A popcorn-filled car sounds like a petty problem until you realize it might be feeding birds, blessing something beyond you, and exposing what love actually costs. We start with that kind of everyday irritation and let it ask a bigger question: where are we being inconvenienced for the benefit of others, and where are we refusing the life Jesus is offering because we want comfort, control, or the last word?

We anchor the teaching in Jesus’ warning that we can search the Scriptures and still miss Him, because the text is meant to point us to the Living Word. From there, we get painfully practical about “refusal” that doesn’t look like rebellion. It looks like small choices that shape us: the muffin that sabotages our goals, the late-night scroll that replaces prayer, rest, and presence, and the subtle drift into distraction where the Holy Spirit is quietly nudging us toward freedom.

Then we open 1 Corinthians 13 as more than a wedding reading and more than a vibe. Love becomes the standard: patient, kind, not rude, not irritable, not keeping score. We talk about eliminating hurry, giving up the illusion that being right makes us safe, and letting love mature us past rule-keeping religion. We also connect love to justice, because love does not celebrate harm and it refuses to ignore the marginalized.

The episode lands with a story of radical generosity in a grocery line that blurs the boundary between “my family” and “your family,” and it ends at the communion table with a clear takeaway: faith and hope matter, but the only legacy that lasts is love. Subscribe for more Sunday teachings, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review to help more people find the podcast.

Support the show

This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving

In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake

Peter argues with God, and it might be the most honest doorway into spiritual growth. We start by welcoming our in-person and online community, then lean into Pentecost as a season of staying attuned to the Holy Spirit, the living source that keeps expanding our understanding. With the summer solstice as a backdrop of maximum light, we also honor the Spirit-filled women who carried resurrection hope across generations, from Mary Magdalene to Phoebe, Junia, Priscilla, and beyond.

From there we step into Acts 10, where Cornelius, a devout Roman outsider, receives a divine invitation, and Peter receives a vision that dismantles the categories he trusts. The command is simple and disruptive: stop calling unclean what God has made clean. We talk about how religious rules can harden into certainty, how fear and doubt show up even in sincere faith, and why holy curiosity and real conversation are often the bridge to change. If you’ve ever felt the tension between tradition and love, Peter’s story puts language to it.

We also get practical about what an inclusive church looks like in daily life: generosity that reaches beyond “our people,” hospitality at the table, and even choosing love in moments that normally trigger an us-versus-them reaction. We name a miracle as something you can witness right now: someone changing their mind. And we close with consent, the Mary-like surrender that makes space for the Spirit to do what we cannot.

Subscribe, share this message with a friend, and leave a review if it helps you breathe a little deeper into God’s widening love.

Support the show

This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving

In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake

Pentecost doesn’t start with perfect people, it starts with ordinary people who are scared, grieving, and unsure what comes next and then the Spirit shows up like wind and fire. We sit with Acts 2 and ask what we usually avoid: if the Holy Spirit is real, what should it look like in our actual lives and conversations? We name the fruits of the Spirit as more than a list, and we talk about “practicing resurrection” every time we choose love in an unloving moment, every time we forgive, and every time we let God wake us up from the dream that we’re separate.

From there, we lean into the miracle of languages and understanding as a picture of unity without conformity. The Spirit doesn’t erase difference; the Spirit creates connection. That becomes a challenge to any version of Christianity that carries harshness, prejudice, or contempt. We ask who we need to understand differently, what it would mean to learn a new language of gentleness, and how repentance can be as simple and as brave as letting the Spirit change the way we speak.

We also get very practical about what we “attune” to day to day, including the habit of retelling negative stories until they shape our homes and our hearts. And we share a small, surprising image a bird trying to build a nest that won’t hold and one person choosing to do something about it as a Spirit-shaped call to compassion with action.

If this sermon helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one place you’re asking the Holy Spirit to teach you a new language?

Support the show

This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving

In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake