ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, November 10, 2024

Gratitude Makes Room

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about gratitude.

Today’s core idea is, “Gratitude for what you have now makes room for what God wants to give next.”  We are in James, Chapter 1 today, James being the half-brother of Jesus.  

Central to our reading today is the fact that all good comes from God.  Even knowing that we are human and when life is going good, we feel grateful; when life is negative, it’s harder to feel grateful. But, remember: gratitude is not a feeling but a choice. 

Think of something you need a blessing on and think about this: then ask the hard question: are you fully grateful for what you have in that area?  Are you using the things in that area for the glory of God?

Gratitude prepares your heart for blessings from God. 

(CSB Study Bible Notes) James 1: 18 - Word of truth refers to the gospel, by which new birth comes. First fruits refers to the best that the harvest produces. God gives good gifts that yield wondrous fruit, not temptation that leads to death through wayward desires.

Today’s verses can be found in James 1: 16-18.

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, November 3, 2024

Empowered to Proclaim

Today, Pastor Michael is finishing our long study on Mark, ending with Jesus’s charter to His disciples and telling them to spread the word of all they have seen and done.

We are starting with what is called “The Great Commission.”  Our central mission is to share the good news of Jesus and help them to learn of His love and make disciples.

Do you know what to say to someone about how to share the Great Commission?  Michael offers the following verses to help spread that message:

1. Romans 3: 23—(CSB) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Romans 6: 23—(CSB) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5: 8—(CSB) But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
4. Romans 10: 9,10 and 13—(CSB) 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We have the privilege of sharing this message with the world!

So, what things concern us about sharing the gospel?  Examples include:

1. Rejection
2. Don’t know what to say / lack of knowledge
3. Arrogance
4. Bad theology
5. Apathy

But, to our advantage, communication barriers cannot stop the spread of the Gospel, especially today. 

Whatever you feel is standing in the way of you sharing the gospel, God steps in!

So, that leads to our big idea of the day, which is, “When you step out, God steps in!” 

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 16: 15 - 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, October 27, 2024

The Elephant, The Donkey, and The Lion.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about politics but not talking about politics. This is a timely segue due to next week’s elections.  Far greater than any political position is this: Jesus Christ, the son of God, lived a perfect, sinless life. He gave that life on the cross, He spent three days in the grave and rose to immortality, and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

That IS the message…the Good News.

So, in our message today, the Pharisees are up to trying to trip Jesus up by trapping Him into saying something.  And, of course, Jesus’s answer is perfect: yes, we have responsibilities to our government (State and/or Caesar).  But more important is the second part of His reply, being loyal to the things of God.

More than anything, here’s the key idea:  When choosing between the Elephant and the Donkey, choose the Lion!  Choose Jesus.

CSB Bible—Matthew 22:15 - 22. The Pharisees intended to trap Jesus in a position that granted loyalty to Caesar and not to God. They wanted to level a charge of blasphemy against Jesus. By getting him to declare non-loyalty to Caesar, they could get him charged with a civil crime. Both attempts failed. Jesus’s response does not resolve all of our questions regarding the responsibilities we have with church and state, but he does provide some beginning places to inform us. His answer implies that we do have responsibilities to the state. These extend only to those “things that are Caesar’s.” A yet higher authority commands our allegiance. We must be faithful to those things of God.

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 22: 15 - 22.

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, October 20, 2024

Meet Jesus, be Transformed

Today, Pastor Michael is continuing our study in the book of Mark.  We’ve been following Jesus through the gospel of Mark, and now He’s done the greatest miracle of all, rising from the dead, just as He predicted.

After Jesus was risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, who told others of His appearance.  Curiously enough, others did not believe her!

What’s up with that?

Why don’t we accept things, even today, in things that we shouldn’t struggle to believe?

1. Doubt.
2. Discouragement.
3. Hardness of heart.

Our catchphrase today is “Meet Jesus, be transformed!”   What needs to be transformed in your life?

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 16: 9 - 12.

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, October 13, 2024

He’s Still Rolling Stones.

Today, Pastor Michael is giving a history lesson on the old Berlin Wall.  It was felt this wall would never be torn down, but in 1989, it fell without violence.  Even the most immovable object can be moved.

All of us have immovable, unrollable stones…objects we deal with that feel like impossible barriers. Guilt, fear, anxiety, depression, and broken families come to mind as those. But we have a Savior who tears down barriers and still rolls stones away. Key Idea today: Jesus is still rolling stones!

Michael’s story involves women taking fragrant spices and heading to Jesus’s tomb to anoint His body. These women knew time was of the essence, and more work was needed. They came to the tomb and expected to find Jesus dead and a stone across the entrance to the tomb. All the while, the women wondered, “Who will roll away the stone?”

But when they got to the tomb, the stone was rolled away.  The Lord rolled away the tomb and can roll away your “stones” as well.

So, what “stones” do we have in our life?  Guilt.  Busyness and distraction.  Depression Sin.  We fill our days, but our days don’t fill us up.  We all have stones in our lives that need rolling away.

There is no stone that Jesus cannot roll away!

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 16: 1 - 8.

