We invite you to join us for our last episode of 2021. This one will be short and sweet, as we simply want to encourage and not take up too much time in this busy season. May you have more time for peace, prayer, love and joy. 

In this episode, we discuss how Jesus came into the world as a baby, as we do, needing to be fed and held. 

He is God with us, not out ahead of us impatiently waiting for us to understand or catch up or perform better.

We are not His projects, for He is Immanuel, our God with us. 

Today's podcast is a discussion on our relationship with the Bible. At times, if we were asked what the status of our relationship is, we may want to answer "it's complicated" like a social media update. And at other times, it feels like we are understanding and moving right along with enjoying the Word of God. It ebbs and flows. The Bible is a gift the Lord has given us that helps us know Him better. It's a gift we get to wrestle with, similar to how Jacob wrestled with God in the desert. But he walked away marked, changed, and knowing the Lord for himself. We have the same opportunity every day with God's word. To know Him and what He loves better through it. 

In this episode, we cover some general facts and info about the Bible, as well as some helpful resources for understanding the culture of the people the Bible was written by and for originally. We also discuss truly relating with it and how it does draw us closer to Jesus. 

Following are a few of the resources discussed in the episode:

YouVersion Bible App; Bible Hub www.biblehub.com; The Bible Project www.bibleproject.com; Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel by David H. Stern Ph.D; Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler & Lois Tverberg; History of the Bible Podcast.

2 years ago, I was invited to preach in a series on the parables. The series ended up cancelled before my turn, but I had still done all the study and written the message for the Persistent Widow. I approached this parable wanting to discover that the twist the original audience would have heard was justice, so it would fit with the missions trip I was doing that summer. This episode is about how we engage with scripture wanting it to fit our agenda. The Word belongs to the Lord, and we get to find Him and His heart in it. 

Listen in to hear more about how we can interact and relate with the Bible. 

I saw an image of a broken box at my feet. It was if the Lord was showing me that what I had put my trust in has broken down. It's time to return to trusting Him and His ways. If the pandemic and upheaval in society, and even the seeming rules in society and the culture of church, work or family life are still leaving us feeling lost and unprotected, we may have been building something that God was not building. Psalm 127 speaks of building what He is building and watching what He is watching. But are we watching, as in tweaking and fixing our own self care regimens and schedules to get us results under our control and for our comfort?

Join us for this episode of BraveTalk where we talk about our broken boxes and God's better way. 

This episode is a recording of when I preached last year. It was Super Bowl Sunday, February 3, 2020. I hadn't spoken at a church, formally, in years, and I had the opportunity. It was so much fun and made me want to do that process again and again. 

This message was part of a series our church was doing during a 21 day fast. We were reading the devotional Pursuit (link below), and I chose a topic to develop a message from. It's very specific to the group of people, the context and situation. However, when Jesus' death caused the veil in the temple, separating the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple - that is a moment that impacts us all, endlessly. 

Please enjoy this message and we hope you are drawn in further to the heart of God. 

Pursuit: 21-Day Prayer and Fasting Devotional by Dave Patterson

Desolate Places: Reflections of Hope in Dry Seasons by Maranda Hope Gullett

Trust is a big issue to the Lord. In this week's episode, we are going to address praying our will over someone else. 

This is a very vulnerable topic, and it's one we certainly need to be aware of, as control in the face of fear or difficult circumstances can come out in us through praying our version of best-case scenario into a person's life or a situation. Think Bruce Almighty.

In this episode, I share a recent example from my own life of a hard thing I went through earlier this year in leaving my job before our move to Florida. In painful situations, the invitation from the Lord is always to trust. We will discuss abandoning our version of best-case for trusting Him with others and ourselves. 

Join us for this episode of BraveTalk Podcast Redux, as we discuss that perhaps things don't seem wrapped and tied up neatly from last year. 2020 and the Pandemic are still bleeding into our days and this year. We take a look at the life of Esther and see how her time, that Mordechai suggested was a specific and special time, in reality, included many choices or a series of time. May you be encouraged as you listed, to seek the Lord for the strength and hope to stay in this ever unfolding season and continue to choose Him and what He has for you in this. 

BraveTalk Podcast is back after an extended break. This time, expect engagement like the waves, or like breath, in and out. Join us for this re-introductory episode and be encouraged that not all has been lost. That there is grace for the desolate times we have known since the start of the Pandemic. 

This is BraveTalk Redux, and we sincerely hope this brings you encouragement, solace and serves as a gentle reminder that Hope calls out, and points us to Jesus.