Lifecentral Church

How good are you at ignoring? We all have times when we ignore others, when we just don’t want to hear what they have to say, or we're distracted, or aren’t sure we care about their opinion. This story, heads up, is a bit wild and wacky... but we should all see ourselves in the way Jonah responds and reacts to God.

In this episode of The Lifecentral Podcast, Debs sits down with Laura and Gareth to discuss the topic of spiritual gifts. We ask what is the difference between spiritual gifts and natural talents? How do our individual backgrounds affect our beliefs around this subject? Do we all have a spiritual gift? Where do love and the fruits of the Spirit come in? We round off the episode by looking at how as christians, we fulfil our mandate of helping others to find and follow Jesus in the context of using our spiritual gifts.

Ever feel like you’re being dealt blow after blow by life? Like being punished for something? How many people in our world feel ‘not loved’? ...the hurting, the broken... How do they feel? Like outcasts. Like they don’t belong. But you know what? While we were still a mess and when we’re in the middle of the tunnel of pain, Christ died for us. —Speaker: Andy Hancock

Sometimes we need a bit of help to SEE. And one thing that stops us seeing or even accepting what we are seeing is PRIDE. We all have moments where we are faced with our pride. How can we deal with it when it rears it’s ugly head? —Speaker: Jayne Sargeant

Disappointment is part of the human condition, a part of what it means to be human. Whether you're a believer or not - disappointment will build a wall in your life. Is God a problem-solver? Dream-maker? Desire-fulfiller? Something else? In our disappointment we need to look beyond ourselves... —Speaker: Lead Pastor, Leon Evans

Where is God in disappointment? Margaret’s story is one of disappointment, sadness and grief, yet through it all she has felt closer and closer to Jesus. How is this even possible? Listen to her story to find out where God is when life deals you punch after punch.

Waiting patiently develops character. According to psychologists, patience, it turns out, is a pretty helpful attribute. It’s important that we recognise that before anyone had to wait for anything, God was already waiting for us... —Speaker: Allison Evans

It's human nature to build and create —it’s what we do. But is what we’re building close to the original pattern of what God intended..? Or, have we settled for building something smaller, less impressive and less impactful? Let's ask God to show us, and be prepared for an answer. —Speaker: Laura Hancock

In this episode of The Lifecentral Podcast, Debs sits down with Stephen and Gareth to discuss how we can feed ourselves spiritually. We discuss what a hungry spirit looks like and how we start to feed ourselves spiritually (as well as the importance of it). We round off the episode by looking at the obstacles we can face and things we can do to stay motivated.

A talk not just for the men... Women, you should listen in on this too. Every single one of us has had handed to us, an opinion of what it means to be a man. Commitment, faithfulness and loyalty are sadly not often things the women in our culture experience from men. Let's shed toxic masculinity and look to Jesus as a model of what the perfect picture of a man should be like. —Speaker: Andy Hancock

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. Our choice is to either live with the familiar or embrace the new that God offers. 'New' requires faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God! You don't need faith to stay in the old but you do to step into the new. —Speaker: Lead Pastor, Leon Evans

We can think listening as being so passive but it is active! We don’t just hear with our ears or even just with our brains —we hear with our hearts, and that’s what makes it so powerful. People should be better off for talking with us. How do we build with kindness and compassion? —Speaker: Jayne Sargeant

Gossip can seem ridiculous and childish... but it’s not is it? Many of us have been hurt, lost a friendship or been embarrassed by gossip. Talking badly about someone else when they’re not around says more about the person doing the talking than the person being talked about! Wouldn't we much rather be known as people who can be trusted? —Speaker: Andy Hancock

Criticism —we never do this, do we...? We never speak about other peoples driving, never say to our partner, "Why do you always… leave your shoes there, stack the dish washer so badly, fall asleep during films." I’m sure we never criticise our leaders, at church, work, school? Never criticise our friends or siblings? Never criticise those people we don’t quite understand – who voted the other way, who raise their children differently, who come from a different culture, who follow a different moral code to us..? "If only everyone else was a bit more like me..." —Speaker: Laura Hancock

With the General Election coming up on 4th July, Leon and Andy grabbed a chat over a cup of tea to talk through how we can be Christ-like in the midst of the chaos of an election campaign. Some great advise is offered on why we should vote, how we can pray and what to do when you disagree with someone else’s politics. Watch the vodcast on YouTube —just search 'The Lifecentral Podcast Election Special'.

Complaining is not a new phenomena... How many of us are feeling bad today about what we’ve moaned about already?! When we succumb to complaint as a habit, a lifestyle and a default, the problem is not the issue at hand, but it's actually what we’ve allowed to happen to our perspective. —Speaker: Leon Evans

Have you ever told a lie? Say you haven’t… maybe you’re lying. Research suggests that in one day, the average person lies four times, totalling 1,460 lies each year! Perhaps we should simply tell the truth… and in lots of ways that is great advice and completely accurate. However, if it were that easy, then why don’t we do it? It isn’t enough just to know what the right thing is to do. —Speaker: Gareth Blount

Our tongues can be weapons of mass destruction! Words can start wars; words can destroy families. Our tongues direct, destroy and display our life. How can we tame our tongues, and how can we be slow to speak yet quick to understand? —Speaker: Leon Evans

In this episode of The Lifecentral Podcast, Debs sits down with Tom, Hannah and Allison in a special episode honouring Mental Health Awareness Month. Tom speaks openly about his experiences with anxiety and depression and how he and Hannah navigated that time early in their marriage. We discuss the topics of stigma and guilt as well as the things we can do to stay well. We round out the episode by discussing ways we can move towards people who are struggling, and move towards God in the midst of mental health challenges and illness.   Resources used in this episode: https://www.premierchristianity.com/news-analysis/91-of-christians-say-mental-illness-is-stigmatised-in-the-church-but-the-solution-may-be-simpler-than-you-think/12924.article https://kintsugihope.com/files/mhfc/Theology_of_Mental_Health_FINAL.pdf https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/discipleship/a-more-christian-approach-to-mental-health-challenges https://mentalhealth-uk.org/help-and-information/movement/  

Stories of Lives Changed! Baptisms - May 2024. —Speaker: Leon Evans