Welcome to the Faith First Podcast where we try to give you some practical and biblical steps to walk out your faith in Jesus. We are in the midst of a series on I love my church. In this episode, I sit down with our Lead Pastor Steve Darr and talk about taking down fences. Let’s go ahead and jump right into the questions.

In this episode you'll discover:

• What the fences are that you may have erected to keep others out
• Why God designed the body of Christ to be a connected body
• How Jesus crashed our fences
• Why fellowship is so important in the spiritual growth of every member
• How we can grow as a community in the church and in our towns

To truly love our church, we have to love someone in our church. It doesn’t mean you are instantly an extrovert. It means we don’t live in isolation. We need one another to grow in our spiritual lives and to enjoy one another’s company. That only happens when we allow Jesus to crash down our fences that we have erected to keep others out.

 We hope you have found the Faith First podcast worthwhile. We get excited every time a new episode is launched because we know that it could help someone in their faith. So, maybe you might want to share this podcast with others and begin taking down your fences faith first. 

Today’s episode of the Faith First Podcast ought to come in a video for the illustration that our Lead Pastor Steve Darr gave during the message you’re about to hear. But first, let me ask, do you have a fence around your yard? If you do, did you erect it to make your yard pretty or to keep people from getting too close to your home? Well, that is exactly what this message is about, taking down fences. Let’s listen in as Steve comes to the microphone.

In this episode you'll discover:

• How to start a conversation about your faith in Jesus
• What one of God's plans are for believers
• How Jesus has crashed our fences
• Why when we have fellowship with God, we must then have fellowship with others
• Discover what fences you have erected to keep others out

Our backyards are a bit different. It’s the real us, and getting into someone’s backyard is by invitation only. In fact, we often build fences because we are not sure we want others to know what’s really going on in our lives. God isn’t a big fan of fences. God wants us to rethink our fences and if we intend to love our church the way God wants us to, then there are fences that need to come down.

We hope that the Faith First Podcast has been a help in living your life focused on Jesus. If so, you might want to head on over to our website and see what’s happening at First Church. We can be reached at www.firstcong.com. We understand that taking down fences can be hard, but just remember Jesus crashed our fences. Now go out and show your love faith first.

Hello and welcome! You have clicked onto the Faith First Podcast. When you say, I love my church, what exactly do you mean by that statement? In our last episode, you and I discovered that loving the church is more than loving the building one goes to worship. It means loving those in the community of faith. Today, I sit down with our Lead Pastor Steve Darr to dive into the topic of projecting love.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why we are not supposed to compare other places with the Church
• When Jesus commands the Church to love one another why it is not optional
• What is meant by loving others intentionally
• The analogy between the Church and a restaurant is not what God intends
• How we can let others know we love our Church

Someone out there might not have a positive view of the church and that us why we did this series. Our love my church series will include, Love by connecting, love by serving, love by giving and love by sharing. We hope you will stick around for God intended the Church to be a loving, giving, serving, and sharing community that relies on Jesus Christ.

If you’ve been listening for a while or maybe this is the first time you tuned in. We’d love to connect with you. What you can do is head on over to our website at www.firstcong.com and send us a message of how much this podcast has meant to you. Until next time, project the love of Christ faith first.

Hello and welcome to the Faith First Podcast where we give you a deeper look into what it means to live out your faith in the world today. I want you to do a little exercise with me, think about the church you attend, think about the people in it, now let me ask you a question. Do you love your church? Loving your church has a lot more to do with the relationships in it than it does about the place you meet. We’ll discover more on this topic as we listen in on the message by our Lead Pastor Steve Darr called, projecting love.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why the places we like least are not like the church
• What God's intention for the Church is in His plan
• How we can love the Church intentionally
• How the Church is not like a restaurant review
• What the Church can do to exhibit the love of Christ

We aren’t only brought into relationship with Jesus but also into relationship with one another. Being in a relationship with Jesus means being part of a church, part of His kingdom, part of the body of Christ, part of the family of faith. You and I will experience a love for the church when we intentionally love the church.

Well, I hope that you were inspired or reignited today to go out and form relationships with your brothers and sisters in your church for they too are part of the Body of Christ. So, until next time, hit the subscribe button or look us up at www.firstcong.com and project love of your church faith first.

Hello and welcome to the Faith First Podcast. We all have neighbors. And, if you’ve studied the story of the Good Samaritan, you’ve had your thoughts about neighbors questioned. But have you ever thought about Jesus being your neighbor? How would you treat Him? Better than the other neighbors or the same? These are all great questions we probably should be asking our Lead Pastor Steve Darr and he joins me on this episode to answer some of the questions that came upon the topic of Only Jesus Neighbor. 

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why do we pay little attention to the words in Scripture "Love your neighbor as yourself"
• Why do some Christians have an issue with loving ourselves
• When we think about loving our neighbors, we just might fail
• Learn some first steps to take in loving our neighbors
• How we can imitate Jesus who is the ultimate good neighbor
• What is the true definition of compassion

Maybe we need to be taught, so teach us Lord to open our hearts to receive genuine love from you and to give out toward others. Give us a desire to reach out to our neighbors and offer the best we can to them just as we desire the best for ourselves. And, may we do everything in love.

