Following Jesus

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church pastors Andrew & Addison talk with long time members of Christ Church Bob & Cheryl La Fleur. Bob is a retired ER doc from the area and serving as an elder at Christ Church, and Cheryl serves as the Womens Discipleship ministry at Christ Church. Bob & Cheryl spend some time reflecting on their experiences around death, Bob as an ER doctor and Cheryl with the recent passing of her mom. What wisdom can be gained as we are all faced with the reality of death due to COVID-19.

Quotes from the show:

“Let no one fear death for the Death of our savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hades when he descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said “ you, o hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.” Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar for it is destroyed …Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth and encountered heaven. It took what it saw and was overcome by what it did not see. O death where is thy sting? O Hades where is thy victory?”  (John Chrysostom)

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  Romans 6:3,4

Resources/Links

If you want to talk about the process of death, or want some more information about how to be prepared, please reach out here and we will be happy to serve you.

Are you grieving death? Has someone near to you just passed and you don’t know how to think about it or what to do next? Just want to talk with a pastor at Christ Church about death, please feel free to reach out, we would be happy to talk. You can find our email addresses here.

More resources from Christ Church COVID-19 Response page.

You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple iTunes by clicking here, or on your Android platform you can find us here.

Consider giving us a rating and leaving a review. That is the best way for people to find this podcast. Also please share these stories and observations about following Jesus with a friend or family member.

On this special episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church pastors Andrew vander Maas and Addison Hawkins talk with their friend and Francis Schaeffer Institute director & Covenant Theological Seminary adjunct professor Mark Ryan. In this episode you will hear how Mark is adjusting to life during COVID-19 as a husband, father, professor and prophet, one of these is a joke, you take a guess! Mark outlines ways Jesus followers can respond to the government restrictions that have been put in place as well as how to think about our response after this is all over. Enjoy.

Quotes from the show:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34–35

“In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he is not a Christian. Here Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.”  — Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian

Resources/Links:

You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple iTunes by clicking here, or on your Android platform you can find us here.

Consider rating and reviewing us, thats the best way for people to find this podcast. Also share this show with a friend or family member.

Grace & Peace

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church pastors Andrew & Addison talk with former Gracehill assistant pastor and resident church historian Daniel Eguilez. Just finished Ph.D. on the work of Cyprian from Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids Michigan. Daniel is currently a missionary for Serge to his home country of Peru.

Quotes from the show:
"This trial, that now the bowels, relaxed into a constant flux, discharge the bodily strength; that a fire originated in the marrow ferments into wounds of the fauces [i.e. back of the mouth]; that the intestines are shaken with a continual vomiting; that the eyes are on fire with the injected blood; that in some cases the feet or some parts of the limbs are taken off by the contagion of diseased putrefaction; that from the weakness arising by the maiming and loss of the body, either the walk is weakened, or the hearing is obstructed, or the sight darkened; —[this trial] is profitable as a proof of faith». Cyrprian," On Mortality, 252 AD

Some other plagues from Church History
1. 541–542 AD, with recurrences until 750, The Plague of Justinian,
2. 14th century, The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population.
These two «great plagues» killed hundreds of millions of people!
3. Martin Luther's, Plague in 1527 in Wittenberg,
4. John Calvin’s, Plague in 1542 in Geneva, 
5. Jonathan Edward’s, Smallpox epidemic in 1758 in New Jersey,
6. Charles Spurgeon’s, Cholera outbreak in 1854 in London.

"Discernment in application of sacrificial love: «There are many factors that set our age apart from others. Before modern hospitals there was no specialized, professional health care. What’s more, previous generations ministered to the sick with little knowledge of how their diseases were transmitted. Carers can be carriers, even when asymptomatic. In such scenarios, self-isolation can be the most loving thing to do, rather than infecting the ones we’re seeking to love. While the outworking of love may look different in different ages, love must still be the aim—a love directed by the Holy Spirit, not our self-centered flesh." (Glen Scrivener for TGC)

Resources/Links

You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple iTunes by clicking here, or on your Android platform you can find us here.

Grace & Peace

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church, pastors Andrew vander Maas & Addison Hawkins talk with Annie Shek who was born and raised in New York City. While Annie & her husband Rich with their son Parker live in Grand Rapids now, Annie has spent most of her life in New York City. As many of you know NYC has been hit very hard by the coronavirus, and this has hit Annie especially hard. Listen along as Annie shares some observations & stories about how this has impacted her life, and the lives of those she loves in NYC.

Resources & more connections
For up to date numbers on the cases in New York City go here & for an update on the state of New York you can go here. For the most impacted area codes in New York go here.

In a time where we are all in this together, the gospel calls for us to stand united together. Yet sometimes we are struck by stories like those that Annie shared about racial injustice. Read this Christianity Today article detailing some of these same accounts.

Here's the press release that Annie mentioned that talks about over 1100 hate crimes submitted related to coronavirus.

If you have experienced similar hate crime encounters as Annie mentioned during the show please report them here.

For more resources from Christ Church, check out our Staying Connected during COVID-19 page.

Lamentations
[1:1] How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
[2] She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks...

[3:17b] my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
[18] so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the LORD.”

[19] Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
[20] My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
[21] But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

[22] The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
[23] they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
[24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Thanks for listening, Grace & Peace.

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church, pastor Addison Hawkins discusses a Theology of Disability with Christ Church members Cassaundra Wolf, Jacob Theilman and Shinji Yasugi. This conversation is based off of a planned Adult Institute or Sunday School class Cassaundra, Jacob and Shinji were prepared to present on.

