Commons Church Podcast

 We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★