Welcome to From Richard's Heart

Richard Groh has helped many people throughout his ministry. This series is a small sample of what he has shared with the Members of Mesa Community Church while serving as our pastor. You don't need an ipod to listen to this series. You can listen to individual episodes, or use your favorite podcatcher client (e.g. iTunes) to subscribe to this series. To post a comment on any episode, simply click on the episode title to go to the appropriate blog entry in our blog area.

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Current Episodes
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Play Episode	Surviving Our Vetting Process Recorded November 23, 2008. Richard looks at Ephesians 5 beginning with verse 15. The U.S. recently finished a major election to recording this episode. Many politicians experienced a vetting process. In other words their history, personal life, business dealings, moral conduct--every aspect of their lives were under microscopic examination. As Christians, we too go through a vetting process. Therefore we need to be careful how we live. As Richard puts it, use your God given head. God knows all our secrets. He knows our thoughts. He remembers all of our actions. Nonchristians frequently delight in finding discrepancies in our faith. We can go through our vetting process on our own, or we can choose to use God's wisdom. Every day we have opportunities to serve our God. Do we make the most of every opportunity? Churches grow when their members do that. As a community of faith we need to seize the moment. You can hear what Richard has to say about Ephesians 5, and subscribe to From Richard's Heart by visiting our podcast page.
Play Episode	Against All Odds Recorded on November 9, 2008. Look at Matthew 5:11. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Satan opposes people who are effective for God. Remember Corrie Ten boon? She suffered tremendously because of the Gospel. Satan opposed her because she was a powerful agent for God. Joshua against all odds overcame giant a obstacle between Israel and Jericho and saw the great wall fall. Noah built a great ship and waited for the rain. Against all odds, Noah's faith saved him. You can add your comment regarding this episode by going to the "Against All Odds" blog entry.
Play Episode	Lazarus Come Out Recorded October 26, 2008. In this episode, Richard examines the story of Lazarus found in John 11. Jesus receives word that Lazarus, someone very close and dear to Jesus is very ill. Jesus deliberately waits before going to see Lazarus. Before Jesus arrives to see Lazarus, Lazarus dies. Does the story of Lazarus die with his death? Jesus finds Lazarus' sisters mourning. Lazarus has been dead and buried four days. What more can be done except offer condolences and mourn with the family? If you look at John 11, you will discover the story of Lazarus ends with Lazarus alive and well. You can add your comment regarding this episode by going to the "Come Out" blog entry.
Play Episode	Make a message out of your mess Recorded October 12, 2008. This week, Richard takes a look at Acts 17. Paul is in Athens where he discovers an alter to an unknown god. Paul noted how religious the athenians were. They worshiped over 200 gods. Just to make sure they didn't leave anyone out, they made an alter to the unknown god. Paul knew who this unknown god is. Before looking at the unknown god in Athens, Richard shows us how Christians often worship unknown gods. For us unknown gods are anyone or anything that takes the place in the preeminence of our God the father. When something becomes more important than Jesus Christ in our lives, we worship an unknown god. This ungodly focus results in our being mired in an ugly mess. The more we stop trusting God in everything regarding our lives, the greater our lives become a mess. Thankfully the unknown god Paul preached about in Athens can transform our mess into a message. visit our web site at http://mesacommunitychurch.org
Play Episode	What good is faith without deeds? Recorded September 28, 2008. In this episode, Richard takes a look at the relationship between faith and works. Most Christians are familiar with the great faith chapter in Hebrews 11. Like many people in the Old Testament, many of us live by faith too. We have not seen Jesus, we go day by day on the promises of God, and we lack absolute proof about God's love. Yet we remain convinced in our heart of hearts that God loves us, that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and we are the beneficiaries of God's grace. So how do we know we have faith? Better yet, how do others know we have faith? We know we have faith when our actions reflect what our words say. Others will know we believe Jesus is our Lord and Savior by our deeds. We will never be saved by works, but our works provide the evidence that we really do have faith in a loving God. After listening, we encourage you to leave Richard a comment on our blog page.
Play Episode	Destruction and violence are before me Recorded September 21, 2008. Sometimes the words in our Bible look like they were copied straight from today's headlines. Habakkuk noticed violence and destruction in his world. Governments were corrupt, and justice seemed to be non-existent. His book reminds us of today's headlines. Richard looks at the book of Habakkuk and shows us God's response to the depressing news we encounter whenever we read the newspaper or turn on the television.
Play Episode	Do we experience Jonah's fate? Recorded on September 14, 2008. Sometimes we choose to run away from God's calling. We go to extraordinary lengths to escape God's plan for us. This often results in disaster for ourselves and those around us. When we choose to return to obeying God in our lives, we witness a mighty work by the hand of God through us. Richard looks at the book of Jonah today. He shows how costly running away from God is. He shows when Jonah finally does yield to God, Jonah saw many people escape certain death.
Play Episode	Godly character brought about by Grace Recorded September 7, 2008. Richard looks at 1 Corinthians 15:15. Richard focuses on Paul's statement, "By the grace of God, I am what I am." God's grace to me is not without effect. Paul is not worthy to be anything, but he is what he is by God's grace. God's grace transformed Paul from a terrible person into a champion for God. Godly character is the result of the active work of grace.
Play Episode	Make the most of every opportunity Recorded on August 17, 2008. Richard talks about Paul's mandate to make the most of every opportunity given to us by God. We are to take advantage of every opportunity to witness. Even when that opportunity isn't safe or convenient or comfortable for us personally. Richard takes a close look at 1 Corinthians 16:8 and following. He shows that with Paul's safe and effective work, there were many who opposed Paul. Discovering resistance and opposition to our efforts can be a good clue on whether we are being effective for God. Satan ignores us when we aren't doing anything for God. In all things we are to be on our Guard, stand firm in our faith, and do everything in love. This takes courage, requires prayer, and takes great strength on our part. Finally, can we pinpoint how God is working in our life? Do we see that when things go wrong in our life, they are often going right with Jesus?
