
The Bench
By Mercy Church

The BenchNov 15, 2022

Reconstructing Faith | Q&A with Pastor Josh and Barnabas Piper
Mercy Church hosted guest speaker Barnabas Piper on November 5, 2022, to teach about faith reconstruction. Throughout three sessions, we learned how to ask questions, explore doubt, and cultivate tools to think about our faith. If you find yourself going through this process, or you know people who are, check out the recordings from the weekend and learn how to ask questions without losing your faith in Jesus, the scriptures, and the church.
Barnabas Piper is a pastor, author, podcaster, and speaker who lives with his wife and two daughters near Nashville, Tennessee. He serves at Immanuel Church and writes regularly for He Reads Truth. Barnabas has authored several books and Bible studies and co-hosts The Happy Rant podcast, a popular show discussing issues of faith and culture in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
For more resources on reconstructing your faith, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/reconstructingfaith/
For more information on Mercy Church, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/

Reconstructing Faith | Session 3 | How to Build Your Faith Back Up After Being Disillusioned
Mercy Church hosted guest speaker Barnabas Piper on November 5, 2022, to teach about faith reconstruction. Throughout three sessions, we learned how to ask questions, explore doubt, and cultivate tools to think about our faith. If you find yourself going through this process, or you know people who are, check out the recordings from the weekend and learn how to ask questions without losing your faith in Jesus, the scriptures, and the church.
Barnabas Piper is a pastor, author, podcaster, and speaker who lives with his wife and two daughters near Nashville, Tennessee. He serves at Immanuel Church and writes regularly for He Reads Truth. Barnabas has authored several books and Bible studies and co-hosts The Happy Rant podcast, a popular show discussing issues of faith and culture in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
For more resources on reconstructing your faith, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/reconstructingfaith/
For more information on Mercy Church, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/

Reconstructing Faith | Session 2 | How to Deconstruct Your Church Background Without Deconstructing Your Faith
Mercy Church hosted guest speaker Barnabas Piper on November 5, 2022, to teach about faith reconstruction. Throughout three sessions, we learned how to ask questions, explore doubt, and cultivate tools to think about our faith. If you find yourself going through this process, or you know people who are, check out the recordings from the weekend and learn how to ask questions without losing your faith in Jesus, the scriptures, and the church.
Barnabas Piper is a pastor, author, podcaster, and speaker who lives with his wife and two daughters near Nashville, Tennessee. He serves at Immanuel Church and writes regularly for He Reads Truth. Barnabas has authored several books and Bible studies and co-hosts The Happy Rant podcast, a popular show discussing issues of faith and culture in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
For more resources on reconstructing your faith, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/reconstructingfaith/
For more information on Mercy Church, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/

Reconstructing Faith | Session 1 | What is Deconstruction and What is it Not?
Mercy Church hosted guest speaker Barnabas Piper on November 5, 2022, to teach about faith reconstruction. Throughout three sessions, we learned how to ask questions, explore doubt, and cultivate tools to think about our faith. If you find yourself going through this process, or you know people who are, check out the recordings from the weekend and learn how to ask questions without losing your faith in Jesus, the scriptures, and the church.
Barnabas Piper is a pastor, author, podcaster, and speaker who lives with his wife and two daughters near Nashville, Tennessee. He serves at Immanuel Church and writes regularly for He Reads Truth. Barnabas has authored several books and Bible studies and co-hosts The Happy Rant podcast, a popular show discussing issues of faith and culture in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
For more resources on reconstructing your faith, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/reconstructingfaith/
For more information on Mercy Church, please visit https://mercycharlotte.com/

Your Assignment - Exodus
Listen in as Pastor Scott and Campus Director Gaven join us to talk about their experience preaching from the same text at two different campuses on today's episode of The Bench!
*This will be the last episode of The Bench for this season, but we will hopefully return in the Fall. Follow us on IG @mercyclt to stay updated on future episodes!*
mercycharlotte.com

The Story of God Continues Through You - Exodus
On today's episode, host and Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray shares her personal experience of taking her next step in following Jesus when she decided to join the Mercy Church launch team back in 2014 as a graduating college student. For Sunday's sermon which covered the genealogy in Exodus 6, check out the Mercy Church sermon podcast on your preferred listening platform!
Got Exodus questions? Email us at info@mercycharlotte.com and put "The Bench" in the subject line or DM us on IG @mercyclt.

