Escape urself Podcast

A house divided

Luke 11:14-54

I want you to consider a theory.  That we must act now before it is too late.  Is our country divided?  You know, that might just be one thing that we can all agree on.  The fact that we are divided.  However, we probably could not agree on the source of the division.  It is not politics, it is not a particular amendment, it is not a race, it is not the economy, it is not the media.  No, there is only one source of the divide.  It is absolutely a spiritual divide.  There are those who are in Jesus and there are those that are apart from Jesus.

Those of us who know and have accepted the love of Jesus must act now before it is too late!  No one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return.  How do we define too late for someone to come to Christ? Well, as long as there is still breath in their lungs and Jesus has not returned then it is not too late.    But none of us know when that hour will be.  We must act now to reach out to those around us with the love of Jesus.  United by the blood that was shed for our forgiveness.  There is no worldly difference that cannot be overcome by the sacrifice of Jesus.

Sunday, May 8th 2022

Luke 10:38-41 and Luke 11:1-13

Happy Mother’s Day!

Today we want to remind all women (and men) of how much they are loved by God.   He created you on purpose and for a purpose.  He loves you and He willingly offered His life for you so that He could give you His peace, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and hope in this world.  Our challenge to the women (and men) today is to be intentional about setting an example for our kids to follow.  And purposefully setting aside time to teach our kids some fundamental truths about God and His Son Jesus and the His Spirit.

What must I do?

Luke 10:237

What must I do to catch up? What must I do to get ahead?  What must I do to get some rest? What must I do to get a job?  To pass a test, to get married, to start a family.  What must I do to get over this addiction, to quit this habit, to get rid of this sin in my life?  What must I do to be a better husband, wife, parent, grandparent, or employee?  What must I do to be happy? Have you ever asked any of those?

Have you asked Jesus?  He is absolutely in to answering that question for us.  Please join us this week as we see what His answer might be to you.

Sunday, April 24 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.

You have been called…

Last week we celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus.  Actually, we celebrate the resurrection every week, every day, every moment of life that God gives us.  Each of these can be a reminder of what Jesus did for each one of us.  With the death and resurrection of Jesus as our foundation, we are now studying His words, His teachings, and the truth within them.  How they applied to those who originally heard them and how this application is just as useful to us today.  His teachings are perfect.  They are timeless.  And ff you allow them, they will guide you on a path to become more and more like Him.  This is not a transformation but a completely new creation!  Through your new life in Jesus, He will draw more and more people to Himself!  Jesus’ mission to seek and save the lost is now our mission!

Resurrection Sunday

He is risen!

Sunday, April 17 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.

So that you may know…

This Sunday we will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.  Maybe you know all about this event and it has changed your life!  Maybe you have heard about Jesus but have never really had anyone share with you the truth behind Easter.  Maybe you have only heard the name of Jesus and you wonder what this holiday is all about it.  No matter what you do or do not know.   No matter what you do or do not believe at this moment.  No matter where you have been or what you have done.  The resurrection of Jesus is for you.  We are excited to share this with you on Sunday so that you may know…

"So That You May Know" is the title of our series.  We pray that you will know Jesus in the deepest way possible.  We pray that you will know Him as the one who loves you and gave His life for you.  We pray that you will know Him as your Creator, your Savior and your friend.  That is why we are here today, to share this incredible story.  What an honor it would be if you were able to join us this Sunday as we share with you the event that changed the course of human history.

Sunday, April 10 2022 

So that you may know…

This Sunday is what is called Palm Sunday.  This is the day that we believe the events recorded in Luke 19 occurred.  Jesus approached Jerusalem and as He did, He was greeted by a large group of people.  It was like a parade route as the people rejoiced and praised the One they thought would be their military, political, and religious messiah.  After the crowds dispersed, Jesus then enters Jerusalem and over the next few days everything begins to change.

So That You May Know is the title of our series.  We pray that you will know Jesus in the deepest way possible.  We pray that you will know Him as the one who loves you and gave His life for you.  We pray that you will know Him as your Creator, your Savior and your friend.  That is why we are here today, to share this incredible story.

