Branches HB Podcast

As we discover in these passages, there is gravity to living in close quarters with God. Though the Levitical laws may seem arbitrary or strange, they illustrate a comprehensive way of relating to God. What if, like the Israelites, we saw God everywhere we looked?

As we hear in this teaching from Andrew Schey on Adab and Abihu, we find that "to obey is better than sacrifice" and we cannot take God's holiness for granted. Jesus is the God of Leviticus in the flesh, and while we have the joy of his grace we must also fall down in reverence and awe of him.

Continuing our series in Leviticus, we heard from Austenn Akers about how Israel was given access to God's presence through Aaron and his sons. In this message, we learn how the levitical priesthood is relevant for us today in our walk with Jesus and what it means to be devoted to God in worship.

This past Sunday, we met on the sand at Huntington City Beach to worship together, learn from the book of Leviticus, and celebrate baptisms. Our next beach service will be on September 29 at Huntington City Beach (PCH & Huntington).

As we begin our journey through the book of Leviticus, Andrew Schey unpacks the first three sacrifices described by God: the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fellowship offering. Through these offerings, the Israelites had a means of dedicating themselves to God, morning and night. But how do we draw near to God in our modern context?

In the concluding message of our series, Andrew Schey encourages us with a "kingdom confidence" mindset as we look ahead. Just like the growth of a seed is independent of the gardener, we're not responsible for the kingdom of God and we don't own it's growth. Instead, we ought to take up responsibility for the simple things God puts in front of us. So, what is God inviting you to plant and water today?

God could have set himself up to be a figure of great prestige and influence, but instead he opted to be a nobody from nowhere, born into an unimportant family in the lowest class of people. There was nothing about Jesus of Nazareth that was worth taking notice. In this teaching from Andrew Schey, we are reminded again that God’s ways are often much different than ours and that elevating our careers, beauty, and talents will leave us out of step with his true purposes in this world.

Why do we chase after human wisdom expecting it to solve our problems for us? In this message from Brian Albright, we unpack what true wisdom looks like and how the ways of God often seem foolish to the rest of the world.

The world and the church are often seeking cultural relevance, subjecting themselves to the fear of man for the sake of personal advancement and achievement. Why, then, does Jesus spend so much time equating the pursuit of relevance in this world with winning the wrong game? As we embark on this new series over the next four weeks, we’ll begin to unpack our perspectives and values and how we as Christians can stop pursuing the world and find ourselves in the company of God himself.

"Stop, I love you. Look, I see you. Listen, I know you." In the final message of our series, Brock Snook unpacks what God has been saying to us throughout the book of Malachi and encourages us to switch from loving God's gifts to loving God just for who he is.