ReCreate Church’s Podcast

Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, January 19, 2025

Not This Year!

Today, Pastor Michael is comparing our physical and spiritual health, which is very timely given how many are trying to start the New Year on a new foot.

Some ways we can encourage spiritual health are:

1. Start every day with prayer.
2. Engage with the word of God every day.

You can add other items, such as writing down things you are grateful for, scripture memorization, serving people while avoiding recognition, and more.

Let’s start with spiritual junk food.  Spiritual junk food is the empty distractions and missed beliefs that starve our souls.  Anything that fills your hours without filling your soul is an easy way to remember what we shouldn’t be doing! 

Today, our lesson finds us in Ephesus; Paul is speaking to the Ephesians about striving to become what they should / could be as followers of Christ.  And he’s preaching precisely what we just said: if you’ve been set free in Jesus, don’t go back to the spiritual junk food!

What would that be today (spiritual junk food)?  Entertainment and media! They are far more addictive than we think, and we could go down so many rabbit holes here.  We can, however, quickly state areas that, at the start of this new year, are things we ‘should’ do:

1. This year, we will worship in a way that is not just emotion.
2. This year, we will trust that God loves us, even when we’re having a bad day.
3. This year, we will know we are blessed, even when our bank account doesn’t know it.
4. This year, we will move beyond the idea that righteousness is all about rule-following.
5. This year, we will refuse to confuse tradition with truth.
6. This year, we will choose spiritual intimacy over religious busyness.
7. This year, let’s move beyond social media spirituality.
8. This year, let’s move beyond spirituality. That’s all talk.  If you say that you’re saved, live like it.
9. This is your year to live differently!
10. This year, let’s let go of shallow beliefs.

Three actions steps this year:

1. Examine your diet (media).  Is it feeding your soul?
2. Replace the junk with truth.
3. Focus on forever.

(CSB Bible Notes) 4:17-19 This section of the letter provides the practical outworking of v. 1. Paul’s exhortations denounced the readers’ former way of life. The content of the exhortation parallels early Christian baptismal practices of putting off old clothes before putting on new clothes to enter the baptismal water.

Today’s verses can be found in Ephesians 4: 17-18.

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, January 12, 2025

If Jesus Said It, We Can Trust It.

Today, Pastor Michael is giving us a lesson remotely, as the snow and ice forced us not to hold a service at the church. 

Today’s lesson is about faith.  Jesus expressed sorrow that His followers didn’t have great faith.  But Jesus did have a believer who trusted Him in His word. Here, Jesus had just finished a powerful message, returning to Capernaum.  A delegation of Jewish elders came out to meet Jesus, asking Him to help a Roman Centurion.   This Centurion had a servant who was sick.  The Centurion had heard about Jesus and his miracles, so he asked the Jewish elders to ask Jesus for help.  Jesus agreed to see the Centurion’s servant, and when He got there, another group of folks came out to meet Him.

The Centurion knew Jesus only had to say the word, and his servant would be healed.  This Centurion did not even feel worthy of Jesus coming to him, but he knew Jesus had the authority to heal.  He knew the authority Jesus had and recognized Jesus as the Messiah.  This Centurion even had more faith than many followers of Jesus did at the time! 

Jesus marveled at the Centurion, telling the crowd He had not seen such great faith, even in Israel.  And the servant was healed! 

The Centurion saw the truth in Jesus that even Jesus’s followers did not see. 

“If Jesus said it, we can trust it” is our central theme today. 

Full Authority In Those Hands = FAITH.

(CSB Bible Notes) 7:2-3 A centurion was a commander of a hundred men in the Roman army. This centurion was apparently a compassionate man, deeply concerned about the illness of his servant. He reached out to Jesus through some local Jewish elders (either recognized leaders in the community or respected older men). In the parallel passage in Mt 8:5-10, the centurion approached Jesus directly.

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 7: 1-10.

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, December 29, 2024

Get to the Root

Today, Pastor Michael is showing us, we have a champion in Jesus!  A champion that wants you to thrive, in 2025!

In a story found in Luke, we find a man that planted a fig tree.  This tree, for over three years did not produce fruit.  So, the owner of the orchard told his gardener to cut the tree down. But the gardener convinced him, to let him nurture the tree and see if they could get some fruit.  The gardener will work the tree, dig down to the roots, fertilize it and see if the tree will blossom. 

If you want to get the fruit, you’ve got to start at the roots!

