House of Learning Podcast

Who is Juneteenth for?

This weekend it's Juneteenth, a holiday with a long history, but only recently with wider exposure. Because it’s about slavery, a topic that has generated some nervousness for some recently, people can be nervous about what it is and who it’s for. Actually, it’s a very Kingdom-shaped celebration. So, of all people, Christians can get excited to rejoice and reflect this Juneteenth.

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

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Faith and suicide

There’s a lot of talk about our current mental health crisis, with growing awareness around the issues. Shouldn’t Christians be really good at this stuff? What does ‘good’ even look like? Join us as we press into the issues around suicide with Angela and Vuong who are both involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

 

Check out the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for more information, resources, events and more.

 

You can also explore more about having better conversations with people around you at https://seizetheawkward.org/

 

If you want to contact the crisis line

Call - 800-273-8255

Or Text TALK to 741741

Or chat online at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

What is a deacon?

Deacons are a prominent role in the New Testament, but not one that many churches talk much about today. We have deacons at Westside… so, who are these mysterious people and what do they do? Join a few of them as we chat about this, and how God is at work in them as they serve in this way.

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

News from Uganda

After a Hear the Cry trip to Uganda we chat with some of the team about what is going on with our partners there (Elephante Commons and Develop Sustainability), and debrief what they learned from the people they met in Uganda and how God is using them… which means taking a quick look at why we do short term trips.

 

To find out more about these locations, trips, and how to get involved, check out the Hear the Cry website.

 

We also mentioned a great book - When Helping Hurts

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

 

The cry of dereliction

On Good Friday we contemplate Jesus’ cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” What was going on here? Was Jesus really forsaken by the Father – did he turn his face away? How does this experience of suffering affect us? Is it part of the retribution for sin, or is it part of Jesus healing us? Join us as we discuss (not answer!) these questions and more.

 

If you haven’t been able to go through the stations of the cross in the building, you can go through the digital version here - an excellent tool for your Easter contemplation!

 

We also recommended chapters from Eleonore Stump’s book Atonement

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

 

Are we built for longing?

Dominic Done is back on the podcast! We chat about the journey he’s been on starting Pursuing Faith, engaging questions around doubt and deconstruction. Part of responding to our questions is recognizing the deep longing in our souls that invites us on a journey of becoming our true self… which is the topic of his new book.

 

If you haven’t taken a look, check out all the resources at Pursuing Faith

 

And you can pre-order Dom’s new book Your Longing Has a Name here now.

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

Why is there suffering?

Why is there suffering in the world? This question hounds us, especially those who want to see this as a world shaped by a good God. This week we get to ask this question to Michael Lloyd from Wycliff Hall in Oxford University - who has researched and thought about this extensively.

 

To catch more of Michael’s great approach to things, check out his book: Cafe Theology

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

How do you hear God’s voice?

Once again, Sunday threw up a big question... if you are going to obey the Spirit's voice, how do you hear what He has to say to you? So we wind back the clock to last time we talked about this, and chat about some of the varieties of how we hear from God and discern God's voice.

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

Porneia & 423

This week we have special guest Dave from 423 Communities as we continue a conversation that came up on Sunday about pornography. This is such a nerve for many people, and statistically likely to be much bigger around us that we might think. We talk about the effects of porneia, God’s response, and how the church has a part in helping.

 

To find out more about 423 Communities, check out the website - https://www.423communities.org/

 

And to read Dave’s excellent book, take a look on Amazon here

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

 

1 Timothy: Deception & Childbearing

Are men naturally less gullible than women? Is a woman’s salvation dependent on having children? This is the last in our series on gender and ministry, and we finish up 1 Timothy 2 as Paul refers us back to Genesis - yes: once again, it’s all about Genesis!

 

We’ve put together a suggested reading list.

 

You can view the 1 Corinthians class handout here as well.

 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by Westside: A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!