In this episode Kevin, Brent, and Nate explore:

* What daily practices are keeping us close to God?* Will the church be the same after this?* Is there a parallel between the empty church and the empty tomb?* Virtual Communion

What happens when we elevate our problems to a place higher than our Savior?

Numbers 21:4-9 (ESV): The Bronze Serpent

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze[a] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Today I invited a friend of mine to help with this sermon. Tom Wenzl is someone who used to arrest me. Here is our story, our path to forgiveness and reconciliation.

This is Danielle Riley’s leading of Foundations in Kingdom Ministry training at Tierra Nueva.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a tiny radio station in the deep woods of Skagit County. In this conversation, we get to cover a number of topics that directly affect the eastern county community of Concrete–including the proposed overnight homeless shelter that we are trying to bring to the church that I pastor, along with some misconceptions of who Jesus is, and our ability to still stay cordial and friendly with each other even though we may disagree on certain topics. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed being there with them.

Note: The quality of the recording isn’t the best. There is some high-level clipping and you might find yourself turning it up and turning it down to hear what we are saying.

Kevin catches up with David Swanson after Whitworth Ministry Summit. They discuss racism and culture in the church. David Swanson works in ministry, racial justice and reconciliation, and community healing. His book Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity is available from InterVarsity Press.

Here is a loose and fast conversation between Kevin and his good friend Kealy, talking about why loving the unlovable is important. We hope you enjoy it as much as he enjoyed talking with her.

Kealy is a family friend of the Rileys and a certified drug and alcohol counselor and mental health case manager.