ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Only the Lost Get Found

Today, Pastor Michael is discussing salvation and our situation in the present age.  Along those lines, Pastor Michael reminds us of three things, all hugely important:

In today’s lesson, Michael will drill down on the first item: everyone needs to be saved.  We pick up the story back in Jesus’ time, with communities springing up along the Mediterranean of followers of Jesus.  There were also missionaries, and likely, the most famous of them was Paul.  Paul was on his way to Damascus, and at that time, he wasn’t on the side of Jesus, but after a chance encounter with Jesus, he became a strong believer and missionary.

Paul and Silas, to continue the story, were on their way to Phillipi, a Greek territory.  They found people hungry for Jesus and the message.  But they encountered a lady, displayed as a sideshow.  Paul and Silas prayed for this lady and an evil spirit in her departed.  The two men who ran the lady’s sideshow were unhappy that their show had been effectively canceled and started a riot!  Yep, weird indeed!

Paul and Silas were apparently complicit in all of this, and they were beaten and thrown into prison.  Paul and Silas were in prison, praying, and the prisoners overhead them.  When the story couldn’t get any crazier, along comes an earthquake.  Yep, you read that correctly: an earthquake!

This earthquake effectively freed all the prisoners, forcing all the doors to open and freaking out the prison warden.  It freaked him out because, in Rome, the guards would have to serve the sentence of any escaping prisoner.  Paul called out to him to not worry and the warden fell down, exclaiming, “What must I do to be saved?”

To be saved, you must be saved from SOMETHING.

What must you be saved from?  The consequences of our actions. In other words, the consequences of sin.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.  The story of salvation is not about you or what you have done: it is about what Jesus has done!

(CSB Bible Notes) 16:29-30 The jailer fell down trembling because he realized the earthquake was supernatural. This prompted him to ask the most important question in the book of Acts: What must I do to be saved? He was spared from death in the quake, spared from suicide by the discovery that the prisoners had not fled, and now wanted to be spared from God’s future judgment.

Today’s verses can be found in Acts 16: 22-34.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

A Wonderful Message on Bible Study.

Today, Pastor Michael is turning over the reigns to David Boudreaux, one of our church elders.  Today, David wants us to read God’s Word and spend as much time in His Word as we can.

The Word of God is the Law of God, the very breath of God.  God didn’t give us just a short study on life; He gave us a detailed guide to follow in His Word, and David will be spending most of today’s message in the Old Testament, specifically in Joshua.

This wonderful teaching that David brings today is an exercise in how, as Christians, we need to be in the Word, always.  David gives many excellent tips on how to read the bible and apply it to study and your life.  This message is a proper foundation for reading the Bible, given by a seasoned pro who has spent considerable time in the Word and is a fantastic reference for new Christians as well as mature ones.

Review the verses section below; David has gone to great lengths to give us verses that apply to today’s message.

(CSB Bible Notes) 1:8 Two more references to the instruction affirm the key importance of God’s revelation. Study and learning of it are to form so much a part of one’s life that the words are fully obeyed as in Dt 6:6-9. The stylistic frame of God’s promised presence in Jos 1:5,9 indicates that Joshua’s success will come because God is with him, enabling him to read and observe God’s Word (Eph 2:8-10).

Today’s verses can be found in John 1: 1-2, Psalms 1: 1-2, Joshua 1: 7-8, Deuteronomy 17, Romans 3: 23, John 6: 44, Ezra 7: 9-10, Hebrews 10: 24-25, 2 Timothy 2: 15, 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, Matthew 28: 20, Proverbs 27: 17, Joshua 3:15, Joshua 23:6, Joshua 24: 15, Revelations 3: 20, Joshua 1: 8, and Jeremiah 33: 3.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Not This Year!

Today, Pastor Michael is comparing our physical and spiritual health, which is very timely given how many are trying to start the New Year on a new foot.

Some ways we can encourage spiritual health are:

You can add other items, such as writing down things you are grateful for, scripture memorization, serving people while avoiding recognition, and more.

Let’s start with spiritual junk food.  Spiritual junk food is the empty distractions and missed beliefs that starve our souls.  Anything that fills your hours without filling your soul is an easy way to remember what we shouldn’t be doing! 

Today, our lesson finds us in Ephesus; Paul is speaking to the Ephesians about striving to become what they should / could be as followers of Christ.  And he’s preaching precisely what we just said: if you’ve been set free in Jesus, don’t go back to the spiritual junk food!

