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GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 16, 2021 20th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 19:16-22 16Someone came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Jesus reorients the young man's commercial notion of eternal life by shifting his attention from “good things” to the “Good One.” Eternal life is not a commodity obtained in exchange for doing good things. Rather, it is the fullness of relationship with the Good One — a relationship that begins here on earth. The commandments are not only duties to be carried out perfectly. Rather, they offer a way to respond faithfully to the Good One and thus grow in one's relationship with him. The young man does not realize that when he asks, “What do I still lack?” the answer is precisely this relationship with the Good One. From the perspective of the Kingdom, it is not by gaining, but by losing, that one tends toward perfection. It is when the Good One alone suffices and the good things of the earth become relative and dispensable that one begins to glimpse true perfection. Lord Jesus, may we appreciate eternal life as an undeserved gift that we an only open our hearts to receive from the Good One. Amen.

Disciple Up # 221 Dangerous Christian Music By Louie Marsh, 7-28-2021   Main Article Quoted from:   https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2021/07/26/modern-christian-music-isnt-just-bad-its-dangerous-n416613   https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/30558297/Gaither+Vocal+Band/Pass+Me+Not%2C+O+Gentle+Savior   Pass me not, O gentle Savior Hear my humble cry While on others Thou art calling Do not pass me by   Savior, Savior Hear my humble cry While on others Thou art calling Do not pass me by   Bruce Cockburn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ly1fKZa_lQ&t=489s   The Kind of Dangerous We Need:   “1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.” (Genesis 12:1–9, ESV)   “1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”” (Genesis 22:1–2, ESV)   “16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”    22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.    23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:16–29, ESV)

Paul continued in his letter to the Ephesians to reveal what Christ had been teaching him during those years while he was imprisoned, first by Roman deputies in Israel and then finally in Rome under probably Emperor Claudius initially. These doctrines are so necessary for us to know, and the most central teachings are the main focus here such as the Body of Christ and then the many other dimensions of the Sacred Secret revealed to Paul for us Gentiles. We find these truths taught with clarity and power in chapters 2 & 3 of this marvelous letter:Chapter 2:Satan is presented as the Prince of this world: 2:1The depths of sin in our old nature and his pending wrath towards the unsaved: 2:3The heavenly blessings of being in Christ Jesus: 2:5-7Salvation by grace through faith not of works: 2:8-10Access to God and blessing for Gentiles was provided through Christ's shed blood: 2:13-17And, both Jew and Gentile are “one” in Christ in his Body: 2:18-19Chapter 3:The dispensation of the grace of God: 3:1-2The dispensation of the mystery the Christ: 3:3-4The nature of this sacred secret and its essence for Gentiles in particular: 3:5-6Paul, administrator of grace and conveyor of grace truth to the Gentiles: 3:7The eternal purpose of God — to make all see the dispensation - 3:8-11

