SERIES - Simply Gospel: Simply Profound There is something profoundly wonderful about experiencing or tasting something the way it was originally intended. In the Bible, we read the story of Cain and Abel and about the first murder that took place. Here, we see the plight of mankind played out in the first two children of Adam and Eve. Do we give in to our own way, or do we strive to do it God’s way? The hard part is that it ends up being seemingly disastrous with either decision. So, what’s the...
Sep 16, 2020•27 min
SERIES - Simply Gospel: Nothing Added If you were given news of the best restaurant in town and then given burdensome conditions that were required in order to eat there, how would you respond? The news of this restaurant becomes a bit less enchanting. So, too, with the Gospel – when we add our own conditions to God’s simple truth, we not only dampen its appeal, but we also diminish its meaning. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: In the Story of the Lost Son in Luke 15: there are ru...
Sep 09, 2020•17 min
SERIES - WholeLife Discipleship: Discipling Others What does modern discipleship look like? How do we do this during a pandemic? Should we all be proclaiming the good news to the world or starting arguments on social media? What ranks higher: teaching doctrine or loving people? Can we do both? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: What are your thoughts about the idea that God invites us to play and we turned it into work? So, what about you? Have you found the invitation to play? Have...
Sep 02, 2020•32 min
SERIES - WholeLife Discipleship: Discipling Like Jesus “Follow Me.” These were Jesus’ words to his disciples. What did that mean? In his book I Am a Follower, Leonard Sweet says it’s not about leading, but about following. What was Jesus’ method for discipleship? What would happen in our families and community if we discipled like Jesus? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: Why do we want to make being a disciple about more than just following Jesus? So, who just popped into your head...
Aug 26, 2020•33 min
SERIES - WholeLife Discipleship: A WholeLife Disciple Christian discipleship doesn’t happen in a bubble. A disciple is part of a community. We are all a disciple of someone. Whose disciple are you, and what is the cost of being a disciple? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: Why do we want to make being a disciple about more than just following Jesus? So, we would love to hear not only why you think we want to make discipleship about more than just following Jesus, but also, how have...
Aug 19, 2020•29 min
SERIES - Worshipping In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood: Look For The Helpers When Fred Rogers was a boy, and saw something on the news that scared him, his mother’s counsel to bring him comfort was, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” The year 2020 will always be known as the year of COVID 19. Quarantines, stay-at-home orders, masks, and anti-bacterial soaps. While there were many who rose to the occasion by self-sacrificially serving on the front lines, helping neighb...
Aug 12, 2020•20 min
SERIES - Worshipping In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood: I Like You Just The Way You Are When Fred Rogers was a boy, and saw something on the news that scared him, his mother’s counsel to bring him comfort was, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” The year 2020 will always be known as the year of COVID 19. Quarantines, stay-at-home orders, masks, and anti-bacterial soaps. While there were many who rose to the occasion by self-sacrificially serving on the front lines, hel...
Aug 05, 2020•50 min
SERIES - Worshiping In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood: What Do You Do With The Mad That You Feel? In 1968, the Vietnam War was being fought; Bobby Kennedy had been shot. Mr. Rogers realized that children were aware of these events, but they had no place where it was safe to talk about these issues. We avoid those things we don’t understand and what we fear. On the program, King Friday builds a wall to keep out what he didn’t like or understand. How does fear build walls? How important is it for the chu...
Jul 29, 2020•31 min
SERIES - #ThisIsWholeLife: Living In The Now - Part IV This pandemic has pulled the curtain on the myth of independent living. We are beings created for community. How can we allow space to grieve what we have lost but still refocus and move forward? How is God calling us to fix our eyes on him and to partner with him in sharing hope and grace? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How are you currently creating more opportunities for safely connecting? How about you? How have you been...
Jul 22, 2020•23 min
SERIES - #ThisIsWholeLife: Living In The Now - Part III COVID is a crisis that touches us all. So is racial injustice. As we work toward a cure for the virus, how might honest conversations begin to heal and wipe out racial injustice? Maybe the first thing we all need to agree on is the necessity of surrendering to God. This week Andy sits down with WholeLife member Linda Ryan for a Q & A you don’t want to miss. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How would your reaction to the C...
