ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 23, 2022

The Pharisees Didn't Get the Parable Memo!

Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study of the book of Mark.  We pick up with Jesus’ ministry expanding quickly and the disciples were, at this point, getting hangry!  Add to this, his family, from Nazareth, was at his point in his ministry, thinking he was quite crazy!

The family couldn’t get him to leave and there was another group that felt he was equally nutty; those were the scribes (the religious establishment of the day) and the Pharisees.  They did the most grown up thing they could do; they started rumors about Him.

So what does Jesus do about it?  He called them together and talks to them face to face. Jesus goes into length with a message of how a house divided against itself cannot stand.  A kingdom divided cannot last.   He was using this to show that He was not using the power of the Devil to fight himself.

However, let’s put it this way:  the scribes and the Pharisees didn’t quite catch the meaning of that parable!

So for good measure, Jesus gives them another parable!  The parable of tying up the strong man before you can plunder his house.  Who is the strong man here?  The devil is the strong man.  The stronger man: Jesus. 

Jesus has entered the strong man’s domain, here on earth.  But Jesus will bind the devil and has plundered the devil’s goods.  What are those goods?  Souls.  Jesus has come back to take the souls that he has divided our families, our churches, our nation.

(ESV Study Bible Notes) Jesus uses two illustrations (parables) to show that the scribes’ accusations are false: (1) if the satanic sphere of power were internally divided, then it could not stand (vv. 24–26); and (2) Satan must be bound before his sphere of power can be challenged (v. 27; see note on Matt. 12:29).

Verses can be found today in Mark 3: 20-27.

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.k

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 16, 2022

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

Today, Pastor Michael is giving us a crash-course on the twelve disciples (apostles).  

So who are the twelve?  1—Simon (renamed Peter) 2—James & 3—John (the “Sons of Thunder”—how cool is that!) 4—Andrew 5—Philip 6—Bartholomew 7—Matthew 8—Thomas 9—James 10—Thaddeus 11—Simon (the Zealot) and lastly (and for good reason, no doubt!) 12—Judas.

Some had already become prominent at this point, some had not but Jesus was calling them to higher responsibility.  

The list is given four (4) times in the New Testament and while a bit different each time, Jesus doesn’t change up the roster.  

There is always three (3) groups of four (4).  Seems like there were always three subgroups.  They are:  Team Fireball, Team Comeback and Team Shadow (Michael’s summary, but darned good!).

Team Fireball—Simon Peter, the leader of Team Fireball.  The most outspoken and active of all the apostles.  A fisherman by trade.  He was at the Transfiguration, Gethsemane, pretty much all of it.  Pete was crucified by the Roman emperor Nero.  James the son of Zebedeh, another fisherman, one of the Sons of Thunder.  A much quieter guy than Peter, but he was gutsy.  The first of the twelve to lay down his life, for the cause.  James showed that you didn’t have to be loud…not all passion is loud!  John, the brother of James, the second most famous of the Disciples, after Peter.  John was closer to Jesus than any of the others, sitting next to Jesus at the Last Supper.  The heart of the team, if Peter is the mouth and James is the gut of the team.  The only one with Jesus when He was on the cross.  The only prophet that lived a long, full life.  John shows us that Jesus wants people with heart, not afraid to run away. The last member of Team Fireball, Andrew, is Simon Peter’s brother.   Andrew wasn’t as prominent as some, but without his willingness to share Jesus with his brother, we might not have had the Apostles as they are known.  

Team Comeback—Each of them has something stacked against them.  Philip starts out the bunch, always asking questions, even asking Jesus, “Can you show us the Father?”.  The man had questions.   Jesus wants people that asks questions for the team. Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel.  Came from a fairly comfortable family background.  The prejudiced one…he didn’t feel like Jesus from Nazareth was the Messiah.  Jesus wants people that are willing to give up their assumptions!  Next up is Matthew, also known as Levi, the tax collector working for the Romans.  Not a super popular guy as a loyalist to the Romans, but he was not the man he was before.  Jesus changes lives!  Lastly, Thomas rounds out Team Comeback.  Thomas was also known as Didymus, both meaning twins, which points to Thomas was likely a twin.  Doubting Thomas is the name he’s known the best for and it stuck!  Thomas’ doubt melted away when Jesus appeared before him.  It’s okay to have honest doubts!  Doubt is not a deal breaker, it’s a motivation.  