Resources:
- To access Jacob's initial Adult Institute talk on this topic you can go here.
- For more information on Pine Rest in Grand Rapids Michigan you can check them out here. If you need any behavioral healthcare service Pine Rest is still open and receiving outpatient care.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13

As services resume and we find our rhythm again at Christ Church we plan on presenting this topic again.

Thanks for listening, Grace & Peace.

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church, pastors Andrew VanderMaas & Addison Hawkins bring you a conversation with Christ Church member Kuni Hotta. Kuni currently lives in Nagoya Japan where he is finishing his seminary education in preparation for pastoral ministry.

You can find more information about Kuni's mission by going to his MTW landing page.

Missions, coming from the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:16-20 informs how Christ Church views the Gospel of Jesus Christ going forward around the world. Christ Church supports through prayer, finances and activity missionaries around the globe. 

For more resources please visit our Resources page, or check out previous episodes of this podcast. 

Grace & Peace

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church, pastor Andrew VanderMaas brings you a conversation with fellow Christ Church pastors Bryant McGee & Addison Hawkins as well as Gracehill pastor Ben Seneker about the exposure of idols in their lives.

During this time of COVID-19 it should be no surprise that idolatry will be exposed. Thinker, author and former pastor of Redeemer in New York Tim Keller talks about idoltry in this helpful way;

"Why do we lie, or fail to love, or break our promises, or live selfishly? Of course, the general answer is “Because we are weak and sinful,” but the specific answer is that there is something besides Jesus Christ that we feel we must have to be happy, something that is more important to our heart than God, something that is enslaving our heart through inordinate desires. The key to change (and even to self-understanding) is therefore to identify the idols of the heart.” (The Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, Study Guide (Zondervan, 2010), page 40)

Psalm 139: 23-24
[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
[24] And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

Thanks for listening. Grace & Peace

On this episode Andrew & Addison chat with Jenny Pray, a P.A. in the Spectrum health system here in Grand Rapids Michigan. Jenny has been a member at Christ Church for over five years and resides in Ada Michigan with her husband and 2 year old son. She currently works in Colorectal Surgery in the Spectrum Health system.

Andrew & Addison discuss with Jenny her response to what the hospital system has to COVID-19 and what she is experiencing in her day to day. As well as some ways in which hospital systems in Grand Rapids are preparing for a spike in patients over the coming 3-4 weeks and what its like to follow Jesus during this time. 

Jenny is not an official spokesperson for Spectrum Health system. What she talks about come directly from her experiences working inside the health system in Grand Rapids Michigan.

As was mentioned during the podcast if you would like to donate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the health care system there are avenues for doing that. For more information through Spectrum you can click here, or you can try calling the human resources department for your local clinics, inpatient and outpatient facilities. If you need more information please email us at Christ Church and we will happily direct you as we can.

Thanks as always to those who have helped us put together this podcast. Grace & Peace.

This week Andrew & Addison have a conversation with Christ Church member Michael Bloem. Michael is a local data scientist, husband and father of three living in Grand Rapids Michigan. Their conversation weaves through areas of Michael's expertise on data and following trends as well as some of Michael's struggle with anxiety over the years and how he has found scripture and God's promises helpful in that battle. 

If any of you are struggling with mental health, isolation, depression, anxiety or extreme worry please reach out to Christ Church, we are here to serve you, if you would like more information on how to connect with a pastor, or a staff member to contact you during this time you can fill out our Help Form or if you have prayer requests you can make those available for us to pray through on that same form. You can also reach out to a mental health care provider in the area, counselor, friend or family member. Don't let isolation settle in.

Michael mentioned some statistics and places to look for good data and information. You can find Michael on Twitter as well as read the following resources he has recommended;

- (now quite out of date) fast.ai article Michael read on 3/10 that initially made me aware of the urgency of the situation and that I shared with you Andrew. It highlights the key role of social distancing in helping to avert a likely major healthcare crisis that would be especially fatal to the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions.

- Podcast episode discussing that recent Science article Michael mentioned that estimates that 80-90% of coronavirus carriers do not have a detected disease, making social distancing (even when you don't have symptoms) key to fighting the spread.

- Michael briefly mentioned the need to "flatten the curve" to avoid hospital overload and many deaths. This post discusses the immense scale of the healthcare overload challenge and just how many additional deaths we might see (could be millions), but also provides some helpful policy suggestions for how to flatten the curve to buy us time to learn and hopefully eventually keep the disease at bay with lower economic costs.

- It doesn't have the exact numbers Michael was referencing, but this NYT piece and others like it have helped me understand and mourn the scale of economic devastation coming our way.

Thanks as always to the team that helps us put this podcast together. Grace & Peace.

On this episode of Following Jesus with Christ Church, Andrew & Addison discuss work & the loss of work with Christ Church regular Dan Churchwell. During this unprecedented time all of us are impacted, or will be impacted by the rapidly changing economy. Some of us have already experienced job loss, financial strains, the loss of a 401k or other retirement packages or some other stress during COVID-19. How do we acknowledge the real loss yet also still follow Jesus? How do we go about our days when they look radically different than from just over a week ago? What gospel truths can we hang on to through these days? Join us as we discuss these questions and ideas today on the Following Jesus with Christ Church podcast.

Special thanks to Dan Churchwell for being our guest today. If you would like to read the C.S. Lewis paper Dan referred to check it out under the resource tab on our Staying Connected Through COVID-19 page. For more resources on faith, work and economics you can check out our January Series from 2019 titled "Walking Worthy of our Calling" on our resources page or check out Acton Institute.

Special thanks to Joel Klamer for making our theme music & Kimberly Visser for putting together our artwork for this podcast.