Jul 15, 2020•19 min
SERIES - #ThisIsWholeLife: Living In The Now - Part II The current crisis has forced our lives into a “new normal.” Though some have found good things in the forced pause, change isn’t always welcome and can sometimes cause resentment. How does looking outside of ourselves and to the work and sacrifice of others change this perspective? How might we be conveyors of encouragement? Sit down with pastor Andy and WholeLIfe members Dr. Vincent and Grace Hsu who are both front line workers in the figh...
Jul 08, 2020•17 min
SERIES: #ThisIsWholeLife - Living In The Now - Part I What have we learned during this unique time in history? How is our response to this current situation with COVID affected by our relationship with God? Send us your questions, comments, and any answers or insights you may have on ways we can lean into God with confidence and ‘not let fear be a part of our experience’, by using one of the following: ■ Text/Voicemail: 407-965-1607 ■ Email: podcast@wholelife.church ■ WLC Mobile App: Media Tab/P...
Jul 01, 2020•17 min
SERIES: What Really Matters - Pause To Love When God created us, we were never meant to be constant workers, or doers, or even creators. After six days of full-on production, God stops and, by ceasing from all that is done, quite ironically creates the perfect antidote for humanity's obsession to labor, to gratify, to obtain, and to literally wear down our own bodies. And God calls it holy. Send us your questions, comments, or any answers or insights you may have on this weeks takeaways as discu...
Jun 24, 2020•32 min
SERIES: What Matters Most - Hope In The Now Everything we’ve read and heard from the time we were small is now challenged by what we’ve been dubbing “The New Normal.” How do we pick up the pieces and make sense of our lives when the pieces don’t seem to fit any longer? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: What will you do to increase hope in someone this week? So, who came to mind when you read that takeaway and what can you do for them to increase their hope? Send us your questions, ...
Jun 17, 2020•25 min
The new Lifelong album "Everyday Heroes" is now available. This honest work tells a musical story of the unique time we find ourselves living in. This EP is a soul-refreshing reminder that we're better together when we bring peace, love, joy, and hope to those around us. Join Randy and special guest Richard Hickam as they dig a little deeper into the creative process and the people and places behind the music! Say hello on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wholelifeorl , Facebook: https://www.faceboo...
Jun 12, 2020•29 min
SERIES: What Matters Most - Finding Trust In Your Faith Community . Acts 6:1-7 During a time of crisis and pain, faith communities should be those places of refuge where we find our greatest strength and stability. These types of communities can provide warmth, acceptance, and belonging. However, at other times they can be the very thing that causes us to feel alone, lost, and sometimes even threatened or endangered. How does this happen in what has been referred to as “The Body of Christ”? How ...
Jun 10, 2020•24 min
Our world is in chaos following the death of yet another man of color at the hands of police. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man, was killed in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white American Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. According to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes a...
Jun 03, 2020•55 min
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man, was killed in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white American Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. According to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive. Please listen to the enti...
Jun 02, 2020•9 min
Paul's Letter to the Orlandonians: Instructions For Christian Households These are some of the words of Paul that sometimes cause some challenges. They mirror his words in Ephesians. Wives to husbands, husbands to wives, children to parents, parents to children, slaves and their earthly masters, and earthly masters to the slaves. A different time and a different culture, but what principles are there to bring to Orlando in the 21st Century? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How do ...
May 27, 2020•27 min
Paul's Letter to the Orlandonians: How Does A Free New Lifer Live? Paul gives guidance on living as a new creature in Christ. We put away, put to death, the sinful earthly things in us—and live free of all that. Even to the removal of the normal distinctions of Jew and Gentile. And there’s a good bit of directive about relationships as a Free New Lifer! One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How successful is Satan in 1) getting you to beat yourself up when you mess up, and 2) getting y...
