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Living Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life218.5 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTSend us a textSPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Sally and I began co-producing these podcasts, on Streams of Living Water Radio, at the beginning of the global pandemic in March of 2020. We have now produced 218 videos, podcasts and blogs! We wanted to provide a sense of connection and encouragement and an opportunity to reflect about what it means to be a Christian when Christians were encouraged to stay home, worship online, and yet stay connected. Now, most churches are back to at least some provisions for physically present worship. We are...2022-05-2702 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life110 Holiness & HardwareSend us a text Summary: What can local churches learn from a local hardware store? Provide what we say we provide, offer opportunities to encounter credible people who really care about what they need, and be genuine in our community. Referenced Bible verses: Romans 10:14-17 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress...2021-04-2615 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life109 What Is Justice?Send us a text Summary: Justice is doing God’s will. We know God’s will is being done when are responding to the leadership and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Justice can only be done with authority through the work of the transcendent God, not by human beings. Justice is seen most clearly on the cross. Referenced Bible verses: Romans 6:20-23; Galatians 3:27-29; Amos 5:25 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-04-2315 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life108 StreamsSend us a text Summary: Streaming video is the means we have become accustomed to for receiving information. Streams bring the water that is necessary for life. The Holy Spirit is described in both the Old and New Testament sections of the Bible as “Streams of Living Water”. It brings understanding and life to those in a spiritual desert, an abundance of something that is otherwise scarce. God gives it freely to all who open their hearts to receive it. Referenced Bible verses: Psalms 46:4-7; John 14:15-17; Isaiah 35:3-7 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch...2021-04-1911 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life107 OfSend us a text Summary: “Of” is a small word, but it is cosmic in meaning. We are children of God and heirs of God’s promise. Jesus, the Lamb of God, fully God and fully human being, died to take away our sin. He is revealed by the Holy Spirit, the streams of living water, within us and draws us together as the Body of Christ, the Church. “Of” means that, by God’s grace, we belong. Referenced Bible verses: Genesis 2:7; John 1:29b; Galatians 3:27-29; Galatians 4:1-7 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen...2021-04-1614 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life106 LivingSend us a text Summary: Birth and death and resurrection are all the same because we have received the gifts of a living relationship with the one true living God and our adoption in our baptism. Referenced Bible verses: Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 4:3-4; Luke 24:1-5; Philippians 1:21; Romans 15:8 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https...2021-04-1214 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life105 WaterSend us a text Summary Water is necessary for life. Baptism is the water and the Word of God that brings new life. This new life is increasingly distinguishable from our increasingly secular culture. Referenced Bible verses: Romans 6:3-5; Romans 4:10-14 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/22879/Luther-Small-Cate...2021-04-0913 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life104 Go S.L.O.W.Send us a text Summary SOLW is an acronym for Streams of Living Water. SLOW is an acronym with the same words but in a different order, reminding us that sometimes we must reexamine the order of things to most clearly know their true meaning. Easter is much more than bunnies. It is the celebration of the pivotal event in human history. Referenced Bible verses: Jeremiah 2:11-13; John 7:37-39; Isaiah 55:2; Psalm 46:10; Luke 12:27-32 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the bene...2021-04-0615 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life103 Construction LessonsSend us a text Summary We do not make ourselves. We are constructed as Christians and as the Church by the Holy Spirit. Maundy Thursday points to the death of Jesus, fully God and fully human being, to make us children of God. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Corinthians 4:9-10; John 13:34-35; John 14:6-7 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of...2021-04-0217 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life102 WitnessSend us a text Summary A witness is someone who tells about something they have seen. A Christian is a witness who tells their story or the stories of other Christians about what God has done and is doing in their lives. A Christian witness is credible, need not be long, prepared and guided by the Holy Spirit, often results in action, and points to life transformation by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Referenced Bible verses: Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20; I John 1:1-4 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or...2021-03-3016 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life101 Deep Fake/Deep LoveSend us a text Summary We don’t live by the things we see or by the desires of our heart. We don’t live by the appearances of the deep fakes and lies of this world. We live and are formed by the deep love of God, the deep selfless love modeled most clearly for us on the cross. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; 1 Corinthians 13:11-13; Romans 11:33-36; Romans 5:6-8 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our...2021-03-2613 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life100 Small WorshipSend us a text Summary Worship in the new Small Normal post-pandemic world will reflect people’s hunger for community. It will be built around the needs of clusters of small groups. It will be nimble, built from the spiritual gifts of its participants, and open to the work of the Holy Spirit. Referenced Bible verses: Luke 12:32-36 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free dig...2021-03-2316 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life99 It's A Small WorldSend us a text Summary The Christian world is both large and small. We are both the Body of Christ and individually members of it. The Body of Christ, the Church, is huge and encompasses the full range of human diversity. Yet in the Holy Spirit, there are 0 degrees of separation between us. Referenced Bible verses: Galatians 3:27-29; I Corinthians 12:27-30; John 7:37-39 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Her...2021-03-1915 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life98 The Small NormalSend us a text Summary A big part of The New Normal will be small groups. They will provide fellowship, help with the discipleship of new or lapsed Christians, will be structured for growth and will be the building bocks of Christian community worship. Though we are small, our strength is in our character. