Kaleo Church Podcast

Some of you have endured some dark things in your lives that continue to haunt you with questions. You find yourself wondering, “Where was God when all this was happening?” “Did he see?” “Does he care?” “If I told anyone, would they believe me?” “Is it possible for God to use someone as broken as I feel right now?” And some of you haven’t just endured some dark things in your life, some of you have been so impacted by the pain that you have gone on to hurt others as well. Now a whole new set of questions arise. “Can I be forgiven?” “Will this terrible cycle ever be broken?” “Is it possible for someone to know everything about me, all my darkest secrets, and still love me?” In Genesis 38 we will get a glimpse into the darkest closet of both a victim of abuse and a perpetrator of abuse and we will get to see how God responded to the different questions that haunted each of them.

Have the devastating consequences of sin ever made you wonder if God would still keep his promises? Have you ever encountered something so broken that you questioned if it could ever truly be restored? In Genesis 37 we witness firsthand the devastating consequences of sin as we see Jacob clinging to the blood robe of his beloved son and refusing to be comforted. From his perspective it seemed like the promises of God had failed. But was he right to trust what he saw with his eyes more than the promises of God?

The story of Genesis 37:1-11 is the story of a Father’s favorite Son who was chosen by God to rule over his brothers. But the reason this story was written down is because it was always meant to point us forward to an even greater Father who had an even greater Son whom he chose to rule over his people. In this message we will show the stark contrast between Joseph’s pride and Jesus’ humility.

The book of Colossians ends with a list of names. Each of the people that Paul mentions has a unique story. In this message we will consider the story of four of these men and what it can teach us about faithfulness, redemption, forgiveness,. and the power of prayer. As we consider the way the Gospel transformed each of these individuals, we will have an opportunity to remember the influence the Gospel has had on our story as well.

How are Christians supposed to interact with those who don’t believe the things that we believe? In this passage Paul gives us three components to sharing the Gospel. What we will find is that while many of us are naturally better at one of the components, all three of them are vital if we are going to faithfully share the good news of the Gospel. In this message we will see why they are all necessary and how it is that we can grow in the ones that we are weak in.

Sharing the Gospel with others is hard. Most of us wish we talked about Jesus more than we do, but find that our fears or weaknesses often keep us silent. So what do we do? How do we overcome our fears and our weaknesses? Where do we find the boldness to talk about Jesus even with those who may not want to hear about him? These are just a few of the questions we will try to answer in this message.

For a lot of people, work seems like a necessary evil to survive. What if it wasn't always that way and won't always be that way? Would that change how we work in the present? Listen and hear how our work can have dignity, cultivation, and excellence because of the Gospel

Power has a tendency to change people, often for the worse. Now the reason this is important to note is because all of us have been given a certain degree of power. In this message we will consider two different ways to use the power we have been given. Will we use it gain control in order to protect our vulnerabilities or will we abandon control and instead seek to use our power to love others and protect their vulnerabilities. Power for love or power for control. In this message we will consider where it is that we learn to use our power for the sake of love and how it is that we are able to abandon control even when it inevitably leaves us very vulnerable.

Some estimate that nearly half of the population in Paul's day were slaves. Many of these slaves had no rights, received no compensation for their labors and were often the victims of sexual exploitation. Here in Colossians 3 Paul takes a moment to address these slaves personally and in his words we get a glimpse of God's heart for them. A heart committed to reminding these slaves of the dignity that they had because they were created in the image of God himself and the love that was demonstrated to them when the creator of heaven and earth chose to take on flesh and come near to them in the form of a slave.

Why should I pray? Does God really listen to me? Looking at the importance of the role of prayer in a Christian's life through the example of Christ and his followers.

The overarching storyline of the Bible is about One God who is on a mission to bring people into his family. The Bible ends with a massive feast where Jesus, God in the flesh, feasts with his people. So what are the people who are part of God's family supposed to do until then? Feast! We are called to feast with those who do not know God and introduce them to the One who considers sinners his friends. Listen and hear how the Gospel empowers us to continue God's mission by feasting together.

All of us have put our trust in things that have eventually let us down. We are familiar with disappointment and the regret that comes with it. Often this regret leads to shame as we begin to wonder if perhaps it’s too late. But Christmas is about the day the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared in order to free us from our shame and rescue us from regret. It’s not too late! In fact no one who puts there trust in this Savior will ever be put to shame!!

The Bible calls us to wait quietly and eagerly and patiently upon the Lord, but that is far easier to said than done. How are we supposed to wait quietly without growing anxious? How do you wait eagerly without grasping for control? How do you wait patiently without eventually giving in to despair? These are the questions we will seek to answer in this message…

How do you respond when faced with a crisis? When your desires come under threat? When faced with a crisis do you seek God in order to receive more of him or do you simply go to him to get what you want? Whatever struggles you face remember the promise of Christmas – that God through his Son Jesus Christ has defeated our greatest enemy and has given us the sure sign of his salvation in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s people will wait on God’s victory and hope in God With Us. When the crisis comes – stand as the defiant remnant of God’s people and say to your enemies – sin, death, and evil – “You will come to nothing! You will not stand! For God is With Us!”

In the book of Isaiah, we read about God's own chosen people refusing to wait upon God. Instead, they seek protection from one of their enemies. As crazy as it may sound, we aren't much different. Waiting is hard for us and it often exposes what we truly believe about God. Listen and hear how the Gospel comes to comfort and empower those who will turn to God alone in times of waiting.

What is shame and why do we resort to it so often with our children? What’s the difference between punishing our children and disciplining them? How can we find freedom from the shame we carry and help make our home a place where our children feel safe? What do we do when we fail to be the parents we know we should be? In this sermon we will seek to answer these and other questions that parents may find themselves asking.

Often children find themselves feeling like everything truly important and significant is reserved for adults. Children can’t drive or work or make major decisions or vote and that’s why it’s easy for children to be constantly looking ahead, waiting to reach the next milestone in order to finally feel like they can do something meaningful. But Paul comes to remind us that God has invited children to do the most significant thing in the entire universe.

Marriage can be hard. Fortunately, God has not left us to navigate the difficulties of marriage on our own. Instead, he has given us very specific instructions for what marriage is supposed to look like and the roles that he has called both the husbands and wives to play. Unfortunately, God’s instructions about marriage don’t make it any easier. Instead, what they do is show us that despite the difficulties our God has designed marriage to be good and beautiful and more than worth any sacrifices that it will inevitably require. Ultimately, we will see that God has designed marriage to be a reflection of the Gospel and he has given both husbands and wives an exalted role to play.

There is something about the combination of story and song that is able to drill truth deep down into our hearts. You can probably think of times in your own life where a song has impacted you in a way that words by themselves may not have. That is why in this passage Paul calls us to sing to one another as one of the means of drilling the word of Christ deep into our hearts.

Anxiety, that feeling of dread that comes over us when we realize that we are not in control and we think of all the terrible things that might happen. The truth is that our anxiety shouldn’t surprise us. Anxiety is the natural response of people who were made for Eden but can’t seem to find their way back. But in Colossians 3 Paul offers us an alternative, the peace of Christ. In this message we will consider how it is possible to experience true peace in a world full of anxiety.