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Based in Hillsville, Virginia, this is the podcast of ReCreate Church. We are a community of Life and Love.
Episodes
Friday May 14, 2021
Friday May 14, 2021
“If the Creek Don’t Rise”, Mother’s Day, 2021
Today Pastor Michael is expanding upon the old saying, “If the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise”. The old Latin saying “Deo Volente”, used for centuries, had “…if the creek don’t rise” added somewhere in country sayings and stuck. James 4: 13-17 tells us why we should use the saying, “God Willing” and Michael is talking today about how our faith can end when the floodwaters begin and fear of failure limits us.
Don’t let fear limit you faith! Our theme today is, “Trusting God, even when we can’t see it working out”.
(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Jesus also calls the disciples to a life free from worry, a life defined by trusting in their God, who cares and provides daily needs of food and clothing. This exhortation was a weighty one in a culture where many people lived at a subsistence level (e.g., the day laborers of Mt 20:1–15, who might need their end-of-day wage to feed their families). Jesus’s followers are to focus their energies and priorities on the kingdom—God coming to make all things right (6:33). Trusting in God’s righteousness eliminates worry and “little faith” (6:30; cf. 8:26).
Today’s bible verses are found in Matthew chapter 6: 25-34 and James 4: 13-17.
Monday May 03, 2021
Monday May 03, 2021
The Temptation of Jesus
Today Pastor Michael is embarking on something new and it’s about Jesus and his forty day ‘wilderness experience’ where he was tempted by the devil. And the devil was no dummy; he knew Jesus had been fasting and was weak and vulnerable. And that’s what the devil does: attack when you’re at your weakest! The good news is we have an ultimate truth against the devil: God’s word! The devil can’t do anything with that!
(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Now the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, where he will be tempted by the devil (also referred to here as the tempter and Satan). By indicating the setting of the temptations (4:1), Matthew ties Jesus’s temptation to the testing of Israel in the wilderness. The parallel “forty days and forty nights” (4:2) to Israel’s forty-year wilderness wanderings confirms this connection, which Matthew highlights through Jesus’s citation from Deuteronomy in response to each temptation.
The more you walk with God, the more the devil will try to trip you up!
Today’s bible verses are found in Matthew 4: 1-4, Deuteronomy 8: 3, Romans 8: 28 and Proverbs 3: 5-6.
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Happily Ever After?
Today Pastor Michael is wrapping up his series on David, the Warrior King. David is being made the King of Israel at the age of thirty and will rule for forty more years. There were three reasons, listed below, for David being made king but the most important one is that he had been chosen by the Lord to be the king of Israel. There is a lesson here on holding on to faith and hope when God is in the equation. It took over fifteen years for David to see this but he did it the right way. He didn’t undercut or disparage Saul and he still had to fight battles even when he reached the throne. He was much closer to forty when he became absolute, overall leader of the nation of Israel.
Happily Ever After is not a destination. It’s a journey!
(MacArthur Study Bible Notes (ESV)) all the tribes of Israel. The term “all” is used three times (vv. 1 3 5) to emphasize that the kingdom established under King David was truly a united monarchy. The “elders” of Israel (v. 3), representing the “tribes” (v. 1), came to David at Hebron with the express purpose of submitting to his rule. Three reasons were given by the Israelites for wanting to make David king: 1) he was an Israelite brother (cf. Deut. 17:15); 2) he was Israel’s best warrior and commander; and 3) he had been chosen by the Lord to be the king of Israel.
Today’s bible verses are found in 2 Samuel 5: 1-5.
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Stuck!
Today Pastor Michael is continuing our study on David and discussing when we feel stuck, in a place, in a situation or being in a situation you don’t want to be in. However, the Lord may have other plans there, as he did with David as he fled Saul and his persecution and went to the land of the Philistines. As in the land of Goliath. As in Goliath the PHILISTINE! So David was literally in the worse place he could be in, yet God had a reason for it.
In the land of the Philistines, David learned much of the Philistine army and how it worked along with developing his leadership and military skills. He was ‘stuck’ in the wrong place yet God used this time to help David learn more to become a better king to the Israelites. So even if you feel stuck, rest assured: God isn’t stuck!
Today’s bible verses are found in 1 Samuel 27: 1-11 and 1 Samuel 29: 1-11.
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
The Art of Dodging Spears.
Today Pastor Michael is discussing what we do when someone throws a spear at you? Do you have a plan?
Spears can be many things…hurtful jokes, subtle digs, backhand sayings, guilt tripping and shaming of bringing up your past mistakes. The hurts that go deep inside our hearts with words that sting…those wounds can take far longer to heal that if an actual spear hit you!
We need to know what to do when those spears are thrown at us. David can teach us about this, as he was a man that excelled at dodging spears. Three things need to be discussed in this study:
- Why do people throw spears? Saul grew jealous of David when it was said David had slain more enemies than Saul. This anger festers within Saul and turns into hatred and fear. So people sometimes lash out at us, out of fear and anger.
- What is the nature of spears? Spears are close range (as weapons and as things that hurt us). The closer you are (to the spear or to the person) the more dangerous it is. David had grow into the family of Saul with Jonathan, Saul’s son being David’s best friend. This infuriated Saul, all the more. The people most close to us are the ones most able to hurt us with their words and actions.
