Back to Rurality

Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of Back to Rurality, host TJ Freeman discusses the challenge of making big decisions, especially for Christians living in small towns. He explains the common struggle of wanting direct guidance from God to make decisions easier. Through recounting his own experience of deciding whether to move from Florida to Pennsylvania, he emphasizes the importance of delighting in the Lord, seeking counsel from others, and trusting God's plans.

Key Points:

• Wisdom from Psalm 37: The more one delights in the Lord, the more their desires will be aligned to His will. 

Listener Takeaways:

• Talk to a trusted Christian friend or pastor about your decision and seek their guidance and wisdom. 
  
  
  

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: This episode of Back to Rurality, hosted by TJ Freeman, addresses the common reluctance many experience towards singing in church. Freeman highlights the biblical imperative to sing as an act of worship, encouragement for others, and a reflection of genuine faith and transformation through the gospel.

Key Points:

• Why People Aren't Singing: There are various reasons why people might feel uncomfortable or disinterested in singing, ranging from lack of musical knowledge to personal insecurities about one's voice.
• Who Should We Sing For: Singing is not a personal preference, but instead is an act of worship. Congregations sing not for themselves, but for each other and for the glory of the Lord. Believers sing because their hearts have been transformed by the gospel. 

Listener Takeaways:

• Prepare before church on Sunday. Ask a pastor for the list of songs to be sung on Sunday and listen to them. Pray through the songs as well. 
• Remember the mnemonic device, 'SING': Sacrifice of praise, Inspiration, New song in our hearts, and Glorifying God.
• Participate energetically in church singing as a vital expression of faith and community worship.
  
  
  

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• Website: backtorurality.com
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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: This episode of the Back to Rurality podcast, hosted by TJ Freeman, focuses on how to wisely invest in a local church, especially in rural areas where options may be limited. Freeman acknowledges the challenges of finding a healthy church and discusses the pitfalls of approaching church selection with a consumerist mindset.

Key Points:

• The Problem of a Consumerist Mindset: Freeman addresses that choosing a church based on their friendliness, look, music selection, or any other nonessential reason is not how to pick a good church home.
•  Understanding and Teaching the Gospel: If a church does not proclaim the truth of the Gospel it is not a church. If the truths of the gospel are not taught regularly and believed by the members then it is not a church worth investing in.
• Faithfully Preaching the Word: The pastor does not have to be the next Charles Spurgeon, but he does need to open his Bible and teach the congregation the best he can the emphasis of the text.
• Administering Sacraments Regularly: The church needs to take part in regular  baptism and the Lord's Supper. The regularity can vary, but the church is required to have them.

Listener Takeaways:

• Just go visit a church. If it meets the three qualifications talk about here, then go to membership class and try to get to know the members. 
• Listen as carefully to the preaching as you expect the pastor to be preaching. 
• Pray and ask the Lord to grow your church in other healthy ways. 
  
  
  

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' TJ Freeman, a rural pastor, discusses the concept of church membership. Freeman explains how church membership helps Christians to clarify, participate, demonstrate, and identify with their local churches.

Key Points:

• Common Questions: Freeman addresses whether church membership biblical. He also begs the question whether church membership is controlling. 
• Church Body as a Building: Much like a home, a church is made up of many different parts. TJ expresses that if a brick if left out of a building it isn't serving it's purpose. This is true also of Christians not joining in on the life of a local church. 
• Church Discipline: Although it the concept of church discipline is uncomfortable, it is a means of grace. In other words, it is a helpful tool to keep each other away from destruction of sin. 

Listener Takeaways:

• Join a local church and lock arms with other Christians in your area. Befriend them, serve with them, and go all in. Be known by others in your church. 
• Prayerfully consider joining a church. Read through the statement of faith and see what it is you will be joining.
• Meet with the pastors of church and talk through any reservations you may have in joining the church. 
  
  
  

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• Website: backtorurality.com
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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: This episode of the Rural Reset series, hosted by TJ Freeman, addresses the common question of whether attending church is necessary for worshipping God, especially for those living in rural areas with limited church options. Freeman argues from scripture, particularly Ephesians chapters two and three, that while individual worship is valid, full worship and honoring God require participation in the life of a local church.

Key Points:

• Christianity is a Communal Faith: Christianity is meant to bring believers together as one body with different gifts, and this is played out in local churches. This is God's plan for displaying his glory!
• The Importance of Church: Christians must rethink their priorities, and therefore, give priority to the eternal values such as church.
• Benefits of Church Life: Even though being in the church can provide various challenges, Christians can practice preferring others over themselves. Being in the church provides mutual encouragement and spiritual growth. 

Listener Takeaways:

• How you spend your time speaks to your values. Prioritize gathering with other believers to worship God! 
• Pray and ask the Lord to give you the ability to pay attention during the worship service. Pray alongside those who are praying publicly, pray the words you're singing, and pray for the preacher. 
  
