Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

RE-ENGAGE

RE-ENGAGEREBOOT: Creating a New NormalSeptember 20, 2020
Being a great cook is more than just following recipes or measuring accurately. It also means being able to take a look in the fridge or pantry and using whatever you have on hand to make a meal, replace a missing ingredient, or add something unexpected to an existing recipe. Great cooks know how to improvise.Being willing to improvise means being willing to take a risk. And not every risk will turn out to be a culinary success. (That’s when frozen pizza or Uber Eats saves the day!) But there’s an abundance of freedom in learning to be adaptable, rather than being locked in to the specifics of a recipe – especially when you’re out of a particular ingredient!We launched our fall sermon series entitled REBOOT last weekend. Over the next several weeks, we’re taking a look at what it means to quit waiting for life to return to “normal” and, instead, move forward toward our goal of becoming more like Jesus in every area of our lives. Over the past six months, it’s felt a lot like we’re missing some key ingredients in our standard recipe for growth and health. So what might it look like to improvise and try something new?

REIMAGINE

REIMAGINEREBOOT: Creating a New NormalSeptember 13, 2020
Well, it’s back to school season! But…wait…The calendar says September, but did we ever really finish the last school year? Where did the last six months go? There was no spring soccer or summer baseball, no vacations to Disneyland or 4th of July fireworks, no Summer Olympics or Oregon State Fair. How can it possibly be September??I’ve grown to hate the words “social distancing.” I’m tired of the global pandemic. If I never hear the words “new normal” again, it will be too soon. If we’re all in this together, why are we so far apart? I’m done with the constant bickering about masks. And how many times can I rethink the way I’ve always done things and try to figure out a new way? I liked the old way! I want the old normal back! The only good news in this whole unprecedented, global pandemic is that we really are in this all together, because none of us can escape!I would bet you’re a lot like me. You can feel our culture sinking. Six months ago, we all pushed “pause” thinking we’d just have to get through this for a month. Then two months. And now, we’re six months in, with no end in sight. Friends, we’re never going to get back to “normal” as we knew it. We’ve entered an alternate reality. It’s kind of like someone downloaded an upgrade, like the ones tech companies force on your computer or phone. Once those files are installed, you always have to reboot and then, figure out how to do the old things in a new way.We’re launching a new sermon series this next week called “Reboot.” Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be taking an honest look at what it means for all of us to move forward in this new reality, whether we like it or not. God’s Word tells us that, “…as we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need"…did you catch that?..."EVERYTHING we need, for living a godly life.” Even in a coronavirus culture. 

You & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Up the Heat

You & the StrangerThe God Who Turns Up the HeatSeptember 6, 2020
 
All that glitters is not gold;You can’t judge a book by its cover;Clothes don’t make the man; andIt’s what’s inside that counts.These familiar figures of speech are clever ways of saying that things are not always as they seem.We’re wrapping up our summer series, Stranger Things, this weekend. Over the past couple of months, we’ve been taking a look at the different ways God shows up as a stranger in stories throughout the Bible. In the process, we’ve been reminded, again and again, that our assumptions, preconceptions, or observations may not always lead us to what is true. We’ve been challenged to examine our own responses to the stranger, the marginalized, the different; and to that which is uncomfortable, unexpected, or outside our comfort zone. The goal has been to deepen our understanding of the heart of God toward people…all people…and to be willing to challenge ourselves to live out His heart more faithfully and authentically. Our vision as a church is to love God and love people. We love God best when we love people with an authentic, radical, risk-taking kind of love; the kind of love that changes hearts and transforms lives.  

