What’s the treasure in your life that you can’t stop talking about? In today’s episode, Francis shares about one of his greatest treasures – the fear of the Lord – and walks us slowly, meditatively through Hebrews 12 towards a greater reverence and awe of the God we worship.
When you read scripture, it doesn’t take long to come across ideas that seem to contradict our natural logic - - things like God’s power being perfected in our weakness or the least will be the greatest in the kingdom of God. In today’s teaching, Francis unpacks Scripture’s counter-cultural wisdom and why it’s better to be at the house of mourning than at the best party.
If I asked you to name a miracle that’s recorded in Scripture, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? The blind receiving sight, or the dead to life? In today's episode, Francis calls the church to seek God for a miracle only He can give: godly sorrow. We encourage you to listen in as Francis directs our hearts towards repentance, weeping over what grieves the Lord, and being the kind of "progressive" church that He desires.
When gathering together for worship, it’s good to minister to other people. Scripture commands us to look after the needs of those in the Body, but how often do we focus on ministering to the Lord? In today’s episode, Francis points us back to making what the Lord desires our highest priority: preparing ourselves for the moment we see His face, unashamedly declaring his truth, and ministering to Him with true worship.
The New Year is well underway, and many of us have set goals or made resolutions for things that we want to see happen in 2023. But, as Francis teaches in today’s episode, the New Year is a wonderful time to take a step back from your life and ask yourself: “Am I living with a reverence for God?” “Am I willing to obey whatever He’s speaking to me this year through His Word?” Like Paul instructed in the book of Philippians, we pray that this teaching encourages you to work out your own salvation ...
In this, the final episode of the One Table Series, the Chans and Vitales share from personal experience of the lessons learned from pursuing unity in their own lives. How do you walk through the process of reconciliation when you’re the one who’s been hurt? Is repentance something that we just have to do when we’ve sinned, or is it a gift that God gives us to draw closer to Him and others?
In discussions about unity, it’s easy to get so caught up with side issues that we miss the very center of it all: Jesus, Himself. Today, as we continue the One Table series, Francis, Lisa, Vince, and Jo open their hearts to talk about who Jesus is to each of them, what they love about Him, and what it means for our unity when we move “beyond” Jesus to focus on other things.
Scripture clearly commands believers to pursue unity with one another - but what about those passages where it commands us not to associate with certain people? How do we discern if a potential point of division is a core doctrine or a disputable matter? Is it possible that our unity isn’t hindered by our differences, but actually requires them? Listen to Part 4 of the “One Table” series on the Crazy Love Podcast.
Join us as we continue with Part 3 of our “One Table” series where Francis and Lisa Chan along with apologists Vince and Jo Vitale unpack the topic of unity within the church. In today’s episode, Francis shares about his recent trip to Israel, the impact it made in his view of scripture, the beauty of what God is doing uniting both Jewish and Palestinian believers, and what it means to live with a longing to see the Lord’s return.
In the book of First Corinthians, Paul tells the church, “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he should know.” (8:2) In other words, if we think we know it all, we really don’t know anything. So how do you know whether what you believe is true? Is it because you discovered it yourself and trust your own opinion? Or is there a better way? Francis and Lisa Chan unpack these questions with Vince and Jo Vitale in today’s episode – the second discussion in our “One Table”...
Join Francis and Lisa Chan for a series of honest conversations with Vince and Jo Vitale about a seemingly impossible dream: unity in the Church. In this episode, the Chans and Vitales probe into some foundational questions around pursuing unity: How can we ask honest questions about what we or others believe, despite our fears of being judged by others or facing our own doubts? How can we walk in constant humility to learn from those different from us without compromising the essentials? Is it ...
We are living in a time like no other in the history of the Church. In this message given at Antioch's World Mandate conference, Francis Chan shares his excitement over the things that God is doing in the earth, and exhorts this generation to leave aside the free-thinking of our modern world and anchor itself in the ancient truth of God that unites all believers.
In the Old Testament, whenever the temple of God was mentioned, reverence, fear, and honor quickly followed. There was a great understanding that in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies dwelt the very real presence of God. Now, imagine you were there. How would you respond? In this week’s episode, Francis Chan, not only reminds of this truth but points us to 1 Corinthians 3 to reveal a truth about us, the body of Christ, that is often overlooked.
It is said that the average person speaks approximately 7000 words a day. Has it ever crossed your mind that if this is true for you, what percentage of those words were used for the purpose that God designed? In this week’s episode, Francis Chan, brings us through scripture to remind us of God’s heart for our words and the purpose for them.