When the Battle Gets Worse - Exodus
Pastor Spence and host Jessica Murray dive into extra material from Exodus 5 and 6, discussing spiritual warfare and our real and present threat, the devil.
Got Exodus questions? Email us at info@mercycharlotte.com and put "The Bench" in the subject line or DM us on IG @mercyclt.

Going God's Way - Exodus
On this week's episode, Pastor Spence talks Lent, Easter is coming!!!, Soulwork from Sunday, why God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and hidden sin! Catch it all and more on this episode of The Bench!

Campus Director Takeover - Exodus
On this Campus Director Takeover, host Jessica sits down with Joseph Anderson and Gaven Sublet, two of Mercy Church's Campus Directors who both preached at their respective campuses this past Sunday. Topics covered include what it was like to preach a similar, yet different, sermon at their respective campuses, Moses' transformation as he begins to understand who God is, the generational impact we can have through our obedience, and more about the specific signs God chose to show Moses. Catch it all here on this episode of The Bench!

God Is... - Exodus
Pastor Spence and host Jessica Murray dive into extra material from Exodus 3, including Pastor Spence's fear of belly buttons, a characteristic of God that got cut from the sermon due to time, God as FIRE, are Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai the same place, and announce the winner of our giveaway! Be sure to give Sunday's sermon a listen at mercycharlotte.com/sermons if you missed it or need another listen.
Got Exodus questions? Email us at info@mercycharlotte.com and put "The Bench" in the subject line or DM us on IG @mercyclt.

The Power of Faith and the Futility of Fear - Exodus
Pastor Spence and host Jessica Murray dive into topics from Exodus 1. We talk worldly fear versus holy fear, why you should hear alarm bells when you see the name Judah in scripture, and postulate how the Hebrew midwives even knew about the God they obeyed. Join us as we discuss deeper themes, topics, and content from Sunday's sermon. Be sure to give Sunday's sermon a listen at mercycharlotte.com/sermons if you missed it or need another listen.
Got Exodus questions? Email us at info@mercycharlotte.com and put "The Bench" in the subject line or DM us on IG @mercyclt.

The Most Important Thing in Your Life - Exodus
We're back with another episode for you! Join us as we discuss deeper themes, topics, and content from Exodus. We'll be walking through Exodus for the next several weeks at Mercy Church. Be sure to give Sunday's sermon a listen at mercycharlotte.com/sermons if you missed it or need another listen.
Got Exodus questions? Email us at info@mercycharlotte.com and put "The Bench" in the subject line or DM us on IG @mercyclt.

He's My King - Advent
Pastor Spence and host, Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray, deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on different responses to the birth of Jesus. Is He nobody to you, is He your enemy, or is He your King?
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

When God Interrupts Your Life - Advent
Pastor Spence and host, Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray, deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on what to do when God interrupts your life.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

Matthew's Genealogy with Joseph Anderson - Advent
If this is your first time with us, welcome! The Bench is a podcast where we discuss the content, themes, and topics we weren't able to get to in Sunday's sermon. Today, we are joined by Joseph Anderson, the Associate Campus Director for our Mercy Northeast campus, who preached this past Sunday. Joseph preached on Matthew's genealogy of Jesus which can be found in Matthew 1:1-17, but he discovered so much more in his research about this passage that he couldn't possibly fit it all into a 40-minute sermon. Listen in as he talks about how the Jews' own suffering blinded them to Jesus, and what one takeaway from the sermon he feels is most important.

