Clark's Compelling Catwalk

In America, we don't like pain. We run away from it. We go to great extremes to avoid it. But, in doing so, we often make our pain worse, rather than better. What is a better way to deal with our pain?

In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, God is telling us that we need to Be Open, Be Curious, and Be Flexible.

After Jesus' resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday, He returned to talk to His disciples about the mission He wanted them to go on after He returned to heaven. What did He say? And what does that mean for the mission He wants us to go on today?

The Easter story is true. Jesus Christ really was resurrected. He actually came back to life from the dead. What happened on that first Easter Sunday? And what does it mean for us today?

When Jesus rode into Palm Sunday on a donkey, people cheered wildly. They were so excited to see Him. But, after they heard what He had to say, many lost interest. What was Jesus' Palm Sunday message and what does it mean for us today?

In John 17, Jesus teaches us to pray

After the Last Supper, before He was arrested, Jesus spoke to His disciples about Who the Holy Spirit is. The two main verbs He used were that the Holy Spirit convicts us and guides us. Listen to this episode to hear why this is important and what difference this makes in our lives today.

In John 15, Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches and apart from me, you can do nothing. In this chapter, He tells us that we must stick with Jesus, we must love one another, and we may be hated by the world.

In John 14, Jesus answers four questions for us: 1)Who is He?, 2)Where is He going?, 3)Why does this matter?, and 4)Will you believe in Him?

The story of Jesus' Last Supper with His disciples before His crucifixion, and the story of Judas Iscariot leaving that meal to betray Jesus, has some interesting insights on how God wants us to live our lives today.

What does it mean when Jesus says you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world?

Part of participating in the mission of God means loving the city where God has placed us.

Hinge Moments are times of major change that we go through in our lives, where the consequences of those moments affect us for years to come. They may be doors that close in our faces or new doors that God opens for us for new opportunities. The Bible gives us some key Hinge virtues to help us navigate these important times of change.

Romans 8 gives us some insight about the power of God that is available to everyone who believes in Him as we look ahead to the new year.

Today's podcast is about the story behind the Christmas Carol "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and what the message is that it seeks communicate to us.

What is the story behind the Christmas carol O Holy Night? What is the message of the song? And what does it mean for us today?

One of the classic pieces of Christmas music is Handel's Messiah. What is the story behind this great piece of music? What is its message and how does it inspire us to live for Christ today?

In light of the poverty in our world, how does the Bible teach us to manage our money? When God blesses us with finances, how do we best steward it for the life of the world?

What are you thankful for? What are the habits of gratitude that we can practice on a daily basis? And what are the benefits of living a grateful life?

Sacrifice is not a popular word in our culture today. But it's a word that is at the core of the Christian faith and it's an action that is at the center of meaningful lives. Why is sacrifice so important? And how we can we live it out as part of our daily lives?

In this episode, we look at four of the keys ideas that we find in the Bible related to generosity.

We come to the end of our series on Shaping our Souls. We have been walking through the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, looking at the lives of the prophet Samuel and King Saul. In this message, we look at the tragic end of King Saul's life. He started off with so much potential, but he never reached it. He fell short. What held him back? What did he struggle with? And what lessons can we learn from his life that we can avoid so that our lives don't end up like his did?

In the Old Testament, King Saul that going through religious rituals was more important than obeying God. He was wrong. He tried to control God through these rituals rather than submitting to His commands. Many people today are trying to do the same things. These stories are shared to help us avoid the mistakes that King Saul made.

When we look at the life of King Saul in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, we see that his reign as king never lived up to its potential. It was held back by Saul's impatience, his running ahead of God, his superstition, and his disobedience. We struggle with the same tendencies today. We can learn how to avoid some of our mistakes today by learning what King Saul did wrong.

The story of the prophet Samuel anointing Saul to be the first king of Israel, show that the three key things we need to lead are Character, Calling, and Courage.

1 Samuel 3 is the story of God's call on Samuel's life. As we read about how God called Samuel, it helps us understand how God might be calling us today.

Religious leaders have not always acted morally, ethically, or appropriately. In today's reading from the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament, we see how Eli's sons, who were priests in the temple, were scoundrels. They were guilty of abuse and apathy. It was a sad and tragic time that hurt many people. But, in the seeds of their wrongdoing was the anticipation of a new and better priest whom God would raise up to correct the situation. In the short-term, that person would be Samuel. In the long-term, the story points us ahead to Christ, who is our ultimate prophet, priest, and king, who makes everything right again.