Team Shadow—we don’t know that much about these guys, hence the “Shadow”.  We’ll start with James, and we know almost nothing about this guy!  Never recorded as saying anything interesting enough to record.  We don’t know a lot about him but the team couldn’t have functioned without him.  Not a spotlight person but the team needs him.  Next up: Thaddeus, the ‘other’ Judas.  Not the bad guy Judas.  We are more than the assumptions that people have of us.  Another Simon now shows up, Simon the Zealot. The activist, part of the political movement that wanted to get rid of the Romans, off the land.   Last up, Judas, the betrayer.  History’s greatest bad guy!  Judas was eaten up with remorse after his betrayal, taking his own life.  Not everybody who is on the team is really “ON” the team.  

The twelve were not the sort of people we would expect.  Different people, different personalities.  Where one was weak, the others were strong!  And they brought us the Good News of Jesus.  Team work, makes the Dream Work!

Verses can be found today in Mark 3: 13-19.

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, Sunday, October 9, 2022

Jesus Versus the Religious Establishment.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking on how Jesus did not come to offer more religion to folks, but to give a true connection to God. We find Jesus at a synagogue and he meets a man with a shriveled hand.  The Pharisees had their eyes on this man, not only because of what he represented, but they wanted an opportunity to accuse Jesus.  The Pharisees were wanting to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath; regardless that the healing was good, it would break the religious traditions of the Pharisees.  

Jesus asked a question, in two parts.  First, about doing good or evil, referring to the man with the shriveled hand.  The second, about saving life or killing, which cannot refer to the man, since a shriveled hand isn’t fatal.  The second part refers to the intentions of the Jewish religious leaders in regard to Jesus!

Jesus looked at the Pharisees with anger, for the hardness of their hearts brought Him continual grief.  Jesus told the man to “Stretch out your hand” and he did and was healed and Jesus’ authority was clearly shown. 

The religious establishment hated Jesus.  But the folks that didn’t associate with the "establishment" loved Him.  People who were nothing like Jesus, liked Jesus!

Verses can be found today in Mark 3: 1-12.

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, Sunday, October 2, 2022

Come Follow Me…The Law, a Relationship.

Today, Pastor Michael is turning it over to Billy Honeycutt who is furthering some of Michael’s past lessons on the law versus relationships.  

Billy starts off in Mark, Chapter 2, verse 23 and finds Jesus and his disciples out picking grain, something the Pharisees were none too keen on that, as it was the Sabbath.  But is the Sabbath for man or the law?

Billy goes on to explain that Jesus came that we might have relationships.  The law was for man; not man for the law.

God wants a relationship!

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) In 2:27 Jesus clarifies the relationship of human life to Sabbath: people are not made for Sabbath rules, but rather the Sabbath is intended to bless and enhance human life.

After the Bible study, Billy gave his testimony, mainly covering his little kayak adventure a few weeks ago.  Gripping storytelling and definitely needs to be listened to.  A welcome addition and change from our normal ReCreate podcasts!  

You’ll enjoy it!

Verses can be found today in Mark 2: 23-28 and Deuteronomy 10: 12 and Psalm 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, Sunday, September 25, 2022

Rule Keeping versus Relationships.

Today, Pastor Michael is back in the book of Mark looking at the Pharisees, John the Baptist, Jesus, his followers, the whole enchilada.  And all those folks are trying to figure out what is going on…why don’t Jesus’ disciples fast for starters.  Why do they have to be so different? 

