Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:08 — 19.4MB)
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Forgiveness seems simple, but when Mr. Jacobs says there might be more to it than just asking, the kids get a little nervous. Could he be right?
Bible Verses: Matthew 6, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, Psalm 103, Matthew 18:22, 2nd Peter 3:9
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:27 — 19.9MB)
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It’s easy to get jealous when one of our friends has something good. After all, doesn’t God want us to have what they have?
Bible Verses: Exodus 20:5, Luke 12, Matthew 25, Mark 12:31, Romans 12:15, Philippians 2:3
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:13 — 18.2MB)
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God wants us to do the right thing, and if we are doing the right thing then people will see that we are good people… right? how could that be wrong?
Bible verses: Matthew 23, Matthew 7, Ephesians 2:10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:26 — 22.6MB)
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Sometimes it feels like we are entitled to more than what we have been given, but how do we know how much we really deserve, and does the bible tell us?
Bible Verses: Deuteronomy 24:14-15, Leviticus 19:13, Malachi 3:5, Deuteronomy 25:4, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 30:18, Deuteronomy 32:4, 2nd Chronicles 19:7, Romans 6:23, John 3:16, Romans 5:1, Mark 12:30, Galatians 2:16,
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:06 — 16.6MB)
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Valentine’s Day is when we tell people we care about them, kind of like God tells us to in the bible; but does that mean we have to treat everyone in a romantic way?
Bible Verses: 1st Corinthians 13, Mark 12:30,
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:45 — 21.6MB)
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The Gift of Thorns
“We have to very careful to distinguish between ‘did God let me down?’ or ‘did my expectations of God let me down?’
What if not getting what we want is one of God’s great gifts?
“God knows what is good for us when we don’t,” says the Rev. Dr. A. J. Swoboda. “To ultimately assume God’s desires for us are the best desires, and believing that, is our first step in being followers of Christ.”
“I have grown the most in my spiritual journey with Jesus in places where I have not gotten everything I want. And what I’m trying to say is, I don’t grow in the great times. I grow in the times when I’m mad that I didn’t get what I want God to do,” Swoboda says.
When we find that we’re disappointed or angry with God, it’s important to figure out what God has promised us. “We have to very careful to distinguish between ‘did God let me down?’ or ‘did my expectations of God let me down?’ We’ve got to be cautious to not assume that God and our expectations about God are the same exact thing,” he says.
It is actually a gift, Swoboda says, to not get what we want.
“Jesus lived a life of willingly giving up everything He wanted. In fact, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he pleads with the Father to not die on the cross. Yet he submits Himself to what the Father wants over what His flesh and emotions wanted. And so I think life is in those places in our life. I think the thorns are a gift. I don’t think they’re a problem, I think they’re a gift.”
“At least in our world, unless you embrace the thorn, you won’t ever receive the rose. And that with every thorn there is a rose. We tend to focus on the thorn, and we forget the rose.”
Hear much more from A. J. Swoboda by listening to our 15-minute podcast.
Swoboda is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and World Christianity at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. He also leads a Doctor of Ministry program at Friends University. His new book is The Gift of Thorns: Jesus, the Flesh, and the War for our Wants. Learn more about A. J. Swoboda here.
“The Gift of Thorns” also is available as a Bible study series for individuals and groups.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:37 — 13.2MB)
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There are lots of things that are annoying in this world, and sometimes those annoyances can be people! But, what does God say about how we should treat them?
Bible Verses: Proverbs 12:16, Proverbs 19:11, Proverbs 29:11, Ephesians 4, 2nd Timothy 2, Colossians 3, Philippians 1, 1st Peter 5:7, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:13, Mark 9:23, Luke 1:37
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:53 — 14.9MB)
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With 70 percent of American TV households plugged in, the Super Bowl draws millions of eyeballs, adjusts peoples social schedules, and dominates public discussion throughout an early February weekend. It consistently is #1-watched TV show of the year. (Plus all that doesn’t even include the people who listen on the radio, watch through streaming, or just look up the Super Bowl ads on the internet!)
Family Life News talked with movie & television reviewer Paul Asay about how the Super Bowl broadcast has become such a huge event. We especially wanted a faith-based angle on the hype, from this editor of the Christian media site Plugged In.
Paul Asay gives his take on how massive the Super Bowl has become, including its role as one of the few broadcasts which remind us of a “monolithic culture…where people would all watch the same sitcoms and same adventure shows.” There are lessons from the Big Game weekend for Christian individuals and households, as well as for churches.
Another Family Life Interview about the Super Bowl, its commercials, and its hype aired Thursday (February 7). Hear commentary from Robert Thompson, the well-respected Television & Culture professor at Syracuse University. That conversation is available separately on the Family Life news podcasts page.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:40 — 18.8MB)
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When you want to know what God has in store for your future, you might ask for some sort of sign, but what would that even look like? Should we look to the stars? Should we look to the sun? Or maybe even a ….stick?
Bible verses: Isaiah 47:13, Deuteronomy 4:19, Daniel 2:27, Matthew 16,
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:40 — 20.1MB)
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People have been treating each other badly for a very long time, but so have ants and other animals! Why does God want us to treat others with kindness and respect if that’s not what nature does?
Bible verses: Matthew 7:12, Philippians 2:3, Genesis 1:26, Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:20, 1st Corinthians 13
