Cornerstone Message Podcast

Are you flagging? The dictionary defines flagging as growing weary, tired, or lacking enthusiasm. You could think of it not as active apostasy or gross sin but rather just running down in the race of faith. If so there's hope that will lift your spirits and fuel your fire as we begin our second series in Revelation, working through Jesus' personalized message to the seven churches who were the original recipients of book of Revelation.

What would it be like to lack for...nothing!??! Some of our needs are tangible. Stuff. Things. Others can't be bought at a store or put in a bag. Peace. Safety. According to the Scripture, all of them can be found in one source!

Much of the Bible is poetry; ancient Jewish meditation literature poetry. Reading this literature with understanding, let alone skillfully applying it to our lives today, requires understanding its structure and nature. But when you do, it unleashes wisdom and insight that leads to lives that flourish...as God intended.

Bible is not just a book, but a library of books whose primary genre is narrative, or storytelling. But many have a challenge making sense of some of the stories and especially how they can be accurately applied to our lives today. Don't get derailed by common mistakes that are made when reading the stories of the Bible. You can accurately and skillfully read and apply the Bible's narratives to your life.

A lot of people come to the Bible with a mix of anticipation, hope, and confusion. Anticipation because it is God's Word. Hope because if it's God's Word, it contains solutions to the problems we face in this world. But a little confusion too because we're jumping into a world that is very different from ours and is often hard to understand and sometimes downright troubling. So how do we mine the depths of God's wisdom without getting trapped in the cave of confusion? Thankfully, you can read the Bible with understanding, and the series we're in right now will equip you with the appropriate tools and greater skills so that you can be an accurate interpreter who makes appropriate applications of God's Word to your life.

Does your faith stand or fail based on a book? On a church? On your understanding? An experience? What is the foundation of your faith? If you want rock-solid faith, you may need something more. Discover the foundation of Christian faith in this bonus message that dovetails nicely with the How to Read the Bible with Understanding series.

The last book in the Bible, Revelation, has been misunderstood, misused, and misapplied perhaps more than any other book in Scripture. And it's no wonder. It's an ancient text far removed from our usual experience, filled with unfamiliar and frightful images. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you know the interpretive key to Revelation you can unlock its message, read it with understanding, and benefit from its practical and encouraging message.

If you don't see a danger ahead, it's unlikely you'll take the necessary precautions. Far to many fall into a trap on their spiritual journey that is described in the opening chapter of the book of Revelation, and that can derail them because their experience doesn't line up with their expectations. Be forewarned and forearmed, and less likely to be derailed by the realities of life in the Kingdom when you get a realistic expectation what it entails.

There are moments in our lives when we our circumstances prompt questions and our confidence is eroded. Given a choice, we would escape. But God can use these moments in our lives to reveal strengths, gifts, and callings that we never asked for or thought possible. Through Shanna's story we'll see how brokenness, suffering, and service have both hindered and propelled her journey of faith as part of our Voices series.

When we’re in the middle of difficulty, questions arise that we may almost be afraid to ask. Where is God? Is he really in control? Does he care? Embedded in the opening lines of the book of Revelation, which is also a letter to churches in crisis, are the answers to the questions like these that they may be asking but may be afraid to voice. Find the encouragement and insights you need to keep going in faith when your faith is being shaken.