LNBC Students
By LNBC Students
LNBC StudentsJan 14, 2020
Introducing Tucker Furr
It is a special episode! The LNBC student ministry is welcoming Tucker Furr as the new Student Ministry Associate. Taylor and Carson sit down with him to hear his bio and have him answer some questions.
Prayer Series - Episode 8 (John 17)
Jesus’ high priestly prayer is one of the greatest examples of prayer in scripture. As we read this passage, notice the things for which Jesus prayed. In general, Jesus was praying for the equipping of the church to continue the work of the covenant, which is to bring the renewal of all things through the lordship of Jesus. Our prayers should seek the same thing and likewise recognize this reality by praying in the name of Jesus. You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Prayer Series - Episode 7 (Psalm 150)
All prayers are designed to end in praise. The book of Psalms is a prayer book, and the very design of the book emphasizes that prayer ends in praise. Psalms is divided into five books, and each of those books intentionally end with a praising benediction. At the end of the fifth book, there are five hallelujah psalms that culminate in the final psalm, Psalm 150. It is a resounding call to praise God. You can learn more on how to pray scripture at this link.
Prayer Series - Episode 6 (Romans 8:18-30)
Prayer Series - Episode 5 (Daniel 9:3-19)
Prayer is also a practice for confession. In this passage Rich, Carson, and Taylor discuss how confession is not only a personal prayer practice, but it is also a corporate prayer practice. We can confess our wrongdoings and the wrongdoings our community. Importantly, as we see in Daniel 9, all of this confession is connected to the covenant. You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Prayer Series - Episode 4 (Luke 1:46-55)
Prayer is also a practice that the people of God utilize to seek provision. Rich, Carson, and Taylor discuss that in praying for what we need, it is good to remind ourselves that we have the greatest provision in Christ. You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Prayer Series - Episode 3 (Exodus 32:7-14)
Rich, Carson, and Taylor discuss the tension of prayer in light of Exodus 32:7-14. You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Prayer Series - Episode 2 (1 Samuel 2:1-10)
In the second episode of this series on prayer, Rich, Carson, and Taylor have a short discussion on God-centered prayer in light of 1 Samuel 2:1-10. You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Prayer Series - Episode 1 (Matthew 6:9-15)
In the first episode of this new series for our MDWK groups, Rich, Carson, and Taylor define Prayer, have a short discussion on the significance of the Lord's Prayer to our understanding and practice of prayer, and they also give some basic instructions for praying scripture.
You can find a helpful guide for how to pray scripture on our resource website at this link, "Praying Scripture Guide."
Quarantine Reflections
Now that the state of NC is beginning to open up, Carson, Rich, Taylor, and (special guest) Ethan sit down six-feet-apart to reflect on their time in quarantine.
Confined Contemplation: Compassion (Colossians 3:1-17)
Continuing thoughts on how we relate to others during quarantine, Taylor talks about how our isolated environment can conform us into people of less compassion.
Read this article on the examen prayer practice.
Music: "Holy Love" by Citizens
Student Ministry Update
Taylor gives a short update on the Student Ministry as the state of NC begins to open up from the COVID-19 quarantine.
Confined Contemplation: Others (Romans 13:8-10)
The suffering of the times can make us feel small and alone, but it should have the reverse effect. When we suffer we should find solidarity with all of creation and all people. It then equips us to love others.
Music: "See the Love" by The Brilliance.
House Calls - Episode 7: Abby, Anna, Jared, Wynton, and Eric
In the seventh episode of House Calls, Taylor, Sam, and Steph have some more conversations with students during the COVID-19 quarantine. Find more resources at this webpage.
Confined Contemplation: Family (Ephesians 5:22-6:4)
This week's episode will be the first of several where we consider how to relate to others at this time of quarantine. The first exhortation is to lean into the relationships that are closest to you.
Music in this episode:
House Calls - Episode 6 (Leaders): Carson, Matt, and Bailey
It is a special episode in our House Calls series! Students Jackson, Levi, Jordan, and Kylie take the mic and record some conversations with our student ministry leaders to see how they are doing during the COVID-19 quarantine.
Confined Contemplation: Rest (Psalm 23)
Our quarantine series "Confined Contemplation" continues. One way for us to redeem this time is to settle into God's gift of rest and slowing down. Psalm 23 is a great psalm to contemplate as we consider what it means to rest in God.