The book of 1 Samuel begins with the story of Hannah, Samuel's mother. It's a story about her Pain, her Prayer, and her Pledge. It's a story about how God moves her from Heartbreak to Hope.

If you could see our world and your self and your life through the eyes of God, and understand reality from His perspective, how would that change your life?

Often we overlook the importance of gratitude in our lives. We are not born as grateful people. Being thankful is something that is learned as we grow up. People who are thankful have better physical health, better mental health, sleep better at night, are more fulfilled in their careers, volunteer more, and are more involved in churches and other places of worship. Today we look at what the Bible says about gratitude and why it is so important.

There are people today who think that compassion is about weakness. There are people who think that compassion is the opposite of the truth. There are people who think they need to be aggressive and angry and forceful in order to do good things. None of these is true. When we read about the character of God and the life of Jesus in the Bible, we find that compassion is one of the essential foundations of a faithful life.

Every door that open has a couple of hinges on it, that allow it to open and close. We all face some major transition moments in our lives, that are like doors that open and close on us. These transition moments open and close on a few hinges - a few key virtues - that help us respond to them in ways that open us up to the opportunities that God is presenting to us. What are these virtues? And how can we be ready for these opportunities when they present themselves?

As we wrap up this series on Questions of Faith, we conclude with a series of questions that people asked about death and grief. In this message, we look at what the Bible says and what it doesn't say and how we can imagine our future.

In this message, we respond to questions that people asked about the creation of the world and the power of God in our lives.

As we approach the 4th of July, there are often questions asked about the relationship between the Church and the state. What is the proper connection? What does the Pledge of Allegiance say? The Pledge contains the phrase "under God"? What does this mean? When many people in the United States don't believe in God, does it still make sense for this to be a part of the pledge?

If you want to be a Christian, or if you call yourself a Christian, what do you have to believe? What is it that Christians must believe? What should you believe? If you boil it down to the shortest summary, what are the most important things to believe in as a Christian?

Today we are beginning a series of messages built around questions that people have asked in recent months about God and faith and life. This is our first installment. We kick off this series by looking at some questions about pain, anxiety, and conflict, and looking at what kind of insight, truth, wisdom, direction, and guidance we receive from the Bible about these things.

The story of Corrie Ten Boom is a story of faith, perseverance, and forgiveness. She endured many difficult situations in her life that stretched her faith and gives us an example of how we can live by faith in the face of great difficulties.

People got to know Eric Liddell from the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, which described how he won the gold medal for Scotland in the 400-meter dash at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. But, most people don't know about his early life or what he did after the Olympics. Eric became a missionary to China and devoted his life to serving Jesus Christ. His life is a remarkable story that helps us see how we can live out our faith in Christ, even in the face of some challenging situations.

The story of Mother Teresa is a story of faith. The way that she lived out her life gives us an example of how we might live out our faith in our world today.

The Apostle Paul wrapped up his letter to the Romans with 3 concluding comments - 1)We need to help others, 2)We need healthy relationships, and 3)We need hope in God.

When you have a disagreement with another person, how do you try to resolve the disagreement? When you are a part of a church or a club or an organization, and people see the same issue differently, how do you try to work out your differences? In Romans 14, Paul talks about how we can learn to Deal with our Differences.

What should be the relationship between Church and state? How should Christians respond to what the government does, when we agree with it, and when we don't agree with it?

In Romans 12, Paul talks about 3 ways Easter changes us. 1)Easter brings us into a relationship with God, 2)Easter brings us into the Church, and 3)Easter changes how we live.

Part of the message of Easter Sunday is that the Irreversible has been Reversed.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He disrupted the city and the temple and the religious leaders. He didn't act the way many people wanted Him to. This story is about the Cleansing, the Curing, and the Cursing.

The people of God does not include just one kind of person. This community is not just one language, one culture, one skin color, one educational level, or one economic class. God weaves all kinds of people together from all kinds of backgrounds to live together in a brand new community.

Every so often in history, there is the discovery of some new knowledge that changes the world.  In Romans 10, Paul talks about some transformational knowledge that can change our lives and change our world.  

How should Christians today view the nation of Israel?  How should we view the Jewish people?  Christians have wrestled with these questions for a long time.  The Apostle Paul addresses them in Romans 9.

What would you say have been the most signficant shifts in your life?  In Romans 8, Paul describes 4 of the most significant shifts that happen to us when we believe in Jesus, and we may not even be aware of them, when they happen.