The Park Road Pres Podcast

The Sanctification Gap: Models for Change

Today, we address again this sanctification gap – how we're declared righteous but don't always act, speak, think or feel righteously. When we think about sanctification or progress in the spiritual life – how do we go about it i.e., how to make spiritual/moral improvements to our character? How do we turn what God says about us in Christ (i.e., that we're NOT guilty and that we're righteous in God's sight – "saints") how do we turn God's declaration of righteousness into actual, practical character change?
In these sections written by St Paul, we see: 1) The "Common-Sense", Acceptable Way of Progress 2) The Counterintuitive, AcceptING Way of Progress

The Sanctification Gap

People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.– Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), A Series of Unfortunate Events #11: The Grim Grotto (2004) 
How about an example? John uses God to validate his strong opinions on issues ranging from the appropriate length of women's skirts in church to political candidates to gender roles to his inability to negotiate issues with fellow non-Christian managers at work. He does not listen to or check out the innumerable assumptions he makes about others. He quickly jumps to conclusions. His friends, family, & coworkers find him unsafe & condescending.
John then goes on to convince himself he is doing God's work by misapplying selected verses of scripture. "Of course that person hates me," he says to himself. "All those who desire to be godly will suffer persecution." Ultimately, however, he is using God to run from God. – Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (2014; pp.23-24) 

Imperishable Life

Listen in as Associate Pastor, Dr. Phil Letizia, takes us through 1 Peter 1:17-23 discussing what it means to live as "Resurrection People." 

Though You Have not Seen Him, You Love Him

Listen in as Dr. Phil Letizia talks about the Lavish Implications of Easter through a sermon that goes through 1 Peter 1:3-9.

Easter Sunday: Mary Magdalene - Apostle to the Apostles

Today, we look at this fascinating person named Mary Magdalene. 
In all four Gospels she's credited with being the first person to see Jesus Christ alive after the resurrection.
IF, as some have tried to maintain, since the start of Christianity, IF the disciples of Jesus concocted the story of Jesus Christ's resurrection – if they thought they would get famous or wealthy or considered to be super-spiritual heroes and THAT'S why they invented this story of the resurrection, IF the story was fabricated, Mary Magdalene would have been the worst possible choice to be the first witness because she was a woman with a shady reputation. 
People who rejected Christianity may have concluded that she'd been insane… "so why would we possibly trust her testimony? She's mentally ill!" That TO ME, is an indicator of the story's authenticity.
I want to look at her today and what she might tell us about WHAT Christianity IS and what IS its basic message to the world: 1) Who was Mary Magdalene? 2) Who was the Gardener she met?

The Prayer of Jesus (Part 2)

The Kingdom is come in Jesus Christ AND the Kingdom is coming. The task of the Apostles and the Church is to call people to believe through the Apostles message. Did the disciples know what was ahead for THEM and for the Jesus-Movement? Not yet… BUT…they will.I want to look at the inferences in this prayer:1) The Multitude Anticipated2) The Prayer's Ambition/Aim3) The Means of Advance

The Prayer of Jesus (John 17)

The Teacher prays the longest recorded prayer we have – much longer than what we call The Lord's Prayer but very similar, really an expansion of that best-known of Jesus Christ's prayers. He prays so that the eleven disciples can hear the words and learn some dense, mystifying, deep truths that they will remember forever but don't yet understand as they're being prayed. Every word is weighty. The finish-line is in sight. The Light of the World is about to be snuffed out… for "a little while" (16.16, 17, 18, 19). Jesus prays for Himself and for His students and for what lies ahead for them.
Back in the last century (1999), I preached SIX sermons in a row on this one prayer (only two this year), but I could see why it took six…could be more! It's DENSE!
Today I want to look at this heavy prayer in three ways:1) The View from the Top2) The View from the Trenches3) The View of the Race Before US

I Have Overcome the World

These words are meant to sustain the disciples in their hour of deepest need. They'll focus on the idea ofGod's will and ability to transform evil into good in the lives of His people. What Joseph told his brothers at the end of Genesis, what some have considered the summary of the entire Bible, "What YOU meant for EVIL, God has turned to good!" (Gen 50.20) – those words are now epitomized and embodied in Jesus Christ. The idea that God will turn trials to gold, turn evil to good… that theme isn't especially important to the eleven disciples now – but soon that truth will be more necessary to them than food, water or oxygen. God is able to transform evil into good.
1) Appalling Ignorance into Knowledge2) Excruciating Pain into Joy2) Cosmic Defeat into Victory

The Ministry of the Spirit

Here, Jesus Christ, addresses this preoccupation in the young men God gave Him to train and teach AND the fixation WE ALL HAVE: anxiety about the future. In this passage we find:
1) Concern for My Future2) Concern of the Spirit3) Concern for the Kingdom

Out of the World

The question I want to ask today is: Are Christians hated today as they were at the start? AND if they are hated, what causes of that opposition? And is there any upside to this whole issue – are there reasons to expect help in our conflict with world and how might that expectation of help change the way we go about dealing with hate?
Let's look at: 1) The Fact of Hatred 2) The Causes of Hatred3) Reasons for JOY Even in the Face of Hatred