Episodes
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Together
We each need to exercise our own faith and trust in Jesus. But, we also need to lean on the faith—and knowledge and understanding—of fellow disciples of Jesus in our journey with Him.
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The Pain Goes Somewhere
In this next part of our Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World series, we pause and look at a difficult topic: pain. What do we do with the pain that we can experience in our lives? Where are we taking it? How is it forming us?
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When the Stool Wobbles
What happens when one of the important foundations of your formation—your bible reading, your thoughts about God, or your life experience—get out of alignment with the others? How do we handle the theological problems, or tensions, that we encounter in our lives?
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Unfinished
The next sermon in our Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World series focuses on our willingness to live with the mystery that is inherent in the majesty of God, and how our understanding of Him will never be complete.
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Pause and Behold
A sermon series about slowing down to build a resilient faith for a chaotic world wouldn't be complete without a focus on the practice of Sabbath, so that's what we're digging into with this episode.
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Everyone's a Theologian
Do you consider yourself a theologian? Well, you should! Any person who has thoughts about God is doing (basic) theology.
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Lingering with God
In the next message in the series Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World, we'll unpack how we are invited into slow growth in the good soil... and how God himself chooses to go slowly and linger.
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The Slow Build
We're starting a new series! Based on themes from the book Slow Theology, our fall series Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World will help us learn how to slow down in order to live well in disordered world.
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Judge Nothing
Returning to the devotional thoughts of Rev. Harold Winn and the Wise Words from a Friend theme, we explore what Paul means when he writes that we should "judge nothing before the appointed time."
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What Shall We Do?
On the Sunday that we celebrate the baptisms of nine people at FFC, we take a look at baptism in the context of the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
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Like a Child
The story of Jesus blessing children isn't just about the Messiah having a soft spot for kids. It's a reminder of the only possible posture by which we enter into his kingdom.
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Not Like the Others
In a well-known parable, Jesus talks about a Pharisee and Tax Collector who were praying at the same time... and which one walked away justified.
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Never Give Up
In this episode, we take a long look at the "Parable of the Persistent Widow" that Jesus tells his disciples in Luke 18 to encourage them that they should always pray, and never give up.
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Remember Lot's Wife
Following on from the beginning of Jesus' remarks about the day of the "Son of Man" last week, we now see the rest of those thoughts as Luke 17 concludes, including the short (but powerful) three-word verse: "Remember Lot's wife!"
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When and Where?
Jesus surprises his listeners when he proclaims that the Kingdom of God is "in their midst." And then, he begins to unpack some ideas about the day of the "Son of Man."
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Healing in the Borderlands
We're back in our sermon series Open Invitation, a tour through the gospel of Luke, for a few weeks! In this message, we discover a story about Jesus healing ten men with leprosy... but only one offers gratitude and worship in response.
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The Sacrament of the Sweaty Towel
Guest preacher David Williams (from Malone University) blesses us with a message about the example of service that Jesus gives us with a towel and basin... reminding us what true greatness looks like.
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Citizens at 250 and Beyond
It's the weekend of America's 250th birthday celebration! In this message, we discuss what it looks like to properly and faithfully steward the blessing of citizenship in our nation while focusing on our deeper citizenship as participants in God's kingdom.
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Sabbath Rest
Guest preacher Linda Leon (Flourish Ministries) follows up on last Sunday's message about human limitation by focusing on the meaning and purpose behind the practice of Sabbath.
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Blessed Limitations
As humans, we are designed with limitations. But, this isn't a defect. It's a blessing.
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Prayer for a Harvest and Workers
Guest preacher Jeff Bartolet brings a message about the harvest fields of mission and the need for more workers.
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Exiting the Ark
As the floodwaters finish receding, Noah sends two birds out from the ark. What does this scene have to teach us about looking and listening to God's presence and direction in our lives?
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Where Courage Comes From
Most people are familiar with the "David vs. Goliath" story. But, where did David get the courage to face that giant?!? That's what we're exploring as we revisit that famous scene.
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Power and Participation
To conclude the series, Success and the Shape of Life, we look at one particular passage and the suggestion that knowing Christ is a good barometer for a "successful" life. But, what does "knowing Christ" entail according to the apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3?
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Snakes and Doves
Jesus releases his followers to walk in the world as sheep among wolves, and to do so while being "as shrewd as snakes, and as innocent as doves." What does Jesus mean by the strange metaphorical pairing of these animals?
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The Allure of Influence
Influence is everywhere! Being influential is now even a vocation! Are Christians called to be influential? What does a successfully influential Christian life look like?
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The Problem of Pain
When it comes to living a "successful" life, how we handle and process our pain is of the utmost importance.
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Do You See Me?
We all have an innate desire to be seen. How do we handle that need? What do we do to seek to fulfill it? And, how do our pursuits of success and importance overlap with that desire to be seen and known?
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Qualified
This sermon takes a look at two biblical characters (Jeremiah and Paul) and how each felt about their qualifications. Are you letting a perceived lack of qualifications hold you back from pursuing God's calling in your life? Are you holding too tightly to what you think makes you qualified and...
