Trinity Missionary Church Podcast

In a world that seems to say, "Morality is relative," it is difficult to define right and wrong. Our society tries to argue that no one person can decide what is true and what false, and we suffer for it. God, by His very nature and character, has clearly defined right and wrong, but it is our job to live by His principles. It has been said, "The home is the most difficult place to live for Jesus." I can "put on" my good face at work. I can say all the right things, and act "Christ-like" outside my home, but if I have not put on the spiritual clothing of which Paul writes in Colossians 3, my true self will eventually leak out. At home, people see who you truly are and Paul has some insight for us in Colossians 3:18-21. Join us this week as we strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to make the family something we want to put on display.

As a follower of Christ, I should "dress" differently. This statement pretty much sums up Colossians 3:9-17. There is an incredible difference between the way we were before Christ entered our lives and after He becomes Lord of our lives. My identity changed the moment I became a follower of Christ. The problem is when I choose to keep my "old wardrobe" in my closet. When things get tough, we have a tendency to revert back to our "old selves"- to the place we are comfortable. But, Christ, Who is our life, comes, He expects us to dress with kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. As God's holy, chosen people, we are to reflect our Lord through our daily lives. We are not remodeled Christians. We are brand new creations in Christ, and God wants us to wear our Spiritual clothing every day. How is your wardrobe?

Let's begin our time with a question: What does the book of Colossians have to do with a lint-roller? As we continue our journey through the book of Colossians, we remind you that we have just crossed the "bridge" from what we believe to living out what we believe. The Apostle Paul gets very practical in Colossians 3:5-9 and challenges us to "put to death your old self" and "put on your new self." Because of our sin nature, we are always tempted to slip back into our old ways, but when we focus on "clothing ourselves" with our new lives in Christ, we can live in victory. Join us as we discuss God, faith, Colossians and lint-rollers.

As we continue our study in the book of Colossians, we come to four verses that serve as a "bridge text" (Colossians 3:1-4). What does that mean? The Apostle Paul has spent the previous two chapters (Colossians 1-2) giving us the doctrine or the "what we believe." Now, Paul transitions to how to live "what we believe" in the final two chapters of this small letter (Colossians 3:5-4:18). In Colossians 3:2, Paul writes, "Set your minds on things above." This raises a great question. "On what do you set your mind?" "Setting your mind" to a Greek individual meant "relentless in pursuit." In what are you relentless in your pursuit? Join us this week as we learn to "set our hearts and minds on Christ."

We start this Podcast with a simple equation: Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Over the past several months, we have worked our way through the first two chapters of the book of Colossians, and one thing we have seen over and over again is the supremecy and sufficiency of Christ. He is over all, and in all and is all things! This week, Pastor Steve describes three different people who were challenging the church at Colossi, and who still challenge the church today. The three people are "The Legal," "The Mystic," and "The Aesthetic." These were all heresies taught at the time of Paul's writing the church, and they had all crept into the church at Colossi. How do we combat these false teachings, and guard against their damaging message? Join us this week as we learn God's Math- Jesus + Nothing = Everything!

Cuba . . . What words come to mind when you hear about this blacklisted nation? Communist, dictator, Fidel Castro, Bay of Pigs, missile crisis, or Havana. For over fifty years, the country of Cuba has been seen as a pariah and an example of a government that oppressed its people. But, what if you were told that God is very much at work in Cuba? What if you heard stories of people hungry for the Word of God? This week, we have a special guest sharing first-hand stories of what God is doing in Cuba. Over the past eight years, Tim Walker has had the privilege of traveling to Cuba many times, and shares with us amazing testimonies of God's hand at work in this little country in the Caribbean Sea. Join us as we marvel at what God has done and, continues to do, in Cuba.

All throughout the Bible, we read of Jesus moving from place to place healing and performing miracles. In every instance of healing, we see that Jesus NEVER healed someone "half-way." He never said, "Take two of these and call me in the morning." He never told people that their healing would come at a later time. Jesus ALWAYS healed COMPLETELY! This is the main point of this Podcast. In Colossians 2:11-15, Paul gives us multiple pictures of salvation, and what it looks like. We hear about salvation often, but have we ever really taken the time to picture what salvation actually looks like? Words like "spiritual circumcision," "filled," "baptism," "wiped clean," and "disarmed" are all words Paul used to describe salvation. Join us as we discuss our salvation and see the complete power of Jesus Christ.

