Vox Community Podcast

Bonnie targets the appropriate way to apply the Word of God to those who are hurting. She cites how the Pharisees were renowned for their scriptural knowledge, yet they often poorly applied the scripture. With good intentions, Christians can fall into this mode when responding to the hurts of others with Cliché responses such as “All things work together for good,” “Everything happens for a reason”, “God helps those who help themselves”, “God needed another angel”, etcetera. Bonnie stresses how God’s word should always be carefully used in a way that brings peace, refuge, and healing. This requires us to take responsibility and become “People of Text”, who research verses in biblical context and by cross-referencing. Digger deeper into the meaning of select verses allows us the opportunity to powerfully transform lives. Storytelling by Sada Arcade Sada Arcade shares how she dealt with despair in her life. The eating disorder, bulimia, entered her life at age 14. She left a Russian faith-based church that e

Mike explores Jesus’s teaching about being the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16) and explains what it meant to His Jewish followers, and what it means to us today. To Jesus’s Jewish followers well-versed in Jewish scripture, salt was a picture of covenant. By calling His followers salt and light, He asks them to be a picture of the fulfillment of the covenant to Israel and to the world. He gives them an identity and a vocation that are inseparable. This call to be a living representation of the covenant has been passed on to us today. We believe it, but we don’t live like it’s true. Instead we treat it as an activity we can engage in instead of a whole posture of living. Jesus calls us to be salt and light where we are—to be different from the world yet connected to it—in order to influence it. Are we reflecting the covenant? Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/vox

This week, Mike kicked off a new series of teachings, which will collectively outline the blueprint for the revolution that Jesus embodied. Because the Beatitudes were both foundational to this revolution and widely misunderstood, Mike clarified their meaning. As background, the Beatitudes are a famous part of the Sermon on the Mount; they can be found in Matthew 5 and proclaim that the poor, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in hear, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted are all blessed. While many see these categories as personal characteristics that need to be developed, that view ignores cultural context. N.T. Wright's translation of the Beatitudes is more accurate; it states simply that there is "wonderful news" for those who were meek, merciful, etc., because God would bless them. This view stands in stark contrast to our American values, which celebrate strength, wealth, and success. God does not value these things, but instea

Ronny Roa joins us this weekend and offers an emphatic teaching on how the Bible presents the posture of suffering and pain. While the church should be the safest place to talk about anything, often many folks are afraid to express that for whatever reason God is not answering prayer and they feel left high and dry. Ronny shows us how Jesus shared suffering with his apostles and encourages us to offer ourselves to each other to carry the weight of our struggles. Story by Bria Madrid Bria shares about her journey as a young Christian, pushed outside the box of the expectation of a "good" Christian life. She shares her tension with making friends at a Christian college, involvement in drug use as a late teen and her wrestle with relationships and sexual activity. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Insta

This week, Bonnie Lewis walks us through the practice of burnt offering described in Leviticus 1—specifically, the custom of skinning the sacrificial animals. The skinning, unique to the Israelites’ offering, carries significance because it represents being discovered by God while naked. In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned and found themselves naked, God did not just expel them from the garden; He provided a garment for them and clothed them. In the New Testament, Jesus uses this imagery and language from the offering in the tabernacle when he teaches us to not worry about clothes because he will provide us with what we need. The key is, unlike in the Old Testament, in which the Israelites were commanded to bring offerings to make atonement for sin, Jesus shows us a new covenant where there are no more sacrifices to be made. Jesus saw us beautiful while we were still sinners and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice. Storytelling by Kali Echaves Kali Echaves shares with us how she found God’s grace

Mike’s teaching today illustrated that there is room for all of us in God’s kingdom…those who fail, those who are full of doubt and even those of us who miss the point God is trying to make in our lives. The basis of his teaching was in the book of John, chapter 20, where it gives an account of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, especially centering on His follower’s various weaknesses at that time. Mike talked about how these devotees were grieving, doubting and even leaving the city. Even though these eyewitnesses had actually walked and talked with Him, they were still in process regarding their faith. Still, Jesus served them and treated them with love, not rebuking them for their fears, doubts, or wherever they were in their process. The point is that sometimes our own journey with God also gives way to a lack of faith and understanding, but He is there to love and comfort us no matter where we are. Storytelling by Victoria Luong Victoria related her personal story with us today. She suffers from depr

We spent this Easter season exploring the reality of Jesus, suffering, and the hope we have to grasp. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com and App: https://livestream.com/accounts/19123468 VOX Community is a church expression of the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre that began in the late spring of 2016. You can participate beyond the VOX Community by listening, commenting, and sharing the conversation happening on the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre at www.soundcloud.com/thevoxpodcast. Learn more about the VOX Podcasts at www.voxpodcast.com

While Pilate was arriving on the coast with his army, Jesus rode in to the city on a donkey in the east. This story is filled with subversion, desperation, and expectation. To best consider the symbolism of Palm Sunday we MUST consider the political context of the Jewish and Roman tension. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com and App: https://livestream.com/accounts/19123468 VOX Community is a church expression of the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre that began in the late spring of 2016. You can participate beyond the VOX Community by listening, commenting, and sharing the conversation happening on the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre at www.soundcloud.com/thevoxpodcast. Learn more about the V

In this Vox Community message, Mike Erre provides Bible an external evidence to support the reality of Christ's resurrection. He presents numerous facts upon which many secular scholars and Christian scholars agree. He advances the evidence with additional supportive points. Rebuttal is provided for some alternative perspectives/theories held by some resurrection skeptics. Then, through personal application of this resurrection message, we find that the resurrection provides us immense hope for now, and later. Questions from our Q&A: 1. “How do we follow the command to honor the elderly as we would our parents, when parents may have been highly abusive or estranged?” 2. “What steps are being taken by VOX to equip us to be missional?” 3. “What resources are there to reach friends who are atheist or agnostic?” Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.

In a culture obsessed with youthfulness, we've watched the recent era of the church follow suite. When we observe the early jewish culture, to grow old was seen as victory and achievement. Also, the elderly was expected to pass on wisdom. In addition, the youth honored the elderly, and was given permission to fail and seek wisdom. At VOX, our hope is that we would be contrary to our cultures obsession with youth, and turn two generations opposed to each other toward love, grace, and unity for the sake of generations to follow. Story by Nate Carson Nate offers a word piece that shows us his journey though Christian life and questioning it all. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com an

As we continue hearing about the three pillars of Vox, Mike talks about the posture of the church – to love and serve the world rather than judge it. When Jesus came to save the world, He created a community of followers – disciples – who were tasked with showing mankind the glory of Jesus. In His coming, we were handed the ultimate job description: we exist for nothing more than to witness to the nations the beauty and goodness of Jesus of Nazareth. The destruction of the church lies in believing we serve the church rather than bless those outside it. This is just a means to an end – our staff meeting, so to speak. We are taught so we can teach; we are healed so we can heal; we orient ourselves to his glory, love and mercy so we can reflect those qualities in our daily ministry, whether that’s in our homes, in our neighborhoods or in cubicle country. How does God save the world? With screw-ups and misfits and His mercy and glory. We are to be His peacemakers, His disciples, a reflection of Him, here to bless

Mike explains the first of three core convictions that Vox Community is built on—that the church should be the safest place to talk about anything—by looking at how the Corinthian church treated Paul. The church in Corinth valued power, eloquence, wisdom, and success—everything Paul wasn’t. They adored the polished, eloquent, successful “super apostles” and were embarrassed by Paul. He responded to their criticism with this counter-cultural truth-bomb: his weakness was actually proof that God was working through him. Like the early church, American culture and the church value power, personal strength, and success. The church tends to highlight the success of Christian movie stars, athletes, and musicians while downplaying or avoiding stories of pain, failure, or weakness. We want to be a community that boasts in weakness because God’s power dwells in people who’ve come to the end of their rope. By creating a safe place to talk about anything, we can see how God is working in peoples’ lives. More importantl

This week Mike offers a teaching to understand the value in a woman who sought Jesus and his healing through a piece of clothing. Story by Tiana Simmons Tiana shares her honest moments where the question "Why, God?" would dominate her life. Moment after moment of trial she continued to face situations that begged answers from a God of mercy. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com and App: https://livestream.com/accounts/19123468 VOX Community is a church expression of the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre that began in the late spring of 2016. You can participate beyond the VOX Community by listening, commenting, and sharing the conversation happening on the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre at w

Finally, we wrap up our journey observing the section "Shall not Perish..." of John 3:16. In this teaching, Mike spends the majority of the time presenting the overwhelming scriptural support for an alternative view on when Hell takes place. Why exactly have we believed all of these years that when someone dies who is not a Christian, that God is keeping them alive, burning, and in anguish for eternity? It seems strange that the person of Jesus doesn't seem to reflect a God that would do such a thing. However, the alternative view presented today isn't roses or rainbows either. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com and App: https://livestream.com/accounts/19123468 VOX Community is a

