In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Chad is joined by Pastor Toshaun and Pastor Nick. The pastors share how they were called into ministry and how to discover God’s call for our lives. As a believer, your primary call is to intimacy with God, not ministry. If you are trying to discern God’s call for your life, you need to draw near to Him and go where He’s leading you. Ultimately, God is calling you to trust Him. God puts a calling and gifts on our lives that are irrevocable. Once you di...
Nov 25, 2024•45 min•Ep. 101
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Chad and host Les Norman talk about the rewards of saying yes to God. Pastor Chad and Les are joined by Pastor Bill and Jeremy, who are on staff with the Live Sent ministry at Abundant Life. They share an update on how many kids were sponsored during Compassion Sunday and their vision for sponsoring 1,200 kids in Tanzania. Pastor Bill reminds listeners that you can’t take the gospel to the wrong address. It always needs to go a little bit further. The ...
Nov 18, 2024•48 min•Ep. 100
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss living out the gospel through Abundant Life’s partnership with Compassion International and the church plants in Peru. Compassion deeply cares about people's physical and spiritual needs and is focused on releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Pastor Phil shares some stories from his recent trip to Peru, where he visited the Compassion resource center and church plants with which Abundant Life has...
Nov 11, 2024•38 min•Ep. 99
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss some of the threats to our freedom as Christians and American citizens. In a time of high emotions, we must think biblically, not politically. Religion shapes culture, and culture shapes laws. Godly people in power bring godly outcomes. But when godly people do not influence the institutions that shape our country, you get ungodly outcomes. We all have a responsibility to understand the history of our coun...
Nov 04, 2024•40 min•Ep. 98
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Chad and host Les Norman talk about raising children to have a biblical worldview. It is a parent’s responsibility to raise their kids and teach them a biblical worldview. You never finish educating your kids. You need to be committed to raising them up to know God’s ways, His voice, and His word so they can develop a biblical worldview. Chad shares some practical things parents can do to pass their faith onto their children: -Seek the Lord in private ...
Oct 28, 2024•55 min•Ep. 97
God instituted civil authority for the peace and prosperity of society, apart from which there would be anarchy. We are called to obey governing authorities (Romans 13:1-4), but God is our ultimate authority. God’s primary purpose for human government is to protect its citizens from violent offenders. The biblical responsibility of government is to maintain order and peace in society. Paul wrote Romans to help people understand who they are in Christ and how to live justified and sanctified in a...
Oct 21, 2024•53 min•Ep. 96
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss the next figure on the National Monument to the Forefathers: Morality. Morally, our society reflects the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the church reflects the life of Lot in Genesis 19. Lot knew God, but he fully embraced Sodom’s immoral culture. Romans 3:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Morality must come from within. It’s somethi...
Oct 14, 2024•46 min•Ep. 95
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and Les Norman talk about the new sermon series, Hope for Us. Even though we live in a deeply divided world and people feel hopeless, there is hope for us in the gospel! Romans 1 gives us the four steps to abandoning faith in God: Truth suppression. God’s demotion. Man’s promotion. Moral destruction. Many people fool themselves into thinking that they can form the Bible around what they want it to say or make it fit the lifestyle the...
Oct 07, 2024•44 min•Ep. 94
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Chad, Pastor Kyle, and Pastor Jonathan take a deep dive into the practical applications of Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13 offers a long list of ways believers can take their next step to look more like Jesus. The pastors talk about how to live these out and answer the question, “What does the Bible say about hospitality?” Hebrews 13:1-3 calls believers to be hospitable to strangers, believers, and prisoners. This is a command for all believers, not just for th...
Sep 30, 2024•47 min•Ep. 93
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman talk about the symbolism of Mount Zion and Mount Sinai in Hebrews 12. Mount Sinai is an example of religion. It’s all about your efforts to reach God. God’s standard is perfection, but we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It’s impossible for you to bridge the chasm between your sin and God’s perfection. Since we couldn’t reach God, He sent Jesus to bridge the gap. Mount Zion repre...
