One More Point

LifePoint Church

A weekly podcast designed to help us wrap up the gathering and think about scattering!

  1. 6d ago

    "I always believed in God, but I hated Him."-Nate & Julieth Kruse

    What happens when our faith journey takes us far from home, literally and spiritually? This conversation explores the profound challenges of identity, belonging, and authentic relationship with God through the lens of two remarkable stories. We discover how growing up as a third culture kid—caught between multiple worlds and cultures—can leave us feeling rootless and disconnected, even while serving in ministry. The honesty here is refreshing: one person shares about leading worship, attending Bible college, and doing all the right Christian things while simultaneously experiencing a crisis of faith so deep it led to anger at God and a year away from church. Yet through this darkness, we see God's patient mercy at work. The turning point came not through a dramatic spiritual experience, but through raw honesty—admitting the anger, the doubts, the feeling of being lost—and through people who refused to let go. We learn that Christian community isn't just a nice addition to our faith; it's absolutely essential. We cannot walk this journey alone. Whether we're navigating cultural displacement, wrestling with our inherited faith, or simply trying to figure out who we are apart from our family's beliefs, we need mentors who will speak hard truths in love, friends who will pursue us when we're pulling away, and a church family that sees us and invites us in. The message is clear: authenticity with God and vulnerability with others are the pathways through which healing flows.

    49 min
  2. May 10

    Yo' Momma Prays

    What if the prayers we've been offering aren't being answered because we've misunderstood the very nature of prayer itself? This exploration of Matthew 7:7-11 challenges us to move beyond one-time requests and embrace the radical persistence Jesus commands. The Greek verbs 'ask, seek, knock' aren't casual suggestions—they're active imperatives calling us to continual, escalating pursuit of God. Like a child who first calls out, then searches the house, then knocks on the closed door, we're invited into an increasingly intimate quest. But here's where it gets uncomfortable: Jesus illustrates this persistence through stories of shameless begging and relentless badgering. These aren't flattering portraits, yet they reveal a profound truth—God isn't annoyed by our persistence; He's honored by it. The sermon unpacks six potential barriers to answered prayer: unconfessed sin, unforgiveness, dishonoring our spouse, failing to actually pray, praying with wrong motives, and missing that God might have something better planned. Each barrier invites honest self-examination. Are we quick to confess? Do we harbor bitterness? Do we honor our spouse as a co-heir of grace? Most challenging is recognizing that sometimes our unanswered prayers aren't rejections but redirections toward something greater than we could imagine. This isn't about formulas or spiritual hacks—it's about knowing the Father's heart so deeply that we can't help but run to Him, again and again, with everything we carry.

    47 min
  3. Apr 19

    Living On A Prayer

    The Lord's Prayer isn't just a religious recitation we've memorized—it's a revolutionary template for radical relationship with our Father in heaven. When we truly examine Matthew 6:5-15, we discover that Jesus is teaching us far more than words to repeat; He's inviting us into an intimate, dependent, and communal way of living. This prayer begins with 'Our Father,' immediately establishing both the knowable intimacy of a loving parent and the holy reverence of the Creator of everything. We're challenged to move beyond empty repetition and cultural Christianity, where we might wear our faith like a sports jersey without truly living it out. The prayer calls us to hallow God's name—not just in our words, but through our actions that either magnify or diminish His reputation in the world. As we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we're acknowledging that prayer isn't about bending God's will to match our desires, but about aligning ourselves with His purposes right now, today, on this earth. The request for daily bread confronts our self-sufficient, Costco-bulk-buying mentality, reminding us that true dependence on God happens in the everyday, ordinary moments. Perhaps most challenging is the call to forgiveness—we cannot authentically pray for God's forgiveness while harboring unforgiveness toward others. This isn't about losing salvation over one struggle, but about examining our heart posture. Are we people who extend the same grace we've received? Finally, the plural pronouns throughout—'us,' 'our,' 'we'—remind us that Christian faith is never meant to be lived in isolation. We need the church, the body of Christ, to truly pray this prayer faithfully.

    44 min
  4. Apr 13

    Check your heart

    We often think we're doing the right things—giving generously, praying faithfully, even fasting—but Jesus challenges us to examine something deeper: our motives. In Matthew 6, we're confronted with a piercing question that cuts through our religious activities: who are we really doing this for? Are we seeking the applause of people around us, or are we genuinely pursuing intimacy with God? This passage reveals that the same act of giving, praying, or fasting can either draw us closer to God or become a performance for human approval. The reward we receive depends entirely on our audience. When Jesus says 'when you give,' 'when you pray,' and 'when you fast,' He's not making suggestions—He's assuming these disciplines are part of our lives. But He warns us against the subtle trap of practicing righteousness to be seen by others. The challenge isn't to stop doing good things, but to check our hearts constantly. Are we giving our first fruits or our leftovers? Are our prayers genuine conversations with the Creator or impressive performances? Are we willing to deny our flesh through fasting to say yes to Jesus? This isn't about earning God's love—it's about recognizing that everything we have already belongs to Him. We're simply conduits of His generosity, not the source. The beautiful promise is this: when we draw near to God with pure motives, He draws near to us. Our spiritual disciplines become pathways to experiencing His presence rather than badges we display for others to admire.

    45 min

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5 Ratings

About

A weekly podcast designed to help us wrap up the gathering and think about scattering!

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