Transforming Lives Together Podcast

IS JESUS THE MESSIAH?In our NINETEENTH EPISODE tensions rise over this question as we continue with “Life’s Meaning and Purpose: an in-depth study of the Gospel of John”Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel that He did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34), and that this sword would spur conflict amongst individuals, even members of the same household. So the tension that fills chapter 7 of John’s Gospel should not surprise us, for at the center of this tension is the unavoidable Messiah question, “Who do we say Jesus is?” It’s a question that is unavoidable because Jesus is the one who confronts us with it. Once confronted, a decision then has to be made, there is no middle ground. Either Jesus is the Messiah, or He is not. This is the dilemma we find in our lesson this week as people wrestle with the Messiah question, inciting greater hostility from the religious leaders toward Jesus.

WHO IS THE GOOD SAMARITAN?In our Eighteenth episode, we press pause on our study series to hear from Fr. Andrew Thebeau, Curate of St. Bartholomew’s, as he takes us deeper into one Jesus’ most well-known and beloved parables.Throughout His ministry, Jesus liked to utilize parables as a means to teach people about the Kingdom of God and how we are to live for the Kingdom of God. These were stories that, though on the surface dealt with worldly situations, carried a deeper spiritual truth. If you’re familiar with the Gospels, then there might be a few parables you can remember off the top of your head, one of them, most likely, being the Good Samaritan. In our lesson this week, Fr. Thebeau endeavors to make this beloved parable, in his own words, “strange to us again,” as he borrows from the thoughts of the early Church Fathers to help us see this familiar story in a richer, more theological light.

MINISTRY UNDER FIRE!Jesus faces religious opposition in our Seventeenth Episode as we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: an in-depth study of the Gospel of John.”Religious institutions can help provide structure and organization for faith communities. Religious leadership can act as a benevolent hand to help guide, encourage and provide accountability. When walking in obedience to the Word, in the power of the Spirit, with Christ as the Head; these institutions will thrive. When religion becomes a struggle for power, however, these institutions become a house divided, and as Jesus said “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. We see the beginning of this power struggle in chapter 7 of John’s Gospel as the religious leaders challenge Jesus’ authority and the authenticity of his ministry. Unfortunately, what they failed to see was that the man they opposed is the very God they claimed to follow.

Fr. Ward has served as Rector of St. Bartholomew’s for over twenty years, and throughout his ministry he has been an engaging and effective Bible teacher and communicator of the Gospel. You don’t need to look any further than the study we are currently running on the podcast to see this. For our episode this week, we decided to take a break from the study in favor of a Q & A session with Fr. Ward. Most of the questions are centered around John’s Gospel, but our ultimate goal is that you would hear the heart of a priest who loves God and loves the people of God. We would like to thank Fr. Ward for his time, and we also would like to thank you for yours as you tune in each week. We pray you are blessed and encouraged by the content of this podcast. Please listen through to the end to learn how you can connect with this podcast and with all that is happening at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church.

IS THERE SOMETHING HOLDING YOU BACK FROM FOLLOWING JESUS? The sixth chapter in John’s gospel contains one of the toughest teachings Jesus gave about Himself. It was so difficult that it caused many of His disciples to walk away. It’s easy for us to believe, to enjoy the high times of our spiritual walk when everything is going right. A deeper study of Christ’s ministry, however, reveals that the road to eternal life is paved with struggle, with sacrifice, and with death. Jesus calls us to follow, and that following means denying ourselves and taking up our cross, which is not a popular or attractive message today.In our Fifteenth Episode, Fr. Ward underscores this struggle as we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John.”

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION? WHY ARE YOU SEEKING JESUS? While much has changed in our world from the time of Jesus up to now, the desires and motivations of our hearts have not, and that sometimes leads us to pursue that which will satisfy our physical and temporal needs rather than seek the one who can give us eternal and abundant life. We find this same dilemma in our lesson this week in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel as the people experience a profound miracle, but struggle to go beyond the physical and see Jesus as He truly is: God in human form.

This is EPISODE THIRTEEN of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward finishes Chapter 5 and answers questions from those in attendance.We would also like to mention that these studies are recorded live and will sometimes have coughs, the fan for the heating and air conditioning, and a little feedback. We do our best to clean up these sessions but we unfortunately can’t get everything. We hope you’ve been blessed by what you’re hearing from this podcast each week and we thank you for listening.

This is EPISODE TWELVE of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward finishes Chapter 4 and begins to unpack Chapter 5 focusing on verses 1-23.

This is EPISODE ELEVEN of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward unpacks Chapter 4, focusing on verses 1-42.

This is EPISODE TEN of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward finishes up chapter 3, focusing on verses 22-36.

This is EPISODE NINE of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward answers questions from those in attendance and unpacks verses 1-21 of Chapter 3.

This is EPISODE EIGHT of the podcast and we continue with “Life’s Meaning & Purpose: An in-depth study of the Gospel of John” taught by the rector of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode Fr. Ward finishes unpacking chapter 2, focusing on verses 13-25.

This is EPISODE SEVEN of the podcast and with Easter being this past Sunday we felt it appropriate to pause from our Bible study series and share with you the sermon Fr. Ward preached on the resurrection titled, “What If Christ Was Not Raised?”

In this episode, Fr. Ward begins to unpack Chapter TWO focusing on verses 1-12.If you’re just starting to listen to this podcast, we invite you to check out previous episodes to get caught up to speed with this study.

This is EPISODE FIVE of the podcast and we will continue with “Life's Meaning & Purpose: An in depth study of the Gospel of John", taught by the Rector Of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward. In this episode, Fr. Ward will finish unpacking Chapter One, focusing on verses 35-51. If you’re just starting to listen to this podcast, we invite you to check out the first four episodes to get caught up to speed with this study.

In this episode, Fr. Ward answers some questions from those in attendance and unpacks verses 19-34 of Chapter One. If you’re just starting to listen to this podcast, we invite you to check out the first three episodes to get caught up to speed with this study.

This is EPISODE THREE of the podcast and we will continue with “Life's Meaning & Purpose: An in depth study of the Gospel of John", taught by the Rector Of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward. In this episode, Fr. Ward unpacks verses 6-18 of Chapter One. He will also recap verses 1-5, which he unpacked in more detail during episode two of this podcast. If you’re starting to listen to this podcast now, we invite you to check out the first two episodes to get caught up to speed with this study.

This is EPISODE TWO of the podcast and we will continue with “Life's Meaning & Purpose: An in depth study of the Gospel of John", taught by the Rector Of St. Bartholomew’s Fr. Arthur Ward.In this episode, Fr. Ward concludes his overview of John’s gospel, answers some questions asked by those in attendance, and unpacks the first five verses of chapter one.

In this episode we begin a study titled "Life's Meaning & Purpose: An in depth study of the Gospel of John" taught by the Rector of St. Bartholomew's Fr. Arthur Ward. Here Fr. Ward gives us an introduction to John's Gospel as well as some background on the writer and why this book is important for us today.