PODCASTS

Tag: #christianfaith
Inside Out – Being a Good Neighbor – 10/23/24

Inside Out – Being a Good Neighbor – 10/23/24

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:28 — 32.2MB)

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Being a Good Neighbor

The “Inside Out” Podcast from Family Life News

Americans feel detached and isolated. Pastor Doug Hankins believes we have a neighborliness problem. On this edition of Inside Out, Hankins talks about Jesus’ call to be good neighbors, the topic of his The Gospel Coalition article “Benefits of Being a Good Neighbor.”

 

Americans feel detached and isolated. Pastor Doug Hankins believes we’re suffering from a lack of neighborliness, and Christians are just the people to solve it. But it won’t be easy.

“Neighborliness is costly,” Hankins says. “There’s no shortcut around it. Part of the reason neighborliness is like the fifth level blackbelt of being a Christian is because of the difficulty of it.”

Hankins is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Winter Park, Florida. He authored the Gospel Coalition article “Benefits of Being a Good Neighbor.”

“I think the way Jesus understood being a neighbor was loving the people who are near you. If there are people around you, there is–if you’re a believer in Christ–a responsibility to consider these people as your neighbors and to ask the Lord ‘what must I do to care for them well?’”.

If you are ready follow Jesus into loving your neighbors–connecting intentionally, compassionately, and regularly with the people around you–Hankins suggests starting with a list. “Think about everybody you interact with: friends, neighbors, co-workers. Write their names on a list. Put it somewhere where you see it regularly and just pray for them.”

But don’t stop there. Ask friends for help.

“I think accountability is going to help. If you’ve got some Christian friends around you, just going to them saying, ‘I think the Lord might be calling me to step up my game in terms of loving my neighbors, could you just pray with me and bring it up once a month and just hold me accountable to this?’”

Hankins believes that not only will God show you who to love, He may overwhelm you with opportunities. “He’s going to bring us probably more than we can handle, but He can handle it. And so, we’ll get to love those people well.”

You can read Doug Hankins’s article “Benefits of Being a Good Neighbor” from The Gospel Coalition website here.

(TGC also published his first-person account of being at the “Asbury Awakening“, the college-centered revival which happened in 2023.)

 

 

#insideout
Pretty Place – A Giant Cross towers over three hurricane-ravaged states

Pretty Place – A Giant Cross towers over three hurricane-ravaged states

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:56 — 23.3MB)

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Pretty Place – A Giant Cross towers over three hurricane-ravaged states

A faith-centered story from Family Life News

Pretty Place is a renown open-air church at Cleveland, South Carolina. It was built in 1941. It has created memories for generations of visitors.

Last week, the devastating 60-70 mph winds in the remnants of Hurricane Helene hit that area.

Although much of the outdoor chapel suffered major damage in last week’s massive storm, the camp’s giant cross is still standing. Photos have gone viral, bringing hope to the region.

Family Life newscaster Sarah Harnish interviewed the president and CEO of Greenville’s YMCA, Sam Franklin. Listen to the full conversation in the podcast player here.

 

For more information:

        The website mentioned in this interview:  campgreenville.org/help

        The main website for this camp operated by the YMCA of Greenville, South Carolina: campgreenville.org/pretty-place

        Sam Franklin has 33 years of experience with YMCAs, but he only recently was promoted to this new position.

        This is a “before” picture of Pretty Place:        

https://www.familylife.org/radio/#news

 
Youth Ministry – Inspiration for Congregations – 9/30/24

Youth Ministry – Inspiration for Congregations – 9/30/24

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:15 — 19.6MB)

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Youth Ministry -What is most effective in the 21st Century?

Inspiration for Congregations

Patterns of congregational youth ministry which were emphasized 20 and 30 years ago are not as effective these days to engage with teens, children and young adults now. Research has shown what church leaders and volunteers ought to emphasize now. The measurement they used:  what was distinctive in churches where students were still active in a congregation five to ten years later, long after they “graduated” from youth ministry.

The Rev. Mark Kiessling is director for the national Youth Ministry Office of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He tells Family Life News that ministry with young people which are geared mostly toward events and programs are not having the same impact with the current young generation. What is especially strong to influence

He says many smaller and midsized churches fret over not having much of a traditional “youth program”, if they even have one at all. However, smaller congregations actually have an advantage they can leverage: they are already good at relationships and personal connections.

Listen to this conversation from the podcast player here, and consider sharing it with decision-makers in your congregation or regional network.