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 18:19-20; Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 13:33 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s th...2021-03-1617 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life97 Five FlowersSend us a text Summary We are the lilies of the field. How do they grow? They don’t do anything. They receive the gifts of God, and there is no growth more spectacular. Referenced Bible verses: John 15:1-11; Luke 12:25-31 (Matthew 12:25-34); Romans 6:3-11 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org...2021-03-1216 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life96 The Glue That Holds Us TogetherSend us a text Summary The glue that holds us together in the Christian Church when we seem to be falling apart is the Holy Spirit. It binds us even when we don’t acknowledge its power. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Peter 2:9-11; Luke 10:38-42 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/2...2021-03-0914 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life95 Family Values?Send us a text Summary We live as one (a family) by living as one (in an all-defining living relationship with the one true living God). Referenced Bible verses: Mark 3:31-35 (also, Matthew 12:46–50; Luke 8:19–21); Colossians 3:11; 1 Timothy 5:8; Luke 18:28-30 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/22879/Luther-Small-Catechism-App Facebook Page (for live v...2021-03-0510 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life94 The One Question Church Leaders Should Never Ask Congregations They ServeSend us a text Summary Christian communities are the product of the Holy Spirit. They are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The one question that church leaders should never ask the congregations that they serve is, “What do you want to do?” The one question (OK maybe two) that church leaders should ask the congregations that they serve is, “What is the Holy Spirit calling us as a congregation to do, and how have we been gifted to do it?” Referenced Bible verses: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the...2021-03-0216 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life93 Toleration!Send us a text Summary Toleration is not enough for Christians, and it has its limits. We are called and formed to love selflessly, as God loves, seen most clearly on the cross. Referenced Bible verses: Romans 12:9-21 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/22879/Luther-Small-Catechism-App Facebook Page (for li...2021-02-2619 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life92 The TemptationsSend us a textSummary Temptation comes to all people. We cannot prevent it. We can resist it, but we can’t overcome it. The good news, the Gospel, is that Jesus has overcome it for our sake on the cross. Referenced Bible verses: Mark 1:9-15; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:14-16; John 3:16 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Here’s the link for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsbu...2021-02-2315 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life91 Be PurpleSend us a textSummary We are now in the season of Lent. The color of Lent is purple, in part because that was the color of the robe that the Roman soldiers threw around Jesus to mock him as a “king”. The color purple is like the love of God that we see on the cross: expensive and it never fades. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavida...2021-02-2013 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life90 Something PureSend us a textSummary: Soap and water make us pure. The cross where Jesus, like soap, uses himself up to make all who receive the gift of faith pure before God, and baptism where water and the Word purify as the means with faith by which God frees us from sin, death and the power of all the forces that defy God. Referenced Bible verses: Revelation 3:14-22; Mark 9:2-9 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Addr...2021-02-2011 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life89 Less is MoreSend us a textSummary: The Christian life is hidden in Christ. It is filled with paradox, including that less is more. The things that the world views and pursues as ends in themselves lead nowhere. The things that the world values are by-products, not the goal, of the Christian life that truly is life and is the beginning of eternal life. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 12:15-21; Colossians 3:2-4 Here are the links I mentioned today:Pop Religion Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiYFJhQSkjUWikipedia Article on MTD: https://en...2021-02-1912 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life88 Believing and SeeingSend us a textSummary: We discern the leading of God, the Holy Spirit. Yes, that is very subjective but that’s how God works, with people. We consider the whole testimony of the Bible, the witness of the Church, our reason and the voice of God within us, through Creation that declares the majesty of God, Jesus, the Light of the World, and through the Holy Spirit, the streams of living water. The blessing of both reason and revelation, seeing and believing, comes from the eyes to see and the ears to hear the movement and the v...2021-02-1913 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life87 No "I"Send us a textSummary: It may feel sometimes, in this pandemic, that we are alone, but we are not. We are the Body of Christ and individually members of it. Our individual gifts, however, are not given to us but through us for the building up of the Body, to the Glory of God. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Corinthians 12:12-17, 18-27 Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction. Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.fac...2021-02-1812 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life86 Amen.Send us a textSummary: When we use “Amen.” in worship, it is an affirmation of what has been said or read. It is a response to the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit through our focused, active engagement with the one true living God. Referenced Bible verses: John 4:21-24 Here’s the link I mentioned for a free digital version of Luther’s Small Catechism: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/22879/Luther-Small-Catechism-App Please note that Rev. Sally Welch appears on-screen in the first 30-or so of our videos to bring encouragement and the benediction...2021-02-1815 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life85 TransparencySend us a textSummary: Transparency is a value in the Christian life. We seek to have nothing to hide. In any case, there is nothing we can hide before God. God loves us and God transforms us to be a new creation. We are transparent to the point we become like a mirror and we reflect the light of God and God’s good news to the world. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 139:13-18 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pasto...2021-02-1812 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life84 Going ViralSend us a textSummary: The Gospel has gone viral for 2,000 years. You are a Christian, or will be come one, because someone shared the transformational story of salvation with you and you opened your heart to receive this gift from God. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive n...2021-02-1715 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life83 A New AdministrationSend us a textSummary: The proclamation of Jesus at the beginning of his 3-year public ministry, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” is Jesus’ invitation to a new administration, and ours. Referenced Bible verses: Mark 1:25-30 Request Zoom link for our regional Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Service on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.: contact@socalchristianforum.net Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https...2021-02-1720 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life82 HomogeneousSend us a textSummary: Being a homogeneous Church is not the opposite of being a polarized Church. They are the same when we seek only those like us and that polarizes. The Body of Christ as a metaphor for the Church means that we, though many particular members, are one Body, with Christ as the head. That is our path to unity. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com2021-02-1716 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life81 Critical ThinkingSend us a textSummary: The lack of critical thinking got us into the pandemic surge and our current national crisis. Critical thinking has a great deal in common with the Christian life and, as we conceive it, will have a lot to do with how we lower the curve and move out of our polarization. Referenced Bible verses: John 14:15-17, 25-27 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/cha...2021-02-1613 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life80 Living in CrisisSend us a textSummary: In a global pandemic that is getting worse, at a time of national crisis, faith is everything. Referenced Bible verses: Hebrews 11:1-3 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-02-1612 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life79 Epiphany!Send us a textSummary: The Epiphany season sheds light on both the reason people ignore the simple things they can do to slow the spread of the coronavirus and on the actions of the invading mob in our nation’s Capitol yesterday. We have no sense of a common good. Christians can provide that with what draws us together, a living relationship with the one true living God, and our ethic of selfless and sacrificial love. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 4:12-16; John 1:1-9 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.faceboo...2021-02-1615 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life78 A Counter-Cultural ChristmasSend us a textSummary: The celebration of Christmas as a 12-day Christian season goes counter to our culture’s observation of Christmas as a secular holiday. Sometimes, it also goes counter to our churches’ celebration. It can even be counter to our own practices. That’s a good thing. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 5:13-16 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **P...2021-02-1314 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life77 Christmas ApocalypseSend us a textSummary: Christmas reminds us that God keeps His promises. Christ was born when the time was right 1,000 years after the promise of His first coming. As we await Christ’s second coming, now for 2,000 years after the promise, we can know that God always keeps His promises, even if it takes what seems to us a very long time. Referenced Bible verses: Revelation 21:1-4 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com Podcast: https://livingwaterradio.buzzsprout.com...2021-02-1214 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life76 Christmas Con CarneSend us a textSummary: We share the good Christmas news of the Word made flesh with commonality and confrontation. “What did you do for Christmas?” “I heard a Christmas story that was disturbing but that meant a lot to me.” Referenced Bible verses: John 1:1-14 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-02-1217 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life75 A Disrupted ChristmasSend us a textSummary: Christmas is going to be celebrated a little differently this year as the result of the pandemic but also because of the increasing secularization of our culture. Let’s disrupt the disruption by focusing on the season. Let’s be counter-cultural. Let’s celebrating the whole 12 days as a religious holiday of sharing all the gifts of God in response to God’s great gift of God’s self in Jesus the Messiah, born to die for all humanity. Referenced Bible verses: Luke 2:1-20 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Faceboo...2021-02-1214 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life74 Ad - VentingSend us a textSummary: Advent is its own season, preparing us for the 12 Days of Christmas. It is also a season to reflect on the second advent, or “coming” of Jesus. We live in the already, but not yet, Reign of God. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still in the tunnel,” said California Governor Newsom. This is a good description of Advent, as well of the need to remain vigilant in doing the simple things we can do to slow the spread of the coronavirus, literally save lives, and rebuild our jo...2021-02-1213 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life73 How to Hear a SermonSend us a textSummary: We best hear a sermon when we are open to the Holy Spirit, who also inspires the sermon preacher, and act on the Holy Spirit’s transformational presence to share the good news and to serve all people in accord with God’s will. Referenced Bible verses: Isaiah 29:13-14; Romans 10: 14-17; Matthew 13:10-18 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscri...2021-02-1211 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life72 How to Preach a SermonSend us a textSummary: Some people preach from a pulpit, but we all preach in our homes, our workplaces, our teams, and on the streets where we meet people. We preach the good news of Jesus Christ when we are the instruments of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the cross, that God entered human history to die for their sin, and to name the name of Jesus Christ. