Church is Messy

10 Episodes
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By: Rick Henderson and Svea Merry

Church is messy podcast recorded at Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, MN

Church Is Messy: The Lion's Share - Why Is our Church so Expensive?
#94
02/06/2025

We're putting a bow on The Lion's Share series. Today we scrutinize our own church and discuss our ministry method.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro01:06 Turning the focus on how Autumn Ridge handles money. Being transparent.03:29 Where is the organization: more than enough, just enough, less than enough? Our strategy.10:58 Year-end giving.12:46 Why this timing (January) on a series about finances?14:54 Our ministry method - the hub model.25:26 The kind of church we aspire to be.27:22 The upcoming Galatians series and a "Thank You."


Church Is Messy: The Lion's Share - Faithful and Generous
#93
01/29/2025

Today Rick and Svea talk about their own struggles with greed and simplicity and the New Testament framework of faithful giving and generous giving.

Bible passages referenced in today's episode:
1 Timothy 6:17-19; 1 Corinthians 9:13-14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-5


Topics Discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro01:13 This message pushed Rick to wrestle down his own contentment.03:56 Simplicity: a corollary to contentment.05:16 Svea fell back into the trap of not practicing simplicity this past week.07:16 Rick confronting greed as he's excited about his new hobby of hunting.08:34 The practice of generosity - a tangible expression of love.09:28...


Church is Messy: The Lion's Share - the False Promise of the Prosperity Gospel
#92
01/25/2025

Today Rick and Svea dig deep into the essence of the prosperity gospel, it falsehoods, and the various expressions of the prosperity gospel.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro01:47 Intro to the prosperity gospel.02:50 The real essence of the prosperity gospel.03:42 Live Q&A after most Saturday services (when Rick preaches).04:22 From the Q&A session last weekend: what is the fallout of the prosperity gospel?06:01 The year was 2013.14:48 The ditch: manipulation vs. grace.17:55 Why do we obey God?20:07 Different expressions of the prosperity gospel.20:41 Health and Healing prosperity gospel,26:13 The inverse: the poverty gospel,28:24 The...


Church Is Messy: The Lion's Share - More than Enough
#91
01/15/2025

In the first half of the episode Rick and Svea share where their vulnerabilities lie regarding money. In the second half they dig into contentment.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro01:12 Rick's history with Football.04:25 Rick and Svea wrestle through how calendars and money demonstrate who or what has our hearts.07:05 Svea talks about being vulnerable to finding security in money.11:32 Rick talks about his primary vulnerability comes through the satisfaction and significance money can bring.13:48 This series reveals deep soul issues and the opportunity we have to invite God into those spaces.14:52 Svea and her...


Church Is Messy: The Lion's Share - Just Enough
#90
01/08/2025

In this episode, Rick and Svea unpack some of the ideas behind "Just Enough."

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro00:27 Review of 202404:45 The Lion's Share.07:37 The tension and awkwardness of a money message series.08:20 Wanting for people not from people.12:53 Resisting the temptation to sit the series out.15:00 The topics this series will cover.16:07 Just enough.18:23 Do I find significance, security, or satisfaction in what I have or who I have?23:06 The challenge: what is "just enough"?33:41 The emphasis Jesus put on the motivations of our heart.


Church Is Messy: Jonah Week 6 - Unrelenting Grace
#89
11/06/2024

Rick and Svea close out Jonah talking about traps, windows and mirrors, God's judgement in the Old Testament, and how we can apply the themes of Jonah to life after elections (this episode was recorded on Election Day, 2024). Ultimately, it boils down to this week's sermon topic: Unrelenting Grace.

Topics discussed in this Episode:

00:00 Intro01:22 Election Day banter.02:46 A pastoral encouragement about election anxiety.05:09 Keep looking up - keep your eyes fixed on God.07:06 The early Church.09:53 Like Jonah, we all have traps we fall into when we find our security, significance, or satisfaction in something...


Church Is Messy: Jonah Week 5 - God's Compassionate Love
#88
10/30/2024

The roles are reversed: Rick asks Svea about her message on Jonah and we get insight into what didn't make it into the message this past week.

Topics discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro01:33 Believing God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love at the heart level banishes fear, heals hurts, and melts anger.04:00 How do you recognize the real ugliness and brokenness in the world that touches our lives, remember who God is and what we're like in him in such a way we are not angry people?08:12 What was left on the...


Church Is Messy: Jonah Week 4 - Freedom
#87
10/23/2024

Rick and Svea grapple with a number of important themes from Jonah this week:

God's provisionJonah is full of biblical parallelsObedience

Topics discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro00:59 Lots of fun aspects and different connections in the text a more casual reading may miss. (Such as the fish in Jonah switches from masculine to feminine in Hebrew.)04:25 The fish: tomb or womb?05:51 Did Jonah's view of the fish change in retrospect? God's provision may look different than we're expecting.07:21 Two rabbit trails: the fish-historical narrative vs parable vs satire and womb-God's compassion.10:06 Parallel between Jonah's fish and...


Church Is Messy: Jonah week 3 - Repentance
#86
10/16/2024

Rick and Svea make light of finally getting to "the whale" and how this is often given the lion's share of the messaging about Jonah when it's really an insignificant element of the story. This week's episode drips with challenges to go deeper and looking at what the text is actually saying.

Topics discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro01:33 Svea is struck by how many of us grew up with a child-like level of understanding of the book of Jonah.05:00 For many the focus of the book is on a very small part of the story...


Church Is Messy: Jonah Week 2 - The Line
#85
10/09/2024

This week Rick and Svea look at Jonah 1:1-16. Jonah acts as an enemy of God and yet God shows him grace. They draw out a number a parallels between Jonah and Jesus and how they differ in their motivation.

Topics discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro01:42 Where is the line?06:51 Rick gets honest - some of his backstory.10:29 God sets his heart on his enemies and loves his enemies like a son.11:41 Jonah acts as an enemy of God but God shows him scandalous grace. 18:14 Jonah is the entire Bible in miniature.20:17 Jonah goes down in t...