Cleopas & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Up in the End

Cleopas & the StrangerThe God Was There All AlongAugust 30, 2020
Blindness affects millions of people all over the world. There are a number of things that can cause permanent blindness, including repeated eye infections, conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, and some health conditions that affect the eyes, such as diabetes. In 1882, Helen Keller was struck deaf and blind at the age of 19 months by an illness that included a high fever. Historical accounts of Keller’s life have speculated that the illness was rubella, scarlet fever, encephalitis or meningitis; but the exact cause remains a mystery. According to a modern-day medical analysis, bacterial meningitis was the likeliest culprit. But just like there are many causes of physical blindness, there are also many different types of blindness. A popular air freshener ad refers to being “noseblind.” There are conditions such as night blindness, color blindness, being blinded by the sun, blind rage, or blinded by love. Or you might be flyin’ blind, with blind faith on a blind date! Blindness is more than a physical condition. As we continue in our Stranger Things sermon series this week, we’re looking at the story of a less familiar Bible character by the name of Cleopas. He’s only mentioned a couple of times in scripture. But the encounter recorded for us in the book of Luke about Cleopas’ journey on the road to Emmaus following the crucifixion of Jesus reveals to us another type of blindness…the blindness of disillusionment. I’d guess that most, if not all of us, have wrestled with some level of disappointment or disillusionment in the past few months. We’re all processing a variety of losses and working through grief. If we’re not careful, those things can blind us, much like they did Cleopas, to what God wants us to see, do, and be.

Ezekiel & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Up the Volume

Ezekiel & the StrangerThe God Who Turns Up the VolumeAugust 23, 2020
In 1969, one of the longest running television shows in the United States debuted. Sesame Street has been on the air continuously ever since. If you were a kid who grew up watching or you had kids who watched, you most likely remember the song, One of These Things Is Not Like the Others. Kids were encouraged to identify which one out of four similar items, was different and didn’t belong with the rest. While our culture celebrates uniqueness, difference, and individuality, as humans, we also want desperately to connect, to identify, to belong.As we continue in our Stranger Things series this week, we’re taking a look at the prophet Ezekiel. His story is definitely unique and, to be honest…kinda weird! Ezekiel was both a priest and a prophet; an exile, living in Babylon during one of the darkest times in the history of Judah. He’s a man without a country, living as a stranger, even among his own people who had forsaken their covenant relationship with the Living God. And if that wasn’t difficult enough, God called Ezekiel to be a messenger to the people of Judah in some very strange and uncomfortable ways.Feeling like the one thing that “doesn’t belong” is hard. Ezekiel’s story reminds us that as followers of Jesus, we are called to be different, to be strangers in a world that is not our home. We too have a message from God to share with the people around us; people He desperately loves and longs to have a relationship with. Ezekiel’s story will challenge us to step out of our comfort zones and into God’s calling for our lives, even when it might be uncomfortable.

Isaiah & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Life Upside Down

Isaiah & the StrangerThe God Who Turns Life Upside DownAugust 16, 2020
Have you ever had the experience of bumping up against someone else’s assumptions about you? Or maybe you’ve been the one making assumptions about someone else? You don’t have to look far to realize that most of us are pretty good at making assumptions…about all sorts of things. At least we think we are. It’s so much easier than doing the hard work of pursuing truth. This week, as we continue in our Stranger Things sermon series, we’re taking a look at the life of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. We don’t know a lot about Isaiah, but we do know from his writing that God called him to the task of challenging the nation of Israel on their assumptions about God. That’s right…they (and maybe even we?) had some deep-seated assumptions about God that were literally destroying their relationship with Him. Have you ever even considered what assumptions you might have about God that may not be true?

David & The Stranger: The God Who Used to Show Up

David & the StrangerThe God Who Used to Show UpAugust 9, 2020
The dictionary defines “giant” as: a person or thing of unusually great size, power, or importance. The name Goliath has come to imply something that is big, really BIG. There are goliath frogs, goliath grouper fish, goliath spiders, goliath burgers, and my favorite, the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags! The common denominator? Each of these is enormous – relatively speaking – and most likely overwhelming in one way or another! “Giants” come in all shapes and even, all sizes. What is big, scary and overwhelming to me might not be to you, and vice versa.This week, as we continue in our Stranger Things series, we’re looking at the story of David, the giant slayer. Through David’s life we’ll see him in moments of confidence and, in others, crippled by crisis and chaos. We’ll also see how God sustained David through the valleys and the victories.Are you facing your own giant right now? In need of an infusion of courage? Of hope? Or strength? Maybe this season, fraught with insecurity and strife, is more than you can cope with. Perhaps your “giant” is closer to home. Maybe it’s depression or lost dreams. Maybe it’s a broken relationship. We live and work and breathe – day in and day out – in a world that can be overwhelming in a myriad of ways. So how do we keep moving forward in faith? Let’s learn together from the lessons of David’s life this Sunday.

