ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, November 24, 2024

Grateful for the Gravy.

Today, Pastor Michael is returning to the Old Testament, in 2 Kings, about a lesson in the ministry of Elisha, the prophet.  One day, he’s going through Shunem, and a couple invited him to dinner.  After one of many visits, the wife asked her husband to build a room for Elisha when he came through.  Gahezi traveled with Elisa through Shunem, so Gahezi retrieved the woman from the house, and they asked her, “What can we do to repay you for your generosity?”

The woman wanted nothing, but Gahezi reminded Elisha that she had no children.  So, Elisha prophesied to her that she would bear a son, and she did!  That son was in the fields with his father and collapsed, dying.  So the woman went to Elisha and told him the story, so Elisha went back to their house and found the child dead.  Elisha went to the child and prayed to God over the boy, and the boy came to life!

Later, the Lord told Elisha that a famine would come, so Elisha told the woman of this and that she needed to leave the country.  She left the country and lived with the Philistines for seven years.  Finally, it was time to come back.  But while they were gone, strangers had moved into their house and taken over.  She took her cause up with the king, and Gehazi was visiting with the king when she was there!  And Gehazi talked about numerous miracles, concerning Elisha’s ministry.

The woman relayed that the stories Gehazi told were true and that she and her son were the recipients of some of the miracles.  The king was impressed enough to restore her home and lands.

Had she not experienced the tragedy years before, she would not have experienced the triumph later!

(CSB Bible Notes) The next episode introduced a flashback seven years earlier when Elisha advised the Shunammite woman to sojourn outside Israel during a famine (8:1–2). Because she now has to reclaim her land from the king, one wonders if the king somehow appropriated the land in her absence (8:3). There is a miracle of timing: at the very moment, the king is asking Gehazi about Elisha’s mighty deeds, the woman shows up with her son!

Today’s verses can be found in 2 Kings 4: 8-37 and 2 Kings 8: 1-6.

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 17, 2024

Gratitude Defeats Grump!

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about gratitude and thankfulness.

Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonians about thanks.  It has one of the most famous lines in the bible, “…give thanks in everything…”

Michael asks the pertinent question, “Do we really worship God, or do we worship the idea that God owes us an easy life?”

Gratitude isn’t something God doesn’t have; it’s good for US! 

“It’s not happy people who are thankful; it’s thankful people who are happy” is today’s takeaway thought.

(CSB Bible Notes) The third exhortation of this trilogy (5:18a) is a call, not to give thanks for every situation, but rather to give thanks in every situation. The Christian affirms that God can use any situation for his or her own good (Rm 8:28) and that one can triumph in the midst of any circumstance, even adversity (Rm 8:31–39).

Today’s verses can be found in 1 Thessalonians 5: 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 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.