Real Life Church Podcast

On a day meant to celebrate mothers, we step into a story that feels anything but picture-perfect. Hagar—a mom who finds herself used, discarded, and running into the wilderness with no clear future. And yet, she becomes the first person in Scripture to name God.In a world where it’s easy to feel overlooked, this message is a reminder that God sees the people others miss. If you’ve ever felt unseen, unsure of where you’re going, or like you’re living on the edges of someone else’s story, this is for you.

Adam Ewy shares:

When the unexpected hit and there was no time to prepare, Ray stepped up and simply shared what was on his heart. The result wasn’t polished—but it was real. A reminder that following Jesus the King isn’t about having all the right words, but about believing His Word, trusting His plan, and living it out daily. This message challenges us to ask a simple but powerful question: Why am I a Christian? And even more—am I living like it?

Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus—but belief didn’t start until he welcomed Him. In this message, we see that believing isn’t just knowing Jesus existed or agreeing with what He said—it’s trusting Him enough to receive Him into your life. Jesus moves toward Zacchaeus before anything changes, and Zacchaeus responds by welcoming Him gladly. This is the step many people miss: moving from awareness to trust. Belief is where faith becomes personal.

For some people their journey of faith is over before it really begins because they think they have to have their life together in order to come to Jesus. And for most of us, it’s a broken life that leads us to Jesus. So you’re trying to pick up the pieces and put yourself back together so God will accept you when He’s the one offering to put you back together in the first place. In this message Pastor Corey begins to answer the question what does it actually mean to be a Christian?

This Easter message traces God’s story from the first garden to the final table. In Eden, life was created but broken when humanity chose its own way. At the Last Supper, Jesus invited imperfect people to the table and introduced a new covenant—but left the final cup unfinished. In the garden of Gethsemane, He chose obedience, leading to the cross and the tomb. But in the garden of the resurrection, death was defeated. The story doesn’t end there—the table is still set, the invitation still open. Because Jesus walked out of the grave, you are invited to life, restoration, and a future celebration with Him.

At every Passover meal 4 cups of wine were shared around the table. Each cup represented a part of God's promise to the Hebrew people before the first false god of Egypt fell. But this Passover Jesus take the 3rd cup and tells them that this cup doesn't just represent 1500 year old covenant it points to a new covenant - not instituted through the blood of cattle, but through the blood of the King. And then Jesus does something else, He leaves the table before the 4th cup is offered - He leaves the meal unfinished...

Two people get up from the table on the night Jesus and His disciples celebrate the Passover meal. Jesus gets up to wash their feet, even Judas feet. And Judas gets up to leave the table and head out into the night. When we’re about to lose our character comes through - whether we want it to or not. Time of struggle reveal who we are they don’t determine who we are. When Jesus was about to lose His life the same thing happened to Him. But He didn’t leave, He continued to LOVE.

In the second message of the Last Supper series, we see Jesus rise from the table and take the role of a servant. While the disciples argued about who was greatest, the King picked up a towel and washed their feet. In doing so, Jesus revealed the heart of His kingdom—true greatness is found in humble service, and we belong at His table not because we are perfect, but because He cleanses us.

Jesus intentionally invited imperfect people to His table, demonstrating amazing grace by inviting betrayers and deniers to dine with Him. The Last Supper symbolizes grace before performance, and emphasises acceptance over perfection. In the same way we are invited to Jesus' table by His grace, not our merit. Embrace His love and extend it to others, recognizing that imperfection does not disqualify us from His mission.

Guest speaker

What Jonah seems to miss in his dealings with God is that God isn’t a dictator wielding power, He wants a relationship with people, and not just his people. God doesn't want to rule the world, He wants to be in relationship with humanity.

Jonah reluctantly agrees to go to Nineveh (after 3 days in a fish) and offer his warning. Jonah would have God seek retribution on Nineveh for their evil, war crimes and spiritual crimes, but God is after repentance; He wants to restore them not destroy them.

