ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, August 6, 2023

Love Without Expectation

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about priorities and our number one priority in our faith:  People + Jesus.  We try to be that + sign (in the middle) as the core of who we are. 

Our second priority is serving people.  How are you serving people in your family, extended family, or even school?  How are you serving in the community and the marketplace?

After talking about priorities, Michael is looking at where Jesus was in Capernaum, his base of ministry, visiting for the last time.  The disciples don’t really catch that He will be killed soon, and they didn’t want to believe it.  He took a little child in His arms and said (in Mark 9:37 CSB), “Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent me.” 

Realize that in those days, children weren’t prioritized like they are today, so for Jesus to use this as an example is very important. He shows that we should prioritize even those that seemingly are not important.

This brings us to priority number three: love without expectation.  It’s only when the person doesn’t deserve to be shown love that the love can truly be unconditional.  If someone is being hurtful, mean, or just plain unfriendly: that’s the time to show unconditional love! 

Jesus set the priority for us to love without expectation.  This is the life He has called us to.  To do right by people who may not do right by you.

Priority Four: Unity with the brethren.  We can cooperate, even with those with whom we are not exactly on the same page.  We can do this because we believe in people plus Jesus, is our highest priority.

Michael leaves us with four challenges, one for each priority.

Challenge One for Priority One (People +Jesus) is being open about your faith in Jesus in a humble way.

Challenge Two for Serving People is to look for ways to serve.

Challenge Three for Love Without Expectation is to do right by people, even when they don’t deserve it.

Challenge Four for Unity With The Brethren is to put the message of faith in Jesus above the things that divide believers.

Verses can be found in Mark 9: 36-41.

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, July 30, 2023

People + Jesus

Today, Pastor Michael is back in the Gospel of Mark.  Today’s lesson is about how priority shapes destiny.

At this point in the story, Jesus is telling the disciples that he will soon be betrayed and die.  And after this, He will rise on the third day.  The disciples did not understand this, so that’s where we pick up the story.

This isn’t the first time that Jesus has talked about his impending death and also not the first time that the disciples haven’t asked or drilled down on what this was all about.  They did not ask.  But the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central port, the core, of Christianity.  So let’s look at our highest priorities here.

What is priority number 1?  People plus Jesus!  A relationship with Jesus: nothing else matters!  It has to be our number one focus.

Priority number 2:  Serving people.  How are you serving people? 

Our question for you: have you put your trust in Jesus?  That’s a life-transforming connection and central theme of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Next week we will cover more of the priorities that we did not have time for today. 

Mark 9:30-32 (CSB Study Bible Notes) 9:30 This is the last reference in Mark to Galilee until after Jesus’s resurrection (see 14:28; 16:7 and notes there).

9:31 Jesus’s second death prediction is the briefest of the three (see notes at 8:31; 10:33-34), and has much in common with the others. The new element in this prediction is that he would be betrayed.

9:32 Luke explains why the disciples did not understand: “It was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it” (Lk 9:45).

Verses can be found in Mark 9: 30-40.

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, July 16, 2023

Defining Moments of Our Lives

Today, Pastor Michael has turned over the reigns to Duncan Crook.  Duncan is talking about defining moments.

What is a defining moment?  A significant moment, such as success, failure, achievement, demise, talent, etc. The point at which the glory or character of a person or group is revealed or identified. 

Every single life is built upon a series of defining moments.

These moments can change a person’s personality.  Billy Graham’s defining moment was in May of 1934.  Billy Graham’s family were farmers, and Charlotte Christian businessmen wanted to hold an all-day prayer vigil at the Graham family, and a prayer was raised that the Lord would raise up someone from Charlotte that would preach the gospel to all the world.

“At that time, in 1934, it certainly wasn’t obvious that that someone might be me,” Billy Graham wrote later.

Let’s look at some of the defining moments in the Bible.

In John 2, Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine.  This was the moment that defined Jesus as a miracle worker.

The death and resurrection of Jesus is perhaps the greatest defining moment in the Bible. 

Another defining moment in the Bible is when the disciples crossed the sea with Him, and He calmed a raging storm.

This event was also a defining event for the disciples as it showed their lack of faith.

Job was stripped of his wealth and family, and he was tempted to curse God. This was a moment that turned Job’s life around, from wealth to poverty. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship golden images of King Nebuchadnezzar, and they were thrown into a fire, which did not burn them.

Two ways we can hinder others from encountering God in their defining moment: people cannot see God through our noise.  And people cannot see God through our sins.

In Mark 4: 37-41, the disciples reacted angrily to their defining moment.  Jesus rebuked them and challenged their lack of faith.  Do you blame God yourself or thank Him for deliverance?

Do you face your fears and build up your faith in your defining moments?

Do you lean on your own understanding during your defining moment?  Do you plan to celebrate your moment without involving God? 

The biggest problem with our defining moments is how to react when they occur. 

Proverbs 3:5 (CSB) Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own understanding.

What did we learn here today?

