Petra Podcast

Today is one week before Christmas 2016. Undoubtedly you’ve been hearing many ideas about the “true meaning” of Christmas for several weeks. This morning I want us to understand Christmas from a Biblical perspective, but more than Biblical, but what I am calling a Biblically cosmic perspective. What I mean by this is; I want us to consider Christmas in relation to the meaning and purpose of the existence of the universe, most especially the existence of the human race. That is to say to see Christmas as a revelation into understanding our world, the human experience and the cosmic plan of God.

This Topic is so important for us because there is a reason we are not Jewish, and there is a reason we are not Muslim. There is a reason that we are not any other deistic religious system. And that’s because the primary purposes of the Old Testament is to prepare people to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

Missionary Darryl Henson begins our Series Jesus from Genesis to Bethlehem with the message of God's love and His plan of Rescue.

For those who follow the Christmas calendar you know that today is the first day of Advent. Advent is a four-week period before Christmas where people prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Leading up to Christmas and throughout the Christmas story we see a lot of angelic activity. So, I thought I would take some time this morning to talk about the reality of angels in our lives today.
An angel visited Mary with the news of her being the chosen one to give birth to the Christ child and angels announced the good news to the shepherds.
Angels are seen all over the bible carrying out the purposes of God and helping God’s people. Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament. They continue to be very active today.
In our western intellectual world view we tend to dismiss angelic encounters in our lives as coincidences. We say things like we were really lucky that we survived an accident. Or it was a coincidence that a stranger showed up to help us.

Let’s talk about the wrath of God- We don’t talk about the wrath of God often because it isn’t fun. But the more we understand it, the more we will become thankful. To fully understand God’s wrath we must start with His holiness.

Larry Kreider, the International Director of Dove International, shares with us that praise and thanksgiving is the Language of the Kingdom and that speaking the Language of the Kingdom opens the door for God's intervention.

Jim Kearsley, the Pastor of Freedom Path in Akron, PA, brings us the final message in our series, Beyond the Selfie.

Today we continue the series called “Beyond the Selfie” where we are exploring what it means to have meaningful relationships in a superficial world. This morning we will talk about building relationships with those who have not yet put their faith in Jesus.
When we become a Christian we become part of God’s family. We attend church, enter into relationships with other Christians who help us grow in our faith and help us break off old unhealthy patterns in our lives. We find we now have more in common with followers of Jesus then our old set of non-Christian friends.
There is both an upside and downside to this. The upside is our old sinful lifestyle has less and less of a pull in our lives. The downside is we begin to lose opportunities to reach our non-believing friends for Christ. It is a challenge to know how to break out of our old lifestyle without losing our relationships with our non-believing friends.
- Sometimes they cut us off because we don’t indulge in their ungodly behavior. But let’s not cut them off unless we are in an unhealthy relationship that keeps pulling us down.
- Sometimes that is the case when we are trying to come clean from drugs and addictive lifestyles. We need to break away from the old crowd for a while.
We will look at God’s heart and our heart motivations when it comes to developing friendships with those we want to reach for Christ. This is so important.

We’ve been asking the question: How do we develop meaningful relationships in a superficial world? Apply that question to our Family & Friends. – deeply enriching relationships.
Ruth 1:1-11, 14-18
Hard to find a more powerful and moving story in all of scripture and in ancient literature. Ruth’s affection and faithfulness to her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth’s commitment to her family changed the course of history. This outsider became the great-great grandmother of the King David.
Ruth clearly did something right. Today, we will learn three simple ideas that will build that kind of history-changing relationships and families.

Ben Dodd, Petra's Counseling Ministry Director, challenges us to consider these questions and what God says about our true value and worth.
Who are you when you are alone?
Who or what is your source of value and worth?
Does the idea of caring for yourself seem prideful or selfish?
How do you treat your body on a daily basis? Are you in tune with your body?
How do you want others to see you…and how closely does that line up with how you see yourself?
What is the first thought that pops into your head right after you make a mistake?
What thought about yourself do you focus on the most often?
What is your earliest memory of becoming consciously aware of your own value and worth? Was it positive or was it negative? Who influenced it?
What is the state of you spirit…Content? or chaotic?
How do you think God views you? And does that view agree with all the many scriptures that speak to who we are in Christ?