Karrie Garcia shared her journey of learning to exchange fear for love through her story. Karrie was the oldest in a pastor’s family where secrets and hiding were the norm. Her mother, struggling with mental health issues, was unable to provide Karrie with emotional nurturing which resulted in Karrie developing a fear of being invisible. “I was the opposite of fearful,” Karrie explains. “I knew how to be tough. The one thing that has kept me back from who I was supposed to be was that I had a need to be seen.” Struggling with drug addiction, living under a bridge, Karrie reached out to her father who responded, “I love you and I will never let you fall again.” Out of drugs into marriage and Christian service, Karrie realized that she was continuing to walk in fear of punishment which caused her to feel that God could not save her. Karrie spiraled downward into an affair, lost her marriage, ministry and found herself at a place of suicide. Making a decision to live, she sought help and began to look

We continue with our series on John 3:16, explaining more about Hell, which is both a power and a place. As a power, humans often unleash it with their own tongues. But as a place, is it really a lake of fire with eternal conscious torment? Even in the garden of Eden, he did not send Adam and Eve off to be burned forever; He removed them from His presence. They were exiled out of God’s best. As a matter of fact, Mike shows us many Bible verses that model God’s treatment of sinful people: God banishes them. We learned that there was an actual Gehenna where the Jews who had forsaken their faith went to worship idols. They even burned their own children as sacrifices. The three important facts to know about Gehenna are: it was symbolic of what it meant to be given over to wickedness. God did not use fire to torture the children; human hands did. And it was outside of the main city. These people were sinners who were banished from his presence. This leads us to understand that hell is exile, not torture. Spoken

This week we take some time to consider what Bible and Jesus remind us about how we treat foreigners and strangers. While many of us know the story about the good Samaritan, if you were dying on the side of the road, which most unlikely person would stop to help you? Story by Ann Lew Ann shares a bit about her journey, raised in a Christian home, but always skeptical of God's existence. Hear the whole story in this week's podcast. Would love to see your comments and thoughts below! Learn more about VOX Community: www.voxoc.com Like VOX Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxcommunity Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/voxcommunity Follow VOX Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/voxcommunity Say Something! info@voxoc.com Join us Live on Sundays at 10am via LiveStream.com and App: https://livestream.com/accounts/19123468 VOX Community is a church expression of the VOX Podcast with Mike Erre that began in the late spring of 2016. You can participate beyond the VOX Community by listenin

This week, Megan Marshman delved into our culture of neediness and how that culture runs counter to God's goals for us. We all feel needy at times--some more than others--and we need to have direction in those times to find fulfillment. Many of us hope to satisfy our needs through our own initiative. But this view is contrary to God's plan. The bible is clear that God is the main character in the story of this world. We need to look beyond our own insecurities and see that we were created in the image of a perfect and holy God. God He created us to be whole and complete and lacking nothing, despite how much this world will tell us otherwise. Thus the solution to our neediness is to see that we are the supporting cast in God's story. Practically, we need to be willing to open ourselves up and communicate candidly about our needs with others so that true community develops. Everyone is needy, but thankfully Jesus came to satisfy our needs once and for all. Story by Shanel Wilson Shanel shared with us

Mike Erre continued his analysis of the "shall not perish" portion of John 3:16. This week, he dissected the nature of God's judgment, which is widely misunderstood. While many see His judgment as God's relishing the opportunity to smite misbehaving humans, judgment is actually the natural outcome of our sins. The bible is replete with language and imagery exemplifying the fact that sin and destruction go hand in hand; sin inevitably leads to death. Just as a long-time smoker cannot be angry at God for a lung cancer diagnosis, we cannot be be angry at God for death when it is the sinful choices we make that lead to that death. Within that framework, when we find ourselves in challenging circumstances, we cannot think that God is punishing us for our sin. Such circumstances demonstrate God's mercy and kindness; without such challenges, we would forget that our human path leads to death. If God were to punish us, he would do so by not intervening and letting us have our selfish way and the death that com

The extended "Shall Not Perish..." series looking closer at God’s judgement continues. Today’s focus is on who is judged. Using twelve verses, Mike reveals how God’s judgment involves surprises, reversals, and astonishment. We discover who is to do judging, and what our personal responsibility is. Also included is a helpful explanation of how judgement is quite different than discernment. Mike also answers 4 texted questions from the VOX community: 1.) Do you believe in life on other planets? 2.) If God knows who will accept Him, what is our purpose to be on earth? 3.) How do you discern what God really said, versus what people think He said? 4.) Should I feel guilty for not wanting the Kingdom to come because I love living on earth with my spouse and children? Story by Caleb Clements Caleb Clements was a former worship leader to thousands. He and his wife, Heather, share how 15 years of ministry progressed into a difficult and dark time for Caleb, resulting in a serious burn-out. We learn of their difficu