Category: HT Simulcast

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Many artists have depicted the Nativity showing the holy family in their own ethnicities, as a way to show that Jesus came to save all people. Similarly, some Bible translators have paraphrased the Bible into slang for different regions of the world. This week, Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss where to draw the line between artistic and literary license to communicate the Gospel, and using art and language to further your own cultural agenda.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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On this episode, Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss the phenomenon that for many people, the Advent and Christmas seasons are full of traditions…and stress. People who don’t attend the rest of the year go to church, expecting to hear the familiar Christmas narrative and relive childhood memories. (Or at least as close as they can get.) Everyone likes the nice Baby Jesus story of Christmas, but what we really need to hear is the undiluted, full-on, Gospel–that we needed Baby Jesus to be born so He would grow up and die for our sins.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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As sinners, we constantly put people into various pigeonholes on the basis of to their sins rather than according to who they are in Christ. And worse, we find ways to justify doing so as Christians. But is it possible that one reason we’re so uncomfortable with other sinners is because they confront us with our own sinfulness and unworthiness before God? Listen in on Sandra and Pastor Riley as they try to figure out how to crucify those desires of the flesh and see people–not according to the boxes we’ve put them in but according to their baptisms.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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Marriage, weddings, husbands and wives are a common theme throughout all of Scripture, with Christ and the Church as the image of the marriage relationship. The Lord’s Supper is even understood as a foretaste of the wedding feast to come. What would happen if the church used this image as a starting point for inviting people to communion? Yet so often, our first inclination is to restrict people from receiving the forgiveness, life, and salvation that is offered there. Join Pastor Riley and Sandra as we discuss the complex ins and outs of communion fellowship and the Simul!

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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So often we struggle to feel like we know the Gospel more or believe it better better than we did the day before — or at least more or better than the next person. But is the Gospel even something that can be measured and quantified? Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss how Christians believe that our sins are forgiven in Christ…while at the same time we’re filled with doubts. And of course, we talk about how vocations provide the freedom and context to tell others that this good news is for them too

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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This week, we’re talking about sexual abuse, rape. Sins committed against us in such intimate ways affect us physically and mentally, and spiritually. Yet people who experience these sins don’t usually seek out the church as a place for support. Many, even years later, still believe that they need to either just ignore what happened or suffer silently. Pastor Riley and Sandra discuss some reasons why this is, and how we as Christians and the church can provide real comfort for those who have been sinned against.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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It’s easy to list off a ticker-tape of doctrines and practices that divide us as Christians and churches. But what makes us unified with each other is not a matter of everyone having all the same items checked off the list or passing certain litmus tests, it’s about being united as one with Christ as He feeds us with His own Body and Blood. In this episode, Sandra and Pastor Riley talk about unity and division, the Lord’s Supper, and the Gospel.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact.

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Not that long ago, “pastoral care” meant the same thing as basic psychological therapy. A lot of Christians believe that going to church will make a person’s life better, and pastors may be tempted to offer common-sense counseling at the expense of administering the Spiritual care they are called and ordained to provide. In this episode, Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss some of those distinctions, especially as they relate to shame, guilt, fear, sin, and pastoral counseling.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact.

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As sinners, we tend to understand love by how it makes us feel. When we translate this into how we look for a loving church, we can end up setting ourselves up for disappointment. This week, Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss what Christian love is, what it looks like in a church, and how we are freed in Christ to love the people around us — even when we don’t like them.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact.

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A pastor is there to preach the Law and the Gospel to kill and raise to new life, so that’s what congregations should be listening to hear in every sermon. This week, Sandra and Pastor Riley talk about what makes for a great (and not-so-great) sermon. No one is saved by a preacher’s creativity or intelligence, we actually need to hear essentially the same sermon – every week: Christ and Him crucified for our sins.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact.