GBC Podcast

Sometimes we need to remember that God loves us in spite of ourselves. We may tend to be more like Martha and craving recognition and acceptance, and God still loves us. Being able to relate to Martha or Mary is what makes the Scripture comes alive.

It’s a living text that we can still experience and find relevance in 2000 years later. It’s a gift when we take the time to read scripture and apply it to our lives.

We may struggle with the story of Mary and Martha, because we want to be like Mary but feel like we relate more to Martha. And always trying to fit into someone else’s shoes is hard, even impossible and not how we’re called to live. Don’t force yourself into the character of someone else, yet we can strive to be more gentle with ourselves and allow us to just be who we are.

Today’s episode closes with a question, “What is it that makes you insecure?” Ask yourself and join us on this journey as we unwrap these questions and more with the GBC podcast.

In times of stress and anxiety, we tend to want an easy fix or to do something fast to make things better. We live in a world that has immediate responses, yet when we see people doing well or in successful positions, we often don’t realize how much work it took them to get where they are.

Everything we do comes down to our intentions and our heart behind the actions. Jesus knew what Mary’s heart was feeling and what Martha was looking for when it comes to recognition. So often we do the same thing in our own lives. We are looking for recognition and affirmation with our actions, rather than being content just being and soaking in Jesus’ word.

There’s also an aspect of sibling rivalry in the story of Mary and Martha as we see ourselves in Martha getting annoyed with her sister. How often do we do that in our own lives when we compare our own efforts to the efforts or lack of the people around us?

Listen to this episode and be encouraged knowing it’s normal to feel that way and we can all work on being content with just being in the moment and using our time to spend more intentional time with Jesus.

In Episode 8, Courtney and Shane, talk about the story of Mary and Martha. Many of us have heard this story over the years when it comes to how we act when it comes to stress or anxiety. Do we choose to be like Mary who sits at Jesus’ feet while he is visiting or do we try to get everything just right for Jesus’ visit like Martha was doing?

Many times that we’ve heard this story over the years, we may have thought it was just Jesus, Mary and Martha. But as Sean points out, Jesus wasn’t traveling alone, he very well had an entourage of 100 people with him. It’s no wonder that Martha was stressed trying to get their house and meal ready for all the people.

Mary, sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. Martha, was concerned about all the things that had to be done in that moment. There’s a moment in the story when Jesus asks Martha about her anxiety and not what’s she doing on the outside, but truly what her intentions are behind her actions.

We too can choose to serve with love and grace or we can show up and serve out of anxiety and worry. This comes to light especially with Covid-19 as we are all feeling anxiety, overwhelm and even fear about what’s to come. Yet, it’s a time we can all quiet down, like Mary, and soak in God’s presence during these times of uncertainty.

And as Sean and Courtney remind us, check your heart. Why is it that you are doing what you’re doing? Is your anxiety and worry driving you? Or are you allowing yourself to rest and feel peace in the midst of chaos? Use your time to be with God and not always trying to “do something” to please God.

Being generous with your time is something you can still do even in the midst of a pandemic as you look for ways to help your neighbors.

Whether your neighbor is an elderly community member, a single mother or just someone that needs help. You can be a blessing to other people.

And even if we don't all agree on everything these days on Social Media, we can still use our social media networks to positively influence others and use the little influence we have to remind others to be generous and show love.

We can also ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" to help others and be generous in such a time as this, thinking about what we can do to personally make a situation better for someone else.

During this time of uncertainty and feeling unsure about everything, many people may be hesitant about what generosity can look like in such a time as this. Courtney and Shane talk about using what we have to make this season better for other people, whether it's using our influence, noticing someone in need and offering to help shovel their driveway or mow their lawn. It all comes down to caring for the other person as Jesus taught us to do in so many different stories in the New Testament.

Listen to this episode and be encouraged to use what you have to help others this holiday season as we can all be generous with our time, resources and talent.

There’s a lot of feelings going around these days and there are just times to feel angry, to feel sad, to feel happy and to feel all the things. In this episode Courtney and Shane dive into our myriad of feelings, specifically what’s bubbling up during the pandemic and everything happening over this past year.

Looking deeper into the feeling of anger and when we feel it and what triggers it, Shane and Courtney talk about anger in our relationships and even within marriage and what causes a spouse to feel angry. It often has to do with the expectations of the other person. Talking through these expectations and these feelings can not only bring us closer to the other person, but it ultimately brings us closer to God as he believes in restoration and relationships.