Word of Life Church Podcast Pastor Brian Zahnd
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- Religion & Spirituality
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Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri is a thriving non-denominational church led by Pastor Brian & Peri Zahnd. We are followers of Jesus seeking to be an authentic expression of the kingdom of Jesus in the twenty-first century. Additional sermon audio and other resources are available on our church website at wolc.com.
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The Uncontrollable Mystery
The Apostle Paul speaks often of the mystery of Christ as the supreme revelation of God, but this in not a mystery we can place under our control. In his poem The Magi, William Butler Yeats aptly describes the incarnate Word born at Bethlehem as "the uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor."
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Pastures of Peace
The landscape of our current culture seems to be filled with fury and it has left the condition of our souls vexed with anxiety. If we trust and follow Jesus, the one who cares for our soul, he will lead us, as the Good Shepherd, out of the landscape of fury and into pastures of peace.
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Why Are You Frightened?
Do you believe in ghosts? The disciples may have. Upon seeing the resurrected Jesus, they wrongly assumed he was a ghost. This opens the door for Jesus to assure them(and us) that he has risen indeed. If Jesus has been raised, then death has been defeated, and we need not fear. Therefore, Jesus continues to ask "Why are you frightened?".
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A Doorway into a New Life
One way to think about the resurrection is to see it as Jesus’ first step towards ascension. Another way is to think of the resurrection of Jesus like a wormhole, a tunnel through time and space. From this perspective, Jesus went into death creating a passageway from this broken down world into God’s new world where all things are new again. In stepping through that doorway into the place where God the Holy Spirit is making all things, we have the opportunity to participate with the Spirit. We participate by stripping off everything associated with our old sinful nature and putting on our new nature created to be like God. We strip off everything that doesn't look like Jesus so we can be like the God revealed in Jesus. A new life is waiting for you. Are you ready for it?
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The Wood Between the Worlds: The Center That Holds
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.
-W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming
In him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning,
The firstborn from the dead.
-St. Paul, Colossians 1:17–18
Customer Reviews
Transformed and Renewed my Faith
I grew up in the Evangelical church. I went to Wheaton College and minored in Biblical Studies. But I left the faith for a decade because of how I saw my own family and church members use the faith to abuse others. Right around COVID, I prayed that God would reveal a version of the church and Scripture that I could believe in. Within a week, I found WOLC and Pastor Zahnd online. I felt like a drowning person who finally saw land. I’ve read every book he’s written and I listen to every sermon he preaches. Since then, I went to seminary and graduated last year - something I never dreamed I would want to do. This church and Pastor Zahnd are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, and are a prophetic voice in America today. I am so grateful God led me to them!
Powerful, life-giving sermons
Word of Life Church has gotten me through the COVID-19 pandemic and some difficult times in my recent past. It is evident to me that these sermons are inspired by the Holy Spirit and reflect the unconditional love of God.
Thank you so much!
Brian Zahnd
A voice in the wilderness. Right up there with Dallas Willard.