We all want to be successful in life.  As the saying goes, “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” As we will discover in our study for this week, ultimately, success does not mean a lack of failure, but rather a life full of determination and perseverance in Christ.

Transforming Lives Together Podcast

Episode 63 - Can-Do and Joyous Christian Part 03

We are getting this out a little late, but it is still Easter! Hooray! We hope that this will draw you deeper into what’s going on in the readings and together draw from the Living Well all that we need to be more like our Blessed Lord each day.The Gospel passages we will be focusing on for this episode are Mark 16:1-8, John 20:19-31.

Conversations: Gospel Reflection #3

Who we are around affects who we become as people.  If we are around positivity, we are more likely to be positive people, and view things from the hopeful and joyful perspective.  As we will discover in our study for this week we can misinterpret circumstances in our lives if we have had bad experiences in the past.  And that can hinder our joy.

Episode 62 - Can-Do and Joyous Christian Part 02

Oftentimes we feel that we have no control over where our life is headed, as though somehow we are like a train that can only move along a given track.  However, the way we react to different circumstances has a profound impact on the trajectory of our life.  As we will discover in our study for this week starting and living with good habits is important if we are to live with a can-do and joyous attitude.

Episode 61 - Can-Do and Joyous Christian Part 01

Normally the “Conversations” wing of the podcast is dedicated to interviews with people ministering throughout the WNY area, and while we are looking forward to getting back to that, we also wanted to do something different. Every other week, Dn. Jacob and I will be reflecting on the Gospel passages for the previous two Sundays (this past Sunday and the Sunday before) and how it relates to the current Church season. Now for those of you listening who may not be familiar with liturgical traditions like Anglicanism, our readings for each service are assigned by what is called a “lectionary,” and the readings assigned correspond with the Church year as well as the season.The Gospel passages we will be focusing on for this episode are Mark 11:1-11, John 12:20-33, and the Passion narrative found in Mark&apos;s Gospel starting with chapter 14 verse 32 and ending with chapter 15 verse 39.So, how we will proceed is we will first read the passage (and for those wondering, we will be using the NIV translation), then we’ll discuss it. Simple enough. We hope that this will draw you deeper into what’s going on in the reading and together draw from the Living Well all that we need to be more like our Blessed Lord each day.

Conversations: Gospel Reflection #2

Normally the “Conversations” wing of the podcast is dedicated to interviews with people ministering throughout the WNY area, and while we are looking forward to getting back to that, we also wanted to do something different. Every other week, Dn. Jacob and I will be reflecting on the Gospel passages for the previous two Sundays (this past Sunday and the Sunday before) and how it relates to the current Church season. Now for those of you listening who may not be familiar with liturgical traditions like Anglicanism, our readings for each service are assigned by what is called a “lectionary,” and the readings assigned correspond with the Church year as well as the season.The Gospel passages we will be focusing on for this episode both come from John’s Gospel. The first is Chapter 2 verses 13-22, and the second will be Chapter 6 verses 1-15.So, how we will proceed is we will first read the passage (and for those wondering, we will be using the NIV translation), then we’ll discuss it. Simple enough. We hope that this will draw you deeper into what’s going on in the reading and together draw from the Living Well all that we need to be more like our Blessed Lord each day.

Conversations: Gospel Reflection #1

Discipline is not a pleasant word for most people.  Oftentimes the word brings to mind instances of scolding or punishment.  Yet when we are disciplined in our daily lives we discover the blessings that God wants us to have.  As we will discover in our study for this week, discipline and discernment are essential if we are to grow into mature individuals who can endure hardship, remain relational, and in life’s difficult situations return to joy.

Episode 60 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 09

“If it feels good do it” might be a familiar saying to you. Maybe you’ve heard someone use it to justify a particular action or actions. This type of maxim may sound appealing, even wise because our senses do help us discern between what is pleasant and what is harmful. For example, sometimes we learn not to sit too close to the fire by feeling the intense heat, or we learn the milk has gone sour by the pungent aroma emanating from the carton. While God gave us our senses to help investigate and understand the world around us, we were never meant to solely rely on them, especially when it came to moral decisions. Being able to discern what’s right and having the discipline to pursue it, even when it’s uncomfortable, can help us maintain our joy and lead to greater joy in the end.

