This is Week Two of our Advent 2024 series "The True Light" where we walk through the famous prologue found in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

This teaching is called "The Light that Shines in the Darkness" and it explored verses 4-5 of the prologue, wherein it discusses the fact that Jesus is the Light and Life of all mankind. 

Our world is filled to the brim with public intellectuals, podcasters, and politicians all who profit on masquerading as "light bringers." It's a tale as old as the garden, when false knowledge corrupts our vision and leads us away from the true Light that is Christ. John the Apostle sets the stage in the prologue with these assertions that Jesus is in fact the True Light and that he exposes all counterfeits. Because we have many counterfeits in our world today, all vying for our attention, it's more I important than ever before to return to the true Light this Christmas season, and exalt Christ for who He truly is: the Light of the World. 

Thank you for listening,
We pray this teaching encourages you, reconnects you with the Father, and points your your vision towards Christ this Christmas. 

This is Week Thirteen of our series "Thrive: How Christians Live". 

On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, we thought it was needed to speak for a few moments on Life Church's views on political theology and how a Christian should think about ending with society through the lens Jesus establishes in the debacle he encountered concerning the poll tax found in Matthew 22. 

We hope and pray you are encouraged, strengthened and instructed by this teaching, especially in this crucial time as a Christian.

Thank you for listening,
We pray this teaching challenges you to love your neighbor and stand up for the rights of Christianity in your political sphere.  

This is Week Three of our follow up series "Thrive: How Christians Live". This teaching explores the many seasons of live a Christian will find themselves in. From spring to winter, we see from Scripture that God lays into place the boundaries and guardrails to our lives. As Scripture teaches that there is a time and season for everything, we too must understand that to Thrive in Christ, doesn't equate to personal success. It looks like understanding the season that the Sovereign lord has given you. Harvest doesn't always look like material, personal, or emotional health, and it always comes at the end of a lesson. When we view our seasons through the life of Joseph, we learn the vital lesson that God truly does work everything out for His good. 

We hope and pray you are encouraged, strengthened and instructed by this teaching.

Thank you for listening,
Take joy in the Lord, always.  

This was Week Twelve of our series "Thrive: How Christians Live". Coming off the back of our Rooted series, talking about Christian orthodox beliefs and right belief, we wanted to begin to tackle some of the Christian practicals, but from a slightly different perspective. Because what we are called to do as Christians and how we're called to live cannot simply be something we attempt passively, but thoughtfully. 

This teaching does a mix of things: analyzing the psychological obsession our culture has with attention and visibility, discovering Jesus' life of obscurity in the midst of pressure to do the opposite, and how we can be called to do likewise.

We hope and pray you are encouraged, strengthened and instructed by this teaching.

Thank you for listening,
Take joy in the Lord, always.  

This is Week One of our follow up series "Thrive: How Christians Live". Coming off the back of our Rooted series, talking about Christian orthodox beliefs and right belief, we wanted to begin to tackle some of the Christian practicals, but from a slightly different perspective. Because what we are called to do as Christians and how we're called to live cannot simply be something we attempt passively, but thoughtfully. 

This first teaching kicks us off with the foundational paradigm that in order to thrive in life, we must know what we hold at the center. The Biblical mandate is that we esteem God, most rightfully on the throne. If He is the center of our love, worship and joy, everything in our lives begins to take shape.

We hope and pray you are encouraged, strengthened and instructed by this teaching.

Thank you for listening,
Take joy in the Lord, always.  

This the FINAL Week of our series "The Kingdom Code" where we explore the core foundational doctrines and beliefs of the Christian faith. 

This week, we're looking at our final doctrine of the series, the Doctrine of the New Heavens & New Earth

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't the only radical belief that Christianity ascribes to: We believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is not simply the "end" of all things, but the that the Bible teaches us that it's the hinge that all reality rests. The hinge that opens the door to a brand new, and yet strangely familiar reality! 