1. In every moment, we can trust Jesus.
2. In every moment, Jesus is with us.
3. In every moment, we need Jesus.

Verses can be found in John 4: 1-26, John 4: 39, John 2: 1-11,  John 3: 16-18, Hebrews 9:22, Isaiah 53:5, Romans 6: 23, Mark 4: 37-41,  Job 2: 7-10, Daniel 3: 16-28, and Proverbs 3: 5-6 (plus more!).

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, July 9, 2023

Faith Makes All Things Possible

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about a man that had faith but not enough faith for what he was facing.

He wanted to believe that the Lord would help him in his struggles; it’s not about the Lord’s might but about faith’s height!

This story takes place right after the Transfiguration, where Jesus was revealed as He truly is.  So Jesus and the three disciples come down the mountain and find the other nine disciples, them arguing with religious folks, the Scribes.

This was 1,000 years before the printing press, so the Scribes were who made copies of the Old Testament.  And they took their work very seriously!  Perfectionists, indeed!

They knew the letter of God’s law but not so much the spirit of it.  So, the crowd sees Jesus coming and wanted to ask Him what was happening.  Jesus makes His way to the Scribes and wanted to ask what they were doing.

A person in the crowd offered up that he was there with his son, who was having terrible seizures and wanted Jesus’ disciples to drive the spirit out of his child, which was causing that.  

This man brought his son, hoping to find Jesus but found the other disciples.  He asked them to do the miracle, and they could not.

Jesus is deeply bothered by this.  He is frustrated because His disciples do not have faith, and faith is the thing they needed.  

This dad asked, “If you can do anything, please help us.”  

Jesus responds, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

The real question isn’t if Jesus can help…it’s if we can believe.

The father had both faith and doubt, which is a common occurrence.  This man had faith because he asked for healing for his son.  The disciples had faith because they tried.  

(CSB Study Bible Notes) At issue was not Jesus’s ability but the father’s faith—everything is possible for the one who believes (cp. 5:36; 10:27).

Verses can be found in Mark 9: 17-29.

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, July 2, 2023

A Glimpse of His Glory

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about the real heart of ReCreate Church.  We have something here that is unique, and we’ve only seen a little flash of what we can truly do!

Today’s sermon is about the Transfiguration and what happens when we see His glory.  

Our takeaway is, “If you glimpse His glory, you’ll tell His story!”.

Jesus let Peter, James, and John to a mountain where he was “transfigured,” which is, in essence, showing them how He’ll appear in Heaven.  Our lives are like that; we are in a world of darkness, and Jesus is the center of our being.  We want people to know Jesus.

Elijah and Moses, two of the greatest prophets in history, appeared with Jesus during the Transfiguration.  Moses died, but Elijah went to heaven in a whirlwind.  And now, Jesus is talking with Moses and Elijah.  Mark doesn’t tell us in his version, but Luke did explain more in his gospel about Jesus explaining his upcoming death and resurrection. But the disciples really didn’t understand what they were hearing!  This was likely due to being overwhelmed and a bit of fear, to put it mildly!

A cloud came and overshadowed them and told them this was His beloved Son, which pretty much eliminated all doubts about what was going on.  “Hear Him!” was God’s command and set them straight that Jesus was whom they needed to listen to! Mose and Elijah were cool guys, but they weren’t Jesus!  

The Transfiguration is a scene of Jesus as a representation of His coming kingdom in its fullness and glory.  Those who saw the transfiguration bore witness to it to the other disciples and to countless millions down through the centuries, and it was recorded as such in the Gospels.

Mark 9:2-4 (CSB Study Bible Notes) 9:2 Six days appears to refer to the time between Peter’s confession and Jesus’s transfiguration. It may also tie Jesus’s experience to Moses’s (Ex 24:15-17). On Peter, James, and John as Jesus’s inner circle, see note at 1:16-20. The high mountain is often identified as Mount Tabor, but Mount Hermon or Mount Meron may be better candidates. As he was transfigured, Jesus’s nature was not changed but unveiled. 9:3 Dazzling connotes extreme whiteness that is beyond natural explanation (Mt 17:2 describes them as “white as the light”). Matthew (17:2; cp. Lk 9:29) adds that Jesus’s face glowed like the sun (cp. Ex 34:35). 9:4 Mark probably intended to indicate Moses as the greater OT figure by saying Elijah appeared with Moses.

Verses can be found in Mark 9: 1-13.

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, June 25, 2023

How to Win at Life

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about life. How we are created for a purpose.  If we are not pursuing that purpose, everything else will never satisfy us.

The win is in surrender.  Surrending to God. 

What is that area of your life that you don’t want God to take control of?  What do you not want to let go of?  

In our attempt to save our lives, we lose our lives.  If we don’t embrace God’s purpose, we lose on earth and in eternity. 

We honestly have it backward. We feel that accumulating things, making money, and living large make us special.  It’s living for OURSELVES.  

Living for yourself, is empty,  in the end.  It’s time to let it go.

(CSB Disciple's Study Bible Notes) The keynote of the Christian life is surrender. To deny oneself is not a call to a colorless life. Rather it is a call to deny the baser nature and pursue the higher levels of ethical standards to which Jesus points. This paradox of finding life by losing it is open to the test of experience. Mature Christians attest to its validity.

