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The Neighborhood Podcast

The Neighborhood Podcast

By: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing
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This is a podcast of Guilford Park Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina featuring guests from both inside the church and the surrounding community. Hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing, Head of Staff.

© 2025 The Neighborhood Podcast
Christianity Spirituality
Episodes
  • "Celebrating the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed" (October 5, 2024 Sunday School)
    Oct 5 2025

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    Presenter: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

    A single line—“There was a time when he was not”—ignited one of the most consequential debates in Christian history. We open with the shared words of the Nicene Creed and follow the thread back to crowded halls near the Bosporus, where bishops gathered under an emperor’s gaze to settle what felt unsayable: one God, three persons, no shortcuts. Along the way, we pull apart the analogies that seem helpful (the three hats, the board of directors) but quietly bend the truth, and we sit with Arius long enough to understand why his view protected something real even as it risked losing the heart of the gospel.

    We talk frankly about Constantine’s motives and why politics and prayer collided in the fourth century. Legal tolerance made underground arguments very public, and public arguments demanded careful words. That’s how phrases like “true God from true God,” “begotten, not made,” and “of one being with the Father” took shape—not as ivory-tower flourishes but as guardrails for worship and the logic of salvation. If Christ is not fully God and fully human, the hope Christians stake their lives on starts to crumble. The councils at Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) become less distant events and more like family meetings whose minutes still guide how we pray, teach and sing.

    We also map where we’re heading next: digging into what “we believe” commits us to, how the Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son,” and why the creed gives more airtime to the Son and the Spirit than to the Father. The tone stays curious and grounded—no claim to having all the answers, just a community trying to speak truthfully about a God who exceeds our categories and meets us in flesh and breath. Stay through the closing prayers and you’ll hear why doctrine is never abstract for us; it shapes how we carry one another.

    If this journey helps you think or pray more clearly, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves history and theology, and leave a review with the creed line that challenges you most. Your reflections help guide where we go next.

    Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
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    Website: www.guilfordpark.org

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    26 mins
  • "What Disciples Do: Disciples Take Their Faith Home" (October 5, 2025 Sermon)
    Oct 5 2025

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    Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

    Text: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

    A single line from 2 Timothy—“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you”—opens a tender, practical conversation about how faith survives and flourishes across generations. We start with Paul’s charge to Timothy and the living faith of Lois and Eunice, then follow that thread into kitchens, classrooms, sanctuaries, and hospital halls where ordinary people pass on courage, love, and self-discipline when fear feels loudest. Along the way, we name the ache of families who no longer share the same practices and offer a wider frame: in Christ, family expands to mentors and friends who quietly keep us brave.

    We share personal stories of women who modeled generosity and risk, teachers who renewed a love for Scripture, and congregants who embodied interfaith friendship. The heartbeat of the episode is intergenerational church life: a 100-year-old and a 12-year-old holding hands, a baptism viewed from above with a whole congregation promising to nurture a young life, and the realization that guarding the good treasure is never about hoarding. It’s about stewardship that gives itself away—resisting cruelty with compassion, greed with generosity, division with inclusion, and despair with resurrection hope.

    If you’re exhausted by scorched-earth rhetoric, this conversation offers a gentler strength and a clear practice: name your Lois and Eunice, give thanks, and become that person for someone else. Listen for a vision of community that keeps promises, expands belonging, and treats everyday moments as sacred chances to protect what matters most. If the message resonates, subscribe, share this episode with someone who encouraged you, and leave a review with the name of the person who “smiled you into smiling.”

    Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
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    Website: www.guilfordpark.org

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    18 mins
  • "What Disciples Do: Disciples Practice Generosity" (September 28, 2025 Sermon)
    Sep 28 2025

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    Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

    Texts: Luke 16:19-31 & 1 Timothy 6:6-19

    What if generosity isn't just something God does, but who God is? Drawing from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man alongside Paul's wisdom in 1 Timothy, we discover a profound theological truth: generosity is God, and God is generosity.

    This revelation transforms how we understand our spiritual journey. Like the rich man whose clenched fists rendered him blind to Lazarus at his gate, we too can become so focused on accumulating wealth and security that we miss the divine invitation to open our hands and hearts to others. Through the structure of the hymn "God Whose Giving Knows No Ending," we explore three dimensions of generosity: God's boundless giving, our calling to serve, and our responsibility to share.

    God's generosity surrounds us in unexpected places—from intricate spider webs discovered on a camping trip to the joy of a child pretending to be an upside-down jellyfish. These moments invite us to "take hold of the life that really is life" by cultivating righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness within community. As baptism reminds us, we receive grace undeserved yet are called to share it abundantly.

    The choice stands before us daily: clenched fists or open hands. We cannot have both. As channels of divine generosity, every act of kindness creates ripples of hope and healing that extend far beyond our immediate circle. This week, challenge yourself to find one concrete way each day to marvel at God's generosity, then respond with your own. The transformation might surprise you.

    Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
    Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
    Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
    Website: www.guilfordpark.org

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    23 mins
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