PODCASTS

Tag: ministry

A Family Life Special – Previewing this holiday season – 11/24/23

A Family Life Special – Previewing this holiday season – 11/24/23

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:29 — 72.1MB)

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Various angles today, about how the “holiday season” affects various people.

It’s an insightful half-hour with four special guests:

  • Financial expert Rachel Cruze offers her personal stories and professional recommendations on shopping and budgeting between now and Christmas. It’s OK — it’s even good — to be generous at this time of year. She cautions, though, that overspending and reliance on “stuff” to bring joy is misguided and harmful.
  • New York Pastor Dave Bretch offers those of us in America a perspective of what Christmas will be like in the Holy Land. He has led tours of the region where Jesus was born, as well as offering glimpses of U.S. and world history of Christmastime during wartime. For 2023, because of the war and terrorism in the region, the town of Bethlehem has already announced that all Christmas celebrations and events there for 2023 have been called off, to keep locals and visitors safe.
  • Another pastor in the Family Life listening area, Eric Johns, has first-hand insights of living on the streets as wintry weather begins to set in. He wraps up a 25-year string of spending Thanksgiving Week abiding with neighbors who are homeless for the holidays. Johns is involved with a congregation which has a heart for reaching out to those without a family, without a home, and (sometimes) without hope. Like many other churches, this congregation emphasizes how to share food, clothing and other items with people in need around them.
  • Jessica Meade, a Christian counselor in Pennsylvania, talks about personal and family expectations of what we think December and Christmas “should” be like. When it has been a hard year, or the circumstances of a family changes, people can drag themselves down when their holidays don’t feel like the happy Christmas movies or the stereotypical Christmas cards — let alone our own memories of good old days. She offers advice and practical steps to let loose of some traditions, find camaraderie with others who are living out a “Blue Christmas”, and ways to rediscover true wonder and joy, in anticipation of the Gospel story.

Please feel free to share this Family Life Special with others in your family, congregation, social circles, and other spheres of your influence.

It is easy to download, listen, or subscribe to our News Podcasts and features which intrigue you.

Hometown Heroes – Living on the streets, with Eric Johns – 11/14/23 (#2)

Hometown Heroes – Living on the streets, with Eric Johns – 11/14/23 (#2)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:42 — 7.8MB)

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Family Life’s “Hometown Heroes“

This week’s Hometown Heroes continues our conversation with Buffalo Pastor Eric Johns.

This will be his 25th and final year of living on the streets for a full week, getting the experience of homelessness first-hand. As he prepares to retire, his sons will follow in his footsteps. There are other ministry colleagues, young people influenced by the Buffalo Dream Center’s inner city ministries, and other church members who are now motivated by his example.

Hear more about how the Lord has used and expanded such outward-focused work here in Part 2 of our “Hometown Heroes” feature.

Part 1 of this conversation is also easy to find here on our News Podcasts page.

“Hometown Heroes” happens during the Family Life Noon report most Tuesdays, online and on the air. Your host is Family Life news anchor Mark Webster.

 

Hometown Heroes – Liz Smith – 5:9s outreach to first responders – 10/17/23

Hometown Heroes – Liz Smith – 5:9s outreach to first responders – 10/17/23

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:35 — 7.7MB)

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“Hometown Heroes” on Family Life

“We sometimes feel like we kind of have to put Jesus in a box, go to work, and we can take Him back out when we come home. We gotta break that.”  — Liz Smith

Chatauqua County (NY) Paramedic Liz Smith felt a divine calling to provide encouragement and support for first responders in her local area. She says law enforcement, firefighters and ambulance crew sometime need mental health services for PTSD and simply dealing with the stresses and tragedies they face in the line of duty to others. She also says spiritual nurture is an important component to help these front-line heroes.

She and a police officer had parallel visions for such a supportive group, and used the numbers in Matthew 5:9 (“Blessed are the peacemakers…”) to form their name.

Hear about this Christian outreach, about the needs of those on the front lines in their communities, and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shaping those who answer the call when there is an emergency.

The Calling – Episode 12: Pastor Jeff Jones

The Calling – Episode 12: Pastor Jeff Jones

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:40 — 33.9MB)

The Calling is a Family Life original podcast for pastors that focuses on the personal and professional challenges they face in their mission to serve the Lord. In Episode 12, Steve’s guest is pastor & author Jeff Jones whose book “Rebranding Christianity: When the World’s Most Important Brand Loses It’s Way” looks at how the church needs to get back to the basics of what Jesus taught.

Hometown Heroes – Chad Kurtz – Truth in Nature (dads) – 09/12/23

Hometown Heroes – Chad Kurtz – Truth in Nature (dads) – 09/12/23

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:34 — 7.6MB)

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Family Life’s “Hometown Heroes“

Chad Kurtz of Brookville, Pennsylvania, saw the challenges boys face in childhood and their teen years, when a father or father figure is not prominent in their lives. He directs the local chapter of “Truth in Nature”, a ministry which matches responsible Christian men with young people who need that kind of positive male influence.

Truth in Nature reaches out in response to a Biblical mandate to care for the fatherless. The need is great, with 18.5 million fatherless boys in the United States. Kurtz tells Family Life that real-world statistics show young people have very prominent incidents of imprisonment, homelessness, running away, suicide, and self-esteem issues. Of 27 recent mass shootings, 26 of those were committed by someone who did not have a dad at home.

Not all situations are dire, and single mothers do amazing work, and this ministry provides support to them too. For the boys, male teens and even those of college age, Truth in Nature provides experiences, advice and encouragement how to grow up as a healthy and respectful man. Activities include camping, learning to hunt, how to fold clothes, how to shave, and spiritual teachings.

Truth in Nature started in Georgia in 2009, and recently opened chapters in Pennsylvania and New York. Kurtz and others from Brookville are available to speak at churches and civic organizations.

 

 

Ep31: How Should Churches Share the Gospel?

Ep31: How Should Churches Share the Gospel?

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 41.2MB)

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Every Christian church agrees that sharing the gospel is important.  But what’s the best way to do that: getting people from the world into the church, or getting Church people out into the world?  Maybe it’s not one over the other; what are the strengths and weaknesses of both, and what do we feel called to do?

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