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Most Likely to Succeed
We're kicking off a new series of sermons, called Success and the Shape of Life, that will explore how our definitions of a "successful life" have a huge impact on the kinds of lives that we live. This first message focuses on the "success scripts" we've been handed... and if we want to keep…
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Restored and Redirected
On Easter Sunday morning, after spending weeks looking at the ways that the apostle Peter "missed the mark," we now see him in the presence of a resurrected Jesus. What message does Jesus have for him, and how does it still speak to us today?
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Three Strikes
For the final scene of Peter's failures in the "Missing the Mark" series, we examine his (triple) denial of Jesus. Peter moves farther and farther away from Jesus, with both his words and physical proximity... eventually ending up "outside" and "weeping bitterly" about his mistakes. What does his...
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Put Away Your Sword
The next scene of "Missing the Mark" in the life of the apostle Peter happens as Jesus is being arrested. When Peter responds with hasty, and well-intentioned, passion to defend his Lord, Jesus gives a quick rebuke that is in line with all his other teaching about adversarial violence... even if...
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Clarity and Confusion
In this second message in a short, four-part series that will take us through the remainder of the season of Lent, we continue to focus on the failures of the apostle Peter and what we can learn from them as we reflect on our own failures and brokenness. In this episode, we cover the story of…
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Sinking
This is the first message in a short, four-part series that will take us through the remainder of the season of Lent. The series is called Missing the Mark and will focus on the failures of the apostle Peter and what we can learn from them as we reflect on our own failures and brokenness. In the...
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Life Together
Moving on in our Open Invitation series, we open up chapter 17 of Luke's gospel and hear Jesus describing some of the key features of what it looks like to "do life together" in the Church as brothers and sisters in Christ.
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A Great Chasm
In this episode, we arrive at one of the longer parables that Jesus tells: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. It has a lot to teach us about poverty, wealth, death, and resurrection.
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Old and New
Next up in the Open Invitation series, we dig into three verses in the middle of Luke 16 that just don't seem to fit with everything else around them. Or do they?
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Small Details and Wrinkled Noses
We're bouncing back to Luke chapter 16 to hear what Jesus has to say in the immediate aftermath of his telling of the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, which includes a well-known line about the impossibility of serving two masters.
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The Older Brother
We're heading back to the well-known story of The Prodigal (Lost) Son in Luke 15 to take a look at the older brother, who is highlighted at the end of the parable. What does Jesus have to teach us through the words, attitudes, and actions of this critical character?
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A Shrewd Awakening
In the next message in the Open Invitation sermon series, we'll unpack a tricky parable from Jesus. The story of "The Shrewd Manager" can be difficult to understand on the surface, but looking a little more deeply reveals a beautiful reminder of how we should use what we have cleverly and wisely.
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Prodigal
In this message in the Open Invitation sermon series, we work through the final of the "triad" of "lost parables" in Luke chapter 15: the well-known story of The Prodigal (Lost) Son.
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Lost and Found
We're back in the Open Invitation sermon series that has been taking us on a long and winding trail through the gospel of Luke! In this message, we open up Luke chapter 15 and seek to learn about God's attitude and posture toward "lost things."
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Built Up and Grown Up
With the final Sunday of 2025, the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's, we're unpacking what Ephesians 4 has to teach us about God's desires for the Church.
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Choose Your King
Christmas Under Wraps Pt. 4 - The two kings found in Matthew chapter 2, Herod and Jesus, couldn't be more different! This message will contrast the two rulers, and observe the core values of their kingdoms. Which king will you choose?
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Why Immanuel Matters
Christmas Under Wraps Pt. 3 - (warning: Pastor Pete's voice was affected by a severe cold during this sermon!) This message explores the importance of understanding why Jesus is referred to as Immanuel, God with Us.
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Page One News
Christmas Under Wraps Pt. 2 - This message unpacks why the gospel announcement of the birth of Jesus is good news and not good advice, and also explores why Matthew's gospel begins the exciting story with... a dusty old genealogy?!?
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Look for the Light
We're kicking off our Advent 2025 sermon series, Christmas Under Wraps, with a look at light. Isaiah's messianic prophecy described the arrival of the coming King as a time of "dawning light." How is the Light of Jesus still active in our lives and our world today?
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Don't Skip the Strange Parts
It's not just the Trinity that's a complex and mysterious part of the Christian faith! There are many things that Christians believe that require an acceptance of mystery and a reverence for God. Let's use the scene of Moses at the burning bush as a case study for how to approach the more...
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The Backdrop of Biblical Truth
The concept of the Trinity is one of the great mysteries in the Christian faith. But, it can feel overly confusing, and not applicable to our lives. This message encourages us to think differently about what the Trinity can teach us about God and ourselves!
About this show
This podcast is dedicated to sermons preached at Salem First Friends Church in Salem, OH. salemfirstfriends.org
Hosted by
Salem First Friends Church
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