The Source Houston

Thirteen days into the new year, Brandi checks in with everyone on their New Year's resolutions (or much to her surprise, their lack thereof). Sharing her theory on how all resolutions can be placed into 3 categories, she explains how sometimes we can mistake God's goals and visions of a good life with what the world has us believe is a good and prosperous life. Using the bumper, and two amusing snack commericals to make a connection between generosity and prosperity, she goes on to show that flourishing is very much about endurance as it is completion, and that fear shouldn't have to get in the way of it.

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Andy and Brandi kick off the new season by hijacking this week's AMA question and discussing the importance of generosity, while also tackling the classic question 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'.

Ask us a question, or send feedback! FMHouston.com/AMA

It's time to look ahead. Andy takes us through his goals for the new year, and the big things he's excited to see God do in the life of our church.

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As Kaitlyn explores the verses from this week, she point out how the foreboding elements in them are rendered harmless by the peace brought by the coming Christ child. Christmas is more than a celebration: it is an end of enmity, a new peace for all creation.

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The question has been asked before, but there’s still a lot to unpack - what is it that’s necessary to believe in order to not be a heretic? And what do we need to keep about the Christmas story?

The group gets into common misperceptions and the way our misinterpretation of the Christmas story doesn’t mean we’re getting the point of it wrong.

Here’s the article Kaitlyn mentions. (Link: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2018/december/putting-christ-back-in-christmas-not-enough-nativity-americ.html)

We’ll be back in a few weeks! Ask us a question! FMHouston.com/AMA

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Andy takes a visit out West and breaks out his Millenial flannel to fit in with the younger generation. Then he starts to unpack a difficult piece of Scripture from Isaiah, and see how a story like that fits into our lives today.

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After referencing John Wesley last week, a new listener asks about the importance of Wesley, and whether the group could give him a starting point on Wesley's ministry and sermons. Unsurprisingly, Kaitlyn and Brandi are INCREDIBLY excited about this prospect.

Ask us a question, or send feedback! FMHouston.com/AMA

Here's links to the sermons referenced in this podcast:

The Scripture Way of Salvation (link: https://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-43-The-Scripture-Way-of-Salvation)

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As Brandi gets comfortable watching old Christmas movies (there's a quiz!), she points out the context of this week's verse: for 39 chapters, Isaiah is doom and gloom. And then suddenly: comfort. God expresses his love for his people by promising to come again. But, like love often is, it's misunderstood.

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A woman who had a profound experience in which a stranger told her that she had seen Jesus walking besides her wanted to know: do we believe in angels? Do we think that the person she met could have been an angel?

It’s a question that group hadn’t considered before, and so there’s discussion of the nature of angels in scripture, the presence of the Divine in every day life, and how American culture affects what we think we can and can’t believe.

Ask us a question, or send us feedback! This, plus every AMA episode, is available at FMHouston.com/AMA.

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Brandi reminds us that it's not Christmas yet - and that part of Christmas is about waiting. And through the Old Testaments, as the prophets waited for the Messiah, the waiting was much harder. Isaiah predicts the Messiah, but he also says "where are you, God?" It is a story of being the darkness and waiting for the light.

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