Word Of Life Church Podcast

There is a sense in our day that the drive for more is driving us crazy. Jesus wants to liberate us from this madness of more, setting us free to rest in his grace. Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” May we learn to walk the way of thankfulness and trust, seeing more than enough wherever we look.

The second most important question a person can answer is "Who are you?" This question follows the most important question "Who is Jesus?" As we look to Jesus and the cross we can honestly answer, "I am loved." Shame is soul-crushing and can keep us from believing the truth about who we really are. The good news is that shame has been defeated by Jesus' death and resurrection. The words of shame are not who we are. We are people who are loved. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others think of us. Coming home is claiming the truth. I am the beloved child of a loving Creator. We no longer have to beg for permission from the world to exist.”

Mama, take this badge off of meI can’t use it anymoreIt’s gettin’ dark, too dark to seeI feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorMama, put my guns in the groundI can’t shoot them anymoreThat long black cloud is comin’ downI feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s doorKnock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

Jesus just left ChicagoAnd he's bound for New OrleansWell now, Jesus just left ChicagoAnd he's bound for New OrleansWorkin' from one end to the other and all points in betweenTook a junk through MississippiWell, muddy water turned to wineTook a junk through MississippiMuddy water turned to wineThen out to California through the forests and the pinesAh, take me with you, JesusYou might not see him in personBut he'll see you just the sameYou might not see him in personBut he'll see you just the sameYou don't have to worry 'cause takin' care of business is his name

Now I've been happy latelyThinking about the good things to comeAnd I believe it could beSomething good has begunOh, I've been smiling latelyDreaming about the world as oneAnd I believe it could beSomeday it's going to come'Cause out on the edge of darknessThere rides a peace trainOh, peace train take this countryCome take me home againNow I've been smiling lately,Thinking about the good things to comeAnd I believe it could be,Something good has begunOh, peace train sounding louderGlide on the peace trainCome on now peace trainYes, peace train holy rollerEveryone jump upon the peace trainCome on now, peace trainGet your bags together,Go bring your good friends, too'Cause it's getting nearer,It soon will be with youNow come and join the living,It's not so far from youAnd it's getting nearer,Soon it will all be trueOh, peace train sounding louderGlide on the peace trainCome on the peace trainPeace trainNow I've been crying lately,Thinking about the world as it isWhy must we go on hating,Why can't we live in bli

I want to live, I want to giveI've been a miner for a heart of goldIt's these expressions I never giveThat keep me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldKeep me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldI've been to Hollywood, I've been to RedwoodI crossed the ocean for a heart of goldI've been in my mind, it's such a fine lineThat keeps me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldKeeps me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting old

Saw you stretched out in room 1009With a smile on your face and a tear right in your eyeCould not seem to get a line on you, my sweet honey loveBerber jewelry jangling down the streetMaking bloodshot eyes at every woman that you meetCould not seem to get high on you, my sweet honey loveMay the good Lord shine a light on youMake every song your favorite tuneMay the good Lord shine a light on youWarm like the evening sunWhen you're drunk in the elevator with your clothes all tornAnd your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawnJust seen too many flies on you, I just can't brush them offAngels beating all their wings in timeWith smiles on their faces and a gleam right in their eyesThought I heard one sigh for youCome on up, come on up, now, come on up nowMay the good Lord shine a light on youMake every song you sing your favorite tuneMay the good Lord shine a light on youWarm like the evening sun

You say you want a revolution Well, you knowWe'd all love to change the worldYou tell me that it's evolutionWell, you knowWe'd all love to change the worldBut when you talk about destructionDon't you know that you can count me outDon't you know it's gonna be alrightYou say you got a real solution Well, you knowWe'd all love to see the planYou ask me for a contributionWell, you knowWe're all doing what we canBut if you want money for people with minds that hateWell, all I can tell brother is you have to waitDon't you know it's gonna be alrightYou say you'll change the constitutionWell, you knowWe'd all love to change your headYou tell me that it's institutionWell, you knowYou better free you mind insteadBut if you go carrying pictures of chairman MaoYou ain't going to make it with anyone anyhowDon't you know it's gonna be alright

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no reliefBusinessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earthNone of them along the line know what any of it is worth”“No reason to get excited,” the thief, he kindly spoke“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a jokeBut you and I, we’ve been through that, and this is not our fateSo let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late”All along the watchtower, princes kept the viewWhile all the women came and went, barefoot servants, tooOutside in the cold distance a wildcat did growlTwo riders were approaching, and the wind began to howl

Justice is the presence of God’s healing presence in the world. It's God’s ongoing work of setting right a world gone wrong. When people are suffering, where the strong oppress the weak, when people are suffering lack, the justice of God comes. When the brokenness of our world keeps people pushed aside and robbed of dignity and value, the justice of God comes to heal and restore. When we do justice and love kindness we are joining God in God's mission on the earth.

