In our second episode on generosity, Austin is joined by church elder Bob Walz. Austin and Bob give tons of practical steps we can all take in our approach to giving. Regardless of background, everyone has a perception of what it means to give and how we should give. Bob gives great insight on what it looks like to give cheerfully and some ideas of how to find who to give to.

In this episode, Pastors Austin and Jeff sit down to talk about generosity. The Bible mentions money some 2,000 times and yet it is one of the many topics that most people, even us as Christians, feel uncomfortable talking about. What's worse is that we live in a culture where we are constantly worried about money or what money will buy us and that leads to our finances becoming an idol in our life. Jeff and Austin talk about what it means to be generous and how generosity leads to having a more complete relationship with Jesus Christ. The pastors also talk about a few great practical tips to start being more open-handed with our finances today regardless of what stage of life you are in!

In our last episode, Brett and Austin sat down with Kelsey talking about how to make new spiritual friends. In this episode, we look at the other side of friends. Have you been friends with someone for a long time and yet find yourself never talking about your shared faith? Whether it feels weird to talk about or it just never seems to come up naturally, talking about Jesus with old friends can be challenging. Yet we know that it is essential for us to sharpen one another. Brett and Austin share a few easy tips and tricks to help you talk about Jesus more with your friends and why it's so important.

Whether you're a social butterfly or the world's biggest introvert, making friends can be hard. Making friends who also spur you on in your faith can be even harder. In this episode, Brett and Austin sit down with the one and only Kelsey Hullman. As the women's leader for the local college ministry, Kelsey is a pro at making lasting friendships and raising up disciples who make disciples. Kelsey shares with us a few tips and tricks for how we can go about making friends who will grow with us in our faith. This isn't just for women, these tips can be used by men as well! Making friends doesn't have to be as complicated as we have made it.

In this bonus episode, Pastor Austin sits down with Worship leader Jeremy and Worship resident Naomi to talk about singing in church. For many people, worship happens right before a sermon and not much else. Maybe you have a few songs you sing in the car about Jesus, but there's no way you would sing them as loudly in front of people. What Jeremy and Naomi show us is that not only is worship not just a once on a Sunday event, it's a posture of our heart towards God. Jeremy and Naomi share what they think worship is and how we can open our hearts to the Lord deeper through singing together.

Get familiar with the songs we sing with our playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38V2ZweXtVlSbOIsRd42B9?si=e391bb676af64d53

In our second episode on enjoying the Bible, Brett and Austin talk about what it means to cherish God's Word and how to strategize your reading plan. Brett points out a couple of great resources that can help anyone with their reading plan and how you can best approach developing a consistent reading plan.

Let's be honest; reading the Bible can be challenging. Whether we feel like there's not enough time in the day, we don't understand what we are reading, or we don't have a strong desire to read, it can be easy to neglect our time in God's word. In this episode, Brett and Austin talk about how we can learn not to simply read God's word but deeply enjoy it. Brett reminds us of the great privilege of having access to God's word, and enjoying it doesn't have to be hard. Brett also gives a few practical tips that can help you engage with scripture and help aid in your understanding of the Bible. As you listen to this episode, pray that God would give you a new hunger and desire for His word!

In the second segment on pursuing purity, Brett and Austin talk about what that looks like in a relationship. Whether we know it or not, when we enter a relationship, we come in them with ideas of what we think about sex. Regardless of those ideas, the Bible tells us that sex is beautiful and sacred. We as Christians should then want to protect the sanctity of sex. Austin lays out some great practical tips for pursuing purity and the amazing benefits we reap when we do. Even if you have struggled with pursuing purity in your relationship, there is still a waterfall of grace from Jesus that can inspire you not to give up.

For our first episode on the topic of purity, we are pleased to have our first guest speaker Kellan Heavican with us. Austin, Brett, and Kellan talk about how pervasive and dangerous pornography is. One of the reasons pornography has become such a big problem is that we have failed to talk about it. This lack of clarity has led us to believe so many lies about it. While this is a heart-breaking reality, Kellan shares what it can look like to walk in freedom from pornography.

Learn about the true problem that pornography is at https://fightthenewdrug.org/

Want to take the next step in fighting for purity? Download Accountable2You at https://citylight.accountable2you.com/

We are diving back into discerning God's will for our lives in this episode. We tend to think that discerning God's will is something reserved for the "spiritually elite" and that we should ask someone, like a pastor or mentor, about all of our big life decisions. Or, in some cases, we look to the world to tell us what we want to hear. The reality is that God has given us everything we need to know about acting in obedience. God gave us His Word and prayer as ways to openly communicate with Him, and they offer us an invitation to trust in Christ. On a practical level, though, Brett gives us a few questions we can ask ourselves to see if we are pursuing God's will rather than our selfish desires.