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Peter 3:15b – 16a Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pasto...2021-02-1118 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life71 PreacherSend us a textSummary: When we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, our goal is not for people to hear what we have to say, but to hear what God is saying through us, the very words of God, that God may be glorified. We do not speak on our own, and the results are not our own, but come in the power of the Holy Spirit. Referenced Bible verses: 1 Peter 4:10-11; John 3:8; John 12:20-21 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme t...2021-02-1012 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life70 How Did I Do?Send us a textSummary: Worship, whether in person or on Zoom, is directed to God. The question to ask ourselves after a liturgical worship service, said philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard, is not “What did I get out of that?” but, “How did I do?” I offer 12 way to make worship better, which might be summarized by, “Get out of God’s way.” 😊 Referenced Bible verses: Colossians 3:14-17 Referenced article: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/what-does-contemporary-worship-really-mean Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): ...2021-02-1015 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life69 Life and DeathSend us a textSummary: Sally’s sister Susan died peacefully last Sunday morning after a valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer, on the First Sunday in Advent, a season of hope and expectation. Everything that lives, dies, until the second advent. Christians believe, however, that death happens in our Baptism and that, just as Jesus rose from the dead, so will we. What the world sees as death is just a change to a different and perfected way of life. Our lives in this world are lived in service of others in response to that death of Jes...2021-02-1013 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life68 Paul Hornung, A Colander, and This ThanksgivingSend us a textSummary: There are things to be thankful for even during a global pandemic. The liturgical calendar infuses time with meaning and reminds us that time is a creation of God, that time is in God’s hands, and that it’s meaning has been made known to us in Jesus Christ. We are grateful for our families, for the self-sacrificial work of all those providing essential services for those in need, and we are ultimately grateful for the gift of God in Jesus Christ, who takes away the sins of the world. ...2021-02-1011 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life67 SurgeSend us a textSummary: The rising number of new coronavirus cases in the United States are no longer described as a spike, but as a surge. Much of this surge could have been prevented, lives could have been saved, and our economic recovery could have been on more solid ground. We need open hearts that receive the surge of the Holy Spirit to produce the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that are the fruit (outcome) of the Holy Spirit. Referenced Bible verses: Jeremiah 2:11-13; John 4:7-26; John 7:37-39; Acts 10:44-48...2021-02-1013 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life66 The New Normal Church, Part 3: Post-pandemic DevelopmentSend us a textSummary: Church development in the post-pandemic New Normal Church will take place through a flattened church hierarchy, a renewed emphasis on the Christian nature of the Church’s institutions and agencies, and a focus on the transformational nature of the Christian faith, in Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit and embodied and proclaimed by Christians in the world. Referenced Bible verses: 1 John 4:1-4 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog (for theme text): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c...2021-02-0915 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life65 The New Normal Church, Part 2: The Changing MeansSend us a textSummary: The Good News of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for our redemption remains the same from generation to generation. The means we use to proclaim Christ are always changing. Church of the post-pandemic 21st Century Church will have more in common with the Church of the 1st Century than with the 20th. We will be more vibrant in our expression of the work of the Holy Spirit and the means that we use to do ministry will be less important than their message. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 28:18-202021-02-0914 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life64 The New Normal Church, Part 1: Near TermSend us a textSummary: The Good News of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for our redemption remains the same from generation to generation. The means we use to proclaim Christ are always changing. Church of the post-pandemic 21st Century Church will have more in common with the Church of the 1st Century than with the 20th. We will be more vibrant in our expression of the work of the Holy Spirit and the means that we use to do ministry will be less important than their message. Referenced Bible verses: Matthew 28:18-202021-02-0713 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life63 Signs and WondersSend us a textSummary: Each of has a spiritual gift (or serial gifts), given at baptism for the sake of accomplishing the work God has given the Church to accomplish. The extraordinary “signs and wonders” gifts like speaking in tongues, divine healing, prophecy, etc, may have ended with the last of the apostles. All of us have received the gifts of the Word and the Sacraments, signs and wonders beyond all else. Referenced Bible verses: Acts 5:12-15; Romans 12:4-8 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ Blog...2021-02-0714 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life62 Two AuthoritiesSend us a textSummary: The Two Kingdoms doctrine is an often misunderstood understanding of how God works in the world. It reminds us of God’s sovereignty over all things while calling Christians to work for the good of all, including through the governments, law enforcement agencies, armed forces, etc. of this world, while holding this world’s leaders accountable to work in accord with God’s will. Referenced Bible verses: Romans 5:18-21; Romans 13:1-7; Romans 12:1-2 Referenced article: https://www.elca.org/JLE/Articles/931 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: htt...2021-02-0614 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life61 ElectionSend us a textSummary: Election, or predestination, doesn’t mean that how we live our lives doesn’t matter, it means that why we live our lives does matter. Whatever the outcome the coming election will bring about a great deal of angst. Our hope is in God’s election, or decision, for us and our salvation by grace. Our work to make the world better is done in the context of the only election that truly changes lives and lasts forever: God’s. Referenced Bible texts: John 10: 25-28 Referenced article: https://www.nytimes.com/20...2021-02-0614 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life60 Three CelebrationsSend us a textSummary: How we celebrate is as important as what we celebrate. All our celebrations are flawed in some ways, except when we celebrate the gifts, like faith, salvation and baptism, that come from God and make us who we are. Referenced Bible texts: Romans 1:16-17; Ephesians 6:10-18 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!