Parker Ford Church's Podcast

Our ultimate goal is to glorify and please God. However, as we’ll see in Romans 15, we are also called to please others in a way that demonstrates consideration, patience, love, harmony, acceptance, service, generosity, and support through prayer. We need each other. Join us this Sunday as we’ll be reminded that this life is not just about pleasing ourselves. 

The most basic meaning of the biblical word for judge/judgment means to "separate" or "rule over." Jesus says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Mt 7:1). Paul writes, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant?" The idea here is that everyone who is a follower of Jesus is a servant of God. Jesus alone can sit in the judgment seat (separating out wheat and tares and ruling over). Our job is to "live and die for the Lord" (Rom. 14:8). Jesus - the one true Judge and King - will take care of the rest.

Don’t even think about hitting that snooze button! The alarm is going to sound this Sunday at PFC and the text is going to challenge us to wake up and get dressed. The Apostle Paul will explain why there’s such urgency and will also tell us how we are to dress and live in a spiritual sense. 

This week we are looking at something that can often make us squirm… authority. In Romans 13, which is right after Paul talks about love, he hits us hard on what it looks like to honor authority. How do love and authority coexist? 

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." From the Garden of Eden, down through the history of ancient Israel, into the age of the early church, and on through church history to us, this simple encouragement is given by the Spirit of God to every generation. How do we overcome evil with good? Jesus. He is embodied good. 

So often, we tend to think that “true worship” takes place in our hearts and minds. Yet, Romans 12 explicitly shows us that it is the sacrifice of our bodies that the Lord declares holy and pleasing worship.  Shannon Vining, our Worship and Creative Arts Director, guides us in taking a closer look at what it means to worship God with our bodies.

You may have heard us talk about it before...but the word "good" is one of the most theologically rich and spiritually significant words in the Bible. It features prominently in crucial passages like Genesis 1-3. It is also a key word in understanding Romans 12. The Apostle Paul says, "Hate what is evil, cling to what is good." This phrase catapults us back to the very beginning of the human story when Adam and Eve were tempted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

In Christ we’ve been given unique gifts of God’s grace. This Sunday we’re going to look at Romans 12:3-8 and discover that we are to use these gifts in our community of faith. There are numerous ways here at PFC and elsewhere to use your God-given gifts. It’s more fun to play on the field than to merely spectate from the stands! Let’s go! 

Today we will unpack the phrase, “God’s will”. What does it mean exactly? How can we know it, test it, and approve it? How do we describe it? As we look closely at Romans 12:1-2, we’ll see that it’s not a mysterious code to be cracked but it’s the result of a life wholly consecrated to God and a mind renewed by God’s Word and Spirit. 

As we jump back into Romans we'll be taking several weeks to walk through chapter 12. Romans 12 is truly one of the soaring heights of the New Testament. In it we find rich theology and very practical wisdom for how to walk out the Christian life. We'll start by meditating on the famous phrase, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." What does it look like to experience spiritual metamorphosis through thinking differently? Let's find out!

Happy Labor Day weekend! Today, we will be looking at the difference between having a busy life versus a full life. Jesus’ life was full, but we would not consider him busy. What biblical principles are we using to live a full but simple life?

The glorious hope we have as followers of Jesus is that one day we will live in a never-ending union with God in the New Creation. In Jesus’ final hours with the disciples (as told in John 14:1-14), He promises His frightened friends that they will dwell with Him forever in God’s presence. How comforting this must have been to them in the midst of chaotic current events. When Jesus told His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you”, He is referring to the cross that awaits Him. It’s through the cross that Jesus will prepare a place for them ... and for us!

The glorious hope that we have as followers of Jesus is that God’s space will again be united with our space in the New Creation. Join us as we challenge some of our mental maps of Heaven and what popular Christian culture has handed us and look with fresh eyes at what God says through Scripture. We’ll journey through the Garden of Eden, the temple, and through the New Creation as heaven and earth are rejoined.

I don’t know about you, but I love the Olympics! 206 countries from all over the world are represented at this year’s Olympic games in Paris. It’s a moment every 4 years, when the world comes together. This is the world that God so loved that He gave one and only Son, Jesus. Today, we will be hearing from several folks who served on Mission Teams this past summer. Come ready to praise God as we hear stories of God at work in various ways and in different parts of our world. Pastor Marian Pawlas from Poland will also be with us.  

Join us as we reach the exciting conclusion of the story of Ruth! We’ll see themes of redemption, loyalty, and the providential hand of God in generational blessing. For a sneak peak, read Ruth chapter 4!

Human flourishing always takes place within the context of a self-sacrificing and loving community. Ruth 3 exemplifies what happens when people love one another in this manner. Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz each model the steadfast loving-kindness of the Lord. Their actions are not aimed at self focused advancement, each of them works for the good of the other. This results in the mutual blessing of each person and leads to the blessing of an entire nation.

This week we will be looking at Ruth 2. The women in this story lived with purpose. Do we? The Lord has called us to live with purpose in every area of our life. How do we take steps to become more like Jesus in the way that we live?

In the book of Ruth we encounter individuals who are married and individuals who are single. Singleness and marriage are both equally valid vocations for Christians. Whether we are married or single, if we are in Christ, we ultimately belong to Christ and are full fledged members of His family. As we walk through Ruth 1 we will examine the unique vocations of marriage and singleness and study how they both image God’s glory. 

The book of Ruth summarizes the story of the entire Bible in four beautiful, literarily brilliant chapters. It is the story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation revealed in the lineage of one broken human family. Psalm 78 approaches this same story from another angle. In Psalm 78 Asaph encourages us to bless the next generation, freeing them from generational curses, through truth telling - proclaiming truth about God's glorious deeds and the truth of our disobedience. When we tell the truth about these two things, we free those who come after us from generational curses.Take a few minutes and craft a statement of blessing over your family. As you do so, imagine what you want the spiritual legacy of your family to be and pray it over your whole extended family. 

As we begin our study in the book of Ruth we will be taking a look at the first 5 verses in the book. Tragedy has struck a family. What is the response of the family and the response of God? When our plans get interrupted, or when tragedy hits, what should our response be?