Episode 59 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 08

The way we see the world shapes the way we interact with it and with others. Having the wrong narrative will not only complicate our relationships, it will prevent us from experiencing true joy. If God created us to be in loving relationships, the greatest being our relationship with Him, and to experience joy through those relationships, then we need to adopt His narrative and see things, including ourselves, as they really are. This will not only enable us to experience His joy, but we will also experience His peace. And don’t we need some peace in these trying times.

Episode 58 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 07

As we look out at the Church across the world we can notice many differences like ethnicity, style of worship, denomination, and language. But despite our differences, the Bible teaches us that we are all One Body because we all belong to One Lord, Jesus Christ. While we may identify with other groups and the loving relationships we have in those groups may bring us some joy, it’s our identity in Christ that ultimately leads to experiencing the fullness of joy, especially during difficult situations and seasons.

Episode 57 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 06

How we respond in difficult situations can say a lot about who we are. Being cool under pressure is a trait that’s admired and with good reason for it’s impossible to diffuse a situation when you need to be diffused yourself. In the book of Proverbs we read, “Like a city that is broken into and without walls So is a person who has no self-control over his spirit” (Proverbs 25:28). To be self-controlled is the mark of a spiritually and emotionally mature person, but this doesn’t happen overnight. We need to be able to recognize when our “switch” in our assessment center turns “off” and take the steps necessary to turn it back “on” so that in difficult situations we can remain relational, act like ourselves, return to joy, and in doing so we will be able to endure hardship.

Episode 56 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 05

The goal of our faith is ultimately to be like Christ. The Early Church Fathers summed it up best when they said that the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men might become sons of God. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that the goal of the ministerial offices is to equip and build up the church, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). This knowledge isn’t simply head knowledge, though that plays a part in our ability to know things. Rather, the knowledge Paul is referring to is experiential knowledge: walking daily with the Lord, spending time with Him in prayer and in His Word, and being an active member of His Body, the Church. As the saying goes, “You are the company you keep,” the more time we’re with the Lord, the more His life is expressed through ours, and what a world it would be if this were true for all of us today!

Episode 55 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 04

We were created to be emotional beings, but sometimes our emotions can get the best of us. This happens in especially tense and difficult situations. How we respond in those moments can say a lot about us which is why the ability to “keep our peace” when the “heat is on” is an important watermark for the believer. Self-control is not something we can achieve on our own, rather it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit as He works in and through us. As Fr. Ward points out in our lesson for this week, the degree to which we are walking in and with the Spirit will ultimately determine the degree to which we are able to exhibit those characteristics that define a person with RARE leadership. That RARE (R-A-R-E) is an acronym with the first “R” for “Remain Relational,” the “A” for “Act Like Yourself,” the second “R” for “Return To Joy,” and the “E” for “Endure Hardship.”

Episode 54 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 03

Stress and anxiety have become common terms in our word economy, so common, in fact, that it seems they’re all we hear about. There is plenty in our world to cause us stress and so much of our time can be consumed by it, even to the point where we become physically ill. If this was all we were made for then life would be one big sorrow filled with many burdens, but as we will learn from Fr. Ward, we were created for joy.

Episode 53 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 02

It’s good to be back with you for another episode, and we apologize for the mini sabbatical we took. With everything going on surrounding this global pandemic, we, unfortunately, weren’t able to keep up with our weekly schedule. Thank you to our listeners who have stuck with us through our absence and we hope you enjoy this new series we’re starting up titled “Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World.” In this series Fr. Ward will share how we can maximize our joy, looking at what the scriptures and brain science have to say about who we are and how we are wired. This series was initially recorded for video so you may hear various sounds or references to images at certain points. You can watch the videos by going to St. Bartholomew’s website which is www.stbartston.org

Episode 52 - Finding the Joy of the Lord in a Stress-filled World Part 01

The Transforming Lives Together Podcast is a ministry of St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Tonawanda, NY. St. Bartholomew’s is on mission to see lives powerfully transformed through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. For more information on the church please visit our website at: www.stbartston.org

hubhopper

Transforming Lives Together Podcast

hubhopper