Naomi & the Stranger: The God Who Doesn't Turn Up At All

Naomi & the StrangerThe God Who Doesn't Turn Up at AllAugust 2, 2020
The Old Testament story of Naomi begins with loss, grief, and broken dreams. Stripped of everything that gave meaning and purpose to her life, Naomi struggles with God’s apparent absence. Pain and devastating circumstances convince her that God has abandoned her; and on the surface, we see no overt evidence of His presence in her story. There’s no burning bush, no voice from heaven, no angelic visitation. There is only silence. Has God truly forgotten her? Maybe you can identify with Naomi’s story. Perhaps it’s difficult for you to see God at work in the circumstances of your own life. We are in the midst of a sermon series called Stranger Things. We’re taking a look at stories from the Bible that give us a glimpse at some of God’s more perplexing personality traits. As we look at Naomi’s story this week, there are important truths for us to glean. As we will see, just because God is silent doesn’t mean He’s not at work. The fingerprints of God’s grace are all over Naomi’s life. We just might need to look a little more closely.In this season, it can feel like our days are full of change and loss. It can be overwhelming and exhausting trying to keep up with the restrictions, the data, the changing information, and the differences of opinion. It’s easy to develop a mindset, much like Naomi’s, that is focused on all that has been stripped away.
 
When uncertainty seems to stretch on endlessly, and it feels like nothing is “for sure” anymore, God is our firm foundation. Unshakeable, immovable, faithful. I trust Him.

Gideon & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Up Way Too Late

Gideon & the StrangerThe God Who Turns Up Way Too LateJuly 26, 2020
Any successful organization – whether it’s a business, church, or family –  has principles or guidelines that all who are involved agree to abide by. One of the expectations I’ve set for the people on my teams throughout the years is to honor and respect others by being on time. It’s a simple way to express our love for people – by  showing up on time, ready to begin – whether it’s a meeting, a rehearsal, whatever. Being on time matters.But when we consider the Creator of time, it can seem that He has little regard for timetables…especially ours. Why does the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God of the universe seem to be so consistently inconsistent when it comes to timing?In his book, God is Stranger, (the book that inspired this sermon series) author Krish Kandiah writes, “For one whose timing is supposed to be perfect, God often seems to come across as rather disorganized. It doesn’t matter if it is heartbreaking global issues, or the personal challenges in our immediate circumstances…stuff happens that can make us seriously question God’s timing.”As you have faced the challenges and uncertainties of recent days, have you found yourself questioning God’s timing?I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer. Last weekend, we began a new sermon series called Stranger Things. Over the next few weeks, we’re taking a look at stories from the Bible that give us a glimpse at some of God’s more confounding qualities. This week, we’ll be looking at how God showed up in the life of the Old Testament hero, Gideon. We’ll see how perfect and trustworthy God’s timing is, even when we can’t make sense of it.

Abraham & the Stranger: The God Who Turns Up Out of the Blue

Abraham & the Stranger:The God Who Turns Up Out of the BlueJuly 19, 2020
Author Andy Crouch writes, “In Scripture, the God who made us and calls us turns out to be so very different from what anyone expects – no matter what we expected.”All of us, regardless of age, gender, race, or any other defining characteristics, are living through a time that is overwhelmingly different from what anyone could have imagined or expected. There’s no script, no roadmap, no guarantee for what next week, next month, or even next year will look like.  These are some strange times. No matter what your expectations were for 2020, this year has turned out to be very different from what any of us anticipated. In very real ways, life on our planet has become very strange. It almost feels like the only thing we know for sure, is that nothing is for sure anymore!I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer. This Sunday, we’re starting a new sermon series called Stranger Things. I’ve been following Jesus for most of my life. Through the years, as I’ve grown in my faith and obedience to Him, I’ve come to realize that the more I know or understand about God, the more there is for me to learn. I will never have Him “figured out.” He is beyond my limited human capacity to comprehend. Over the next 8 weeks, we’ll be looking at a series of stories from the Bible where God shows up in the lives of people in some pretty unique, if not downright strange ways. These stories will give us a glimpse at some of God’s more perplexing characteristics, and will both challenge and deepen our faith, as we navigate this strange season. Join us this week, as we look at a unique encounter with God from the story of Abraham.