Why you shouldn't opt-out of the Spiritual War that is going on right now! 1. You have an enemy that wants to kill, steal and destroy you! 2. There are people depending on you, family, friends and neighbors. 3. You were made to win this war! The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Cor 10:4 As believers, we need to understand the war that is raging. The Senators and citizens of Washington DC on July 21, 1861 had no idea what war meant. Have you noticed how some people • are failing to respond to the spiritual war that is going on around us right now? • think they can opt out of Spiritual warfare, because its HARD and costly? • don't see the destruction that is going on around them? • are just hoping everything will be alright. • don't realize there is a war? You have been given authority… not just hope… authority. Stop believing the enemies lies. We've heard the enemy's lies so many times, from so many different places, that even God's blood bought church has believed them. What am I talking about? I've heard people say they aren't spiritual enough to fight. Or that there is nothing they can do. Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. You have been given weapons that work 2 Cor 20: 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Psa 8:2 NLT You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. Ephesians 6: 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Michele Hansen  00:00Welcome back to Software Social. This episode is sponsored by the website monitoring tool, Oh Dear. If you've listened to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that I'm passionate about customer service and listening to customers. A few months ago, we noticed something wasn't working on the Oh Dear dashboard. We reported it to them, and they fixed it almost immediately. Everybody has bugs occasionally, but not every company is so responsive to their customers, and we really appreciate that. You can sign up for a 10 day free trial with no credit card required at OhDear.app. Colleen Schnettler  00:35So Michele, I'd love to hear about how things are going with the book.  Michele Hansen  00:40They're going. Um, so after our episode with Sean last week, I realized that I kind of, I have to launch this thing eventually, right?  Colleen Schnettler  00:54Yes.  Michele Hansen  00:55And, you know, for, you know, I mean, for months I've been hearing that advice of, you know, do a, do a presale and like, start selling it beforehand, And, and I was like, yeah, I mean, you know, I, that's the best practice. That makes sense. And then just kind of be like, but that doesn't apply to me, right? Like, I couldn't make, um. It's, you know, it's funny, because it's almost, I feel like the way people feel about when they hear about customer interviewing, they're like, that sounds really valuable and like the right thing to do, and I'm just gonna act like that doesn't apply to me.  Colleen Schnettler  01:29Yep.  Michele Hansen  01:30So that's kind of how I was, and talking to Sean really kind of got me to be like, okay, okay, fine. I should actually sit down and do this. So I got a very simple website together, and then I actually did end up launching the presale.  Colleen Schnettler  01:46Oh, congratulations.  Michele Hansen  01:48Yeah, that was super scary. Like, because the book  Colleen Schnettler  01:50I bet. Michele Hansen  01:53And, like, random places where it says like, insert graphic here. Colleen Schnettler  02:01So tell us how many books have you sold?  Michele Hansen  02:03Okay, yeah, so I guess I get to do, like, a numbers update for the first time. This is fun. Um, so I have sold 34 copies.  Colleen Schnettler  02:15Wow.  Michele Hansen  02:16Presale. Colleen Schnettler  02:17That's a lot.  Michele Hansen  02:18So, and that's not including for like, you know, platform fees and whatever. Just like, you know, $29 times 34, basically. $986.  Colleen Schnettler  02:32That's amazing. Congratulations!  Michele Hansen  02:35So close to that, like, 1000 mark, which, I was talking about this with Mathias earlier, and he's kind of like, I feel like that's like a, you know, that's like, the legit threshold, is 1000. Like, and I don't know why, but it's like, yeah, it's like that feels like, that feels like the, the, like, the first big hurdle.  Colleen Schnettler  02:55I totally agree. That's wonderful news. Congratulations.  Michele Hansen  03:00You know, I expected to feel excited, or relieved, or something positive after releasing it, or the presale, at least. And I gotta tell you, like, I just feel pressure. Like, I'm really glad I didn't do this sooner.  Colleen Schnettler  03:25Really?  Michele Hansen  03:27Yeah. Because now I have, you know, at least 34 people I can't disappoint. Colleen Schnettler  03:32Right.  Michele Hansen  03:32And I feel like, just like, the pressure to make something that is a quality product, like, I already had that pressure on myself to put something out there that I'm proud of.  Colleen Schnettler  03:44Yeah. Michele Hansen  03:46Now I have all these other people who are expecting that, and not that anyone has emailed me and said anything to that effect, but that's how I feel. And I was thinking about this earlier. And I was like, man, like, writing and selling this book has like, brought out all of these, like, vulnerabilities and, and self-doubt and everything, like all of this stuff that I like, thought I had dealt with and then it's, like, sort of like bursting out of the cabinet, being like, hey, I'm still here. So it's, you know, I mean, I have tools to, like, deal with that, but it's been like, oh my gosh, like, I thought I had dealt with, like, I never feel this way about anything about Geocodio, like, so.  Colleen Schnettler  04:33So, this is interesting, because I, when I was feeling a similar way, many months ago, I don't actually know if I talked about it on the podcast, but I had a very high value client that I had a great relationship with that needed a file uploader, and mine wasn't quite done, and I had this moment of terror, panic, I don't know, where I was like, I shouldn't use mine because, because if I put it on my client's site, like, it has to work, right? There's no get out of jail free card, Kind of like, you've now sold this book. Like, you have to finish it.  Michele Hansen  05:07Right. It's not just like, throwing it in a PDF and then like.  Colleen Schnettler  05:09Yeah.  Michele Hansen  05:10Oh, whatever, nobody paid for it. Like, it's not a big deal. Like, it's like, no, this is, like, this is serious now.  Colleen Schnettler  05:17Yeah. And I think something that, that I'm thinking of as you're talking about this, I remember at the time, Alex Hillman had a really great tweet thread about you're not scared of failure, maybe you're secretly scared of success.  Michele Hansen  05:32Mm hmm.  Colleen Schnettler  05:33It was really interesting. Like, just when you think about, like, the psychology and all of these new insecurities coming to light for you, like, maybe you're scared of success.  Michele Hansen  05:42You know, and it's so I feel like we should have them on the podcast more, because I feel like they are, like, Amy and Alex in some way are like characters on this podcast, they're just not actually on the podcast. But like, the amount we talk about, you know, 30x500 and everything. She had, I think, I think it was her, or maybe, no, or maybe it was Dani Donovan, the woman who does the ADHD comics. But I think it was Amy, had a thread, like, couple months ago that was like, you know, people with, or maybe, I don't know if she has ADHD, so I don't know if this was her. Okay. Somebody had a thread that was like, you know, people with ADHD, like, you don't ever feel accomplished when you finish something. It's just over. And then you're on to the next thing. And it was like, yes, like, I expected to feel something when I finally got that out there, and now it instead feels like, oh, now I have to put in the graphics. Now I have to do the cover art. Like now I have to like, like, it just, it didn't, there was never this, like, moment of, like, feeling accomplished or anything like that. It just, it just rolled into the next thing. Colleen Schnettler  06:58Interesting. I don't, I don't have that problem. Like, that doesn't happen to me. I mean, but it's interesting, I find that interesting because one of the things, for me, is when I accomplish something, even if, I feel like if I'd been in your position and I got the presales out there, I do feel that, like, internal satisfaction of hitting that goal, and that's what keeps me motivated. So, if you don't get that same kind of dopamine hit, doesn't that make the whole process kind of painful? It doesn't sound fun.  Michele Hansen  07:28Well, what I do get that from is people, like, you know, positive reinforcement from other people. Like, so I've been asking people for testimonials to put at the front of the book. And on the one hand, that terrifies me, and, and then on the other hand, when they do come in, and people are talking about how the, the book and also sort of newsletter and like, like, all this, all this stuff is all sort of meshing together, has helped them, and what it has helped them do, and how they wish they'd had it sooner and everything. Like, that makes me feel good. That makes me feel like I am delivering the, like, a product that is worth somebody paying for, and that I can be proud of seeing how it's impacted other people. But I like I, I don't really get satisfaction out of achieving things, which is really ironic, because I think about younger versions of myself and I've like, you know, I describe me in high school as an achievement robot, like. Colleen Schnettler  08:39An achievement robot.  Michele Hansen  08:41Yeah, you know, you're, like, just taking as many AP's as you can and your life is over if you don't get in a top college. You know, that whole, that whole song and dance that turned out to be a lie, because now I work for myself. Not at all bitter about that. Anyway, um, yeah, it's but, this, so that is really, like, keeping me going or like, people tweeting out you like, hey, like, what is the book coming out? And part of me is like, oh, my God, am I gonna get them by then? But like, I've been getting a lot of really good reinforcement from people, and that, and I think that's, for me, that's been one of the really big benefits of building in public is not, not necessarily knowing that, exactly that people are going to pay for it and how much they're going to pay and having that money up front, but knowing that I'm creating something that is useful for people. Like, that is what keeps me going. Colleen Schnettler  09:31That sounds great, too.  Michele Hansen  09:33But now I got to finish the damn thing, so.  Colleen Schnettler  09:35Yeah. Now you gotta finish it.  Michele Hansen  09:37I was saying that the release date would be June 24. I actually just had to push that back to July 2, because I just, I don't think I have enough time.  Colleen Schnettler  09:44Yeah. Michele Hansen  09:45I do have an idea for the cover. Like, I want it to be like a terminal printout that's like, basically like installing, like, you know, like installing like empathy and like, loading scripts. Colleen Schnettler  10:00That'll be cute.  Michele Hansen  10:01Like, sort of corny. Developers aren't the only audience for it. But I also want them to know that this is a resource that is, like, accessible to them.  Colleen Schnettler  10:14Yeah. Michele Hansen  10:15I don't know. I have zero artistic abilities, like, I can't even, like, think visually, like, so I have so many people who are reviewing the draft right now, which is pretty amazing. Some of them are, like, super close friends of mine who are harsh editors, and I'm super grateful for that. And others are, like, people I have never even met who are so, I guess, so taken with, with the idea of the book that they're, like, helping me edit it, and I have never met them before, which is just so moving. But anyway, so someone has been giving me a lot of feedback on like, oh, like, this should be a graphic and like, this should be a graphic. And I'm like, I'm so glad you're saying that because it would have never occurred to me that that could be a graphic because I communicate in speech, and in text, and there's -  Colleen Schnettler  11:01Yeah. Michele Hansen  11:01Not a whole lot of pictures going on.  Colleen Schnettler  11:03Yeah. Michele Hansen  11:04So, so, yeah, I gotta kind of get all of, all that together in the next couple weeks. And like, hopefully release the, like, the print-on-demand version at the same time, but it's unclear. And then after that, I get to do the audio book, which, honestly, I'm really looking forward to, because then I just have to read the book out loud and as a podcaster, I'm like, I got that. Like, this does not involve any pictures. Like, I am good. Colleen Schnettler  11:32No pictures required.  Michele Hansen  11:33No art skills required. Colleen Schnettler  11:36Are you gonna hire someone to do the graphics? Have you figured that out yet?  Michele Hansen  11:39No, I've been making them in PowerPoint.  Colleen Schnettler  11:42Okay. I'm just saying there's - Michele Hansen  11:45Really simple. Like, there's not going to be like, pictures-pictures, like. Colleen Schnettler  11:47Okay. Michele Hansen  11:48If it turns out this book is a huge hit and I need to do a version that actually has pictures and like, somebody doing, like, professionally doing the layout then like, yeah, I'll, I'll do that, but.  Colleen Schnettler  11:59Yeah, so. Michele Hansen  11:59I mean, so like, more like flowcharts if anything, or like, putting something in a box so that it's, like, called out like even that kind of stuff. My brain is like, doesn't.  Colleen Schnettler  12:09Have you ever seen, there's a couple of people I've met at conferences that are developers, but they're also visual thinkers. And so they'll like, make sketch notes of someone's conference talk. Have you ever seen these? I'm going to send you some after the podcast. They're so cool. I mean, for your, for, you know, especially to hit, like, the developer audience, that would be, and that might be like version two of the book, but like, like sketch notes, or something would be super cool. Like, I could see a lot of cool opportunities here.  Michele Hansen  12:37Yeah, I tried to use something called Excalidraw, and I think my problem is like, I just don't think visually.  Colleen Schnettler  12:47Yeah. Michele Hansen  12:47Like, I never graduated beyond stick figures. My, my efforts that were beyond stick figures are hilarious. Like actually, like, yeah. Um, so I probably should, like, should bring that in, you know. But again, I mean, the book has only made, you know, just under $1,000. So I'm not, I'm not, I don't really want to, like, go out and hire an artist for a couple $1,000 for it. Like, I don't feel like that's a reasonable- Colleen Schnettler  13:21Not yet. Not yet. Right. I mean, that might be in the future. Yeah. I feel like that's not yet. I totally get that.  Michele Hansen  13:27Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, so that's-  Colleen Schnettler  13:34It's exciting. I'm glad we gave you that push. I mean, I kind of felt like I gave you that push when I was basically like, you're gonna have this up by the time we launch this podcast, right. I'm happy. I hope it wasn't too stressful. But I'm happy you got there.  Michele Hansen  13:49I think I needed the external deadline because- Colleen Schnettler  13:52Yeah.  Michele Hansen  13:52And again, this is kind of one of those, for me, ADHD things. Like, I need an external deadline because if it's a deadline I've come up with then it's not happening. But like, the reason why the book was, is gonna be out by July 2 is because, like, our, well, it was gonna be June 23 because our daughter finishes school for the year on June 25. So I was like, it has to be out before she gets out of school. But then I remember that she has a week of summer camp. So I'm like, okay, I have another week.  Colleen Schnettler  14:16You have one more week. Michele Hansen  14:18No, it has to be done before she gets out of camp because otherwise then I, you know, I won't have as much time, so.  Colleen Schnettler  14:25Yeah. Michele Hansen  14:25External deadline. Super helpful. Yeah. How's, how's stuff in Simple File Upload world? Colleen Schnettler  14:33So, things are good. I, you know, signups have still been consistent, but because I lost that big customer, I'm just below 1k MRR. So I haven't really seen that reflected in-  Michele Hansen  14:48Is the big customer the one that, like, wasn't using it and you couldn't get in touch with them?  Colleen Schnettler  14:53No, that person's still there, but like, I lost one person that was, like, a tier below that, which is, because I have three tiers. And so things are fine. I mean, I'm not seeing a big increase, or really any movement on the revenue because of the churn at that level, at that more expensive level. But I'm pretty excited about some of the things I'm going to be trying to do in the next couple months. My summer is crazy. So I had at first resigned myself to just not really working on Simple File Upload for a couple months. I was like, I'm just gonna let it sit. It's doing great. It requires almost no customer support. But then,  Michele Hansen  15:32I mean, a thousand dollars a month, and then it recurs is like.  Colleen Schnettler  15:35Right! It's like, I mean, okay, can we talk about how awesome this is? By the way, this is awesome. Like, after fees and stuff, after I pay my hosting fees, and my storage fees and my Heroku fees, I clear like 606, 650. Like, that's like, pretty cool.  Michele Hansen  15:52Yeah. Colleen Schnettler  15:53It's like, I'm not so much. So I wasn't upset about this. But like, I just needed to see kind of where my life was and what I was doing. And I was like, I might just have to sit on this for a couple months because I don't have the time. But then I got an idea. So I am going to take, really what happened is I was really inspired talking to Sean last week about 30x500. I have never taken that course. But I read, like, everything Amy Hoy writes on the internet, and so I kind of feel like I get the idea behind Sales Safari, the idea being find where your customers hang out and find out what their problems are. Conceptually, it seems easy. I just haven't had time to do that. And him, he said last week that he spent 80 hours. Think about that. So he was trolling Reddit forums for 80 hours. That is a lot.  Michele Hansen  16:45I mean, I probably already do that, and there's no business purpose behind it. Colleen Schnettler  16:49It's just no focus to it, right? So, so that's, so I really think I'm at this inflection point where what I have is working. It's doing great. I don't need to build new, more features until I know what features people need. And as we talked about, I think two weeks ago, different audiences want different features. As a solo founder, I do, with a job, I don't have the bandwidth to build all the features for everybody. Like, I'm not trying to take on CloudFlare, right. I really want to niche down and find my people and build for my people. I can't do that until I know who my people are, and I still don't really know. So, I am going to hire someone to do some of the Sales Safari research for me since I don't have time.  Michele Hansen  17:42Oh. Colleen Schnettler  17:43Yeah. So I'm kind of pumped. And by someone I mean, my sister. She, yeah, so it's like, you talk about how, like, you love having a business with Mathias.  I would love to have a business with my sister. Like, I would love for her to be able to work for me, for this to become a real company, and, you know, for us to do this together. So she is just coming off her maternity leave. She has decided not to go back to her job. So she has only a little bit of time because she doesn't have a lot of childcare, so she has, like, one day a week that she's going to work for me doing marketing research and Sales Safari, and I was to kind of trying to teach her, like, what I think is useful. We're both kind of learning as we go, neither of us really knows we're just making it up. And we're gonna do that for the summer and kind of see where it takes us.  Michele Hansen  17:55Yeah. Wow, wait, so what is her background in?  Colleen Schnettler  18:35She's an environmental consultant. Michele Hansen  18:37Oh. Colleen Schnettler  18:40So she actually, it's in no way relevant. But she's, so really the deal is she's a writer. So in her job as a consultant, what they do is they, they have to write these, like, epic report. So her background is really in writing. So originally, she was gonna write content for me, and she wrote me a couple pieces, but it's really hard to come in, since she doesn't have the technical background, it's, I, and my, my audience is developers, like, I need really technical content. So I don't think she's going to fit as a technical writer. But she's going to do, she's taking a class in SEO. So she's going to do, like, keyword research, and she's going to jump into the forums and Reddit and try and like, find out what people's pain points are surrounding file uploads. Michele Hansen  19:24You know, it sounds like you guys have a good working relationship together. Colleen Schnettler  19:31Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, all problems, this stuff that I was thinking about. All problems are people problems, right? So, if you want to control your business, and I'm just hypothesizing here, the number one most important people, but the number one most important thing is the people you work with, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather work with. So, I think she'll figure it out, or she'll hate it and if she hates it, then she won't do it anymore. I'll find someone else. But that's kind of our plan. I'm pretty excited.  Michele Hansen  20:02Like, yeah, you, if you have someone that you work well with, and you believe that they're capable of learning what you would need them to learn, then, you know, like, you trust them.  Colleen Schnettler  20:17Yes. Michele Hansen  20:17And that matters.  Colleen Schnettler  20:18Yes. Yes. So yeah. So this summer, for me, is really for, for Simple File Upload, I think, is really going to be a focus on figuring out what niche to serve. I was talking to another friend, and he just got a new job, and he works for a big event management company. And he pointed out, you know, he was, he actually mentioned you, because he listened to the podcast, and he was like, these huge companies, they don't care about the little guys who are making a million dollars a year. And his point was, they don't care. So he's like, if you can carve out a niche in one of these huge industries, like, you can be incredibly successful, and like, these big guys, they don't care.  Michele Hansen  20:58No. And you know, on your sister, it might be really interesting to have her do interviews with people because she will be completely coming in with a beginner's mindset. Like, I find this is something that is difficult for people to adjust to like, like, we've talked about when, when someone says like, oh, like, could I do this? And you start thinking through, like, whether they could and how you would implement it, or you know-  Colleen Schnettler  21:23Right.  Michele Hansen  21:24Talk about what they wanted to do, and you just like, oh, of course, you wanted to do this because of this, and like, you don't even question it. But she, but she would be like, well, why do you want to upload a file in the first place? Like, Colleen Schnettler  21:33Right.  Michele Hansen  21:33Well, how is that, how does that work? Because she's genuinely beginner. Like, I feel like, in some ways, the fact that I don't have a geography background has been an advantage for- Colleen Schnettler  21:45Yeah. Michele Hansen  21:46You know, for this because like, I don't come in, you know, with it, with all of these preconceived notions about why someone would want to do this.  Colleen Schnettler  21:56Yeah. Michele Hansen  21:56So I think that can be really interesting when she gets her feet wet, and kind of a sense of what's going on, to try to talk to the customers.  Colleen Schnettler  22:05I think that's a great idea. I hope we can grow into that. I definitely think there's opportunity there. I think of her as like you, and I'm like Mathias in the power couple building of a company. So we'll see. I mean, she wants to get into mark, we kind of are going down this route, because I don't have enough time. I want to do it, I need to do it, and she wants to, really she wants to transition into a remote career that's flexible, like most parents, and she's really interested in SEO and marketing. So, I think it's gonna be a fun little adventure. I'm excited to see what she finds out. Part of this was also, I think we've talked a lot about, I have an interest in no-code. So I had a call with the Jetboost IO founder, Chris. Michele Hansen  22:51Yeah, Chris. Colleen Schnettler  22:52Who, I believe, you know, as well, because you're a mentor and he- Michele Hansen  22:55Yeah, I mentor him through Earnest Capital. I literally just had a call with him the other day. Colleen Schnettler  23:02So I had a call with him, independent of your call with him.  Michele Hansen  23:06Which we didn't know about. Colleen Schnettler  23:07Which we did not plan, to talk about opportunities in the webflow space. And, so I think one of the first things I'm going to have my sister, well, not the first, but one of the things my sister is going to try and do this month is really see if there's a need in Webflow. The thing about Webflow is, in 2018, Webflow introduced their own file uploader. So before that, there was a huge need for it. Now, they have their own file uploader. So it might be that what I provide is no longer, you know, something people need or want. So before I go and build an integration with Webflow, I'm going to have her do some Sales Safari research. They have really active forums to kind of see what people are looking forward to see if there's opportunity there.  Michele Hansen  23:54Yeah, Chris was telling me that they have a, like, feature upload, like a feature up vote thing where people go in and request features.  