ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, November 7, 2021

Missed Exit.

Important note: We had a problem in our audio chain in the morning service, so the audio is a stripped out version from our video production.  We apologize for the quality of this audio as it’s not to our usual standards.  

Today Pastor Michael is back with Joseph in the Old Testament, continuing our study on him.  And one of our themes today is that interpretations belong to God.  Joseph is in prison at this point but the Lord has provided for him, yet again.   In prison, Joseph prospered and is quickly given authority.  Joseph meets two high level, important inmates from Pharaoh’s service; one a butler, the other his chief baker.  

Each of those inmates admitted they had weird dreams the night before.  Remember: Joseph’s special gifts were about dreams, so Joseph asked them about their dreams.  Joseph said something very specific here, that is important:  Interpretations belong to God.  With that, Joseph, with God’s help, interpreted the two inmates dreams.   

The interpretations were exactly as Joseph predicted.  The butler got a good interpretation and the baker did not.  Yet they were still correct.  

The butler forgot all about Joesph, thought and he languished in prison two more years.  He missed another exit!  

Joseph has helped others with their dreams, what about his dreams?  He keeps getting knocked off track.  How is he supposed to interpret these setbacks? 

All of the interruptions in his life weren’t setbacks.  They were his journey!  

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 39: 19-23, Genesis 40: 1-22 and Proverbs 3: 5-6.

 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 31, 2021

The Trouble With Temptation.

Today Pastor Michael is taking a break and Nick Dowdy is speaking.  His subject is the “Trouble with Temptation” and we’re continuing the story of Joseph that Michael has been teaching on for some time now.  We’re at the part of the story where Joseph is starting to experience temptations in Potiphar’s household, where Potiphar’s wife is finding herself drawn to this handsome, unattached Hebrew.  And she propositions him, to which he refused.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Joseph adamantly refuses to become her lover for two reasons. First, it would be a disservice to his master, who has trusted him (39:8–9a). Second, it would be a sin against God (39:9b). Joseph’s words help us understand the difference between guilt over sin and godly sorrow over sin. Guilt means we are sorry for our sins because we know they are ruining our lives and may keep us out of heaven. Godly sorrow means we are sorry for our sins because we know they grieve the heart of God. It is Joseph’s commitment to high moral principles that keeps him free from an illicit affair.

Nick then goes into a nice study on temptation in James, covering a primer of sorts.  The biggest point being in this side study is that God never temps people.  A second point is that people are only tempted by their own desires.  Third, temptation only becomes sin once we act on it in an ungodly manner.  Lastly, sin results in death and this may not be a literal death but the death of a relationship, etc.  This is a great summary of temptation today and in Joseph’s time.

Back to Joseph, Potiphar’s wife did not like Joseph turning her down a bit, so she set him up, royally.  She took his robe and came up with a story that she fed to her husband, essentially claiming that Joseph tried to sleep with her!  And of course, Potiphar believed her story and had Joseph imprisoned.  Poor ole Joseph, just cannot win.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) We do not know why Potiphar puts Joseph into prison rather than killing him (39:20). Does Potiphar have reason to be suspicious of his wife’s story? Has she done something like this before? Maybe Potiphar trusts Joseph more than he trusts his wife. If that is the case, Potiphar is appropriately cautious. You can release an innocent man from incarceration, but you cannot resurrect him.

(Bible for Hope Study Notes) We must look at temptation for what it really is. Temptation, when it stands alone, is merely a withering, shrinking lure. Despite its prevalence, it has no power unless we choose to surrender to it. Remember that temptation itself is not a sin-Jesus was tempted-but yielding to temptation is sin. Everyone can remember falling to temptation. The memory stirs up feelings of being dirty, empty, drained, and even exploited. Grieving the sin is natural and healthy before a righteous God. These feelings and memories can serve as reminders to guard our hearts and minds.

Nick finishes our study on temptation in 1 Corinthians that God will always provide a way to endure temptation.  God will always provide a way out; we are without excuse.  

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 39: 6-20, James 1: 12-15 and 1 Corinthians 10: 12-13. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 24, 2021

Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Today Pastor Michael is picking back up on the story of Joseph, who we left last week in a precarious situation.  At this point, it looks like Joseph’s dreams are at the bottom of the pit he’s in!

God’s plans can mess up ‘our’ plans, but our plans are only the plans of a human being.  God sees everything!  God definitely changed Joseph’s plans and dreams.  It looks like he had a demotion of sorts!  But while Joseph was a slave, the Lord was with him.  That’s the difference maker!

