The Watching World

By Abundant Life

Be living proof of a loving God to a watching world.... more

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FAQs about The Watching World:

How many episodes does The Watching World have?

The podcast currently has 132 episodes available.

The Watching World episodes:

September 02, 2021 Get to know the Weavers
Join us today as we talk with Kaleb and Michaelah Weaver. Kaleb is the Worship Pastor at Abundant Life. They are PK's (pastor kids) parents of twins, real coffee people, and splattered with musical gifts from God.

Worshipping is more than singing. It is a part of who they are, almost a native language. Both growing up in a Christian home they saw their parents model and live out their faith. That is something that they admire about their parents and something that influenced who they are today.

They talk about their relationship, ministry, and everything in between, including a frisbee injury that brought them together. Listen as we get to know the Weavers.
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37min
August 26, 2021 Don't give the enemy a seat
In today’s podcast, special guest Louie Giglio, the pastor at Passion City Church in Atlanta GA.
Based on Psalm 23, Louie writes about how God prepares our table, and yet the enemy is prowling around waiting to get a seat. He doesn’t need an invitation, he plants seeds of thought in our minds to attempt to steal, kill and destroy everything that brings glory to God. He targets our minds, self-worth, our marriages, our well-being, finances, our gifts, even our eternity.
So why would we give into the lies of a murderer? The evil one is crafty and disguises his lies as truth. Instead of shouting an obvious lie, he whispers a thought to make us feel validated. And instead of having a Godly resolution to our problems, we will be left with guilt and shame.
But there’s a Good Shepherd, our Heavenly Father sitting at our table who is willing to walk with us through the highs and the lows, and never leave our side.
louiegiglio.com
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23min
August 19, 2021 Behind the Sunday Service
Join host Les Norman with today’s guests Cory Weeda, facilities director, and David Jones, technical director, as they explore all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes on Sunday mornings.
As soon as the last service wraps up each Sunday, the team starts preparing for the next week’s sermon. It takes not only technically savvy people, but also the artistically gifted, to create the vision of what the Pastor is trying to convey for their message.
Some special illustrations the Pastor is wanting to incorporate will be prepared weeks in advance, there is so much deep thought and preparation that goes into each message. Making sure it not only looks clear and concise for the live audience but also for the camera, to be shown at other campuses and for the online audience.
From the parking lot, to where you take your seat inside, the goal is to have a welcoming environment, with minimal distractions. The mindset and heart behind the whole team is to disappear into the background, and let the gospel message shine. If they aren’t even noticed on a Sunday morning, they say they’ve met their goal.
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25min
August 12, 2021 Is Jesus Christ God?
In this episode featuring Lead Pastor Phil Hopper, Ed Croteau, and host Les Norman, we’re tackling the claims that Jesus made about himself, was he a good person, a prophet, or was he God?

We live in a culture today that dances around Jesus’ claims or writes them off completely. It’s common to hear people say Jesus was a good person, but ignore what the Bible actually has to say. In truth, Jesus was either one of three things; he was Lord, a liar, or a lunatic. To see which option fits Jesus the best, we have to search the scriptures.

Old Testament prophesies about the coming messiah tell of someone who will be born of a virgin, who will be called things like wonderful counselor, everlasting father, mighty God, who will be Emmanuel, God with us. In the gospels Jesus calls himself the “son of man”, this is a phrase taken from the book of Daniel, it is a messianic title to say that he is the son of God and man. Jesus claimed to be God when talking about the story of the burning bush, saying “before Abraham was, I AM.”

It’s not only the claims Jesus made about himself but also the reactions of those around him who were hearing such claims. Multiple times Pharisees picked up stones ready to kill Jesus at the sound of what he was saying. And his followers did not misunderstand him either, as they all eventually gave up their lives for the sake of His claims, which they also saw with their own eyes.

Once you acknowledge with an open mind that Jesus Christ is God, the question is, what are you going to do with it? It means not only accepting him as lord and savior but also giving him control of your life.

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” Luke 17:33
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26min
August 05, 2021 Eye Witness
Continuing in our discussion of why we can trust our Bible, Lead Pastor Phil Hopper, Ed Croteau, and host Les Norman dive into the eyewitness accounts and why they are crucial, trustworthy pieces of evidence.

At the scene of a crime, one of the first actions a detective makes is to collect eyewitnesses and study their testimonies for credibility. If the same general story is being shared with small details that differ here and there depending on the witness, a story of what happened can be drawn from what was shared and most likely be trusted. But if the same story is told by multiple people word for word, it raises a red flag for investigators, that perhaps these witnesses are trying to cover up the truth.

The fact that the four gospel accounts in the Bible highlight different details but all tell of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection is compelling evidence for the truthfulness of the word.

Taking a step further, as we examine the lives of the disciples from before Jesus died to after His ascension, all of them become bold for what they’ve seen. Peter, who denied knowing Jesus three times, now spreads the good news passionately and even ends up dying on a cross for the cause.

Saul who was an intelligent well known Pharisee who went around killing Christians, makes a 180, becomes a Christian, completely repents for the way he’d been living his life, and follows Jesus also even to death, all because of what he saw. He had nothing to gain (in the worldly sense for deciding to follow Christ) and in fact, he knew his life would be full of persecution from here on out.