Jonah is in the fish. He was thrown overboard in the midst of a raging storm at sea and before he drowned he was swallowed by a fish. Then Jonah sits in the fish for 3 days and 3 nights before he finally prays to God - God now has a choice forget him or forgive him and let him continue to be a part of the story.

Jonah's rebellious disobedience contrasts with God's relentless pursuit of all people. God's actions demonstrate love towards those in need, even when they resist Him. The story challenges us to choose reaching for love over running from it, following God's example.

As we continue to talk about engaging our God and the gifts He’s given each of us we next want to look at how serving with our gifts is for the good of others and how it helps us grow deeper in out faith as we try to look more like Jesus every day.

Engaging with your faith and your faith family means connecting more with God and He’s given you gifts for both your benefit and the benefit of His Kingdom. As we grow in our faith it leads us to see ways we can serve and when we serve the church we’re using our gifts for the good of others.

This is our word for the year! From the beginning... like in Genesis, faith and humanity has always been a communal concept. In America we’re supposed to be rugged individuals, but in King Jesus we’re to be intentionally connected. In this first message of the series we’ll look at Isaiah 61 and see how it was about Isaiah, Israel, Jesus and US all at the same time - 1 passage, 4 people, 1 purpose. When we engage with Jesus on mission we're agreeing to not just be fans of Jesus, cheering Him from the sidelines, but followers of Jesus, serving with Him in the field.

You might expect the coming of God to earth to be announced in palaces and proclaimed by kings and attended by dignitaries - but then, only the wealthy, the well-to-do and the “winners” in life would feel like they were part of God’s plan and story. Instead, Jesus Himself was an outcast, born into an ordinary family. His birth announced only to the overlooked. Blessings came from the elderly and outsiders were welcomed into His families home. The coming of Jesus was for everyone and still today, only those who cast Him out find themselves on the outside.

For many hundreds of years the Jewish people lived as though God had chosen them, and only them. If you wanted to have a relationship with God, you had to go through the Jews, meaning, you had to become a Jew. This happened in spite of the fact that God had said from the beginning that He wanted to Jewish people to be a light to the nations of the world. But don’t be hard on them, we’re pretty exclusionary ourselves. So when Messiah is born it’s not at all weird that outsiders were invited early on. If you ever felt like you didn’t fit in or were being kept out, this story is for you.

If you’re not familiar, OG stands for Original Gangster 😆. It’s a slang term today for anyone who has done it before. Larry Bird is an OG. So is Terry Bradshaw and a whole host of others. The challenge for OG’s is that to be an OG you’ve got to also be old. And for many people in their retirement years life can feel like it’s slipped, or is slipping away. That might be how the elderly, widow, Anna felt. Until she got to play a part in the story of Jesus. If you’re fighting your age, don’t fight your story. God still has plans and a purpose for your life.

Do you know the feeling of being picked last on the basketball court, or being one of the many people who just feel overlooked and unseen in the world? You may be a garbage truck driver, a wastewater operator, a fast food cook or a stay-at-home parent, but you feel like nobody. Imagine what it would be like to be overlooked by everyone except God. That’s the shepherd’s story... and it could be yours.

There was nothing ordinary about the birth of Jesus, the promised Messiah. How could it be?! The God of creation partners with humanity to create a child who will save the world. Nothing about that is ordinary. But the circumstances by which God accomplished this were ordinary. An ordinary couple. A natural birth. A middle income family. A nationally rejected family line. If you feel ordinary, this is the story for you.

Jesus redefined the Passover meal to symbolize His ultimate sacrifice for our salvation, demonstrating faith-filled thanks in the face of impending suffering.

Gratitude should precede receiving from God, acknowledging His constant provision. God hears our prayers, not based on our goodness, but His love for us. Our prayers should align with God's glory and others' good, not just personal desires.John 11:41-42

Many Christians approach God as though He's never satisfied. Like God in heaven is just constantly looking at you and shaking His head. But when God looks at you He's not looking at your failure, your faults, your lack of faith, He's looking at a child He desperately loves. We need to see our relationship with God differently if we're going to be able to express thanks to God joyfully.

