ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, June 8, 2025

Overflowing, Part 2: A Little is A Lot

ReCreate Church | Pastor Michael Shockley

EPISODE SUMMARY

Ever feel like you don't have enough? Not enough money, time, energy, or resources to make it through? In this encouraging message, Pastor Michael explores the powerful story of a desperate widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 who discovered that God can do incredible things with whatever little we have. Through humor, practical wisdom, and biblical truth, you'll learn how to shift your focus from scarcity to abundance and trust God with what's already in your hands.

Core Message: A little is a lot when you trust it to God.

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KEY TOPICS COVERED

The Power of "Struggle Meals"

- Why comfort foods often start as necessity meals

- Finding joy and contentment in simple things

- Shifting perspective from what we lack to what we have

The Widow's Desperate Situation (2 Kings 4:1-7)

- A preacher's widow facing financial ruin

- The threat of losing her children to slavery

- Her cry for help to the prophet Elisha

The Life-Changing Question

- "What do you have in the house?"

- Why God focuses on our assets, not our deficits

- Moving from scarcity thinking to abundance preparation

Acting in Faith Before Seeing Results

- Gathering empty vessels while having almost nothing

- The George Mueller orphanage story

- Setting the table before God fills it

The Miracle of Multiplication

- How a small jar of oil filled countless vessels

- God's provision matching our faith preparation

- From survival to total transformation

What Do You Have in Your House?

- Resources (even a few dollars)

- Opportunities (even small open doors)

- Relationships (even a small circle)

- Skills and abilities

- Influence and energy

- Time and health

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MEMORABLE QUOTES

• "The world changes when you stop focusing on what you don't have and see what you can do with what you DO have."
• "Why do we wait until we see the miracle before we prepare for it? We say, 'God, send the rain,' but we don't carry an umbrella."
• "God's provision often comes AFTER we step out in faith, not before."
• "God multiplied her provision in proportion to her faith to prepare.

BIBLICAL FOUNDATION

- Primary Text: 2 Kings 4:1-7

- Historical Context: The ministry of prophets Elijah and Elisha in divided Israel

- Key Characters: The prophet's widow, Elisha, and the "sons of the prophets"

 

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PRACTICAL APPLICATION

If You're Struggling Financially:

- Start planning a budget and stewarding what you have

- Trust God with even small amounts

If You Need Opportunities:

- Develop skills now for future openings

- Prepare before the door opens

If You Want Better Relationships:

- Invest in growth and connection today

- Take steps toward healing and improvement

If You're Praying for Miracles:

- Set out your "vessels" in faith

- Make room for God's abundance

- Trust Him with whatever you currently have

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THE ULTIMATE INVITATION

Above all, offer Jesus the most important vessel - your heart. Even if it feels empty or broken, Jesus specializes in filling us with His forgiveness, love, presence, and power.

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CONNECT WITH RECREATE CHURCH

- Website: recreatechurch.org

- Support the Ministry: Give through the Tithe.ly app

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Remember: A little is a lot when you trust it to God. What vessels are you preparing today?

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, June 1, 2025

Running on Empty

“You can't pour out what God hasn't poured in.”

Pastor Michael explores the tension between feeling spiritually empty and God's promise of an overflowing cup in Psalm 23. Through humor, personal stories, and the biblical account of King David's darkest moments, this message addresses why we often feel like we're "running on empty" spiritually and how God wants to fill us to overflowing.

 

Key Topics Covered

 

The Fuel Light Challenge

• Opening illustration about internet challenges and the "Fuel Light Challenge"
• How we live spiritually like we drive on empty - pushing through warning signs
• The cycle of telling ourselves "things will slow down after this week"

Understanding Psalm 23:5

• Ancient Near Eastern hospitality customs
• The significance of an overflowing cup as God's generous provision
• David's promise: "My cup runs over" vs. our reality of feeling empty

The Story of The Broken King

• King David's betrayal by his son Absalom
• David's flight from Jerusalem and his moment of despair
• The birth of Psalm 42 in David's wilderness experience
• How David moved from "Why is my soul cast down?" to hope in God\

When Your Cup Runs Dry

• Common areas where we feel empty: money, energy, and timeThe danger of carrying burdens God never asked us to carry
• Understanding God's pruning process in our lives
• Recognizing our human limitations (even Jesus needed rest)

