Community Brookside
Religion & Spirituality
About
We are a church that loves people and seeks to look like the Jesus of the gospels. Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/communitybrookside or visit our website at www.communitybrookside.com. Visit us in person if you are near the Tulsa area Sunday mornings at 11.
Episodes
- Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: The Healing of the Paralytic Man
Four friends carried a paralyzed man to Jesus, but when they couldn't get through the crowd, they dug through the roof to lower him down. Jesus first forgave the man's sins, then healed his paralysis, proving his divine authority. This sto…
- Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: The Calling of the Disciples
Jesus chose to teach from an ordinary fishing boat, showing that God loves to work through our everyday moments. When Jesus told the fishermen to cast their nets after a fruitless night, their obedience led to an overwhelming catch. This m…
- Shall We Dance - With Special Guest Rev. Emily Robnett
The Ascension of Jesus is often overlooked but essential to understanding our salvation. When Jesus ascended to heaven in His human body, He brought humanity into the very presence of God, making us one with the divine. This isn't just abo…
- Our Unexpected God: When Jesus Says You Matter
This episode examines Luke 7, contrasting the religious leaders' judgment of a woman with Jesus' recognition of her devotion and inherent worth. It emphasizes that Jesus sees and values the often-unseen contributions and sacrifices made by…
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Breaks the Rules to Make Us Whole
This episode explores the story of Jesus healing ten men with leprosy from Luke 17:11-19. It focuses on the one Samaritan who returned to express gratitude, with Jesus indicating his faith brought complete wholeness and restoration.
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Shows Up in the Silence
The episode explores how divine presence, as seen in Elijah's experience, often manifests in subtle ways. It suggests that God communicates most clearly in moments of stillness and that caring for one's basic needs can be a significant spi…
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Doesn't Wait for Permission
The episode discusses the story of Zacchaeus, highlighting Jesus' unconventional grace and how God's acceptance and value, rather than shame, lead to transformation. This grace is shown to come before individuals feel ready.
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Sees the Invisible *Sorry the Audio is Bad*
The episode discusses the story of Hagar, highlighting a God who acknowledges those marginalized by society. Hagar encountered God in the wilderness, who named her and promised descendants, leading her to call God El Roi, the God who sees.…
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Conquers Death
Easter morning began not with celebration, but with grief-stricken women carrying spices to anoint Jesus' body. They had forgotten His promises and lost all hope. Yet in their deepest despair, God revealed His greatest miracle. The angels…
- Our Unexpected God: The God Who Shatters Our Expectations
Palm Sunday reveals Jesus as the unexpected king who defied all worldly expectations. Instead of riding a war horse to claim political power, Jesus chose a humble donkey and went to the temple rather than the palace. The crowds wanted a po…
- Broken to Restored - With Special Guest Chandler Harlin
Life sometimes leaves us feeling spiritually empty and exhausted, like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. When dreams feel dead and faith grows cold, we might wonder if restoration is even possible. God intentionally leads us into vall…
- Still Leading - With Special Guest Kristen Harlin
Psalm 23 declares that "The Lord is my shepherd" in present tense, meaning God actively leads us right now through life's complexities. None of us have everything figured out, whether we're children, parents, or retirees - we're all making…
- Back to Basics: Salvation as a Life We Live Into
Many Christians view salvation as a finish line - a moment of prayer, forgiveness, or heavenly insurance. However, Scripture reveals salvation as a starting line for lifelong transformation. We are saved not just from sin, but for somethin…
- Ash Wednesday 2026
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of spiritual preparation before Easter. This sacred day serves as a holy interruption, reminding us that we are dust - fragile, finite, and beloved by God. The ashes we receive are…
- Back to Basics: The Kingdom of God vs. Christian Nationalism
The line between loving your country and worshiping it can be dangerously thin. While patriotism involves gratitude and service to your nation, Christian nationalism confuses God's kingdom with earthly power. Jesus rejected political domin…
- Back to Basics: What Really Happened at the Cross?