Sep 23, 2024•44 min•Ep. 92
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Kyle, Pastor Toshaun, and host Les Norman unpack Hebrews 12:12-17 and how believers should apply it to their lives. Hebrews 12:14-17 makes us hold up a mirror and do some self-introspection. We all have areas of our lives where we need to lighten the load. Unnecessary weight slows us down and keeps us from fulfilling the call God has placed on our lives. Jesus wants us to run with endurance. He wants to help us take off this extra weight, and if it req...
Sep 16, 2024•50 min•Ep. 91
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and Bart Cox continue their conversation about running with endurance. They talk about the idea of “laying aside every weight” that the author presents in Hebrews 12:1. You cannot run with endurance if you’re not working to endure things. You have to train to prepare. Part of that training included taking any unnecessary weight out of your pack. We all carry backpacks through life, but we choose what we carry. We need to choose caref...
Sep 09, 2024•46 min•Ep. 90
In this episode of The Well, Pastor Phil and Pastor Chad are joined by Bart Cox, the Senior Executive Pastor at Abundant Life. Pastor Phil and Bart just got back from a hiking trip in the backcountry of Glacier National Park, and they’ve got lots of stories to share! Bart shares a story about the biking accident that led to his joining the Abundant Life staff and the history of his friendship with Pastor Phil. He now applies the skills he learned in a secular work environment to execute the big ...
Sep 02, 2024•43 min•Ep. 89
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Chad and Les Norman are joined by Kyle Worsham, the Online Pastor at Abundant Life. Kyle shares the heart behind the church house movement and how we can live sent in our communities. Living sent doesn’t require training or a program. There are lost people all around us. All you need is your story and a willing heart to be used by God. Our obedience, as a result of faith, can change our lives and trajectory. It can also change the lives of those around...
Aug 26, 2024•51 min•Ep. 88
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman recap what God did at Revival Weekend. They also talk about the examples of Moses, Abraham, and Sarah and what they teach us about obedience by faith. Abraham, Sarah, and Moses obeyed God by faith. They did not know where He was taking them or when they would see the fulfillment of His promises, but they obeyed by faith. However, their lives were not without suffering and pain. Jesus never promised us health, weal...
Aug 19, 2024•55 min•Ep. 87
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman talk about how to live by faith during the last days. Hebrews 11:5-7 recounts the faith of Enoch and Noah. Enoch set an example for how we should walk with God in the last days, and Noah showed us what it looks like to work for God. If you want to see God move in your life, you must put your faith into action. Faith is the trigger that releases God’s power in your life. But why is faith so hard sometimes? Reasons ...
Aug 12, 2024•45 min•Ep. 86
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Toshaun and Pastor Nick join host Les Norman to talk about the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. Faith is not a feeling; it’s more than an emotion. Your emotions aren’t meant to govern you but to guide you. Many people lead a feelings-based life, but that isn’t the type of life God wants us to live. In Christ, our feelings are transformed into righteous feelings. Because we are under the curse of sin, our feelings often come out in sinful ways. But th...
Aug 05, 2024•52 min•Ep. 85
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Chad and Pastor Kyle discuss how to grow in your faith and provide practical tools for reading the Bible, praying, and finding community. Hebrews 10:22-25 calls Christians to do 3 things to continue growing in their faith: Draw near to God. Hold fast to the confession of hope without wavering. Consider one another. Knowing how to grow in your faith and do these things can sometimes be overwhelming. Here are 2 things to reflect on to help you grow: Reca...
Jul 29, 2024•44 min•Ep. 84
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil and host Les Norman talk about overcoming temptation. We will struggle with sin and temptation, even as born-again believers. The question is, when your flesh cries out for you to give it something that does not honor God, what will you believe? When you struggle with temptation, you must believe that what God says is true, no matter what you see. God says your flesh is dead, and you’ve been set free from the power of sin. You can overcome temptat...
Jul 22, 2024•48 min•Ep. 83
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman dive deeper into Hebrews 9 and the shadows of the New Covenant. You cannot understand the New Covenant (New Testament) if you don’t know anything about the Old Covenant (Old Testament). The Old Testament is the picture book of the New Testament. The author of Hebrews said the Old Testament contained prophetic foreshadows of things to come in the New Testament. In the Old Covenant, the Israelites had to sacrifice a...