Key Quotes

• "You can't pour out what God hasn't poured in"
• "God does not ask you to pour out what you don't have. He's inviting you to be filled"
• "Instead of being too blessed to be stressed, we are too tired to be inspired"
• "There are no heroes when your cup runs dry. There is only an empty cup and God to fill it"
• "God can work with breadcrumbs of time"

 

Scripture References

 

Primary Text: 

• Psalm 23:1-6 (KJV)

 

Supporting Passages:

• Psalm 42:1-3, 5
• Ephesians 2:10
• Matthew 11:28

 

Practical Applications

 

• Start small: worship in the car, read one verse while coffee brews
• Look for cracks in your day to fill with God
• Be intentional about finding time for spiritual filling
• Ask God what needs to go - what you're carrying that He never asked you to carry
• Bring your empty cup to God instead of trying to shake drops from it

 

Personal Stories Shared

 

• Pastor's experience with work stress and finding time for worship during commutes
• Preparing sermons during lunch breaks while eating reheated pasta
• The ongoing struggle with time, energy, and balancing ministry with secular work

 

Historical Context

• Background on King David as shepherd, warrior, king, and songwriter
• David's authorship of approximately half of the 150 PsalmsThe cultural significance of Psalm 23 over 3,000 years

 

For Further Reflection

 

• Where in your life do you feel like you're "running on empty"?
• What burdens might you be carrying that God never asked you to carry?
• How can you create small moments throughout your day to be filled by God?
• What needs to be pruned from your life to make room for what God wants to pour in?

 

This message is part of the "Overflowing" series at ReCreate Church, exploring how God wants to fill our lives to abundance rather than leaving us running on spiritual fumes.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, May 25, 2025

Disciples Who Make Disciples

Today, Pastor Michael is starting off with an affirmation, a potential sixth love language.  What is this extra expression of love?  Discipleship.

This message is about discipleship.  Disciples who can disciple the next generation.  

Michael picks up the story with Jesus picking out the twelve disciples, those who could “preach and drive out demons.”  These twelve are listed in three additional lists in the New Testament (Matthew 10: 2-4, Luke 6: 14-16, and Acts 1: 13) with Peter always named first. 

Being a disciple always requires intentionality.  You are a disciple, you are being discipled, and you disciple others.  

What is a disciple?

1. Someone who believes in Jesus for salvation. 
2. Someone who is being transformed by obedience to the teaching of Jesus, with the help of a mentor. 
3. Should be showing/bearing the fruit of a new life.
4. Taking part in the mission of Jesus.

Wrapping up, Pastor Michael offers the following:

1. Have you trusted Jesus as your savior?
2. Who is helping you grow as a disciple?
3. Who are you helping follow Jesus?

Be a disciple that makes disciples!

(CSB Bible Notes) Mark 3:13-15 The mountain here is not identified. Jesus spent the night praying (Lk 6:12). Summoned those he wanted seems to indicate more than just the twelve disciples (cp. Lk 6:13). The number twelve recalls the twelve tribes of Israel.

Today’s verses are found in Mark 3: 13-14.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, May 18, 2025

The Rescuers

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about rescue.  If you are a Christian, a follower of Christ, then you have been rescued.  And Jesus is sending you to rescue others!

The rescued become rescuers is our theme for the day.

We can summarize the mission of the Great Commission in four words:

1. Go—intentionally where people are.  Intentionally connect with people.
2. Reach—share Jesus with people in a way that they can relate to and respond.
3. Baptize—not just getting them wet, but making them a part of the community of believers.
4. Teach—disciple them. 

We cannot ever lose sight of this mission!  We must refuse to be inwardly-focused.  We must become “rescuers.”

Steps to Rescue

1. Pray for the Lord to open your heart to someone who needs Jesus and His hope and light. 
2. Be aware of your opportunities with that person.
3. God has thrown someone a lifeline, and that rescuer is YOU!

Today’s verses are found in Matthew 28: 18-20.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, May 11, 2025

A Safe Place to Be Real

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about things that cut us deep.  Mistakes and regrets that we have made.  Wounds that can poison us.  

The only way to help in this is to have a safe place to be real.  Recreate Church is exactly that…a safe place to be real.  The safest place to be real is in a church family.  

Today’s central idea, “In a community of life and love, nobody struggles alone!”  We all need someone we can trust, to help us out of the pits of life.  

