Suffering Servants: Conversations of the Unspoken

<p>Christianity has a lot of unspoken suffering and challenges. Suffering Servants is our attempt to bring these every day struggles into the modern context by reading books, articles, and conversing about the ever changing culture and the Church's response to such change. We also have conversations with other "suffering servants" about their sufferings in life and what God has revealed to them through those sufferings. Ultimately, no matter how awful things get for us here on earth, we know that Christ Jesus, the ultimate Suffering Servant, is not only with us in it but has also promised to redeem in all in His return to make all things new.</p>

Catching Up and The City of God (Augustine)

It's been a while since we've chatted! On this episode, Pastors Tyler, Nick, and Jim get caught up on all the happenings at our churches and lives and then we take a look at an article about Augustine's City of God. While it was written centuries ago, there is still practical application to our church's struggle within the world today. Enjoy!Follies of the week include "hate" speech, a ranch dressing spill, the DNC, and emotional support parrots.Read "Finding Ourselves in Augustine's Cit...

08-23
58:03

Summer Podblast

We're taking a break this week from some serious things to have a little fun! Together we take a look at a "Top 30" list of things to do during the summer in Michigan. We hope you enjoy and maybe laugh a little bit.Top 30 Things To Do In Michigan During Summer

07-12
01:02:25

Cultural Christianity - Dawkins

On this episode, we read an article about Richard Dawkins' claim that he is a "cultural Christian." What the heck does that mean in our society today? Can one truly be a cultural Christian? How does that impact our walks with Jesus and our interactions with our neighbors? All that and more on this week's show. Enjoy!Richard Dawkins and Mere Cultural Christianity Follies include satanic preaching from the Episcopal Church, Juneteenth, and hiking with Senior High youth.

06-21
58:16

The Great Dechurching Will Hurt Poor People

On today's episode we explore a very recent article about the decline of "mainline" churches and what are the implications of that for the marginalized, if any at all. Why are our churches declining when some preach to the "itching ears"? Do we just strive to be in a place of belonging? Is the government effectively providing for the poor? What about charity and good works among nominal Christians or non-Christians? All of that and more on the show today. Enjoy!The Great Dechurching Will Hurt...

06-07
54:56

The Cost Of Discipleship - RC Sproul

Today we explore a thought provoking sermon from RC Sproul on counting the cost to follow Jesus. Can we truly count the cost? Do we even understand what the cost is? None the less, Jesus says to us, "follow me."Follies are back this week and include "oppressive" Christianity and Jesus needing forgiveness.

05-24
01:05:07

Hearers But Not Doers, Deceive Themselves - Walther

After a big transition for the pastors, we are BACK! In the beginning of our sermons we often pray, "Lord, help us to become more than just hearers of the Word, but doers of it as well. Amen." Today we talk about what that means. Church Father CFW Walther writes a sermon in 1849 about the dangers of JUST hearing the Word and going through the motions. As the apostle James will say, "faith without works is dead." Hearing and believing the Word will inevitable lead us to "doing the Word." Of co...

05-10
01:03:18

The Prosperity Gospel: Your Best Life Now?

We're back with another heresy today. We all know about the loud and obvious prosperity Gospel...but what about the subtle prosperity Gospel of positivity, optimism, and speaking blessings? How can we tell if what we are hearing is the prosperity Gospel? How can (should we) we defend against it? All this and more on this week's episode!Follies of the week include cultish social media groups, a new movie, and Washington's removal of the Bar Exam.

03-22
01:03:21

Curious Cases - with Pastor Mark Renner

Pastor Tyler is joined this week by Pastor Mark Renner to talk about Pastor Mark's new book, "Curious Cases: A Series of Short Pastor Case Studies." In this book, Pastor Mark explores different situations that have arisen in the church, or that might arise in the church, and how might we as THE Church work with God's people. It is a book that can be used in studies, staff matters, or just to inform the Christian about struggles they may not have considered before. Praise be to Christ for Past...

03-15
01:06:16

Gnosticism and the Mystical God

What about the mysteries of God? Can we be in the dark about some of God's ways and works? Today we talk about an ancient heresy called "Gnosticism" that continues to rear its ugly head in 2024. A belief that pits the physical against the spiritual, Gnosticism is a denial of the human nature of Jesus Christ and the holding on to the "spiritual nature" of God in our worship and daily life. Unfortunately, a denial of Christ's humanity is a denial of Christ himself. How do we bridge this gap? Al...

03-08
01:04:00

God Is Not Your Therapist

Pastor Nick joins us again as we talk about a heresy that we all may have heard, subscribed to, and even believed in at some point: the sneaky "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." The temptation for many Christians is to worship God and ask God to fix our problems, to make us feel "better", and to be soft and comforting. While God can fix our problems in this world, while He certainly makes us feel better in the assurance of His grace, mercy, and forgiveness, and while He certainly is the great Co...