Jul 15, 2024•43 min•Ep. 82
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman answer questions about resources for studying the Bible. The Bible is a self-interpreting book. It is meant to be studied by comparing Scripture with Scripture. You don’t have to be smart to know and understand the Bible, but it’s helpful to have resources. When you read a commentary or other resource for studying the Bible, you must remember that it’s written by a man, so it’s an opinion. A good Bible commentary ...
Jul 08, 2024•45 min•Ep. 81
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss the New Covenant. A covenant is binding, unbreakable, and irrevocable. In God’s covenant, we are saved by grace through faith. We don’t have to do anything. We are declared righteous before God if we believe in Him and surrender our lives to Him. In Hebrews 8, the author clarifies the main point of his letter. He wants people to understand why Jesus is a better High Priest and the freedom of the New Covena...
Jul 01, 2024•49 min•Ep. 80
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss how Jesus is our anchor, giving us the certainty of salvation. In Hebrews 6:9-20, the author reminds the Hebrews of the things that give them confidence that their salvation in Christ is permanent. He reminds them that they do not gain salvation through works but that their works are a reflection of their salvation. If we had to earn our salvation, we could never do enough. If it was up to us to keep, we n...
Jun 24, 2024•42 min•Ep. 79
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil and Pastor Chad are joined by Rob and Olivia Poettgen for a special Father’s Day episode. When a religion distorts the genuine Gospel, it diminishes the power of Jesus's finished work. The evidence of being born again is that Jesus has changed us, and the mark of maturity is living in obedience to Jesus. A father’s role is to be the spiritual leader for his family by modeling a life of obedience. Rob shares his testimony of being born and raised C...
Jun 17, 2024•45 min•Ep. 78
In this episode of The Well Podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss how believers can grow in spiritual maturity. Many Christians are still in infancy spiritually, even after walking with and following Jesus for years. Often, believers think that because they know a lot, they’ve grown a lot. However, a disciple is someone who walks obediently to God, not somebody who’s simply studying deeper theology. To stay on the path of godliness and spiritual maturity, you must clothe...
Jun 10, 2024•38 min•Ep. 77
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman talk about how the Word of God is living and powerful in believers’ lives. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. His Word is true, trustworthy, and eternal. The enemy doesn’t want us to use God’s Word to fight temptation. He wants us to depend on others for revelations from God so that we never discover its power in our lives. But God has given us the ...
Jun 03, 2024•52 min•Ep. 76
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman discuss the purpose of the Sabbath for believers. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. To stay in the race and finish strong, believers must get in the rhythm of having a weekly Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath is to intentionally rest and recharge your soul. We’re not commanded to keep a day as the Sabbath to earn righteousness before God like the ancient Israelites. However, we practice the Sabbath to enjoy the ...
May 27, 2024•46 min•Ep. 75
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Jeremy, and host Les Norman tackle the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life? God’s will is made known through His Word. His plan will differ for each person, but His will can be found in His Word. He has commissioned us to live sent and share the gospel with those around us. Every believer is called to ministry, but some people do it vocationally while others live on mission in...
May 20, 2024•45 min•Ep. 74
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman talk about the elements of saving faith. In Hebrews 3, the author warns the ancient Hebrews not to doubt Jesus’ sufficiency. He reminds them of the Israelites who escaped captivity from Egypt. They had enough faith to get out of Egypt but not enough to enter the Promised Land! Although God constantly provided for them, the Israelites lacked the three elements of saving faith. They complained bitterly, doubted God’...
May 13, 2024•50 min•Ep. 73
In this episode of The Well podcast, Pastor Phil, Pastor Chad, and host Les Norman talk about God’s plan for man and how creation reflects His image. All creation, even those who don’t believe in God, demonstrate a need and desire for Christ. God desires that His image would be reflected in all His creation. He wants to be known, and He wants us to know Him. Once we know Him, He wants us to take Him to others so we can know Him too. The 3 Roles of Man: Reflect God’s image. Rule over the earth. R...
May 06, 2024•48 min•Ep. 72