(CSB Bible Notes) 5:16 Pray for one another echoes the prayers of the elders, and these should lead to both physical and spiritual healing (i.e., forgiveness). Prayer is not a magical incantation or a guarantee of healing, but when offered fervently by a righteous person, God will respond in a way that best fits his good purposes.

Today’s verses are found in James 5: 16.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, May 4, 2025

Simplicity of Faith

Today, Pastor Michael discusses the gospel and its purity, not needing rules and attachments to its core. 

The gospel isn’t complicated.  There is joy in the simplicity of the gospel message, so don’t complicate what Jesus made simple. 

Michael then gives us examples that churches and Christians complicate the message to confound potentially new believers:

1. Expecting people to clean up before they meet Jesus. Be patient with folks and allow them to grow!
2. Expecting people to be doctrinal pros from the get-go.
3. Making an idol out of our preferences and traditions. 
4. Forgetting that not everybody’s an insider.

(CSB Bible Notes) 15:19 James’s position as the first among equals in the Jerusalem church is seen in his summarizing conclusion to the debate. In his judgment, Jewish believers should not cause difficulties for those turning to God from among the Gentiles.

Today’s verses are found in Acts 15: 19

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, April 27, 2025

A Community of Life and Love

Today, Pastor Michael is discussing how some folks have dismissed church due to not finding a church that serves them well.  At Recreate we are doing just what our name impies; redefining our church to serve people. 

Church done right is a community of life and love!

(CSB Bible Notes) 2:42 These four practices—teaching . . . fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer—provide insight into the priorities of early Christianity. These same practices should be considered normative for the church today.

Today’s verses are found in Acts 2: 40 - 47.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, April 20, 2025

The Resurrection on Trial

Today, Pastor Michael is discussing the Resurrection and Easter. Michael reinforces the case of the resurrection. Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  The answer is all-important: if the resurrection didn’t happen, then Christianity’s claims all fall apart. Paul covers this in 1 Corinthians 15. 14 

If it did, death has been defeated. 

If Jesus walked out of the grave, you cannot walk away unchanged.

Michael, Duncan, and David present a current version of a trial, with the defense showing Jesus is real and the other side showing it was a ruse.

The defense trumps the trial with eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion, John 19: 33-34, heralding the efficiency of Roman executioners. Additional proof for the defense is that no single disciple recanted their belief in the Lord, even though most died suffering for the truth. 

The final proof of Jesus’s resurrection is that people saw Him after He had risen. If it wasn’t a miracle, it was absurd. Tacitus, a Roman historian who despised Christians, even confirmed Jesus’s resurrection!

This is the story of a tomb found to be empty.  Many early Christians were horribly persecuted for their beliefs.  And there were eyewitnesses, even enemies, who concluded: Jesus is risen! We don’t need a comfortable lie but a disruptive truth!

Live for Jesus!

Today’s verses are found in 1 Corinthians 15: 14 and John 19: 33-34.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, April 13, 2025

What Nick and Joe Didn’t Know

Today, Pastor Michael is covering the second part of the Story of the Cross, the Burial.  

Remember, there are three parts to the Story of the Cross:

1. Death
2. Burial
3. Resurrection

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asked Pilote for Jesus’s body so that they could bury it before it became dark, as was Jewish custom of the day and the Sabbath was about to start.  Pilate gave them permission to do so and they wrapped Jesus in clean linen and placed him in a tomb, carved from the rock.

Where earth sees a grave, heaven sees a garden!

Today’s verses are found in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, John 19: 38-42, and John 12: 24.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, April 6, 2025

Sacrifice and Salvation

Today, Pastor Michael is on a mission for his next series: to help folks “get it” (the Story of the Cross) and, if you have it, to help others understand it. 

There are three (3) main parts of the Story of the Cross:

1. The Death 
2. The Burial
3. The Resurrection

We’re starting with the heavy one today, the death. When Jesus died, His followers thought it was over: His Message and His Life.  But so much was soon about to unfold!

Today, we’re observing the Lord’s Supper, and Pastor Michael is explaining the mechanics behind this tradition.  Be a believer and ensure you’re right with God, meaning if you have things between you and the Lord that need to be dealt with, deal with them and have an open and honest heart.  

The core idea for today: No Sacrifice, No Salvation. 

Today’s verses are from 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, Exodus 12: 29-30, Hebrews 9: 22, Hebrews 9: 26-28, 1 Corinthians 5: 7 and 1 Corinthians 11: 23-28.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.