First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh's Podcast

The great passage on the incarnation. The author of Hebrews said we were “made a little lower than the angels.” But in becoming one with us, incredibly, the author of Hebrews claims that Jesus was “made a little lower than the angels” too.

Inspired by the 2020 book, Why We Drive, by Matthew Crawford, a professor of political philosophy and a motorcycle mechanic. Crawford saws that exercising our freedom to choose and using our bodies to move through the world help make us truly human.

Why didn’t God create a race of robots who obeyed him perfectly?

Why did God send his son into the world? Wouldn’t it be easier to just beam faith into our heads?

We forget that the wonderful news of the birth of the Messiah was first met with terror. How do we learn to look past our fears and live in the wonder of God with us?

In this beautiful psalm of praise and worship, King David sought just one thing, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

If you are afraid and worried, do you take time to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” as King David did? The world does its best to keep us anxious, with a steady stream of bad news. The only way to combat it is to take time, again and again, to reflect on the beauty of God.

The strange story of God making a covenant with Abraham

How do we know that God keeps his promises? The great patriarch Abraham wanted to know, don’t we all? The Old Testament way of making a contract seems bizarre to us today, but in this strange scene, it foreshadows the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The famous story of Jesus, in the boat with the disciples, calming the storm. Do we see Jesus going through the storms of life with us?

Read the stories of Jesus healing and ministering in Mark chapters 3 and 4. Imaging the scenes. Imagine how exhausted Jesus must have been, both by the excruciating work and the misunderstanding of his own family. Why would be expect our lives to be neat and tidy, especially if we minister in his name?

In this psalm, King David asks, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them?”

“What are you afraid of?” #5. One of our greatest fears is to live a life with no meaning. This psalm gives some of the greatest affirmation anywhere to the worth of human beings. How does this great affirmation help us deal with our fear of insignificance?

Explores the great privilege we have to become children of God and to call God “Father.”

“What are you afraid of?” #4. Fatherhood is under siege these days. A great percentage of children today are raised with no father in the home. But what if we could recover the Biblical understanding of God as Father? What if we understood God’s forgiveness, steadfastness, and his unfailing love?

Celebrating God’s sending of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, and celebrating the vastness and goodness of God’s creation, sustained by the Spirit.

“What are you afraid of?” #3. For all time, human beings have looked at the vastness of creation as evidence of the love, joy, power, and creativity of God. How does celebrating all that deal with our fears?

God told Abraham, “Now I know that your fear God.” What does it mean to fear God?

“What are you afraid of?” #2. Of all the things that we fear in life, losing a child might be the greatest fear. Yet God called Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. How does the “Fear of God” keep our other fears in perspective?

Some of the greatest news of the Christian faith is also some of the most overlooked. Jesus’ ascension means that humanity has been joined to God. Humanity includes us.

Begins a short series, “What are you afraid of?” exploring the fears so many of us face today and what God has done about them. What greater proof could we ask

for that we are valued by God than Jesus Christ being raised in his earthly body to God in heaven? Do you believe that you too will be exalted by God one day?