St John the Beloved

St John the Beloved

Sermon and teaching audio from St John Church in Cincinnati Ohio.

  1. Jun 14

    Wheat Among the Tares

    Counterfeits are easy to spot until the fake looks almost real. That is exactly why Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds in Matthew 13 still hits a nerve, especially when we look at the church and ask, “If God planted this, how did it get so messy?” We sit with Jesus’ answer, an enemy has done this, and we name the daily tension of the kingdom of God: it is truly here, growing and bearing fruit, yet it is not yet perfected.  From there, we talk about Christian discernment in a world where darnel can mimic wheat until fruit appears. Discernment is not separating obvious good from obvious evil; it is learning to recognize subtle mixtures, teachings that sound nearly biblical, and influences that feel fair but lead somewhere foul. We connect that to practical habits like testing what we hear, searching the Scriptures, and praying for wisdom before we react.  We also confront a tempting impulse: trying to purify the field ourselves. Jesus warns that ripping out weeds too early can uproot wheat, and church history backs that up through the Donatists and Augustine’s insistence that the visible church remains mixed, even at its best. Finally, we land on what patient faith looks like right now: praying before speaking, telling the truth in love over time, giving people room to change, and refusing to define anyone by their worst moment, because Jesus does not define us that way. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

    31 min
  2. May 24

    Pentecost And The Holy Spirit

    Wind. Fire. A crowd that thinks the disciples are drunk at 9 a.m. Pentecost is one of the most misunderstood moments in the Bible, and it’s also one of the most hopeful. We walk through Acts 2:1–21 and show why Pentecost is not a random spiritual spectacle but God keeping His ancient promises and giving His own presence to His people. We talk about what Pentecost meant in the Jewish calendar, why Jerusalem is filled with people from across the world, and why the miracle of many languages matters for the mission of the church. From there we follow Peter’s sermon, especially his use of the prophet Joel, to see how the Holy Spirit is poured out “on all flesh” and how that changes the story for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Then we bring it down to street level: Who is the Holy Spirit, and do we actually need Him? We name the hard truth that Scripture calls us spiritually dead apart from God, and the good news that the Spirit applies the work of Jesus to us, unites us to Christ, and grows real fruit like love, joy, peace, and self-control. We also clear up confusion around tongues and “extra” spiritual tiers, and we highlight the ordinary, steady shape of a Spirit-filled life: faith, repentance, prayer, courage, and trust that God is near. If you’ve ever wondered whether God is distant, whether you’re stuck, or whether real change is possible, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

    29 min
  3. May 17

    Investment

    Doing nothing can feel safe, but it’s often the most dangerous investment we make. We open with Scripture from Ecclesiastes 11, Galatians 6, and 2 Corinthians 9 to show how the Bible talks about money, work, and spiritual growth through one steady image: sowing and reaping. If grain is capital, then every day we decide whether to consume it now, store it for security, or plant it with no guarantees. That same logic applies to our calendars, our habits, our giving, and the kind of people we are becoming. We walk through three marks of wise investment: sacrifice, bold resilience, and patient endurance. From Paul’s call to be a cheerful giver to the warning in Ecclesiastes about waiting for perfect weather, we talk honestly about risk, uncertainty, and why faithful action beats endless analysis. We also explore diversification in a practical way: building skills, creating options, and refusing to let one fragile plan define your future. Then we zoom out to the deeper question Galatians raises: what are you sowing into, the flesh or the Spirit? Sin and obedience both compound over time, which is why the short-term can be so misleading. We close by looking at Jesus as the ultimate investment, the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and bears much fruit, and we ask what it looks like for us to pull out of what is killing us and invest in life that lasts. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one investment you want to make this week?

    36 min
  4. May 10

    The Industrious Woman

    Economics usually makes us think about suits, spreadsheets, and stock prices, but Proverbs 31 starts somewhere far more ordinary and far more powerful: the household. We walk through the famous portrait of the “industrious woman” and ask a direct question with real consequences for marriage, family life, and the broader economy: what unique contributions do women make to economic life when home is treated as the foundation rather than an afterthought? We trace three anchors from the text: priority, profit, and praise. Priority means the well-being of the household comes first, not because women are “only” domestic, but because a well-ordered home produces stability, trust, and strength that spills outward. Profit means Scripture is not embarrassed about women making money, building businesses, spotting opportunities, and reinvesting wisely, as long as the work grows from faithful stewardship rather than replacing it. Along the way, we confront modern pressure toward constant careerism, the burnout spiral it can create, and why child care costs often reveal deeper priority problems. We also land on a surprising theme: attention. We unpack why what we focus on determines what we miss, how charm and beauty can distract us from what actually matters, and why husbands, children, and even the public square are commanded to praise what is truly praiseworthy. We end by looking to Jesus as the perfect example of steady notice and love that helps sinners grow into something new. Subscribe for more biblical teaching, share this with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what should our culture learn to praise again?

    34 min
  5. May 3

    Building Wealth

    Wealth can make us defensive, jealous, proud, or anxious, sometimes all in the same week. We want a clean answer: is money the root of all evil, or the proof that we’re finally secure? Proverbs and Jesus give a better story, one that honors wisdom and also exposes the heart. We work through Proverbs 21:20 and Proverbs 13:22, then sit under Jesus’ words in Luke 12, where He warns that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. We start with restraint: the wise person does not devour everything that comes in, which means wealth is built more by consistent self-control than by one dramatic win. We get practical about budgeting, saving, investing, and giving with a simple 10-10-80 framework, and we name the two pressure points most households feel: income that needs to grow and appetites that need brakes. Christian contentment is not laziness. It’s gratitude that breaks the spell of endless consumption. Then we zoom out to responsibility and reverence. A biblical inheritance aims at children’s children, not to create fragile heirs, but to invite the next generation into a long obedience and a shared project. Finally, Jesus’ parable of the rich fool lands the deepest punch: the danger is not wealth itself, but forgetting God. Covetousness is the desire to possess anything apart from God, and the call is to be rich toward Him as faithful stewards whose lives are on loan. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these biblical economics conversations.

    32 min
  6. Apr 26

    Profit And Fruitfulness

    Profit is a loaded word, but Proverbs treats it with surprising honesty and hope. We want our work to matter, our hours to count, and our effort to produce real fruit not just more exhaustion. So we ask a blunt question: what if the missing ingredient isn’t more hustle, but better efficiency? We walk through a set of Proverbs that connect abundance to diligence, timing, planning, commitment, and skill. Along the way, we tell stories from everyday life: a community garden that thrives because of simple order, a renovation that goes faster when the “demo” is finished cleanly, and why harvest seasons demand urgent action. We also push back on the fantasy of quick wins. Biblical economics frames wealth and profit as long cultivation in the field God has given you, whether that is your job, your business, your marriage, or your calling. Then we turn to mastery. Skill is not just talent you either have or don’t have. It is developed excellence built through repetition, correction, humble learning, and the right people around you. In a world that keeps replacing expertise with convenience, Proverbs invites us to become the kind of workers who waste less, see problems sooner, and create more value with the same inputs. If you want to do less and accomplish more, this message offers a practical roadmap and a deeper anchor in Christ, the Redeemer who wastes nothing in your story. Subscribe, share this with someone who feels stuck in their work, and leave a review with one habit you’re going to practice this week.

    33 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
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2 Ratings

About

Sermon and teaching audio from St John Church in Cincinnati Ohio.