- Resist becoming a spear thrower. It’s natural to want to throw spears back when someone does something hurtful to you. David could have killed Saul in the cave and did not. David knew Saul would be handled by God. David refused to give back the hurt that was given him. He refused to become just another spear thrower.
Today’s bible verses are found in 1 Samuel 18: 1-30, 1 Samuel 19: 1-23 and 1 Samuel 24: 1-21.
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
David and Goliath.
Today Pastor Michael is continuing his study on David and the Heart of a Warrior. The story of David and Goliath is one of the most famous in the Bible and David was an unlikely candidate, as a shepherd, to fight a Philistine giant. David, however, had fought a lion and a bear protecting his flock, so when he went to Saul to convince him to let him fight Goliath, he told Saul of those fights with the animals and how the Lord protected him, so David had his blessing.
David, as we knows, defeats Goliath. But what allowed David to win wasn’t the rock cast from his sling; it was his faith in the Lord. And since this message is on Easter Sunday, the greatest victory of all time is the Resurrection of Jesus!
Today’s bible verses are found in 1 Samuel 17: 1-58.
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Essential But Unappreciated
Today Pastor Michael is using a parallel of today’s pandemic and the ‘un-appreciated/under-appreciated’ folks that simply take care of things, without a lot of limelight. David was a lot like that too and King Saul and their story is what Michael is preaching on today.
(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) While David is receiving the Spirit of the Lord, it departs from Saul (16:14a). In fact, the language and juxtaposition of these statements in verses 13–14 suggest that the historian saw these events as simultaneous and related. Not only, though, does Saul lose the divine Spirit; the Lord also sends an evil spirit to torment him (16:14b). (We must remember that the Hebrews’ perspective on good and evil was that God created and controlled them both; see Is 45:7.) Saul’s jealousy and depression are made worse because of the influence of this evil spirit, and at times it will drive Saul to violence (cf. 1 Sm 18:10–11). According to 16:23, the evil spirit affects Saul sporadically.
In an attempt to help Saul find relief from the evil spirit, Saul’s attendants suggest that he secure a musician to play soothing music (16:15–16). Ironically, the man they recommend is none other than David. In addition to his ability as a shepherd, David knows how to play the harp, and he has a fine personality. He also enjoys divine favor (16:18). By bringing David to his court, Saul gives his successor valuable training, during which David might make important personal and political connections. Saul likes David very much and asks Jesse if David might remain in his service (16:21–22). While the court service introduces David to the inner workings of the monarchy, what catapults David into the public eye is his heroic victory over Goliath, an event that also betokens his later successes and eventual domination of the Philistines.
Today’s bible verses are found in 1 Samuel 16: 14-23.
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Monday Mar 22, 2021
A Warrior’s Heart
Today Pastor Michael is talking about having a “Warrior’s Heart” and the best example of this is King David.
(Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes) Who is the Lord’s king? Not the tall and impressive (1 Sam. 16:7), but the smallest of Jesse’s sons (v. 11; “smallest” and “youngest” render the same word in Hebrew). For “the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (v. 7). The opening frame of 1 Samuel included Hannah’s declaration that it is not by human might that one prevails (2:9). Rather, where true faith and trust are, God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9; cf. note on 1 Sam. 14:1–14). David may seem insignificant—the youngest, left to tend the sheep—but God sees in him something special. As his story unfolds, we will encounter sin and failure—David, unlike the Son of David to come, was not sinless. But David had a heart for God. Of equal, or greater, importance, he had the “Spirit of the LORD” powerfully working within him “from that day forward” (16:13).
Heart is what makes a warrior and David was chosen for his heart. As Christians, we have that same heart and as warriors, we may not take up the sword, but His Word, in our fight against the enemy and in spreading the love of Christ.
Today’s bible verses are found in 1 Samuel 16: 1-13.
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Maybe This Will Work!
Today Pastor Michael is discussing how we try to find things that will fix things in our lives. When we’re stressed and pressured and frustrated, where can we turn for relief? The background finds Paul in Athens, speaking to the citizens. Athens in those days was a center of education, culture and religion. So, Paul finds himself preaching to the Athenians and spreading the gospel of Jesus.
Paul started at a place the Athenians could understand, notably that they were a city of many deities. Paul discussed their altar, “…to an Unknown God”. Paul then showed that there is only one, true God, by drawing heavily on Old Testament polemics, found in Leviticus (26: 1) and Isaiah (42:5), amongst others. Paul also used Greek poets phrases such as Aratus and Epimenides. Proof of Paul’s education and ability to give connecting points to an audience with a cultural background different than his.
As the Athenians learned from Paul, there is only one, true God. Even when you have many altars, you still don’t have a relationship with Jesus. Even the people that love you the most, cannot take the place where God should be in our lives.
Today’s bible verses are found in Acts 17: 22-33.
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
The Kingdom Underground
Today Pastor Michael is covering a parable of a master returning from a wedding party (12:35–38) that shows while the master is absent his servants should be ready and watching for his return, even if he comes at a time that is later than they expect. Luke 12:37 envisions a reversal of roles that was unheard of in Palestine. If the servants are faithful, then the master will serve them. Further along (12: 41-48) the central thrust of this section is that the daily obedience of disciples shows their readiness for the return of Jesus; disobedience will be punished, and obedience will be rewarded. (CSB Illustrated Bible Study Notes).
Today’s bible verses are found in Luke 12: 35-40 and Luke 12: 41-48.