Cheyenne Hills Podcast

Today we start a little "in the weeds" stepping further into the oikonomia idea Galen presented and how it fits into the theological model called Dispensationalism.

BUT THEN we get back to more applicable questions of how well we follow the examples of the first Christians in the days after the Pentacost.

We in Wyoming don't have difficulty imagining the mighty roaring wind that came through the room the day the Holy Spirit arrived. But what about the way the people who it fell upon changed; the boldness and courage? That is something we should also be able to attest to, but how often do we feel the Spirit burning inside us?

The first chapter of Acts covered by Pastor Galen in our new series contains Luke's account of the Great Commission, in which Jesus called his disciples to go and spread the news. But how does this affect us, today? We share the commission given the early church leaders, so who are our personal versions of these groups? Who is your Jerusalem? Your Judea? And what about your Samaria?

Just as Jesus' final word on the cross "Tetelestai" marked both the completion and beginning of stages in God's plan, so does the phrase both end our Easter series and begin our 3-month journey into the Book of Acts.

Pastor Jon is the newest addition to the Cheyenne Hills staff as our Associate Pastor, and one of his passions is what we call Grow Groups. We discuss the curcial nature of relationships with groups of Christians on our spiritual health and growth.

Kasey and Jacob are joined in the studio by Cheyenne Hills' Lead Pastor Galen Huck and new Associate Pastor Jon Simpson as we discuss our Good Friday and Easter messages, as well as what we hope to take on through the next year so we don't forget, and we don't "miss it."

Pastor Galen rounds off our Unexpected series with the most unexpected event in history: Jesus returning from the dead. He is Risen!

Three speakers explore the experiences and lessons of three individuals during the 18 hours prior to Jesus' crucifixion.

Pastor Galen referenced a passage in Mark in which Jesus offers an answer to the Pharisee's question if they can answer one from Him, and they are too afraid, too "on the fence" to answer.

The luke-warm Pharisee and the luke-warm Christian have a lot in common. If we find ourselves sitting on the fence in our Faith, we may find ourselves in poor company as well as in grave danger.

We continue our Easter series with a look at the way Jesus approached His ministry, how he reacted to those around Him in order to teach them, the chances He gave and the consequences if we don't take those chances.

The Pharisees couldn't answer Him, and the tree withered.

We got to hear from our new Associate Pastor this week, speaking about God's patience with Moses as his character flaws continued to trip him up even at the end of his ministry and leadership of the Israelites. Our questions is: when it comes to responding to God and fulfilling your purpose... what's stopping you?

Welcome our new Associate Pastor Jon Simpson in his debut sermon at Cheyenne Hills Church! He continues our Easter series on the unexpected nature of God's plans from our perspective by following Moses as his character flaws reveal God's patience.

Guest speaker Joel Lawrence brings a fresh look at a phrase many longtime Christians take for granted: Jesus is the light.

This week's sermon revolved around the parralel tracks which split out from Eve's sons Seth and the imfamous Cain. Two "trains," one's track bound for worldly pursuits, and the other toward reverence for God. Where do these two separate trails show up in our life? And perhaps more difficultly, where do we see them within ourselves?

This week we begin our Easter series by exploring the unexpected promise God wove into the sentence He passed on Adam, Eve & the serpent in Genesis 3: 14-15. Galen explains how this began a history-long conflict between those who would seek gratification in the world, and those who would revere God. Luckily for us, the outcome was already determined, and would come to a head with Christ's sacrifice and resurrection.

Today we dig into the ideas Galen presented in his sermon about the parallels between the Holy Trinity, Jesus's ministry, the structure of marriage and the roles of men and women in the church.

Pastor Galen rounds out or Family Fortress series tackling a set of difficult issues. The roles of men and women in the family, and in the church. He illuminates these principles with a few comparisons that may surprise you.

Moving through the Biblical image of the family structure, this week we focus on one of the most daunting of roles: being a parent.

Tiffany Erickson joins us today while we talk about the expectations of men in a marriage as described by the Bible, and how we dudes can go about living that out.

Last week, Galen spoke on the institution of marriage and where it fits in the world. In our second installment on the Biblical family structure, we look at the nature of the bond between a husband and wife.