May 20, 2020•28 min
We sometimes forget the controlling nature of the rules of those who wished to impose all the laws of Judaism on the early church. As followers of Christ, we are called to live in obedience to him, not in obedience to traditions—shadows that were pointing to the reality we now have in Christ. We are no longer bound by the rules of this world and can live in freedom. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How do you feel about rules and law not being able to fix us? This can be a touchy ...
May 13, 2020•31 min
In Paul's letter, he agonizes over people he’s never even met. He wants to be sure people are told the simple truth of Christ, and Christ alone, and that this gospel is for everyone. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: Who would you be willing to agonize in prayer for their salvation? So, who can you pray for that doesn’t know Jesus? Commit to praying for them daily this coming week and share what God did in your life during this week by using one of the following: ■ Text/Voicemail: ...
May 06, 2020•26 min
The work of God in Christ makes peace for and with fallen humanity. Salvation is not our work, but that of God in Christ. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: When you read the Bible how hard is it to reconcile that God and Jesus are just alike? Where is it most difficult to believe? So, in your bible reading, where do you find it most difficult to reconcile that God and Jesus are just alike? You can share by using one of the following: ■ Text/Voicemail: 407-965-1607 ■ Email: podcast@...
Apr 29, 2020•26 min
We may think of Paul’s conversation about his prayers for the Colossians as prayers for us. However, are the things he says and praises about the Colossians true about us? How will it impact us to think about the content of this prayer and what we might want for one another from God? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: WholeLife Church’s mission is “Loving people into a lifelong friendship with God. What is the evidence that we are doing it? Are there are subtle ways in which our mis...
Apr 22, 2020•27 min
One of the results of social distancing is that we are more likely to become socially distant. Just because you’re practicing social distancing it doesn’t mean you have to be socially distant. We can still call people, text people, video chat people, engage more deeply with people that we're quarantined with and so on. The trouble is sometimes, even when we’re not practicing social distancing, we can still be socially distant. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How have you intentio...
Apr 15, 2020•20 min
How do you move towards hope? In our current world with all that is going on, there can easily be a move to cynicism. Christians are called to be people of faith and faith, exercised well, leads to hope – a change in direction from cynicism. How can we make sure to be people of hope? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How confident are you that God can keep you through the days ahead? Please reach out if you have questions or just need someone to bounce things off of. Finding peace ...
Apr 08, 2020•25 min
We live in uncertain times, and life isn't always what we expect. Even during the turmoil currently invading our lives, is it possible to experience rest? Is a day to stop and put our trust wholly in God exactly what we need right now? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: What do you think about Sabbath’s role to remind us that we are worth more than what we can produce? So what about you? Does this idea of our worth being more than we can produce make you as grateful as it does me? A...
Apr 01, 2020•26 min
It seems clear from the commandment that at least part of what “keeping Sabbath” means has to do with the day being “different” from the other days of the week. Six are designed for working, and one designed for rest. Paul says the law is good, and that we are not “under the law," so how does this relate to Sabbath? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: How has this time of “social distancing” affected your thoughts about Sabbath? About corporate worship? About fellowship? So, how have...
Mar 25, 2020•29 min
Jesus broke the Sabbath taboos, but he also never sinned, which means he “kept the Sabbath holy.” How do blessings get turned into curses? The way Jesus related to the Sabbath was to return to its original intent: it was made for people—people weren’t made for it! It fits the New Testament idea that the law is meant to be descriptive of the life of a follower of Jesus, not a means to please or appease God. One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week asked: What are some ways that Sabbath has been c...
Mar 18, 2020•15 min
It is often thought that the Sabbath is a Jewish construct beginning when the 10 Commandments were given on Mt. Sinai. It is important to remember that, whatever Sabbath would become in the culture of a fallen world, it preceded the fall. The Sabbath finds its roots in the story of creation, God’s story of what is ideal for his perfect creation in a sinless garden. How will this clear place of Sabbath’s birth change our relationship to Sabbath today? One of our #WholeLifeTakeAways this week aske...
Mar 11, 2020•20 min
