Petra Podcast

“God’s answer to the relational vacuum in the 21st century is the church. God calls us beyond the selfie world of social media, and the hectic world of busy activities into relationship with each other as the church community. Church is much more than a Sunday activity that you attend. It is a family you belong to and share life with.”

In this six week study we’re hoping to help you develop habits that will improve five different types of relationships. Your relationship with God. With yourself. With family and closest friends. With your church community. With the world around you.

How do we advance God’s kingdom in practical ways. God’s kingdom is not political in nature. God’s kingdom advances across the earth no matter if a dictator, prime minister or king is in power. It advances in countries closed to the gospel and those open to the gospel.
In fact, the church is often more strong and pure where there is resistance to the gospel and biblical values. We see that being played out in our day. God is sorting out the wheat and the chaff right now in America. It is becoming clear who the real church is and the compromising church.

Today we are beginning a three-part series on the Kingdom of God. The understanding of being part of a kingdom is central to our Christian faith but is often not emphasized or understood by much of the church.
We talk about being saved and born again but that is just part of the gospel message. We are not only called to be saved, we are called to embrace and participate in the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth.
- The understanding of the kingdom lies at the very heart of the gospel.
The way you and I live our lives is directly related to our understanding of the Kingdom of God.
As a young Christian I was not taught about the kingdom of God. My spiritual goal was to endure until Jesus comes and make it to heaven.
Our goal in this study is that we would become more kingdom minded in how we think and how we live our everyday lives.
- We want to seek first the kingdom. Live and breathe the kingdom.
- We want to become kingdom people that confront the forces of darkness and advance God’s agenda on the earth.
Jesus message is not just about being saved it is about us becoming part of a kingdom that is invading the earth. Wherever Jesus went he talked to the people about the Kingdom of God. That was his main message. But he didn’t just talk about the kingdom he
also demonstrated the power of the kingdom.

Today is the second of a two-part series called Tough Questions. We invited all of you to submit questions you would like us to respond to. So today we will talk about some of these questions.
We decided to use a panel discussion approach with Pastor Gary and Pastor Brain and myself tackling these questions.
For this series we received over 20 questions. More than we can tackle in two Sundays, so if we don’t get to your question we will hold on to it and keep it in mind for the future. Thank you for taking the time to ask some very good questions.
Some of the question were similar so we were able to combine some of them.
We only have about 10 minutes for each question so we are only scratching the surface but hopefully it will point you in a direction and give you some things to reflect on.
So keep in mind we can’t get into all the various angles and deep theology discussions which some of these questions deserve but we will try to give you the bottom line answer we hope will be helpful.

Pastor Chris Hayward from Cleansing Stream Ministries presents this message, The Ring & The Robe.

A. THE COMPASSIONATE FATHER – Luke 15:18-23

B. THE ROBE
- COVERS OUR SHAME
- REPRESENTS HONOR
- REPRESENTS VALUE

C. THE RING
- AUTHORITY & PROPHETIC DECLARATION
- IDENTITY & DESTINY
- ABUNDANCE & PROSPERITY

D. THE OLDER BROTHER
- REPRESENTS THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT
- TRIES TO KILL THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
- HATES REJOICING
- PRODUCES NO FRUIT

E. RECEIVE THE ROBE & THE RING
- AUTHORITY
- IDENTITY
- DESTINY

Today is the first of a two-part series called Tough Questions. We invited all of you to submit questions you would like us to respond to. So today and then again in two weeks we will talk about some of these questions.
We decided to use a panel discussion approach with Pastor Gary and Pastor Brain and myself tackling these questions.
For this series we received over 20 questions. More than we can tackle in two Sundays, so if we don’t get to your question we will hold on to it and keep it in mind for the future. Thank you for taking the time to ask some very good questions.
Some of the question were similar so we were able to combine some of them.
We only have about 10 minutes for each question so we are only scratching the surface but hopefully it will point you in a direction and give you some things to reflect on.
So keep in mind we can’t get into all the various angles and deep theology discussions which some of these questions deserve but we will try to give you the bottom line answer we hope will be helpful.