As we continue our journey together to the cross and ultimately the empty tomb over the next two weeks, we pray for you to join us.  Maybe for the first time, God will convince you of the truth of Jesus and what He did for you.  For those that might already be convinced, the more certain you are the more you will want to tell others.

Sunday, April 3rd 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.

So that you may know…

What does it mean to know something for certain?

Really, what do you know for certain?  This is something that the most famous philosophers have been debating for thousands of years.  Plato in the 3 and 400’s B.C., Aristotle after him, Aquinas in the 1200’s and Descartes in the 1600’s.  What is certain?  Is it limited to the world of mathematic equations and science or are there things beyond those realms that we can know for certain?

All of that depends on your perspective.  If you are of the belief that the only thing that is certain is this moment and the only thing you are sure of is that you exist in this moment then it will be pretty hard to persuade you to believe in anything else.  But that belief is so hard to hold on to.   Humans have been designed to think outside of ourselves.  To even remove ourself from our current condition and dream about what could be.  God has placed something inside of us that instinctively knows there is something more to this life.   Even if you never choose to believe in Him, there seems to always be the question of “what if God is real?”  The things that all humans crave love, belonging, acceptance, value and worth.  All of these are best provided by God Himself.  Fully relying on other humans or technology to provide these needs can lead to heartbreak, anxiety, depression and worse.  God alone offers these things unconditionally and will never fail to provide them to us.

As we journey together to the cross and ultimately the empty tomb over the next few weeks, we pray that you will join us.  Maybe for the first time God will convince you of the truth of Jesus and what He did for you.  For those that might already be convinced, the more certain you are the more you will want to tell others.

Sunday, March 20th 2022

The truth of a story

Luke 8:1-18

The art of storytelling.  Have you ever thought of Jesus as an artist?  Truthfully, He is in so many ways.   There is the obvious, take a look around at creation.  It is magnificent.  There is nothing that has been created that He did not have a hand in creating.  (John 1:3)  The flowers, the mountains, the oceans, the clouds, every sunset and sunrise have the fingerprint of Jesus all over them.

There is another art that Jesus is quite good at.  A narrative art, that of storytelling.   He had the ability to seize the moment and the attention of everyone listening.  He would share a simple story that taught a valuable moral or spiritual lesson.   The story would always use real-world elements that His crowd would be familiar with.  The potential was always there for everyone to understand what Jesus was teaching.  The potential…did everyone hear it and understand?  No.   Did everyone that understood put His words into action?  We would love for you to join us this week as we explore two short stories Jesus shared and how they apply to our lives today.

Sunday, March 13th 2022

In a world of TED talks and masterclasses, I wonder where Jesus would fit in?  His teachings are generally quite simple.  His illustrations help explain things in a way that anyone could understand.  The truths He shares stretch across all time.  They do not change or need to be updated for modern times.  Jesus would never dream of charging a dime for people to learn from Him.   How would He get His message across today?

Jesus did establish through His first followers the need for His teachings to continue on.  He even inspired them to write down all that He commanded them to do.   We find those teachings in the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Jesus also gave the go-ahead for what we now call the church.  No, it is not perfect because it is made up of imperfect people.  Yes, it has changed over the years.  But we strive to make sure that the teachings of Jesus never change.  Jesus and the truths of His teachings are the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We pray that you will join us to first hear the teachings of Jesus.  But that is only the beginning!  We pray that His teachings will lead you to a faith in Him that will change your life both now and for eternity

Sunday, March 13th 2022

In Luke 6 Jesus commands His followers not to do something that seems so natural.   He says in verses 37-38 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you.”  What is Jesus saying?  The world has taken this passage and ran with it.  Using it as a way to justify all kinds of evil and wrongdoing.   Pushing away anyone that might use the truth of scripture to try to offer them a better way to live or better choice to make.

When you take this passage out of context then its meaning completely changes.  Jesus is offering very specific and very difficult instructions for those that chose to believe in Him.  If you are a follower of Jesus, then this is a command to you.  If this is a command, then we must learn how to apply it in the way it was intended.  How can we follow this command in a way that brings us closer to God and at the same time help lead others to Him as well?

Please help us spread the Word of God and share this will all that you can.