Red Rocks Church Audio Podcasts

As Shawn reminded us this week, "The church is not here for us, we are the church and we're here for the world!" This is a significant shift for some of us, but just imagine what we could all do together to make an impact in the world around us if we just change how we view the church.

This week Shawn shares the rest of the story about the Father's deep love for his son. It's so easy to feel much like the younger son, wanting to run off to the distant country (whatever that looks like for you) is going to bring us the joy and purpose we desire. But nothing could be further from the truth! The only way to find true abundant life is to be rooted and grounded in what the love of God!

This week Ronnie defined sin as "trading in things of value for things of lesser value." Following Jesus does not mean saying no to all the things you really want to do, it means discovering a far more beautiful way to live. And while sin eventually leads to death, living life the way God designed it leads to abundant life (John 10:10)!

Shawn said this week, 'God rolls out the red carpet for us.' We are His honored guests at the table, despite all we have done wrong and all the times we turned our backs on God. He forgives and restores; this is who God is. His kindness leads us to turn away from the lies and sin and walk back toward home.

As Ronnie said this week, the Pharisees were angry with Jesus because 'they had missed his mission.' If they had it their way, Jesus would stop being so inclusive and start rebuking people out. But the good news is, the Good News is for everyone! Jesus is letting the whole world know that He is about people! He is the one who leaves the majority to find the lost. As followers of Jesus, the invitation is to do the same.

As Christians, we celebrate Easter every day! But it is also good to take a specific weekend out of the year to not only remember what Jesus did for us but also remind one another that the tomb is empty! As Shawn talked about this week, the implications of those events were life-changing for Peter, and they are just as powerful for us today!

Doug reminded us this week, "inviting people to the party is far more than an obligation it's the greatest honor we've been given." We believe the message of the Gospel is good news for everyone! Here at Red Rocks, we want to be a church with a front door that is wide-open. Fortunately, we have life-changing news to spread that will bring fullness of life! Inviting people to a giant, amazing party is a lot more fun than trying to sell them something.

Conrad reminded us this week, that 'colliding with Christ was never to contain you, but to compel you!' There is the power of story, in testimony. It is what compels us to reach out to others who haven't met Jesus.

"Long before the reader knows how the story ends, the author knows." God knows everything! And He wrote us into His story because we have a part to play. When we trust Him to be the author of our lives, we begin to walk with true authority!

We all need breakthrough at some point in our stories because we are all broken and are all in need of Jesus! As Shawn reminded us this week, 'If you want to see breakthrough, you have to remember what you've been through."

As Jimmy reminded us this weekend, "When people's pain becomes our passion, we start moving in purpose." Trying to help people without actually caring about them is exhausting. However, when we start to care about people, we naturally begin making room in our lives for those who tend to be ignored.

As Ronnie reminded us this weekend, 'if you want to know what true forgiveness looks like, consider the cross.' Everything starts with God's love for us. Those who understand that they have been forgiven much, will love much.

This week, We have another chance to say 'no' to shame and preach to ourselves the truth of the gospel! As we do, we will begin to experience our relationships become healthier and more authentic! So, let's STOP, DROP, and DECLARE!

This week Shawn gave us a marriage mix tape, composed of ten steps to help our relationships. Doing the hard work to identify your strengths and weaknesses in your relationships is not easy, but it is incredibly helpful as we continue moving forward to loving one another well!

When it comes to developing healthy relationships, prayer is the most underutilized tool we have in our tool belt. First, because prayer actually works (James 4:2). Scripture tells us that God listens to our requests, and although he isn't a cosmic slot machine who gives us whatever we want, He invites us to ask because prayer works. But second, because our prayers change our heart for the relationships in our life.

Ronnie kicked off this series by talking about singleness and that every relationship we have is made up of individual parts. He reminded us that 'When we don't know who we are in Christ, we create unrealistic expectations for our relationships.' It all comes back to knowing how much God loves us and who we are in Him. When we begin to rest in this, we are freed up to love others well!

This week Doug talked about the story in John 15 where Jesus uses the imagery of a vine and its branches. As Jesus prepared to go to the cross, He essentially tells His disciples that it is their turn to pick up the torch and carry on the movement. However, the way forward is a bit counterintuitive. Instead of moving on from Jesus, their job is to learn to depend on Him even more.

This week Shawn reminded us that we will miss something if we "leave too early." No matter where you are in life, no matter how stuck you feel, you can have confidence in the One true God who comes down, takes a seat and reminds you that it's all going to be okay. Trust in the bigger picture. In God's perfect story for your life. He is promising you that He is doing 'immeasurably more than all we ask or can even imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

This week, JB talked about comparison being a thief. It steals our joy, our peace, and our contentment. We now live in a world that makes it incredibly difficult to avoid the comparison trap. Everywhere we turn we see what we lack and who we are not. We take a look at Paul's life as he learned how to get his focus off what he lacked and focus on what he had. And what he had was something no circumstance could ever change: a relationship with Jesus!

This week Ronnie talked about Joseph's journey. His journey is a brilliant reminder to us that God is always at work behind the scenes, using the trials we go through to shape and mold us.