Mosaic law only required fasting only on the Day of Atonement but by the first century, it was practiced twice a week. Jesus’ response came from a custom of the time and a metaphor that John the Baptist had used. When celebrating at a wedding, did the associates of the bridegroom fast?  Jesus was picturing Himself as a bridegroom at a feast, but He indicated this joyous situation would change. A time would come when He would be taken away from them and in that day they would fast.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 2:18–22. That Jesus’s disciples do not follow the examples of the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees, both of whom were considered morally and ritually exemplary, is a further cause of offense to his contemporaries (2:18). Although fasting was technically required of Jews only on the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:29–30), Pharisees typically fasted every Monday and Thursday. The Pharisees understood true religion to consist of fasting (i.e., what is not done), whereas in this story Jesus understands it as feasting (i.e., what is done).

So, something unique was happening.  He was present and that wouldn’t last forever.  The disciples didn’t understood what that meant but sanctified grieving is coming.  So Jesus was letting everyone know that it was a time to be together and feast, the time of fasting was soon to be.

Instead of a system where people assume if they follow enough of the rules, they will have a relationship with God, Jesus put the relationship FIRST.  It didn’t come from rule following, but because there is a relationship, we want to do what is right, out of love and respect to Him.

Verses can be found today in Mark 2: 18-22.

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, Sunday, September 18, 2022

God Doesn’t Choose People Like People Choose People!

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about Matthew and how the Lord doesn’t pick people for His use, as we pick people.  We pick up in Mark, Chapter 2 and the story finds us in the vicinity of Capernaum and Jesus passes a tax office.  Not like today’s tax offices, this was a place where folks paid their taxes, so it wasn’t exactly a destination of choice by anyone in those days.  Jesus sees Levi in the tax office and tells him to “Follow me”, and Levi did just that.  Now Levi is also known by his better known name, Matthew.  So Matthew does start to follow Jesus, itself a crazy act from both Jesus’ side and Matthew’s side.  

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 2:13–17. Mark 2:13 describes Jesus teaching beside the Sea of Galilee. “Teaching” indicates the essential role that instruction plays in Jesus’s ministry, and the large crowds that attend it indicate the public nature of the gospel.

The Roman tax system functioned, in part, by renegade Jews like Levi receiving a franchise to collect taxes in set regions (2:14). Whatever amount a tax collector obtained in addition to the contracted sum was his to keep. The Roman system of taxation thus attracted unscrupulous individuals. That Jesus would call as a disciple a tax collector was no less offensive than his touching of a leper (1:40–45).

This story repeats and reinforces the truth of 2:1–12: there He forgave sins; here He demonstrates forgiveness of sinners by eating with them (2:15). The scandal of Jesus’s eating with tax collectors (2:16) consists in the fact that He does not make moral repentance a precondition of His acceptance and love of sinners.

The big summary herein is Jesus picks those unexpected folks that we’d never likely even consider.  A tax collector in those days was not a popular individual.  The scribes, Pharisees and other locals were pretty vocal about Jesus hanging with a tax collector.  They were essentially disgusted; guilt by association, if you will.  

Yet Jesus saw something in Matthew that no one else saw.  God does big things with people we wouldn’t necessarily pick.  The Church is made up of people that don’t always have it together; folks that know they have flaws.  If you’re a hot mess, Jesus loves you and so does Recreate Church!

Verses can be found today in Mark 2: 13-17.

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, Sunday, September 11, 2022

Remove the Roof to Healing.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about Jesus being all around Galilee then on to Capernaum, which was kind of his home base of ministry.  Hometown of Simon Peter as well and folks are wanting to get their healing on. Jesus was most likely staying with Simon Peter in Capernaum.

So everyone hears that Jesus is back in town, so folks swarmed the house to get some of Jesus’ healing and time.  So many were there, some couldn’t get into the house, where Jesus was preaching the Word.  A paralyzed person wanted healing from Jesus but it simply was too packed; four men came carrying him on a mat.  But it’s so packed they cannot get in the house!  

