Real Faith for Real Life

When we talk about glorifying God and serving him at work, it can all be a little nebulous and hard to grasp. It may be helpful to have a more concrete image, and the Bible actually gives us one. It says God has called us to be priests who declare his praises in every part of our lives. What does that look like, though, for someone who works in finance, education, or healthcare? How about a stay-at-home parent, a student, or a retiree? In this episode, we share Dr. Cory Willson's keynote talk at this year's Work & Worship Seminar, and we offer a practical next step you can take!

Do you ever struggle to leave work… at work? Do you find it hard to be truly present with your family and to find true, deep rest? If you have trouble stopping your work without feeling guilty, something deeper may be going on! The Bible’s answer is a healthy rhythm of work and rest that affirms God is the one holding everything together. In this episode, we consider why resting well is just as important as working well.

How can you bring glory to God in your daily work? Perhaps a good place to start is to focus on being salt and light. But what does that look like? In this podcast, we talk about how to avoid becoming a "diluted disciple." God wants us to stay salty! And he simultaneously is asking us to get out of the salt shaker. When we do that, we get the chance to tell the world a better story about the purpose of life, what has gone wrong with the world, and what salvation looks like!

Sometimes, it can feel like there's a chasm between Sunday and Monday. We don't bring the sorrows and joys of our work with us before the Lord in worship, and we don't bring the worship of God out of the sanctuary into the rest of the week either. This special bonus episode is all about how to bridge that gap. Pastor Bill interviews Noah Toly, Katie Roelofs, and Brittany Deyoung about the upcoming Work & Worship Seminar on Jan. 31 and shares how you can be a part of it!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you worked for the Lord? In Colossians, Paul says we should work as if we're working for the Lord because ultimately, we are! It isn't just pastors and ministry leaders who have a calling from God. The Bible says that everyone has a calling! But how do you serve God as a plumber, barista, or architect? We break it down in this week's podcast!

Many people find work to be a place of anxiety, stress, burnout, and difficult people. Last week, on the podcast, we learned that God is a worker and gave work to humanity as a gift in paradise. But not many people perceive it as a gift today. Why is that? Sin has damaged God's good gift to us. Although work is not the curse, it is under the curse. In this week's podcast, we look at how to find meaning in the midst of this dynamic.

Many think work is a necessary evil, just something we have to do to survive. But what if there is more to the story? In the Bible, the origin story of work starts on page 1, where we learn that God himself is a worker and created humans to work with and for him in paradise! Work was actually part of God's good design for us -- not a punishment on us. The key is seeing our work as a way of partnering with God to help protect the world and to see it flourish!

We spend half our waking hour at work -- 96,000 over the course of a lifetime! And yet a new study found that almost half of people in the US hate work so much they wouldn't wish it on their worst enemy. A full 33 percent are disengaged, and 19 percent are miserable! We believe your work matters to God, and it has eternal significance! To help you see the connection, we're offering a seminar on Jan. 31. In this podcast, Pastor Bill interviews the keynote speaker, Dr. Cory Willson, author of the book Work and Worship. They talk about work from a biblical perspective and explain what the seminar is all about!

In the final part of our series on mission and vision, Pastor Bill sits down with Connections Director Julie Beezhold to talk about community outreach. In the previous episode, we talked about who our neighbors are. In this episode, we talk about how we might begin to reach the many, many people who need to know the love of Christ!

As we refreshed our church's mission and vision, it was critical that we learned about the intersection of our church's gifts and our community's needs. But who are our neighbors? To learn more about the people who live near us, we used a great tool called MissionInsite. It told us about who they are and ways we can reach them! Pastor Bill shares highlights from this study in this video.

This season, we are talking about the health of our church. In this episode, Pastor Bill and Pastor Eric take a deep dive into data about the strength and growth areas of our congregation. Our vision consultant surveyed the congregation, called together various focus groups, and brought together the congregation to help interpret the data. What we found provides a helpful path forward to even more strength and health!

As part of our Vision Refresh process, our consultant surveyed the congregation, called together various focus groups, and conducted a congregational meeting. We were very encouraged but the results, which depicted our church as thriving in almost every way! In this video, Pastor Bill walks us through an overview of the data and puts it in historical context by reviewing recent history since the last visioning effort. In the next video, we'll dive even deeper into the results of our work with the congregation.

In part two of our series about the mission and vision of our church, we examine our priorities for the future and the next steps we are planning. Pastor Bill sits down to talk with Larry Doornbos, the consultant we used throughout the process, to discuss how uniquely blessed our church is!

In the new season of Real Faith for Real Life, Pastor Bill will walk us through the newly refreshed mission and vision of Cascade Fellowship. We'll discover how the church discerned God's calling and how it is following the Lord's leading. We start with an overview of the first phase of the Vision Refresh process and its outcomes.

If you've taken the step of starting a spiritual conversation with someone this holiday season, what comes next? If possible, it is great to keep the conversation goin, as you continue to develop your relationship. We have some practical tips on how to do that in this final part of the series.

Sharing your faith can be scary, but what if it all starts with listening well and developing a genuine friendship? In this episode, we talk about how important listening is in the process of sharing the gospel with people this holiday season.

This season, we're demystifying the process of sharing Jesus during the holidays with friends and family. If you want to have good spiritual conversations, it may be helpful to take some time and map out your moment. Consider what days and times might provide the opportunity to strike up a conversation. In this episode, we'll help you consider when it would be most appropriate and when it may be less appropriate.

This season, we're giving you practical advice on how to share Jesus over the holidays. An important step is thinking about how you would start a spiritual conversation. In this episode, we talk about how questions can often be the best way to get going!

We all love giving and receiving meaningful gifts. This season, many of us want to give someone the gift of the gospel message, but we're not sure how to get started. In this five-episode mini-series, we'll demystify the process of starting spiritual conversations. Step one is to make a list of those you'd like to talk to and to begin to pray over the list.

In our season finale, we take on the most common questions you submitted -- How were people saved in the Old Testament? Pastor Bill interviews Old Testament Professor Wilson Cunha to answer this and related questions.