Bible Connection Podcast: The Blueprint
The Scriptures could not be more current as they speak into the very real questions and struggles people face every day. Pastor Jonathan “JP” Pokluda talks about using the Bible as a blueprint given by a loving God to a culture hungry for answers and hope.

      
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Harris Creek Baptist Church

Jeremiah 29:7 says, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you.” For the prophet Jeremiah and God’s people living in exile, these words from the Lord were not easy to hear, much less to accept and put into practice. Being an outcast of society in an unusual place, Jeremiah realized these instructions from God would take him out of his comfort zone and into community with other individuals who might be far different from himself. Yet it was in this position of exile that God called his people to embody an incarnational approach to ministry; God’s people were asked to pursue the best interests of others and prepare the way for the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Harris Creek Baptist Church’ philosophical approach to ministry is to embody the gospel by loving God and serving the community.

Excerpt from This Podcast

11:34 — The Bible addresses the things that people are dealing with. The Bible is our blueprint. How does that play out in your own life and in your ministry?

Pastor JP: The Bible is our authority or conscience and our guide. I’m a Bible teacher. The church teaches Scripture. This is the living book. This is the instruction that God has given us. It’s the way that we know who he is. It’s suitable for training, correcting, rebuking, teaching, training, and righteousness, as the Scripture says.

If I’m in a situation where I don’t know what to do, I start there. That was one of God’s graces in my life. I got in a community group early on in my marriage which was a train wreck because I was worldly and I was selfish and narcissistic. I got plugged in with these guys that I didn’t like; we were so different! And when I would ask a question they would just say, “Hey, we’ll listen. Turn to Luke 18.” I’m, like, “Who knows what’s in Luke 18?” They did! Because they had studied; they were men of the Book; they studied the Word. And I learned at that time, like, wow, this is really helpful!

13:40 — I would start with what God says and understand that he’s a loving God. Critics of the Bible say it’s outdated and this and that. It’s really not! It transcends time; it applies to today. I was just reading something and I thought how amazing is this, that this was written a couple thousand years ago!….I can get caught up in the pattern of this world and then I turn to Romans 12:1 and 2, where it says do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you’ll be able to test and approve what God’s will is; his good, pleasing, perfect will. And so I’m in the situation where I’m asking, “God, what is your will? What do you want me to do?” He’s, like, wait a minute; is my heart getting swept up in the current of this world or am I starting my day by meditating on the Scriptures, renewing my mind around the things of God and what the Scriptures say so that I can test and approve what is good, pleasing, and his perfect will.

Episode Links:

Welcome to Adulting: Navigating Faith, Friendship, Finances, and the Future (Baker Books, 2019)

Harris Creek Baptist Church: https://www.harriscreek.org/

The Porch at Watermark Community Church: https://www.watermark.org/dallas/ministries/the-porch

      
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