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, October 6, 2024

Faith in the Dark

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about darkness and faith in the dark.  Here, Michael talks about how Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’s body. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, but Joseph had a secret.  Joseph had become a believer in Jesus!  So Nicodemus and Joseph carried Jesus’s body to a nearby garden, to a tomb that Joseph had.  They put his body in the tomb and rolled the stone across the entrance and felt that they wouldn’t see anything here for a year.  The world was so dark that an act of faith seemed pointless.

Faith does not require that we understand every detail.  Faith requires that we understand God can be trusted.

No matter how dark and troubled the world gets, even in the dark, God is still working.  Two women, Mary Magdalene and Salome, were first to the tomb the next day.  But when they got there, the stone was rolled away, and the women encountered a young man dressed in white, telling them that Jesus had risen!

So, everyone has a story about wrestling with the dark.  Trust Jesus in the dark! 

(CSB Bible Notes) Jesus’s burial was hastily performed because it was already evening on Friday. The Sabbath was soon to begin, a time when burial labors were not permitted. The day of preparation (the day before the Sabbath) was when pious Jews prepared whatever they needed for the Sabbath.

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 15: 42 - 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, September 29, 2024

The Breaking Point

Today, Pastor Michael is discussing how faith in Jesus turns breaking points into turning points. In this story, a lady with a chronic illness weaved and pressed through a crowd to touch Jesus. Upon touching Him, she was immediately healed. 

She was at a breaking point and ran to Jesus.  Twelve years of suffering ended that day. Do whatever you have to do to get in touch with Jesus!

Yet, there is someone still in this story, and that’s the synagogue’s leader, Jairus, whose daughter died during this healing event.  Jesus’ followers even said to Jairus, don’t bother Jesus, your daughter is gone.  Jesus, however, said she wasn’t dead, merely sleeping.  She arose when Jesus called her; He raised her from the dead! 

Jesus knew this girl had died, but what is death to the Son of God?   

(CSB Bible Notes) As a doctor, Luke was especially sensitive to the fact that this woman had spent all her resources on doctors and yet could not be healed. Even with the crowd pressing against Jesus from all sides, he was immediately aware of the touch of the woman who was instantly healed of her bleeding. No explanation is given for how he knew that healing power had gone out from him.

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 8: 40 - 55.

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, September 22, 2024

The Paywall

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about paywalls…the payment of a fee to enjoy premium content.  Paywalls are frustrating, but you might pay the price if you want something badly enough.  But what if you need something that is life or death, and the paywall is priced so high that no one can afford it?  It’s an impossible paywall.

That’s how life was before Jesus. 

There was a barrier that could not be crossed; you couldn’t connect with God on the level you can after Jesus.  People were trying to get to God but were blocked by sin.  That’s the harsh reality of the world that Jesus came into.

The sacrifice of Jesus tore down the paywall….our central theme today.

When Jesus died on the cross, he permanently opened the way to God for everyone. No matter what you’ve done or has been done to you, you have total access to God!

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 15: 33 - 41.

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, September 15, 2024

Which Rebel Are You?

Today, Pastor Michael continues our long, long journey :) into the book of Mark.  We’re looking at two men that don’t get much coverage in the Bible, being the men crucified next to Christ, but theirs is a fascinating story, so let’s dive into it.

The two men next to him were descrdibed as ‘thieves or robbers’ yet it may have been likely that they were more than that.  They may have been political criminals, insurrectionists against Rome, possibly.  Historically, these two men have been referred to as the ‘good’ thief and the ‘bad’ thief.  However, you will make a choice, similar to one of those men, someday.

These two men were equally guiilty and both forfeted their mortal life.  One man came to the end of his life in peace and opened his eyes in paradise.  One ended his life in agony and ended up in eternal agony.

Will you continue to insist that you are a good person and you don’t need redemption or will you cry out to Jesus and cry out for salvation?  You cannot be saved unless you know you are a sinner.

So, which rebel are you?

Today’s verses can be found in Mark 15: 27 - 37.

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, September 8, 2024

Removing Stones.

Today, Duncan Crook is delivering the message, about “Removing Stones”.  Jesus is at the tomb of Lazarus, seeing the sadness of those at the tomb.  His death will show God glorified and increaed faith in Jesus. 

At this point, the disciples faith in Jesus still needed further strengthening.  Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, reinforces the disciples faith, as well as glorifying God. 

The sickness and eventual death of Lazarus teach us many things:

1. That bad things do happen to good people.
2. There is no question that Jesus loved Lazarus.
3. The death of Lazarus teaches us about prayer, especially prayer that seemingly is unanswered.
4. When you face difficult times, realize God may be pruning you for further growth or to glorify His name.
5. When you face difficult times, don’t conclude that He doesn’t love you!
6. When you face a trying time, don’t ever give up on God or prayer.

So, remove the stone, meaning the tomb entrance stone.  Jesus chose to include people in this miracle; He could easily have moved that stone.  Here, no one is a spectator; those folks participated in the miracle.

Jesus wants us to trust Him for what we cannot do and loves sharing with us.

Roll away the stone, and God will raise the dead!

(CSB Bible Notes) 11:43 Jesus raised Lazarus not by magic, incantations, or spells, but by the power of his word.

Today’s verses can be found in John 11: 38 - 48. 

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.