Willow Creek Weekend Podcast

: How can we deploy people to be the church where we live, work, and play? Hosanna will teach from her new book “How Not To Save the World” which tackles lies we believe that hold us back from sharing the Good News of Jesus with those around us, with a specific focus on believing the lie that our prayers don’t matter. Other lies  people believe: There is no way for my loved ones to know God, no way for that person to come to church, I’m not smart enough, skilled enough…I attend but I’m not a part of building this church. Hosanna will aim to challenge Willow to hold fast to the belief that our greatest witness will be our with-ness--our being with people.

What compels someone to risk everything for something they believe in? This weekend we look at the life of a man named Nicodemus and how he journeyed from hidden faith to public conviction.

How can we deploy people to be the church where we live, work, and play? Hosanna will teach from her new book “How Not To Save the World” which tackles lies we believe that hold us back from sharing the Good News of Jesus with those around us, with a specific focus on believing the lie that our prayers don’t matter. Other lies people believe: There is no way for my loved ones to know God, no way for that person to come to church, I’m not smart enough, skilled enough…I attend but I’m not a part of building this church.

As Jesus was leaving his disciples to go to the cross, he told them that he would send the counselor, the Holy Spirit, who would instruct them in all things and remind them of Jesus’ teachings. But how do we hear the Holy Spirit? How do we discern the voice of God in our lives?

Many people believe they need to have a pastor or clergy member pray for them; that God doesn’t hear the prayers of anyone else. But because of Jesus, we have been given access to the Father and we can talk to Him freely. He INVITES us to talk to him, to pray, and Jesus shows us how.

Too often we compartmentalize worship. We think of worship as this thing we do between 10:30-11:30 on Sunday morning. Worship is meant to absorb and soak into every hour and every place in your life.

Many of us are in a rhythm that is taking us down a certain path and leaves us feeling frustrated & confused. We're off beat. However, there is a rhythm for your life that God wants you to live, because He knows what’s best for you. And when the Word of God comes into our life and instructs us how to live, it interrupts those other rhythms. To experience all that God wants for us, we need to learn to move to the beat of His heart and not our own.

We cannot avoid conflict, but we can control our response to it. Will we seek refuge through our earthly desires, or will we trust God and run to Him, allowing Him to be our refuge, strength, and fortress?

We live our lives at a breakneck pace aiming to be as independent as possible, pursuing whatever we think will satisfy us but in the end leaves us hungrier and more tired than ever. But when we submit to Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we find rest, stillness, and the ability to follow the God who works for our good and our care.

Many people think of God as temperamental, just waiting to blast us for messing up, like God has a short fuse, ready to blow at any time. But the Bible says exactly the opposite. God has a long fuse. He doesn’t fly off the handle, he doesn’t over react.  God is patient with us and we cannot outsin his love and the redemption available to us through Jesus.