** Blog (for text only...2021-02-0617 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life59 This Is Not My LifeSend us a textSummary: Many feel like they are in a fog right now in the pandemic, they look around and say, “This Is Not My Life”, and they are right. Whatever our external circumstance, our lives are not our own. They belong to Christ. Referenced Bible texts: Colossians 3:1-4; Romans 14:7-8 Referenced quote: Basics of Greek Grammar by William Mounce, page 38 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to re...2021-02-0511 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life58 What Would Jesus Wear?Send us a textSummary: Many of us have become accustomed to wearing a bit more “informal” type of clothing at home during the pandemic. Jesus’ clothing was deemed by some to be embarrassing. That tells us something about Jesus and brings us comfort during the pandemic. He emptied himself to provide a means to know the joy of a living relationship with the one true living God now and for all eternity. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 6:25-33; Galatians 3:27 Referenced article: https://theconversation.com/what-did-jesus-wear-90783#:~:text=He%20wore%20a%20tunic%20(chit%C5%8Dn,very%20rich%20wore%2...2021-02-0511 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life57 Restless HeartsSend us a textSummary: We become a church that is able to make disciples, to invite, nurture and parent people with no, or very limited, Christian experience when we are humble, transparent, real, and prepared. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 18:20; Matthew 16:17-18; Matthew 28:16-20 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!** Blog (for text only): pastorberkedalsblog.blogspot.com 2021-02-0517 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life56 TransformersSend us a textSummary: There is nowhere in the Bible that Christians are shown how to be the government or even the majority culture. Our role is instead to be like salt and light and leaven, transformational agents as long as we maintain our true character as the people of God. It is to call the government to seek the common good in a Sinful world, and the Church to be and work toward the already but not yet Kingdom of God in the person and power of the Holy Spirit. Referenced Bible texts: Matthe...2021-02-0311 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life55 Disappointed EyesSend us a textSummary: The world may look at us with eyes of disappointment based on its standards, but God looks at us with eyes of love, based on God’s nature. Referenced Bible texts: Proverbs 29:18; Mark 8:18; Romans 5:3-5 Referenced book: https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Religion-Became-Nation-Heretics/dp/143917833X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=37ML6ZNOW8ETD&dchild=1&keywords=bad+religion+book&qid=1602536062&sprefix=bad+religion%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-2 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw ...2021-02-0311 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life54 Impending DoomSend us a textSummary: So much in our world points to impending doom. Christians look to the hope of impending fulfillment, the perfection of what has been already begun in Jesus Christ, as their perspective in these times. Our baptism and our faith is what impowers us for service to one another and the world. Referenced Bible texts: Romans 6:3-5; Revelation 21:1-4; Galatians 3:27; Revelation 22:20-21 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on...2021-02-0311 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life53 Average PotatoesSend us a textSummary: We are commentators upon and witnesses to the presence and power of God in the world through this pandemic and always. The world is changed for good when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and act upon God’s will as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, with humility, in the ways that we have been equipped and called to do. Referenced Bible texts: 2 Corinthians 4:5-7; 1 Corinthians 13:12 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Cha...2021-02-0311 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life52 Honor and ShameSend us a textSummary: God is present for us, whatever our circumstances. Our lives are genuine when they are lived as they were intended to be lived, in a living relationship with the one true living God. That genuine life is made possible by the cross. There is nothing for us to accomplish, but instead to live in response to the gift of abundant life that has been accomplished for us at the cross by God’s unearned love.. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 1:18-21; John 2:1-11; Romans 5:6-8 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Fac...2021-02-0215 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life51 Pop religionSend us a textSummary: Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism is a common belief system that many accept as a form of Christianity. It is not. It is a counterfeit. It is a product of our self-centered culture. Real historic Christianity if centered on the cross. Life that really is life comes through a living relationship with the one true living God. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 11:29-30; John 1:10-13; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Ephesians 2:19-22 Articles referenced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moralistic_therapeutic_deism https://www.livinglutheran.org/2020/02/we-are-broken/ Other helpful links: https://stpaulcenter.com/what-is-moral-therapeutic-deis...2021-02-0114 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life50 When Time FliesSend us a textSummary: How can we live faithfully as time passes quickly and slowly at the same time? Bible reading, the primary way God speaks to us, and prayer, the primary way we speak with God, are means of the streams of living waters by which the Holy Spirit nourishes and sustains our faith. The requirements of pandemic have given many of us the time and pace of life to open our hearts and receive and/or experience growth in faith that is a living relationship with the living God. Referenced Bible texts: Psalm...2021-02-0113 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life49 Therefore I AmSend us a textSummary: Here is how I know that that I exist, and who I am. The answer is not centered on me, it is outside of myself. God created me, therefore I am. We were created for a living relationship with the one true living God. We are God’s son or daughter, we are beloved by God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is our identity and our existence. Referenced Bible texts: Psalm 