When Jesus established the Church in the New Testament, He created it to be unstoppable, powerful, beautiful, and different from the rest of the world. But for many, Sundays have become more religion and tradition than a place of worship. When you gather with your local church, what do you look for? Is it Jesus? In this week’s episode, Francis Chan encourages our hearts to seek Christ, that He would be our lifeline, the center of church and the center of our lives.
In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays that the church would be strengthened in the inner being, that God would do a miracle in their heart that would manifest itself in holiness and righteousness. In this week's episode, Francis Chan brings us through Scripture and reminds us how beautiful it is to know God and be known by Him.
One of the more beautiful Truths about God and man is that the Father loves us deeply, but the reality is, many people live as if this Truth wasn’t…true. In this weeks episode Francis Chan reminds us how deep the Father truly loves us and how this perfect love should be reflected in our gatherings as the Church.
When you read the story of the early believers in the book of Acts, what goes through your mind? The way they live amongst each other, the way they love one another, it seems beautiful but for many people, their experience of the Church looks like quite the opposite. In this week’s episode, Francis Chan takes through the story of the early Church in Acts 4 and encourages us to not only pursue living like the biblical church but to believe the Holy Spirit can do in us what He did in them.
For a lot of people, each day looks exactly the same. We wake up, we get dressed, we commute to work, we work, we go home, we sleep, and then it repeats all over again. When we live like that, it gets hard to see outside of our little bubble, and it’s quite easy to miss what God is doing everywhere else in the world. In this week’s episode, Francis Chan takes us to 1 Timothy 3 and shows us that there is a spiritual reality happening right now and if we pay attention, we’ll find our encouragement...
It’s not difficult to live a life in pursuit of our own dreams and ambitions and while those things aren’t bad in itself, when you consider the reality of who God is, it’s hard to know Him and walk away unchanged. In this weeks episode Francis Chan brings us to Ephesians 3:14-18 and reminds us to search our hearts and understand what it means to be filled with the fullness of God according to all the riches of His glory.
As human beings, it’s oftentimes much easier to talk about other people’s sin than it is to evaluate ourselves and assess our own lives in light of righteousness and holiness. In this week’s classic episode, Francis Chan reminds us to not flirt with disaster but to be diligent at taking every thought captive, addressing any sin, and bringing it to the cross.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven after His resurrection, He promised we would never be alone but rather, He would send His Comforter the Holy Spirit to indwell every Believer. In this week’s episode Francis Chan brings us back to 2 Peter and reminds us what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit in every area of our life.
If you took an assessment of your life - what would you say you work hardest at? For some, it’s your job or career, or raising your kids. Some would say its ministering to people, and while all these areas are important, the greatest thing you can do in your life is pursue Christ and His character. In this classic teaching, Francis Chan takes us to 2 Peter chapter 1 and reminds us what God thinks about holiness and character.
What does it mean to call Jesus your “Lord?” And what impact should that have on our lives? In this week’s episode Francis Chan reminds us of the reality of God and explains how the Holy God of the Universe desires us and loves us but is also our authority.
In a hyper-individualistic society, its easy to find answers in isolation and develop definitions for scriptural truths on our own. But have you ever thought about how you know what you know and whether it’s correct? In this week’s episode Francis Chan reminds us of humility in the church and how submission to authority is vital for unity in the body of Christ.
In this day and age, experts believe that there is estimated to be more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. and a staggering 45,000 globally. As astonishing as that number is, is this what Jesus had in mind when He established the Church? In part 1 of this week’s episode, Francis Chan reminds us of the power and weight of what it means to be the Church - The Body of Christ - as Jesus intended.
The Apostle Paul desired that the church “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” But sadly, in this day and age, the Church seems more divided than it's ever been. Francis Chan exhorts us with a message reminding us that unity in the body of Christ is worth fighting for but it must begin with a proper perspective of the holiness of Christ.
When you read and study Scripture, what is your ultimate goal? Is it to find yourself in the story and focus on your needs? Or is it about something much bigger? In this week’s episode Francis Chan reminds us that Scripture isn’t about us. It’s always been about God from the very beginning. When we take a step back and maintain this perspective, it changes how we read and comprehend His Word, and ultimately how we give Him glory.
The prayer of many committed followers of Christ is simply, “Here I am, send me.” But in our desire to be used by God, Francis Chan explains that we need to make sure we don’t forget the most important things – to see Him clearly, to remain humble, and to tremble at His Word.
Walking with Jesus is the greatest joy of our lives. At the same time, we’re also navigating life’s challenges. But when you read the Scriptures you see people walking into adversity with courage and confidence. In this week’s episode Francis Chan takes us through Psalm 23 and reminds us what it truly means for the Lord to be our Shepherd.
