by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 18, 2018

Good Times Have Come, So Go Tell it On the Mountain

    We tell the stories that matter most to us and our world. The stories you tell at parties, over dinner, and even in small talk have two overlapping qualities: you like them and you think the people around…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 17, 2018

Joy to the World, Good News!

      I’ll never forget where I was when I first heard the news: LeBron James was coming to Los Angeles to play for our Lakers. King James was going to come! After years of trying to read between…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 16, 2018

The Meaning of Joy

    This Advent season has been a delight for me as we’ve walked through hope and peace. Now we turn our gaze toward joy. Our modern dictionaries define joy as a feeling of great happiness. It’s essentially pleasure plus,…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 15, 2018

When the Soul Feels Its Worth

    This past week, each reflection has focused on the theme of Peace and the Kingdom Jesus’ birth brings. It all seems so wonderful. The birth of the saving king, so glorious. The highest glory has come to us!…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 14, 2018

The End of War — Healing of the Nations

    My favorite Christmas movie is Joyeux Noel. It tells the true story of a Christmas Day Truce in the trenches of World War I between the Germans, French, and British. The cost of World War I was a…

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by Nathan Cedarland 0

0

ChurchDiscipleshipEveryday RhythmsGospelIdentityMissional Community

December 13, 2018

Better than Christmas

  At heart, I’m a nostalgic sentimentalist. Growing up, It’s a Wonderful Life was not only my favorite Christmas movie but my favorite movie in general. Seriously. Almost any holiday song by Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby still fills…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 13, 2018

We’ve Been Brought Near

    We all have a complicated relationship with the Church. It’s a ruckus communion of saints. It’s for many a place of quarreling, a place of scheming, a place of power, and even for those same people, a place…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 12, 2018

The Kingdom that Divides

    Growing up, my family spent each night of the holidays sitting beneath the glow of the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies. We watched the original Miracle on 34th Street and the “new” Miracle on 34th Street (which…

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by Tim Parlier 0

0

CommunityDiscipleshipGospelLeadershipMissionMissionaryYouth & Teens

December 11, 2018

Sent Where the Sin Is

As we at Saturate seek to commission disciple-makers of students (or anyone for that matter), we are confronted with circumstances and beliefs that seems to be stopping many from starting a new work or shifting their current ministry functions. There…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 11, 2018

How the Long Expected Jesus Came

  How does the king come? We know He comes to change the world. We know He was born into our world. But how does Jesus come? What is the manner, the posture, the practice of Jesus’ incarnation? Returning to…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 10, 2018

A Child and Big Government

  Wherever he reigns, His thriving and flourishing will be there, too! His law is peace. On May 19, 2018, Prince Harry of England married Meghan Markle in Windsor, England. The event was marked by the usual fanfare of such…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelMissional CommunitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 9, 2018

Peace on Earth

  At the center of the angel’s announcement on the first Christmas night is this phrase found in Luke 2:14; it’s what Linus quotes at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas: “Glory to God in the Highest, and peace…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 8, 2018

Mourning with Hope in a Tragic World

    Christmas can be a time of lights, trees, parties, and decadent food, but it is definitely a season of grief and sadness. For some, it’s the grief of a lost childhood; the holidays remind us of all the…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 7, 2018

A Humble Baby?

    “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,     though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me     one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,     from ancient times.” Therefore Israel…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 6, 2018

Responding to the King’s Arrival

  Go on up to a high mountain,     O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength,     O Jerusalem, herald of good news;     lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,     “Behold your God!”  Behold,…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 5, 2018

Life from a Stump

    As I mentioned previously, our family always cuts down a Christmas tree. Each year, we leave a stump in the ground—something that was once growing is now dead. Stumps in Oregon are a part of life. In fact…

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by Nathan Cedarland 0

0

DiscipleshipGospelGospel ShepherdingIdentityLeadershipMissional CommunityPastoringSpiritual Growth

December 4, 2018

We Need “Good Shepherd” Theology

  During our family meal last week, my five-year-old son Caleb perched attentively on the arm of the padded chair in which I sat––my Bible sprawled open on the coffee table in front of us. “What does it mean for…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipGospelIdentityMissionSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 4, 2018

Jesus Came into the World

    “Jesus came into Galilee” is offered as hope, the first hope. After centuries of silence, of struggle, and continued sin, the resignation of the people was, “No one is coming.” And yet, Jesus came into Galilee. “No-one-is-coming” is…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 3, 2018

The True Story of Hope

    On a December morning in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, children and teachers were likely gearing up for a day filled with gluing cotton balls onto Santa beards when a 20-year-old man came into the school shooting and killing…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentitySaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 2, 2018

Why Did Jesus Have to Come?