What would that be today (spiritual junk food)?  Entertainment and media! They are far more addictive than we think, and we could go down so many rabbit holes here.  We can, however, quickly state areas that, at the start of this new year, are things we ‘should’ do:

Three actions steps this year:

(CSB Bible Notes) 4:17-19 This section of the letter provides the practical outworking of v. 1. Paul’s exhortations denounced the readers’ former way of life. The content of the exhortation parallels early Christian baptismal practices of putting off old clothes before putting on new clothes to enter the baptismal water.

Today’s verses can be found in Ephesians 4: 17-18.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

If Jesus Said It, We Can Trust It.

Today, Pastor Michael is giving us a lesson remotely, as the snow and ice forced us not to hold a service at the church. 

Today’s lesson is about faith.  Jesus expressed sorrow that His followers didn’t have great faith.  But Jesus did have a believer who trusted Him in His word. Here, Jesus had just finished a powerful message, returning to Capernaum.  A delegation of Jewish elders came out to meet Jesus, asking Him to help a Roman Centurion.   This Centurion had a servant who was sick.  The Centurion had heard about Jesus and his miracles, so he asked the Jewish elders to ask Jesus for help.  Jesus agreed to see the Centurion’s servant, and when He got there, another group of folks came out to meet Him.

The Centurion knew Jesus only had to say the word, and his servant would be healed.  This Centurion did not even feel worthy of Jesus coming to him, but he knew Jesus had the authority to heal.  He knew the authority Jesus had and recognized Jesus as the Messiah.  This Centurion even had more faith than many followers of Jesus did at the time! 

Jesus marveled at the Centurion, telling the crowd He had not seen such great faith, even in Israel.  And the servant was healed! 

The Centurion saw the truth in Jesus that even Jesus’s followers did not see. 

“If Jesus said it, we can trust it” is our central theme today. 

Full Authority In Those Hands = FAITH.

(CSB Bible Notes) 7:2-3 A centurion was a commander of a hundred men in the Roman army. This centurion was apparently a compassionate man, deeply concerned about the illness of his servant. He reached out to Jesus through some local Jewish elders (either recognized leaders in the community or respected older men). In the parallel passage in Mt 8:5-10, the centurion approached Jesus directly.

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 7: 1-10.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Get to the Root

Today, Pastor Michael is showing us, we have a champion in Jesus!  A champion that wants you to thrive, in 2025!

In a story found in Luke, we find a man that planted a fig tree.  This tree, for over three years did not produce fruit.  So, the owner of the orchard told his gardener to cut the tree down. But the gardener convinced him, to let him nurture the tree and see if they could get some fruit.  The gardener will work the tree, dig down to the roots, fertilize it and see if the tree will blossom. 

If you want to get the fruit, you’ve got to start at the roots!

Here, the fig tree is actually symbolic of Israel and God the Father is the owner of the orchard.

Three years, which is important.  How many years did Jesus’s earthly ministry last? About three years.  But Israel, even with the messiah amongst them, they still didn’t ‘get it.’  God wanted to help change Israel, but they wouldn’t let Him get to the ‘root of the problem.’

The message is to encourage you to believe in Jesus.  He is the gardener in this story and will help you, IF you are willing to embrace Jesus in your life.  You will see the fruit, if you let Jesus get down to the roots!

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 13: 6-9.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Courage in the Chaos.

Today, Pastor Michael discusses how “Faith finds courage in the chaos,” our central theme.  We start at a place that is typically after most Christmas stories.  It’s the story of a tyrant trying to find the baby Jesus, and the Magi are at the center of it again.  The Magi made their visit and gave their gifts, and this is where most Christmas stories end.  But we’re going to dig a little deeper today.

The Magi had dreams of an angel speaking to them, warning them not to return to Jerusalem.  They followed the angel’s advice and returned to their lands without stopping in and saying hello to Herod.  Herod was a bit ticked, to put it mildly, ordering his soldiers to Bethlehem to break down and search all homes and kill all male children under 2 years old.  Joseph had a dream where an angel spoke to him, telling him to hightail it to Egypt.  That very night, Joseph packed up his family and fled.  They stayed in Egypt until Herod died.

Yet again, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, telling him to return to Israel, specifically Nazareth.  But Joseph had placed his faith in the Lord, and we shall soon see Jesus’s earthly ministry start.

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 2: 11 - 23.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The Shepherds

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about the birth of Jesus.  Here, he’s talking about the shepherds.  Farm kids growing up in the country.  The shepherd’s story shows us that God doesn’t see value like people.  God chooses those who are overlooked.