–     –     –     –

Their research and recommendations are contained in “Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry” which includes these priorities:

+ Every congregation offers Warmth, Challenge, and Grace

overview & video:  youthesource.com/2019/07/healthy-congregations-have-warmth-challenge-grace/

+ Every young person should be intentionally connected with 5 Supportive Adults

overview & video:  youthesource.com/2019/07/healthy-congregations-have-supportive-adults/

+ Every parent is supported, so they can engage effectively with these daughters and sons

overview & video:  youthesource.com/2019/06/healthy-congregations-have-engaged-parents/

+ Every young person is helped to discover their identity in Jesus Christ, as well as their unique calling and vocation

overview & videos:  youthesource.com/seven-practices/

 

 

For further information:

* Website     * Handout     * Video     * Book

The LCMS is partnered with 194 congregations in New York, 81 in Pennsylvania, and about 6,000 across the nation.

This is a podcast in our new series “Inspiration for Congregations” with insights from local, regional and national experts, to provide information and motivations for leaders and members of local churches.  Today’s host is Family Life news producer Greg Gillispie.
Inside Out – Making Friends, Being a Friend, at Church – 9/11/24

Inside Out – Making Friends, Being a Friend, at Church – 9/11/24

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:27 — 19.9MB)

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The “Inside Out” podcast, from Family Life

Making friends at church can be hard, but it’s both important and possible, and we can grow in the process.

 We want to find community at church, but it can be hard.

One of the challenges, according to writer and blogger Paige Pippin, is that many of us show up on Sundays already exhausted. “Getting to church can feel weirdly taxing at times,” she says. “And maybe it’s our personality–maybe we’re more introverted. Maybe we’re in a very hectic season. Maybe we’re getting our gaggle of young children to church. Or, maybe it’s genuinely heavy or life-altering circumstances, like a sickness or disability. So we show up to church and we already feel tired.”

Pippin’s the author of The Gospel Coalition article Help! I Want to Make Friends at Church. Pippin says that in addition to feeling spent when we arrive, we often feel uncertain.

“How do I engage?” Pippin asks. “This feels risky and out of control. Perhaps I’m believing others don’t want to be approached, or maybe it’s too much work, or maybe I believe the lie that it just doesn’t really matter.”

Our reasons for hesitating may be heart-felt, but the opportunity in front of us is a great one.

“We, as believers, are ambassadors of the Gospel, and we have this rich opportunity in front of us,” she says. “Accepting that means I have an opportunity to pray for my attitude–my openness–to others before I even enter the sanctuary. And maybe even to start leaving more margin in my coming and going on Sunday morning.”

Pippin encourages us not only to seek out friendships, but to seek them out with Christians who are different from us. We’ll likely grow deeper as disciples–and more amazed with God.  “Our awe for Him should be expanding as we see Him work in people who think differently than us, or who have walked different roads than us. God is that big, and He’s that able.”

None of this is easy. But God supplies everything we need for His Church to be unified.

“We, as Christians, have a leg up on friendship, because of the Spirit in us,” she says. “This should give us great confidence in pursuing other Christians. Because we know that this is what the Lord has and so we know that it’s not up to us to muster this strength, or to manufacture chemistry. The Lord wants it. He will show us how.”

 

Join us for our 14-minute conversation by listening to the podcast.

You can also read Paige Pippin’s article “Help! I Want to Make Friends at Church”.

Paige Pippin is a Christian author, blogger. and stay-at-home mom.

Inside Out with Martha Manikas-Foster is one of the Wednesday news features on the air and online. Hear it during our Noon Report, 5 O’Clock Report, and our “Family Life News” podcast feeds.

#InsideOut

 

The Parable Podcast – Episode 37: The World’s Two Religions Part 02

The Parable Podcast – Episode 37: The World’s Two Religions Part 02

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:47 — 14.8MB)

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The Parable Podcast with Family Life on-air host Randy Snavely focuses on the parables of Jesus, the meaning of the lessons He taught, and why He taught them as He did, with commentary and discussion that makes them relevant to our listeners lives today. In this episode, it’s part two of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, taken from Luke 18: 9-14.

 

The Parable Podcast – Episode 36: The World’s Two Religions Part 01

The Parable Podcast – Episode 36: The World’s Two Religions Part 01

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:50 — 13.5MB)

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The Parable Podcast with Family Life on-air host Randy Snavely focuses on the parables of Jesus, the meaning of the lessons He taught, and why He taught them as He did, with commentary and discussion that makes them relevant to our listeners lives today. In this episode, it’s part one of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, taken from Luke 18: 9-14.

 

The Parable Podcast – Episode 35: Persistent Prayer Part 02

The Parable Podcast – Episode 35: Persistent Prayer Part 02

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:51 — 12.2MB)

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The Parable Podcast with Family Life on-air host Randy Snavely focuses on the parables of Jesus, the meaning of the lessons He taught, and why He taught them as He did, with commentary and discussion that makes them relevant to our listeners lives today. In this episode, it’s part two of “Persistent Prayer”, the parable of the persistent widow as Jesus teaches His disciples to never give up, taken from Luke Chapter 18, verses 1- 8.

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