We have all heard the term, "Philosophy." For some, it is a class they were required to take in school. For others, it is a way of seeing the world and trying to make sense of it. To the Greek in ancient times, it meant "to love wisdom." Philosophy endeavors to answer questions like, "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" And, "Where am I going?" Wisdom causes us to search for answers to these questions. While the world turns inward to answer these questions, Christians turn to God to answer these questions. As Pastor Steve continues our expositional study in the book of Colossians, we are reminded that Colossae was bombarded with so many philosophies that tried to answer these deep questions of our existence. In chapter 2 of Colossians, the Apostle Paul declares war on the secular philosophies, and points people to God, Who is the only one who can answer these questions. Join us as we turn to Jesus to find meaning in our lives.

What are the qualities we look for in a pastor? A dynamic communicator. Great people skills. Full of integrity. Experienced. A visionary. Strong personal relationship with God. As you can see, this list can be quite extensive and will likely differ from person to person. As we continue our study in the book of Colossians (chapter 2 verses 1-7), we see the pastoral qualities of the Apostle Paul especially in his love for a people and church he never personally visited! What does it mean to love the church? How are we to love the church? What do you do if the church is not (or at least does not act) "lovable?" Join us this week as we discuss how to love the Church.

Now is not the time to become complacent. After a period of working hard, we are told that we should take some time to rest. "You've earned a break." are words many of us long to hear. And though we are commanded to take care of our bodies and rest, we are never to become complacent in our walk with the Lord. The world needs what the Church has, and that is relationship with Jesus Christ. In Revelation 3:15-16, the Lord calls out the Church at Laodicea by saying, "15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth." We simply cannot become complacent in our walk with God and our witness. It is a matter of ETERNITY!

Have you ever had a time in your life where you thought to yourself, "I am exhausted and spent. I just can't take it anymore? Is it really worth it to continue doing what I am doing?" In answering these questions, Paul responds in Colossians 1:24, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church." To have such a perspective is simply incredible. Paul truly suffered for the Gospel of Christ and never despised it's life-giving message. In fact, Paul was willing to endure more hardships and suffering if that meant one more person was able to hear the Gospel. Do we have the same fire as Paul? Are we willing to suffer so others can see Jesus shining through us? Join us this week as we embark on our fourth message in Colossians.

From the beginning of time, God had a plan for our world. There was no need for a "Plan B," because God already accounted for everything that would happen in our world. What about the bad things that happen in our world? Why do the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper? What about sin? These are all valid questions, and the answer lies in God's answer to our fallen world: Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19-20, "For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him [Jesus], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross." Isn't it amazing that God knew the choices Adam and Eve would make in the Garden of Eden that ushered sin into our world, but accounted for their disobedience by providing a means of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Because of our sin and disobedience, we need reconciliation as well. The hymn-writer Robert Lowery said it best when he penned these well known

Here is a question to make you think: Do all religions lead to heaven? Does each religion worship the same God just in different ways and practices? In our second week studying the book of Colossians, Pastor Steve answers these questions and more as we dig into the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Image of the invisible God, the Way the Truth and the Life, the only One to conquer sin and death and the grave, He is what makes Christianity different from every other religion in the world. We serve a risen Savior who not only "talked the talk," but also "walked the walk." We often hear people talk about needing "Jesus and . . ." to fix a problem or situation. But, there is no "Jesus and . . ." All you need is Jesus! Join us this week as we discuss the person of Jesus Christ. Just a quick note: We had some equipment failure during the message, and were only able to record about two-thirds of the message on this Podcast. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to e

As we begin a new message series in the book of Colossians, it is important to know the key to this letter written to the church at Colossae. Paul writes in Colossians 3:11, "Christ is all and is in all." This means that Christ in us causes us to parent differently. We work differently. We speak differently. We love differently. We live differently. We live each day with hope. The true message of the Gospel is hope, but the church today has distorted and watered down the Gospel to be nothing more than a "Get Out of Jail Free Card." Paul wrote, "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the Gospel" (Colossians 1:5). The Gospel is hope to all who will believe into Jesus and His death and resurrection. As followers of Christ, let us never distort the Gospel, but let us be conduits of God's grace to a world desperate for Him. Join us as we begin this journey through the book of Colossians.

