When you think about it, the entirety of what Christians believe is based on what is written in the Bible. It’s our ultimate authority, our ultimate truth, and our ultimate message from the Lord. Whenever we gage if something is trustworthy or not, it’s Scripture that we appeal to in order to determine if something is from God or not. But is it trustworthy? Do the copies of the Bible that we read today remain true to what was originally written? How can we even know the answer to that question? If the Bible is a collection of books written over 1500 years by so many different authors that we don’t even have the original copies of, how can we truly trust it? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a conversation on the reliability of the Bible, how we can have faith that it is truly the Word of God, and the overwhelming evidence of the miracle of Scripture.

As we begin our journey into the Bible, the first question that we must stop and ask is “how can we know that this is the Word of God?” It’s a great question. To say that God speaks to us and does so through this book known as the Bible is a pretty audacious claim, so is it true? As Christians, we say we believe every word of Scripture is given to us by God, but what does that really mean? And how did it happen? Was there a heavenly tape recorder or did God just tell the authors of Scripture to “jot this down real quick”? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a discussion on divine inspiration in the writing of God’s message to all of mankind in the form of the Bible.

For the past six weeks, we have been on a journey together of looking at how we are to interact with one another in God’s family. We have talked about loving one another, honoring one another, praying for one another, and more. These “one another” actions are the things in God’s family that we are expected to do, the way we invest in one another. But what about the things we are not supposed to do? Think about your own family. Your family probably has rules and expectations, and some of those include negative actions that you are not to do. In the same way, in God’s family, there are things we are not to do in order to protect the family of God from the enemy. So what are those things? What are the negative “one anothers” that protect? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a discussion on the No-No’s of God’s family as our One Anothers message series wraps up but the One Another Life continues on.

Honor is an interesting concept when you think about it. We have heard since we were little that we are to “honor your father and mother.” The word honor also brings to mind a courtroom with a judge and someone saying “yes, your honor.” But what does that word really mean? Is it just showing them respect? Or maybe holding them in high esteem? What does it truly look like to honor someone? And what about the folks who are difficult to honor? How are we supposed to treat them? The Bible makes it clear: honor is a big deal to God. So if we are to live a life that shows honor to people, what does God’s Word say about how we are to carry that out? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a conversation on what honor is, how to honor those who seem unhonorable, and some practical ways to show honor to those around you as we continue to live out the One Another life.

The importance of prayer in the life of the believer cannot be overstated. Again and again in the Bible we see accounts of people praying to the Lord and seeing amazing things happen. Through prayer, armies are defeated, the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead are brought back to life. Prayer is quite literally the way we talk to God and one of the ways that God speaks to us. In God’s family, we are commanded to pray for one another, with all kinds of requests and on all kinds of occasions. But what about when we pray and we don’t see results? What about praying in the tough times when we just don’t feel like it? How can we lean on the power of prayer when God feels far away? And how can we open up to others about what is going on in our lives when it could be embarrassing or shameful? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a conversation on the importance of prayer and how we can utilize prayer in God’s family as we live out the One Another life that the Lord has called us to.

At some point in everyone’s life, we have all struggled with being accepted or rejected. Maybe in elementary school you were picked last for dodgeball. Maybe in middle school you were made fun of. Maybe in high school you were left out of the group. Maybe as an adult you were pushed aside or dismissed as not important enough to consider. The truth is, no matter who you are or where you are from, rejection has at some point come to call on you. In God’s family, however, we are called to accept one another. Even so, people have still experienced a lack of acceptance from those in the church. That can be especially painful. Then there is the world around us. Our culture is constantly screaming “accept me the way I am!“, so is that what we are supposed to do? Blind acceptance no matter what? But how can we accept those who are living a lifestyle contrary to what the Bible says? The Bible makes it clear that acceptance is so important, but how do we practically and faithfully live out a one another lifestyle of accepting like Scripture calls us to in the world today? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a conversation on what Biblical acceptance looks like, where to draw the line when it comes to sin, and how God expects His children to accept one another in His family.

There is really nothing that everyone in the entire world can agree on, but the closest statement that might find universal acceptance is that life is tough. Did we hear an “amen” there through the screen? The burdens of life can be so difficult to deal with. Truthfully, for many, it seems like those burdens get tougher every day. We carry so many burdens in our lives like our finances, relationships, job concerns, marriage, health…the list goes on and on. But are these things meant to be burdens? And are we meant to carry them alone? Or does God have a better plan for us to help us when we face the burdens of this life? The truth is that God has given us His family as a way for us to bear one another’s burdens and to help each other in our times of need. But how do we access that? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a conversation on the burdens of this life and how God has designed us to be in relationship with one another to help ease the weights of life that so many of us carry.

When it comes to the concept of love, there is no shortage of stories, songs, poems, movies, books, and more throughout all of human history that attempt to convey what it truly means to love someone. Even so, love, for some people, can be difficult to define. We know it when we experience it. We also know what it means to be unloved, to feel like we are isolated or alone or even hurt by those that we expected to feel love from. In Scripture, Jesus says that the world will know that we are followers of Him by the way that we love. Jesus is the perfect picture of true love, and we are called to be imitators of Him. So how do we do that? How do we, as imperfect people, love other imperfect people perfectly like Jesus did? Is that even possible? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a discussion on how to love like Jesus and how we are called to love one another in the family of God.

Families. We all have them. Most of the time we are grateful for our families, for the love and support they provide in the good times and the bad. There are times, however, where it can be tough to be around family. Family comes in all shapes and sizes as well. What may seem normal in one household can seem absolutely odd to a visitor from another family. There are traditional families, blended families, blood-relations, the family that you choose…the list goes on and on. In God’s family, we see much the same thing. God has designed us to be in relationship with one another, so it is important for us to learn how to survive and thrive in the family of God. But what does that look like practically? What about when God’s family seems or feels tough to be in? What about when we look around, and realize we NEED each other in this life? Join Pastors Jim, Chad, and Matt for a discussion on how to live with one another in God’s family, some challenges that we all face in doing so, and experience the blessings that come along with being a part of the family of God.

After almost a year hiatus, The Other Six Podcast is back! Join Pastors Chad and Matt as they welcome the new Lead Pastor of Vaughn Forest Church, Jim Botts, to the podcast. Learn more about Jim’s journey, take a deep dive into how the Lord has worked in his and his family’s life to bring them to VFC, and celebrate God’s faithfulness in every situation.