PODCASTS

Tag: faith

Good Friday – Reflections on the significance of Good Friday – 3/29/24

Good Friday – Reflections on the significance of Good Friday – 3/29/24

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Good Friday – Reflections on the significance of Good Friday

It’s an age-old question:  What is “good” about “Good” Friday?

Family Life News asked two pastors — both of whom serve in regional roles guiding Pennsylvania and New York congregations — for their stories and interpretations of why we enter the solemn moods of remembering Jesus Christ at Golgotha and Calvary.

Listen for the recommendations of the Rev. Mel McGuiness and the Rev. John Pingel. They talk about Holy Week worship and spiritual reflections give valuable context to the Good News — for people of faith, as well as for anyone who has not delved into the significance of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion.

 

Mel McGuiness is pastor of the Kiantone of Jamestown, New York. He also is moderator of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Regional Fellowship of the “Four C’s” denomination. The Conservative Congregational Community Churches network is online at www.ccccusa.com.

 

John Pingel is president of the Eastern District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He serves and leads over 120 congregation in that district, which stretches from New York, across Pennsylvania, and stretches into Maryland. Learn more about the LCMS at www.lcmsed.org.
An Interactive Good Friday Experience – Hometown Heroes – 3/19/24

An Interactive Good Friday Experience – Hometown Heroes – 3/19/24

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:52 — 8.1MB)

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A Tonawanda Church invites the surrounding communities to experience first-hand what Jesus experienced on the original Good Friday.

Their interactive Good Friday experience takes place on Good Friday, March 29. Guests can drop in for as long or as little as they like, anytime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. First Trinity Lutheran Church is at 1570 Niagara Falls Boulevard in the northern Buffalo suburb.

Carolyn Doster is one of the coordinators. She tells our “Hometown Heroes” interviewer Mark Webster about what families and individuals will discover as they “Journey Through Good Friday”. The Biblical story comes alive with an all-five-senses self-paced visit. It is family friendly, plus has advice for parents of very young children about two of the 16 scenes which may be too stark or need parental context. The First Trinity website offers a preview (plus information for people who are unable to attend in person).

https://printerval.com/au/good-friday-wish-classic-t-shirt-p77564

Kids Corner – Getting What We Deserve

Kids Corner – Getting What We Deserve

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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,
Inside Out – Thorns – Faithfully handling disappointment – 2/14/24

Inside Out – Thorns – Faithfully handling disappointment – 2/14/24

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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.

Kids Corner – That’s So Annoying

Kids Corner – That’s So Annoying

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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

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