Featured Music: "Rest" by John Mark Pantana.
House Calls - Episode 5: Garrett, Conner, Addi, and Carissa
Subscribe to Garrett Kayser's YouTube Channel and follow him on TikTok.
Confined Contemplation: Trust (Psalm 56)
After some special episodes for Holy Week, the Confined Contemplation series returns. Now that we are on the other side of Resurrection Sunday in the church calendar, we take a bit of a pivot and highlight some "positive dispositions" for such a time as this.
Featured Music: "Ludwig's Dream" and "Valte's Dream" and "Lily's Dream" from The Brilliance; "TrusT" by Half-Alive.
House Calls - Episode 4: Adam, Evan, and Lexi
After a few special Holy Week episodes, House Calls returns. On the fourth episode, Taylor, Sam, and Stephanie Facetime a few students to see how they are doing with the Covid-19 quarantine. You can find more information on our virtual small groups and bible studies here: https://establishedlnbc.squarespace.com/.
Resurrected Jesus, Resurrected People, Resurrected Universe
We take another pause from our normally scheduled posts during the COVID-19 quarantine and Taylor shares some short thoughts on Resurrection Sunday.
"Good" Friday?
Since we are in Holy Week under Covid-19 quarantine, I wanted to share some thoughts on this important day for Jesus followers. Why is "Good Friday" a day of significance?
Confined Contemplation: Praying Our Sadness (Psalm 42)
We continue our short Sunday-morning series contemplating a Psalm. This week we look at Psalm 42 and how it speaks to our sadness. If you are struggling through disappointment in this season, I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen through this episode.
Music:
- Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Part
- I Won't Let You Go Feat. Lauren Daigle (Live) by Switchfoot
House Calls - Episode 3: Jackson, Cameron, Alisha, Kirsten, Casey, and Kylie.
More house calls are here! Taylor, Sam, and Stephanie Facetime a few students to see how they are doing with the Covid-19 quarantine. You can find more information on our virtual small groups and bible studies here: https://establishedlnbc.squarespace.com/.
Confined Contemplation: Praying Our Fears (Psalm 3)
We continue our short Sunday-morning series contemplating a Psalm. This week we look at Psalm 3 and how it speaks to our fears and anxieties. Much of this was inspired by Tim Keller and his teaching on prayer and the Psalms. You can listen to Tim Keller's sermon, Praying Our Fears from his teaching series "Psalms - The Songs of Jesus."
Here are some other resources that could help with you praying the Psalms.
Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer by Eugene Peterson
Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
House Calls - Episode 2: Jayce, Christian, Ethan, Jordan and Cadee
The house calls continue. As the COVID-19 quarantine persists, Taylor makes a few calls to students to see how they are doing in this season of life. As a special guest, Stephanie joins to have conversations with Jordan and Cadee.
Confined Contemplation: Praying Our Doubts (Psalm 73)
Doubt can be overwhelming, but God has given us a prayer book to pray our emotions back to Him. In the process, God turns our doubts to praise.
House Calls - Episode 1: Levi, Dillon, Ward, Kylie, and Cayden
At such a time where people are confined to their house, Taylor and Sam take a few minutes to Facetime people and check-in on them. It is like a good old-fashioned pastor's house call with a modern technological twist.
Hearing God's Voice
One of the purposes of the practice of silence & solitude is to quiet the noise in order to hear the voice of God. What does it mean to hear God's voice? Many simplify this to mean simply reading scripture. Others expand it to include some mystical experience. Carson, Rich, Cam, and Taylor sit down to discuss the topic, attempt to strike a balance, and give practical ways to hear God's voice today.
Silence & Solitude - Panel
We thought it was really important for students to see how people implement the practice of silence and solitude in their everyday life, so we invited a few people from different backgrounds and in different life situations to share why and how they practice silence and solitude. We are super grateful for Erica, Elizabeth, and Cam sitting down to field some questions from Taylor. Hopefully the recording is bearable!
Expressing Our Emotions
Of the many purposes of silence and solitude, identifying our feelings and then healthily expressing our emotions to God is one of the hidden gems. In a culture of anxiety where the coping mechanism is often emotional suppression, this is an important practice for our emotional, spiritual health.
You can read the teaching transcript here.
Silence & Solitude - Purposes and Pointers
You can read Taylor's teaching on silence and solitude here.
