Anchored in Troubled Waters

Pastor in the Shadow

Not your average Christian podcast, bringing the truth of God in today’s world, without the world values. Weekly live recorded from a small church. We are also a couple that share our struggles, laughter, family and small business. Sometimes we just talk about random stuff.

  1. 4d ago

    What Should Christians Do With Halloween?

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 43 What Should a Christian Do With Halloween? Podcast Title: What Should a Christian Do With Halloween? | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 43 Podcast Description: Should Christians trick-or-treat? Can children wear costumes? Should believers hand out candy, attend a fall festival, decorate their homes, or avoid Halloween altogether? Sincere Christians often reach very different conclusions. So how do we know what to do? Romans 14 gives believers a framework for disagreements involving conscience. Where Scripture clearly speaks, Christians obey. But where Scripture leaves room for wisdom and judgment, Paul tells believers not to despise or condemn one another. In Season 9, Episode 43 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at the difference between biblical commands and personal convictions. Christian liberty is not permission to ignore what God calls sin. But personal conviction is also not permission to create commandments for everyone around us. A conviction should govern our obedience, not give us jurisdiction over somebody else’s. The deeper question is not simply: “What are you doing on October 31?” It is: “Can Jesus be Lord of what you are doing on October 31?” When Scripture says no, obey. When Scripture gives room, use wisdom. When conscience warns you, listen. When another believer reaches a different conclusion in an area Scripture leaves open, show grace. And whatever you do: Do it unto the Lord.

  2. Oct 11

    Should Christians Be Afraid Of The Dark?

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 42 Should Christians Be Afraid of the Dark? Podcast Title: Should Christians Be Afraid of the Dark? | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 42 Podcast Description: Every October, familiar questions begin appearing in Christian homes and churches. Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Are certain costumes wrong? What about haunted houses, witches, ghosts, decorations, trick-or-treating, or fall festivals? Those are fair questions. But before we debate the details, there is a deeper question: Should Christians be afraid of the dark? Scripture never asks believers to pretend that spiritual darkness is imaginary. Ephesians tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” Discernment matters. There are things Christians should reject. But Scripture also says: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” In Season 9, Episode 42 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at the difference between biblical discernment and spiritual fear. Christians do not have to choose between being naive about darkness and being terrified by it. Our identity is not fear. We belong to Christ. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world.” And He told His followers: “Ye are the light of the world.” So the Christian response to darkness is not panic, superstition, or obsession. It is wisdom. Truth. Love. Righteousness. And light. You do not defeat darkness by spending all night talking about how dark it is. You turn on the light.

  3. Oct 4

    look What Grace Did

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 41 Look What Grace Built Podcast Title: Look What Grace Built | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 41 Podcast Description: We first met Peter beside the Sea of Galilee with nets in his hands. Jesus said: “Follow me.” And Peter followed. From there, we watched a remarkable journey. Peter stepped onto water and sank. He confessed Jesus as the Christ and later argued with Him. He asked questions. Made promises. Failed those promises. Denied Jesus. Wept bitterly. And eventually found himself beside the water again, where the risen Christ restored him and said once more: “Follow me.” Now, in the final message of our Peter journey, we meet him in Acts 4. The man who once denied knowing Jesus is standing before powerful religious authorities who command him to stop speaking in Christ’s name. Peter answers: “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Same Peter. Different man. Acts tells us that those watching Peter and John “took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” That may be the best summary of Peter’s entire story. In Season 9, Episode 41 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at what grace can build over time. Transformation is not always instant. Sometimes Jesus shapes us through obedience, correction, failure, forgiveness, restoration, and years of simply continuing to follow. Peter became the rock, not because he never moved, but because Jesus never stopped shaping him. The greatest evidence of grace is not that you never stumbled. It is that after walking with Jesus, you are no longer the person who first started the journey. Look what grace built.

  4. Sep 27

    Still Called

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 40 Still Called Podcast Title: Still Called | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 40 Podcast Description: Peter had denied Jesus three times. He had failed publicly, painfully, and in the exact place where he once believed he was strongest. Then Jesus was crucified. Peter could not undo what happened. He could not go back to the courtyard and change his words. But after the resurrection, Jesus met Peter beside the Sea of Galilee. And instead of humiliating him, Jesus asked: “Lovest thou me?” Three times Peter had denied Him. Three times Jesus asked about his love. And each time Jesus gave Peter an assignment: “Feed my lambs.” “Feed my sheep.” Then Jesus said the same words that had started Peter’s journey years earlier: “Follow me.” In Season 9, Episode 40 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at what restoration really means. Grace does not pretend failure never happened. Sometimes Jesus takes us back to the painful place, not to shame us, but to heal us. Peter could not erase the courtyard. But the courtyard did not get to decide the rest of his life. The man who denied Jesus would still preach Christ. The man who failed would still feed the flock. The man who thought he was finished discovered that Jesus was not finished with him. Failure may change how you see yourself. But grace can remind you that you may still be called. If Jesus has not finished with you, do not declare yourself finished.