It's exciting. Colleen Schnettler  24:03Yeah, I think it's gonna be great. I think, I think it'll be fun. It'll be good to have someone actually dedicated to reading Reddit and Webflow forums and Heroku forums and whatever, to try to identify, you know, the need there and in the file uploading space. And then with the SEO research, you know, I can then either write the content myself or hire someone to write technical content, depending on my time commitments, my time, you know, what I can do, so. Yeah. Yeah, I saw that. I think, you know, the interesting thing about file uploading and Webflow is they have a maximum size of 10 megs, and I, you can't do multiple file uploads at the same time. So the question is, how many people really care? Like, who really, did, are there enough people that are uploading large files, or want to do maximum, or, I'm sorry, want to do multiple file uploads at a time that it would be worth it for me to make an integration into that space. So, so, you know, she's going to kind of dive into that and see what we can find out and like, this is just gonna be a fun marketing learning time because I built this thing because I wanted to build something, as you know, and I'm really happy that I built something to scratch my own need because it's worked out really well. But I still haven't really honed in on who I can serve best, and there's lots of opportunities out there, so. Michele Hansen  25:42There's a lot to be, I think, sort of learned and discovered here, and, and also that SEO work you can do, that, like, that can also inform the kind of feature development that you do, too, like, because there, I mean, this just happened to us the other day, like there was something that I noticed we had a couple of customers ask us how to do, and so I wrote up an article about how to do it, and then, but like, to basically do it manually. And then I just saw this morning that it's, like, our top performing growing piece of content and has like a 400% increase in clicks, and-  Wow. And looking into like, oh, how might we add that? And it's like, okay, maybe we should like there's, you know, SEO isn't just for bringing in customers, but also for figuring out what, what people might want as well.  Colleen Schnettler  26:38Yeah, and you've said before, I think that SEO is your number one channel? Activation channel? Michele Hansen  26:44Yeah. We, we don't run paid ads. We don't do any outbound sales. Like, we occasionally sponsor conferences, but that's mostly because, like, our friends run them, and it's just like, kind of-  Colleen Schnettler  27:00Yeah. Michele Hansen  27:00To support our friends, like we're a sponsor of Longhorn PHP, the Texas PHP conference. But like, that's just because our friend runs it.  Colleen Schnettler  27:12Okay.  Michele Hansen  27:13It's not very, like, organized or intentional. It's just like, sure, like, we'll help you out.  Colleen Schnettler  27:18Now, when you do SEO, do you do, like, now you just said, like, you were talking to a customer and then you got this idea of a good page, but do you do traditional keyword research as well? Michele Hansen  27:34Maybe? Like, we use Ahrefs.  Colleen Schnettler  27:36Yeah, I don't, okay. Michele Hansen  27:39I don't know, I still don't know how to pronounce the name of that company.  Colleen Schnettler  27:42I know, yeah, I don't either.  Michele Hansen  27:43But yeah, Ahrefs, we use that. We used Google Search Console for a long time, which is honestly a really good tool, and it's free, because Ahrefs is, is pretty expensive. But yeah, you can do keyword research and rankings and referrers and all that kind of stuff. I don't keep a super close eye on it. Um, but yeah, whenever we're, you know, we, every so often, like every couple weeks or so we go in and look at what content is performing and what else we might need and whatnot. Colleen Schnettler  28:19Cool. Yeah, I don't know. I really haven't done, I've done absolutely zero keyword research. So I think it's probably worth our time to put a little bit of effort into that to see what people are searching for to get a better idea of how to use those tools. Michele Hansen  28:36Yeah, I mean, our approach is, you know, find those keywords and then write stuff that people might be searching for and show them how to do it with Geocodio, and I think I like that because I, and I think we talked about this is kind of something that I have struggled with with the book, is, like, I struggle with sounding salesy, like and writing, like conversion copy, like, it's just really something that I feel like I sound way too infomercial-y when I tried to write it. Like, you know, there are people who are really good at writing conversion copy and sounding like a natural human being when they write it, like, I mean, you know, Amy Hoy is one of those people. But I, you know, I might as well you know, be like, hocking something on the Home Shopping Network when I try to write it. So, so like writing be like, oh, you're searching for geocoding? Hello, we do geocoding. Here is how you can do it in like, like, all of these different ways you can do it and rephrasing all of those different things. And then here's where you can try it. And then here's where you can do it. And it's very, like, straightforward. That's like, maybe you need it. Maybe you don't. All of those options are fine. Not, like, buy this now or you will die. Colleen Schnettler  29:56Yeah, I'm hoping with our keyword research and kind of, like, since I haven't done this at all, you know, with what, the marketing research she does, as you've talked about, I think a lot of that is going to inform my content and building out future landing pages. So, that's really going to be a focus for me is like, trying to get content and you know, pages out there that appeal to people. Michele Hansen  30:24Well, I'm going to be spending the next week working on the book and you're going to be onboarding your sister and getting this research going. Sounds like we got our work cut out for us.  Colleen Schnettler  30:34It's gonna be a good week.  Michele Hansen  30:37All right. Well, I guess that'll wrap us up for now. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODEProvided by Otter.aiEoin Trainor  00:00The views and opinions expressed in Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or the student media. Eoin Trainor  00:34Good evening Raleigh and welcome to this week's Eye on the Triangle an NC State student produced news show on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. I'm Eoin Trainor. On tonight's episode, you'll hear my interview with Brooke Dickhart, Brooke is the executive director of the Joel Fund Wake Forest nonprofit that serves veterans. The Joel Fund recently received a federal grant to implement one of its programs at Walter Reed Medical Center. We talked about that, the Joel funds mission and much more. Afterwards is Elizabeth Esser's interview with Dr. Paul Kaloostian, a neurosurgeon and author. Elizabeth talked to him about the effects of stress on college students cognitive functioning. But first you have a quick story from the North Carolina News Service enjoy. Nadia Ramlagan  01:15North Carolina is ramping up plans to lease offshore wind-energy areas to developers, as the Biden administration expresses support for those efforts. The green light comes one year before a decade-long Trump-era moratorium on offshore development is slated to go into effect – on July 1st of next year. Despite the pending moratorium, which includes wind-energy, Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross of Raleigh says the state is poised to be a leader in offshore power generation and manufacturing. Deborah Ross  01:43And, with a bipartisan effort in our delegation to seek the ability to harness the best offshore wind in the country – and associated research and technology that will go with it – it will benefit North Carolina for decades to come. Nadia Ramlagan  02:02Earlier this year, Ross sent a letter signed by a bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold lease sales for two of the state's existing wind-energy areas in federal waters off the coast of Wilmington. It's unlikely the Trump moratorium on offshore development would be overturned in such a divided Congress. But Jaime Simmons of the Southeastern Wind Coalition says the most recent move is a sign the Biden administration is willing to take prompt action before the moratorium begins. Jaime Simmons  02:32We're in a unique position here in North Carolina, because we already have what's called wind energy areas identified. It gives a signal to those manufacturers; it gives them the certainty that they need to start making those investments. Nadia Ramlagan  02:47Director of North Carolina Political Affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund David Kelly points out the state already has a reputation as a clean-energy leader and a hub for clean tech. David Kelly  02:58It's reassuring to know that our state's leaders in Congress recognize the opportunity that offshore wind, emerging as a industry in the United States, offers. And that they're taking action to make sure North Carolina is well-positioned to compete for wind-energy jobs. Nadia Ramlagan  03:13Offshore wind is expected to create a 70-billion-dollar supply chain and tens of thousands of new jobs in the United States by 2030. For North Carolina News Service, I'm Nadia Ramlagan. Eoin Trainor  03:31This is Eoin Trainer with WKNC 88.1's Eye on the Triangle and I'm here with Brooke Dickhart, the executive director of the Joel Fund fund, a veterans nonprofit based in Wake Forest. Brooke, welcome to the program.  Brooke Dickhart  03:41Thank you so much for having me.  Eoin Trainor  03:43To start, would you mind telling us a little bit about what the Joel Fund does? Brooke Dickhart  03:48Absolutely. So the Joel Fund helps connect veterans to their communities. We do this through three main programs, we have a resource connection where we will work one on one with veterans and their family members to connect them to the services that they're looking for. We have operation art, which is our art classes for veterans and their family members. And then operation furnish, which is a furniture program locally where we can find gently used donated items for veterans in need. Eoin Trainor  04:20And I've heard that you have a new program of expressive writing classes as part of Operation Art would you mind telling us a little bit about that? Brooke Dickhart  04:27Absolutely. So this program was something that I started in honor of my dad because I after he passed away I found sheets of yellow legal paper where he had tried to write his story and I figured if he had trouble doing it then others probably do also. And so we started working with a with an amazing local writer to develop a class we also worked with a couple of veterans from the Vietnam Veterans of America to develop this class and we launched it a little over a year ago. And it has been a very successful program for us. Eoin Trainor  05:07And how have the veterans and their families who have taken the course responded, did they find it helpful? Brooke Dickhart  05:13Absolutely. They even asked us to bring in a therapist for the class. So our classes, we often say that there it's community therapeutic arts, we're not offering art therapy, however, with writing that can trigger a lot of emotions and that sort of thing. And the veterans who helped us develop the curriculum, really wanted there to be a therapist, as the safety net in the class, so that if they were writing about their time in the service, that they could do it in a safe and secure environment. And so because of those things that we have in place, they have really loved the class and have been able to write freely and feel that they can do it safely. Eoin Trainor  05:59And you recently received grant support for the program, what does that enable you to do anything new?  Brooke Dickhart  06:05Yes, so we just recently, were selected from a national search to do a writing program at Walter Reed Medical Military or Military Medical Center out of Bethesda, Maryland, to bring our writing program to their employee wellness program. So we work with people who work in the hospital, some of them are veterans, they are all caregivers, because of the population that they serve. We've even had a couple active duty soldiers who called in from overseas, you know, the technology that we have with virtual, you know, conference calls, and that sort of thing has really been our silver lining story, because we can now reach more veterans and family members across the world because of this technology, it doesn't have to just be centered to our area. And that has enabled us to take our writing program and expand it and bring it to the people at Walter Reed, which is been amazing. Eoin Trainor  07:09Then what was the transition between Wake Forest and Walter Reed like? Was there any kind of new challenges that you encountered? Brooke Dickhart  07:16Oh, yes, for sure. It's a, it's a much different dynamic when you're offering a writing class for people who work together. And in the military, you know, there's a hierarchy hierarchy. So there's a lot of considerations that we did not anticipate that we've had to navigate but they have renewed our contract. And so we're working through all that with Walter Reed. And they're it's their program is called creative forces. Creative forces is art therapy that is offered, I think it's um, 10 sites across the country, on bases, and then at Walter Reed. And so we've been working with the with the folks at creative forces and Walter Reed to make sure that the program is just right for their for the students that we are getting from them. Eoin Trainor  08:06And then the instructor assigns writing prompts, what are these like? And can you give us some examples of what some of them have been? Brooke Dickhart  08:16So the the writing prompts vary every week, and every class and that is based on who's in the class, and you know, what's going on around us during the time. But one example that I can give you that was for this week was described in vivid language, someone you deeply cared for who served our country, and his, and who is no longer with us. So that was their writing prompt heading into Memorial Day weekend. Eoin Trainor  08:48And if you don't mind, telling viewers, what kind of stuff if you know, did some of the veterans write for that one? Brooke Dickhart  08:55That I haven't seen yet actually, they they will be working on it for Actually, today. They have class today. So I haven't seen the writing yet.  Eoin Trainor  09:05And, did COVID kind of create any unique mental health related challenges for the veterans in your programs? And did you have to adjust any of them at all? Brooke Dickhart  09:18Absolutely. In fact, it was a very scary time for us as an organization that serves veterans, so many of the veterans that we work with come to us as direct referrals from the rec therapy department at the VA. So a lot of them are working through some mental illness and isolation is not a great thing for that population. And so we had to pivot immediately and figure out how to continue to serve them. And because one aspect of our classes is creating this sense of community, and connecting veterans and family members with their peers, we knew we needed to continue to bring that same feeling to these men and women, it's not just a class, we often say that art is just the vehicle. They do leave our classes learning an amazing skill. And they are taught by extremely, very well trained individuals. But we also mentor our instructors on military culture and how to create this feeling of community. And so we had to work very hard to continue to create that online. Of course, it's not a perfect match, but it has still been very effective and before the holidays, there was a group in fact, it was one of our writing classes got together and had a zoom holiday party, one class dressed up at Halloween. So we've really been able to still create this, this feeling of community even though we are online. Eoin Trainor  09:46And are veterans in the course, they're able to kind of share and talk about their writing and their experiences, correct? Brooke Dickhart  10:57Yes, they do love to share it's it's a very intimate group. Usually we have around five students give or take, you know, one or two more, it depends on you know, the day or the time, but they, they will always they have the option to share if they don't personally want to share the instructor will share for them but there is there is under no circumstance are they required to share. One thing that we are going to be doing very soon is now that things are starting to open up and we're able to get together in person again, we are planning to do a reading where the people who are in our class can meet in person, those who are local, and invite family members and friends and they will read their stories that they have written. Such a big part of it is being able to share in all of our classes, whether it's photography, or drawing or painting, they really take some pride in being able to share what they've created with their family members. Eoin Trainor  12:00Thanks for coming on. Brooke Dickhart  12:02Thank you, I really appreciate the opportunity. Elizabeth Esser  12:09I'm Elizabeth Esser with WKNC 88.1 Eye on the Triangle. Joining us today is renowned neurosurgeon, author and speaker Dr. Paul Kaloostian. Dr. Kaloostian is a Board Certified neurosurgeon and the author of numerous books, including the young neurosurgeon, lessons from my patients, from the eyes of a doctor, and my surgical cases told in poems. He's here today to discuss stress and how it affects the brain functions of college students. Dr. Kaloostian, thank you for joining us today on Eye on the Triangle to get us started. What exactly is stress? And what's going on in our brains when we experience it? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  12:49Yeah, that's so that's the that's the million dollar question. So stress is a essentially state of being where your brain and and body communicate in a certain specific way based on the hormones and neurotransmitters that are secreted at that time. And so we've all experienced it, we've all experienced stress, we all really know what what it is because we've we've been through it we experience on a daily basis. And certainly college students experience it, you know, because of everything they're going through in school and others. So but it's but it's really a process that is really regulated by the brain itself. There are specific areas that do that. And these areas secrete hormones and neurotransmitters through our bloodstream that then make our other areas of our body realize, hmm, something's not right, I should feel a certain way, which is stress. So that's what really happens during that stressful moment, or moments of our lives. Elizabeth Esser  14:07And can stress have lasting effects on our brains and bodies? And if so, what does that look like? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  14:14Absolutely. And once again, you know, similar to what I just said before, we've all experienced it. We've had moments where, let's say we're in a particular situation and  we've been in that situation before. So our minds go back to that prior time or times where we've been in that situation. And that makes us nervous and stressed. You know, for example, public speaking, let's say you've, you gave a talk once and something bad happened. I don't know. Maybe someone laughed  at you or you said a word wrong or whatever. And so the next time or next few times after that, you can always remember that particular event where you had a tough time right? So that the the memory center of the brain the hippocampus, We call it is super important in this whole stress response. And so there are permanent features because obviously years later we remember these episodes way back early on in the past. And and so the brain really remembers what had happened in the past so certainly there are permanent aspects to it and there are actually genetic components to it. So stress can affect your actual DNA, believe it or not through a variety of responses, but often through repeated experiences of stress over time. The common thing is, let's say someone you know, a young child, you know, witnesses domestic violence between the parents or some multiple arguments between parents or others. If that happens, often, what has been found is that there's genetic alterations, so that that particular child really, experiences stress a different way, if they see that particular episode. And it's based on all these neurotransmitters that are secreted that affect proteins that are expressed on our surfaces of ourselves. So certainly, there are permanent aspects in many, many ways, as I just mentioned. Elizabeth Esser  16:17And college students undergo a lot of stress for a multitude of reasons. are college aged people differently affected by stress compared to other age groups? And if so, in what ways? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  16:30Well, I think everyone experiences stress differently. And I don't know if I would break it down by age. And I don't know if there are any specific studies that do that. But I think the, the process of experiencing stress in handling stress is really a human trait, meaning, it probably isn't going to be very, very different among all of us, we probably all feel somewhat similar in, in different situations, and how we react to that particular stressor in our life. But certainly, you know, I've done a lot of schooling to become a neurosurgeon, I've been in school for a long, long time, and then training for a long, long time. That comes with a lot of difficult times. I mean, there are a lot of great times to but there's a lot of difficult times, that certainly are stressful. And I remember studying for finals, midterm exams, just all of that, I mean, I'm so thankful that's over. But that certainly was tough. But you know, I want also your audience to know that stress can also be very good, there's, there's good stress, there's kind of a mediocre, or a medium level of stress. And then there's toxic stress. So there's, there's really a variety of different types of stress in the body. And so and I would say that, it's actually a very healthy thing to have some stress in our lives, because it, it actually motivates us to do things we likely wouldn't do if we didn't have this little push, or this little heart rate increase, you know, to get us doing these things. But But I think, you know, college students, they experience, a significant amount of stress. And I think that, you know, most colleges, most universities, have environments where, where students are able to really tap into to look for help to look for methods of de stressing, I think that's very valuable in, in the university setting. Certainly, you know, the places I've went, those those things were present and very helpful. But, but I think most of us experience stress quite similarly. Elizabeth Esser  19:09So like everyone, college students have experienced many new situations in the last year due to COVID. You know, we've switched from in person classes to online learning. And students have been, have experienced isolation due to social distancing, among other things. How have these changes maybe affected stress levels or mental health as a whole in students Dr. Paul Kaloostian  19:38Significantly increased these these issues. I mean, and I see it in many of my patients, I would say, almost daily. I can't tell you how many patients I see that that tell me about all the difficult times that they're going through since COVID. And actually, I think we've, we've we've coined a new phrase post COVID stress disorder, kinda like a post traumatic stress disorder, but it's a post COVID stress disorder, it's really becoming the kind of the new theme now, among medical providers and psychologists. And, I mean, just as you can imagine, Elizabeth, I mean, just just picture, you know, losing someone close to you, and you're not able to go to the hospital to see them. And they're not doing well, and some may pass, you know, just just that situation alone. Imagine that, you know, let's say someone closest to you, you know, how do you handle that, you know, you're just hearing them on the phone, you know, and, you know, and that's the, that's just one situation, imagine other types of situations during  COVID, where people have lost their jobs that, you know, literally companies have fallen under, and people have been fired, literally fired, lost their jobs. I know many people where that's happened to, and, and they have no income, no income source, they have kids, they have grandkids, they have mortgages, etc. Imagine that stress. There's so many, so many different situations, with COVID, where people weren't prepared. And, and how can you be, you know, this is something out of the blue and, and it has really dramatically, unfortunately, affected people's lives in such a negative way. And, but like I said, I think this this disorder is really very important nowadays, you know, for all providers, and psychologists seeing patients, even nurses, others, you're going to see this, that's probably going to be be seen in many, many patients for many years to come. It's a very significant problem. And it just is difficult to to really deal with just given the acuity of COVID how it happened just so quickly, so suddenly. And, and just the psychological component to, to dealing with all of these stresses all at once, I think is is compounding The, the the difficulty of really treating, treating this. So I think it's it's very valuable to really understand what's going on in people's lives, especially as providers to really try and help them best where we can. Elizabeth Esser  22:46Right? Well, absolutely. We've all gone through this very traumatic experience. So I guess, going off of that, we're now at this point where we're sort of transitioning back into normal life, you know, students are returning back to campus this coming semester. Do you have any tips on how students can cope with stress as we make this transition? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  23:15Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there are a lot of healthy ways to, to deal with with stress in your life. And I know there are a lot of studies identifying exercise as a very, very critical means of de stressing and, and I won't go into the specific mechanisms of why that that is so but but certainly, you can understand it through exercise, there's a better blood flow throughout the body, because the heart is not pumping stronger, and our muscles are all squeezing the blood back to the heart. And so there's more, there's more blood supply to important areas of our brain and heart and other parts of our body that that allow us to, to clear our minds to have that energy to think beyond the stress and to move forward towards solutions. So I think exercise is just so so invaluable. Sleeping is very critical. Most studies recommend probably about six hours of uninterrupted sleep a day. I think that is fair and valid. Sleep is essentially really the one of the only ways our body can recharge itself. And that's the way I think of sleep. I think of sleep as kind of like charging your phone or charging you know, whatever you need to charge. It's that means of recharging the system or rebooting the system. And during the course of it, a typical day for a college student and others that they can beat you down so to speak just with all the activities that occur both physically and psychologically, you get tired, you get beaten down, your brain is injured, your body's injured. And so that sleep is just so valuable for those six hours or so, to really help those areas of the brain and body just heal, so that it can then do the same thing the following day in a, in a safe way. So I think sleep is so critical. Obviously, counseling, there are and should be, at least at most universities, I'm sure North Carolina State that has methods of seeking help, psychologically, someone to just speak to perhaps a counselor or psychologist others. And I think that is great. I don't think there's any negative stigma attached to that, I think more people should do that. And, you know, we're all social beings, we all need communication needs social interaction. And so I think that's, that's crucial to be able to communicate with someone who's trained to, to help others deal with with tough situations, so that you can then, by speaking, work through those problems that have tangible solutions. I think those are some of the solutions that I would recommend. Elizabeth.  