Show Notes
Imagine you go back in time 100 years and you are asked to explain to your grandparents or great-grandparents what a smartphone can do. The problem is that you don’t have a smartphone in your hand and the internet does not exist. You can only use words to describe the smartphone to them. How would you do it? Your grandparents or great-grandparents would have no frame of reference for what you would describe - a calculator, a camera (you can take selfies), a global information search engine, a video camera, a written messenger, an online store, a movie theatre … Because they love you, they might nod along and say, “Child, you have the best imagination” But what if you had the phone with you and could show them all the functions? They might not understand what they see, but they would most certainly know that smartphones are real and amazingly powerful. There is power in actual experience. When it comes to relationship with God, we ask some very fundamental heart questions: does He exist? If He does, can we know Him? Does he care? We can know God through reasoning based on evidence. And we have many reasons to believe in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. But we also long to experience the reality of the Resurrected Jesus. Can we experience his presence, compassion, and power now? The gift of faith is the Spirit-empowered ability to discern with extraordinary confidence God’s purposes and sustain unwavering confidence in God despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The gift of healing is the Spirit-empowered ability to serve as the instrument God uses to restore people to wholeness (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) through prayer, touch or spoken words, apart from natural means. The gift of miracles is the Spirit-empowered ability to pray for and see supernatural acts, where God receives the glory for the miraculous intervention.
More from Willingdon Church Podcast
Imagine you have the platform at the half-time of the World Cup Final (estimates run from 1.5 to 2.7 billion viewers). What would you say? Would you try to sell something? Would you sing? Would you share your personal story? Would you mention God? Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man on earth, had the platform to communicate with the whole Babylonian empire, that stretched from Elam (Iran) all the way to Egypt. What was his message?
Pastor Ray, Pastor Brett and Shylo dig into Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace! We did a switcharoo this week with Pastor Brett preaching on Daniel 3, and Pastor Ray on Chapter 4 and then switching again for next week. If you have any questions for Daniel 4, write in to [email protected], and we'll answer them on the pod in 7 days! 00:00 Intro 03:06 Engaging with culture vs compromising our faith 12:50 The Freedom of Faith 19:36 We have more Nebuchadnezzar in us than we think 26:09 Trying to control the future we want or compromising to secure it 32:51 A reminder about the character of God for those in the fire 40:30 Where was Daniel?
Daniel chapter 3 is one of those stories that you might think you already know, but I think the real questions here are much bigger than how three guys survive a fiery furnace. The Demand for Allegiance The Freedom of Faith Finding God in the Fire Reflection Questions: What are you afraid to lose? Why? Where are you feeling pressure to compromise? How does knowing Jesus is with you change that?
We're back, did you miss us? We're happy to announce that we're bringing back the Podcast, now with video! You can still find us on Spotify, Apple and other audio platforms, but if YouTube is your preferred option, we're on there too! Today, Pastor Brian, Pastor Ray and Pastor Brett walk through the end of Daniel 2, touching on the topics of sacrifice, trusting our leaders and what Daniel is saying about history. As always, you can write in your questions from the sermon to [email protected], and we'll try our best to feature them on the podcast! 00:00 - Intro 01:37 - Story from Unite 05:58 - Resources Used for this series 10:22 - Sermon Summary 15:21 Daniel is teaching us about history 23:11 Connecting the kingdom and stone in the dream to Jesus 28:45 Putting hope in things that may fall 3617 Staying engaged in a culture that doesn't share our beliefs 42:05 Admiring God is not enough 45:47 Outro
What keeps you awake at night? For me, it’s my children, grandchildren, finances, church family, ministries, elections, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, etc. Where is this world going? Can anyone foresee what will happen? Can anyone help? What keeps you awake at night? Through Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the God of heaven and earth speaks to at least three individuals or groups: (1) Nebuchadnezzar, so that he can understand his dream, but also so that he can know the great God who knows and guides the future; (2) Daniel and his friends, so that they can experience His mercy; and (3) the world, so it can know where history is going! God sets up and removes kings. God foresees what will unfold in history. God is actively establishing His kingdom in history. God invites our worshipful surrender.