Faith Forward Podcast
Life Application for Your Faith
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.
Faith Forward #104 - Power of a Name Wk 2
March 10, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Genesis 18:7–9, Exodus 34:10–14
When God introduces Himself with a name, it's an invitation to know Him more personally. But what do we do with the name "Kanna," the name that means God is jealous? What is God jealous of? Better stated, what is God jealous FOR? Once again, we find ourselves in a place of needing to unlearn things about God so that we can connect with Him as He truly is. So come join Brian and Jon for an incredibly helpful and somewhat uncomfortable conversation around God's jealousy, our idols, and the life with God we were always meant to have.
Faith Forward #103 - Power of a Name Wk 1
March 3, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Exodus 3:1–15
The names of God are powerful, not only because they show us what He's capable of but also because they show us who He is. When God introduces Himself with a name, it's an invitation to know Him more personally. But sometimes that means we need to do some unlearning first. So join Brian and Jon as we look at the Scottish poet, George MacDonald's, timeless question -- is it possible that we have learned God wrong?
Faith Forward #102 - When God Answers Prayers
February 25, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Exodus 16:1–12
When God answers prayers, it sometimes creates more worry than excitement. It only took the Israelites 6 weeks to start thinking that slavery in Egypt was preferable to freedom in the wilderness. They suddenly found themselves face to face with a much bigger and more real God than they had ever personally experienced. What happens when God starts answering our prayers in ways that are immeasurably more than we had asked for or imagined? We get worried. Come join Brian and Jon for an honest and practical conversation on how to navigate worry when God starts answering our prayers.
Faith Forward #101 - Reaching the Next Generation
February 18, 2024 • Jon Ackerman, Mike Haynes, Brooke Jones • 1 Peter 5:7, 1 Samuel 3, Acts 1:6–8, Matthew 28:19–20
Reaching the next generation is entirely dependent upon how we see the next generation. We need a clear understanding of what they need and - just as important - what they already have to offer. When Jesus said to make disciples, that includes kids. And God's desire to work through people includes working through kids. It's a "both-and" conversation, and so we brought in both Brooke Jones and Mike Haynes to talk about how we can all more effectively partner with the next generation in the work of the Kingdom.
Faith Forward - 100th Episode Celebration (updated)
February 11, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman
To commemorate the 100th episode of the Faith Forward podcast, we asked you to share the stories of what God has been doing in your life. THANK YOU to those who sent in video, audio, or email in celebration of God's faithfulness. And THANK YOU for your commitment to growing closer to Him day by day! We hope you enjoy these stories!
Faith Forward #100 - Better Together Wk 3
February 11, 2024 • Brian Bales, Jon Ackerman • Acts 2:42–47, Luke 9:28–36
In this final episode on developing "transformational community," we're looking at how to grow it...and be grown in it. It can only happen over time, and only as each member commits to growing from the inside-out - becoming more vulnerable and transparent. It's challenging and disruptive, but the rewards are beyond imagining.