The LVfirst Podcast

This Sunday, We continued our “Jesus Asks” series by looking at one of Jesus’ most powerful questions from John 11: “Do you believe this?”

We learned that when Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He isn’t just talking about a distant, someday hope, but a present reality we can live in right now. We explored the difference between understanding and believing—how Jesus doesn’t ask, “Do you understand this?” but “Do you believe this?” and how real belief shapes the way we live, choose, grieve, and hope.

We connected all of this to confirmation and baptism, recognizing that following Jesus is often like getting in the car without knowing every detail of the journey. Together, we heard Jesus’ question as a personal invitation in every season of life: “I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?”

This Sunday, we explored Jesus' profound question to the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda: "Do you want to be made well?"

We were challenged to examine the areas of brokenness in our lives that we've normalized instead of addressing directly. We learned that Jesus meets us in our brokenness and invites us into a process of healing that requires taking ownership and walking forward in faith. 

This Sunday, we started our journey through the Gospel of John in our Lenten series, Jesus Asks. We looked at Jesus' — "What are you looking for?"

Rather than following Jesus from a distance, we are invited to "come and see" — to abide with Him and experience the abundant life He offers to us.

This Sunday, we talked about the loneliness epidemic in modern culture. Using the story of the paralyzed man whose friends carried him to Jesus, we looked at how community is necessary for us to move beyond cultural divisions and form authentic relationships.

This Sunday, we talked about the pervasive anxiety and need for control that characterizes modern life, using the story of Mary and Martha to illustrate the difference between trying to be "over it" ourselves versus allowing Jesus to be "over it."

True peace comes not from managing our anxiety through control, but from surrendering to Jesus as Lord and sitting at His feet like Mary rather than frantically working like Martha.

This Sunday, we wrapped up our January series, Resolve, by challenging ourselves to embrace bravery as a resolution we can all keep throughout this year.

The story of Peter walking on the water teaches us that it's better to find out than to miss out—better to take that awkward, uncertain step toward Jesus than to remain safely stuck. When life gets overwhelming and we begin to sink, Jesus is right there to catch us. The question isn't whether we'll face obstacles, but whether we'll let our circumstances define our ability to follow Jesus, or let Jesus define how we navigate our circumstances.

This Sunday, Pastor Deanne lead us in a message about the power of curiosity. Genuine curiosity, rooted in a desire to understand rather than merely acquire information, is essential for our spiritual growth and building meaningful relationships.

This Sunday, we explored the transformative power of understanding our identity as beloved children of God. On this baptism of the Lord Sunday, we looked at Jesus' baptism from a new perspective — not as washing away sins (because Jesus was sinless) — but as a way of Jesus identifying with humanity so that we can find our identity in Him.

This Sunday, we explored the journey of the Magi as we looked at what it means to experience lasting change in our lives. Change is inevitable, but purposeful change requires following something greater than ourselves — Jesus.

This Sunday, we explored the difference between temporary happiness based on our circumstances and the true joy we find when we're rooted in God's grace and purpose. Pastor Adam challenged us to move from asking "how can this be?" to surrendering with "let it be with me."