Tenth & Broad Church of Christ Podcast

While We Wait: Show Love

During seasons of waiting, Christians are called to demonstrate love that goes beyond feelings to active service. Jesus modeled this radical love throughout His ministry by putting others' welfare first, even loving His enemies. When we show love to others - whether family, strangers, or those who oppose us - God counts it as love shown to Him. True Christian love seeks the good of others above our own comfort, serves those who cannot repay us, and extends grace to those who have wronged us. This love transforms our waiting periods into opportunities to live out kingdom values now.

While We Wait: Choosing Joy

Life is filled with waiting seasons that can easily lead to anxiety and impatience. However, we can find joy during these times by focusing on two powerful truths. First, we can rejoice in God's incredible mercy, which becomes most evident during our trials and is ultimately demonstrated through Christ's incarnation. Second, we can choose to be joy for others who are also waiting by offering simple acts of kindness like genuine smiles, using people's names, and showing sincere interest in their lives. These small gestures create ripple effects that extend far beyond what we can see, transforming both our own experience and the lives of those around us.

While We Wait: Experiencing Peace

True peace isn't just the absence of conflict but complete wholeness, described by the Hebrew word shalom. Jesus didn't come to end all earthly troubles but to bring peace between humanity and God through his sacrifice. Paul provides practical steps for experiencing supernatural peace even during difficult circumstances: choose joy, be gentle with others, live with eternity in mind, turn worry into worship, pray about everything, and be grateful. Your thought life directly impacts your peace, so be mindful of what you consume through news and social media. While circumstances may not change, God can transform you from within, allowing you to experience peace that surpasses understanding.

While We Wait: Don't Lose Hope

Life is filled with seasons of waiting, from medical results to relationship healing. Throughout Scripture, God's people have always been waiting people - Noah, Abraham, Joseph, and even Jesus all experienced extended periods of waiting. The Hebrew word for wait is the same as hope, revealing that biblical waiting is active and expectant. During waiting seasons, we can maintain hope through three key practices: establishing consistent prayer to commune with God, trusting His character and timing rather than forcing our own solutions, and actively doing good works right where we are. Our hope as Christians is different because it's a living hope found in Jesus, who experienced waiting just as we do and serves as both our example and foundation.

Blessed Assurance: Reasons for a New Anointing

In these uncertain times, believers have been given a powerful gift - the anointing of the Holy Spirit. John warns that we're living in the last days, where many antichrists seek to diminish Jesus rather than deny Him outright. These false teachers don't reject Jesus entirely but reduce Him to merely a good teacher rather than the unique Son of God. However, every believer has received the Holy Spirit's anointing, which always points us to Jesus and reminds us of His truth. To remain faithful, we must hold onto three essentials: the apostolic teachings about Jesus, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and active participation in the body of Christ.

Blessed Assurance: World Class

Living as a Christian requires choosing between loving God and loving the world system that opposes Him. The world, under Satan's influence since the Fall, operates with values and philosophies contrary to God's truth. We cannot serve both masters - loving the world squeezes out love for the Father. Christians have been rescued from darkness into light through Christ's victory on the cross. Understanding that this world is temporary while God's kingdom is eternal helps us maintain proper perspective. Spiritual maturity involves growing beyond spiritual childhood and working together as a church family across all generations. We're called to be in the world as light and salt while rejecting its values.

Blessed Assurance: Authentic Relationships

Authentic faith in Jesus is marked by three key characteristics: obedience to His commands, living like Jesus, and loving others. True obedience flows from love rather than obligation, showing evidence of genuine faith rather than earning salvation. Living like Jesus isn't about perfect imitation but about abiding in Him and allowing Christ to transform us from within. The command to love others is both ancient and revolutionary, as Jesus redefined love by His own example of sacrificial care for all people. These marks aren't about achieving perfection but about staying connected to Jesus and allowing Him to produce authentic spiritual fruit in our lives.

Celebration Sunday: Participating in God's Mission

In this Celebration Sunday message, Jeremy shares how Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine reveals God's invitation for us to participate in His extraordinary work through ordinary obedience. Just as the servants at the wedding had to trust Jesus by filling the jars with water, we are called to pour out what we have—our time, resources, and prayers—trusting that Jesus will transform our efforts into something miraculous. Short-term mission trips and everyday acts of service become opportunities for others to "taste and see that the Lord is good" when we step out in faith and obedience.

Missions Month: Interview with Spencer and Bethany from M4C

Campus ministry is genuine missionary work that requires understanding today's college culture and building relationships one student at a time. Rather than waiting for students to walk through doors, effective campus ministers go where students are, creating entry points like coffee service and deeper connections through worship and discipleship groups. The goal isn't just social activities but making disciples whose identity rests in Christ rather than academic performance or social status. Churches can support this mission by learning students' names, living lives worthy of following, and engaging at campus ministry locations to model healthy relationships for students from broken families.

A Mission Field in Our Back Door

The landscape of campus ministry has transformed dramatically since 1962, with today's college students facing unprecedented mental health challenges amid our digital age. Despite these difficulties, this may be the most exciting time for campus ministry as Gen Z shows increasing spiritual curiosity, openness to intergenerational relationships, and a hunger for authentic mentorship. Churches have a unique opportunity to be trustworthy guides for young people who are often 'harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.' By positioning ourselves as authentic witnesses and engaging intentionally with students, we can respond to Jesus's call to shine our light and enter the plentiful harvest field.