Joseph was free in his spirit, his brothers were slaves in their spirit.  So we ask the question: if God was with Joseph, why isn’t his life easier right now?

We assume the proof of God being with us is our life being easy.  That’s not true. The road to where God wants to take you might lead through a valley.

God will take Joseph through Potiphar’s house to Pharaoh’s house!  And that is God’s plan.

A good news summary today: It’s the hard times that teach us and makes our faith grow. 

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 39:1–6. Joseph finds himself in the employ of Potiphar, a high-ranking official of Pharaoh (39:1). What goes through the mind of the bewildered teenager, who has been uprooted violently from his home, sold as a servant, made to live with strangers, and purchased off the trading block and is now dwelling in a foreign country?

Joseph has two things going for him. First, the Lord is with him (39:2). Joseph may not know this—at least not yet, for although the Lord is with Joseph, the Lord does not keep Joseph out of trouble and danger. This is the only chapter in the Joseph story (excluding chaps. 38 and 49, where Joseph is either absent or minimally present) where “LORD” appears, and it appears seven times, all by the narrator. In addition to the divine presence, Joseph is a diligent worker, one who impresses his master with his conscientious industriousness (39:3–4). Joseph is to Potiphar what Jacob was to Laban. Both of these non-Israelites experience blessings because a child of Abraham is in their midst. Joseph oversees everything except Potiphar’s food (39:5–6).

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 39: 1-6.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 17, 2021

Decked Out to Sold Out!

Today Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Joseph and his crazy family situation.  The story picks up with Joseph searching for his brothers, who have moved their flock to Dothan and let’s just say they that when he found them, they weren’t exactly glad to find him!  His brothers took off his coat (the special one that, as his Dad’s favorite, was given only to him) and cast him into a pit.  They then plotted to sell Joseph to the Midianites and sold him for 20 pieces of silver and the traders took him to Egypt.

Sold out!  

Joseph had to feel he was doing right, following what God wanted him to do and then it all fell apart.  What then?

What about those down-in-the-hole moments, when we’re dealing with ruination of our plans?

Three things to consider when it seems like everything is going wrong:

1. The presence of God.  Did God leave Joseph?  No, God was just as present as he would EVER be.
2. The promises of God.  It looks bad, but the promises of God are just as true in the bad times as they are in the good times.
3. The provision of God.  A dead-end can be a portal.  Bad times can be portends to good times.  

Realize, God is always the same and never leaves us.  Good times or bad.

Like Joseph, there is much more to your story than where you are at, right now, today!  Trust God while you’re in the hole and God will come through!

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 37: 12-36.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 10, 2021

The Truth or a Lie.  Pick One!

Today Billy Huneycutt is giving a message on Truths or Lies.  His message centers around the disciples being in a boat with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee when a storm comes up and tosses the boat violently.  Jesus, however, is sleeping through this storm when His disciples awaken him.  Jesus calms the storm and His followers are amazed, yet fearful of both the storm and His powers to quell it!  It showed Jesus’ unlimited power of the natural world.

No matter how bad the storm was, the truth was in the back of the boat!

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) This account is replete with details reminiscent of eyewitness experience. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by steep hills and mountains, and the confluence of cold air from Mount Hermon to the north and hot air rising from the sea can produce squalls of hurricane force. As Jesus and the disciples proceed eastward across the lake, their boat is seized by such a storm (4:35–37). Fearing death, the disciples rouse Jesus from sleep in the stern and reproach him (4:38). Jesus then rebukes the wind and the sea (4:39). The Greek words for “rebuke,” “silence,” and “be still” frequently occur in Hellenistic exorcism accounts. By describing the quelling of the storm in the language of exorcism, Mark portrays Jesus as the Strong One (1:7; 3:37) who vanquishes Satan and evil forces.

At the word of Jesus, calm replaces chaos. Ironically, the disciples are more terrified by the power of Jesus than by the terror of the storm (4:41). “Who then is this?” they ask. This is the question not only before the disciples but also before Mark’s readers: will their experience of Jesus lead to faith (4:40) or to fear and doubt?

(Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes) It is a great source of encouragement for followers of Jesus to remember who they serve: the triune Creator of this universe. The power of the eternal Son protects and guides with utter reliability, even in great distress. 