Generosity
Pastor Spence and host, Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray, deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on generosity.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

Singles and Married Partnering Together - Redeeming Sex Weekend
In today's episode, we'll be listening to Kate Terry and Zach Verrett's Deep Dive session from Saturday titled How to Care for One Another: Singles and Married Partnering Together. We felt like this recording was timely after Sunday's sermon on Singleness. If you missed that sermon, be sure to check it out on our main Mercy Church Podcast, but for now, let's dive in to Kate and Zach's talk!
If you're looking for more content from the weekend, visit mercycharlotte.com/redeemingsex and check out the other talks that were recorded. We're going to take a break over the Thanksgiving holiday and will be back for the beginning of our Advent series, starting November 28th. Happy Thanksgiving!

Redeeming Intimacy - Redeeming Sex Weekend
Today, we are continuing to release content from the Redeeming Sex Weekend that addressed what the Bible says about topics like purity, intimacy, and sexuality. The content was amazing so we wanted to make the sessions available to you right here. In today's episode, we'll be listening to Spence Shelton's Saturday evening session titled Redeeming Intimacy. We felt like after Sunday's sermon on liifelong love, this felt like a timely release.

Caring for the Same-Sex Attracted in the Church - Redeeming Sex Weekend
Today, we are continuing to release content from the Redeeming Sex Weekend that addressed what the Bible says about topics like purity, intimacy, and sexuality. In today's episode, we'll be listening to Kate Terry and Zach Verrett's Deep Dive session from Saturday titled Caring for the Same-Sex Attracted in the Church. A huge thank you to Kate and Zach for coming to Mercy Church to speak with us. We love y'all and appreciate your vulnerability and leadership in this space. If you're looking for more content from the weekend, visit mercycharlotte.com/redeemingsex and check out the other talks that were recorded.

Redeeming Purity in Post-Purity Culture - Redeeming Sex Weekend
For today's episode we're sharing the Friday evening talk from Redeeming Sex Weekend held at Mercy Church on Oct 22 and 23, 2021. This message by Dr. Timothy Ateek (TA) who is the Executive Director of Breakaway Ministries in Texas. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing content from the weekend right here on The Bench.
For more content from the weekend visit mercycharlotte.com/redeemingsex.
To submit future questions for The Bench, dm us on IG or email us at info@mercycharlotte.com.

God's Design for Sex - Song of Solomon
On today's episode we discuss God's design for sex. Topics covered include whether sex is necessary to live a fulfilled life, sex as God's gift for serving your spouse instead yourself, the lie of compatibility, why sex should be exclusive to marriage, and where to find grace in dealing with sexual sin.
For the full sermon from our Song of Solomon series, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.
To submit your own questions for The Bench, dm us on IG or email us at info@mercycharlotte.com.

God's Marriage Covenant - Song of Solomon
Pastor Spence and host, Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray, deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on God's design for marriage.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

God-Honoring Dating - Song of Solomon
Pastor Spence and host, Communications Coordinator Jessica Murray, deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on God-honoring dating.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

A Godly Woman - Song of Solomon
On this episode, Pastor Spence asks the questions while special guest speaker and Operations Director Mandy Foster answers them! They talk godly womanhood and dive into topics not covered in Sunday's sermon.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

A Godly Man - Song of Solomon
Communications Coordinator Jessica and Pastor Spence deep dive into The Bench material from this past Sunday's sermon on godly manhood. Topics include how to deal with guilt/shame/conviction after the sermon, why a set of verses from Chapter 1 wasn't discussed from stage, and more!
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.

Song of Solomon - Introduction
This past Sunday we began our newest series through the Old Testament book Song of Solomon. Join us each week for a discussion on topics, themes, and content that didn't make it into Sunday's sermon due to time. On this episode, we discuss Pastor Spence's major takeaways for singles, marrieds, and those in the healing process, as well as give you a bit of an introduction to what you can expect in the coming weeks on this podcast.
Send us your questions at info@mercycharlotte.com or by DMing us on Instagram @mercyclt.
For the full sermon from this past Sunday, visit mercycharlotte.com/sermons.