the New Testament, and in Acts 10, Jesus actively fights against this racism in the life of Peter, one of the premier leaders of the early church. As we see the beginning of Peter’s transformation, we are challenged to evaluate ourselves. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

So many of us are thirsty for justice, so does Jesus have anything to do with our thirst? That leads to another question: What version of Jesus are we following or rejecting? We begin to wrestle with this question, and from the start, we must be willing to admit that there are some gaps between our version of Jesus and the version Jesus revealed in the Samaritan village. As we wrestle, we will address our thirst. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

This series is filled with tension. The topic is so tense that often we just avoid it. Jesus’ church should be a group of people who wade into the tension because that’s what Jesus did. Today, we dive into John 4 to see how Jesus waded into the tension because fighting against racism and for justice is central to the Gospel. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

The gospel is the story of Jesus, the good news of Jesus. What is the full scope of the Gospel? What is the holistic Gospel? If I surrender to Jesus, does the Gospel just grant me a ticket into heaven, or does it truly impact my everyday life, including how I interact with people who are different than me. Does the Gospel have anything to do with racism, or is racism just a peripheral issue? We dive into these questions as we start our series, and we will discover that the Gospel is colorful. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

What does the church look like as we reopen? What does church look like between now and a vaccine? What does the church look like in the midst of a much-needed movement for justice and equality for black lives? Many of the specific answers will reveal themselves over time IF we follow the instructions given by a first century church expert. His guidance transcends any external circumstances. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

In a world filled with injustice, inequality, and racism, the church must lead the way in fighting for justice, for equality, and to end racism. In this moment, we need to recenter ourselves on Jesus’ approach as expressed in one of the oldest, maybe even the oldest, pieces of literature in the New Testament, Philippians 2:5-11. This ancient text is incredibly relevant and leads us forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

One of the difficult aspects of this season, especially reopening, is our inability to get our hands around the situation. This is especially difficult for those of us who like to control. In our series finale, David displays remarkable trust with a situation that he could have manipulated but chose to leave in God’s hands. His trust can inspire us to trust in the midst of this season and really any season. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Most of us know this feeling, and Psalm 51 is a guide to repentance, which means walking away from our sin and walking in a different direction. (This is an addendum to our talk titled “The Scenes We Want to Delete”, so you can watch it or listen for more context.) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

If we were watching the film on our lives, most of us would edit out some parts, and we know from today’s Scripture that King David would. Today’s lesson from a king who blew it can help us not blow it and move forward when we do. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

How frustrating is it when you ask for something, and the answer is no? Sometimes the answer is no to our plans, which can leave us discouraged. Today we see a moment in King David’s life where he has great plans, but God says no. What do we do when God says no? We see in this moment that David faces what could have been a time of discouragement, but instead moves to praise God. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Have you ever almost blown it? By “blown it”, you almost made a decision whose consequences would ripple through your life for years. What stopped you? Or did you blow it? Did you make a decision whose consequences still haunt you? What could have stopped you? In today’s scene from King David’s life, he is so close to blowing it, but something, dare I say someone stops him. Today’s lesson from a king has the potential to also stop us from making life-altering mistakes. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Does anybody read that title and go, “Yep, I hate to wait, too!“? It’s so frustrating and also so inevitable. Could there be a purpose in waiting that we disdain? King David endured long seasons of waiting, so examining his life can guide us to grow in patience even as we don’t like to wait. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Most of us don’t have kingdoms, but our version of the title could be, “How to Lose a Marriage” or “How to Lose Friendships”. Saul, who was Israel’s first king, lost his dynasty before it even got started. He didn’t even get to pass the throne down to his son. What went wrong with him? As we dig into his story, we see that a flaw that ruined him can easily take us down as well. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

We are truly navigating uncharted waters as so many of us have been sent home. A question many of us have probably asked is “How do I lead others?” How do we lead people that we can’t even get in the same room with? As we dig into that question, a more pressing one emerges: How do I lead myself? During our current season of quarantine, most external leadership has been stripped away from our lives, so self-leadership is huge. Starting today and throughout this series, we will answer that question through Lessons from a King, specifically King David, the greatest king in all of Israel’s history. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message