  The New Heavens and New Earth are just that -- the stripping down to the core, all that Sin, evil and death have built, and the renovation of the entire earth and cosmos. All of this, for the purpose of creating a new space where humanity and God may be finally reunited. 

Counter to the prevailing cultural idea of "heaven", this is what Christianity actually speaks to when it refers to the "age to come." A time when God will right everything. 

But what we may not have expected, is that there is much to do in this next eternity.....

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We hope & pray that the Kingdom Code series was stirring, applicable, has given you more language, knowledge and has brought you closer to the God of the Bible, and the Risen Jesus.

We can't wait to hear what you think, so please connect on social media at @swteachingpod or if you'd like to listen to this on it's home podcast, check out @kingdom_youngadultsnj or our Kingdom Young Adults podcast, here on Spotify.

Be blessed, and we pray that this teaching helps you Encounter Jesus and Counter the Culture.

This is Week 21 of our series "The Kingdom Code" where we explore the core foundational doctrines and beliefs of the Christian faith. 

This week, we're looking at our 16th doctrine of the series, the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Community.

What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the lives of a Christian? 
- Is it only to empower us? 
- Is it only to give us good feelings?
- Is it purely just an individual thing, or does the Holy Spirit desire for us to reach out towards others? 
- Is there something more? 

We tackle in this teaching from our Friday Night Young Adults, what the Holy Spirit does in the life of an individual for the purpose of the group.

When we look at scripture and the teachings of Christ and the example of the disciples, it is clear that the Holy Spirit operates in a process of sanctification of the purpose of forming and creating a people who look more and more like Christ every single day. 

We pray that this teaching would: 
1. Humble you
2. Teach you
3. Unify you
4. Mature you
5. and Empower you

In Jesus name.

We can't wait to hear what you think, so please connect on social media at @swteachingpod or if you'd like to listen to this on it's home podcast, check out @kingdom_youngadultsnj or our Kingdom Young Adults podcast, here on Spotify.

Be blessed, and we pray that this teaching helps you Encounter Jesus and Counter the Culture.

This is Week Eleven of our series Rooted: What Christians Believe. At the time in our church life, we believed that a fresh look at Christian Doctrine was needed. We summarized some of the main Christian beliefs into 14 weeks of teaching. 

Week Eleven centers around the revolutionary claim that Jesus Christ rose from the dead! It's no small claim, and it is the centerpiece of Christian message. 

In this teaching, I tackle some of the deep seeded desire for an afterlife found in our modern culture, some of the arguments and evidences for the resurrection, and then some of the reasons the Resurrection matters for each of us today. 

Please let us know if anything inspired, illuminated, or challenged you!

Thank you for listening,
Peace to you.

This is Week Nine of our series Rooted: What Christians Believe. At the time in our church life, we believed that a fresh look at Christian Doctrine was needed. We summarized some of the main Christian beliefs into 14 weeks of teaching. 

Week Nine centers around the cross of Christ. But what most Christians might not know is the larger narrative that the Cross fits into according to the Bible. Thus, a larger picture is presented: the cross according to the Bible: Past, Present and Future.  

Please let us know if anything inspired, illuminated, or challenged you!

Thank you for listening,
Peace to you.

This is Week 18 of our series "The Kingdom Code" where we explore the core foundational doctrines and beliefs of the Christian faith. 

This week, we're looking at our 15th doctrine of the series, the Doctrine of the Atonement.

Does Christianity really believe that God needed to send his son to die for us? 
Why? At first, the notion of a substitutional sacrifice seems off-putting at best to our post-modern ears. But the grounding for all of Christian faith rests on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the sake of the world. 

In this teaching, we tried to tackle some of the most fundamental questions surrounding why Jesus had to die and the circumstances surrounding the misconceptions around the cross that we see then and today. 

We can't wait to hear what you think, so please connect on social media at @swteachingpod or if you'd like to listen to this on it's home podcast, check out @kingdom_youngadultsnj or our Kingdom Young Adults podcast, here on Spotify.

Be blessed, and we pray that this teaching helps you Encounter Jesus and Counter the Culture.