Paul and Pastor Brent continue our discussion about the centrality of the Word of God in the local church. We dive into 2 Timothy 4 in order to talk about the authority of God’s Word and Paul’s warning to Timothy that many people will turn away from the truth of Scripture. It is so important that we humble ourselves to hear from God through the Bible.
Episode 50 - Centrality of the Word - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent start a discussion about the centrality of the Word of God in the life of a local church. One of the most important aspects of this is the proclamation of the Word through preaching and teaching. We examine Psalm 19 and 2 Corinthians 4 to describe how we must keep the treasure of God’s revealed truth at the center, even as we are jars of clay.
Episode 49 - Roots & Branches Recap - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent are joined again by Jeff Moulton to talk about the future of our Deepening Roots and Growing Branches ministry initiative. We are prayerfully waiting upon the Lord by making adjustments to the concept plans, adapting to our growing ministry needs, and working hard at developing our current facility and grounds for discipleship. We are excited for the future!
Episode 48 - Roots & Branches Recap - Part 1
Pastor Brent and Paul Arneberg sit down with special guest Jeff Moulton to recap the history of our Deepening Roots and Growing Branches ministry initiative. We are now 3 years in and God has been incredibly faithful as we’ve pursued the Lord’s vision for our church. Listen to Paul, Brent, and Jeff reflect on the amazing ways we’ve grown as a church family.
Episode 47 - Prayer - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent continue our conversation about the importance of prayer. We talk about individual and corporate prayer, recommend some good resources about prayer, and give a challenge for our church to grow in prayer this year. You will be encouraged by this episode!
Episode 46 - Prayer - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent start a new two-part discussion on the importance of prayer. Prayer is central in the Bible and imperative for the Christian life. Paul and Brent discuss examples of prayer in the Bible and how we can best understand prayer theologically. As a church, we want to grow in prayer this year. Join us!
Episode 45 - Individual to Community - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent discuss God’s amazing design for the church as a community of faith, a family of believers, and a spiritual house within which individual image-bearers can grow into mature Christ-likeness through the gospel. We need each other as we follow Jesus! Paul and Brent dive into Ephesians 4 to help us understand the importance of the Body of Christ.
Episode 44 - Individual to Community - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent sit down for our last transformational outcome: Individual to Community. We live in a hyper-individualistic culture where we have elevated personal autonomy and self-defined identity to be supreme. This “expressive individualism” is a culture that has moved from forming to performing. Listen as Paul and Brent discuss the problems with radical individualism today.
Episode 43 - EFCA Theology Conference Recap - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent recap the special pre-conference sessions by Dr. Jonathan Leeman, the editorial director of 9Marks. The theme was on the church, state, and civic engagement. Listen to Paul and Brent recap some of the most important lessons about how we approach politics and understanding the role of the state.
Episode 42 - EFCA Theology Conference Recap - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent had the opportunity to attend the annual EFCA Theology Conference in Chicago. The sessions covered biblical marriage, divorce/remarriage, abuse, singleness, and many other important topics regarding how we glorify God through marriage and family. Listen as Paul and Brent recap this conference.
Episode 41 - Digital to Analog - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent cover more of our transformational outcome: digital to analog. We explore more about the side-effects of the digital age and the unique ways we need to put technology in its proper place. Paul and Brent also discuss Disciple-by-Doing and the ways we can recover analog activities at New Life.
Episode 40 - Digital to Analog - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent discuss a new transformational outcome: digital to analog. We begin by defining an over-arching view of “technology” that helps us understand the good and bad aspects of how we develop tools for bearing God’s image in the world. There are unique challenges to the digital age that we need to carefully consider.
Episode 39 - Consuming to Stewarding - Part 3
Continuing our interview with guest Mike Larson! We dive deeper into regenerative farming and learn more about how the old ways can re-capture God’s good design for creation. Paul and Pastor Brent discuss specific applications to life in a church family, especially as we move into the future of “disciple-by-doing” at New Life.
Episode 38 - Consuming to Stewarding - Part 2
Special guest Mike Larson joins us to share his experience with “regenerative agriculture” in order to illustrate how embracing God’s design in creation brings fruitfulness and joy. In part 1 of this interview, we will reflect on the problems with our culture of consumption, learn about regenerative agriculture, and understand the ways a regenerative model of farming displays the glory of God.
Episode 37 - Consuming to Stewarding - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent dive into another transformational outcome: consuming to stewarding. This stems from Genesis 1-2 as we are created to be fruitful and to “work and keep” God’s creation. We glorify God by stewarding the fruitfulness of ourselves, our families, our friendships, our vocations, our material things, and every aspect of our lives. Listen to discover how our culture’s false promise of “more, bigger, better” cannot satisfy.
Episode 36 - Fragmented to Integrated
Paul and Pastor Brent discuss another transformational outcome: fragmented to integrated. We live in a culture that tends to compartmentalize, divide, and distort our understanding of God’s good design for us and his creation. Yet the gospel of Jesus Christ brings all things under the Lordship of Jesus, causing us to come to see our lives as whole-life discipleship. This episode will challenge you to change your approach and fight against the fragmentation of our culture to see God’s transforming work to make us whole in Christ.
Episode 35 - Goal Setting - Part 2
Paul Arneberg hosts part two of his solo podcast on goal setting. Paul helps us think through ways to set godly goals for the coming year, centered in the gospel, and saturated in the grace of God. Let this episode inspire you to have goals that honor the Lord and help you take steps forward in maturity and fruitfulness for God’s glory.
Episode 34 - Goal Setting - Part 1
Paul Arneberg starts a new year with a discussion on goal setting from a biblical perspective. Many of us are overwhelmed when we begin a new year because we feel pressure to set lofty goals or pursue major life achievements. How can we put goals into a proper perspective? How can we pursue spiritual growth and maturity in a healthy way? Paul provides some ideas for setting goals for 2024 in a Christ-honoring way.
Episode 33 - Entitled to Selfless - Part 2
Paul and Pastor Brent continue with part two of Entitled to Selfless. Here we focus on the biblical calling to selflessness, servanthood, and humility. Namely, we look to the example of Jesus and discover how His earthly ministry reveals a gospel-centered and transformational approach to our entitlement and self-focus. There is much to ponder as we apply this transformational outcome to various aspects of our lives.
Episode 32 - Entitled to Selfless - Part 1
Paul and Pastor Brent begin discussing a new transformational outcome: moving from Entitled to Selfless. The issue of entitlement runs deep in our culture. We are self-focused and self-asserting in most contexts, and this even takes on a moral dimension of feeling offended when our selfhood is violated. This episode explains post-modernity’s roots in Romanticism, and highlights the ways our view of self is cursed by sin.