December 15, 2024 • Brian Bales, Lee Towns, Jon Ackerman
How do we not just practice the ritual of Advent, but experience the fullness of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love during this Christmas season? Join Brian, Lee, and Jon for the first-ever Faith Forward episode recorded with live audience interaction.
Faith Forward #124 - Power of Thankfulness
November 17, 2024 • Lee Towns, Jon Ackerman • Colossians 2:6–7
As we approach the holiday season - and Thanksgiving in particular - Pastor Lee invites us to think differently about the power of thankfulness. Not only that, but we also need to think differently about both the depth of our neediness and our resistance to having our needs met by God. However familiar you are with the topic of thanksgiving, this episode has something for you. So join Lee and Jon as they help us discover new depths of connection with God through thankfulness.
Faith Forward #123 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 10
November 10, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Matthew 10:16–25, 2 Timothy 3:1–5, Philippians 4:12–13
In this final Off-brand Jesus episode, we look at what Jesus was focused on above all else -- the reconciliation of God's sons and daughters with Himself. More specifically, we're looking at HOW to live as shrewdly AND innocently as Jesus did while pursuing that ultimate goal. How do we go as sheep sent among wolves? Join Brian and Jon for the final installment in this series as they wrestle with the inescapable call to go and live shrewdly AND innocently in the midst of hard times.
Faith Forward #122 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 9
November 3, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • 1 Corinthians 3:4–9, 2 Timothy 3:1–5
The off-brand of "tribalism" has been particularly noteworthy in the 21st century, but it's been wreaking havoc in the lives of believers since Jesus walked the earth. It seems to offer comfort, connection, and rightness, but it actually stunts our spiritual growth and leaves us living an immature faith. Intrigued? Join Brian and Jon for an honest look at the pitfalls and solutions to tribalism in our life with Jesus.
Faith Forward #121 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 8
October 27, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • John 1:14, John 3, John 4
This week's Off-brand topic is a recurring challenge for followers of Jesus - how to represent both grace AND truth. Whether situationally or in general, finding the balance of grace and truth has confounded all of us at one time or another. But what if balance isn't the goal -- what if it's being FULL of grace and truth? Intrigued? Join Brian and Jon for a (hopefully) helpful and honest conversation about how God engages us and how we are called to engage others
Faith Forward #120 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 7
October 20, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Mark 4:18–19, Mark 10:21, Mark 8:34–37
This week's "off-brand" is one of the more obvious at first glance, but also one of the most insidious and unrecognized in our daily life. Materialism is not just the desire for money or "stuff" -- it's the insistence on providing for comfort, security, and safety on my own turns. It's the belief that I can arrange for the abundant life. So, whether this sounds familiar or not, come join Brian and Jon as they pull back the curtain on the battle with materialism in their own lives and share how each of us can truly find the authentic abundant life with Jesus.
Faith Forward #119 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 6
October 13, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • 2 Timothy 3:1–5, 2 Peter 3:8–10
This week's off-brand may be a new one for some people -- the off-brand of Universalism. It's hard enough to wrestle with the tension between God's desire for His children's salvation and the consequences for those who reject His invitation. But we can easily slip into an off-brand when we misunderstand the role God calls us to play in this process. So join Brian and Jon as they share stories and suggestions on avoiding the trap of universalism.
Faith Forward #118 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 5
October 6, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • 1 Peter 5:6–7, 2 Timothy 3:1–5
The trap of self-sufficiency is an easy way to succumb to an off-brand version of life with God. Self-sufficiency can feel mature, considerate, efficient, and even somewhat noble -- but it's a trap nonetheless. it traps us into believing that we don't need God or can work around Him. It can also convince us that we're supposed to do things FOR God rather than live WITH Him. Sound confusing? Sound familiar? Join Brian and Jon as they share honest insights and helpful suggestions on overcoming the off-brand of self-sufficiency.
Faith Forward #117 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 4
September 29, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Galatians 5:1–6, Isaiah 58
Legalism is one of the most attractive and insidious off-brand versions of Jesus. Attractive because it seems to offer control over and safety from the unpredictability of God and other people. But it's insidious at its core because it attempts to recreate God as we would prefer Him and encourages us to view ourselves and others as we would like them to be. Come join Brian and Jon for a challenging and helpful look at the off-brand trap that Legalism presents to us.
Faith Forward #116 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 3
September 22, 2024 • Lee Towns, Jon Ackerman • 2 Timothy 3:1–5, Genesis 3:1–13
There are many ways to end up with an "off-brand" life with Jesus -- accepting less than life to the full in order to be more comfortable and less challenged. In this week's episode, Lee and Jon tackle one of the sneakiest and most common causes of the off-brand life: selfishness. How do we overcome our deep-seated desire to make our life -- and God -- work on our terms? Pull up a chair and listen as Lee and Jon share some honest confessions and helpful suggestions on overcoming selfishness and embracing the delight of surrender.
