Latest / Abide In Me / July 30 - Ordinary Time 2026 with Jenna Barber

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July 30 - Ordinary Time 2026 with Jenna Barber · Abide In Me

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Abide in Me podcast.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: This summer, we will be hearing from different voices, each bringing you reflections, songs, and liturgy to help us stay connected to the vine.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: This week, we are joined by our Chapel Campus pastor, Jenna Barber.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Hello again, friends.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: If you missed my last podcast, you may want to go ahead and listen to that first if you have a minute.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing a little mini-series on the first three of the 12 steps, which are deeply rooted in the history of the church as we know it today, but have been largely overlooked and forgotten by the church as a tool for spiritual transformation until more recently.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: We are all on our own journey of accepting the reality of step one, that we admitted we were powerless and that our lives had become unmanageable.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: This is also not a linear journey, by the way.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: You'll know when you're ready to move on to step two, which is we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: This language is important for the spiritually open rooms of AA, but I personally believe this power is called God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator whose face we see on Christ and whose very heart dwells within us through the efficacy of the Spirit, that God can restore us to sanity.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, you have to acknowledge that you've not been living in peace and sanity in order to need to believe that God can bring you back there.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: But that's step one.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: I can't.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: And this is step two, or more simply, he can.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: I was raised in the church.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I knew every Bible study answer, and was teaching a kindergarten Sunday school class by the time I was in high school.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: I graduated, planned to become a missionary, attended a small liberal arts Christian college, and eventually ended up in seminary, where I more deeply sank into my ever-developing knowledge about God.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: And over a decade ago, I was hired by and ordained to be a pastor at Pillar Church.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: I experienced God's hand in leading me along each of these steps along the way.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: But what I never really figured out how to do was actually trust God with my life.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: I thought God could, but that God wouldn't necessarily.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: Whatever wonderful image of God I had concocted and created in my mind didn't match an understanding of a God who could and would actually intervene in my life in a consistent or meaningful way.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: Every time there was an opportunity to surrender something to God, I always had a better option, a way to take control of the reins and handle it myself, because I was really quite capable.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: I found myself to be quite a bit more trustworthy than this mysterious God who wasn't actually all that reliable.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: Last time I mentioned the Apostle Paul's articulation of his own struggle with his sin, or dare I say, addictions.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: But did he try to handle them himself?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Well, actually, this was the same guy who believed God told him, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's in Corinthians.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: Paul seemed to then believe this that nothing but God's love could break into his deepest areas of pain and unmanageability, that he himself would never be enough, but God would.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: In my own story, I wrestled with this because in the past, my determination of God's trustworthiness had been outcomes-based.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: So savvy of me.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: Ultimately, what I had to do was decide if God was worthy of my trust and surrender, even if that meant a different future or outcome than what I envisioned was best, even if pain wasn't avoided.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: My metric of trust had always been outcome-based with God.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: And not his outcomes, but my outcomes, because obviously I knew best.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: So you're unemployed.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: Can you trust God with your future because he's gonna provide you that job?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: He's faithful.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Or can you trust God with your future if that reality is food stamps and Medicaid?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: Or your marriage is at a breaking point.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Is God trustworthy because he's going to redeem your marriage?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know that's what he can do, and that's how he'll show you he's in control.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Or can you trust him to never leave your side, even if the other person never gets healthy?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: Examples add nausea.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: You get it.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Step one, I can't.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: Step two, he can.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Is the goal actually God's grace?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: And is that grace sufficient?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: If this is a struggle for you to believe, not just with your head but with your heart, don't be afraid to sit in it for a while.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: In his book Steps, John Ortberg names this as the longest journey in the world, the 12 inches from your head to your heart.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's the journey from affirming that God exists to experiencing yourself as God's beloved child.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: If you are able to say I can't, are you ready to say he can?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions, comments, or would like prayer, we would love to hear from you.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Reach out to us at abide at pillarchurch.com.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And for now, if you're willing, receive this blessing.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: The peace of God, which passes all understanding.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.