Canyon Ridge Christian Church Podcast

What are you asking for right now? Health, relationship, accomplishment, stability? Central to the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11:2-4 is a posture and practice of asking. Asking is how you learn to know that God is trustworthy, present, and with you in all things. Jesus invites you to ask for things as big as God's Kingdom come and will be done, and for things as small as the ordinary details, like daily bread.When you ask in prayer, something happens between you and God, in you, and around you. Author and pastor Tyler Staton says, "We come for gifts and we get the Giver." Jeremiah 29:13 reminds each person that asking in prayer is about being present with who you pray to greater than what you pray for, "If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me."

Communication is the key to any partnership. Does it feel difficult to find a quiet moment to pause and be during life's rush? Look at the life of Jesus! He took time to take a breather and find His center. He knew that was where God's voice emerged. Recognizing and knowing God's voice is vital to truly understanding His character and undeniable love. Take a pause this week, and rejoice in God. Recall moments when His character touched your life as you read His word. Invite Him to open your eyes. Pause and rejoice this week with awareness of who you are having a conversation with and how much He loves and cares for you. It will change your week!

Have you ever asked, "How do I talk to God?" What about "How do I hear from him?" In every relationship, communication is foundational! Especially your relationship with God! Followers of Jesus know the best things only happen when God is involved through extraordinary prayer. Every culture has prayed on occasion, somehow… to someone or something. Your connection with God and enjoyment of Him is proportional to your comfort, consistency, and quality of your communication with him. Discover how and why Jesus taught His followers to pray, explore prayer's extraordinary potential, gain practical guidance, and experience a deeper connection with God.

Did you know that you do not actually learn from experiences? You learn from reflecting on experience! Taking time to reflect on your experiences helps unlock everything that happened and retain cherished memories while shaping our minds to see beyond the ordinary. Take time to reflect and learn how to embrace all you've heard about polarities in this series and discover how those beautiful tensions can bring you closer to God's perspective. Reflecting well and applying these lessons and concepts help you thrive in relationships and discipleship and to grow in understanding and aligning with God's plan.

It’s not hard to see when people miss living out either compassion or justice when it comes to any major issue or injustice in the world. What’s hard is seeing people live into the tension of both compassion and justice in light of Jesus. Jesus always invites his people to follow his lead and life in engaging with others meaningfully, personally, and intentionally by navigating both Biblical compassion and justice. Before taking any issue to a social level, engage it on a personal level. Join the conversation this week for a simple tool called SNAP and four key truths to remember when it comes to compassion and justice!

Imagine this scenario: your friend comes to you and presents an issue. What do you do? Your extreme options are to either take on their challenge as if it were your own, or to run in the other direction without offering much support. Notice the tension here - you are connected to them, but you are not them. This week's polarity is on being connected to and distinct from. This is a Biblical idea! Matthew 5:13-16 is about followers of Jesus being salt of the earth and light in the dark. With all things, Jesus is the model and standard. How did he navigate this tension? To be salt and light, to be healthy disciple-makers, this is a tension worth navigating. Join the conversation on exploring more of what it means to follow Jesus through the tension.

Do you know people who are all grace or all truth? God knows that people need to know his truth to see things as they actually are, but he also knows that people need grace. Romans 3:23-24 says, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins." Story after story, Jesus raised the bar of truth and widened the circle of grace. This week, reflect on what truth you have been ignoring and what grace you have been resisting.

Does it ever feel like you must do a bunch of good things to earn your salvation? The Bible is full of commands to do what's right. It's also full of reassurance that faith is all you need to be right with God. It can be confusing! Just look at how the Apostle Paul emphasizes faith, and James emphasizes works! You might think these ideas appear to be in conflict, but when you really explore the tension, you'll realize you need the best of both! 

What is your view of God? Getting curious about the fullness and the reality of God shapes the way you relate to God, yourself, and others. You need to know God, but more than that, God wants you to know him!When God is only your friend, your friendship can diminish appreciation and awareness of the holiness of God, missing the new and miraculous things he is up to. When God is only majestic and holy, he can feel distant, inaccessible, and condemning. The reality of God is that he is both big and close. Read Genesis 1 this week, and you'll get to know God as Creator of all. He is big! Then, in Genesis 3, you'll see the same God walk in the cool of the day in the very garden he created. He is close. How could a both/and view of God change your pace, your prayers, and your perspective?

If you had to pick one, would you choose planning or flexibility? You should plan because it sets you in a direction and helps you prioritize and achieve goals, but you shouldn't only plan because it can make you miss opportunities and overthink! And you should be flexible because new possibilities emerge, but you shouldn't only be flexible because you can be unprepared for opportunities!Living with the best of both planning and flexibility is about partnering with God to make your life all he wants for you. This message looks through the story of Paul and through the Book of Proverbs to see that God doesn't intend for you to choose between planning for the best and being flexible for the best, but rather choosing the best of both! Make flexible plans with God, with God's people, and on the move. This week, read through Psalm 37:3-7 and make that your prayer as you seek to live wisely!