8; Genesis 1:26-27; John 3:16; Romans 8:31-39 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com ...2021-01-3113 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life48 Making A CivilizationSend us a textSummary: Civilization begins and sustained by caring for others at some sacrifice for oneself. This is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. The greatest contribution Christians make to civilization is to proclaim Christ and the selfless love that can only come from God. Referenced Bible texts: Romans 5:6-8; Genesis 4:1-11; Hebrews 11:4; Ephesians 4:1-3 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receiv...2021-01-3013 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life47 Pillars and CaterpillarsSend us a textSummary: The reason for churches to hope in this pandemic season is that the head of the Church is Jesus Christ. We are the body of Christ. The diversity of gifts given through our members (parts of a body) are the means by which Jesus equips the Church to live in the world, whatever our circumstance. Referenced Bible texts: Ephesians 4:11-16 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subsc...2021-01-3014 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life46 A More Radical ChurchSend us a textSummary: The word “radical” comes from the Latin word radicalis, and in an earlier Latin word, radix, both meaning “root”, as in the root of a tree. The problem with being a political or social radical is, first, that pushing for the extreme makes one more and more exclusive of others and the movement fractures and, second that, by themselves, political and social movements are not radical enough. The Holy Spirit both calls us to be nourished by God, the root of all things, and drawn together in unity by equipping us to do things...2021-01-3012 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life45 Conspiracy TheorySend us a textSummary: Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Truth is a person. Referenced Bible texts: 2 Timothy 4:1-5; John18:37-38a; John 14:6 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-3013 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life44 Rolling WhiteoutSend us a textSummary: We dry out when we expend more spiritual power than we can produce by trying to do what is only possible for God. The cure for spiritual dryness is streams of living water, a Biblical metaphor for the Holy Spirit. We are renewed when we open our hearts and repent, turning from our efforts to God’s. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 11:25-30; Matthew 5:3; Joel 2:13b Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWC...2021-01-2913 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life43 One BeggarSend us a textSummary: The world will be hungry for human contact and community when post-pandemic churches fully reopen. Some will only want spiritual junk food, but others will want what God has first given us: Jesus, the Bread of Life. Referenced Bible texts: John 6:25-35 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-2912 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life42 When The Going Gets WeirdSend us a textSummary: There is a lot of weirdness in the pandemic right now, but that’s a natural state for Christians. We gain our weirdness and our character from the wisdom and strength of God. Referenced Bible texts: 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 1 Corinthians 1:24-25 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-2813 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life41 Is God Causing The Pandemic?Send us a textSummary: There is a connection between sin and illness, but only God knows how in individual cases. All evil comes from human rebellion against God but God draws good from the evil we experience. We can learn about ourselves and our place as part of larger communities from suffering, and we can learn the lesson we need to know whatever our condition is in this life. God’s love is steadfast. Referenced Bible texts: Mark 2:1-12; Luke 13:1-5; Joel 2:12-13 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebo...2021-01-2814 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life40 Doing What Is RightSend us a textSummary: We find strength to continue caring for others during the pandemic, even when discouraged, by looking to God, who never gives up on us. God’s steadfast love endures forever. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 22:36-40; Matthew 7:12; Galatians 6:9-10; Psalm 136:1-9 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dberkedal/ YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **Please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-2712 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life39 Systemic vs PersonalSend us a textSummary: Should Christians emphasize systemic change or personal transformation? Both. But, they must be done at the same time. Referenced Bible texts: 1 Corinthians 10:13; Amos 5:21-24 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com YouTube Channel (please share): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **And, please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-2714 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life38 Vocation vs VacationSend us a textSummary: Should Christians emphasize systemic change or personal transformation? Both. But, they must be done at the same time. Referenced Bible texts: 1 Corinthians 10:13; Amos 5:21-24 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com YouTube Channel (please share): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw **And, please click or tap on Subscribe to receive notifications of future videos. It’s free!**2021-01-2711 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life37 New Normal vs. New RealitySend us a textSummary: The “new normal” that has become a way to describe the conditions under which we live to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus has, for some, become a “new reality”. Normality, however, is determined by the dominant culture in which we live. Even the way we see and experience reality can be conditioned by conditions around us. “Real” reality has been created by God, as an act of will, out of nothing. Even if the entire cosmos did not exist, God would exist. Christians are a new creation, we are given new life in J...2021-01-2711 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life36 The CrownSend us a textSummary: The “coronavirus” disease is named after the appearance of its virion (a single virus) under an electron microscope. The round ball has arms extending from it with a “crown” (or “corona”) at the end of each one. The coronavirus will not last. The only crown that matters is the crown of thrones that was placed on Jesus’ head in mockery before he was tortured and killed to pay the price of Sin for all who ask and who open their hearts and receive the gift of faith, a living relationship with the one true living...2021-01-2712 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life35 Fake IDSend us a textSummary: What is