If you’ve been listening to the Faith First Podcast for some time and yet have not hit that subscribe button, we encourage you to take the time and do it so that you can get updates of when a new episode posts. Until then, go out and love your neighbor faith first.

Hello and welcome to the Faith First podcast! You may have heard the story of the Good Samaritan and how Jesus defined the neighbor a bit differently than just that person next door. The message today concludes our sermon series on Only Jesus. Our Lead Pastor Steve Darr presents that Jesus is our neighbor.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why we must pay attention to Scripture's command to love our neighbor
• How we have been raised to think of others first
• When we ought to love our neighbor
• Why the command to love our neighbor is overwhelming
• How God works compassion into the believer's life
• What true compassion truly is toward our neighbor

When we love our neighbor as ourselves, Christ has made it impossible for us to fail. We will not only want what is best for others but what is best for us. Christ has shown us how to truly love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus is the ultimate good neighbor, and His example is the one to imitate. 

Thank you for taking the time to listen in on the Faith First podcast. We know there are many voices out there and we are thankful to be able to speak, life and love into yours. Until next time, may you love your neighbor as yourself faith first.

Hello, you’ve reached the Faith First Podcast. I didn’t grow up with any brothers. I have a sister and well, we won’t talk about that! And yet, being a believer, being part of the family of God, I do have a brother and His name is Jesus. That is what we will be talking about today. Welcome as I sit here alongside our Lead Pastor Steve Darr to dive into this topic today. 

In this episode you'll discover:

• What having brothers in a family and the brotherhood of believers have in common
• How Jesus united us all as one family
• What privileges do we experience by being called brothers and sisters of Christ
• As heirs of Christ, what we receive as brothers and sisters
• The responsibility of being united to Christ as a brother or sister

Jesus the Son of God has come to bring us new life and adopt us into His family. We are now, as his brothers and sisters, part of the kingdom of God. In the fullness of that kingdom that is yet to come there is no more hunger, nakedness, illness, or fear. We, right now are given the opportunity to bear witness to Christ, to be a messenger of His kingdom as we serve and love all our brothers and sisters. 

 Maybe you know someone who would love to be part of this family of God. If you do, introduce them to the Faith First Podcast and how it has encouraged your walk with Jesus. Let us step out and introduce our Big Brother Jesus to others faith first.

Hey there Bro! Welcome to the Faith First podcast. That introduction is definitely not me, but it relates to today’s message being presented by our Lead Pastor Steve Darr. We are in the midst of the series, Only Jesus, and today we get to listen in on Jesus our brother…

In this episode you'll discover:

• Although we are different, we are also alike in Christ
• Why God the Father wants us to be called brothers and sisters of His Son Jesus
• Can we be lost or snatched from the hand of Jesus
• Why our brother Jesus desires intimacy with Him
• How we are to emulate Jesus as our brother

I’ve always wanted an older brother. You know one that comforts, protects, comes to your aid, and would if needed lay down his life for me. Well, you and I don’t have to look any further than the person, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. Even when we were yet sinners, Jesus gave His life so that we could be called His brothers and sisters.

 Knowing Jesus as brother adds weight, wonder, and affection to our worship as we exalt the uniqueness of the Son of God and give thanks for His willingness to share in our nature and our suffering. We here at First Church are thankful that you stop by every week to catch our Faith First podcast. If you’ve just happened upon it, we encourage you to hit the subscribe button to be alerted to every new episode, and until next time, know our brother Jesus goes to the Father on your behalf faith first.

Welcome to the Faith First Podcast. I am Jonathan Gouthier, Associate Pastor here at First Church in Torrington, CT, and like me, you probably have had a lot of friends or BFFs in life, and yet there is one who longs to be your best friend. Of course, I am talking about Jesus. Today, I sit down with our Lead Pastor Steve Darr to talk about Only Jesus as our Friend. 

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How we should define our friendship between Jesus and us
• Why friendship is important
• How we are to view friendships if Jesus is our model
• How we get to experience friendship with God
• What fellowshipping with Jesus means

The love that enables Jesus to lay his life down for his friends is not unique to him. This love can be replicated and embodied in you His follower. Jesus called us to love one another as He loved us. If we long to be called a friend by Jesus, then we are to give love freely and generously without counting the cost and without wondering and worrying about who is at the receiving end of our love.

Through friendship, we come to know God and through friendship, we enact the love of God. We can risk being friends because Jesus has been a friend to us. Go out and be a friend faith first.

Hello and welcome to the Faith First Podcast! We are in a series called Only Jesus and today if you’ve tuned in you’ll hear our Lead Pastor talk about Only Jesus Friend. You have probably heard that old favorite Hymn, What a friend we have in Jesus. What that means is that Jesus wants to get so close to you and me as you are with some of your other friends. Let me stop talking as you listen in to hear this message…

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why friendship with Jesus is not as equals
• How Jesus is our King as well as our friend
• What God desires in an intimate friendship with you
• How Jesus is our model of friendship toward others
• Why friendship with Jesus is conditional

Our relationship with Jesus should be one that both emphasizes Jesus as King and His authority over our lives and at the same time not ignores or neglect His companionship as a dear friend.

Jesus chose us as friends, he died for us as friends, he caused us to trust him as our friend. What a friend we do have in Jesus because he will be with us to the end. Remember Jesus walks with us faith first.