So in a brilliant bit of creative thinking, the four friends carrying him removed the roof and lowered him, on the mat, down to Jesus.  Seeing their faith, Jesus exclaimed, “Son, your sins are forgiven” which made some of the old scribes there feeling like Jesus was blaspheming by offering to forgive sins.  

Jesus told the scribes it was easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” rather than “Get up, take your mat and walk”.  But to reinforce that the Son of Man has true authority, He told the man, “I tell you: get up, take your mat and go home”.

Which he did.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 2:6–12. Mention of forgiveness of sins shifts the story abruptly from the paralytic to the scribes (2:6). Offended by Jesus’s pronouncement of forgiveness, the scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy, for only God can forgive sins (2:7; cf. Ex 34:6–7; Ps 103:3; Is 43:25; Mc 7:18). Desiring the onlookers to know that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (2:10), Jesus provides evidence of forgiveness of sins (which cannot be verified) by healing the paralytic (which can be verified).

Verses can be found today in Mark 2: 1-12.

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, Sunday, September 4, 2022

Who We Are.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking a little bit about who we are today.  Identity and what we stand for and what we believe.

We’re trying to recapture something very old.  We aren’t nearly as formal as most church services are.  In the Old Testament it was less about formality than vibrance.  For us it’s not about being seen and more about making progress towards Jesus.

Our motto is “No matter your story, you are welcome, you are wanted and you are loved.”

Today Michael is talking about a leper that came up to Jesus, went down on his knees and begged him to make him clean. Jesus answered, “I am willing” and healed him.  We need to be like Jesus, walking towards those not accepted by others, not welcome, and not loved.  

Verses can be found today in Mark 1: 40—45.

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, Sunday, August 28, 2022

Why Sometimes God Heals and Why Sometimes He Doesn’t.

Today, Pastor Michael is back in the book of Mark.  Being the fast paced Gospel, we have to pay attention to Jesus’ ministry, where he’s healing people, left and right!

Jesus is healing folks and there is no rest in His work.   Everyone’s here and we need healing!  Yet, we need to rethink our assumptions on healing.  For one thing, we assume healing should be the norm.  Healing did NOT happen all the time; it was a rare occurrence.

We also assume healing is the proof that God loves us.  But the idea that God should just give us what we want: is that really a mature way to view God?   

The biggest assumption of all: We assume that healing is always the best thing that could happen.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 1:29–34. “As soon as” (1:29) contributes to the sense of urgency: the time is at hand (1:15) for the authority of God’s Son to bear witness to the gospel. Close to the synagogue is Peter’s house, where Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (1:30–31). The Greek word for “serve” (1:31) is diakoneō, from which “deacon” is derived. Mark’s use of this word to describe Peter’s mother-in-law serving the company following her healing may have been included to remind the members of the church in Rome to which he is writing to use the gifts, health, and opportunities God gives each believer to serve the Christian community in tangible ways. What Jesus has done to one person in healing Peter’s mother-in-law he now does to the whole community (1:32–34a).

After sunset on Saturday, Sabbath prohibitions against work and travel ceased, and Capernaum shows up en masse with people suffering from a host of physical and demonic maladies. Mark closes the day’s activities in Capernaum with a reference to Jesus’s forbidding the demons to speak (1:34b). This unexpected command seems to contradict Jesus’s mission to proclaim and promote the kingdom of God, but it serves a greater purpose until his identity will be fully revealed on the cross.

The healing ministry of Jesus wasn’t really about healing.  It was about leading people to spiritual redemption. 

Healing doesn’t come in the forms we expect it, nor in the time we think it should.

Verses can be found today in Mark  1: 29-32.

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, Sunday, August 21, 2022

Nobody Transforms Lives Like Jesus!

This week, Keith Stephenson shares the radically honest story of a life in progress.

Next week we return to the Gospel of Mark where we tackle the tough question, "Why doesn't God heal everyone?"