This Father's Day, Pastor Steve challenges fathers everywhere to "Stand Up" and be the leaders in their families. Men are to be the priests of their home and lead their families every day. Is it hard to lead? At times, yes. Is much expected of fathers as they lead? Yes, but there is no greater privilege than to lead your family. How are we to lead our families? We are to lead through praying for our families every day. We are to lead through developing a spiritual passion. We are to lead through putting up "fences" to protect our families and ourselves. We are to lead our families through "manning up and loving our wives" as Christ loved the Church. How long are we going to wait to be the men and leaders God has called us to be? It really is time to stand up and lead our families! Join us this week as we learn to stand.

As we continue to work through our message "Family Matters," one phrase continues to come up week after week: "As much as our family matters to us, our families matter even more to God." This is why God has given so many words of wisdom when it comes to the family. This week Pastor Steve talks to us about leaving a legacy and passing the baton. In a relay race, it is not always the fastest runners that win. The race is won and lost in the exchange of the baton. David writes of this "baton exchange" in Psalm 78:4, "We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done." Join us this week as we discuss leaving a Godly legacy. Remember, when leaving a legacy, we cannot afford to wait!

As we have been talking about the family over the past three weeks, it is fair to say some families feel as though they are drowning. Thankfully, we have a Savior Who cares about us and He has given us hope and a future! In our Bible passage, the Apostle Peter shares some sage advice when it comes to relationships. He writes, "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way," (1 Peter 3:7). Now you may say, that advice is for husbands, exclusively, but Peter was addressing everyone who has any sort of social interaction with others. Husbands, wives, children, friends, relatives, coworkers, bosses, and the list goes on. This passage is literally for everyone, and the key is the phrase "live in an understanding way." That word "understanding" can be interpreted as "considerate, or in knowledge." In every relationship, we fare much better when we try to "live with others in knowledge." When we try to understand others and consider their point of view, we become far more compassionate an

Marriage is hard work! Rarely is marriage like a sitcom where a problem is introduced five minutes into the story only to be resolved by the end of the episode twenty minutes later. Though marriage is tough, it is totally worth the "blood, sweat and tears." And fortunately God gave us some instructions on marriage to help us succeed. Pastor Steve posed a very thought provoking question at the beginning of his message. He asked, "What is one thing you would like to emulate from your parent's marriage and integrate into your own marriage?" It may be a behavior, an attitude or a practice, but hopefully you can look back at your parent's marriage and find one thing you would like to integrate into your marriage today. As we turn our focus this week to marriage, we want to tackle the true meaning of the word, "Submission." Paul says in his famous passage on marriage in Ephesians 5:21 by saying, "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." And then talks about the various roles the husband and

As we continue our series on the family, we focus this week on the idea that we are to be "mirrors" of God's glory to those with whom we come into contact every day. We are to especially mirror God's love for us to our families. Pastor Steve reiterated, "It's one thing to get the land [the Promised Land], but it's a very different think to keep the land." This principle holds true today. If we are given such an amazing gift of Jesus' love and righteousness, we had better devise a plan to keep the land. One way we keep the land is through mirroring the characteristics and qualities of God to our families. Whether we like it or not, we are being watched by our families, co-workers, friends, neighbors and general passers-by every day. Our responsibility is to mirror God's love. Join us this week as we learn to love God with all our heart, soul and strength.

Most of us are familiar with the Exodus story where God freed His people from four hundred years Egyptian oppression and led the Israelite nation to the Promised Land. After millions left Egypt, the people spent 40 years wandering in the desert learning about obedience, faith and God's leadership. When Israel was finally ready to take possession of the Promised Land, God took time to address them and give them wisdom in their new endeavor. Knowing Israel's history and struggles with obedience and faith, what would you want to tell the Israelite people at this moment? God could have talked about government structure and leadership. God could have focused on equality, rights and laws. Out of all the topics God could have addressed, He says if you want to keep this Promised Land, focus on family. In Deuteronomy 6:1-9, God sets the foundation upon which we can build our families, our nation and our lives. Never allow distractions, good intentions, work, recreation or problems to take your focus off of the