North Avenue Church Podcast

Life as a Vapor | James 4:11-17

Jerry, Mark, Fred, and Grant walk us through this passage showing us that arrogance may look different than we think and that life is only a vapor.

The Lord Will Fight For You | Exodus 13:17-14:14

The God of apparent detours and dead-ends in life teaches us about trusting His plan even when it doesn't make sense to us yet.

Humbles Yourselves Before God and He Will Exalt You | James 4:6-10

Jerry, Fred, and Mark walk us through ten commands in just three verses (James 4:7-9). God only exalts those who are first humbled by their sin.

Applying Passover to Today | Exodus 13:1-16

What does the Feast of Unleavened Bread have to do to with the church today living in a different era of redemptive history than Israel was then?

What is Going on with Kanye?

You may have been hearing a lot today about Kayne West's new album "Jesus is King." Here is some background information on what has been happening to Kanye this year.

[Two of the Adam Tyson interviews that Mark used for this are located here and here. Adam's message on Isaiah 6 is here. His message on John 3:16 from Salt Lake City is here (starting at 24:13).]

Getting Into the Weeds: Why James 4:5 is so Hard to Translate

James 4:5 is one of the hardest verses to translate in the New Testament. What makes it so challenging and what does the verse really mean? While it is hard to have total certainty, we can at least begin to move toward some solutions. And maybe our exercise here will help us think more critically and (we hope!) accurately regarding other passages in the future.

"Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?" (James 4:5 NIV)

Cravings Cause Conflicts | James 4:1-6

Underneath all human conflicts rest sinful cravings. These cravings need to be brought into the light so that we can know why we do the things we do and so that we can seek God's gracious help.

Leaving Under The Lord's Watch | Exodus 12:29-51

Scott powerfully shows us how the Lord was 'watching' over Israel on this night which was never to be forgotten.

Head Coverings, Hairstyles, and Headship | 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

We spent an hour walking through one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament tonight. Believe it or not, this strange and perplexing passage really does have application to our churches today.

Passover: Saved by the Blood of the Lamb | Exodus 12:1-28

Many Christians are familiar with Passover but can easily overlook the details of what happened and why. This event powerfully points forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

True and False Wisdom | James 3:13-18

Jerry, Mark, and Tyler walked through this brief but dense passage where we see the difference between the "wisdom from above" and false claim to wisdom that is actually worldly.

Why the Death of the Firstborn? | Exodus 11

This passage took us into some deep and weighty places concerning God's sovereignty over Pharaoh's heart and the severity of the last plague.

The Power of the Tongue | James 3:1-12

Jerry, Fred, Mark and Bob McAndrew helped us better understand the dangers James warns us about regarding the words that come from our tongues.

[Mark wanted to correct a comment he made: In the New Testament both James 3:9 and 1 Corinthians 11:7 mention man being made in God's image.]

Does James Contradict Paul? | James 2:14-26

James and Paul seem to directly contradict themselves on the topic of justification. However, if we take a closer look we can see that they actually are in great harmony.

Heart of Darkness | Exodus 10:21-29

The plague of darkness picks up on a theme that runs all throughout Scripture: Are we living in the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light?

[Mark borrowed the title and opening illustration of this message from Phil Ryken's excellent commentary.]