You can get just a few words into the Biblical descriptions of household structure before you start running into things that strike 21st-Century ears the wrong way, which can lead us to ignoring the subject. Jacob and Kasey talk abou the difference between honoring and blindly obeying, between headship and responsibility, and ask guys an important question...

We start a new series this week, and just as a disclaimer, this one will require patience and carefull listening. We will cover the God-ordained, Biblical model of a family. These are parts of scripture we like to glaze over, because we're afraid they're saying something we won't like, when in fact it shows a loving and beautiful structure. These are words that can be weaponized, but when we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we can see through to the Truth.

Part one covers the three institutions ordained by God according to scripture: family, government and the Church.

We finish off our sermon series about checking our worldview and beliefs against the reality of God's Truth with a big one: the fact that you and I and all of us are made in the image of God, and all the complexity that comes with that!

One argument those who question the Christian worldview bring is the "problem" of Evil. If God is good, how or why does He allow evil to exist. It turns out, this is actually more a problem for other worldviews to explain, as it fits right into the True image of reality provided in Christian belief. How, you ask? I guess you'll have to listen to today's sermon.

This week's sermon not only neatly laid out some of the primary ideas of this series, it offered us a truth it's easy to forget: God put YOU in this place, in this time, all on purpose. So how do we figure out what that reason is?

Guest speaker Keith Kautz succinctly lays out the process for testing our world-views against reality as we continue our series about God's truth, and how we can get it mixed up.

Happy New Year! The Companion Podcast returns with producer Kasey Orr and Cheyenne Hills Interim Next-Gen Director Jacob Hazzard, and we're tackling a very minor issue this series: does your worldview actually line up with the Christian worldview, a.k.a. Reality?!

We all have an overall understanding of how we think people, the world and the universe work called a worldview. Most people pick up little pieces of this puzzle from all over the place, and if they ever try to put it together would be surprised to find it not only doesn't make a unified picture, but that most of the pieces don't even fit together. As Christians, we have a true understanding about all these things that adds up to a unified image of God. But it's easy to get other pieces thrown in there, or to get hazy on the details we thought we knew. So join us in this series as we do a Reality Check.

The angel who came to Mary told her she'd give birth to the Messiah. But to Zachariah and Elizabeth was born another important figure in the story. John was to be a forerunner for Jesus. He went ahead and prepared the way, getting people ready for what was coming. In what ways can we be forerunners for Jesus? How can we approach those in our lives that might make them more open to the Gospel and freedom of Christ?

When Daniel was visited by an angel, he was told there was a battle with evil in Persia. Daniel's prophesies showed him the battle would end with a Savior who would one day bring forth God's eternal Kingdom. Where do we see echoes of this battle, today?

This week, we start our Christmas sermon series, which explores the times angels came to tell people about the coming of Christ. First Isaiah, then Daniel, Mary and finally a group of lowly shephards.

Following more than a year of discussions with Nathan, interviews with school board members and following the progress of the issue of subject matter in school libraries, Galen discusses the upcoming Opt-In Policy decision being decided by the school board on Dec. 4. What is this decision, how will it affect children, and how can you show up to lend your support at the school board meeting? It's all here in this month's podcast.

Keith Kautz gave a message resounding with a real-world wakeup call: step out of the crowd. Pastor Karsten and producer Kasey talk about how we can take this action in our own lives to keep from becoming luke-warm, hidden Christians.

Guest speaker Kieth Kautz paints a picture of the familiar story of Noah, but moreover a picture of the world Noah lived in. It sounds... a little familiar. When the world is filled with immorality, violence, hatred, "fluid truth" and more we find in Genesis, how do we separate ourselves to show that, as Christians, we live life a different way?

This week Pastor Galen talked about Gideon, a man who was super brave... only he didn't know it until God told him. Pastor Karsten and producer Kasey Orr explore the idea that we might all have gifts like Gideon that we just don't know about until we hear God call us. And how do we know when we hear Him? Where's our angel under the tree?

Relevant Scripture:

Judges 6-8 (story of Gideon)

Isaiah 42:8

"Go in the strength you have." That is the key phrase from a story of a man whom God sent out to save Israel from an oppressing occupying force that had his nation hiding in caves for years. Pastor Galen explores the conversation between God's angel and a man threshing wheat in the latest message in our sermon series, Valor.

Our speaker this week said once we know who we are and discover what battle we're facing, we need to figure out a battle plan. Pastor Karsten and Kasey Orr explore how to take this information to the next step: taking a risk and entering battle.

