Open Doors: Conversations with Heart of the Father

What happens when we offer the Lord the bread we have to share with others, even if it doesn't look like enough?

Yes, it's true. He multiplies it!

In this episode, join Jenn and Neal as they go deeper with our February theme of Evangelism. Listen to Neal talk about Unbound's beginnings so many years ago when he and Janet prayed in Poland and where God has taken Heart of the Father since.

"We asked that God would give us the bread for the nations, the bread of the gospel, the bread of truth, the bread from heaven." He has taken what we could offer and multiplied it beyond expectation.

Hear amazing stories of Unbound's impact on hearts across the world, including testimonies from Japan, India, Slovakia, Africa, Croatia, New Zealand, Taiwan, France, Mexico, and Cameroon. Be inspired and filled with awe. 

The simple yet profound Five Keys of Unbound have helped people open their hearts to the Holy Spirit and embrace the truth that sets them free. 

Through the saving power of Jesus Christ, Unbound ministry is changing individuals, marriages, families, churches, and communities.  

"Bring them here to me," He said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 14:18-21

Is He calling you to share  bread with the hungry? 

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Release: February 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

Have you experienced freedom in Christ and desire to share it with others - but are not sure how? 

In this encouraging episode, Rachel is joined by Lorelei Low, a leader of the Unbound team in San Francisco, CA. Lorelei shares the Five Keys of Unbound as an official team leader, but also on a personal level through interactions with friends and family. 

Join Rachel and Lorelei as they discuss how to invite others to participate in the power of prayer and forgiveness. Whether during a casual conversation, sharing a copy of Unbound with a friend, or through direct prayer, God will sow seeds when we step into boldness and say "yes." 

Let go of fears of imperfection or imposition, and remember that what matters is the heart behind what you are sharing. Invite others in as an offering, and God will use it. 

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13

Join us this month as we continue to take a deep dive into different aspects of Evangelism.

Check out Lorelei's team at 5keystofreedom.com

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Release: February 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

Who do you believe you are? What do you believe you were created for? 

We are made by Love, for love, to love. 

In this episode, Matt sits down with Lindsay Fay Costello, a former missionary at The Culture Project, to discuss freedom as it relates to love, sexuality, and relationships. Lindsay has served for years as a minister to young people, sharing with them the Good News and how to respond with chastity and virtue to today's distorted messages. 

Chastity is the integration of our bodies and souls. Moment to moment, it is not running away in shame but checking in with our hearts and minds as we turn our temptations into prayer that we offer up to God. Virtue is an apprenticeship in self-mastery: either we govern our passions or our passions govern us. 

At the core of our desires is the desire for union, communion, life, and love. Seeking each of these allows us to surrender to the Lord for healing. He restores us and brings us back to life.

We do not have a sexuality problem as much as we have an identity problem.  The good news is that we can renounce false identities, find healing in freedom from shame and culture wounds, and no longer make room for the messages from the enemy.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)

Join us this month as we continue take a deep dive into different aspects of Evangelism.

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Release: February 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

He said to them, 'When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."'" Luke 11:2-4, NIV

In today's episode, Ed and Lisa Crenshaw join Jenn to discuss the Lord's Prayer in Luke's gospel. As head pastors of Victory Church in Trooper, PA, Ed and Lisa developed a curriculum called Teach Us to Pray which focuses on Luke's emphases. It is built around the Lord's prayer and is represented by the acronym PRAY:

P - Press into God

R - Resist the status quo

A - Ask for what you need

Y - Yield to God's grace

Prayer can be intimidating for many people. When we compare the way we pray to others, we may feel inadequate. Teach Us to Pray is a tool that helps make prayer accessible to anyone. 

Our sins are not God's priority -- He seeks a relationship with us, built on prayer. Our needs for forgiveness and grace flow naturally from putting God's Kingdom first. 

Listen to today's podcast to learn more about how to PRAY and what Ed and Lisa learned about prayer and worship on their recent sabbatical.

Go Deeper Still!

Learn more about Dr. Ed and Lisa and their church here.

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Release: January 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

How do we pray for someone we love? 

Can we effectively pray for those who are struggling?

What should we ask the Lord for when we ourselves are in need?

Often  our prayers become solely petitions for what we want rather than embracing God's plan and purposes. 

While the Lord cares for the desires of our hearts, intercession is praying God's heart back to Him. Intercession moves us past our own inclinations and towards the Lord's kingdom on earth.

Join Rachel Lozano, Ann Stevens, and Donna Drennen as they discuss the practicalities and wonders of intercession. Listen as they share how they have powerfully experienced the Father's heart in interceding for others.

Hear about some amazing answered prayers!

"Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Romans 8:34

Be inspired to enter into a prayer bigger than yourself and grow in praying the Lord's heart for His people.

Go deeper still this month as we ask the Lord to Teach Us to Pray!

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Release: January 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

The Our Father is for everyone,  anytime, anywhere, NOW and FOREVER!

The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the ‘Our Father,’ comes from the Gospel of Matthew, with a shorter version in the Gospel of Luke. It continues to be one of the most popular Christian prayers.

But have you ever taken the time to reflect on it, line by line, and consider how it could transform your life?

Join Neal and Jacqueline in a deep dive into the seven lines of the prayer Jesus gave us, often called the Seven Petitions. Listen and be inspired to invite His kingdom more fully into your life and the lives of those you love. 

“Pray then in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Matthew 6:9-13

Go deeper still this month as we ask the Lord to Teach Us to Pray!

Find our talk on the Power of Forgiveness

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Release: January 2023
Music by Christian Harper. 
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

New Year, new goals? Want to grow in the gift of giving thanks? Join Matt as he shares with Jacqueline what Thanksgiving means to him and how we're called to walk with gratitude. Go deeper in grace this year and join us for a profound discussion on aligning our hearts with reality.

When you hear the word Thanksgiving, what does it mean to you? What do you think about? Do you think about reality?

The act of giving thanks can align our hearts with the reality that we are loved and that everything is grace. Everything is a gift.  Life itself is gratuitous.

Matt takes us back to the scriptures. When you read in Romans one, there's a description of the fall, and it says although they knew God, they neither acknowledged Him as God nor gave Him thanks. So the beginning of the fall was a lack of gratitude.

Romans 1;21  For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

By detaching themselves from the reality of who God is, they lacked in giving thanks.  A lack of gratitude, which doesn't see God for who He is nor give Him thanks,  resulted in a darkened mind. The darkened mind led to idolatry and all sorts of other problems for humanity.

So if the fall involved ingratitude, our redemption will involve Thanksgiving.

Go deeper still this month as we ask the Lord to Teach Us to Pray!

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Release: January 2023
Music by Christian Harper. Vocals by Halle Martin.
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

In this final week of Advent, we light the purple candle of peace. In prayer and penance, we wait for the birth of our Savior. We are called to step away from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, quiet ourselves, and prepare the center place in our hearts for Christ Jesus. It is in the peace and quiet of the midnight hours that the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

Our special guest, Bonnie O'Neil, Executive Director of Alpha Mid-Atlantic, author, spiritual director, Bible teacher, and engaging speaker, takes a deep dive into understanding Joseph. She joins Jenn, Rachel, and Jacqueline to discuss Matthew 1:18-24, where we are given a small glimpse of the man God chose to be the earthly father of His Son. We have much to learn from Joseph's unwavering faithfulness and obedience to God.

The Lord's plans do not always make sense to us, but they are always good. We may ask, "God, why is life not easier?" Advent invites us to embrace the mystery of faith that God is always working things together for our good. In order to hear God and recognize His voice, we must be quiet. How are you listening to God? How does He speak to you?

The Lord promised Joseph that Mary would give birth to a son who will save His people from their sins. While this was not Joseph's initial plan for his life, his personal faith provided his willingness to mold his desires to match the Lord's. 

In this season of Advent, press into your deepest longings and desires as you wait for the Lord. 

"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.'" (Matthew 1:20-21).

Find Bonnie at bonnieoneil.com
Find Chronic Hope and My Identity in Christ by Bonnie.

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Release: December 2022
Music by Christian Harper. Vocals by Halle Martin.
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

This past Sunday, we lit the third candle, the rose candle of joy, as a moment of rejoicing while we await the birth of our Savior.

Advent can be a powerful time to reflect and prepare our hearts for Jesus, to allow Him to reach us in ways we have not yet known Him.

The scriptures this week give us much pause for joy.

Who is this Jesus? Why did He come?

Join us today as Janet leads us in a beautiful reflection on Psalm 146:6-10 and come to know Him just a little deeper still.

He is the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoner.
The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The God of heaven became a man that He might become our salvation.

He became one of us.

Lord, we thank you today for who you are, and for what you've done. We recognize that you love us incredibly, and we can trust in You. Thank You for becoming one of us.

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Release: December 2022
Music by Christian Harper. Vocals by Halle Martin.
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S

During this second week of Advent,  the candle we light on the advent wreath represents faith. And there's a lot of faith required  in this passage we're discussing today from Isaiah 11:1-10.

It's that one that begins, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
 from his roots a branch will bear fruit."

When you look at a stump, you don't usually see new trees growing out of it. A stump is usually dead, and you're just waiting for it to decay. This represents David and his kingdom and his family line.

But Jesus is a really unexpected surprise.

David's line had appeared to be done for as the last of the Davidic kings had been carted off to Babylon. Then they return, and there are a few of them that try to set up the kingdom, but they fail and they're under oppression.

But Isaiah speaks of a shoot that will bear fruit.

So, you know, Jesus. He is not what people expect. He's a surprise.

In the passage on the wedding in Cana , there is wine that is saved for the last. That's kind of like Jesus. It's a description of Jesus.

This wine is amazing, intoxicating,  and flavorful. Where did this come from?  That wine is like this shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse.

And so, in Jesus, something that was lost is being restored. Even something that people were hoping for comes to us in a marvelous way.

Jesus arrives in the fullness of time.

He's unexpected and He's better than anything we could imagine. That's the faith that this passage is indicating-Jesus is something you've never seen before.

The Messiah's kingdom is so much more than we can get our heads around. He's going to bring wisdom and order to all of creation. We're going to see an end to things that we thought were never going to be possible. 

This Advent,  respond to the invitation to groan along with all creation, to groan for Messiah's Kingdom, to groan for Jesus, and for His glory to be revealed.

The words He longs to speak to you are astonishingly and astoundingly good.

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Release: December 2022
Music by Christian Harper. Vocals by Halle Martin.
Artwork by Rosemary Strohm at Command-S