Just like we have four directions and four seasons, we have four Gospels. These four distinct, yet complimentary witnesses, give us a full portrait of Jesus Christ. We need all four Gospels just like we need the whole body of Christ. Luke, the third Gospel written, gives us the most human picture of Jesus. It's from Luke that we see the prayer and table practices of Jesus.

On Trinity Sunday the church emphasizes that the living God is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity is not a word found in Scripture, rather it is a formulation within the Christian religion drawn by the church from Scripture in concert with the Holy Spirit. It took the church three centuries to arrive at the creedal statement about the Trinity set forth in the year 325. In the Council of Nicaea we see how the Holy Spirit works with the church in the development of the Christian religion. But I also know that some modern protestants balk at Christianity being referred to as a religion. So today I want to address the question: Is Christianity a Religion?

Visions are for when you’re holding on tight and are looking for direction. Dreams are for when you’re letting go and have less to lose — or something like that. Visions are prose and need a plan. Dreams are poetry and only need be dreamt. Visions are still a little bit tethered to what we tend to think is possible. Dreams are a portal to a world where all things are possible. We are free to dream of that which we have no idea how it could come to pass. Much of the Bible is the poetry from those inspired dreamers we call prophets.

The ascension of Jesus given to us in Acts 1 pictures Jesus going up into heaven. Jesus has gone up into heaven until the day when he brings heaven down to earth. So what is Jesus doing up there? In the Apostles' Creed we confess, "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father," a place of authority, so when you hear “ascension” think “promotion.” Jesus was promoted to the right hand of the Father. Though hidden from our eyes, we believe Jesus is ruling and reigning over the earth from the control room of heaven.

In the closing chapters of the Bible, the lost garden of Eden and Abraham’s sought-after city are combined in the garden metropolis of the Lamb. The arrival of New Jerusalem is celebrated as a great wedding. Just as Jesus began his ministry at the wedding in Cana, now the ascended Christ presides over the marriage of heaven and earth. The tragic divorce between heaven and earth is now reconciled by the Lamb. Today every local church is to be a suburb of New Jerusalem.

The book of Revelation is the most prophetic book in the Bible; it’s a prophetic interpretation of the cataclysmic events of the AD 60s and 70s; it’s a prophetic critique of the Roman Empire and thus all empire; it’s a prophetic exposé of the idolatry of civil worship; and most of all, the book of Revelation is a prophetic depiction in sign and symbol of the ultimate triumph of Christ. It’s from the Apocalypse that we gain the Christian eschatological hope of God in Christ making all things new.

When we dare to read the book of Revelation we find all manner of strangeness — angels and demons, dragons and beasts, bowls of blood and a bejeweled city, angels with four faces and locusts with human faces, cryptic numbers like 144,000 and 666, a beast with seven heads and ten horns and a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns, a great whore drunk on blood and a pregnant woman clothed with the sun, three frogs that deceive kings and an angel that tells John to eat a scroll, wars in heaven and wars on earth, blood as high as a horses’ bridal and angles falling like stars, lakes of fire and rivers of life, a fallen Babylon and a New Jerusalem!

The New Testament gives us about eight accounts of Jesus appearing to people following his resurrection. First to Mary Magdalene in the garden; then to a group of women as they left the empty tomb; to Cleopas and his wife on the Emmaus Road on Easter afternoon; to ten disciples in the upper room on Easter evening; to Thomas a week later; to seven disciples beside the Sea of Galilee; to all of the disciples on a mountain in Galilee; and finally, as to one untimely born, to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. What all of these appearances have in common is that they all contain an element of surprise. To encounter the risen Lord is to be surprised by Jesus.

Thomas, the disciple of Jesus. Thomas the twin. Thomas the one who doubted. But Thomas was no more inclined to doubt than any of the other disciples, it’s just that Thomas had not had their experience; so Thomas had a roadblock to belief. We’re told that Thomas had a twin. Who is the twin of Thomas? We are. In a secular age we’ve all encountered the same roadblock to belief as Thomas. As sons of the Enlightenment and daughters of Modernity we’re all Thomas now.

Throughout Lent we’ve been seeking to encounter the Unvarnished Jesus. In 46 daily meditations and seven sermons we’ve been looking at and listening to Jesus Christ. We’ve seen him announce and enact the kingdom of God by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, casting out demons, and forgiving sinners. We’ve seen Jesus on his long journey toward the royal city of Jerusalem; a journey toward coronation by crucifixion; a journey into danger and death; a journey that ends with Jesus buried in a garden, laid to rest inside a rock-hewn tomb. Now, on Easter Sunday, we see Jesus on the Other Side.