If we have fears, uncertainty or doubt we need to place our trust in Jesus.  The truth is, Jesus won’t forsake us.  

Today’s verses are found in Mark 4: 35-41.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, October 3, 2021

Dreams.

Today Pastor Michael is talking about dreams.  We all have them, we all think of things we want.  With the weirdness that is the pandemic, we’ve seen some of our dreams delayed; in fact some have disappeared!  But, dreams persist and if you partner a dream with the Lord, it can become a vision.

Michael says this deeply and wants you to know this: God cares about you deeply.  No matter what, what the situation, what’s going on, what life brings, anything: The Lord cares about you and has a plan for you, a vision for you and, yes, even a dream for you!

Today we’ll learn about Joseph and his dreams.  His dreams were both literal and plans from the Lord dreams.  Little did he know that those dreams cost him everything and brought him everything!

Joseph is starting, at this point in his life, to have dreams from the Lord.  And these dreams speak of sheaves of grain and the sun, moon and stars bowing down to him.  Needless to say, when he tells that to his brothers, they hate him for it.  And even his father rebukes him for telling of these dreams.  

His dream does represent God’s will for him.  He will rise to become one of the most powerful people in the world in time.  But he, at the time, only sees part of the story.  He cannot see everything that is coming.  When God gives you a dream or a vision, we love the idea of the highs, not the lows.  Joseph saw what would happen but not the process needed to get there.  

Having a goal is big, having a goal you feel the Lord gives you is even bigger.  Paying the price for the Lord’s vision is the highest goal there is. 

Dare to ask God for a vision bigger than yourself!

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 37: 5-10.

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, September 26, 2021

That’s Not Fair!

Today Pastor Michael is asking the question, “Is life fair?”.  What is one of the first phrases kids learn?  “That’s not fair!”.  

Life can feel unfair, except when things are going our way.  Then, life is fair.  It’s all a matter of perspective.   

How do we define fairness?  Fairness is freedom from bias, dishonesty or injustice.  When we’re fair, we’re guided by truth, reason and justice.

Unfortunately, as much as we try, we cannot make everything fair.  We have to live in a world where unfairness does happen.  So we’re heading to the Old Testament in Genesis to look at Joseph and his brothers.  The story of Jacob and his numerous wives and concubines is strange enough but the net result is a fractious family of epic proportions.  Four moms, thirteen kids and that’s just the summary!

In that mix comes jealousy and rivalry over Joseph.  Joseph is the favorite kid and everybody knows it.  The first son of Rachael, the only wife that Jacob loved, creating jealousy amongst the brothers.  Add to it, Joseph snitches on his brothers, a reason not really given in the Bible, and this went over about as well as you think!  Now, the other brothers literally hate Joseph! 

Jacob further contributes to this controversy by giving Joseph a really colorful tunic, just adding fuel to the fire!

Thats Not FAIR!  

So, at this point, even though Joseph will ultimately be the hero of this story, it’s far easier to relate and empathize with his brothers! 

Our main theme of all of this is, life will always be a little unfair.  What can we do about that?  How are we going to respond?

1. When unfairness makes our life harder, let’s use the opportunity to grow in resilience and wisdom.
2. When unfairness actually makes our life easier, let’s use it to grow in gratitude and awareness of our blessings.

Next week, we’ll continue the story on Joseph, so stay tuned!

Today’s verses are found in Genesis 37: 1-4. 

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, September 19, 2021

Seasons.

Today Nick Dowdy is standing in for Pastor Michael and covering the topic of “Seasons”.

Here, Nick means seasons not in the meteorological sense but rather different periods of our lives.  More than the highs (peaks) and lows (valleys) of our lives but all of the time that the Lord has lessons for us during these times.

Nick broke out the seasons as:

1. Hardship and Trials.  Everyone has them.  The Lord uses them for us to learn to trust, learn to adapt, learn to lean on others…there are so many things but Nick references John 16:33 and Romans 8:28 as verses relevant to these trials in our lives. 
2. Growth and Cleansing.  After we come out of the tunnel of hardship and trials we get to cleansing and growth.  
3. Thriving and Happiness.  After growth, the fun part starts.  The season we all wish would be our permanent season, things seem to be going right.  James 1: 17 is a verse used here by Nick that shows every good gift comes from God. 

We need to be careful, complacency creeps in during the Thriving and Happiness season.  So we have to ensure God does not take a backset during these times.  Protect your fire with God and don’t forget who gave you the gifts during the good times!

