Family Fest Speaker Podcast

Mike Ashburn - WWF19 Talk #5- When was the last time you tried something big for Jesus Christ?

Every day you have the opportunity to humble yourself before the Lord or distinguish yourself among men. Too often we spend more energy trying to distinguish ourselves before men instead of humbling ourselves before Jesus. If you want to be mature in Christ, then become and stay childlike, with unabashed love for Christ.

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 6, Luke 7, 1 John 5:12

Beth Ulrich Testimony - Winter Weekend February 2019

Beth Ulrich's Testimony at February 2019 Winter Weekend

Kent McDonald - WWJ19 - Talk #1-To Seek and Search

We can find God when we seek and search for him with our whole heart. God is reflected in all of us. Due to technical difficulties, the first half of Kent's talk was not recorded properly.

Kent McDonald - WWJ19 Talk #2 - Hide and Seek

Jesus' first message was so radical that the people in power wanted to throw him off a cliff. In spite of this, Jesus took his message to the street. He didn't just give speeches, he lived out what he preached. We as followers are often hiding from God when we pretend that we've got it all figured and, yet, we're seeking, wondering if there's something more.

Kent McDonald - WWJ19 Talk #3-Social media in our world today

With the rise of digital products in our lives and especially the lives of our children, how can we help each other to overcome the negative effects of social media? Physical space matters-God gave us bodies for a reason. We must strive to prioritize physical community built on God's love for us.

Scripture: John 1: 14

Kent McDonald - WWJ19 Talk #4- Biiblical Tensions

The Bible is not just a book about how God rules. It is also a book about how people lived. Jesus broke the racial traditions of the Old Testament. He brought the Good News to those that were considered unworthy.

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 7
Matthew 15: 21-28
Matthew 16: 20
Exodus 21

Kent McDonald - WWJ19 Talk #5 -Reflect God

The Christian life is not meant to be lived in a comfortable way. We are meant to be uncomfortable, to step into the lives of the messy and broken. When God wraps his arms around us, we can change the world.

 

Scripture: Mark 6: 45

Dan Wolpert - SS18 Talk #1 - What are the activities and practices that help us manifest the things that Jesus asks us to do?

We understand that God desires for goodness in the world. We want to relate both to ourselves and to God so that the good things that God desires become more manifest in the world. We can do this with two basic activities that form the foundation of a spiritual life and community: silence and listening. Prayer is the act of listening and paying attention to God.

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-47

Dan Wolpert - SS18 Talk #2 - What is the nature of the human being?

As humans, we sort information into three categories, information we like, information we don’t like and information we ignore. We create bubbles that form our reality and we hold on to our bubbles at all costs. The basic goal of a spiritual life is to get out of the bubble. God has designed us in such a way that if we engage in spiritual practices, the bubble begins to break down. We can have an experience of God, when existential fear begins to go away and we open ourselves to take a stance in the real world. We become more human; this image of the divine that God has placed in us starts to come out.

Dan Wolpert - SS18 Talk #3 - God lives is an infinity that's all around us all the time.

We're a prisoner of what our tribal bubble world tells us to do and when we attempt to step out of that, we feel dissonance and fear. As we connect more deeply with God, we have a greater sense of confidence to do the things that are life-giving, even if it runs counter to what most of the rest of the world is doing. That presence of God in our lives, that life-giving spirit, is always there supporting us.