In our series on Valor, we've explored what is needed to help us have uncommon courage in our common-day lives. We realized we are here for a purpose, and equipped by God for that purpose. We discovered we each have a battle (or several) we are faced with in our time and place, and today our guest speaker reminds us we need a battle plan.

After 30 years, we at Cheyenne Hills Church enjoy "the shade of a tree we did not plant." People like Pastor Dick Young stepped out in obedience because they got to a quiet place, and listened to what God had for them. Now, through their efforts, we are baptising new Christians and teaching people about Jesus.

So what does God have in store for you? When was the last time you asked Him? And how often do you actually listen for answers?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHEYENNE HILLS! Our church turned 30 this week! Galen uses the story of our founding to launch this week's look at the kind of courage we're called to as Christians. He dives further in with a look at Esther, and the valor she showed in a tough situation to save her people.

Disclaimor, valor was only there to visit in the form of Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. Pastor Galen and Nathan Winters discuss the actions and words of this elected official who told U.S. Congress that the library policies pushed by the current administrations was not something that works in Wyoming.

You can voice your support at:

askthesuperintendent@wyo.gov

Pastor Karsten follows up his sermon from our Valor series exploring the battle we're chosen for, the tools we have to fight it, and the struggle to fight that battle with courage. We are weak and vulnurable in this fight, but God gave us weapons, armor and tools with which to equip ourselves. But even with those, tools, we have work to actively pursue.

Relevant Scritpure:

Ephesians 6: 11

Acts 2:32-41

Galatians 5:1; 5:13-26

[Apologies again this week for some sound issues. We've discovered the problem and it should be fixed starting next week]

Pastor Karsten continues our Valor series, exploring the question: what is the battle each of us is facing? And once we know that, how do we go about showing our courage in the fight?

Producer Kasey and Pastor Karsten jump in and discuss the ideas behind the newest Cheyenne Hills sermon series "Valor." What does that word mean, and why would we use such a high-falootin' term? Because we believe God gives us opportunities to exhibit valor in our everyday lives!

[NOTE: We had technical difficulties during this recording so please forgive the audio]

Pastor Galen kicks off our new series on the acts of valor we see in the Biblical figures, and more importantly how we can display this same characteristics in our everyday life.

Pastor Galen and Nathan Winters speak about a current subject in Laramie County School District #1 concerning school libraries, and the new idea how to give parents the reins with what their children have access to. To let your thoughts be heard in favor of the Opt-In policy, follow this link:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Fn80Vp_UP065Q1j08WSqMHe7acQul1VLoK7s0O2If_RUNEtMRlZMMFNYWTU2N0xQQ1kwRTE1TVVWWC4u

To read the proposed policy in whole, follow this link:

https://go.boarddocs.com/wy/laramie1/Board.nsf/files/CW2LED54A8FC/$file/9.26.2023%20Chapter%20VII%20Section%2021%20(clean).pdf

Pastor Galen wraps up this series outlining the principles behind Cheyenne Hills' new purpose statements, bringing it back to a concept we're very familiar with: making ripples of change that echo outward.

We continue to explore the elements behind the newly fortified purpose statements of our church, as René Minder uses stories from our own volunteers to illustrate the importance of discovering the purpose God has for us through our spiritual gifts, and the fulfilling results.

There may or may not be some hurt feelings around Pastor Karsten poking fun at eating cereal without milk. We all have a hurt from something in our lives, and that's why we need to surround ourselves with good Christian people, so we can help each other find healing, as well as find the freedom we're heir to as followers of Christ Jesus.

Text: LEAD to 98456 to find out about starting a Grow Group. Or go to CheyenneHills.org/groups to find an existing one!

Relevant Scripture:

James 5:16

James 3:6-12

More scripture about spending time with other Christians:

Galatians 6:2-4

Hebrews 10:25

2 Timothy 3:16

Pastor Karsten picks up the baton on this series exploring the ideas behind Cheyenne Hills' new expressions of purpose as we fortify our church processes to make stronger and more impactful disciples of Christ. One of the most important steps of this process is finding the freedom we have in Jesus by spending time with one another in small groups. We call them Grow Groups at Cheyenne Hills Church, and they are an integral part to fortifying your relationship with God and one another.