Elizabeth Esser  26:28Great. Thank you so much. And then I guess, finally, is there anything else that you'd like to add? Regarding the topic of stress and college students? what you're working on or anything else? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  26:40Well, you know, I am a writer. So I think writing, you know, would be a fantastic way of de stressing, it's one of the one of the reasons why I have kind of partook in, in, in writing is because it really enabled me to, to de stress. As you could imagine, I just see so many sick, sick patients, gunshot wounds to the head and assaults to the head and spine. And I have to fix this and, and after a while, after many, many 1000s of these cases, I needed to just have an outlet. So I think for me, poetry or in writing, were my methods of doing that. And it really was super helpful. So I would recommend that, you know, the students in college university. Right. And it could be anything could be short poems, like haikus, or it could be a memoir of what they've experienced in their life. I'm sure people would love to read about that. And I think through that, you can get these these emotions out of your system. And I think that'll help you be a little bit more calm and collected and able to tackle any of the next challenges that come your way. Elizabeth Esser  27:56Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Dr. Kaloostian. The work you do is so important, and it was truly a pleasure speaking with you.  Dr. Paul Kaloostian  28:03Pleasures all mine. Thank you. Eoin Trainor  28:09And that is it for this week's Eye on the Triangle. Thanks for tuning in. If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or like to get involved with the Eye on the Triangle team, shoot us an email at public affairs@wknc.org. We'd love to hear from you. Stay tuned for your regular programming. We'll see you next time.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODEProvided by Otter.aiEoin Trainor  00:00The views and opinions expressed in Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or the student media. Eoin Trainor  00:34Good evening Raleigh and welcome to this week's Eye on the Triangle an NC State student produced news show on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. I'm Eoin Trainor. On tonight's episode, you'll hear my interview with Brooke Dickhart, Brooke is the executive director of the Joel Fund Wake Forest nonprofit that serves veterans. The Joel Fund recently received a federal grant to implement one of its programs at Walter Reed Medical Center. We talked about that, the Joel funds mission and much more. Afterwards is Elizabeth Esser's interview with Dr. Paul Kaloostian, a neurosurgeon and author. Elizabeth talked to him about the effects of stress on college students cognitive functioning. But first you have a quick story from the North Carolina News Service enjoy. Nadia Ramlagan  01:15North Carolina is ramping up plans to lease offshore wind-energy areas to developers, as the Biden administration expresses support for those efforts. The green light comes one year before a decade-long Trump-era moratorium on offshore development is slated to go into effect – on July 1st of next year. Despite the pending moratorium, which includes wind-energy, Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross of Raleigh says the state is poised to be a leader in offshore power generation and manufacturing. Deborah Ross  01:43And, with a bipartisan effort in our delegation to seek the ability to harness the best offshore wind in the country – and associated research and technology that will go with it – it will benefit North Carolina for decades to come. Nadia Ramlagan  02:02Earlier this year, Ross sent a letter signed by a bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold lease sales for two of the state's existing wind-energy areas in federal waters off the coast of Wilmington. It's unlikely the Trump moratorium on offshore development would be overturned in such a divided Congress. But Jaime Simmons of the Southeastern Wind Coalition says the most recent move is a sign the Biden administration is willing to take prompt action before the moratorium begins. Jaime Simmons  02:32We're in a unique position here in North Carolina, because we already have what's called wind energy areas identified. It gives a signal to those manufacturers; it gives them the certainty that they need to start making those investments. Nadia Ramlagan  02:47Director of North Carolina Political Affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund David Kelly points out the state already has a reputation as a clean-energy leader and a hub for clean tech. David Kelly  02:58It's reassuring to know that our state's leaders in Congress recognize the opportunity that offshore wind, emerging as a industry in the United States, offers. And that they're taking action to make sure North Carolina is well-positioned to compete for wind-energy jobs. Nadia Ramlagan  03:13Offshore wind is expected to create a 70-billion-dollar supply chain and tens of thousands of new jobs in the United States by 2030. For North Carolina News Service, I'm Nadia Ramlagan. Eoin Trainor  03:31This is Eoin Trainer with WKNC 88.1's Eye on the Triangle and I'm here with Brooke Dickhart, the executive director of the Joel Fund fund, a veterans nonprofit based in Wake Forest. Brooke, welcome to the program.  Brooke Dickhart  03:41Thank you so much for having me.  Eoin Trainor  03:43To start, would you mind telling us a little bit about what the Joel Fund does? Brooke Dickhart  03:48Absolutely. So the Joel Fund helps connect veterans to their communities. We do this through three main programs, we have a resource connection where we will work one on one with veterans and their family members to connect them to the services that they're looking for. We have operation art, which is our art classes for veterans and their family members. And then operation furnish, which is a furniture program locally where we can find gently used donated items for veterans in need. Eoin Trainor  04:20And I've heard that you have a new program of expressive writing classes as part of Operation Art would you mind telling us a little bit about that? Brooke Dickhart  04:27Absolutely. So this program was something that I started in honor of my dad because I after he passed away I found sheets of yellow legal paper where he had tried to write his story and I figured if he had trouble doing it then others probably do also. And so we started working with a with an amazing local writer to develop a class we also worked with a couple of veterans from the Vietnam Veterans of America to develop this class and we launched it a little over a year ago. And it has been a very successful program for us. Eoin Trainor  05:07And how have the veterans and their families who have taken the course responded, did they find it helpful? Brooke Dickhart  05:13Absolutely. They even asked us to bring in a therapist for the class. So our classes, we often say that there it's community therapeutic arts, we're not offering art therapy, however, with writing that can trigger a lot of emotions and that sort of thing. And the veterans who helped us develop the curriculum, really wanted there to be a therapist, as the safety net in the class, so that if they were writing about their time in the service, that they could do it in a safe and secure environment. And so because of those things that we have in place, they have really loved the class and have been able to write freely and feel that they can do it safely. Eoin Trainor  05:59And you recently received grant support for the program, what does that enable you to do anything new?  Brooke Dickhart  06:05Yes, so we just recently, were selected from a national search to do a writing program at Walter Reed Medical Military or Military Medical Center out of Bethesda, Maryland, to bring our writing program to their employee wellness program. So we work with people who work in the hospital, some of them are veterans, they are all caregivers, because of the population that they serve. We've even had a couple active duty soldiers who called in from overseas, you know, the technology that we have with virtual, you know, conference calls, and that sort of thing has really been our silver lining story, because we can now reach more veterans and family members across the world because of this technology, it doesn't have to just be centered to our area. And that has enabled us to take our writing program and expand it and bring it to the people at Walter Reed, which is been amazing. Eoin Trainor  07:09Then what was the transition between Wake Forest and Walter Reed like? Was there any kind of new challenges that you encountered? Brooke Dickhart  07:16Oh, yes, for sure. It's a, it's a much different dynamic when you're offering a writing class for people who work together. And in the military, you know, there's a hierarchy hierarchy. So there's a lot of considerations that we did not anticipate that we've had to navigate but they have renewed our contract. And so we're working through all that with Walter Reed. And they're it's their program is called creative forces. Creative forces is art therapy that is offered, I think it's um, 10 sites across the country, on bases, and then at Walter Reed. And so we've been working with the with the folks at creative forces and Walter Reed to make sure that the program is just right for their for the students that we are getting from them. Eoin Trainor  08:06And then the instructor assigns writing prompts, what are these like? And can you give us some examples of what some of them have been? Brooke Dickhart  08:16So the the writing prompts vary every week, and every class and that is based on who's in the class, and you know, what's going on around us during the time. But one example that I can give you that was for this week was described in vivid language, someone you deeply cared for who served our country, and his, and who is no longer with us. So that was their writing prompt heading into Memorial Day weekend. Eoin Trainor  08:48And if you don't mind, telling viewers, what kind of stuff if you know, did some of the veterans write for that one? Brooke Dickhart  08:55That I haven't seen yet actually, they they will be working on it for Actually, today. They have class today. So I haven't seen the writing yet.  Eoin Trainor  09:05And, did COVID kind of create any unique mental health related challenges for the veterans in your programs? And did you have to adjust any of them at all? Brooke Dickhart  09:18Absolutely. In fact, it was a very scary time for us as an organization that serves veterans, so many of the veterans that we work with come to us as direct referrals from the rec therapy department at the VA. So a lot of them are working through some mental illness and isolation is not a great thing for that population. And so we had to pivot immediately and figure out how to continue to serve them. And because one aspect of our classes is creating this sense of community, and connecting veterans and family members with their peers, we knew we needed to continue to bring that same feeling to these men and women, it's not just a class, we often say that art is just the vehicle. They do leave our classes learning an amazing skill. And they are taught by extremely, very well trained individuals. But we also mentor our instructors on military culture and how to create this feeling of community. And so we had to work very hard to continue to create that online. Of course, it's not a perfect match, but it has still been very effective and before the holidays, there was a group in fact, it was one of our writing classes got together and had a zoom holiday party, one class dressed up at Halloween. So we've really been able to still create this, this feeling of community even though we are online. Eoin Trainor  09:46And are veterans in the course, they're able to kind of share and talk about their writing and their experiences, correct? Brooke Dickhart  10:57Yes, they do love to share it's it's a very intimate group. Usually we have around five students give or take, you know, one or two more, it depends on you know, the day or the time, but they, they will always they have the option to share if they don't personally want to share the instructor will share for them but there is there is under no circumstance are they required to share. One thing that we are going to be doing very soon is now that things are starting to open up and we're able to get together in person again, we are planning to do a reading where the people who are in our class can meet in person, those who are local, and invite family members and friends and they will read their stories that they have written. Such a big part of it is being able to share in all of our classes, whether it's photography, or drawing or painting, they really take some pride in being able to share what they've created with their family members. Eoin Trainor  12:00Thanks for coming on. Brooke Dickhart  12:02Thank you, I really appreciate the opportunity. Elizabeth Esser  12:09I'm Elizabeth Esser with WKNC 88.1 Eye on the Triangle. Joining us today is renowned neurosurgeon, author and speaker Dr. Paul Kaloostian. Dr. Kaloostian is a Board Certified neurosurgeon and the author of numerous books, including the young neurosurgeon, lessons from my patients, from the eyes of a doctor, and my surgical cases told in poems. He's here today to discuss stress and how it affects the brain functions of college students. Dr. Kaloostian, thank you for joining us today on Eye on the Triangle to get us started. What exactly is stress? And what's going on in our brains when we experience it? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  12:49Yeah, that's so that's the that's the million dollar question. So stress is a essentially state of being where your brain and and body communicate in a certain specific way based on the hormones and neurotransmitters that are secreted at that time. And so we've all experienced it, we've all experienced stress, we all really know what what it is because we've we've been through it we experience on a daily basis. And certainly college students experience it, you know, because of everything they're going through in school and others. So but it's but it's really a process that is really regulated by the brain itself. There are specific areas that do that. And these areas secrete hormones and neurotransmitters through our bloodstream that then make our other areas of our body realize, hmm, something's not right, I should feel a certain way, which is stress. So that's what really happens during that stressful moment, or moments of our lives. Elizabeth Esser  14:07And can stress have lasting effects on our brains and bodies? And if so, what does that look like? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  14:14Absolutely. And once again, you know, similar to what I just said before, we've all experienced it. We've had moments where, let's say we're in a particular situation and  we've been in that situation before. So our minds go back to that prior time or times where we've been in that situation. And that makes us nervous and stressed. You know, for example, public speaking, let's say you've, you gave a talk once and something bad happened. I don't know. Maybe someone laughed  at you or you said a word wrong or whatever. And so the next time or next few times after that, you can always remember that particular event where you had a tough time right? So that the the memory center of the brain the hippocampus, We call it is super important in this whole stress response. And so there are permanent features because obviously years later we remember these episodes way back early on in the past. And and so the brain really remembers what had happened in the past so certainly there are permanent aspects to it and there are actually genetic components to it. So stress can affect your actual DNA, believe it or not through a variety of responses, but often through repeated experiences of stress over time. The common thing is, let's say someone you know, a young child, you know, witnesses domestic violence between the parents or some multiple arguments between parents or others. If that happens, often, what has been found is that there's genetic alterations, so that that particular child really, experiences stress a different way, if they see that particular episode. And it's based on all these neurotransmitters that are secreted that affect proteins that are expressed on our surfaces of ourselves. So certainly, there are permanent aspects in many, many ways, as I just mentioned. Elizabeth Esser  16:17And college students undergo a lot of stress for a multitude of reasons. are college aged people differently affected by stress compared to other age groups? And if so, in what ways? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  16:30Well, I think everyone experiences stress differently. And I don't know if I would break it down by age. And I don't know if there are any specific studies that do that. But I think the, the process of experiencing stress in handling stress is really a human trait, meaning, it probably isn't going to be very, very different among all of us, we probably all feel somewhat similar in, in different situations, and how we react to that particular stressor in our life. But certainly, you know, I've done a lot of schooling to become a neurosurgeon, I've been in school for a long, long time, and then training for a long, long time. That comes with a lot of difficult times. I mean, there are a lot of great times to but there's a lot of difficult times, that certainly are stressful. And I remember studying for finals, midterm exams, just all of that, I mean, I'm so thankful that's over. But that certainly was tough. But you know, I want also your audience to know that stress can also be very good, there's, there's good stress, there's kind of a mediocre, or a medium level of stress. And then there's toxic stress. So there's, there's really a variety of different types of stress in the body. And so and I would say that, it's actually a very healthy thing to have some stress in our lives, because it, it actually motivates us to do things we likely wouldn't do if we didn't have this little push, or this little heart rate increase, you know, to get us doing these things. But But I think, you know, college students, they experience, a significant amount of stress. And I think that, you know, most colleges, most universities, have environments where, where students are able to really tap into to look for help to look for methods of de stressing, I think that's very valuable in, in the university setting. Certainly, you know, the places I've went, those those things were present and very helpful. But, but I think most of us experience stress quite similarly. Elizabeth Esser  19:09So like everyone, college students have experienced many new situations in the last year due to COVID. You know, we've switched from in person classes to online learning. And students have been, have experienced isolation due to social distancing, among other things. How have these changes maybe affected stress levels or mental health as a whole in students Dr. Paul Kaloostian  19:38Significantly increased these these issues. I mean, and I see it in many of my patients, I would say, almost daily. I can't tell you how many patients I see that that tell me about all the difficult times that they're going through since COVID. And actually, I think we've, we've we've coined a new phrase post COVID stress disorder, kinda like a post traumatic stress disorder, but it's a post COVID stress disorder, it's really becoming the kind of the new theme now, among medical providers and psychologists. And, I mean, just as you can imagine, Elizabeth, I mean, just just picture, you know, losing someone close to you, and you're not able to go to the hospital to see them. And they're not doing well, and some may pass, you know, just just that situation alone. Imagine that, you know, let's say someone closest to you, you know, how do you handle that, you know, you're just hearing them on the phone, you know, and, you know, and that's the, that's just one situation, imagine other types of situations during  COVID, where people have lost their jobs that, you know, literally companies have fallen under, and people have been fired, literally fired, lost their jobs. I know many people where that's happened to, and, and they have no income, no income source, they have kids, they have grandkids, they have mortgages, etc. Imagine that stress. There's so many, so many different situations, with COVID, where people weren't prepared. And, and how can you be, you know, this is something out of the blue and, and it has really dramatically, unfortunately, affected people's lives in such a negative way. And, but like I said, I think this this disorder is really very important nowadays, you know, for all providers, and psychologists seeing patients, even nurses, others, you're going to see this, that's probably going to be be seen in many, many patients for many years to come. It's a very significant problem. And it just is difficult to to really deal with just given the acuity of COVID how it happened just so quickly, so suddenly. And, and just the psychological component to, to dealing with all of these stresses all at once, I think is is compounding The, the the difficulty of really treating, treating this. So I think it's it's very valuable to really understand what's going on in people's lives, especially as providers to really try and help them best where we can. Elizabeth Esser  22:46Right? Well, absolutely. We've all gone through this very traumatic experience. So I guess, going off of that, we're now at this point where we're sort of transitioning back into normal life, you know, students are returning back to campus this coming semester. Do you have any tips on how students can cope with stress as we make this transition? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  23:15Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there are a lot of healthy ways to, to deal with with stress in your life. And I know there are a lot of studies identifying exercise as a very, very critical means of de stressing and, and I won't go into the specific mechanisms of why that that is so but but certainly, you can understand it through exercise, there's a better blood flow throughout the body, because the heart is not pumping stronger, and our muscles are all squeezing the blood back to the heart. And so there's more, there's more blood supply to important areas of our brain and heart and other parts of our body that that allow us to, to clear our minds to have that energy to think beyond the stress and to move forward towards solutions. So I think exercise is just so so invaluable. Sleeping is very critical. Most studies recommend probably about six hours of uninterrupted sleep a day. I think that is fair and valid. Sleep is essentially really the one of the only ways our body can recharge itself. And that's the way I think of sleep. I think of sleep as kind of like charging your phone or charging you know, whatever you need to charge. It's that means of recharging the system or rebooting the system. And during the course of it, a typical day for a college student and others that they can beat you down so to speak just with all the activities that occur both physically and psychologically, you get tired, you get beaten down, your brain is injured, your body's injured. And so that sleep is just so valuable for those six hours or so, to really help those areas of the brain and body just heal, so that it can then do the same thing the following day in a, in a safe way. So I think sleep is so critical. Obviously, counseling, there are and should be, at least at most universities, I'm sure North Carolina State that has methods of seeking help, psychologically, someone to just speak to perhaps a counselor or psychologist others. And I think that is great. I don't think there's any negative stigma attached to that, I think more people should do that. And, you know, we're all social beings, we all need communication needs social interaction. And so I think that's, that's crucial to be able to communicate with someone who's trained to, to help others deal with with tough situations, so that you can then, by speaking, work through those problems that have tangible solutions. I think those are some of the solutions that I would recommend. Elizabeth.  Elizabeth Esser  26:28Great. Thank you so much. And then I guess, finally, is there anything else that you'd like to add? Regarding the topic of stress and college students? what you're working on or anything else? Dr. Paul Kaloostian  26:40Well, you know, I am a writer. So I think writing, you know, would be a fantastic way of de stressing, it's one of the one of the reasons why I have kind of partook in, in, in writing is because it really enabled me to, to de stress. As you could imagine, I just see so many sick, sick patients, gunshot wounds to the head and assaults to the head and spine. And I have to fix this and, and after a while, after many, many 1000s of these cases, I needed to just have an outlet. So I think for me, poetry or in writing, were my methods of doing that. And it really was super helpful. So I would recommend that, you know, the students in college university. Right. And it could be anything could be short poems, like haikus, or it could be a memoir of what they've experienced in their life. I'm sure people would love to read about that. And I think through that, you can get these these emotions out of your system. And I think that'll help you be a little bit more calm and collected and able to tackle any of the next challenges that come your way. Elizabeth Esser  27:56Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Dr. Kaloostian. The work you do is so important, and it was truly a pleasure speaking with you.  Dr. Paul Kaloostian  28:03Pleasures all mine. Thank you. Eoin Trainor  28:09And that is it for this week's Eye on the Triangle. Thanks for tuning in. If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or like to get involved with the Eye on the Triangle team, shoot us an email at public affairs@wknc.org. We'd love to hear from you. Stay tuned for your regular programming. We'll see you next time.