  
  

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• Website: backtorurality.com
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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of Back to Rurality, hosted by rural pastor TJ Freeman, listeners are guided on how to combat persistent and challenging sins by understanding and utilizing the ordinary means of grace provided by God. 

Key Points:

• The Deceitfulness of Sin: Freeman discusses how sins deceive us, using examples such as anxiety, addiction, and anger, and emphasizes the destructive nature of sin.
• Renewal of the Mind: Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians can fight sinful patterns by reading Scripture and regularly praying. 

Listener Takeaways:

• No sin is too powerful for a Christian to overcome. Take heart in this truth!
• Seek to be in regular fellowship with other Christians. The Church was made to support each other in their fight for holiness. 
  
  
  

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this podcast episode of 'Back to Rurality,' host TJ Freeman explores the universal struggle against temptation by sharing one of his own personal battles. Freeman offers biblical insights, particularly focusing on 1 Corinthians 10:13, to encourage listeners that they are not alone in their temptations, that God is faithful, and that there is a way to endure and escape temptation without giving in. 

Key Points:

• The Root Issues Behind Temptations: Freeman connects his fear of flying to a broader spiritual struggle of not trusting God's sovereign control. 
• Temptations are Universal: Believers should know and take comfort that they are not alone in any temptation that they are facing. The parade of saints who have gone before have gotten through this very temptation with God's help.

Listener Takeaways:

• Scripture memory can be helpful in the fight to resist temptations. Trust that the Holy Spirit will bring that to mind when it is needed most. 
• It is helpful and necessary for Christians to seek accountability in their common temptations. This helps bring temptations out of the dark and into the light. 
• Since temptation is a constant battle, a believer must fight to continuously turn to God's promises for strength and deliverance. Pray that the Lord will help one to cling to these promises.
  
  
  

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' rural pastor TJ Freeman explores the struggle between the Christian's focus on a relationship with Jesus and the plethora of rules often associated with the faith. He shares personal experiences of growing up with strict Christian rules and discusses the challenges of guilt and pride that come with viewing Christianity as merely a list of do's and don'ts. 

Key Points:

• Two Ditches of Living for Rules: When a Christian tries to live out their faith by adhering to a strict list of rules they often fall into two negative camps: the guilty or the prideful. The guilty camp often struggles with intense shame. On the other hand, the prideful feel satisfied even though they too are missing out the freedom that comes from a relationship with Christ. 
• The Purpose of God's Law: God has given his people different commands throughout Scripture so that they would be a people set apart from the nations around them. God intends his people to image him and show off his glory.
• The Truth of John 8: Those who are truly Christians abide in God's word because they truly love God. 

Listener Takeaways:

•  TJ encourages his listeners to ask themselves two questions. The first question is "Do I love God's Word?", and the second is "Are you abiding in God's word?"
• Christians should pray and ask the Lord to give them a hunger for his word, motivated by a love for him. 
  
  

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' host TJ Freeman discusses the common feeling of distance from God and offers practical tools to help listeners reconnect with their Heavenly Father. 

Key Points:

• Potential Causes for this Distance Feeling: Their can be various causes to this feeling including unconfessed sin, unmet expectations, or comparison to others.
• God's Steadfast Love: In Psalm 13 and Hebrews 13:5, one can see that God is steadfast in His love for His people. God is never distant from His flock.  
• The Importance of Pressing On: Trust the Lord and be encouraged by the promises in His Word. 

Listener Takeaways:

• Despite how one can feel on any given day, the Bible assures us that God is always present and faithful. He will never leave his people. 
• If you are feeling distant, do some homework and ask yourself some questions. Try to get to the source of why you are feeling distant from God. 

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Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' TJ Freeman discusses spiritual gifts, their importance, and how to identify and use them effectively. He emphasizes that every Christian has unique spiritual gifts meant to glorify God and build up the church.

Key Points:

• One Body, Many Parts: In Romans 12 we read that the church is one unified body made up by many different parts. Each part has their own vital gifting to serve the church. The church is dependent on one another.
•  The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts: God has granted each Christian spiritual giftings not so they can show them off, or take pride in them, but so that they can build up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are meant to be used to aid one's fellow church members. 
• The Joy of Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual gifts are not a burden or an unwanted responsibility. They are gifts meant to pass on to others. God made the church to find their joy in Him and one of the best ways to experience this joy is to serve others. 

Listener Takeaways:

• Don't rely on spiritual gift tests, instead consider one's abilities, desires and one's church's needs, and use those to actively serve and engage within the local church community.
• Try not to fall into the temptation to be a "Lone Ranger" Christian. Christians are meant to be interdependent on one another. 

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