Faith Forward #114 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 1
September 8, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • 2 Timothy 3:1–5
Off-brand products have the appearance of the real thing but lack the true quality or benefit of the original. Similarly, we have often settled for less than the true quality and benefit of Jesus because the alternative promised to cost us less or be close enough. How do we discover the places in our life where we've accepted an off-brand substitute for the real thing? Join Brian and Jon for a practical look at our off-brand choices and how we recover the authentic Jesus.
Faith Forward #115 - Off-brand Jesus Wk 2
September 15, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Jude 18–21
We've accepted an "off-brand Jesus" when we accept less than life to the full in order to be more comfortable and less challenged. What does that look like when it comes to judging and judgementalism? Join Brian and Jon for a deeper look at why we often leap to critique or else avoid speaking truth at all. More importantly, listen in as we talk about embracing the ultimate purpose of judging rightly -- transformation!
Faith Forward #113 - Jesus Stories Wk 3
May 19, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Matthew 18:21–35, Luke 7:36–48, Luke 17:3–4
Jesus taught about "forgiveness" on several occasions, and almost every time the teaching was accompanied by a story. As we've mentioned over several weeks, Jesus uses parables to help us understand that we don't understand as well as we think we do -- and this is especially true when it comes to forgiveness! Join Brian and Jon for the last episode of this season as they share their own stories and experiences of re-learning what it means to forgive from the heart.
Faith Forward #112 - Jesus Stories Wk 2
May 12, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Matthew 13:3–23
If the parable of the four soils can be applied to sanctification as well as salvation, how do we become good soil? How do we cultivate a heart that listens and understands and receives truth in a way that produces a harvest of 30x, 60x, or even 100x? Join Brian and Jon for a practical and honest conversation about both cultivating our own hearts and being better equipped to seed truth into the lives of others.
Faith Forward #111 - Jesus Stories Wk 1
May 5, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Matthew 13:10–17
Why did Jesus tell so many stories? What was the point of using parables that often left His audience more confused than before? What does Jesus want us to learn from these stories about Himself, about us, and about the Kingdom of God? Join Brian and Jon for an encouraging, humbling, and helpful conversation on the parables of Jesus.
Faith Forward #110 - Power of a Name Wk 8
April 28, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Exodus 15:22–26
We finish this series on the names of God with one of the more hopeful and more confusing of His identities -- Healer. Jehovah Rapha can and will restore us from sickness, injury, mental and emotional calamity, and even death...and yet not always when or how we want Him to. How can we know God as Healer in a way that cultivates connection and hope rather than transaction and disappointment? Join Brian and Jon for an honest and encouraging conversation on experiencing the reality of God as Healer.
Faith Forward #109 - Power of a Name Wk 7
April 21, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Psalm 23
"The good shepherd" may be one of the most well-known names for God, but despite its familiarity we don't always know how to engage with Him in that capacity. What does it really mean for me to be a sheep and Him to be my shepherd? Join Brian and Jon for a rich, surprising, and deeply practical conversation on learning how to truly BE sheep.
Faith Forward #108 - Power of a Name Wk 6
April 14, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Psalm 33:13–20, Hebrews 13:5–6
Saying that God is our "helper" just doesn't quite capture the significance of knowing Him as "Ezer." Jehovah Ezer is the one who rescues, who saves, who is strong and comes through when no one and nothing else can. Do you know Him that way? And how does knowing God as "ezer" change the way we interact with Him? Join Brian and Jon for a helpful and reflective conversation on how to draw closer to the God who helps our heart as well as our circumstances.
Faith Forward #107 - Power of a Name Wk 5
April 7, 2024 • Jon Ackerman, Brooke Ackerman • Judges 6:1–21
Peace may be one of the things we ask for most often from God...both for ourselves and for those around us in pain or distress. And in most cases, when we ask God for peace, we ask Him to remove or resolve difficult circumstances. But what if God means something more when He offers us peace? Come join Brooke & Jon Ackerman as they offer some practical steps we can all take to better understand and experience the God who is Peace.
Faith Forward #106 - Power of a Name Wk 4
March 24, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Genesis 22
God wants us to know Him as provider. He IS the provider! And at the same time, there are moments in life when we question the way that God provides. We'd like Him to just give us what we want when we want, but thankfully, our God is always after more than we could ask for or imagine. So how can we learn to walk with God when He's not providing as we'd like? Join Brian and Jon for a helpful conversation on learning to see Jehovah Jireh as He is instead of how we'd like Him to be.
Faith Forward #105 - Power of a Name Wk 3
March 17, 2024 • Lee Towns, Jon Ackerman • Judges 11:27, Hebrews 4:12, 1 Corinthians 6:2
This might be the most difficult and the most culturally loaded of the names of God that we'll discuss in these 9 weeks. Jehovah http://shaphet.god is Judge. The judgement (or the judgementalism) of God is one of the most polarizing aspects of faith in our world both in and outside of the church. Each one of us has a different internal reaction to the concept of God as judge, and the invitation this week is to move towards those preconceptions rather than away. To discover more of what God meant about Himself and more of how He meant that name to inform our relationship with Him. So join Jon and Pastor Lee for a heartfelt and helpful conversation on how we can come closer to our loving Father by knowing Him as judge.
