South Run Baptist Church episodes:

• January 17, 2022Our Discipleship

  Continuing our series on regathering and reconnecting as a church, we turn

  our focus to the second of our core values: Our Discipleship. If

  Christianity begins with being rooted in Christ, the next step is to

  cultivate that which Christ is growing within us. We believe that the best

  context for such cultivation, perhaps the only context, is within and among

  a body of believers who offer space for pruning and training and

  flourishing. Discipleship is not just “better together,” it requires

  togetherness, and we at South Run believe this sits at the heart of why we

  exist.

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• January 03, 2022Living Carefully

  Maybe there is something theologically appropriate about the way Christmas

  and New Year’s Day are linked together as bookends for the week in which

  the calendar turns. What happened at Christmas needs to make all of the

  difference in what we do with every day God gives us in every new year.

  Paul tells us we need to live carefully, and he gives us some guidance

  about the way for us to live in light of the fact that Jesus has come into

  our world.

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• December 26, 2021The Gift

  The story of Anna in Luke 2 is the second half of the story we read last

  week about Simeon. We learned that Simeon’s name means “He has heard,” and

  Simeon indeed heard God and listened to God’s call on his life. And through

  Simeon’s faithfulness, he encountered the baby Jesus in the temple and

  witnessed the one who would bring salvation to the world. Anna’s name, on

  the other hand, means “grace or favor.” Or more simply yet, “gift.” Anna,

  because of her patience and willingness to wait on God, was able to see

  what others were not able to see. Where everyone else at the temple saw a

  baby, Anna, like Simeon, saw the one who would bring redemption to

  Jerusalem and beyond.

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• December 19, 2021Go in Peace

  Today’s passage from Luke 2 contains a litany of themes in a very short

  passage. Here, Simeon has been awaiting the Messiah. He speaks of the

  consolation of Israel. He recognizes in Jesus the fulfillment of Old

  Testament promises. He talks of salvation, revelation, and glory. And as we

  have been talking about for weeks now, he requests peace. This beautiful

  passage that tells of the very beginning of Jesus’ life is like a symphony

  of themes about what we can expect from Jesus’ life. And if you know your

  gospel, you know that Jesus delivers.

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• December 13, 2021The Pronouncement of Peace

  Just prior to Jesus’ birth, a mass of angels appeared over the fields of

  Bethlehem, giving the shepherds a concert they would never forget. The

  angels, in unison, offer glory to God and promise peace on earth. But what

  kind of peace? And how does God’s glory fit into that promise? And what

  does all of this mean for us?

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• December 06, 2021The Path of Peace

  Today is the second Sunday of Advent. In our New Testament reading for

  today, John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, offers a word of hope and a

  promise of redemption that surely resonates as much today as it did way

  back when. The conclusion of the proclamation is that the road lit with the

  light of heaven is a road that leads to peace. As Jesus himself teaches us

  to pray, may it be on earth as it is in heaven.

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• November 29, 2021Prince of Peace

  As we approach Christmas, we might be tempted to believe that Christ’s

  birth took place in a perfectly preserved state of peace, because that’s

  what we all hope our Christmas’s will look like. This, however, is a

  fiction. The chaos surrounding Jesus’ birth is almost unspeakable. Every

  last person near to him was affected by the chaos. It seemed to follow him

  wherever he went. No, Jesus was not born into a world of peace. If was

  going to embody the Prince of Peace promised in Isaiah, he had a lot of

  work to do.

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• November 22, 2021Give Thanks

  This week we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. It is an appropriate

  time of year to focus on gratitude and giving thanks. The benefits of being

  grateful are many. Thankfulness is connected to joy, peace, awe, and

  wonder, and so there is good reason to be thankful people. More important

  than the benefits, however, is that the proper response to the gospel is

  gratitude. Grace and gratitude are interwoven, and in the face of the

  overwhelming grace of Christ, are hearts are to be full of thanks.

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• November 14, 2021Breaking Bread

  If you’re like 48% of families in the United States, then you say grace

  before meals. And if you do, it might include a thanksgiving or a blessing

  of some kind. You might be surprised to find that Jesus and Paul said

  prayers before their meals too. There is almost a rhythm to it in

  Scripture. Taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and sharing. Today I

  want to stop and think about the humble practice of praying before meals.

  And, more importantly, I want to reflect on giving thanks.

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• November 08, 2021Jonah: Part 5

  Today we conclude our series on Jonah. The book is just four short chapters

  but is chock full of biblical themes. Salvation stands at the center of it

  all and is flanked by themes of grace, mercy, repentance, calling,

  abundance, and so much more. But if you thought that Jonah had repented of

  his ways and began to follow God whole-heartedly, the final chapter of the

  book comes as a surprise. But even at the end, God is not finished with

  him. God does not give up on him. And God is not done with you either.

  ...more

  

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