The cross isn't about God punishing Jesus to satisfy divine anger, but rather God entering human suffering to transform it with love. Jesus consistently demonstrated God's heart of forgiveness throughout his ministry, not just at the cross…
- Back to Basics: When a Story Gets Weaponized
Throughout history, people have taken God's word and used it to justify terrible things. From slavery to domestic abuse, from silencing women to supporting corrupt leaders, the Bible has been twisted to serve human agendas rather than reve…
- Back to Basics: When the Story We Inherit Isn't God's Story
Many Christians inherit interpretations of Genesis 3 that emphasize guilt and condemnation, but reading the text itself reveals a different story. When Adam and Eve hide in shame after disobeying God, God doesn't abandon them but calls out…
- Back to Basics: What is Christianity All About?
Modern Christianity has become cluttered with political affiliations, moral checklists, and cultural baggage that often obscure the simple truth of who Jesus really is. Christianity at its core isn't about systems or structures—it's about…
- Moving Forward - With Special Guest Erika Maxey
As we enter a new year, we all carry different experiences - some filled with joy, others marked by struggle. The key to moving forward isn't about having a perfect year or leaving everything behind, but about trusting God's presence in al…
- Born Into This Mess - With Special Guest Kerry Harlin
Life rarely goes according to plan, and the Christmas story reminds us that Jesus entered a world filled with chaos and danger. King Herod's threat forced Mary and Joseph to flee as refugees with their newborn son. Jesus experienced the fu…
- New Year, Same God - A Wesley Covenant Service of Renewal
The Wesley Covenant Service offers a powerful way to refresh our spiritual lives and deepen our relationship with God as we enter a new year. This more than 300-year-old tradition helps us remember that our lives belong not just to ourselv…
- Love: God's Saving Presence
Advent is about waiting for God's love to break into our world, just as generations before Christ's birth waited for the promised Messiah. The prophets spoke hope into darkness, promising a child who would be called Wonderful Counselor and…
- The Joy of God's Upside-Down Kingdom
Biblical joy during Advent looks radically different from holiday happiness. Mary's Magnificat wasn't a gentle lullaby but a revolutionary song about God's upside-down kingdom that lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry. When angels annou…
- Peace: God's Peace is Not What We Have Come to Expect
Christmas reveals a deeper peace than temporary calm or absence of conflict. Biblical shalom means wholeness, harmony, and restored relationships with God, others, yourself, and creation. While the Roman Empire enforced peace through milit…
- Hope: God's Promise at the Margins
Biblical hope is defiant and stubborn, believing God isn't finished with our story yet. Elizabeth and Mary, both marginalized women, became vessels of God's promise during Israel's darkest times. Elizabeth, elderly and childless, conceived…
- The State of the Church 2025
The church is more than a building or weekly gathering—it's a living community where every believer plays a vital role. Using Paul's metaphor of the body, we see that just as each body part is essential, every church member has unique gift…
- When What We See Isn't What We Get
The book of Haggai addresses the Hebrew people who returned from exile expecting to rebuild their glorious temple, only to find their efforts looking small and disappointing compared to the past. God reminds them that His presence precedes…
- All Saint's Day 2025
All Saints Day celebrates the living love of God that transcends death, honoring both those who have passed and the living saints around us. Through the story of Lazarus, we see that Jesus meets us in our pain and calls us out of our own g…
- Scary Stories in Scripture: Revelation Week 3
The Book of Revelation is often misunderstood as a frightening prediction about the end times, but its true message is one of hope and redemption. Many people abandon reading it halfway through, missing the beautiful conclusion where good…
- What's Next Papa? - With Special Guest Debbie Wallis
Many Christians find themselves trapped in grave tending - constantly revisiting past hurts, regrets, and failures instead of embracing the resurrection life God offers. Romans 8:12-17 reveals that we are called to be led by the Spirit of…
- Scary Stories in Scripture: Revelation Week 2
Revelation 12-14 presents a cosmic battle between the dragon (Satan), the beast (anti-God empires), and the Lamb (Jesus). The woman clothed with the sun represents Israel and the church, while the dragon's fury explains why bad things happ…
- Scary Stories in Scripture: Revelation Week 1
Revelation isn't a horror story but a message of hope wrapped in apocalyptic imagery. Written to persecuted churches in Asia Minor, it unveils the spiritual reality behind suffering and shows that Jesus remains sovereign even amid chaos. T…