If There Had Been No Resurrection Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. Clarence W. Hall By Pastor George Lehman On this Easter Sunday I want us to read from God's word from: I Corinthians 15 :12- 19 - Our sermon title: If there had been no Resurrection? I want to ask you a question before I read this scripture, Have you ever heard of a man named Harry Houdini? Many of you have. He died in October of 1926. But his claim to fame was that he was a magician that specialized in spectacular escapes. As a matter of fact, he was said to have laughed at locks, sneered at fetters. They said of Harry that he had the flexibility of an eel. He had the lives of a cat. They did all kinds of things to try to incarcerate him. They would seal him in coffins. He would escape. They riveted him into a boiler. He escaped. They sowed him up in canvas bags. He escaped. They locked him in a milk can. He escaped. They sealed him in a beer barrel. He escaped. They put him in maximum-security prison. And old Harry somehow got out. But then in October 1926, death laid his hands on Harry Houdini and they put him in a grave and he is yet to escape. As a matter of fact, he told his wife, if there is any way out, I will find it. If there is any way out, I'll make contact with you and we'll do it on the anniversary of my death. For 10 years she kept a light burning over his portrait. At the end of 10 years, she turned out the light. Death had Harry and he could not escape. Death laid his hands on the Lord Jesus Christ also. And death put Jesus in a rock-hollowed out tomb. And there was a stone in the mouth of that tomb and the seal of the Roman government was placed upon that tomb. But on the third day, Jesus Christ stirred himself. He rose from the sleep of death. And he left those grave clothes that were wrapped around him like a butterfly would forsake a cocoon. And Jesus Christ passed through the walls of that rock- hollowed out tomb. By the way, the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. It was rolled away to let the disciples in to see that Jesus had come back. Jesus Christ is alive. He is not behind us in a tomb. He is before us on a throne. We thank God for that. But I want to ask you a question. Suppose that had not happened. Suppose death still held Jesus like it does Harry Houdini Then what? Suppose there had been no Resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:12 -19 (NIV) – 12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For the dead are not raised, then Christ has not be raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Now the apostle Paul mentions a thing so unthinkable, and it’s this, suppose there had been no Resurrection. Suppose Jesus Christ is still in that grave. Paul says, our preaching is useless: verse 14, ''And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless* and so is our faith'' The word useless means empty, futile, with no purpose, a colossal waste of time, if there is no resurrection, you and I are wasting our time by watching this message. I'm wasting my time by preaching and you are wasting yours by   listening, we all ought to do something else. Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” But if you don't believe that God raised him from the dead then your faith is foolish, and you won’t be saved. You see, this is the difference between Jesus Christ and the other religions. They lived, they died, they are dead. Jesus lived, he died, and he rose again. Friend, there is no need to follow a loser. Jesus has escaped death. And the Bible said it in Romans 1:4, ''He is shown to be the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.'' How do I know he is the Son of God? How do I know that he can save me? How do I know the Bible is true? How do I know the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ? I'll tell you how. God brought him from the dead and that was God's stamp of approval on all that he said and did and taught. He was shown to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. We do not serve a dead Saviour. A dead Saviour is nobody's Saviour. A little boy was in the classroom and the teacher gave this assignment, write an essay on the world's greatest living man. Some wrote about the president. Others wrote about members of Congress. Some wrote about people in the entertainment world. Some wrote about people in the sports world. Some wrote about scientists and philosophers. But one little boy, wrote about Jesus Christ, an essay on Jesus Christ. When the teacher received the paper she said, ''Son, that's a nice paper, but you misunderstood the assignment. I said the world's greatest living man.'' He said, ''But teacher, he is alive.'' He is alive. We don't serve a dead Saviour. That he died for you is not important unless he also rose from the dead, which was the stamp of approval and authenticity upon the full payment for your sins. No resurrection, no Saviour. No Saviour, no forgiveness. No forgiveness, no justification. No justification, no cleansing. No cleansing, the penalty of your sin is upon us. Notice 1 Corinthians 15:20a - ''But now is Christ risen from the dead…” And because he is, preaching is profitable, faith is feasible, the disciples are dependable, sin is subdued, death is defeated, and the future is fabulous because Christ has been raised from the dead. He has taken the sting out of sin. He has taken the gloom out of the grave. He has taken the dread out of death and he has given to us a hope that is steadfast and sure. ''Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justified, freely forever. One day He's coming, oh glorious day.'' Thank God that we're no longer in our sins because we have a risen Saviour who has paid the price for our sins Romans 8:11(NIV) – And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.   1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV) – 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday The Liturgy of the Word The Collect: Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a 4 The Lord God has given me    the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain    the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens—    wakens my ear    to listen as those who are taught.  5 The Lord God has opened my ear,    and I was not rebellious,    I did not turn backwards.  6 I gave my back to those who struck me,    and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face    from insult and spitting.  7 The Lord God helps me;    therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint,    and I know that I shall not be put to shame;  8   he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me?    Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries?    Let them confront me.  9 It is the Lord God who helps me;    who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment;    the moth will eat them up.  Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16 9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; *        my eye is consumed with sorrow,        and also my throat and my belly. 10 For my life is wasted with grief,    and my years with sighing; *        my strength fails me because of affliction,        and my bones are consumed. 11 I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbors,                                    a dismay to those of my acquaintance; *        when they see me in the street they avoid me. 12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; *        I am as useless as a broken pot. 13 For I have heard the whispering of the crowd;    fear is all around; *        they put their heads together against me;        they plot to take my life. 14 But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. *         I have said, “You are my God. 15 My times are in your hand; *        rescue me from the hand of my enemies,        and from those who persecute me. 16 Make your face to shine upon your servant, *        and in your loving-kindness save me.” Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,  6 who, though he was in the form of God,    did not regard equality with God    as something to be exploited,  7 but emptied himself,    taking the form of a slave,    being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  8   he humbled himself    and became obedient to the point of death—    even death on a cross.  9 Therefore God also highly exalted him    and gave him the name    that is above every name,  10 so that at the name of Jesus    every knee should bend,    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11 and every tongue should confess    that Jesus Christ is Lord,    to the glory of God the Father.  Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39, 40-47 1It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; 2for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.' 3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. 4But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.' And they scolded her. 6But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. 8She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.' 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.  12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?' 13So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” 15He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.' 16So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 17 When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.' 19They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?' 20He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. 21For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.' 22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.' 23Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.' 26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.27And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd,    and the sheep will be scattered.”  28But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.' 29Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.' 30Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.' 31But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And all of them said the same. 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.' 33He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.' 35And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.' 37He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.' 43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.' 45So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!' and kissed him. 46Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.'50All of them deserted him and fled. 51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked. 53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. 56For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” ' 59But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?' 61But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?' 62Jesus said, ‘I am; and “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power”, and “coming with the clouds of heaven.” '  63Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? 64You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?' All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!' The guards also took him over and beat him. 66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.'68But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.' And he went out into the forecourt.* Then the cock crowed.* 69And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.' 70But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.' 71But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.' 72At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.' And he broke down and wept. 15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?' He answered him, ‘You say so.' 3Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.' 5But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. 6 Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.9Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?' 10For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?' 13They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!' 14Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?' But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!' 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. 16 Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.17And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!' 19They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. 20After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.' 27And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.*29Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30save yourself, and come down from the cross!' 31In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.' Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. 33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' 35When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.' 36And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.' 37Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God's Son!'* 40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. 42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.44Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.45When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. The Liturgy of the Palms Gospel: Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16 1When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ' 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?' 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna!    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  10   Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!' 11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. or 12The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—    the King of Israel!'  14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:  15 ‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming,    sitting on a donkey's colt!'  16His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *        his mercy endures for ever. 2 Let Israel now proclaim, *       “His mercy endures for ever.” 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *        I will enter them;        I will offer thanks to the Lord. 20 “This is the gate of the Lord; *        he who is righteous may enter.” 21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *        and have become my salvation. 22 The same stone which the builders rejected *        has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing, *        and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 On this day the Lord has acted; *        we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! *        Lord, send us now success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *        we bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *        form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar. 28 “You are my God, and I will thank you; *        you are my God, and I will exalt you.” 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *        his mercy endures for ever.

