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We're back in 1 John, and this time it's a warning about what can get in the way of our usefulness and our intimacy with Christ: false teaching. While it may seem a little easier to notice in the world, this is a very real problem in churches too, and we need to be on our guard against falsehoods. This week on the podcast, Josiah and Andrew look a little closer at this passage and the warnings contained, and ask two simple questions: why is this important, and how do we do it?

After 4 weeks in the book of Joel in our corporate worship gatherings, we're finally going to take some time to talk about it. But as some things come to an end, other things are just getting ready to begin. On this episode of the podcast, Josiah chats with Andrew about what led him to the book of Joel and what was most impactful in that study for his own life, before abruptly changing the conversation to questions about the future, as big life transitions approach.

As a local church grows in size, it can become increasingly difficult to actually know everyone in the community and, thus, to be blessed by everyone in the community. This is unfortunate because there are no unnecessary members (1 Corinthians 12:7), none who are ungifted (Romans 12:6), and not one who isn't called to the "work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" unto spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11–13). Said another way, we need one another as Spirit-indwelled conduits of God's grace to propel us toward holiness and, when unable to be around one another and to know one another, this process is hindered.

With that in mind, we're going to try and "shrink the church" a bit today and, hopefully, provide an opportunity for one particular Oakridge family member to "build up the body of Christ" from afar. On this episode, Andrew chats with Brett Harris about his walk with Christ, the greatest struggles in his Christian life, lessons he's learned along the way, and much more.

Many times throughout the Bible we see people making a vow or swearing an oath—sometimes to God or before God, sometimes in the name of God. But what does it actually mean to make a vow, what was the purpose, why is it so serious, and is this something to be avoided by Christians now? Where does marriage fit in, or commitments to God for his sake and glory? Join with Tim and Andrew on the podcast this week where they discuss the concept of biblical vows.

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." This is the way that "the preacher" starts his exploration of life and purpose in Ecclesiastes 1. It's a fascinating, philosophical book in the middle of the Old Testament where the author wrestles through the meaning (or lack thereof) of humanity and our limited time on earth. This week on the podcast, Andrew and Tim spend some time discussing the book of Ecclesiastes and the at-times confusing nature of its content, doing their own exploration into vanity, life, and purpose.

As Christians, we know that sin is bad, right? It's wrong, it's opposed to God, it ruins everything, and ultimately it is why Jesus had to die. But even with all that head-knowledge, it's not uncommon to find ourselves in situations where we don't take sin as seriously as we ought to. Perhaps we justify it, rationalize it, minimize it, or just straight-up ignore it. But the Bible is very clear just how dangerous destructive sin is; something to be taken very seriously. This week on the podcast Josiah and Andrew discuss some challenging verses on sin from 1 John 3, all with the goal of helping us avoid it and abide in Christ.

It's an all-too-common issue: we go through a season of suffering (or perhaps the opposite) and find ourselves feeling far from God. Maybe it feels like he's abandoned us, or muted us out, or perhaps we've been operating in our own self-sufficiency and done the same to him. Maybe our sin has gotten in the way and convinced us that God wants nothing to do with us. Whatever the issue, it doesn't feel good to realize we aren't where we want to be in our relationship with the Lord. But thankfully, it doesn't have to stay that way. Join with Josiah and Andrew on the podcast this week as they explore some biblical examples of people who felt far from God, and what it looked like to get things back on track.

We're back in 1 John, and this week it's all about keeping our eyes open for the obstacles that get in the way of truly enjoying the light. But what does it mean to be distracted by worldliness, or to be deceived in a way that hinders our intimacy with the Lord? How do we stay alert, and how do we avoid this pitfalls when they come? Furthermore, what does this all have to do with our assurance of salvation? Josiah and Andrew address these very common obstacles and methods for success in this week's episode.

Every year we have a Good Friday service and another on Easter Sunday, and, as expected, we talk about Christ's death and resurrection. But what does it look like to be on the planning end, behind the scenes every single Easter? How do we decide what to discuss with regards to resurrection? How do we preach when we know there are likely more non-believers present than usual? And looking at this year's topic, what does it mean to be transformed by the expectation of the resurrection? Join with Josiah and Andrew as they discuss all things Easter weekend, this week on the podcast.

We were inspired today by the yells and cheers of kids in the building to take some time to talk about ministry to children. What is children's ministry? What is the biblical precedent? What does the church have to do with it all? How can non-parents be involved? Josiah and Andrew discuss these questions and more on this week's podcast.