Bear Good Fruit Podcast

Marriage

It's our 14th anniversary (Biblically significant nerdout number) and we've got marriage on our minds. We explore the irony around biblical marriages being unbiblical and dismantle a number of common myths about marriage too. We hope this conversation gives life and hope to those called into marriage at the same time to caveat for those to feel peace around their life of singleness as a way to honor Christ-like devotion to His Bride (the church). Buckle up - butter cup for a deep-ish dive into marriage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00 - Intro 1:43 - Not So Newlywed Game 3:20 - Actual start to the game... 13:39 - Vision of Tree of Life in regards to Marriage 16:30 - Marriage Myth 1: Soulmate 22:20 - 2: Spark Myth 25:00 - 3: 50/50 (Contractual Agreement) Myth 31:50 - 4: Ball & Chain Myth 34:50 - 5: "You Complete Me" Myth 42:37 - What's a Biblical Marriage? (Should everyone get married?) 51:44 - Caveats & Grains of Salt (sorry for tech difficulties) 53:13 - Tree of Life Vision Cast for Marriage Ministries ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go and Bear Good Fruit! Thanks for listening and if you want to learn more about our new ministry, check out Tree-of-Life.Church

Youth Ministry

In this conversation we talk through the importance of youth ministry in the church. Should youth have a separate gathering than the larger church gatherings? Who is responsible for discipling our children? How does American culture prolong adolescence in setting up our next generation for failure? Join us as we share perspective of 12 years in youth ministry that hopefully inspires us to produce Good Fruit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00 - Intro 1:41 - Tree of Life Update 7:38 - Game: Real Slang or Cap! 15:10 - Is Youth Ministry Biblical? 19:23 - Shadow Side to Youth Ministry 21:34 - Jesus' Disciples were Youth Students! 24:22 - Importance of Dignifying Our Youth with Responsibilities 26:19 - Should we "Outsource" Discipleship? 29:24 - What's the Bible Say about Importance of Teaching Youth? 32:56 - Kid's Can Handle More 39:50 - The World Will Speak if the Church is Silent 41:19 - Camp Awaken 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go and Bear Good Fruit! Thanks for listening and if you want to learn more about our new ministry, check out Tree-of-Life.Church

Treasures

In our longest episode yet (sorry about that), we unpack some of the beauty and significance of treasure. It's a great time to reflect on what we truly treasure in our hearts and what we'd be willing to give up for it.We hope this conversation sparks an inventory of our priorities and values so that we can focus more on eternally significant things. Truly to help us Bear Good Fruit.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0:00 - Intro1:36 - Game - What's it worth?13:11 - Confession: Temptation to Judge the Wealthy14:26 - Tree of Life Update (including Awaken Camp details)20:28 - What does treasure mean?25:08 - The value of redemption28:57 - Childlike Treasures30:20 - Matthew 6:19-2131:47 - What are "heavenly treasures"?35:31 - Fruitful Metaphors to help children store up heavenly treasures37:51 - What does it mean that the ideal treasure = Jesus?41:13 - How do we determine what our current treasure is?43:30 - What do we mean by "bringing people to Jesus"? 44:30 - Redeeming our earthly treasure into heavenly treasure46:55 - Matthew 13:44-46 (differing perspectives)51:23 - Fruit of Believing Jesus seeing Humanity as Treasure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Go and Bear Good Fruit!Thanks for listening and if you want to learn more about our new ministry, check outTree-of-Life.Church

Rivalries

Today we brainstorm the origins of rivalries and how counter productive they can be to God's Kingdom movement. Hope you have grace as our dogs decided to get in on the action this time, but as Julie said, this podcast will be one to help us with resisting our distractions.Is competition good? Are rivalries necessary? How can we navigate these fruitfully and in ways that bring life to us and our communities?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0:00 - Intro1:26 - Olympics & Our Competitive Past4:00 - Game - First Word7:57 - What the game teaches us about personality9:41 - Overview of Rivalries13:17 - Are rivalries sometimes one-sided?15:18 - How narratives form rivalries?18:05 - FSU vs UF rivalry 20:00 - How community shapes your rivalries23:52 - What Jesus says in Luke 928:18 - Wisdom of 10 Commandments to prevent rivalries29:56 - Rivalries created in the Church33:26 - What's the Christ-follower default setting?34:25 - Is competition ok?40:12 - Remember who the battle is truly against...Love your rival------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Go and Bear Good Fruit!Thanks for listening and if you want to learn more about our new ministry, check outTree-of-Life.Church

Let's talk about Love

With Valentines Day drawing near, we discuss the importance and meanings behind the word "Love". We look at examples (both good and bad) to help shape and mold our understanding of love. We also spend time discussing the importance of planting a church, partnering with other churches, and the phases of preparation to help further God's Kingdom all on the basis of love. Feel free to reach out and continue this conversation about how we can read our own "check engine lights" and discern whether we're loving or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs] - Intro plus "Snowfest" Recap 4:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=240s] - Valentines Side-Bar 5:48 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=348s] - Gametime: Valentines Trivia 12:28 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=748s] - Tree of Life Update - Phase 1 of preparation & our posture 17:24 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=1044s] - The personal benefit of being shaped by church plant dynamics 20:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=1245s] - Practical reasons to plant a church 23:36 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=1416s] - Topic: Love Overview 28:58 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=1738s] - Love drives to action 33:14 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=1994s] - Passage to use as our "check engine light" of love (or unloving) 41:27 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=2487s] - Difficulty of Valentines Day - Offer into counseling 43:38 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=2618s] - Pro-tips on navigating conflict 45:11 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHPYiTIeKs&t=2711s] - Wrap up ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go and Bear Good Fruit! Thanks for listening and if you want to learn more about our new ministry, check out Tree-of-Life.Church