16You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks. 17And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. […]

62 In this episode, I remind everyone about one of the anchor scriptures for our podcast in Mark 5:36As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."Go to our website to hear all the episodes in this series.Spiritual Warfare The Armor of GodNotice Jesus didn't let any time go for the words to "sink in" to the father of the little girl. You must be prepared to stand and let the word of God work. Your job, no fear, only believe. (sounds like the beginning of a terrific podcast :-)The story in the Old Testament God reminded me of in the Old Testament is found in 2 Chronicles 20:15-17And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."God told King Jehoshaphat He would do all of the work. Their job was not to fear or be dismayed, only believe and put their belief into action.Notice what happened next, Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, and they worshipped the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:18)2 Chronicles 20:20-25So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:"Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever."Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.God took care of the enemy, and all that was left was to bring in the "spoil." and one final observation, there was so much spoil that it took them all three days to gather it all in.The lesson today is to stand. Stand therefore.

Fourth Sunday - Our God Is AbleReadings today are:2 Corinthians 9:8Romans 10:17AND... any verses that speak to your heart today! Read them and memorize them!

26 In this episode, I begin to discuss the concept of spirit, soul, and body. Adam and Eve were perfect when God created them, and they were one person with three distinct parts.God gave Adam one rule do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.Genesis 2:16,17And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."You know the story, Eve was deceived by the talking snake, but Adam sinned.As soon as Adam bit the fruit, he went from spirit lead to being spirit dead.1 Thessalonians 5:23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.John 4:24"God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."Genesis 3:14,15So the Lord God said to the serpent; Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all of the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.In the whole chapter of Genesis one, God spoke everything into existence, and then God said the word and gave His dominion to man. Once He spoke the word, He gave Adam control over all of the earth.God no longer had dominion over the earth; dominion belonged to Adam (and his descendants).There are many things God designed with three parts.(Since God is three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)I further illustrated Adam and Eve were Three parts: spirit, soul, and body.You can see water in three different "states" gas (steam), liquid (water), and solid (ice).Something in Adam had to die when he ate the fruit, but it wasn't his body or his mind because the Bible says, in Genesis 3:7,10Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.Notice Adam "knew" (his mind) his "body" was naked, and he was "afraid" and hid (his body) from God. Using the elimination process, you will discover Adam and Eve's spirit died when they ate of the fruit.I will pick up this lesson in the next episode. Thank you for listening.

ALTAR DAY "My One Word" 2 Kings 13:14-20 WHAT IS A “ONE WORD” ALTAR? I. THE ARROW THAT PREDICTS MY FUTURE. The best way to predict your future is to create it. 2 Kings 13:14-17When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you shall defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” The Predictive Principles Of “My One Word.”#1: Do SOMETHING About ONE THING Instead Of NOTHING About Everything. #2: My One Word is a LENS through which you will SEE, not a PROMISE which you must keep.#3: Keep Your “Word From God” In FRONT of you so you won’t FORGET God’s Voice.#4: Every Story Of Transformation Begins With A Word From God.“My One Word” is the point at which LOGOS becomes RHEMAH in your life. II. THE POINT I KEEP STRIKING THE GROUND. ( “Complete Victory”) 2 Kings 13:18-20Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.” 20And Elisha died, and they buried him. THE BEAUTY OF ONE WORD! A Single Word Can Reveal The Voice Of God. | A Single Word Focuses On Your Inner Character.III. THE PLOW AND OXEN I BURN. (Cortez, Point Of Plow?) 1 Kings 19:19, 21So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. 21So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

New Habits For Old Fruitcakes.Luke 2:1-8Hope Delivered Directly From God. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10“Hope is believing that the future will be better than the past” | “Your hopelessness about the problem is a bigger problem than the problem”Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans15:13Believing is a Door that leads to hope.Answers Today For My Real Needs.11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11Jesus + Nothing = Everything | Jesus + Anything = NothingBreakthrough Birth From An Unknown, Unexpected, And Unrecognized Source.12And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.FOUR KINDS OF PLACES THAT RESTORE SPIRITUAL PASSION:1. The Sanctuary: Psalm 73:16, 17 “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” 2. The Night Room: Psalm 63:6 - 7 “On my bed I remember You: I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.” 3. The Protective Wings: Psalm 57:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” 4. The Strong Hands: Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:15,16“The opportunity of a lifetime needs to be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.”― Leonard Ravenhill Transformation Takes Time And Takes Off.17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:17, 20Making Known Makes Glory. | , Be a Linus - https://youtu.be/OJ8qjdxxzzE Peanuts Christmas. -DROP YOUR BLANKET!

Luke 11Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.23When his time of service was completed, he returned home.24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/reformedeve/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedeve/support

Announcer 0:01Welcome to CareerXroads Uncorked a series of member chats inspired by good drinks and current talent acquisition trends your hosts Chris Hoyt and Gerry Crispin breakdown today's recruiting headlines while reviewing a selected beverage of choice with industry leaders and influencers join us for a drink and conversation. Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 0:22Social media as such, Facebook says we just want to remind me to remind you of things that you were doing this time last year and it's like yeah, wonderful in the in the COVID era you're sending me pictures of when we were out and Sonoma Chris Hoyt 0:35Thanks for rubbing it in that I'm not out at the vineyards thanks for rubbing it in that I'm not in London or Paris or Japan. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 0:44Yeah, and to add insult to injury This is my wife and I was five year wedding anniversary, which also got got bashed a bit by by COVID Gerry Crispin 0:53Bummer Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 0:54We're on the right run a rain rain check. Chris Hoyt 0:57Oh man, Gerry Crispin 0:57Sorry I am a little bit late. I just thought I would join you by telling you I've got Walt Chris Hoyt 1:04Awesome awesome. I couldn't get Walt Gerry Crispin 1:08And you got right could not get Rex. Is that gonna Walt too? Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 1:13Yeah, no, I got you. Yeah, I got Walt, I got Walt Chris Hoyt 1:16I do not I am the outlier today. I could have ironically I am near Sonoma could not get Walt. But I have abear Gary Farrell which is a Sonoma County. Pino 2017. Well ranked. So now I'm pouring it. We waited for you. Gerry doesn't even wait look at him Gerry Crispin 1:36I, I was on talent net. And I had to manage a conversation about I don't know some bullshit. And but it was good. It was a good conversation. And then I said, You know, I gotta leave. And I had already opened the bottle. Chris Hoyt 1:52Well, let me can I want to call this out before we did a little toast. Oh, so hold your glass up. Look at your glass. These are called COVID pours? Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:01Yes. Chris Hoyt 2:04We never poured wine this heavy when we were before COVID. Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:08Some of us may have? Gerry Crispin 2:10Yeah, well, maybe. Maybe. Chris Hoyt 2:13I'm very concerned Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:14I do think that it's grown. Chris Hoyt 2:16Yeah, sure. We get back to the bars. And some we're gonna order a drink and it's gonna come out. It's gonna be a tiny little what we're used to. It's gonna be like, we'll have to order triples in order to get.. Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:25No it'll probably be quadruples because they'll be they'll be trying to make make up for lost time. So therefore, it will be smaller than they would have been. Chris Hoyt 2:33All I 'm sayin is save me a trip. I'm just filling up and save me a trip. Well, Cheers, guys. Cheers. Gerry Crispin 2:39Cheers to you. How are you Walt? Well, I mean, not Walt Chris Hoyt 2:45Like a bottle. Gerry. Admit it. Gerry Crispin 2:46I know. I know. Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:47Yeah. Gerry Crispin 2:49How's Elanco doing? Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 2:50We're doing we're doing well. We're doing we're doing busy, which is normal for us. We've had a busy busy busy several years. But but we're doing well. Gerry Crispin 3:00Who do we see? Who do we see earlier this week for briefly? Oh, Shannon and I had a meet a we obviously we do two or three meetings a week. At least. We have one on critical. And Tom referenced you? Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 3:16Yep. my campus is there. Gerry Crispin 3:17And we had a nice conversation about universal relations and some of the issues that we see our members doing in 2021. And I think he was appreciative of it. So is it was useful? Curtis Dorsey, Elanco 3:31Yeah. Yeah. Now we are we are we are definitely, you know, having come off of an IPO then lots of work day, then, you know, major acquisition, you know,

SONGS: Always - Milagro Band Everlasting Night - Martin Cantu & Juan Rios Pray With Me - Martin Cantu & Juan Rios   PROTECT YOUR HEART! @ 13:12 PROV 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Above all keeping) Guard, Protect, Watch, Keep 1408 נצר (nṣr) II. Assumed root of the following. 1408a נֵצֶר (nēṣer) branch, shoot, sprout. This noun, coming from an Arabic root meaning  “to be fresh, bright, grown green,” appears only four times. Proverbs 4:23 CSB  “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”   What Defiles a Person MARK 7 14And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”e 17And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”f (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”   Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.   Matthew 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.   Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.   Mark 7:21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,   Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.   Deuteronomy 4:9 Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

BUY THE GO CREATOR GO BOOK & JOURNAL:www.antoinebeane.comhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GV2DK1Vhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GVJ6MP5FOLLOW GO CREATOR GO & TRIUMPH MEDIAWORKS:Facebook & IG: @gogreatorgo & @triumphmediaworksTwitter: @gcreatorgwww.triumphmediaworks.com___________________________________SCRIPTURES CONCERNING IDENTIGenesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.Jeremiah 1:5Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.1 Corinthians 1:30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.1 Corinthians 12:27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.1 Corinthians 6:17But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.1 John 3:1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.1 Samuel 12:22For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.Colossians 2:10And you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.Colossians 3:12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.Ephesians 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.Ephesians 1:11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.Ephesians 1:13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.Ephesians 1:4Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.Ephesians 1:5He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.Ephesians 1:7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.Ephesians 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.Ephesians 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.Ephesians 2:19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.Ephesians 2:6And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.Ephesians 2:8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.Ephesians 4:24And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.Ephesians 5:8For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.Galatians 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.Isaiah 43:1But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”Isaiah 49:16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.Isaiah 64:8But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.John 1:12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.John 15:16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.John 15:5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.Matthew 5:48You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.Matthew 6:26Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?Philippians 3:20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,Philippians 4:19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.Psalm 100:3Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.Psalm 139:14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.Romans 6:6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.Romans 8:15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”Romans 8:17And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

It's surely going to be another excellent sub-series in our ongoing season 15, the Coming Glory. We talk Judgement, where we should and should not judge. Be expectant. Thank You Jesus Matthew 18:15-17 15Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Dealing with Doubt By Louie Marsh, 11-8-2020   Introduction: 4 pictures then…   2 out of every 3 Christians admit to experiencing a season of spiritual doubt. More than a quarter of Christ-followers still find themselves doubting. The most common response to spiritual doubt? Quit attending church (46%)   Look around you this morning. 1 out of every 4 people you see is struggling with spiritual doubt – right now.   1) Doubt is a fairly COMMON experience.   “17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:17, ESV)   What is doubt?   Faith -  Committed to affirming something is true   Unbelief – Committed to denying something is true   Doubt – No commitment because I’m not sure.   Doubt is being UNSURE about something.       Jesus didn’t CONDEMN believes who had doubts.   “27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”” (John 20:27, ESV)   2) I need to recognize and deal with it IMMEDIATELY.   “6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6, ESV)   “26Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26–27, ESV)   “23So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23–24, ESV)   3) You deal with doubt by RUNNING TOWARDS God, not away from Him!   “Wrong Way” Riegels   On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA. Midway through the second quarter, Riegels, who played center on both offensive and defensive lines and who was then playing in a role similar to that of the modern defensive nose guard or nose tackle, picked up a fumble by Tech's Jack "Stumpy" Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Yellow Jackets' end zone, Riegels was somehow turned around and ran 69 yards in the wrong direction. The following describes what transpired from Riegels perspective:   I was running toward the sidelines when I picked up the ball," Riegels told The Associated Press. "I started to turn to my left toward Tech's goal. Somebody shoved me and I bounded right off into a tackler. In pivoting to get away from him, I completely lost my bearings.” — Roy Riegels   “22And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”” (Mark 9:22–25, ESV)   “15but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV)    

Matthew 19:16-26 The Rich Young Man 16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do tohaveeternal life?17And he said to him,Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.If you would enter life, keep the commandments.18He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said,You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,19Honor your father and mother, and,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.20The young man said to him,All these I have kept. What do I still lack?21Jesus said to him,If you would beperfect, go,sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will havetreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus said to his disciples,Truly, I say to you,only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enterthe kingdom of God.25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved?26But Jesuslooked at them and said,With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Disciple Up # 184 When Your Side Loses By Louie Marsh, 11-4-2020   Intro:  Another show I'd rather not do but feel it's needed. For the first time in my life I'm actually worried that no matter what happens in the election tomorrow (I'm recording this on Monday November 2nd 2020) that the United States might not stay united. That's BAD!   Two kinds of people after an election – winners and LOSERS!!  It's not fun to be a LOSER! So how do we handle losing, especially when we think it was critical that we win? That's what I want to talk about.   Note: I'm discussing the aftermath of an election; not the election itself and I will not be making any political statements myself. Yes I voted. Who did I vote for? None of your business! Thank God for the secret ballot. It lets me minister to everyone no matter what side they are on!   To understand the Christian view of this issue you have to understand what the sovereignty of God is and how He works His will in this world. You also have to understand the real focus of the Christian life is supposed to be and then you have to learn to cling to that focus and not be pulled off of it.   THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD   “11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,” (Ephesians 1:11, ESV)   “28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28–30, ESV)   “29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29–31, ESV)   “16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16–17, ESV)   “7I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things. 8“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it. 9“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?' or ‘Your work has no handles'?” (Isaiah 45:7–9, ESV)   “33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33, ESV)   “2“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, ESV)   “37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? 38Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? 39Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:37–39, ESV)   “27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27–28, ESV)   “4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love” (Ephesians 1:4, ESV)   “1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,” (Romans 13:1–3, ESV)   HOW TO REACT TO LOSING! 1) Look at my problems from a KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE. 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1:12-14 (ESV) My Natural Perspective On Life: I ME MINE   A Kingdom Perspective: God's Kingdom, Others, Myself   Trouble reveals the true condition of  MY HEART.   13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 14 Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:13-14 (ESV) Discipleship       2) Put other's salvation ahead of MY COMFORT. 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, Philippians 1:12-18 (ESV) 3) Always keep God's work in my life ROOTED IN THE GOSPEL. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:18-20 (ESV) 4) Make Jesus the very REASON I LIVE. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 (ESV) Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I'll have even more. Philippians 1:21 (GW) 5) Move forward by SERVING & SACRIFICING for others. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Philippians 1:22-26 (ESV) This shows my love for them & Christ. I can bring authentic joy into their lives

