The angel Gabriel told Mary the Holy Spirit would come upon her and cause a child to be conceived in her womb that would be the Son of God. This same Spirit inhabits Christians and Christ's continued presence on Earth, his body, the Church. Just as Mary knew she was part of God's plan but didn't know what would happen (Would Joseph divorce her? Would her town ostracize hre? Or worse?) we can have our sure hope in God as an anchor for our soul.

Journey of Life Lutheran Church

The Inspiration of Hope - Audio

This podcast sends you audio recordings of the messages taught each Sunday at Journey of Life Lutheran Church, Orlando, Florida.

Dig Deeper - The Angel Announces Jesus' Birth to Mary - Audio

The Miracle of Faith - Zechariah & Gabriel - Audio

Dig Deeper - Luke 01 - Zechariah & Gabriel - Audio

As Pastor John wraps up the 30 Days of Thankfulness series, he talks about the scientific case for gratitude as a healthy habit and then concludes by encouraging us to choose gratitude as an intentional focus grounded in our faith.

Keys to Thankful Living: Focus & Faith - Audio

Fear, bitterness and despair stand in the way of living with gratitude, a key ingredient for experiencing joy. The scriptures give us the path to overcome these barriers. Love overcomes fear. Faith overcomes bitterness. Hope overcomes despair. Part of living a grateful life is getting rid of the barriers to gratitude.

Breaking Through the Barriers to Gratitude - Audio

It's easy to be thankful when things are going well. But how do you be thankful when things are difficult. Pastor John talks about the daily habit of thankfulness like the little waves on the surface of the water and then helps us go deep to find thankfulness that is so solid that none of life's circumstances can take it away.

Finding Deep Thankfulness amid the Storms of Life - Audio

Many of us spend a great deal of time and effort getting our home and kitchen ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, but how much time and effort do we spend getting our spirits ready for the Thanksgiving feast? This message begins a new series called "30 Days of Thankfulness" to help us prepare spiritually for the feast of Thanksgiving. Pastor John lays out the foundation for continual thankful living, knowing that God who loves us so much that he moves toward us in our brokenness, weakness, anger, shame and rebellion. We don't have to get right to come to God. We acknowledge our need and God comes to us.

The Foundation for Thankful Living - Audio

Concluding our 8-week series on Resolving Everyday Conflict, Pastor John examines the scripture to find out how a follower of Jesus acts when someone refuses to reconcile with him or her.

When Someone Won't Reconcile - Audio

"Forgive and forget" is not only unrealistic, it's not even Biblical. When God says that he remembers our sin no more, he's' not talking about amnesia. He's saying that he won't dwell on them, bring them up or use them against against you. Same with us. Forgiveness is not saying that you won't be able to to recall hurtful memories. Forgiveness is a decision about what to do when the hurtful memories pop into your head.

The Four Commitments of Forgiveness - Audio

A well-crafted and sincere apology can lead to real breakthroughs when resolving conflict. Pastor John takes us through the Parable of the Wedding Feast and then talks about how to craft a great apology using the Seven A's from Peacemaker Ministries.

The Seven A's of an Effective Apology - Audio

This is the 5th message in the Resolving Everyday Conflict series. Based on the Parable of the Tenants, Pastor John examines we can go temporarily insane during conflicts and how to avoid doing so.

Conflict Can Make You Insane. How To Stop the Insanity. - Audio

Pastor John teaches us to lean into reconciling with others by calling on the faith, hope and love the scripture tells us are the heart of the Christian life.

Reconciling: You actually have to DO it - Audio

Of course there may be accountability and restitution when resolving conflict, but Pastor John reminds us in this message based on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard that we need to center on Grace. Where God is in charge, we all get much better than we deserve and we don't compare ourselves to others. One solution to conflict is to simply overlook it. Pastor John gives three practical ways to think about your conflicts that will help you really overlook an offense. (BTW - if you keep thinking about it, you are probably not really overlooking it and it's time to move to another peacemaking strategy.)

Center on Grace when Resolving Conflict - Audio

In this sermon, Pastor John reflects on the parable of the ungrateful servant who, though he was forgiven an unpayable debt, would not forgive his fellow servant a debt of much smaller proportion. Drawing from this story, Pastor John draws the lesson that compassion is part of resolving everyday conflict well. We need to see the other person as a fellow human who is suffering in the conflict. We need to stop, sit and breathe.

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Journey of Life Lutheran Church

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