In those days, it was hard for shepherds to participate in Jewish customs and rituals due to them being ceremonially unclean.  But the announcement of the birth of Jesus came to shepherds!  Just to the north of Bethlehem is Migdal Eder, “Tower of the Flock,” where a special group of shepherds raised the temple flock of sacrificial lambs.  Most likely, these shepherds were the shepherds in the Christmas story.  

The shepherds remind us what Jesus’ birth was all about.  It’s the story of God sending his son to give his life so we can live. 

(CSB Bible Notes) Though the social position of shepherds was lowly, the role is often viewed positively in the Bible. God is pictured as a shepherd (Gn 49:24; Ps 23:1). King David was the shepherd of God’s people (2Sm 5:2). Jesus called himself “the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11).

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 2: 8-20. 

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Three Christmas Gifts

Today, Pastor Michael is continuing the story of the Three Wise Men. At this point in the story, they have found Jesus and begun worshiping him. He is no longer at the stable where he was born, the Wise Men finding him in a house. They came with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   Gold is a tribute paid to kings.  It represents royalty.  The gift of gold is the promise of a great king.  Frankincense is a resin that comes from a rare tree in the Middle East. The gift of frankincense points to Jesus as a priest.  Lastly, myrrh is another resin primarily used in funerals to anoint bodies.  Myrrh represents the gift of Jesus as savior.

Jesus is gold, our frankincense, and the gift of myrrh, the gifts of the Magi.  They remind us that “Jesus is the king who leads us, the priest who connects us to God and the savior who gave his life for us”; the heart of today’s message. 

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 2: 11.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Peace for the Restless Heart

Today, Pastor Michael is looking at the Three Wise Men looking for Jesus at His birth.

The wise men, the magi, were coming from Persia.  They arrive in Jerusalem, asking where is the King of the Jews that was just born.  However, the message had not spread at this point, so most simply didn’t know.  They followed the star to Bethlehem and found Jesus and worshipped Him. 

What did the Magi need that they didn’t have?  Peace.  After years of studying and research, they found the peace they needed in Jesus.

Today’s core idea is “Restless Hearts Find Peace in Jesus”.

(CSB Bible Notes) In contrast to the stable in which Jesus was born (Lk 2), Jesus’s family now lived in a house. This shows that the magi visited Jesus after the visit of the shepherds described by Luke. The magi worshiped Jesus openly, as did many other people during his lifetime (8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9,17). Jesus’s reception of worship reinforces his identity as Immanuel, “God is with us”

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 2: 1 - 12.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Grateful for the Gravy.

Today, Pastor Michael is returning to the Old Testament, in 2 Kings, about a lesson in the ministry of Elisha, the prophet.  One day, he’s going through Shunem, and a couple invited him to dinner.  After one of many visits, the wife asked her husband to build a room for Elisha when he came through.  Gahezi traveled with Elisa through Shunem, so Gahezi retrieved the woman from the house, and they asked her, “What can we do to repay you for your generosity?”

The woman wanted nothing, but Gahezi reminded Elisha that she had no children.  So, Elisha prophesied to her that she would bear a son, and she did!  That son was in the fields with his father and collapsed, dying.  So the woman went to Elisha and told him the story, so Elisha went back to their house and found the child dead.  Elisha went to the child and prayed to God over the boy, and the boy came to life!

Later, the Lord told Elisha that a famine would come, so Elisha told the woman of this and that she needed to leave the country.  She left the country and lived with the Philistines for seven years.  Finally, it was time to come back.  But while they were gone, strangers had moved into their house and taken over.  She took her cause up with the king, and Gehazi was visiting with the king when she was there!  And Gehazi talked about numerous miracles, concerning Elisha’s ministry.

The woman relayed that the stories Gehazi told were true and that she and her son were the recipients of some of the miracles.  The king was impressed enough to restore her home and lands.

Had she not experienced the tragedy years before, she would not have experienced the triumph later!

(CSB Bible Notes) The next episode introduced a flashback seven years earlier when Elisha advised the Shunammite woman to sojourn outside Israel during a famine (8:1–2). Because she now has to reclaim her land from the king, one wonders if the king somehow appropriated the land in her absence (8:3). There is a miracle of timing: at the very moment, the king is asking Gehazi about Elisha’s mighty deeds, the woman shows up with her son!

Today’s verses can be found in 2 Kings 4: 8-37 and 2 Kings 8: 1-6.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.