FAITH WORDS The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. John 6:63 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17Luke 1:5-20 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. All Say… Identity = Believe about SelfFaith Words or Fear Words. Victim Words or Victory Words. | “Fear Is Present Where Faith Is Absent.” | “Fear Vocalized Has The Power To Immobilize.” | For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Romans 14:23 ESV8Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”“My Description Is Not My Destiny” Thoughts create Words, But words also create thoughts. You live in a house of thoughts.“If you want to change your life, you have to change your confession.”Faith words are like a verbal crowbar used to generate faith leverage. Logos: General Biblical Word Of God Rhema: The word the Holy Spirit quickens to a specific person for a specific situation.Not Afraid, Prayer Heard, Call Him, Joy & Delight, Rejoice, Great, Filled, Bring Back, Go On, Spirit & Power, Turn Hearts, Make Ready, Prepared For The Lord.I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13When You Say What God Says About You, You Activate What He Put On The Inside. Faith Gives You The Ability To Do What God Has Called You To Do. Faith Words Agree With Your Identity.19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak

PROPHECY HOUR: YESHUA THE SEASON OF OUR JOY Pastor Dan and Linda Catlin www.prophecyhour.com (Zechariah 14:16–21) 16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. Please visit www.prophecyhour.com Also https://www.facebook.com/WichitaMissionChurch/ and http://wichitahomeless.com/

