Kaleo Church Podcast

We live in a time where people are very quick to divide over conflict and all of us are familiar with the pain that comes when people we love choose to part ways with us over a disagreement. Sadly this conflict isn’t just something we face in our culture but its something we experience within the church as well. In I Corinthians we see that we are not the first to experience significant conflict within the church. Here Paul comes entreat us to remember that we are on the same team and to seek to mend the relationships that have been torn apart by sin. Paul goes on to give us three different arguments for unity and what we will find is that these same truths can also be used to comfort those who are dealing with the pain that conflict and division within the church can cause.

The Corinthian church was a mess. They were tolerating sexual immorality, they were suing each other, they were getting drunk on communion, some were teaching that there is no bodily resurrection and they were using the spiritual gifts God has given them to make them feel superior to others. It was church filled with conflict and compromise. And yet Paul calls them “Holy” and declares that Jesus will sustain them until the end, guiltless on the day of Christ Jesus. How can Paul talk like this to a people that were so sinful? Why did he feel like this was the best way to address them? In this sermon we will seek to answer these and other questions.

Where do you seek hope in the midst of suffering? Often when things get difficult we seek hope in convincing ourselves that it isn’t our fault. We defend or justify or compare our involvement to others believing that the path to hope lies in our innocence. But Psalm 106 comes to show us another way. In Psalm 106 we find that as crazy as it might sound, the path to hope actually lies through confession. If you are wondering how that is possible this sermon will seek to answer that question.

How can the Psalmist call us to serve the LORD with gladness? In verse 3 the Psalmist explains that the reason he calls us to serve the LORD is because he is the God who made us. But how can he ask us to serve him with gladness? In verse 5 the Psalmist argues that the reason we can serve the LORD with gladness is because he isn’t just God, he is also good. In this sermon we will see how God’s greatness and his goodness combine to make praising him both the natural and the most enjoyable response we could have to encountering his glory.

We live in a culture that has done everything it can to distract itself from death. It says, “Since there is nothing that can be done to stop death, what’s the good of thinking about it. In Psalm 90 we are given an alternative to ignoring death. Here Moses writes to a people surrounded by death and his advice for them was to learn from it. Learn to number your days; learn to fear God more than people or circumstances; and learn that even in the darkest and most hopeless circumstances your God is able to satisfy you with his steadfast love and bring true joy and gladness into your life.

Every week millions of people around the world gather together in local churches to worship the God of the Bible. Throughout history and in many places to this day, Christians have been willing to make great sacrifices, many have even risked their own lives in order to be a part of these weekly gatherings. But why? What is the point of God's people gathering together each week? How important is it? How should you and I think and feel about gathering together? What priority should we give it in our lives? Tonight we are going to look at Psalm 84 as well as some other Psalms in order to try and answer some of these questions.

Have you ever found that your feelings were unfolding faster than you were able to process them? Have you ever cried out to God for help and felt like there was no answer? Have you ever tried your best to follow God only to have everything come crashing down around you? Have you ever been vulnerable and then had your weakness used against you by someone you trusted? If your answer is yes to any of these questions then Psalm 69 is for you!

Every human since the beginning of the world has longed for justice and peace. In Psalm 72, we have King David praying that his son would be the one to bring justice and peace forever. Listen and hear how the Gospel is about the King of kings who would fulfill all of King David's prayers at great cost to himself.

Have you ever felt yourself surrounded by what if’s. Your mind races, your body tenses as your thoughts take you down a spiral of worst-case scenarios. In Psalm 56 we find that we are not alone. David, the great warrior who once defeated the giant Goliath finds himself alone and afraid. In Psalm 56, David tells us how he responded to the fear and anxiety that he felt rising up within. In his response we can find hope for our own fears and freedom from the crippling grip of our own anxieties.

Pride is subtle and sneaky. It can infect our thoughts in ways we do not even realize. It leads to restlessness and discontentment with our circumstances. Psalm 131 gives us hope! Psalm 131 is God's word to us to lead us out of ourselves to rest in the loving arms of our Lord. It illustrates a heart that is humble, satisfied, and at rest. Jesus offers us this heart today through the good news of his humble sacrifice to save prideful and anxious sinners like you and me.

What do we do with our sin? When denying it and justifying it and explaining and excusing it don’t seem to be doing the trick. When we realize that hiding it doesn’t make it go away and distracting yourself from it only leaves us feeling empty? In this message we will look at Psalm 51 and find that it was written specifically to show sinners what they are supposed to do with their sin. If you have ever found yourself feeling dirty and ashamed and you just want to feel clean again, this Psalm is for you.

Forgiveness can be hard. In Genesis 50 Joseph explains how he was able to forgive his brothers even after all they had done to him. In Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers we catch a glimpse of God’s amazing forgiveness of us and we also find some practical help for how we too might learn to forgive those who have sinned against us.

We don’t talk very much about death do we? In tonight’s message we will consider why thinking and talking about death is so important. We will also consider some questions like: what does a good death look like? How does someone make sure that they are ready to die? And how should Christians respond to the death of our loved ones? These and other questions will be addressed as we look at the death of Jacob and see what we can learn from it.

In this text Peter exposes our toxic cravings and how Jesus purifies us and gives us new craving for Him.

Are there still consequences for forgiven sin or are grace and consequences meant to be mutually exclusive? In Genesis 49 we see that even for God’s people there are consequences for sin and those consequences don’t just impact the people who commit the sin. However, as we follow the story of Levi we will see that the consequences of sin, both the sins we commit and the sins that are done against us, are able to be redeemed!

There is something powerful about people’s last words. Here in Genesis 48 Jacob’s dying words are meant to teach us how to live. In them we learn about the importance of gratitude and we are reminded of how God has chosen to interact with his people. Jacob reminds us that we have a shepherd who will never leave us and that he is able to redeem his people from all evil and those two truths are meant to radically impact the way that we live.

In Genesis 47 the Egyptians joyfully gave Joseph everything they had in exchange for food so that they might live and not die. This got me thinking, “If we could only rightly grasp all that Jesus has saved us from, we too would joyfully let go of the things of this world in order to cling more fully to the one who offers us eternal life.” In this message we will consider what we have been saved from and the price that our savior paid to do it. My hope is that we too would join the Egyptians in declaring to Jesus, “You have saved our lives, may it please my Lord, we will be yours forever…”

After Jacob found out that Joseph was alive, you would think he would be overwhelmed with joy. What we actually find out in Genesis 47 is that sorrow and darkness have shaped Jacob in a way that makes joy seem foreign. Listen and hear how the Gospel changes us to be honest about sorrow but also frees us to experience joy.

When faced with a fork in the road we often think we have to choose between obedience to God OR our own happiness because we cannot imagine how God could accomplish both. However, the paths of obedience and blessedness are not two different paths. God comes to remind us that the path of faith and obedience is the path of greatest blessing and happiness. The God who raises Jesus from the dead is worthy of trusting with our future happiness even when we don't understand or when he intentionally leads us down uncomfortable and even painful paths to get there.

Tonight’s story is one of paralyzing fear that turned into hugs and tears as forgiveness is offered and estranged brothers are reconciled together again. It’s the story of prayers being answered in ways that exceed anything anyone could have ever asked or imagined. It’s the story of a numb heart being revived when a father realizes the son that he thought was dead was actually alive and he was going to get to see him again before he died. But even better than all this, tonight’s story is just a shadow of a far bigger story with an even better ending that you and I have been invited to be a part of.