Today’s episode is the season one finale of the Genesis Continued Podcast. Currently, on Tuesday nights, we are in a series called You Asked For It, where we have taken submitted questions and formed the month around them.

Well, we had a lot of questions submitted and we could only answer 5 throughout the month, so we figured we would take as many as we could and answer them on a special episode of the podcast.

A wise man once said, “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” While this has become a cliche, it’s definitely true. Who you surround yourself with is extremely significant. Leadership expert Stephen Covey says that you become like the five people closest to you.

This is why God designed us to live in Christ-centered community, to be part of a body of believers that encourages us and challenges us.

Today, we are joined by Rich McGough, the Groups Pastor at Northwood Church. Rich is probably the most well connected person in our city. If you go anywhere with him, he’s guaranteed to run into somebody he knows.

One of the most challenging, yet rewarding aspects of Christianity is the act of sharing our faith. However, in our day and time, it has become as challenging as ever. In an age of relative truth, more emphasis on tolerance, and higher awareness of other religions sharing your faith is a difficult task.

But not only do the external factors make it difficult, but the internal ones cause obstacles as well. The constant concern over how someone will react, if they think we’re weird, or if we get asked a question we don’t know the answer to. Getting out of your comfort zone to share your faith is tough for everyone.

Thankfully, Jesus knew this. Right before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave one last command called The Great Commission. He said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Now go into all the world and make disciples, and I will be with you always.”

Take a moment and think back to the latest experience you had worshipping in a church. Or, if you grew up in church and have early memories of it, think about what that worship experience was like. Depending on your church background, the church denomination you attended, the average age of the people at the church, these memories could look all sorts of ways.

Somehow, we need to make sense of the various aspects of worship. Do we sing hymns or modern songs? Do we need lights and haze or just the bare essentials? Are we supposed to raise our hands or close our eyes or clap or some combination of all three? Or is it possible we’re just overcomplicating it all?

As you’ve probably seen in this episode’s title, today we’re going to talk about money.

There’s a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that says, “Money often costs too much.” And that’s so true. As young adults, it’s important to know how to handle our money, so that our money doesn’t cost us.

So today’s episode will be split into the spiritual and the practical. We’ll talk about the spiritual side of money (such as tithing, using it to honor God, etc.) and also we’ll talk practically—about how to save and manage our money.

Famous leadership expert Dale Carnegie has a famous quote that says this: “A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

Or, if you want a simpler version, think about the theme song of Cheers. You want to go where everybody knows your name.

Your name is probably your favorite word. It’s nice when people you just met remember it, or when somebody mentions it as part of a funny story. It feels good to be known.

And that’s why identity is so important. As young adults, we need to know deeply who we are. When we know who we are and who we aspire to be, we then can run our decisions and actions through that filter. It’s a foundation to stand on and build on.

Today, we are joined by Kevin Harris. He is the Reach Pastor at Northwood Church, and also a former Genesis pastor. Kevin is an adventure enthusiast, well-traveled, has twins named Luke and Leia, and has bungee jumped off the world’s largest waterfall. He is passionate about missions and seeing the world come to know Jesus, and that stems from a secure identity in who he is in Christ.

As a young adult, you make decisions every day. The decisions can be small, or at times, highly significant. It’s a time of life when you commonly hit crossroads of what to do. Sometimes the right choice is obvious, and sometimes it’s not. That’s why it’s dire to know how to make good decisions and today, we have just the special guest to help us do that.

Today, we are joined by Brad Singleton. He is the Executive Pastor here at Northwood Church. I can say the biggest thing he’s taught me personally is to always ask questions. Simply put, Brad knows a lot about a lot, and that’s because he’s always asking good questions.

Today, our special guest is a great friend of ours, Hunter Carter. Hunter owned two successful gyms over the span of 8 years. He is now the Groups Director at Northwood Church. Hunter is a fitness expert, and a ping pong junky. The other day he had one-on-one lessons with a former top 300 table tennis player in the world. He also once made the choice to eat the same thing every morning when he wakes up and he hasn’t missed a day in 6 years. Even on Christmas.

The man is disciplined, focused, and knows a thing or two about purpose. And he’s going to share some of his insight with us today. Feel free to share and subscribe so you are notified every month when we release new episodes.

On the very first full episode of the Genesis Continued Podcast we'll be diving into romantic relationships. We'll have the privilege to hear from Jen and Chris Edwards. Jen is the Children’s Director here at Northwood Church and not only are they a power couple Jen and Chris offer great insight on what God says about being in a romantic relationship. We hope you enjoy the very first episode of the Genesis Continued Podcast. Feel free to share and subscribe so you are notified every month when we release new episodes.

We are going to tackle practical topics that are on your mind, as you navigate the most pivotal decade of your life. And we’ll do it in 15 minutes or less.