  5. Sep 20

    After The Fall

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 39 What You Do After You Fail Podcast Title: What You Do After You Fail | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 39 Podcast Description: Peter denied Jesus. Judas betrayed Him. Both failures happened during the same terrible night. Both men realized what they had done. Both experienced deep sorrow. Yet their stories moved in very different directions. In Season 9, Episode 39 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at the contrast between Peter and Judas and ask: What do we do after we fail? Peter went out and wept bitterly. Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver and admitted that he had betrayed innocent blood. Both men experienced remorse. But Scripture teaches us that sorrow needs somewhere to go. Godly sorrow leads toward repentance. Shame and despair try to drive us farther away. We will look at why being close to Jesus does not make us incapable of failure, why feeling terrible is not the same thing as turning back, why where we carry our guilt matters, and why failure does not have to determine what happens next. Before Peter ever denied Jesus, Christ had already told him: “I have prayed for thee.” And: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Peter had not even fallen yet, and Jesus was already speaking about his future. That is grace. Peter could not undo the courtyard. But the courtyard did not get to decide the rest of Peter’s life. And whatever your worst chapter is, it does not automatically get to decide yours either. Your failure matters, but what you do after you fail matters too. Run toward Jesus, not away from Him.

  6. Sep 13

    I Will Never

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 38 I Would Never… Podcast Title: I Would Never… | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 38 Podcast Description: Peter loved Jesus. He had left his nets, stepped out of a boat, witnessed miracles, and declared Jesus to be the Christ. So when Jesus warned him that a difficult night was coming, Peter confidently replied: “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” Peter meant it. But before the rooster crowed, Peter would deny three times that he even knew Jesus. In Season 9, Episode 38 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at the danger hidden inside two familiar words: “I would never.” Peter’s problem was not insincerity. He simply trusted his own strength more than he understood his own weakness. Jesus knew exactly what was coming. But before Peter failed, Jesus told him something extraordinary: “I have prayed for thee.” And then: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Peter had not even fallen yet, and Jesus was already speaking about his return. In this message, we look at why God’s warnings are expressions of mercy, why temptation thrives on self-confidence, and why recognizing our weakness can actually help keep us strong. We also discover that failure does not have to become the final chapter. The very place where Peter fell would eventually help him strengthen others who struggled. The mature prayer is not: “Lord, I would never.” It is: “Lord, without You I do not know what I am capable of. Keep me close.”

  7. Sep 6

    You Have To Let Him Wash You

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 37 You Have to Let Him Wash You Podcast Title: You Have to Let Him Wash You | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 37 Podcast Description: Peter knew how to follow Jesus. He knew how to sacrifice. He knew how to speak up. He even believed he was willing to die for Christ. But when Jesus knelt in front of him with a basin and towel, Peter resisted. “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” In Season 9, Episode 37 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at one of the quieter but most revealing moments in Peter’s journey. Sometimes we are comfortable doing something for God but uncomfortable receiving something from God. We know how to work. Serve. Carry. Help. Fix. And say, “I’ve got it.” But grace begins when we admit that there are some things we cannot clean, repair, or carry ourselves. Jesus knew exactly how dirty Peter’s feet were. He knelt anyway. That is the picture of grace. Christ does not wait for us to become clean enough to approach Him. He approaches us because we need cleansing. We will also see why forgiveness and salvation cannot be earned, why believers still need ongoing honesty and cleansing as they walk through a dirty world, and why people who have been washed by Christ should become willing to pick up the towel and serve others. Sometimes surrender means laying something down for Jesus. But sometimes surrender means finally sitting still and letting Jesus do something for us. Jesus is not embarrassed by the dirt you are trying to hide from Him. He is already kneeling beside it with a towel.

  8. Aug 30

    Was It Worth It?

    Anchored in Troubled Waters Season 9, Episode 36 Was It Worth It? Podcast Title: Was It Worth It? | Anchored in Troubled Waters | Season 9 Episode 36 Podcast Description: Peter had left his nets, his boat, and the familiar life he once knew. Then one day he looked at Jesus and asked: “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” It is one of Peter’s most honest questions. In one form or another, many faithful people eventually ask the same thing. “I obeyed.” “I sacrificed.” “I stayed faithful.” “So was it worth it?” In Season 9, Episode 36 of Anchored in Troubled Waters, we look at the cost of following Christ and what happens when obedience begins to feel expensive. We will explore why it is okay to acknowledge that faithfulness costs something, why sacrifice becomes dangerous when we start keeping spiritual receipts, and why God never overlooks the quiet acts of obedience that everybody else may miss. Jesus does not shame Peter for remembering what he left behind. Instead, He changes Peter’s perspective. Because God’s reward does not always arrive in the form we expected, and heaven measures success differently than the world does. Peter began by saying: “Look what we lost.” Paul eventually learned to say: “Look what I gained.” And the greatest gain was Christ Himself. Faith gets shaky when we measure what we surrendered more often than we remember who we followed. So was it worth it? When the journey is finished and eternity has changed the math, I believe the answer will be simple: Jesus was worth it.

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About

Not your average Christian podcast, bringing the truth of God in today’s world, without the world values. Weekly live recorded from a small church. We are also a couple that share our struggles, laughter, family and small business. Sometimes we just talk about random stuff.

Information

  • Creator
    Pastor in the Shadow
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    410
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Pastor in the Shadow