Silence & Solitude - Introductory Discussion
Carson, Rich, and Taylor sit down to discuss the practice of silence and solitude. This is the first part of a two-part discussion on silence and solitude.
Read Taylor's teaching on silence and solitude here.
Destroy Distraction
Richard Foster wrote, “Distraction is the primary spiritual problem in contemporary culture.” If we are going to practice the presence, we need to begin by destroying distraction.
Read the teaching at the resource page.
Practice the Presence - Introduction
As we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he often prioritized 'practicing the presence' - communion with the Father, solitude, prayer, fasting, etc. AS followers of Jesus, we should imitate Jesus in this practice. We also look at Matthew 4:1-11 to identify some purposes for the practice.
Read the teaching at the resource page.
What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?
In this sermon, Taylor explores the Gospel of Matthew and how it presents what it means to follow Jesus. In short, followers of Jesus are filled with the life of Jesus to become more like Jesus and therefore imitate the life of Jesus.
Who Is Jesus?
In the first session of this new series, we have some discussion and teaching around the question, "Who is Jesus?"
What Is the Deal with Nakedness?
As a quasi wrap-up to the "In the Beginning" series, we review one of the probing questions from Genesis 3: why is nakedness so central to the story? Carson, Taylor, and Cam sit down to discuss (after about 15 minutes talking about their favorite movies and books of 2019).
Clothed & Exiled (Genesis 3:14-24)
Rich finishes up this series with a sermon on 3:14-24.
Fighting Worry By Becoming Present
Over the break for Christmas and New Years, Taylor gave a short teaching on what he has been learning about 'becoming present' and how it fights worry and anxiety in our busy lives. Here are some of the books he mentioned:
Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
An Encounter with God (Genesis 3:8-13)
The man and the woman have disobeyed, and now they have an encounter with the LORD God in the Garden. In one of the last sermons in this series, we see a God who leads his people to confess their sin, but who is also slow to anger and rich in love, mercy, and grace.
The Serpent, Satan, and Progressive Revelation
In this bonus episode discussion with Cameron, Carson, and Taylor, we look at how the serpent of Genesis 3 has been popularly attributed to Satan. There is much more to delve into with this topic, so we mentioned some good resources if you would like to study further:
SUPERNATURAL by Michael Heiser - https://www.amazon.com/Supernatural-Bible-Teaches-Unseen-Matters/dp/1577995589
BIBLE PROJECT SERIES on Spiritual Beings - https://thebibleproject.com/all-videos/spiritual-beings/
Undirected Desires (Genesis 3:1-7)
Naked people, talking snakes, deception, desire, toxic trees - what is this story all about? In this sermon, we look at Genesis 3:1-7 to see what the first few pages of the Bible teach us about human disobedience and sin.
The Formation of Man & Woman
As a follow-up to the latest sermon "A Suitable Helper" on Genesis 2:18-25, Carson, Cameron, and Taylor discuss the archetypal significance in the formation accounts in the bonus content episode.
A Suitable Helper (Genesis 2:18-25)
In the next sermon in our "In the Beginning" series, we look at the formation of woman and the meaning of marriage in Genesis 2:18-25.
God With Us
We have another bonus episode of content discussing some content from the previous sermon in our "In the Beginning" series regarding the Garden as sacred space. Carson, Cameron, and Taylor talk about the theme of God dwelling with man throughout scripture.
Sacred Space (Genesis 2:4-17)
The sermon series on the first pages of Genesis continues. We look at the beginning of a 'second creation account' and take note of the emphasis on the Garden of Eden as sacred space and the man's role as priest. What does it look like for us to expand Eden and cultivate culture, turning the Garden into a Garden-City?
The Image of God
It is another bonus episode for our series "In the Beginning." Carson, Rich, and Taylor discuss the theme of the image of God throughout scripture and note how it is a critical theme for understanding our salvation and God's intention for creation.
God Rests & God Reigns (Genesis 2:1-3)
Continuing the "In the Beginning" series, the creation account culminates in God's rest on the seventh day. We look at why the seventh day is emphasized as the final act of creation, what the Sabbath day is all about, and how we can practice the Sabbath in our lives today.
Is Genesis Literal?
In this bonus content episode for our "In the Beginning" series, Carson, Rich, and Taylor sit down to discuss the question of whether Genesis is "literal."