We're headed into Thanksgiving and Christmas and it's really easy to focus on our lack. We look at others and then look at ourselves and all we can see is what we don't have. But if we can't be grateful for what we have, even if it's only our life... this breath... the leaky roof over our head, if we can't be grateful for what we have we won't be grateful even if we have it all.

Why did God get so mad when Aaron made a gold calf and called it Israel’s god at the foot of Mt. Sinai? Or what was the big deal when King Jeroboam set up two gods in the Northern kingdom of Israel after their civil war? There’s a reason God instructed humanity not to create any gods in His image and it may not be the reason you think.

We should actively cooperate with God by sacrificially reaching out to others with the Gospel, being willing to go to great lengths to share the love of Christ.

Abandon distractions like the desire for wealth, living in the past, worrying about others' opinions, and focusing solely on our own plans. • Cooperate with God by committing fully to His mission and sharing the Good News. • Anticipate God's help in meeting our needs as we prioritize His Kingdom.

We're putting into practice what we've learned over the last 9 weeks as we tackle what Jesus was saying when he quoted from the Torah, "love your neighbor as you love yourself." Are we simply to love all the time no matter what? Is that love? Is it okay to hate someone or not and how we do we get to love if we start with hate? This should be fun!

If it’s true that the Bible doesn’t tell us what to think but how to think then maybe we need to rethink the letters of the apostles (Romans - Jude). These letters were written to specific people in specific places (most often) for a specific purpose. They are inspired conversations that help us apply Kingdom principles in the everyday places we find ourselves. They are not to be used as a way to support our side or our position but are to help us look more like Jesus. This message covers chapter 8 of Marty Solomon’s book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible.

Most people today believe that prophecy is about the future and uncovering some hidden information before it happens but that's not how the vast majority of prophets operated. The prophet most often showed up and shared a possible future outcome should the king or country continue their current course of action. That's not prophetic, it's perceptive. Understanding the original author, the audience and their application will help to keep us grounded when studying and applying prophecy to our own lives.

We often read the Bible to learn how to live; how to please God. But the Bible is not just an instruction book on how to live any more than The Lord of the Rings is an instruction book on how to defeat Souron. The Bible uses different literary tools to engage us, to inspire us and to entangle us in a life long journey of relationship with our creator. Understanding wisdom literature and how it's used in the Bible is part of that journey. And while there are parts that are didactic (teaching) it's more like learning to dance with a partner. The longer you're engage in the dance the more intune you'll be on the journey.Part 4 covers chapter 5 in Marty Solomon’s book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible.

The more familiar you are with the organization of the process the better the outcome. The Hebrew Bible, called the TaNaKh, is the Bible Jesus used (at least the Torah and the Nevi'im, the Ketuvim came later). It contains the same books as our Old Testament only, they are arranged differently. The Hebrew bible is arranged to end with Chronicles, a book of hope and about the future promise of the Messiah (having not yet come). But we rearranged the OT to end with Malachi, a book containing a curse we assume is based on the Jewish people missing the Messiah. While our Old Testament is inspired it's reorganized, some believe for a purpose. But knowing how the ancient Jewish people viewed the TaNaKh (our Old Testament) helps us better understand God. Part 3 covers chapter 4 in Marty Solomon’s book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible.

Part 2 covers chapter 3 in Marty Solomon’s book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible.The Bible was written for us, but it wasn’t written to us. It isa Jewish work from start to finish. It was written to and from a Jewish world working with Jewish assumptions and employing Jewish cultural influences. When we understand the literary devices the authors used we’ll better understand the God the Bible is pointing us to.