our identity in the pandemic? The world defines our identity by our ability to consume, to earn, to be popular, to be strong, healthy, powerful and influential. These values cannot sustain us because they cannot be sustained. They are fake ID’s. God says we are loved just by being human beings, created by God in the image of God. Let us live in our true identity. Referenced Bible texts: Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 8; Romans 14:7-9 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-2615 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life34 Bucket ListSend us a textSummary: God has prepared a place for those who love God that is greater than anything on anyone’s bucket list (things to do before we kick the bucket). Our “bucket list” is living in response to what God has already done for us at the cross, in loving God and in loving others as ourselves. Referenced Bible texts: Genesis 6-9; Matthew 24:36-39; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Philippians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 25:18-20; Matthew 22:35-40 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-2614 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life33 Change ShortageSend us a textSummary: Our businesses do not have enough coins to make change, yet change is all around us. Change is fundamental to the Christian life. Our biggest change shortage is the shortage of changed lives. In Christ, we are a new creation. Referenced Bible texts: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-2413 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life32 Social MediaSend us a textSummary: Social media provides a means by which everyone can find a group that agrees, supports, and defends one another, while making demands that all conform. Lately, however, it seems that every post is its own group, providing a sense of belonging, identity and security in one’s beliefs at a time when people are feeling insecure about their lives. Christians offer community in place of conformity. Christians offer faith instead of fear. The Bible is the primary means by which God speaks to us. We are invited to open our hearts to rec...2021-01-2412 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life31 Save The DinosaursSend us a textSummary: Some people seem to want everything to return to normal without taking any of the precautions necessary to flatten the curve and help make our medical treatment facilities manageable and our treatment providers safe and sane. We can’t give up on them any more than God has given up on all of us. Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 13:9-16; John 3:17-21; Psalm 51:10-12 Referenced Article: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/we-shouldnt-presume-that-the-velociraptor-experts-know-the-best-way-to-deal-with-velociraptor-attacks Other Referenced Article: I saw the other article as a graphic without a reference to its original source. Em...2021-01-2414 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life30 The CureSend us a textSummary: Despair has often been said to be the worst sin, or at least the most dangerous, because it says “Nothing can be done”. It gives up on God. The cure for despair is not a wooden optimism, but to receive the thing for which human beings were created, a living relationship with the living God. The Holy Spirit, God’s ongoing presence for good in the world, is the living water that shapes and sustains us as God’s people. Referenced Bible texts: Galatians 6:7-10; Philippians 4:13; Romans 15:13 Our Email Address: TheRe...2021-01-2411 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life29 Living RealitySend us a text Summary: Blowing off illegal fireworks is an expression of liscense, not freedom. Not wearing masks in the face of the evidence that they save lives and jobs only makes the coronavirus pandemic worse and contributes to civil breakdown. Not recognizing the general character of God, the Creator, accessible to all people in God’s Creation, produces selfish behavior. We live in reality by serving God, the Living Reality. Referenced Bible texts: Romans 1:16-20; Philippians 4:8 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-2314 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life28 For FreedomSend us a textSummary: We are free to live our lives as we want, as long as the exercise of our freedom does not diminish the same right held by other people. We are to act responsibly for the common good, not merely our own good. Christians celebrate our dependence on God for all good things, including our salvation. We are set free from the consequences of sin, death, and the power of all that defies God, something only the love of God can do. Referenced Bible texts: Galatians 5:1; Jeremiah 31:31-34 Referenced Facebook post...2021-01-2315 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life27 Learning to LearnSend us a textSummary: Science and religion are two different ways of gaining different kinds of knowledge. We must sift through differing claims in each, but especially in religion, to get closer to the truth. We entertain ideas, including the unpopular ones, and ask questions such as, “Who do I trust?”, “Who among those seeking to influence me benefits from the outcome of my decision?”, “Is there actual dialogue that leads to better understanding in the ideas taking place?” These help us avoid being like those who “accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires”, and be like those...2021-01-2314 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life26 A Better CountrySend us a textSummary: The world is the way it is because human beings opposed, and continue to oppose, God. Our actions bring evil into the world. God responds with steadfast love and sacrifice, and we act in response to the acts of God in order to make the world more like the already-but-not-yet Kingdom of God, a better country, in accord with God’s will, that is, God’s justice. Referenced Bible texts: Revelation 21:1-4; Hebrews 11:13-16 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-2311 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life25 Coronavirus MizpahSend us a textSummary: The Mizpah was a statement of accountability (Genesis 31:49b), but it has come to take its meaning from a broader Biblical context. That is, that we both pray for God’s presence in our lives while we are absent from one another, and we know it to be true. This is our 25th episode, not counting #0, the Welcome and Introduction. It was what I once thought would be our first episode, but other ideas kept intruding. 