Verses can be found in Mark 8: 35-38.

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, June 18, 2023

Sending Celebration

Today, Pastor Michael is taking a Father’s Day sidestep from our study in Mark to talk about Billy Honeycutt’s forthcoming mission trip to Peru.  

Billy starts off by telling of his daughter calling and wanting him to join them on a mission trip.  Throughout the years, everyone in his family has gone off on mission trips, and he was the one left at home to work.  So he relates that he really, really wanted to go.

Now that he is retired, he’s not so sure about running off to Peru, a city he cannot pronounce (Trujillo)!  It’s in Peru, and that, by golly, is what he knows!  

So this journey is something that took a bit to decide to go! 

And what follows is Billy’s explanation of what it takes to travel to a foreign country and become a missionary.  And folks, it’s not easy!

Being called by God but being sent by Recreate Church!  

90% of knowing God’s will is just being willing to do it.

We are: right in the middle of who we are; we find this statement: we are a team of ministers and missionaries. 

So what does it mean to be a missionary?  We go to the bible for the greatest missionary statement of all, the Great Commission.  

Four big actions here: Go, Make Disciples, Baptize, and Teach.  This is how we do missions anywhere! 

You are a missionary! 

Billy, good luck, and God Bless!

Verses can be found in Matthew 28: 19-20, Acts 1: 8, and 13: 2-3. 

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, June 11, 2023

I Can't Make It About Me

Today, Pastor Michael is looking at Jesus returning to Galilee with his disciples.  He calls the folks at a distance to come and listen to Him.  

Jesus states, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

This is about true freedom and connecting with something bigger than you. If you want to be free, you can’t make it about you. 

Verses can be found in Mark 8: 34-38.

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, June 4, 2023

Paper Doll Jesus

Today, Pastor Michael is saying that some folks have a “Paper Doll” mentality toward Jesus.  The Jesus that is in line with the beliefs that you have; the Jesus that is two-dimensional.  His own disciples had a very flat, two-dimensional view of Jesus.  Their understanding of Him didn’t match the truth of His person or purpose.  We see this disconnection in Mark of what his followers thought of him.

The story takes place in Caesarea Philippi.  During this trip, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”  And his disciples answered everything from John the Baptist to Elijah.  Then He asked them directly, “But, you, who do you say I am?”  Peter answered, “The Messiah,” and Jesus told them to tell no one.  Jesus knew the more they told people, the more His enemies would chase him down and try to kill him.  He knew it was not time for His ministry to end yet. 

Jesus was and is not just a great prophet, a miracle worker, or a teacher: He is the Son of God.  But people of His day and His own followers had a “Paper Doll” image of Jesus, a certain image that is not in line with what Jesus was and is. 

(CSB Study Bible Notes) Peter responded you are the Messiah. This is the first time in Mark’s Gospel that a person made this identification. To this point, only God (1:11) and demons (1:24,34; 3:11; 5:7) had testified to Jesus’s true identity. The word “Messiah” (Christ) means “anointed one” and refers to God’s appointed deliverer and King.

Verses can be found in Mark 8: 27-33.

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 28, 2023

The Man Who Saw Trees Walking.

Today, Pastor Michael is going to tell a story about a man who saw trees walking.  A blind man could see, and others who could normally see were blind.

Bethsaida (“house of the fishermen”)is where Jesus is today; his ministry headquarters was just down the road in Capernaum. 

Jesus was in Bethsaida, and a group of people are coming up to him with a man whose eyes are bandaged, and they wanted Jesus to see this man and heal him.  Jesus took the man’s hand and leads him through the streets. 

They get to the edge of town, and Jesus keeps going out into the fields with the man.  Jesus then took off the man’s bandages, spit on his fingers, and touched the man’s eyes.

Jesus asked him, what did he see?  He told Jesus that he saw he saw men like trees, walking.  Then He put his hands on the man’s eyes again and made him look up, and he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Jesus told him not to go into town.

This is an interesting story because the healing was incremental or partial.  First, the man saw ‘trees’ walking.  But after he was touched a second time, his sight was fully restored.

Healing isn’t the same all the time.  There is a lot of variety in the way folks are healed.  So, why is this a two-stage miracle?  Because some of the greatest miracles occur in two stages!

Every single person begins in a state of spiritual blindness.  Jesus will have to open our eyes enough to ‘see’ we need salvation.  The Holy Spirit will open our eyes enough for us to recognize that we need Jesus.

We then have that partial opening of our eyes and can see enough that we need Jesus.  Then He touches us, and we fully see that we can cry out to the Lord and be saved!

(Disciple's Study Bible Notes) 8:22-26 MIRACLE, Christ—Miraculous events may become symbolic parables. Jesus healed the blind man in a unique two-step process. As in 7:32-37 Jesus used the power of touch in healing. Unique here is the apparent partial cure after the first “treatment.” The larger context depicts the blindness of the disciples.

Verses can be found in Mark 8: 22-30.

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.