Lastly, Nick brings up the importance of taking an inventory of the seasons of our lives.  Take notes and remind yourself of what the Lord has done to help you, assist you during these times so that we don’t forget.  Don’t forget the lessons and the hope you experienced during these seasons.  

All seasons help us to understand who we are and our place within the Lord’s kingdom.  

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, September 12, 2021

At the Crossroads of Faith and Patriotism

Today Pastor Michael is reflecting on faith and patriotism, entirely fitting at the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States.  Some liken faith and patriotism to being nearly the same thing, but are they?  So we begin our journey at that, the crossroads of faith and patriotism.

God has given us a responsibility to both heaven and our nation.  Taking our bible verse, one step at a time, we notice God is talking to “His” people.  Not limited to one nation or one group of people.  2nd Chronicles 7: 14 appeals to us, not first as citizens of an earthly nation but as the citizens of Heaven, interceding for an earthly nation.

Next, “will humble themselves”.  God tells His people to humble themselves. That one is a little tougher.  Humility is never easy.  Followers of Jesus have always been the underdogs, but our greatest power comes from our humble trust in the Lord.  If we do not humble ourselves, we are going to BE humbled.

“…and pray to seek My face,…”. If the Lord has put us in a position to participate in steering our nation, we should do so.  Remember, the first and most important way to influence our nation: Pray and seek His Face.

“…and turn from their wicked ways…”.  When the Lord tells us to turn from our wicked ways, he’s NOT just talking to unbelievers.  It truth, revival always and forever begins with a remnant of real believers who finally get heartbroken enough over this own spiritual poverty to cry out to God in repentance.  

“..then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  When God’s people seek Him and pray and repent, He will bless the land where they live.  This isn’t limited to YOUR land…it’s on a national scale.  When God’s people turn to Him, He blesses the nation.  

We are at the crossroads of Faith and Patriotism and find this truth: if we really want good things for our nation, the most powerful thing we can do is humble ourselves and pray, seeking God’s face and turn from our wicked ways.  

Our nation needs Jesus people to engage in the political process, but even more to engage in the spiritual process. 

Today’s bible verse is found in 2nd Chronicles 7: 14

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, September 5, 2021

Happily Ever After.

Today Pastor Michael is wrapping up the “End Times” series, the twelfth and final message.  

Today we pick back up with New Jerusalem and John the Apostle gets a glimpse of a river, the Water of Life.  Growing around that river is the Tree of Life.  Although spread over a vast distance, it is spoken of as a singular tree.  We’ve seen the Tree of Life before…it was in the Garden of Eden!

Verse 3 says there will be no more curse on humanity from sin and Verse 4 says we will see the Face of God and His Name will be written on us.  In Verse 5 we find that there will be no more darkness and Verses 6 remind us how important it is that we understand these truths and apply them to our lives.  

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 22:1–5. John’s attention turns to the surroundings and landscape of the city. He beholds a glorious paradise of overflowing streams and fruit-bearing trees where there is no longer any curse (22:1–3). Like the garden of Eden (Gn 2:5–6) prior to the fall of Adam, this new Eden is unblemished by sin or the curse of suffering, toil, and death (Gn 3:4–19). Yet the new Eden is much more than a return to a prefall state; it exceeds the old garden in glory and splendor.

The last verses of Revelation 22 serve as a fitting conclusion for the whole Bible.  Verses 18-19 warn us not to add or take away from the Word.  We can’t pick and choose which parts of the Bible we will accept and which parts we reject.  

The Bible represents the whole truth.  

(Disciple's Study Bible Notes) 22:18-19 HOLY SCRIPTURE, Inspired—The God who breathed into each of his messengers the words of revelation declared that no one is to add to or take from his words. They are subject to God’s judgment if they do. The revelation of God is not to be altered, tampered with, or distorted. The book of Revelation is thus consciously presented as sacred Scripture.

Revelation 22: 20 is one of Pastor Michael’s favorite sayings, “He Who testifies these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen! Even so, come Lord Jesus!”.

We live in times that are difficult and frustrating.  It feels harder than ever to live for God and the values of the Kingdom.  We might even suffer for our loyalty to Jesus.  But it is worth it.  

This whole study on the “End Times” should show us that living for Jesus is worth it.  The Endgame is GLORY in the end!

Today’s bible verses are found in Revelation 22:  1-17  and 1 Corinthians 13: 12.