The eyewitness accounts in the Bible are such a gracious gift given to us to read today, to supplement our faith in the truth. The evidence is clear, the resurrection is real, it’s up to us to make our decision to acknowledge this truth and live for God alone.

livingproof.co

fse.life
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41min
July 29, 2021 Why We Can Trust the Bible
Guests Lead Pastor Phil Hopper, Pastor Ed Croteau, and host Les Norman, take us through more reasons on why we can trust our Bible, based on secular historians.
One of the key tools in verifying any piece of literature is to examine other pieces of literature around the same time historically.
When reading about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in our bibles, we’re filled with awe of our King, and belief in our hearts. Our faith grows even stronger when we read of secular historians, non-believers outside of the Bible, who authenticate what we read in the gospels!
A governor of Bithynia in Rome, Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the emperor explaining how Christians were worshipping Jesus as the one true God, and not Cesar. In his writing, he states how he would gather Christians together in front of a statue of Cesar and threaten them with death if they chose not to bow. Many were martyred for their faith in Jesus.
Another Roman historian Tacitus, who authored the Annals of Rome, writes in the 60’s A.D. about waves of Christians, who believe radically in the Christ, who lived, was nailed to a cross, died, and rose again.
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” The church stands on the shoulders of giants, the early Christians who gave their lives so that we can read the Bible today. The more blood that was shed the more Christianity spread. Let this be an inspiration to us Christians today, to be bold in our faith, to love God, and never back down from standing on the truth.
livingproof.co
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24min
July 22, 2021 Prophetical Evidence
Continuing in our series Sharing the Gospel in Post-Christian America, we explore the prophetical evidence for the Bible in today’s podcast, featuring Lead Pastor Phil Hopper and Ed Croteau, founder of FSE University.

Prophesy is when God tells of something that is going to happen in the future and then fulfills it at the exact time. So, when this happens, it’s to show that He is the one true God.

It takes an honest thinker to come to the conclusion that the Bible is reliable. When you approach the Bible with only skepticism, you may miss the point when it’s laid out in front of you. When there’s scientific truth that lines up with biblical prophecy, an honest thinker can hold on to that and build upon their belief.

In the Old Testament, there are 61 prophesies about the coming messiah. Jesus fulfills every one of them. Statistically speaking, for one person to fulfill only 8 of the 61 prophesies, there would be one chance in ten to the seventeenth power! So the fact that Jesus did in fact fulfill all 61, is screaming evidence that He is who He says He is!

Not only does the Bible give all the prophetic evidence for us to know Jesus is the Messiah, but there have also been other examples of fulfilled prophesy. Daniel in the Old Testament prophesies about multiple empires that were to come, and he told of them in order. Or how the city of Nineveh would be destroyed, prophesied by Nahum.

Prophetic evidence for the reliability of scripture is so intriguing and unique to the Bible, when you dive into the Word, it will definitely leave you with goosebumps!
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27min
July 15, 2021 Archaeological Evidence
In today’s episode featuring Lead Pastor Phil Hopper and Ed Croteau, we’re are taken through some archaeological proofs of actual biblical people and events.
To trust that archaeological evidence points to the idea that the Bible is true, you have to be open to using a similar mindset to that of a police officer or detective. To solve a crime, they find clues at the crime scene, and draw conclusions from their findings, coming to a place of having enough proof beyond a reasonable doubt, to pin down the crime.
Rational thinking says that if multiple pieces of evidence line up, then maybe it is trustworthy. For example, we can not prove that Jesus walked on water as the gospel accounts tell us, but we can prove that he was resurrected. So if we can prove Jesus’ resurrection, then it isn’t far off to say that he could have also walked on water.
Archaeology always catches up with the Bible. There is a huge amount of evidence for the validity of the Bible, including ancient historical documents to prove the existence of multiple kings mentioned in the Old Testament, the buried city of Nineva, and even proof of the walls collapsing outwardly around the city of Jericho! We can prove enough to confidently say the Bible is reliable.
Eventually, the evidence becomes overwhelming, and you can be able to prove enough of the Bible to believe the rest that you can’t prove. When it comes down to it, the proof is there, it’s about what you do with the facts that are important. The Bible is true, will you trust in Jesus as your risen Lord and Savior today?
livingproof.co
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37min
July 08, 2021 Why can we trust the Old Testament
One significant piece of evidence that lends credibility to the Old Testament is the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940’s. Dating back to 150 B.C. the accuracy of this scroll compared to the book of Isaiah that we know in our bibles today, is 95%, the only differences being grammar and punctuation.
Another solid reason to trust the Old Testament is to look closely at the prophesies of the coming messiah, and to come to the realization that Jesus has fulfilled all 61! For anyone to fulfill even 6 of these prophesies unknowingly, would be a statistical impossibility.
Though the evidence is compelling, and points us to the truth, it all comes down to making the personal risk to follow Jesus for yourself. The Bible is a supernatural book that has not changed over time, and that’s what the evidence shows. Will you make the God of the Bible the God of your life?
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27min
July 01, 2021 Why we can trust the New Testament
Continuing in our series “Sharing the gospel in post-Christian America”, we have guests Phil Hopper, Lead Pastor at Abundant Life Church, and Ed Croteau, founder of FSE University and serves in apologetics and also in multiple ministries within the church.
To believe what the Bible says is true, do you have to just have blind faith or is there evidence you can trust about the facts? An honest question all Christians should ask, not just skeptics! The truth is when comparing the New Testament’s historical texts with other ancient documents, the Bible’s accounts are, by contrast, painfully obvious as truth.
With 24,000 handwritten original manuscripts of the New Testament written the earliest at around 25 years after the resurrection, historically and with common sense, we can conclude that the Bible is truly accurate! This is just one example of many that we can rest in as fact about the Word of God.
We are saved by grace through faith, and that faith is not a blind belief. It’s based on facts, and every believer should dive into the evidence for themselves so they can have an answer for the hope that they have! We need to arm ourselves with the facts because the devil is still using the same tactic he used in the Garden of Eden, the temptation of self-glorification which we’re seeing everywhere today. Don’t be tempted to “create your own truth”, see that the Bible is for real, and follow God with all that you are.
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32min

FAQs about The Watching World:

How many episodes does The Watching World have?

The podcast currently has 132 episodes available.