Play Episode	Zambia Mission Trip Recorded on August 31, 2008. Brandon and Shaun Pearman share their thoughts and experiences on their recent mission trip to Zambia. Brandon talks about the power the local witch-doctors have over the Zambian children. He also points out that Satan engages all of us in spiritual warfare on many fronts. Shaun showed us the harsh economic conditionsof the Zambians. Yet, the Zambian children show thanks for even the small things they recieve. He reminds us how God can transform this world through the most unlikely people.
Play Episode	i Will Sing God's Praises Recorded on August 3, 2008. Richard takes a look at the first eight verses of Psalm 34. He reminds us that David chose to praise God even when circumstances weren't favorable for David. We are encouraged to glorify and praise God together as a group. We face many uncertainties in life. Yet God delivers us from the grip of our fears. As we look to God, we gain confidence. We shine with joy. Our troubles become God's opportunities. As we look more and more to God, we discover He becomes more involved with us. God sets up shop around us. We sample and savor God's goodness. We know from our experience, God is good. Richard's mic kept falling off while we did this recording. He made a quick reference to our failing technology as he retrieved the mic. Fortunately for us while our technology often fails, God does not.
Play Episode	Ron's Testimony Recorded on August 3, 2008. Richard asked Ron Lindroth to participate in our worship service. Ron began by playing one of Richard's favorite hymns on his harmonica. After giving a brief testimony, Ron concluded with the classic hymn "In the Garden."
Play Episode	Ultimate Safety Recorded July 6, 2008. We live in an age of constant threats to our safety and security. Homeland Security is supposed to keep US citizens safe. Many people rely on their wealth to secure their future. We use police and military to protect our safety and security. So what is the ultimate in safety? This week Richard examines what he considers ultimate safety. He begins by looking at John 10. In this chapter Jesus reminds his disciples that as our shepherd, he knows all of us, and we recognize his voice. Jesus prevents anyone or anything from taking us away from him. In return God asks us to act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God. Because as a congregation we enjoy God's ultimate safety, we participate in worldwide missions. We do this through our financial and prayer support of missionaries. We also participate via this podcast. And, we participate in worldwide missions as we witness to the people around us through our daily living.
Play Episode	Go! Recorded June 22, 2008. Richard's message is based on Mark 16:15 and following. He highlights the word "Go!" Richard emphasizes Jesus did not make a "suggestion" or a request. Jesus expects us to do something. We are to go and preach the good news throughout the world. As a small church we accomplish Jesus's mandate to go by our financial support of people called to the mission field. We further accomplish Christ's command by not discouraging the enthusiasm of new Christians. Finally we obey Christ's directive to go into all the world by proclaiming the news of God's salvation via our podcasts and our web site. Richard's health prevents him from standing through an entire message. He often sits on a stool while he talks to us. Richard sometimes refers to his simple wood stool as his "throne."
Play Episode	Faithfulness Recorded June 8, 2008. Richard became quite ill prior to recording this episode. He had trouble walking, and he could barely talk. The audio had to be tweaked a bit to bring out his voice. However, all of us rejoiced in seeing him. Richard talks about Sarah in this episode. He notes how she recognizes God's faithfulness. Richard reminds us how God remains faithful, and how God meets our needs. All we are asked in return is to remain faithful to God.
Play Episode	Cause for Joy Recorded May 25, 2008. God has given us a wonderful gift. Through the sacrifice of Jesus our sins (wrongdoing) are not only forgen, but God chooses to remember them no more. This gives us cause for great joy and happiness in our lives. Richard looks at Hebrews 10:16-17. He celebrates the fact that God not only forgives us, he also forgets our sins too.
Play Episode	Mother's Day Recorded May 11, 2008. In honor of Mother's Day, we share things that made our moms special to us. Our mothers gave sacrificially, prepared for the future, made us laugh, endured our intense dislike, and above all loved us. Richard reminds us that honoring our mothers and fathers pleases God. All of us owe a great debt to our moms.
Play Episode	Walking on Water Recorded April 27, 2008. We had a mountaintop experience on April 20, 2008. The Jubilate Sacred Singers helped make our worship service extra special. That Sunday we floated on top of the world filled with joy. Invariably when we experience mountaintop experiences, life's storms hit us hard. We find ourselves unable to cope. We begin to sink in a sea of helplessness and hopelessness. In this episode, Richard talks about this kind of experience in our lives. He will do this by taking a closer look at Matthew 14 and Mark 6.
Play Episode	Who Are Your Heroes? Recorded April 13, 2008. This week our guest host is Steve Gortz. He asks if we had to pick three heroes, who would they be? Steve mentions three of his heroes, Brian Piccolo, Lou Gehrig, and Tom Cooper. The first two heroes are well known professional athletes who died from cancer and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Tom is an ordinary person who showed everyone Christ's spirit by his daily life. Tom also has a terminal illness, but Tom's life witness shows us how Christ brings each of us a happy ending.
Play Episode	Boulder Police SWAT team visits us Recorded March 30, 2008. Boulder Colorado's Police Department used our building for a SWAT training exercise. Richard shares what happened on that day. He also describes a wonderful phone conversation he had with a young man he and his wife Karen hold near and dear to their hearts.
Play Episode	Fasting a Condition of the Heart Recorded March 16, 2008. Richard Groh talks about fasting and how it can super charge our prayer life. He shows how the early church used fasting to help them know, understand, and do God's will. While there are different kinds of fasting, fasting can help us show God our sincerity in being obedient to His leading.