Podcast
Abundant Life Church Podcast
Hosted by Abundant Life Church · EN
Welcome to the Abundant Life podcast. This podcast features messages, devotionals, and other content from Abundant Life from located in Syracuse, NY. Our mission is to empower people to live life more abundantly. This vision is led by Pastors John and Lisa Carter, you can learn more about us at abundantlife.church.
56episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A History of Slavery
2w ago00:53:05Tap to summarizeIn this message, Pastor John Carter examines biblical servanthood through multiple perspectives, contrasting ancient forms of slavery with America's chattel slavery system, and explaining why biblical slavery looked different from racialized slavery.
Transcribe →Faithful Presence: The Believer in Babylon
3w ago00:48:30Tap to summarizeBased on 1 Peter 2:13-17, this sermon teaches how Christians should submit to government and earthly authorities as established by God while navigating the tension between obedience to governing powers and loyalty to Christ. The message emphasizes that believers are called to be a "faithful presence" in culture—engaging honorably through voting, petitioning, and excellent living rather than retreating from society, seizing power through domination, or rebelling against authority. Using Jesus Christ and early church history as examples, Pastor John Carter shows how Christians can stand for their convictions, exercise civic voice, and impact culture through righteousness, character, and love.
Transcribe →Honor and Government
4w ago00:48:34Tap to summarizeIn this message, Pastor John Carter explores 1 Peter 2:13-17 and instructs believers on submitting to and honoring governmental authority—even unjust or pagan rulers—not through blind obedience but as a willful choice rooted in character and reverence for God. Peter teaches that submission is an internal posture of the heart that arranges oneself properly under authority rather than a weakness or doormat mentality. As Christian exiles with citizenship in heaven, believers are called not to dominate or rebel against government but to live honorably and influence the world through their example, demonstrating Christ's kingdom values.
Transcribe →War and Witness
Jul 1200:55:26Tap to summarizeAfter establishing the believer's identity in Christ throughout the first half of 1 Peter, Peter now shifts to the believer's responsibility. In this message, Pastor John Carter teaches that Christians are citizens of heaven living as temporary residents on earth, called to resist the desires of the flesh, cultivate spiritual maturity, and live honorably before an unbelieving world so that others may be drawn to glorify God.
Transcribe →The New People
Jul 500:56:23Tap to summarizeThis message explores 1 Peter 2, revealing that under the New Covenant God no longer dwells in physical temples but in His redeemed people. Believers are described as living stones, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, individually and collectively forming God's dwelling place on earth through the local church. In this message, Pastor John Carter emphasizes the importance of the gathered church, the priesthood of every believer, and the believer's calling to display the excellence of Christ to the world.
Transcribe →Living Stones
Jun 2800:43:10Tap to summarizePeter reminds believers that they have been called to much more than simply escaping judgment—they have been called into God's eternal purpose. Centered on 1 Peter 2:4–10, Pastor John Carter reveals in this message, Jesus as the rejected yet chosen Chief Cornerstone and explains how every believer has become a living stone in God's spiritual temple, called to proclaim His glory and build their lives upon Christ alone.
Transcribe →Living Stones
Jun 2800:43:10Tap to summarizePeter reminds believers that they have been called to much more than simply escaping judgment—they have been called into God's eternal purpose. Centered on 1 Peter 2:4–10, Pastor John Carter reveals in this message, Jesus as the rejected yet chosen Chief Cornerstone and explains how every believer has become a living stone in God's spiritual temple, called to proclaim His glory and build their lives upon Christ alone.
Transcribe →The Seed and the Milk
Jun 1400:54:01Tap to summarizePeter reminds believers that salvation is an event accomplished entirely by God's grace through faith, resulting in a genuine new birth into the family of God. In this message, Pastor John Carter reminds us that being born again is only the beginning of our salvation; spiritual maturity requires continually feeding on the living and powerful Word of God. As believers lay aside sinful attitudes and habits, they are called to crave the pure milk of Scripture so that they may grow into the fullness of who God has already declared them to be.
Transcribe →The Seed and the Milk
Jun 1400:54:01Tap to summarizePeter reminds believers that salvation is an event accomplished entirely by God's grace through faith, resulting in a genuine new birth into the family of God. In this message, Pastor John Carter reminds us that being born again is only the beginning of our salvation; spiritual maturity requires continually feeding on the living and powerful Word of God. As believers lay aside sinful attitudes and habits, they are called to crave the pure milk of Scripture so that they may grow into the fullness of who God has already declared them to be.
Transcribe →The Fear of the Lord and the Hope of the Gospel
Jun 700:42:33Tap to summarizeWhat does it mean to know God as both a loving Father and a righteous Judge? In this message, Pastor John Carter helps us to discover how the precious blood of Christ has redeemed us, how our lives carry eternal significance, and how holy reverence leads to a life of joy, purpose, and wholehearted devotion.
Transcribe →