Here, the fig tree is actually symbolic of Israel and God the Father is the owner of the orchard.

Three years, which is important.  How many years did Jesus’s earthly ministry last? About three years.  But Israel, even with the messiah amongst them, they still didn’t ‘get it.’  God wanted to help change Israel, but they wouldn’t let Him get to the ‘root of the problem.’

The message is to encourage you to believe in Jesus.  He is the gardener in this story and will help you, IF you are willing to embrace Jesus in your life.  You will see the fruit, if you let Jesus get down to the roots!

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 13: 6-9.

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, December 22, 2024

Courage in the Chaos.

Today, Pastor Michael discusses how “Faith finds courage in the chaos,” our central theme.  We start at a place that is typically after most Christmas stories.  It’s the story of a tyrant trying to find the baby Jesus, and the Magi are at the center of it again.  The Magi made their visit and gave their gifts, and this is where most Christmas stories end.  But we’re going to dig a little deeper today.

The Magi had dreams of an angel speaking to them, warning them not to return to Jerusalem.  They followed the angel’s advice and returned to their lands without stopping in and saying hello to Herod.  Herod was a bit ticked, to put it mildly, ordering his soldiers to Bethlehem to break down and search all homes and kill all male children under 2 years old.  Joseph had a dream where an angel spoke to him, telling him to hightail it to Egypt.  That very night, Joseph packed up his family and fled.  They stayed in Egypt until Herod died.

Yet again, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, telling him to return to Israel, specifically Nazareth.  But Joseph had placed his faith in the Lord, and we shall soon see Jesus’s earthly ministry start.

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 2: 11 - 23.

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, December 15, 2024

The Shepherds

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about the birth of Jesus.  Here, he’s talking about the shepherds.  Farm kids growing up in the country.  The shepherd’s story shows us that God doesn’t see value like people.  God chooses those who are overlooked.

In those days, it was hard for shepherds to participate in Jewish customs and rituals due to them being ceremonially unclean.  But the announcement of the birth of Jesus came to shepherds!  Just to the north of Bethlehem is Migdal Eder, “Tower of the Flock,” where a special group of shepherds raised the temple flock of sacrificial lambs.  Most likely, these shepherds were the shepherds in the Christmas story.  

The shepherds remind us what Jesus’ birth was all about.  It’s the story of God sending his son to give his life so we can live. 

(CSB Bible Notes) Though the social position of shepherds was lowly, the role is often viewed positively in the Bible. God is pictured as a shepherd (Gn 49:24; Ps 23:1). King David was the shepherd of God’s people (2Sm 5:2). Jesus called himself “the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11).

Today’s verses can be found in Luke 2: 8-20. 

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, December 8, 2024

Three Christmas Gifts

Today, Pastor Michael is continuing the story of the Three Wise Men. At this point in the story, they have found Jesus and begun worshiping him. He is no longer at the stable where he was born, the Wise Men finding him in a house. They came with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   Gold is a tribute paid to kings.  It represents royalty.  The gift of gold is the promise of a great king.  Frankincense is a resin that comes from a rare tree in the Middle East. The gift of frankincense points to Jesus as a priest.  Lastly, myrrh is another resin primarily used in funerals to anoint bodies.  Myrrh represents the gift of Jesus as savior.

Jesus is gold, our frankincense, and the gift of myrrh, the gifts of the Magi.  They remind us that “Jesus is the king who leads us, the priest who connects us to God and the savior who gave his life for us”; the heart of today’s message. 

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 2: 11.

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, December 1, 2024

Peace for the Restless Heart

Today, Pastor Michael is looking at the Three Wise Men looking for Jesus at His birth.

The wise men, the magi, were coming from Persia.  They arrive in Jerusalem, asking where is the King of the Jews that was just born.  However, the message had not spread at this point, so most simply didn’t know.  They followed the star to Bethlehem and found Jesus and worshipped Him. 

What did the Magi need that they didn’t have?  Peace.  After years of studying and research, they found the peace they needed in Jesus.

Today’s core idea is “Restless Hearts Find Peace in Jesus”.

(CSB Bible Notes) In contrast to the stable in which Jesus was born (Lk 2), Jesus’s family now lived in a house. This shows that the magi visited Jesus after the visit of the shepherds described by Luke. The magi worshiped Jesus openly, as did many other people during his lifetime (8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9,17). Jesus’s reception of worship reinforces his identity as Immanuel, “God is with us”

Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 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, 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.