bread church

By breadReligion & Spirituality Christianity

bread church episodes

April 09, 2023 Easter - Hope for us all
The details of gospel accounts of Jesus‘ resurrection never fail to blow
our minds when we stop and examine. Just like much of his life and
ministry, when Jesus first announced he had risen from the dead, and
changed everything for the whole world forever, there was no fanfare or
fireshow or thunderous display, just calm, kind words to a woman who had
loved him dearly. Jesus always chooses the Mary Magdalene's, which is hope
for all of us.
28 min
April 03, 2023 Palm Sunday: Welcoming Jesus as king.
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into
Jerusalem, where He was welcomed by crowds of people who spread palm
branches and cloaks on the road in front of Him as a sign of honor and
respect. They were caught up with the joy that comes from 700 years of
waiting for a mighty deliverer to free them from their oppressors. Only 5
days later this same crowd would turn against Jesus and demand that He be
crucified because they didn’t understand that the kingdom Jesus came to
establish was not a physical nation, but a kingdom found in the hearts of
people.
By Ben Manusama
38 min
April 02, 2023 Palm Sunday - Welcoming Jesus as King
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into
Jerusalem, where He was welcomed by crowds of people who spread palm
branches and cloaks on the road in front of Him as a sign of honour and
respect. They were caught up with the joy that comes from 700 years of
waiting for a mighty deliverer to free them from their oppressors. Only 5
days later this same crowd would turn against Jesus and demand that He be
crucified because they didn’t understand that the kingdom Jesus came to
establish was not a physical nation, but a kingdom found in the hearts of
people.
38 min
March 27, 2023 Romans: Growing up.
Christian community is made up of lots of different people at different
stages of Christian maturity. Throughout his writings Paul corrects and
disciples those who are immature with regards their character and will. But
for those who are simply weak in faith - those who struggle to believe
everything that Jesus has done and it’s implications for them - there is
grace and patience. Even for those who are misguided in their faith, those
who are stronger in faith are called to be accepting and non-judgemental.
The reason for this is that fundamentally, in God’s economy, love and truth
are not of equal value. Love supersedes all else. It is the currency of the
kingdom. By love the Spirit is given, and the Spirit it is who brings all
of us to fullness of faith. So we can entrust everyone to the Spirit’s
maturing. And as a result see his community grow and mature.
By Ed Flint
41 min
March 26, 2023 Romans: Growing Up
Christian community is made up of lots of different people at different
stages of Christian maturity. Throughout his writings Paul corrects and
disciples those who are immature with regards their character and will. But
for those who are simply weak in faith - those who struggle to believe
everything that Jesus has done and it’s implications for them - there is
grace and patience. Even for those who are misguided in their faith, those
who are stronger in faith are called to be accepting and non-judgemental.
The reason for this is that fundamentally, in God’s economy, love and truth
are not of equal value. Love supersedes all else. It is the currency of the
kingdom. By love the Spirit is given, and the Spirit it is who brings all
of us to fullness of faith. So we can entrust everyone to the Spirit’s
maturing. And as a result see his community grow and mature.
41 min
March 20, 2023 Romans: Lord of all.
Paul’s closing chapters of Romans are about how Christian relationships
should be defined. Chapter 13 answers the question how Spirit-filled people
should relate to Government. Paul’s argument is that since God has all
authority, and he allows earthly rulers to exercise some (even if God does
not condone how it is used), Christians should obey all state laws (even
those with which we might not agree) as an act of acknowledgment and
worship of God’s supremacy and lordship. And yet of course, both Paul, the
other apostles, and indeed Jesus himself disobeyed ruling authorities at
times. So then, there is a line. And for Paul the line appears to be
defined by the greatest commandments - to have no other God but Jesus, and
to love our neighbor and do no harm to them. Any law which prevents us from
doing either of these must, for the Christian, necessarily be rejected.
Ultimately Paul’s concern is who is going to be Lord in our lives. The
challenge for us is to allow Jesus to be Lord of it all - sometimes this
will require active disobedience, probably most of the time it will require
humble submission.
By Ed Flint
33 min
March 19, 2023 Romans: Lord of All
Paul’s closing chapters of Romans are about how Christian relationships
should be defined. Chapter 13 answers the question how Spirit-filled people
should relate to Government. Paul’s argument is that since God has all
authority, and he allows earthly rulers to exercise some (even if God does
not condone how it is used), Christians should obey all state laws (even
those with which we might not agree) as an act of acknowledgment and
worship of God’s supremacy and lordship. And yet of course, both Paul, the
other apostles, and indeed Jesus himself disobeyed ruling authorities at
times. So then, there is a line. And for Paul the line appears to be
defined by the greatest commandments - to have no other God but Jesus, and
to love our neighbor and do no harm to them. Any law which prevents us from
doing either of these must, for the Christian, necessarily be rejected.
Ultimately Paul’s concern is who is going to be Lord in our lives. The
challenge for us is to allow Jesus to be Lord of it all - sometimes this
will require active disobedience, probably most of the time it will require
humble submission.
33 min
March 13, 2023 Romans: Living sacrifice.
Chapter 12 marks a turning point Paul's letter. He moves his conflicting
church readers to the how of the unity thing; how it works to be a body
(different parts, all working together, belonging to one another) and what
the love that fuels this will look like (the same kind of love for your
friends, our church body members, and our enemies alike!) And he begins
this instruction with one of the most poignant battle cries in all of
scripture: what God wants from us is for us to offer our whole selves to
him, and to not fall into worldly patterns of managing our human mess, but
to let Him transform us.
By Hannah Flint
37 min
March 12, 2023 Romans: Living Sacrifice
Chapter 12 marks a turning point Paul's letter. He moves his conflicting
church readers to the how of the unity thing; how it works to be a body
(different parts, all working together, belonging to one another) and what
the love that fuels this will look like (the same kind of love for your
friends, our church body members, and our enemies alike!) And he begins
this instruction with one of the most poignant battle cries in all of
scripture: what God wants from us is for us to offer our whole selves to
him, and to not fall into worldly patterns of managing our human mess, but
to let Him transform us.
37 min
March 06, 2023 Romans: The way we change.
The situation in the church in Rome was a stalemate, involving Jewish and
Gentile Christians pointing fingers at each other over theological
differences. Paul responds pastorally to their underlying question: who’s
right and who needs to change? By Romans 8, Paul establishes that Jesus is
right. He then makes the case that both groups (us included) need to
change. Change comes by the Spirit. We are energized to live as the
righteous people we already are. Righteousness is about how we relate to
God and one another, it’s about how we share the table. The change that God
wants to bring is an internal one that produces outward results most
notable in our capacity to love and share. This kind of change is not just
up to the Spirit; we are not passive in it, nor is obedience automatic – we
participate. As we live by the Spirit, we’re reminded of our adoption into
God’s family where we’re made new, all history, all curses, all regrets are
done away with and we hear again God’s love for us. And nothing can
separate us from his love.
By Raul Sandoval
37 min