Aspire Church Podcast
Episodes
760 episodes
Glass Ceilings
The #metoo movement has impacted every arena of our society from entertainment to government and everything in between. The church has not escaped scrutiny as some have used religion as a weapon to control and manipulate women for their own selfis...
BREAKOUT: Prison Break
Every transition in life requires a certain amount of change: when we finish school and start our career or move from single life to marriage or from a childless existence to parenthood. Nothing will ever be the same again. There is no turning bac...
BREAKOUT: Segregation Abdication (part 2)
It has been said that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. But if the message of the Gospel is love and reconciliation, why do our churches not reflect greater diversity? In Part four of Breakout, Pastor Gary Lee We...
BREAKOUT: Segregation Abdication (part 1)
When was the last time you found yourself disgusted? Maybe it was something you saw on television, or something you found rotting in the fridge, or the smell coming from your son’s gym bag. Disgust is a natural reaction designed to keep us from th...
BREAKOUT: The Convenience Malfeasance
Westerners are addicted to “quick and convenient.” We don't like to wait and we don't want to expend any extraneous effort or money unless it will make our life more comfortable, and yes, convenient! The Bible is a record of people whose lives wer...
BREAKOUT: The Consumption Assumption
We live in a consumer driven society. What once defined our understanding of economics and commerce, now describes how many people understand the church. For some, church is a place we go to get our spiritual needs met. We come hoping to have our ...
Prayer Journey: Destination
There are places we want to go and places we must go. We want to go on vacation; we must go to the dentist. We want to go to the movies or a sporting event; we must go to school or work. Whether it is a “want to” or a “must” go place, technology a...
Prayer Journey: Course Corrections
Mobile devices can warn drivers about everything from road debris to major highway construction. When activated and acted on, drivers can potentially save time by following the directions offered by their “smart” device. Then there are those peopl...
Prayer Journey: Current Location
When you put an address into your favorite mapping software, you should get a clear picture of your desired destination, but if you want to go there, you’ll need to provide your current location. Fortunately (or maybe not), our “smart” devices fre...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Die to Self
The opening section of the book of Acts ends with a disturbing picture of a discipleship. Stephen was one of the first leaders in the early church. He had all the characteristics and practiced all the habits of a fully devoted follower of Jesus an...
Journey Conference: Power to the Journey (session three)
We are in a spiritual battle. Our enemy wants us to give up on our journey to a closer relationship with Jesus. As we continue to follow Jesus, He provides power for us through the Spirit, through our fellow travelers, and through our practice of ...
Journey Conference (session two): Grace for the Journey
After we have surrendered to Jesus Christ and have begun our journey of faithfulness, there will be times of doubt and even failures – just review the apostle Peter’s own story. However, as Robert Mulholland notes, we are following the One whose g...
Journey Conference (session one): Call to the Journey
In an increasingly materialistic culture which offers multiple superficial solutions to our longing for a genuine relationship with God, the words of one of Christ’s first disciples calls us to a Deeper Journey with Christ. The apostle Peter calle...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Make Disciples
Jesus called the disciples to follow Him and then commissioned them to go and make other disciples. From Jesus’ first invitation to “come, follow me,” throughout the centuries and across the planet, there has been a continual succession of faithfu...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Live Generously
Generosity was a defining characteristic of first century disciples. In his history of the early church, Luke describes how Christians shared their possessions so that there was no need among them. That kind of generosity attracted the attention a...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Pray with Boldness
The success and growth of the first church was not generated through extravagant programs held in state-of-the-art facilities. Their accomplishments were not the result of powerful, influential leaders. In fact, the early church had almost nothing...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Grow In Community
When the church was born, the first disciples didn't have copies of the Bible (the New Testament didn't even exist yet!) They didn't have buildings or programs, in fact, they had almost nothing that we would consider indispensable today. So how di...
The Disciple's Journey | Disciples Wait On God
As Jesus was preparing to ascend to heaven, He instructed His disciples to wait on the Holy Spirit. At first, they took that direction literally as they passively stood around looking into the sky. But after reaching the upper room, they became im...