Presence + Poettry Podcast

If we feel guilty enjoying something, shouldn't that mean we need to avoid it? Or is there something deeper going on? We give way too much power to our "guilty pleasures." How can we discern what is actually bad for us and what do we feel guilty about due to pressures from those we are trying to impress or the culture we're trying to fit into?The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

After Priscilla preached at The Father's House last Sunday, we sat down and reflected on her message and what it means to invest in the spiritual formation of the next generation and SURPRISE!It's not about volunteering in more church programs... It's about learning to sit in the presence of our God who is always present with us so that the next generation may follow our example.All followers of Jesus have a calling to invest in the next generation of the Church and most of us know that, but there still seems to be something that gets in the way of our ability to do so.This next generation doesn't need more programs, services, fog machines, or big corporate events. They want our presence—our authenticity.But we have to be able to give it to them.Here's the link to Priscilla's message: https://youtu.be/YILk9QeNhAs?si=XKFmUgmGsExFn7EAThe Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

God is present all around us—we are living in His creation after all. He is always speaking and always active, but we may not always hear Him or recognize His voice, especially while we live in such a noisy and distracting world.We can't put that genie back in the bottle—the world isn't going to get less noisy anytime soon—so how can we be present with ourselves so that we may be present with God? Is the only way to tune our ears to hear His voice to cut out everything and go live in a cave? How can we fulfill our calling to share the Gospel with the world if we do?The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

In Deuteronomy, the Lord charged the parents with the laws and decrees and explained that there was a reason He gave it to them, and not their children—the children had not seen the hand of God and the amazing things He had done.So, if the people who had not seen the Lord were not expected to follow His decrees as passionately as those who had, how should that change what we expect from those who haven't seen God in their lives?And how should that shape why we follow the Lord?The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

What does it mean to fear the Lord in the light of the cross, the empty tomb, and the Holy Spirit?The Fear of the Lord may be the beginning of wisdom, but that doesn't mean we have to be afraid He is going to smite us. Because of the life Jesus lived and gave to us, our fear of the Lord must look different now.The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

Your testimony is more than your conversion story—it's more than sharing how shameful or dirty you were before Jesus. Our lives are compelling not because of the shame we used to carry but because we don't carry it anymore.Take the pressure off your testimony! Your whole life is your testimony—both in the words you say and the way you live. Any time you have encountered the active presence of God or help others experience His presence is a testimony worth sharing. And for those who didn't have a drastic, compelling conversion story: your testimony still matters and so do you! You have a role in the Church and in the Kingdom of HeavenThe Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

Why is being "childish" such a bad thing?Of course there are things that children do that just aren't okay and appropriate, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.Children can be naïve and immature, but they can also be compassionate, insightful, and resilient. Whether your childhood was good or bad, we hope that, in this conversation, we can all learn to be okay with being a bit more childish.The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.

We all do it from time to time. Some of us more often than not.To connect to other people in their imperfection and pain, we decide it's better to bring ourselves down to their level instead of hearing them and empathizing with them without degrading ourselves in the process.Why do we do this? And what does Jesus show us as the example for how to live in confidence and not in insecurity?Priscilla and I spend this very first episode of the Presence + Poettry Podcast talking all about it. The Presence + Poettry Podcast is Priscilla and my (Jacob) attempt to share our insights, sarcasm, hope, and chaos as we encounter God's active presence in our everyday lives. Because if we are to reconstruct a life and faith that feels alive again, we must build it around the presence of God.