    Christmas is a magical time for kids as they see the glow of lights, trees in the home, and packages accumulate. It’s also the season when we get to regularly articulate the meaning and nature of God coming…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelSaturate PodcastSpiritual Growth

December 1, 2018

Preparing for Advent

    Christmas Tree Hunting In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in…

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by Adam Breckenridge 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelGospel ShepherdingLeadershipMissional CommunitySpiritual Growth

November 29, 2018

What to Expect from People in DNA Groups

  Expectations for being in a DNA Group Deep discipleship and transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Rather, deep growth occurs in the soil of trusting relationships, where we can be known and loved, challenged and encouraged. This is the purpose…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityKidsResources

November 27, 2018

The Whole Gospel

  This is an excerpt from the Adult Leader's Preparation for the first lesson of Gospel Basics for Kids. Each week of Gospel Basics has reflections and readings to help the teacher prepare to engage kids on the same topic.…

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by Liz.Pearse 0

0

DiscipleshipEveryday RhythmsFoundationsGospelIdentityKids

November 22, 2018

Why Teach the Basics of the Gospel to Kids?

  Why should we teach the basics of the Gospel to our kids?  For no other reason than we are in a battle: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

KidsMissional CommunitySaturate Podcast

November 21, 2018

New Resource Now Available!

We have a new resource for kids, families, communities, and churches. I'm very excited about it. This children's resource began as a simple guide for missional communities at Bread&Wine, a Soma Church in Portland, Oregon in 2009, during my first year…

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by Mirela Watson 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelIdentityKids

November 20, 2018

Speaking the Gospel with Children

  Sometimes I think she understands, and I always wonder how amazed she will be when she fully comprehends the depth of the justice and righteousness Jesus brings to our lives, both here and in eternity. We are on the…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

Saturate Podcast

November 20, 2018

Episode 64: Taking Small and Big Steps Toward Everyday Discipleship

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson and Jeff Vanderstelt talk about the tension many believers face: they want to see the way they're being discipled and discipling others transformed into what they see in the Bible (or read…

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by Jeff Vanderstelt 0

0

DiscipleshipFoundationsGospelGospel ShepherdingPastoring

November 16, 2018

Give Them Jesus

  The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, states: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body…

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by Charlie Meo 0

0

ChurchCurrent EventsDomains of SocietyGospelIdentityMissionarySocial Justice

November 13, 2018

Reconstructing Our True Identity

  This is part two of this two-part series on deconstructed Christianity. If you haven’t read the first piece on the roots and ramifications of deconstruction, go back and do that first. The True Story Could it be that the…

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by Charlie Meo 0

0

ChurchCurrent EventsDomains of SocietyGospelIdentityPastoring

November 8, 2018

Hope for Deconstructed Christians

  Our hope is that through embracing the Bible as the True Story, followers of Jesus are given three new identities that reconstruct a flourishing faith. In the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed pipe bombs sent to prominent…

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by James Grout 0

0

ChurchEveryday RhythmsFoundationsMissionMissional CommunityYouth & Teens

November 6, 2018

From One Generation to the Next

  A Shaky Foundation Several years into my career as a youth pastor I had a crisis of purpose. I loved what I was doing and believed developing people and programs to support teenagers in their faith journey was one…

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by Amy Lathrop 0

0

CommunityDomains of SocietyEveryday RhythmsFamilyFoundationsGospelMissional Community

November 1, 2018

Flourishing at the Table

  Hospitality is a practice to be cultivated for God’s glory, our good and the flourishing of others. It’s an invitation to worship the One who invites us in, feeds us, listens to us, knows us, and provides for our…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

Saturate Podcast

October 31, 2018

Episode 063: Cultivating Leadership Pipeline

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson and Jared Pickney talk about the importance of developing an intentional plan for developing people throughout every area of church life. They give examples, share important things to consider, and encourage…

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by Jeff Vanderstelt 0

0

DiscipleshipEveryday RhythmsGospelMissionMissional CommunityMissionary

October 30, 2018

Be With and Become

  Eugene Peterson paraphrased John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. Jesus fully related to everything we experience by fully becoming human and dwelling in our space.  I’ve been learning how to do…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

Bible & TheologyChurchDiscipleshipGospelLeadershipPastoringSpiritual Growth

October 25, 2018

Words Lived Out

  I broke down last night. Hunched over our kitchen sink and weeping, my wife told me it wasn’t silly to grieve a person I never personally met. On Monday one of my heroes had died. As a sixteen-year-old preacher,…

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by Brad Watson 0

0

Saturate Podcast

October 24, 2018

Episode 062: Loving People Through Apologetics

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson talks with poet and apparel designer, Preston Perry, about loving people of different faiths and speaking the truth with boldness and grace. Check his work out on his YouTube channel: BoldTV.…

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