NMC Audio Podcast

Peter Damaska, Lead Pastor, North Branch Wesleyan Church, North Branch, MI

Do you ever find yourself wondering, "Why doesn’t God work here? Why doesn’t God work right now?" We often hear stories about what God is doing around the world. The power of God is being displayed. Whole towns are changed. The miraculous power of God is evident for all to see. Has the Holy Spirit left us? Or does Jesus want to do a fresh, powerful work right here, right now? What He did in the past, He can do again!

Some people live a life of division. They create division and discord wherever they go. Some people live a life of subtraction. They take more out of life than they give. Others live a life of addition. They add a bit more than they take out. But God’s plan is a life of multiplication. Throughout scripture, God multiplies what he touches. His plan is for us to be multipliers.

Special guest Bob Andrews from Devon Oasis Center in Chicago, IL.

Healthy families don’t automatically happen. So how do you know if you are on the right path towards being a healthy family? What’s it like to be part of a healthy team? It’s fascinating that secular research fully supports sound Biblical principles on the characteristics of a healthy family. Let’s take the test together and discover what changes and adjustments we need to make to move towards health.

Moving parts can cause friction. Friction creates heat, and heat can cause damage. That’s the way it often works in our relationships. Whether it’s with a friend, at church, at work, with a neighbor or in our family, it’s easy to relationships to become strained. Because God is a God of relationships, He desires His children to work towards healthy relationships. That means for us to take the right steps towards repairing damaged relationships.

There is tension building. Wherever there is an established community, it will always be difficult to invite new people into the fold. New people bring different—different customs, different beliefs, and different ways of doing things. At the extreme, new people sometimes don’t share our core values. In the midst of all the tension, can the Body of Christ welcome in new and different?

Healthy relationships aren’t automatic. They don’t just happen. It’s not about being lucky. Healthy relationship take work—hard work. It takes intentionality. It takes time. It takes humility. It takes God’s perfect love flowing through us. Fortunately, God loves us so much that He gives us a blueprint for constructing healthy relationships. When we follow His blueprint and put the building blocks in place, we can move towards healthier relationships and deeper joy.

God is a God of relationships. He desires to have a personal relationship with us. Out of that relationship can come healthy relationships with each other. When our vertical relationship is right, our horizontal relationships become healthier. Yet because of our bent towards sin, we often mess up our interpersonal relationships. Only when we deal with the greatest relationship-killer will we truly experience what God intended for us.

No one lives to themselves. We didn’t arrive to where we are without others. We won’t get to where we are going without impacting others on the journey. Life isn’t a sprint. It’s a relay. In any relay, the hand-off is essential to winning. Dropped batons ruin the race. Learning to receive the baton correctly and handing it off precisely makes for a winning race.