National Community Church Audio Podcast

Master of is not a mystery. Mastery of anything requires mundanity. It’s a habit done consistently and correctly over and over again. That’s the heart and soul of excellence.

The message of Christmas is: Fear Not. Fear is playing not to lose. Faith is playing to win. If you run away from what you’re afraid of, you’ll be running the rest of your life. It’s time to face your fears!

There is little that makes us more upset than having to wait. Culture and technology does everything possible to satiate the desire for NOW that we have. But now isn’t always the best answer. God actually has a plan in our waiting. But it’s so hard for us not to give up our wait. But the story of Simeon and Anna teaches us there is something to be found in waiting. That God isn’t just in the reward, but He is also in the waiting. And there’s a big difference between passive waiting and active waiting. God speaks to us, He works in us, He prepares us all in a season of waiting. And at the end of the day, when we embrace this season, God will re-shape your wants, your destiny, and will bring something unexpected into your life that is greater than you can have in mind. We hope you’re challenged to continue to seek God through this encouragement.

God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time, but divine appointments don’t just happen. We’ve got to do our part by obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Your dream will probably take longer than your original estimate, but if you keep doing the right thing day in and day out, God is going to show up and show off.

Are we on the brink of a new reformation in our world? What is going on in our culture of confusion and chaos and how can we be brave in a climate ripe for healing the world longs for?

This is not our typical podcast. This is an attempt to SHOW missions instead of just TALK about missions. So we put together 4 short films that highlight 4 short stories of what it means to actually live out your brave. From a community based Spanish-speaking center, to refugee chefs providing nourishment, to café work in Greece, to young people caring for the poor of our own city. Our goal is not to guilt you into feeling bad, but to inspire you into doing good. And then we’ll unpack Acts 3 to talk about our motivation behind living out brave. We hope and pray you are encouraged through each story that is told through this missions come to life podcast. We encourage you to watch the video if possible.

Following Jesus is pretty clear: we're called to love the most vulnerable, the poor, the least of these. Rich Stearns, president of World Vision explores the good news of global poverty and how we're called to serve and support refugees around the world.

Dr. John Perkins might not be a name you are familiar with. But for the last 57 years, he has been diligently leading social just efforts in the area of racial reconciliation and community development. After being sent away from Mississippi to California to escape the oppression of racism, he experienced a new life and became a Christ follower. But after some time, he was compelled to go back and tear down the walls of division he experienced as a child. In this interview, Dr. Perkins challenges us to live out the great commission, cross lines of division, and make the word flesh. The solution he says, will come out of us being obedient to the Great Commission and working together.

Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous! Your brave is someone else’s breakthrough.

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” It’s only six words, but it’s an urgent exhortation with exponential implications. The word “obey” in Latin means “to give ear.” God speaks in seven languages. The first language is Scripture, and it’s in a category by itself. But there are six secondary languages—desires, dreams, doors, people, promptings, and pain. Your ability to learn those languages is the key to your destiny.

Learning to discern the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems. It’s also the key to discovering your identity and destiny. Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life?

We can't avoid worry by abdicating responsibility or dispel worry through distraction. Rather, we overcome worry by focusing on the character of God and taking responsibility for a Kingdom larger than our own.

You only live once is a motto that many in our culture would subscribe to. If you want it, you should have it because life is short. So we decide the good things we should have and we ask, seek, and knock for those opportunities. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that God, our father, wants more for us if we ask him. If we get what we want, it is likely that we lose out on the "more" the father has for us. The asking, seeking, and knocking Jesus is talking about is not our petition for what we want but being in the right position to get what God wants for us, which is more than we know to ask for!

Part of understanding how life works is to grasp those things that hinder or stop life from working in a Kingdom way.

The passage we look at today might one of the hardest passages to live out in all of scripture. Jesus combines the common actions of love your neighbor and hate your enemy, and essentially redefines our enemy…as our neighbor. And He calls us to love our enemy. The opening questions is this: Who is your enemy? You might think it’s only that one very evil person you know. But think in more common terms. The co-worker in competition with you, the family member that selfishly puts you aside, the person on the other side of the political aisle, the parent that deeply hurt you. Jesus calls us to love those who hurt us. The second questions is HOW. It starts with correctly understanding love. And then we'll unpack Jesus statement through three applications He gives that are revolutionary to the way we approach tension, conflict, hurt. Jesus cuts a new path for us to walk down. Not fighting back…but not stepping aside. But approaching the enemy with grace and confrontation all at the same time. We hope you’re challen

Meekness is not weakness. It’s strength under control. Few character traits are more impressive than someone who isn’t trying to impress! If you stay humble and stay hungry there is nothing God cannot do in you and through you.

Playing the Long Game starts with a mindset: it’s all FROM GOD and it’s all FOR GOD. When we give, we are “giving back” what God gave us in the first place. And that’s where joy is found, on the giving side of life. The more you give, the more you enjoy what you keep. And you discover that you cannot out give God. Every investment in God’s kingdom earns compound interest for eternity.

Time is measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments. Redeeming the time is discerning those critical moments, holy moments, teachable moments and making the most of them. It’s living each day like it’s the first day and last day of our lives. It’s being fully present right here, right now. And, ultimately, it’s trusting God’s timing.

Every one of us is uniquely made and has been given a gift from God. But to steward that gift... is actually to give away. The benefits of doing so are circular. As one of our volunteers Christina White says, “Allow yourself to be poured into and poured out at the same time. It’s a cycle: You give, you get, you give, you get. You’re always in the position to receive but you’re always in the position to give.” The individual pursuit of happiness is far from the pursuit of meaning. Research shows that the more you pursue happiness, the less you are actually happy. But to pursue meaning is to pursue service. You find meaning in others. So the purpose of our gifts are not intended to satisfy us, but others. But in satisfying others, it brings incredible meaning to us. Figuring out those gifts begins with service. Activating those gifts has to do with the Holy Spirit. We pray that the gifts that lay unidentified or unused within you are ignited into action through this message.

Inaction is an action. Indecision is a decision. And sometimes silence sanctions! If you follow Jesus, you will love people who aren't like you. Being color blind isn't enough. We're called to be color brave!