The Local Church Podcast

DateApril 20, 2025SynopsisOn this Easter Sunday, we explore how resurrection hope spreads not through arguments or explanations, but through personal encounter. Beginning in darkness with Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, we discover that Easter's power lies in the moment hope becomes tangible and personal—when Jesus calls our name. This isn't just ancient history; it's an invitation to recognize resurrection breaking into our own lives and share that transformative hope with others. Like Mary's simple testimony "I have seen the Lord," our encounters with new life are meant to be shared, creating a chain reaction of hope that continues to this day.ReferencesScripture: John 20:1-18About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateApril 13, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we explore pride—not as confidence or dignity, but as our stubborn refusal to embrace our human limitations. Through the lens of Palm Sunday, we discover how pride manifests in our desperate attempts to appear self-sufficient, invulnerable, and in control. The sermon weaves together baseball statistics, "scruffy hospitality," and the revolutionary context of palm branches to illuminate a powerful truth: our healing begins precisely when we stop pretending to be superhuman and embrace our beautiful, messy creatureliness. The final installment in the "Glitch" series examining the Seven Deadly Sins.ReferencesScripture: John 12:12–16About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateApril 6, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we join worship leader Leah Benn Miller and pastor Brent Levy for a raw, honest conversation about lust and love as part of the Lenten series "Glitch: Reframing Sin and Finding Reconnection." Through their exploration of Ephesians 5:21-33, they flip the script on shame-based theology, revealing how our deepest desires point to a God whose power flows through intimacy and mutual submission. Rather than weapons of control, both scripture and sexuality become invitations to see each other as sacred beings worthy of tender care, creating spaces where vulnerability blooms into grace.ReferencesScripture: Ephesians 5:21–33 About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateMarch 30, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we explore anger as both gift and glitch in the spiritual life. Anger can be holy—alerting us to injustice and moving us toward righteous action—or destructive when we nurse grudges that consume our souls. Jesus himself models this tension, flipping tables in righteous indignation while warning against harboring resentment that corrodes our capacity for love. The invitation is not to eliminate anger but to transform it: letting our rage reveal what we truly value, then channeling that energy toward healing and reconciliation rather than letting bitterness define us.ReferencesScripture: Matthew 5:17–26About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateMarch 23, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we tackle envy—the belief that someone else's success threatens our own—through Jesus's parable of the vineyard workers. Envy isn't just comparison; it's the corrosive lie that another's blessing diminishes yours, scaling from personal insecurity to systemic oppression. The antidote? Generosity rooted in knowing your belovedness. When we celebrate others' wins instead of competing, we disrupt envy's isolating power and reconnect to what matters: in God's economy, there's more than enough for everyone.ReferencesScripture: Matthew 20:1–16About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

This engaging discussion delves into the sin of acedia, a spiritual apathy that often traps us in despair. It draws on the biblical story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man, emphasizing moments of hope and divine intervention. The conversation encourages community, vulnerability, and creativity, reminding us to see beyond stagnation. By redefining sin and exploring our struggles, the speaker inspires listeners to embrace change and transformation, inviting them to step into new possibilities.

The discussion kicks off with the Lenten theme, exploring our impulses to possess instead of receive. Greed and gluttony are reframed as 'glitches' affecting our connections with God and others. A powerful biblical encounter sheds light on the struggle between seeking eternal life and the urge to hoard. The narrative emphasizes introspection through personal and communal healing during Lent. Ultimately, it reveals that true liberation begins when we learn to unclench our fists, fostering love and genuine connection over material accumulation.

DateMarch 2, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we conclude our "Holding It Together" series by exploring how anxiety festers in uncertainty and our desperate attempts to control the uncontrollable. Pastor Brent unpacks the Transfiguration story, revealing how Peter's impulse to build tents mirrors our own anxious grasping for security when facing the unknown. The good news isn't found in certainty or control, but in the transformative presence of Jesus who meets us in our fear, touches us, and says, "Get up and do not be afraid." When everything else fades away, we're left with the liberating truth that we don't need to hold it all together because we are already held.ReferencesScripture: Matthew 17:1–9About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateFebruary 23, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, part of the series "Holding It Together: Good News for an Anxious Time," we confront the myth that spiritual and emotional maturity means complete self-sufficiency. Through the story of the prophet Elijah's darkest moment, we discover how anxiety often breeds in isolation—and how God disrupts our loneliness in three powerful ways: with nourishment, presence, and the revelation of community we couldn't see. True growth isn't about learning to hold it all together alone; it's about discovering we were never meant to. ReferencesScripture: 1 Kings 19:1–18 About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

DateFebruary 16, 2025SynopsisIn this sermon, we launch the series "Holding It Together: Good News for an Anxious Time" by exploring what it means to be honest about our anxiety in an increasingly overwhelming world. Pastor Brent challenges the "this is fine" mentality and examines how our instinct to avoid discomfort—through scrolling, busyness, or distraction—only allows anxiety to deepen its roots. Instead, he invites us to embrace the radical act of naming our struggles before God—not as a sign of weak faith, but as a profound expression of trust. Drawing from both modern psychology and ancient wisdom, we discover that we don't have to hold everything together because we're already being held.ReferencesScripture: Psalm 55:1–8About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.