Christian Formation

By Providence ChurchReligion & Spirituality

Christian Formation episodes

August 18, 2018016 - Serving Immigrants & Refugees
Shane and I both grew up in the church and were blessed to feel the need for Christ early in our lives. Shane had a more devout idea of his life calling than I did as a child. He saw himself building houses in Africa, while I wanted to be single and run a farm for displaced cheetahs. Nothing against cheetah farmers, but God has since given us a calling as a couple, and now as a family, to invest in a population close to His heart: immigrants and refugees. There is a strong and clear biblical mandate for Christians to love, welcome, and serve immigrants and refugees. Zephaniah 7:10a states, “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.” These four groups have been coined “the quartet of the vulnerable” by American philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff, a phrase also used by pastor and author Tim Keller. We attended Keller’s church, Redeemer, in NYC, and were struck by his messages concerning these four groups and the
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37 min
August 08, 2018015 - Is Nationalism Biblical?
As strange as it is for a Brit to be writing a blog post on nationalism so recently after ‘Independence day,’ I do want to say that apart from the unfortunate episode of wasting perfectly good tea by tipping it into the sea (a crime few Brits can condone), there are no hard feelings!On a more serious note, anything that has a hint of nationalism at the moment is, in light of recent cultural tensions, more than a little controversial. Monument wars, protectionism, the rise of the Alt-right, the counter movement of Black Lives Matter on one side of the Atlantic and Brexit, the global refugee crisis, and cries for harder national borders on our side, have all made nationalism a touchy subject.So is nationalism biblical? What should be our thoughts about nationalist tendencies?To answer this, we need to briefly unpack the biblical understanding of identity and how it relates to this issue.
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40 min
July 05, 2018014 - Taking the Next Step
My wife Debbie and I are typically long-term planners. Organized, figured out, written down. We plan our steps in the direction that our heart beats, knowing all along that God may choose to redirect us. And though spontaneity is not a daily occurrence in our marriage, flexibility and spontaneity is a required component as we serve the Lord. Our intent is to let God steer our moving heart. He has placed within each of us a passion to follow Christ, pursue our God-given gifting, and at the same time, allow Him to have the freedom to direct our steps. We also allow each other space to serve in the areas of our strength. We are a team even though, at times, we minister in different areas. As Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better than one for they have a good reward for their labor.”
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41 min
June 27, 2018013 - Stories from Bangkok
“How was your trip?” The eight members of the Thailand team have been asked this question many times since touching down at the Omaha O'Hare Airport. The team members are still asking themselves that question. “Good” seemed too simplified, “Amazing” doesn’t exactly ring true. Was there one word that we can use to tell acquaintances in passing how the last three weeks impacted us physically, mentally, and spiritually? We laughed, we cried, we prayed through physical illness and mental hardships, and some days it seemed Satan was throwing every kind of ammo in his artillery at us. How do we describe that the spiritual warfare was real and , but our God was faithful to come alongside us through everything!
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33 min
June 20, 2018012 - Vanderveen Story
We moved into the apartments on 51st and NW Radial Hwy out of obedience on January 6th. It was difficult to track down the landlord, and even after we had made an appointment to view the apartments, he had forgotten about us and didn't show up. I mentioned in the last blog post that there was every reason to say no to this place, but we knew Jesus was asking for our yes. We ashamedly lived for three years in our last apartment full of Americans and zero language barriers and never had a meal with any of them nor shared any more experiences than simply talking occasionally in the parking lot. We knew it would take getting far out of our comfort zones paired with tremendous effort to step into this place, build trust, get to know our neighbors intimately, and share the love of Jesus with them—all while overcoming a language barrier.
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38 min
April 25, 2018011 - Suffering
I used to think that trusting in God meant a rosy future filled with nothing but good things. The more I trusted him, the easier my life would be. Picture an “up and to the right” graph—this was going to be my life.What I’ve learned since then is that suffering is a normal part of the human experience, and especially part of the Christian life. An emotional upheaval gave me the biggest opportunity for growth in my relationship with God. This article is meant to give some Biblical perspective on the issue of suffering.
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27 min
April 18, 2018010 - Conversation On Discipleship
Discipleship. We throw this word out a lot in the church or in ministries, and if we are honest, it all may be a little confusing. I want to try and explain discipleship through 3 ideas: what is discipleship, what discipleship looks like, and why discipleship matters.
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33 min
April 11, 2018009 - Why Read the Bible at Church?
Latest episode of Christian FormationHave you ever attended a wedding and found yourself at the end of the evening without so much as a glance at the bride and groom? Not once witnessing the bride in her full white dress at the altar? Not once catching the groom in his svelte black tux cutting his dance moves on the polished wood floor? No, probably not, because to attend a wedding ceremony and not once lay your eyes on the bride and groom would be to miss the integral component of that day—the union of these two people. You would, dare I say, miss the centerpiece of the event. I use this illustration loosely to demonstrate that if we are a church that does not read Scripture aloud during our Sunday gatherings (or our weekly Citygroup gatherings), then we are a church that misses entirely the centerpiece of why we gather.
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32 min
April 04, 2018008 - Soli Deo Gloria
Sound theology fuels joyful worship and obedient Christian living. The Protestant Reformation was aimed at rooting the wayward Church in sound theology once again. While there is a gap that exists to this day, the focus of this article is on the all-important fifth sola: the exaltation of God's glory.
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38 min
March 28, 2018007 - Solus Christus
In Christian circles there seems to be a revival of Jesus-centered churches. We love to talk about Jesus, which is great! But, as much as we love to say Jesus, we don't seem to speak of Christ all that often.
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22 min

About Christian Formation

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The goal of this podcast is to form disciples to live all of life with the presence of God, and we do this through conversations about theology, culture, and stories.