We have been working our way through the gospel of Mark in the Bible and rediscovering the character and person of Jesus. Mark gives us these snap shots or portraits of Jesus throughout his gospel.
He wants to introduce his readers to this amazing man and his amazing works. He is hoping that as we see the kind of person Jesus is and the amazing things he does that we will be convinced that he is more than a man.
He wants us to grasp that Jesus was truly the son of God and is worthy of surrendering our lives to and following.
Mark portrays Jesus as being in close relationship with God as his Father. He paints a picture through his stories of Jesus as a man of power and great authority.
Yet this man of authority was a servant to all and was willing to suffer a cruel death on a cross so Father God would forgive us and allow us to walk in freedom and live all of eternity with them in Heaven,
As we come to chapters 14- 16 and the end of the gospel of Mark he begins to focus us in on the cross and the resurrection and ends with Jesus commissioning us to go - and tell the whole world of his love and salvation. Last week Pastor Brian talked about the suffering of Jesus so this morning I would like to focus on the Extravagant Love that propelled Jesus to endure the cross to the very end.
The players in this passage can be summarized as
- those grateful followers who ministered to Jesus -disciples and others
- those who thought they were too good and didn’t need what Jesus had to offer – religious leaders
- those who thought they were too bad like Barabbas and the thieves crucified with Jesus
- those broken, struggling with shame who had a hard time forgiving themselves like Peter

If you’re just joining us this morning I want to invite you into a conversation we’ve been having about Jesus as he is portrayed through the gospel of Mark. Last week we looked at the authority of Jesus in chapters 7-9. This week we are looking at chapters 10-12.
By chapter 10 Jesus has left the region of Galilee, home to most of his ministry. He’s now traveling the 100 miles south to Jerusalem in the region of Judea. (roughly Harrisburg to Philadelphia). We still have six chapters left in Mark, but we’re looking at the last two weeks of Jesus’ life on earth.
In these three chapters we have roughly 16 different stories of Jesus. Each depicting a wonderful aspect of his character and ministry. Which of His characteristics should we focus on this morning? Which one is what makes him amazing?
- In chapter 10 he’s having a conversation with other Jewish lawyers about the complex legal issues surrounding divorce - lawyer
- Jesus the discipler reaches down to the next generation and blesses them and prepares them for success – leader of a movement
- In chapter 12 Jesus gets put to the test by a series of four questions from the different theologians
The Southern Baptists, the Pentecostals, The Presbyterians, and the Catholics
We see how smart Jesus was. Not only was he conversant in the religious conversations of the day, but he was truly innovative, he was on the cutting edge of defining the conversations. - teacher
- In chapter 11 we see the public crying out for his political candidacy – Messiah King.
- Just before that he heals a blind man by the side of the road. - Healer
In these chapters we see a pictures of Jesus the lawyer, Jesus the discipler raising up another generation, Jesus the teacher leading people into truth, Jesus healer bringing wholeness to the broken, Jesus the Messiah King, Jesus bringing justice to disorder. This guy can do anything he puts his mind to.
Which aspect of Jesus should we focus on this morning? He is on the Who’s Who list. He’s doing so many things right. This guy is an all-star in leadership, in his people skills. You can take any part of his lifestyle, cut and paste it into your family, into your business and it would flourish. He’s so amazing that this guy seems to be freak of nature. He’s almost untouchable. Which one is these talents makes him so extraordinary?
The skeptic could say, he’s God. He can do whatever he wants. None of these are extraordinary then. So what makes him so amazing.

As you know we are in sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. We are looking at Mark by over all themes and with broad strokes. So this morning as we consider Mark chapters 7 through 9, I believe the over arching theme of these chapters is the authority of Jesus Christ.
Before we look at Mark, I want to attempt to define what we mean when we use the word authority. I think to have a good working definition of authority it is helpful to also think about the word power. Sometimes these two words, authority and power, are confused or used interchangeably, but they are fundamentally different. By power, we mean might or ability. By authority, we mean the right to use power or the lawful use of power.