God has designed us to be in relationship with others and to live and work in interdependence and cooperation with each other. That is especially so for the church. We are to be the body of Christ in the world, living our God's love and redemption, each contributing what we have been given in coordination and cooperation with other followers of Jesus. The world needs that from us now more than ever.  Read Romans 12:6-8.  Produced on April 30, 2020

For a video version of this Short Pod, go to:  https://youtu.be/6pvrZ-nZQ4g

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Social isolation can make "doing Church" a lot easier in some ways. We don't have to deal with all those other church members who can be really irritating sometimes. A church of one--just me--will always be just the way I like it. But according to the apostle Paul, being a Church after Christ's heart calls for more effort. It calls for us to love fellow followers of Jesus who might often annoy us, to live out our faith in fellowship with people who may be very different from us. Let's don't get too comfortable with our social isolation churches of kitchen, coffee, and computer screen. Let's long for and seek out the church of annoying and beautiful differentness. Produced on April 29, 2020

For a video version of this podcast, go to:  https://youtu.be/nO9e_Cpp8oY

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Blog:  gachorpenning.com

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This is a sermon preached four days after the riots in the U. S. Capitol. In it, I reflect on the presence of signs, banners, and flags indicating that some of the rioters were violently assaulting the center of American government in the name of Jesus. What role do violence and coercive force have in the advancing of the kingdom of God? What effects will the violence in Washington, some of it done n the name of Jesus, have on the mission of Christ in America in the future? What does Jesus have to say about the use of violence in his name? In this sermon, I will explore those questions using the event described in Luke 9:51-55. A sermon preached at Venice Presbyterian Church, McDonald, PA on January 10, 2021. 

For a video version of this sermon, go to:  https://youtu.be/-AsvNSCqx_s

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Blog:  gachorpenning.com

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I explore Romans 12:3 raising the question of how important we are in our own eyes. Paul calls us to humility in this verse. That humility is necessary if we are going to be able to love others. If we are the most important thing in our lives, then we will be driven by self-interest, and we will be in competition with everyone else. If we are guided by humility, we will be able to engage in true love and self-sacrifice. And when we can do that, we will be modeling Jesus for the world to see. Produced on April 28, 2020  [For a video version of this podcast, go to:  https://youtu.be/S9fOqFP04i0]

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Blog:  gachorpenning.com

YouTube Channel:  Pastor Gary's Video Notebook

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This session is the first in a series of installments that will explore what God has to say to us for our times from Romans 12. We are being bombarded by voices all around us trying to stir us up to anger, fear, outrage, resentment. That is the way of this world. God's voice will never be aimed at making us afraid or angry or resentful. God's transforming voice aims to plant in us the Fruit of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and to transform our character. (Read Romans 12:1-2 for today) 

Produced on April 24, 2020

A video version of this podcast is available at:  https://youtu.be/Towrv2aGOyE

For more content from Pastor Gary:

Blog:  gachorpenning.com

YouTube Channel:  Pastor Gary's Video Notebook

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In this sermon, I explore the nature of biblical hope.  These are angry, fearful times, even or maybe especially among American Christians.  What do anger and fear reveal about the state of Christian hope among God's people?  I take us into a strange event in the life of the prophet Jeremiah and look at it in light of what Paul tells us about hope.  Read Jeremiah 32:1-15 and Romans 8:18-26.  Preached at Venice Presbyterian Church near Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, December 27, 2020; a video version is available at  https://youtu.be/T8PUnnqUXT8

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Blog:  gachorpenning.com

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Everyone's past is full of meaning.  Like gold from mountains, we can mine wisdom from our past as we reflect on it and learn from it.  In this episode, we will explore some of the ways in which our past experience can be refined into rich wisdom and maturity for our lives into the future.

Read Deuteronomy 8:1-20

For more content from Gary Chorpenning check out:

His YouTube Channel--Pastor Gary's Video Notebook

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God is at work in our lives all the time.  Often we don't recognize that at the time, but an important part of making peace with our past is looking back and seeing how God was doing all along.  Sometimes we can only see God's blessings after some time has passed.  Then, the right response is gratitude.  Our lives can take on new meaning when we are able to look back and realize what God has been doing all along.  Look back over your life, discover God's faithfulness, and spend some time thanking him.  In this episode, we'll explore some ways to do that.

Read  Luke 17:11-19  and I Thessalonians 5:16-18

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Important relationships in our lives can often become damaged by things we have done and by things others have done.  Those broken relationships don't have to remain broken.  We can't go back and undo the hurtful things that were done, but through forgiveness and reconciliation, we can change the meaning and the power of those past wounding events.  In this episode we explore a famously ruptured relationship between brothers and their strange and surprising reconciliation.  How might reconciliation work in your life?

Read Genesis 33:1-16 and John 13:34-35

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Many of the wounds that we carry with us from our past are wounds caused by others who have mistreated, betrayed, failed, or harmed us in some way.  One of the most important resources that God has provided us for dealing with these wounds.  That great resource is forgiveness, the act of forgiving those who have wounded us.  The refusal to forgive is, in fact, a self-destructive act that perpetuates our wounding.  Forgiving is an act that initiates the process of healing.  It sets us free.  In this episode, we will examine the nature and practice of forgiving those who have wounded us.

Read: Matthew 18:21-35 & Colossians 3:12-17

For more content from Gary Chorpenning check out:

His YouTube Channel--Pastor Gary's Video Notebook

His Blog--Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks