The Potter's Clay Podcast

Listen to "Bible Reading Plans" on Spreaker. Remember those days before ministry while you basked in the sermons of great men and enjoyed the word? We do! We remember those days well. Since starting to work at the church, it has become increasingly difficult to stay in the Word. It's a struggling in ministry to read the Bible! Ligonier ministries puts a number of Bible plans out each year. You can find their plan HERE . Syler is currently trying to devotionally read the Bible through what he is teaching. While not always recommended, some times ya gotta do it!  ESV Online is where Matthew generally goes for Bible reading plans. They have a couple easy plans that will send you email reminders etc. You can find those HERE . What is a Bible reading plan?  Various plans that structure reading over a period of time. The varieties of options are unlimited! Different translations, different speeds are just a couple of options for you. If you don...

Listen to "Spiritual Heros" on Spreaker. Who is a Sunday school teacher or church volunteer who had a massive impact in your life? It is good to have people to follow. People have an impact in your life, embrace it! Always test everything with the Scriptures, but follow and learn from someone. Syler and Matthew's number ONE! The Pastor at the small church where Syler got saved. He was a man committed to faithful ministry in a little Baptist Church in Delta, Utah. The man didn't have a massive church but loved his congregation and teaches them the Scriptures. Not only did he preach it, but he LIVED IT. Matthew learned a lot from his dad. His dad was always willing to share what he believed whether people cared or not. As a model his dad would consistently read the Bible early in the morning and led family devotions later at night. Though Matthew didn't interact in those moments they were noted and had an impact later on as maturity set in....

Listen to "Preach the Gospel to Yourself Everyday" on Spreaker. How do you preach the Gospel to yourself? It is so easy to flippantly make that statement. The Gospel is the reality that God created everything, man sinned and is separated from God but God, being rich in mercy sent Jesus, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins! That is some real hope! What is the message that you are giving yourself? Is it a positive message that is anchored in the reality that Jesus saved you? Often times we find ourselves down talking and attacking ourselves but there is a better message and it is given to us in Jesus Christ. What does this look like for us? When Matthew gets down his "self talk" begins to get low. Lots of discouragement through the little things in life. In the grand scheme of things, most things are not going to impact anyone for an eternity. God is still on his throne and will not be knocked off because he forgets keys. He needs to remin...

About a month ago this video was dropped by Gillette... What were your thoughts on the video? Matthew felt like the video addressed some key issues in our culture regarding masculinity, Syler thought otherwise. Check out our podcast to hear the discussion. Listen to "Current Events Gillette Video" on Spreaker.

Listen to "What is Love" on Spreaker. For many, Valentine's Day is a pain in the butt, a disappointment, another opportunity to waste money. Well, we aren’t necessarily taking that issue on today.   What we want to talk about is an aspect of love that is often portrayed in Valentine’s Day. You better listen to the audio to hear about Syler’s first love story. It is worth a good laugh. Matthew has an awkward story as well. I’m guessing many of us do. Do you remember your first relationship? Do you remember when you first “fell in love?” So, what is love? Love has already been defined for us in the Scriptures and we need to bring that reality into our relationships. The Bible has more verses in it than only the famous love chapter found in 1 Corinthians (13). The verses that come to Matthew’s mind are 1 John 4:19 which states, “We love because he first loved us” and John 15:13 which states, “Greater love has no man than this, that someone lay down his l...

Listen to "A Discussion on Suicide" on Spreaker. Sadly, suicide's dark hand has slapped many of us in the face. Whether in your own family or a family friend it has probably struck. Stuff doesn't happen without a purpose. How have you been shaped through your circumstances? How has God tried to get your ministry/life/parenting attention as you have seen this around your community and life? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention states that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. 47,173 deaths happened in 2017. 47,173 deaths happened in 2017. 47,173 deaths happened in 2017. Let that sink in. What do we do when it hits near us? How does the Gospel apply to these situations? Too many people bow out of the conversation because they don't feel equipped to help. The Gospel is the HOPE that EVERYONE NEEDS. It's OK to NOT be OK. Too many of us feel like we shouldn't be sad or struggle. Where does it say that? We are told in the Bible that...

Listen to "Winter Blues" on Spreaker.  Depending on which article you read you will quickly learn that millions of Americans struggle with the winter blues. Have you thought about how you are impacted by the weather? While it doesn't seem super spiritual, we are humans who have bodies and many of us like to see the sun more often then not. Even as a self-described "homebody" Syler gets hit with the sluggish feelings that seem to come with weeks of cold weather. Matthew claims it. He's not officially diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but having kept track of the last several years it is clear that from the end of January through March gets a little bleak. While we aren't medical professionals we discuss the winter blues in ministry and life in this podcast.  When you work in student ministries you are inevitably going to hear other people struggle throughout the winter. It is important as you listen to people and help them, make sur...

Listen to "Wive's Role in Ministry" on Spreaker. Often within the church there is a discussion about the interaction of the Pastor's wife within the church. From my (Matthew) perspective in the couple of churches I attended when I was young, I can't remember an event where the pastor's wife wasn't present or hearing my mom talk about the pastor's wife putting on women's events etc. Is that the way it should be or have those days passed? We chat about that in the podcast above.  Syler and Chloe have been in ministry for about 3 years. He serves in Student Ministry while she works part time in Elementary Ministry at their church. Chloe serves with Syler in ministry as a small group leader with Middle School.  Matthew and Sharon have been in ministry for coming up on 14 years. Matthew's wife, Sharon does the exact same job at our church as Chloe. Back in the earlier days Sharon jumped into ministry as a youth leader and it was such a ...

Listen to "Gospel centered Teaching" on Spreaker. Hey all, we are trying to catch up on the older podcasts. As of now, we haven't gotten to this one. Please check it out and we will try to fill in resources with time. Much Grace,  Matthew and Syler

Listen to "Training and Education in Youth Ministry Roles" on Spreaker. What is necessary for leading a youth ministry?  That's a big question and there are people passionate on all sides. For us, we don't think a college degree or seminary is necessary for leading and teaching a youth ministry. What is key though is a calling. A calling is a whole other topic. Is ministry a job to you or is it a calling? Is there an inner passion driving you to prepare yourself to teach or are you just getting stuff together for your ministry meeting? A calling is necessary and will most likely drive you toward learning whether it is in the Word on your own or working through a degree of some form with a school.  Obviously, there is NOTHING wrong with having a degree and we can only see pluses with having a degree.  School trains us to study and helps us shape our thoughts into different forms of presentations. Without it, it is more work. Sometime school pushes yo...