Langdon Palmer

Why do smart people do stupid things ? Why are we constantly shooting ourselves in the foot ? Why are bad habits so hard to break ? Why do some people get better and better at their craft while others get worse and worse ? In one of the most vivid scenes in the book ‘The Great Divorce’ C.S. Lewis shows us the radical difference between the lives of those who rule their desires and the lives of those whose desires rule them. And just to be total nerds, we connect this story to recent discoveries in brain science! It turns out that modern research confirms that the ancient wisdom of the scriptures is not only true, it actually works! Join us as we come to the place where we are willing to confront The Red Lizard.

What’s the difference between wanting the best for someone and being a control freak ?

What do truly healthy relationships look like ? Do you have a relationship right now that you would like to improve ?

Today we look at two examples of really bad relationships to help us see more clearly what good relationships can be like.

We start with a hilarious video from Tory Kinne for one extreme and then a character in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce for the other.

We then look at practical advise from the scriptures that can help us create relationships that age well – that get better with time!

While we focus on romantic relationships this morning, most of these principles can be applied to any relationship in your life.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqQgDwA0BNU for the Tory Kinne video

The Notes Sheet for this sermon is available as a PDF above.

We often tell ourselves “I need to get more organized!” It might be true, but perhaps the more important question is this – what is my life organized around ? What organizes me ? Today we look at three people who organized their lives around very different things and how those choices changed their destiny. We look at the Grumbling Woman and the Artist that C.S. Lewis depicts in the Great Divorce, and we compare them to the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 131. Come join us for a fun but convicting look at how NOT to live your life!

When you think about it, few things paralyze, cripple, and stunt a person’s soul more than… shame. Today we join C.S. Lewis as he shows us “The Embarrassed Woman” so we can understand how to pride, guilt, and shame go together. There is a huge difference between healthy guilt and debilitating shame. It is the difference between the road to hope and the road to despair. This is a challenging podcast, but what we can discover on the other side of shame is is a way of living where we never have to listen to shame again !

Do I lean towards Optimism, Do I lean towards Pessimism, Or do I lean on Jesus? Today we discover that two very common sense approaches to life actually keep us from seeing the Kingdom of God. We take a look at two characters in the Great Divorce, Ikey the Business Man and the Hard-bitten man in order to avoid two dead-end streets. We end with the incredible words of Isaiah 61:10 which show us the way to live which is life indeed!

How do you know if a spiritual leader is leading you closer to God or farther away ? Today we come to the story of the Bishop in C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. We begin with a dramatic reading from the book. Join us as we dig in to 1 Timothy 3:1-17 to learn not only what a false teacher looks like but also what a great spiritual leader looks like.

Have you ever met people who have a litany ? A litany of all the reasons why they are OK and why all their problems are somebody else’s fault ?

It’s not just other people – all of us are tempted to be full of excuses, finding ways to tell ourselves that we are right, that we are righteous.

This tendency cuts us off from the very life of freedom and grace that God wants for us.

Join us today as we meet the person C.S. Lewis calls “The Big Man” who was full of excuses and out of grace. And we discover that there is a way to live out of excuses and into grace!

Are you facing any choices in your life right now ?

Have you noticed recurring streams of thought – on going conversations you have with yourself about yourself or about others that you know are no good ?

Today we begin our sermon series on the Great Divorce when C.S. Lewis comes on stage and shares with us a piece from his Introduction. Lewis shows us how our choices and streams of thought are connected. We look at Proverbs 16 and Romans 13:12-14 to understand Lewis’ premise – streams of thought lead to streams of choices which shape who we become and where we end up. For more resources see http://levpres.org/the-great-divorce/

The New Year can be a great time to think about where we are, where we want to be, and most importantly, who we want to be in the year ahead.

Erwin McManus’s new book, The Last Arrow, is a challenge to live life well and live life large – to the glory of God.

Join us as we take a look at what it means to be willing to step out into your future with God.

If the Holy Spirit of the living God were to come to you (in the middle of everything you are facing in your life right now), and ask you a question… what would it be ? Stop and think about it for a moment. Is God asking you a question right now ?

Today we look at the stories of Elizabeth and Simeon – two ordinary people who were able to recognize the presence of the Messiah. It was the Holy Spirit of God within them that allowed them to perceive his presence beneath the surface of things. The same can be true for you!