Parker Ford Church's Podcast

Today we are going to talk about the balance between faith and works. This tension has been within Christianity from almost the conception of the church in Acts. So… what does the interplay of faith and works look like in a life in Christ?

As Christians, our first and eternal allegiance is to our King and His Kingdom. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, even while we live here on earth. But we are called to care for the places we live while we await the return of our King. One Biblical picture of this is that of an ambassador. We are citizens of heaven who are ambassadors of Jesus on earth. 

At PFC, we are a people following Jesus, who is full of grace and truth. This Sunday, we’re kicking off a new series, “Life in the Balance.” We’ll observe how the way of Jesus is often found in holding the tension between things that, at first glance, may seem to be in opposition from one another like grace and truth. Through the example of Jesus, the guidance of the Scriptures, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we can live in the balance.  

We will be looking at who we are called to be, how we have been walking this out, and what the Father is speaking to us right now. 

Whose image do you bear and what difference does it make? We’re not talking about Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, or Michael Kors. But whose fingerprints are all over you? In the early pages of Scripture, we learn that every human being has been created in the image of God the Father, Son, and Spirit. We’ve been stamped with His image. Join us this Sunday as Jesus challenges us to love the One whose image we bear and love others who bear His image. (Mark 12)  

Did you know you're a vacuum cleaner? That's right! Humans are vacuums. We suck up the things around us. This is God's design. We are meant to be filled. We are designed by God to be filled with...well...God. But what if He's not the thing that is filling us up? We are still going to be filled by something. What fills you? Thankfully, in Christ, we get to choose God. The Holy Spirit fills every follower of Jesus.

When Jesus died, the disciples thought it was game-over. However, that early Sunday morning gave new hope! This Easter Sunday, we’ll run to that empty tomb alongside Peter and we’ll watch Thomas stare in belief at Jesus’ wounds. Both of these disciples’ lives were forever changed because of the resurrection. Come discover the hope and invitation Jesus still offers us today! 

Today we will be continuing our series, "We Believe"… taking a look grace,  what it is, and the impact of God’s grace on our lives. Because of His grace there is a way in which we are to live! 

You probably have never thought of yourself as a priest before, right? Don’t worry, you don’t have to order a clerical collar or clergy robe. But 1 Peter 2:9 calls us royal priests! We are accepted, valuable, capable, and forgiven because of the love and ultimate sacrifice of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. This Sunday, we’ll unpack some spiritual sacrifices that we can all offer as royal priests. 

The New Testament uses a number of illustrations to describe the relationship of God to the Church. Some of the key ones are: Family, Flock, Temple, Body, and Bride. Every person who is in Christ is a part of the Bride of Christ. We believe that God's relationship to, and love for, His Church is an     essential belief for followers of Jesus. 

We are the body of Christ, so what now? 1 Corinthians 12:14-27

We are continuing our We Believe series as we explore why We Believe We are Created by a Creator to Create.  We will exercise our own creativity, look at the theology of God and man as creative beings, as well as hear from a few artists within our church who will share how creativity has impacted their spiritual formation. 

For those who place their faith and allegiance in Jesus, the future is filled with tremendous hope! This life is only the beginning. Join us this Sunday as we take a peek into eternity and the new creation. What we believe about eternity  determines how we live today!  

Revelation implies a revealer. Revelation means that something hasn't been found by a work of discovery, it's been shown and uncovered by a revealer. God has revealed Himself through His Word. And through His Word God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. Here we enter into the deep and pivotal great mystery of Christianity - the Trinity. God is One, revealed in the three persons of the Trinity. To be a Christian is to enter into the threefold, Triune fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit.

It's best to describe the Word of God using terms that the Word of God uses to describe itself. The Word of God is inspired, holy, and authoritative. If you examine the English word authority, you'll see that the root word is "author". To have authority is to be connected to the author. Jesus, is the author and perfecter of our faith. We build our believing faith, allegiant faith, and obedient faith on His authority.

 We cannot build a stairway to heaven, or find God with our own philosophies and thoughts. But God is a God who speaks through revelation and has not left us in the dark. To reveal means to "uncover." God has revealed and uncovered His nature to us through His Word. This comes to us through the Living Word, the written Word, and the Word proclaimed in and through the life and words of the church. In this week's teaching we'll continue to unfold this beautiful, three-dimensional vision of the Word of God, overlaying it with a three-dimensional picture of faith.  

This week we kick off a brand new series titled "We Believe." Sunday's teaching will include an overview of the new series and an introduction to the first topic - We believe the Word of God. As we explore this first level question, we'll see that God's Word is first and eternally a person - Jesus Christ.

Malachi 4:4-6- We are talking about how to disciple generations! We look at what holds us back from cross-generational discipleship and how we at PFC will live out cross-generational discipleship. 

Bryan Hoke, Brethren in Christ