😊 Referenced Bible texts: Genesis 31:44-50; Ephesians 4:1-6 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1614 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life24 The ArmillarySend us a textSummary: The Bible is like an armillary. It must be taken from its decorative position and into the light, put in the right position in a person’s life, and read with a mind and heart open to its correction and instruction, pointing to Something much greater than itself. The Bible is inspired, that is God-breathed, which means that it gives life. It brings us into the presence of the living God. Referenced Bible texts: 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Genesis 2:7 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1611 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life23 ReadjustSend us a textSummary: Not much has changed in the past 3 and 1/2 months for some of us. But for most of us, everything has changed. We have adjusted to voluntary isolation. With businesses and institutions re-opening while the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, how do we decide when to readjust to the world’s old/new normal? One time tested guide is the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Referenced Bible texts: Matthew 7:12; Hebrews 13:1-8; Galatians 5:22-23 Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1512 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life22 The RiseSend us a textSummary: How does the Church rise to reach people with the good news of reconciliation with God at the cross? One way is to consider how the faithful followers of Jesus Christ, the Church, grew from a few dispised and frightened individuals, to a growing counter-cultural movement, and the official religion of the Roman Empire in just a few centuries. How do Churches that are now re-opening during what we hope are the final days of the Coronavirus pandemic, and what we pray are the the early days of renewed national soul-se...2021-01-1513 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life21 Reopening The ChurchSend us a textSummary: As churches re-open, at what we hope is the waning of the Coronavirus pandemic, we are being given an opportunity to re-open the life of the Church to in some ways resemble the early Church, begun on the Day of Pentecost, as an inclusive community. We start by being a servant Church before we are an institutional Church. Referenced Bible texts: Acts 2: 1-8; Matthew 5:14-16; Referenced magazine article: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/may/george-floyd-ministry-houston-third-ward-church.html Referenced book: How To Knock Over a 7-Eleven and Other Ministry Training by Micha...2021-01-1515 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life20 The Third PandemicSend us a textSummary: The first 2020 pandemic is the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second is the widely seen and growing demonstraitions that are following the murder of George Floyd by 4 Minneapolis police officers and the broad public response. I propose a third pandemic that is a pandemic of lives transformed by God into God’s new creation, a viral movement to change the world beginning with the proclamation that with God as our parent all people are children of God. Transformed lives transform the world. Referenced Bible Texts: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, John 3:3-8, Romans 8:12-14; 1 John 4...2021-01-1416 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life19 George FloydSend us a textSummary: The murder of George Floyd, and its capturing on videotape, has brought the need for difficult confersations on race to the fore, again. George Floyd was a brother in Christ, a human being created in God’s image. Christians are called to show love toward the murderers, the rioters, and police. We are called to our humanity as children of God in one another and to press the difficult dialogue on racial justice forward. Referenced Bible Texts: Genesis 1:26-27; Galatians 3:27-28; John 7:37-39Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1417 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life18 What Is EssentialSend us a textSummary: The conditions for opening churches during the pandemic raises questions about the Church’s core beliefs. A living relationship with the one true living God is at the center of all that we do. Our worship is our life, and our life is our worship. Our guide is our love for all people, because God has first loved us.Referenced Bible Texts: Luke 10:38-42; 1 John 4:17-1Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1314 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life17 All We NeedSend us a textSummary: We remember on this Memorial Day those who gave what Abraham Lincold called “the last full measure of devotion” dying in our nation’s wars. We also note that close to 100,000 people have died, just in the U.S. in this coronavirus pandemic. How can Christians help bring down the numbers of those who have died of the virus? When should Christians return to being physically present in worship? One important guide is the Bible’s high value of love for Christian life. It’s been said that everything the Bible says about love...2021-01-1313 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life16 Are We There YetSend us a textSummary: We are not yet at herd immunity or a vaccine, or even very good treatment yet, so precautions like social distancing, frequent hand-washing, and wearing facemasks are necessary to protect others as well as ourselves until we can get back to something like the way things were. The Kingdom of God is a return to the way things God intended them to be from Creation. It is entirely and gift from God. It has begun in Jesus Christ but will not be perfect until God makes a new heaven and a new e...2021-01-1212 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life15 The MaskSend us a textSummary: We need to wear no masks to protect others from the coronavirus. We need wear no masks before God. Referenced Bible Texts: Matthew 6:5-6; Proverbs 21:2Referenced magazine article: https://www.fastcompany.com/90479846/the-untold-origin-story-of-the-n95-maskOur Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1210 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life14 Life InsideSend us a textSummary: We have an opportunity to spend more time working on what is inside our selves while we are spending more time inside our homes.Referenced Bible Texts: Luke 5:15-16; Matthew 23:25-26Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1115 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life13 Getting to ParadiseSend us a textSummary: We struggle in this world because of our rebellion against God, but God calls us into God’s presence through the cross, both in this world and in the next. The purpose of our lives is to love God and to serve others. Paradise is where God is.Referenced Bible Texts: Luke 23:39-43; Genesis 3:19; 1 Corinthians 2:9Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-1011 minLiving Water Radio: For Today's Christian Life12 Where's GodSend us a textSummary: The world is not the way it’s supposed to be, but God accompanies us through our strggles as well as through the good times. Even in times when we can’t feel it, God never abandons us. Referenced Bible Text: Psalm 139:7-12Referenced Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/05/coronavirus-renew-faith-in-god-reflect-on-what-matters-column/5114700002/Our Email Address: TheRevsDavidandSally@gmail.com2021-01-0911 min