The Park Road Pres Podcast

I Know that My Redeemer Lives (Cycle 2)

oday, in the Second Cycle of arguments, Job reflects on one aspect of his suffering that's been of great interest to 20th C writers, philosophers, social scientists and artists and we ought to recognize this feature of life and suffering as being more painful and perplexing than we sometimes understand. The feature I have in mind is ALIENATION.It's the sense that I'm out of touch or disconnected or separated from others, from myself, from my purpose, from nature and from God. An alienated person feels like he/she doesn't belong, is out of place and strange for reasons he can't diagnose or change.I'd like to explore this condition from Job Ch 19 and see, in the passage, in perhaps the most beloved and famous words in the book, the remedy to this trauma. Let's look at:1) The Pain of Alienation2) The Hope of Redemption3) The Space Between Alienation and Redemption

The Standard Formula (Cycle One)

I need someone to listen to me and check my ideology, my core assumptions about life that I may not even know I have and hold… AND THAT is what we have here in the Book of Jōb. It's a long-form discussion and from it emerge the beliefs, the intellectual commitments and ideologies of the participants.In the course of this poetic conversation, stretching over some 40 chapters, the assumptions of the speakers and listeners emerge. I'd like to look at ONE such assumption I'm going to call the "Standard Formula". Let's look at:1) The Standard Stated2) The Standard Fulfilled3) The Standard Re-Stated

Job's Friends - Job's Lament

Today, some reinforcements show up – three friends from afar – and come to "sit shiva" with Job (that Jewish tradition actually COMES from this passage!) – come to mourn with him … and… eventually, after Job says how he's feeling, they offer him some advice. That's our topic today: mourning our losses and how friends can help in the process (or not). Let's look at:1) Friends, Fiends and Foreshadowing2) Breaking the Silence3) Deepest Regrets and Truest Friends

The Set Up

This year in the first part of the "Season of the Spirit," we look at how God's Spirit took an ancient man (and his friends!) on a journey into depth and maturity, growth, sanctification, and wisdom (all the work of the Spirit!)This will be our approach to The Book of Job. For the next nine weeks we plan to take a journey into our own motives to discover what kind of wisdom governs our own lives.Today we want to set up the book… so important that we get the original story that will be dissected and mused on and analyzed ad nauseum through-out the book by "the commentariat," the pundits, the "friends" of the suffering man.So, let's set it up:1. Set-Up for Wisdom2. Set-Up of the Book3. Set-Up for Our Own Journey

Who Jesus Is Changes Everything: Christ, Our Life

As Christians, we naturally want to follow Christ. Yet, who is He whom we claim to follow? Join us for the next two weeks as we observe Paul's letter to Colossians and see what the Apostle Paul says about our Savior. Through this deeper understanding of the identity of the Son of God, we'll have a clearer picture of who we are and who He made us to be.

The Supremacy of the Son

As Christians, we naturally want to follow Christ. Yet, who is He whom we claim to follow? Join us for the next two weeks as we observe Paul's letter to Colossians and see what the Apostle Paul says about our Savior. Through this deeper understanding of the identity of the Son of God, we'll have a clearer picture of who we are and who He made us to be.

I Am the Good Shepherd

As John wrote in v. 6 of this passage, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand the things which He had been saying to them." Well, I DO understand (mainly) what Jesus is saying… though, there are a few bumps in the road… So, let's look more closely at this topic of spiritual teaching, leadership or "spiritual authority – it's use and misuse". Let's look at:1) The Bad Background2) The Shepherd We Need3) Engaging the Good Shepherd

I Am the Good Shepherd

As John wrote in v. 6 of this passage, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand the things which He had been saying to them." Well, I DO understand (mainly) what Jesus is saying… though, there are a few bumps in the road… So, let's look more closely at this topic of spiritual teaching, leadership or "spiritual authority – it's use and misuse". Let's look at:1) The Bad Background2) The Shepherd We Need3) Engaging the Good Shepherd

The Appalling Jesus OR What It Means To Be Free

What IF that glaring problem facing our culture AND facing you personally were NOT really "where it's at"? What if the deepest, most important, urgent need in our society and in our families and personal lives is something you thought was low on the list or didn't make the list at all? Would you want to know about it?The title of the sermon IS the outline of the sermon:1st – The Appalling Jesus2nd – What It Means to Be Free

Light Has Come Into The World

Today we look more closely at one key word in this famous dialogue: faith (noun) or believe (verb) -- same root in Greek.
"That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." What does it mean to believe, to have faith? How do you know if you HAVE faith? When Jesus says that being born from above is THĒ necessary condition for entrance into God's Kingdom AND that believing is THĒ indicator that one IS born from above, what IS it that we're believing? We use that word A LOT, but do we know what we're saying? We take for granted that we know what faith IS and that we've believed but… what IS faith?
This passage points to three motions or directions as the source, the sense and the result of believing:1) The DOWN and Up that God Does Alone2) The GIVE and Take that God and We Do Together3) The OUT and In that We Do With One Another