- The Lament that Leads to Liberation
When Jesus approached Jerusalem for the final time, he wept bitterly over the city's spiritual blindness. His tears weren't for himself but for people who missed the peace he offered because they were consumed with politics, religion, and…
- The Frustration that Fuels Faithfulness
In Mark 7:31-37, Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment, but not before letting out a deep sigh that reveals His holy frustration with the brokenness of our world. This wasn't mere exhaustion—it was a divine lament over how sin da…
- The Joy that Welcomes the Lost
In Luke 15:1-7, Jesus tells a parable about a shepherd leaving 99 sheep to find one lost sheep, revealing God's heart for the lost. Speaking to both sinners and religious elites, Jesus challenges the Pharisees' exclusionary attitude. As a…
- The Radical Rage of Jesus
In Mark 3:1-6, Jesus displays righteous anger when confronting religious leaders who valued rigid Sabbath rules over human compassion. When Jesus heals a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath, he challenges the Pharisees' legalistic int…
- Scandalous Grace: Jesus and the Woman with the Alabaster Jar
Jesus consistently broke social norms to reveal God's heart, as seen in Luke 7:36-50 when He welcomed a 'sinful woman' who anointed His feet with perfume and tears. While Simon the Pharisee judged both Jesus and the woman, Jesus used this…
- Formed in the Wilderness
God often leads us through wilderness seasons not as punishment, but as preparation for what lies ahead. In these difficult times, God refines our desires, reveals our dependence on Him, and releases us to our calling. Just as He led the I…
- Called to Serve
God's mission isn't reserved for a select few with special training—it's the calling of every believer. As demonstrated by Andrew in John 1, true mission work begins with encountering Jesus and immediately sharing that experience with othe…
- Be the Salt, Not Salty - With Special Guest Kristen Harlin
Jesus challenges our tribal instincts in Mark 9:38-50, teaching that 'whoever is not against us is for us.' He warns against causing others to stumble and emphasizes the importance of being salt—preserving goodness while maintaining balanc…
- This Marathon - With Special Guest Kristen Harlin
Hebrews 12:1-3 encourages us to run our faith race with perseverance, especially during life's hardest moments. Building a firm foundation in Christ through prayer, meditation, church attendance, and Bible reading prepares us for inevitabl…
- From Death to Life
The story of Lazarus reveals profound truths about Jesus's character and how He works in our lives. When Jesus deliberately delayed going to His dying friend, it wasn't from indifference but for a greater purpose. By waiting until Lazarus…
- Inequality & The Prosperity Gospel: Combating Inequality as People of Faith
Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man challenges us to examine the gates that separate people from justice and inclusion in our society. While Jesus never condemned wealth itself, he consistently emphasized caring for the poor and mar…
- Inequality and the Prosperity Gospel: God's Economy of Enough
God's economy operates on the principle of enough, not excess. The Israelites receiving manna in the wilderness teaches us to trust God's daily provision rather than hoarding out of fear. Throughout Scripture, from the manna to the feeding…
- Inequality & The Prosperity Gospel: Debunking the Prosperity Gospel
The prosperity gospel promises financial rewards for faith and giving, but this distorts Jesus's true message. It misinterprets scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 3:9-10, and Malachi 3:10, which aren't promises of personal wealth. Bi…
- Closer Still: The Call to a True Relationship with Jesus
Jesus invites us beyond mere belief into a genuine friendship where we share everything with Him. This relationship begins with small steps of trust, as seen in Simon Peter's story of following Jesus' instruction to fish again after a frui…
- Acting on God's Power: Flipping the Switch
God's power is already available to us, but we need to activate our faith to access it. Like Peter walking on water, we must step out of our comfort zones when Jesus calls us. Many of us know about God's power but get distracted by worldly…
- Made for Mission
Every Christian is called to be a missionary, not just those who cross oceans. Acts 13 shows us the first organized mission trip, featuring a remarkably diverse group of believers who were called by the Holy Spirit during worship and fasti…
- Pentecost Sunday 2025 with guest Preacher Chandler Harlin
Pentecost marks the birth of the Church when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, enabling them to speak in languages they never learned. Peter explained this miracle to the crowd, connecting it to Joel's prophecy about God pourin…