03-01
51:43

The Ash Wednesday Ritual

This episode was recorded on Ash Wednesday, so naturally we talked about the significance of the ashes we receive on our foreheads and how that has been taken for granted in the Church.Follies include Canada (obviously) and Super Bowl themed church services.

02-16
01:00:28

Family Ministry and ADHD - with Josh Kittleman

Joining me on this week's episode is my dear brother in Christ, Josh Kittleman, the Director of Christian Family Formation at Christ Our Savior in Livonia. Together we talk through his journey from small parish ministry, to the University level, and then to big parish ministry and what he has seen, learned, and experienced. We also are sure to hit one of the things that Josh struggles with on a regular basis: his diagnosis of ADHD. Josh is incredibly transparent and humorously walks through w...

02-08
57:21

Pelagianism & Suffering Sacrificial Co-Laborers of Christ

Pastor Nick joins in on the fun as FollyFest continues this week with the idolatry and attachment of Scripture to sports, removing God's Word from churches, the wokeness of Christian Universities, and pro-life activists being sentenced to prison. We tie all this into this week's featured heresy of Pelagianism. Do we have the ability to be "good"? Do we choose God or does God choose us? What are the implications of the dangerous doctrine of double predestination? All of that and more on this w...

02-02
01:00:50

Folly Fest & Nestorianism

Lots to catch up on today. On this episode we talk through a couple of follies that are hitting our culture - the remaking of classic movies, the stupidity of Christians, and a GenZ Bible to name a few. We then take a constructive turn to begin talking about some of the ancient heresies (a different kind of folly) that have plagued our churches for generations. Today we touched on Nestorianism, the belief that Christ's two natures can be separated. What are the implications of this for our fa...

01-26
01:05:52

Pastoral Apostasy and the Learned Lutherans

In this frigid episode, we talk about the impact of the cold on our ministry. We then pick up the conversation where we left off last week about apostasy, but this time with a bit of a stronger emphasis on the pastor. We also take a look at an article by Carl Trueman, who writes what the church can learn from the Lutherans, in particular suffering. Enjoy!Lessons from the Lutheran Tradition by Carl TruemanFollies this week include the cold and snow and the "church" of unbelievers!

01-19
01:08:21

Apostasy, Mystery, and The Means of Grace

We don't talk about apostasy much in the church. "Falling away" is a very real thing that is plaguing the church and people don't even realize it. Scripture speaks of warnings many times and we would do well to heed to these warnings. In this episode, we talk about what apostasy is, how does one end up falling into this, and how can we prevent it. We go where God has promised to reveal Himself to us: in the assembly where we hear His Word and receive His gifts.

01-12
01:05:33

What About Christian Charity?

We are kicking off 2024 with a bang, talking about Christian charity and what is our response to the love that Christ Jesus has shown to us. In this episode we review Christmas, both personally and at the Family of God (the good, bad, and ugly). We then take a look at an article written by a student that we felt missed the mark about why we as Christians love and serve our neighbors. Is it a "should"? Or is it a "get to" when it comes to charity. All that and more as we bring in another year ...

01-05
01:10:07

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! - with Rev. Nick Gapski, Rev. Dean Davenport, and Rev. Joel Werner

It's the first Christmas episode for the Suffering Servants podcast! We are joined by two familiar voices (Nick and Joel) and a new voice (Dean) on the show today where we talk about a ton of Christmas happenings. Has Christmas become "too secular"? What can our response be? What is the significance of the Virgin Mary giving birth to a son? Does it matter that she is a virgin? (yes). We also talk about some of our favorite Christmas memories. Enjoy! And Merry Christmas to all of you.*note fro...

12-22
01:21:18

Recovery and Community - with Ron Hughes

Today, as Pastor Hill finishes his vacation, Tyler is joined by a dear friend of the Family of God. Ron Hughes has been serving with us for over ten years and has become an intricate part of the ministry. Our people love him and gravitate towards him because of his experiences. On the show today, we talk about those experiences. As a veteran in recovery, Ron has much to say with regard to faith, community, and the power of the Holy Spirit. He talks about his journey as a recovering alcoholic ...

12-15
01:33:35

Faith in the Face of Tyranny - The Bethel Confession

We are back this week with an intriguing read: Faith in the Face of Tyranny. We talk through the importance of the Bethel Confession, a document composed by German pastors Herman Sasse and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with a similar skeleton to the Formula of Concord. What is the role of the Holy Scriptures in our lives? What about the Aryan Paragraph and the Jewish Question? What is the risk to taking a stand when groups openly oppose specific groups of people? All that and more on this week's ...

12-01
01:04:19

Recommend Channels