Part 1 covers chapters 1 & 2 in Marty Solomon’s book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible.We read the bible best when we understand that we are literary tourists. The bible was written for us (as in humanity) but it wasn't written to us, English speakers in America. We can't truly understand the bible if we fail to try and understand the conversation the bible is having between the author and the audience. As followers of Jesus, knowing the bible is not our goal, knowing God is. If you memorize the words but miss The Word you've missed the point.

Paul wraps up his first letter to this fledging church by reminding them to be strong because those persecuting them with will repaid when Jesus returns. But we don't have worry, we just have to wait and while we're waiting bring others into the light.

Sanctification, the journey to becoming more like Jesus, starts when we believe in Him and doesn't end until we encounter Him. A significant area of sanctification for Christian believers is sexual purity, abstaining from all forms of sexual immorality. Sexual immorality is described by the Bible as any sexual act outside the boundary God placed in the Garden of Eden - that only accommodates one man and one woman in a committed marriage relationship. To reject sanctification and excuse personal sin is to disrespect God, as His will is for us to be sanctified.

Terry will be filling in for Corey

Alan Funk will be filling in for Corey.

The new believers in Thessaloniki got a lot of things right, but they got a few things wrong. Paul and Timothy spent so little time there before being chased off they were unable to answer every question and teach much beyond King Jesus Gospel. Because of this Paul must correct some misunderstanding and offer some clarification to the things they thought they were doing right. In chapter 4 Paul uses 2 words to help them understand the return of Jesus that will shape our understanding as well.

In Chapter 2 Paul begins to unpack what it means to be a part of the family of God for the new followers in Thessaloniki. He understands that family can be challenging but also that family is supposed to be caring and ultimately they help us be our best. But that doesn't mean that family won’t sometimes be a struggle. But when you’re a part of God’s family it’s not about me or you it’s about US.

When we read the stories of the Bible from the comfort of our modern homes and conveniences it's easy to forget that life for those we're reading about was difficult. Often they faced death as a daily part of life but even more so for early believers who's lives were so transformed that that their friends and family wanted them dead, not just quiet. But that's the nature of the Gospel message; it's transformational not just informational. If what we hear doesn't transform us to look, live and love more like Jesus can it really be called the Gospel?

Paul preached in Thessaloniki for not more than 21 days yet the people were so transformed by the work of God over those 21 days that their lives were forever changed. They allowed faith to work in them and then through them, laboring from a place of love for others and held onto the hope of Jesus' return despite difficult persecution. 21 days and everything changed for them - what about us?

We've look at how Jesus challenged the Jewish understanding of culture, gender-roles, the future and nationalism and now we'll see Jesus begin to shift the understanding of family. In a patriarchal society where family was HUGE (consider how most names in the bible are so and so begat so and so) Jesus says your church family is ALSO your family with all the baggage and beautifulness.

Jesus used apocalyptic language to talk about the future - not to share specifics about what would happen in the future, but to give a framework for coming to grips with the future. One phrase on repeat was, “no one knows the day or the hour except the Father.” This was not mysterious language this was well known marriage language. In part 2 of Future we’ll discuss how we should look at the future, not with fear but with faith.

During the time period of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, women faced oppression and very low status among their male counterparts. Men had the power, women had very little of anything. But the Bible actually gives women prominent placement, elevates their names and calls our attention to them. The Apostle John includes a story of a woman who bucks convention and shows us how to love and worship Jesus well, something the disciples would learn from her.

In Mark 13 Jesus speaks to His disciples about what’s to come in what some people call the little apocalypse. There has been much speculated about the future and a lot of fear surrounding the future - that was not the biblical authors intention. Apocalyptic literature, even in the bible isn’t supposed to be about what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen but WHY it’s happening and WHO’s in charge.

Jesus was a Jew who never renounced His Jewish heritage or told others to stop being Jews. Instead, Jesus impacted His culture by loving God and loving others. If Jesus is your King and you're working for His Kingdom to come and will to be done then you've got to stop making enemies and start loving everyone.