Come on in and check out this interview with the Clicks and Mortar Queen Donnalynn Riley. Donna tells an amazing story of how she went from being the CEO of a retail chain to becoming a Spiritual Coach who is helping entrepreneurs bring ALL of who they are to their businesses. Connect with Donnalynn here at her site: https://www.donnalynnriley.com/ Also, Donnalynn has a 5 Day Masterclass you can sign up for in order: Get Out Of Your Head, Embrace Your Imperfections & Get On Track With Your Business! https://www.donnalynnriley.com/5dc-reg brandon handley00:02All right, 54321 Hey there, spiritual dope. I'm on today with Donna Lynn Riley, who is a licensed spiritual health coach who helps people develop evolve and grow. 00:17The answers they find that their journey, bring them to a new level clarity and emotional adjustment to help them develop their expertise in business systems management and marketing. 00:25And addition to her 12 years as a licensed coach her background is the CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation. 00:31informs her ability to help her clients navigate the inner workings of business systems Operations Management and Marketing so they can successfully put it all together themselves. 00:42I'm going to cut it down because that, that's great. And I'm so excited because, as we're going back and forth a little bit here earlier. This is exactly what this podcast is about. So thank you for joining me today. Donnalynn Riley00:53Oh, it's my pleasure. It's great what you're doing. It's great that you're talking about this. It's really good. brandon handley00:58Thank you. Thank you. So you mentioned that you'd call it a couple of podcasts. So what I always like to say is you know you're here today. We're using this podcast as a vehicle to send somebody out there a message, what is it that they need to hear this coming through you today. Donnalynn Riley01:17Well, I always think people need to know that life can be a lot easier than we're making it. I think that that's a place where 01:29Almost invariably people don't believe that. Right. They just go like, nah, couldn't be that I got to work harder. I gotta do more. I gotta you know think more 01:43I have to put out more effort. It's got a cost more. There's got to be a big, you know, emotional or financial cost to the things that I want in life and really 01:54Life can be so much easier than we make it. And I think that that's the benefit of of this approach of a spiritual practice that supports. 02:06Business life and certainly family life, when I know lots of coaches who do that as well. And, you know, really kind of make it better, just make your life better. brandon handley02:16Yeah, no, absolutely. So the idea is that life doesn't have to be so hard. Donnalynn Riley02:21Really doesn't brandon handley02:23And and also throw out there. I think in the first person that I know that's worked on Broadway. Right. And this is this is a story that you tell 02:30In one of your one of your videos right and helping once you tell people use that story real quick here right now. I love that story about just what you said there. 02:41Do you remember so so I'll take it away. So you were around 19 your brothers like 10 years old or new 02:47Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah 02:50Yeah yeah Donnalynn Riley02:50Okay, okay. I gotcha. Sorry about that. 02:54I was like I was there a long time. I don't know. brandon handley02:58Just getting into it right and 02:59How easy how easy sometimes 03:01For you. Donnalynn Riley03:01Yeah. So what I love about that is that, um, so. Okay, so let me let me kind of lay it out here so I'm like 19 years old I 03:11You know, I'm just out the gate. Right. But I'm 10 foot tall and bulletproof because so was everybody when you're 19 brandon handley03:18Right. Yeah, absolutely. Donnalynn Riley03:19And so when you're not very dinged up 03:22You know, you just think like everything's okay and it's going to work out for me and I kind of lived my life like that really clearly I wanted, and I got things I wanted them and they lined up. 03:35So, um, I found myself on on Broadway, which I totally expected right because I wanted it. So, and I didn't know any better, and 03:46And my brother who's 10 years older than I am. He, he knew better. And he is a he is still actually a scenic artist. And so I was a sound designer. He was a scenic artist and 04:01He was working down the block. So I was working on Angels in America, and he was working on City of Angels, which I love that. But there were all these angel references. That's kind of brandon handley04:14Sure, yeah. Donnalynn Riley04:15And. And he said, Oh, let's, um, he was like down the block. And I hadn't seen him in months. It wasn't like, you know, we were spending Sunday night dinners together or something. 04:24And he said, Let's go for lunch. And I was like, yeah, this is great. Yeah, owning the town, you know, in my, in my own head, right. 04:32Sure. And he said, you, you. He's walking me to the to the place to get something to eat and 04:40He said, You just don't have any idea what it costs to get here. You don't have any idea what these people around you have had to do to get where they want to go and in typical sort of 19 year old fashion. I thought, nope. brandon handley04:59Right. Donnalynn Riley04:59I don't care. 05:00Sure, you know, really, for me, I realized that it is a story that's centered around entitlement. Right, so it's not very popular this moment, but 05:10Being able to see yourself. 05:13In the position that you want to be to be able to know that these are things that can happen for you as well as somebody else because 05:24You put the work in and you are talented and you did you know you met the right people and you were in the right place and you took the all the steps to get there. brandon handley05:32Right. Donnalynn Riley05:33There by choice. You don't get to be on Broadway. If you suck. 05:37You do not need. All right. 05:39All right, but they send you home. brandon handley05:42Well, you know, I think. 05:43I think that um I love how you're hitting on entitlement in this insane and in this way because why should it not 05:53Backup people like people bash millennials for kind of having like that kind of entitlement thing. Right. Well, what I admire about that, you know, I think that they would say you got Moxie kid right like kinda back in, but 06:07You know what you want and you're not settling for something that you don't. So is that entitlement, or is that knowing your worth. Donnalynn Riley06:17Right. It's really tricky. It's really tricky and it is a lot about alignment and I've been fortunate to hear you talk about alignment on the podcast previously and 06:28It's a really crucial step in that process. So, 06:34Of course, if we want to get kind of 06:37Cultural about it, then we can we can sort of back it up a little and say, Well, some people have a lot of things that support the belief already in their lives when they're born, and when they're, you know, one and two and three and so it, it becomes 06:55There becomes a divide, but it's a divide in belief. brandon handley07:00100% Donnalynn Riley07:00You know, so it's a it is a really tricky thing. And the important thing for me in the work that I do with people. 07:09Is to whether you've ever experienced that belief or not before is to help you to find that belief because without it is very, very, very difficult to get where you want to go. I, I know people who have done it. It's like they kind of stumbled into their success and that's okay. brandon handley07:25That's true, but it's not very reliable. Donnalynn Riley07:29And so, you know, doing the inner work to create a system of belief for yourself so that 07:36It doesn't sound crazy that you're going to have a successful business or that you're going to get a client that you want to or that you're going to get employees that work out well for you and things like that. I'm doing that inner work makes 07:51All the outer stuff kind of 07:52Line up real quick, like the story I just told where I went from two years or three years I spent in sound design, we're learning from the best in the business. I was already learning from the people who were there, right. 08:06And and and and so I was able to do that very quickly, where a lot of my classmates in college got there 1015 years later, and they worked a lot harder for something because they didn't believe 08:23They didn't know 08:23They thought, oh, I have to go out and do something else first brandon handley08:27Right. We listen, even me today, right now with this podcast. I love it so much. I want to put this, I want to put this 08:36Nice polish on, I want to make it feel so good. I want it to be inviting you know 08:40That, you know, and this isn't wrong to hire somebody in marketing, but I like I really want these pieces I wanted to look so I want it to be so accepted because it's so 08:48meaningful to me right so I'm putting these blocks in 08:53For myself, right. I'm just putting these. Oh, I gotta do this like nothing can happen until this happens and all these other things and and literally that is in my own mind, nobody else's. I mean, nobody nobody else cares. That's just me. Right. 09:07Right. So when you're out there. 09:11And your clientele and and you're working I do they seek you out for one or the other, do you introduce like you know 09:20To the business pressure, like, well, if you just loop in some spirituality, then this might be better for you, like, tell me a little bit how this process of working with you, looks Donnalynn Riley09:30Yeah, so I kind of stand between that space right I stand between entrepreneurs and small business people who are 09:40That's what they do. That's what they've learned. They have a strong background or they have a strong desire but they don't necessarily have any spiritual practice at all. 09:49And I sort of stand between that and the people who are very spiritually open but can't figure out how to turn the computer on right 09:59And rent like can't figure out the details of, like, how do I charge people. And why would they pay me and 10:06These kinds of like nuanced things that, of course, they have a lot of talent and they have a lot of 10:13Value in the world, but so I do kind of stand in between those two spaces, I would say that for the most part, most of the people that I work with are 10:26Are on the business side but are open. brandon handley10:30Okay. 10:31Because okay you can Donnalynn Riley10:32Sort of insert and this is not you know there are a lot of really involved spiritual practices. 10:39And they have value that is beyond what I'm about to express right so this is not to disparage any spiritual practices. I think they all have a lot of value and 10:51But you can in a very short period of time with with not a ton of work right. You don't have to go and study with the monks for 18 years right with with putting a practice into your life. You can attain a lot of result and a lot of ease in your life. 11:12A lot less frustration, a lot of movement forward right so you can start to assess your situation better and access yourself in moments that are stressful better and all of these things lead to better businesses. 11:30But aren't always they're not really taught too often. brandon handley11:35I mean, if you have the capability to kind of calm yourself down in the moment, or just realize what you're about to say or 11:43If you're feeling tense right so what I'm hearing you say is like you're giving them some of these tools to to really kind of ease into themselves and what they're about. Donnalynn Riley11:51Yeah, there's bigger work that we do in order to make lasting change. And that really happens inside one on one trainings that I do or or inside group work that I do with people, but 12:08There are so many little what we would call hacks right there, little, like, oh, if I do this, I feel a little better. 12:16Right. And those are emergency hacks, you know, and they're really useful. They're a great way to get started. I think because 12:26Getting a little relief reminds you that you're probably going to get more relief. If you keep going in that direction. And I think that's a great place to start, particularly for people who are 12:41Who don't have a strong spiritual background but know that like there's something going on in my mind set or those kinds of words are being used a lot recently. Right. brandon handley12:51Right I yeah for sure. For sure. Right. Well, I mean, it's funny because, you know, I think I started off in the mindset space right but now in this 13:01Next level space right where you do this practice, like you said, For doesn't have to be 18 years but you do it repeatedly and you start with like the mindset. You start with the small pieces and 13:13You keep just kind of growing into these other spaces and these other practices that are available to and sooner or later you like I guess they were all right. Donnalynn Riley13:26I love that. Right. brandon handley13:30Right. 13:31Right. So, I mean, I guess you know there's something in those things and what they're saying and what they're doing. 13:37But, you know, so what what led you into this pace yourself. Donnalynn Riley13:43Well, 13:45You know, that's a good question. I, when I look back at my life. I see all these moments like the one that I just described when I'm like very young. 13:54That fit into this kind of way of thinking and this way of being. But I was really pretty unaware of myself and my spirituality until actually my husband got a life threatening disease. 14:15And or problem he got a tumor in his brain cavity. 14:20And he when he was very young. He spent a lot of time in hospitals. And so we went to the first doctor and it was a big emergency and he said, I'm getting a second opinion. And then we went to the next doctor who you know we we finagle their way into the good doctors and all of that and 14:43We went and he described it. And he said, Oh yeah, you have a little time because I'm very good at this. But, you know, you got to get in here in the next month or something. So it was no longer like a huge emergency we have little time. 14:56Sure, and 14:59We were driving home. It was in New York City. We live in Massachusetts. It was a long drive home. We were driving home and my husband said to me. 15:06Yeah, no, I'm not. I'm not doing that I'm not doing that. I don't know what we're going to do, but I think you should find me another solution because I don't, I'm not going to do that. 15:17And that being that you just that just have him for you have been for me. I was like, oh, 15:23Wow, okay. That should be my job. 15:25Okay. Donnalynn Riley15:29No question. 15:31In fairness, I'm sure he was very overwhelmed in that moment. brandon handley15:35Right out Donnalynn Riley15:36Here and and so that was the beginning. That was the kickoff for me to really 15:45Take a look at what is possible. So, and be completely outside the box. Yeah. So once I sort of had to be completely outside the box. Then the possibilities became very, very different. 16:00So it kicked off a series of involvements with people who could help his health and who could do it in very untraditional ways 16:11And also, who required of both of us that we change drastically that we, the concept that we had gotten ourselves into this mess, and that we were going to get ourselves out of this mess was not one that I heard in the doctor's office. 16:31Was and it was really clear and so 16:34And within 16:37A few months, we were both licensed spiritual health coaches, we probably took, I don't know, six months, nine months, something like that for that process and we said, Okay, this is this, we're leaning in because we are not going where that other train was going 16:59Okay, so. So that's really the beginning of when I became a much, much more aware of myself of my thoughts of my 17:09Relationship to the world of my discomfort that I had become just completely accepting of right I had just said, Oh, well that's the way life is, you know and and really be in that awareness, I found new answers. brandon handley17:28So, um, you know what, I guess the one thing is right when you're we're 19 and your earlier years before you 17:37had developed an awareness, you would be, what would we call you know 17:43Was it 17:45Unconscious competence, right, like you and I were you, you were already aligning yourself and you weren't aware that you were doing it. And then once you kind of develop this newfound awareness. 17:56You were able to do this with intention and purpose. Donnalynn Riley18:00That's exactly right. brandon handley18:02Now, so, and also throw out like when you know so I was raised by a hippie mom grew up you know out San Francisco and she was always kicking the word awareness around right when I was growing up, I was like, I'm aware. You see me run into 18:15I've ever run into a thing. 18:18Right, I use it everything outside of me right everything outside of me. I was I was completely aware of. I didn't miss a beat. Yeah didn't miss a beat. But the awareness that I think that you're talking about today is the awareness inside. Is that fair Donnalynn Riley18:32That's exactly right. 18:33That is exactly right and very hard to articulate. You did that quite well that 18:39People, most of the time, feel like they are aware when they start working with me, they're like, Yeah, yeah, I got that part, I need the accurate assessment. Come on, let's get to the good stuff here. 18:49And and that awareness that inner awareness and that ability to kind of be with yourself for periods of time in order to deepen that awareness is very important to the next steps. And so you're absolutely right that people are like, I'm aware. Let's fix my landing page. brandon handley19:16It's all 19:17It's all marketing has nothing to do with what's happening. 19:19Right, right. 19:21Nothing internal happening fixed that. Donnalynn Riley19:23I just had that targeting right we would 19:25All set. So, what what is what is like when when somebody first brandon handley19:29Starts off what's uh what's like one tool that you like to start them off with to 19:35Begin to develop that inner awareness. Donnalynn Riley19:39One of my favorite 19:42Sort of 19:47Let me go back a second here in my thinking. One of my tools that is the easiest for me to sort of give in this kind of a space. 19:59Is actually 20:00A little bit of mirror work. Now some people will know mirror work from different varieties of, you know, mindset work and spiritual work. 20:10The mirror work that that I find is the fastest path to to becoming present 20:22Which is really that first goal is just start being in your body. 20:29Is a piece where you literally just sit with the mirror and look in the mirror in your eyes and say I am here. 20:42Over and over and over. You're sort of calling to yourself. Right. So there's a lot of work that we do after that that involves breath and 20:53Other types of awareness that we can 20:55We can bring in 20:57But 20:59But that's really the the space that I find people kind of are able to bring themselves into the room a little bit and say, oh, OK. I am actually here. Let me give this a shot. I'll be president now. brandon handley21:12Well, I mean, cuz it's, there's still the physical aspect of it right, they're still doing a physical activity, but then they're also acknowledging that it's them right right there in front of them and pulling themselves kind of gather right there. 21:27Right, so I love that. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley21:29And it's deliberate. It's deliberate. So even though a lot of times when people start that process, they don't know. It's deliberate 21:37They, they go like, well, I said the words and then I felt different. I don't know what happened. Right. But in fact it there. There is a deliberateness to it. That is really important that you are impacting you 21:53In that moment. brandon handley21:57Well, that, you know, being deliberate again, you know, intentional, knowing that you're making this choice. I know that I kind of 22:04laughed a little bit about it earlier, but you know, you get to wherever you are today. And I think this is what the spiritual coaches were probably telling you before you guys set the course that 22:13You guys made the decisions to be in that situation right as as a collective even and you you guys when you first heard that you were just like what that's done, nobody's ever said that, you know, kind of that way right to us before 22:29So, I mean, I'm assuming your husband still alive. Donnalynn Riley22:32Oh, yeah. brandon handley22:35Like I hope the story has a good idea. 22:37Because, you know, so 22:39What happens right i mean you go in and he jumped into all this stuff, how, you know, how does it clear up on it never gets checked out again and somehow he still is what happened. Donnalynn Riley22:48No, no. So what happens on that story is that we do the work we do the inner work and we do the emergency inner work and it is kind of emergency at that 23:02Maybe for a year or so as you still feel like what's happening. 23:07And we he gets checked out again. And it's shrinking. 23:12Okay, and we have do have, I will say a spectacular doctor who's actually a doctor. brandon handley23:20Sure, sure. And 23:22It's always handy to have one on standby. Donnalynn Riley23:25WELL KNOW WHO DOES THIS WORK. Oh. brandon handley23:27Okay, that sounds even better yet, Donnalynn Riley23:29He's a trained Western doctor but functions in an Eastern paradigm brandon handley23:35Love it. Donnalynn Riley23:36And so he his toolkit is very, very large. And he honestly I've seen. I've never seen a problem he hasn't been able to impact positively and I have seen him deal with a lot of stuff now. 23:53So, so we had the guidance we had long distance guidance, because he's not right here in our backyard and 24:01We had long distance guidance and we did the work. And that I think is the, the key to that is to sort of have somebody who's ahead of you who can say, yeah, no, no, no. You're going in a direction. You'll be all right. 24:14Sure, sure. And so eventually that tumor went away. brandon handley24:17That's amazing. I love it. And so 24:20You would attribute that almost all to the air work was there like a dietary change. Donnalynn Riley24:26There were other changes. Yeah, absolutely. There were dietary changes, and we think there was 24:35Well, in his particular case, it had a great deal to do with a inability to deal properly with pesticides and with wheat. brandon handley24:46In the Donnalynn Riley24:46On the dietary front. So there was that and 24:54I think there was juicing and there was a lot of things. brandon handley24:57Which are look at 24:59Things. Right. 25:00Body. Sure, absolutely. Absolutely. So, and I think that's, that's interesting. The two right you know so change a die with this practice. I'm the things that are inside of you are the things that are outside of you know that this 25:15Miracle doesn't kind of happen on its own. You gotta, you gotta put it together and you got to maintain it and you know the things that do happen to it. Your body's a miracle. Right. It's amazing. 25:28And it's something like that's happening in this story right you have the ability to change that without getting i don't know i'm guessing he was getting a laser to the back of the head or something right was Donnalynn Riley25:39Wasn't. No, no, they wanted to do full 25:41On surgery. 25:43can address and take goop out 25:47And put goop in from other part. brandon handley25:52Was Donnalynn Riley25:53Unbelievably scary. brandon handley25:55Sure, sure. So, but, I mean, the what's amazing too and your story is that a lot of people would have just gone ahead and gone that route. Right. Donnalynn Riley26:03And they would have tried to talk to your spouse into it. It's their spouse said no. And that I think is something that is I, I have been very fortunate to be able to have that reciprocal relationship with my husband, where if one of us says, No, no, this is how I really feel about the thing 26:20Yeah, even if the other one thinks like, ah, you're just scarred, we should get you over that. 26:26But there is enough space. And this is an important concept in in business in the way we live our lives in general. Right. 26:35Is that there is enough space for us to be scarred and still have full and wonderful lives. It's kind of I think of it a lot about 26:45How you know how certain trees grow and they get these scars in them. And then we cut them up and we make them into coffee tables and we call them beautiful world would 26:54Say. Isn't that spectacular right 26:57Well, that's what we're making yeah in ourselves, we have experienced life and things haven't gone right and we have changed the way that we deal with things F, day after day after day and tried new approaches and had new experiences. 27:14And all of those things are brought into this present moment. And if you allow them then finding a new answer that. That doesn't mean you have to like check out your whole personality becomes somebody else right brandon handley27:32Right, right. Donnalynn Riley27:32No, no, it's okay. You can go spend time in the hospital. 27:36Right show. You don't have to be someone else. You can be you and you can be successful. brandon handley27:41Right. Well, yeah. And in regards to write the 27:46Merging all this together. Right. 27:48But I'll say it. I love Maplewood like the birds. I'm April, right, that's kind of one of the one of the times, you're talking about right and it does become so beautiful. Right. I'm like, I'm over you're sitting right now we're turning ourselves into beautiful maple tables but 28:02I love, I love the story that you're telling about that. I think that that's great. 28:09So let's just I want is, what if some of that wasn't working at any point would didn't feel like, you know, because I don't want to get the impression that 28:19You shouldn't keep a doctor nearby. Right. I mean, because you guys kept the doctor nearby that right live as he was a Western medicine doctor that yes also specialize in this space. Donnalynn Riley28:29I think that the the message that should not be taken from my experience is, go do something extreme like I did right and that the message that should be taken, I hope people take from my experience is be true to yourself and find your own answers. 28:54Because they are there, but they're only there if you calm down long enough to allow them to sort of become revealed. They weren't there in the doctor's office right only the first step, which was no I know what I don't want brandon handley29:10To Donnalynn Riley29:11But there wasn't the step of, like, I know what I do want. Right. Yeah. 29:16Yeah. And in fact, I think that something very important happened there because it was life threatening. Right, it's not 29:23It's not the same as in business where things can go right or wrong and we can find our own alignment. Right. But in this scenario. I think one of the most 29:35impactful things that happened was that my husband had someone to turn to and say, You figure it out because he then could go about the business of lining up with becoming well 29:51He didn't know how, but he had faith. 29:53Yeah, leaf. He said, This person loves me and they're relatively smart. They'll figure it out. brandon handley30:02Well, I think you bring the other one up to which I always love you don't have to know how you don't have to know how you just have to know that that's what you want. That's right. Right. And us where they can just 30:16Move forward in that direction. You know, as if it's not Nestle like I i get i get a little caught up in between, like Law of Attraction with like, you know, 30:28Spirituality space, right. I don't think that they're one the same. I think they're very close, but I don't I don't I don't like to make a sandwich out of, I guess. 30:37Um, Donnalynn Riley30:38But so many ways to look at life you know 30:41It would be a shame to sort of collapse it into only one way 30:46Hundred percent I think that's one of the reasons that the concept of spirituality so appealing to me is that it's big. brandon handley30:53Right, it's yours. Donnalynn Riley30:54I can be a part of this energy and I can be a part of that energy and I don't have to really understand it intellectually. I just have to decide that I'm willing to be a part of that. brandon handley31:05Right. No, I see ideas. Do you even know how you're here. Right. I mean, we don't even understand how we're here to begin with, I mean. So where does that leave us so 31:19Let's talk a little bit more about the outside of the story. Thanks for sharing that. That was Donnalynn Riley31:22My pleasure. Thanks for bringing it up. I, I had 31:26Was I was gonna tell it. brandon handley31:27Yes. I mean you know that, but that's that's kind of how you got into this space. And then, you know, I'm guessing that you kind of incorporated. Now some of this spiritual practice modality. And you were seeing the benefits that it was having in the business space. 31:41So at Donnalynn Riley31:42That time 31:43I was actually the CEO of a corporation. 31:46Okay, so 31:49This was what my life was like, like my every day was going to work as the CEO of a corporation. 31:56Right, so, you know, to, to become to to shift perspective in this massive way and then go back to work the next day and be like, 32:08Oh yeah, I'm gonna do it, just the way I used to do it. 32:11Let them work out. 32:13Right, so there had to be for me a re assessing a real understanding of the business world so that and the end the specifics of my business involvement with people so that I could find peace with the 32:36The 32:38Pathway that we were on brandon handley32:40Okay. Donnalynn Riley32:40So I had many years to do that. I didn't leave that world until 32:452014 and I that the story I told. And when I got my licensure was well 32:55The story I told started in 2007 32:58Okay, so it was putting a time in their 33:02Right to Try concepts out to go to work and to feel differently about things and then see what happens. And now have to take action right away. 33:12To decide that your solution to this relationship problem with an employee with the board of directors with it. Whoever whoever you're dealing with with with the clients themselves. 33:27That you are going to shift that but not by going in and saying something different or doing something different and being like, I am different. Now, now you behave differently, right, which is how people love to approach it. 33:38Sure does not work doesn't work, just 33:42But to really be able to take the time to say okay I am willing to to try everything that I have learned out on myself and to teach it to my staff and to pass it along to people who come and ask for it. 34:02There was a lot of opportunity right now. I'm seeing a lot of people in a day. And there's a lot of opportunity and people will ask you the wildest things 34:10Sure. And so 34:14Yeah, so I had that I had that. And so that was a way for me to really shift the way that I saw business. And what I knew for a fact would work in business. 34:27I had a lot of knowing what didn't work. And some of what did work. I had attained a position and, you know, was filling that position. Well, and all of that. But I really was able to sort of AMP that all up by 34:40By being able to try these things and not know 34:45If they were going to work. 34:47And do them anyway. brandon handley34:49What would be an example of that. Donnalynn Riley34:55Well, there was at one point there was a time when the board of directors was not happy with me. 35:04Man I know, it doesn't mean it doesn't even make sense. 35:06No, it doesn't. It kind of in this world. 35:09And and was not happy with anyone in my 35:15In my purview at all like not like there was no one. And so there was one particular board member who would come in and 35:24Kind of create difficulty. Right. It was a time of change. And I was directing the, the company in a direction that was scary and different and new 35:36And that was not really okay for that board and so that member would come in and and sort of undermine what was happening or stand in the way of what was happening. 35:49And I don't think that was the intention, but I think that it was really to look out for the company and to like really well founded. But really bad idea. And so this went on for 36:05Several weeks several weeks and different members of my staff kept coming to me and saying, what are we going to do this can't go on and I would have a chat and, you know, it still went on and that was the way it was. And I had tried a lot of business solutions for this. 36:23But one day I decided that I was going to just focus on the inner work and I spent all of my off time 36:34Doing that inner work and it was a process it. A lot of times people like me to sort of distill it down into one thing that I did. And certainly, I could name some things that you can do in that scenario but 36:48Really, the important thing was that I was no longer tied to the outcome based on yesterday. 36:56So that we had been through it right. This has been going on for weeks, we had tried everything we know what didn't work. We know. No, no. Right. But we didn't really we didn't because today is a new day. 37:09And this is a new moment. 37:11Right. And so once that happened once there was a disassociation with the past, then 37:19The process of becoming holy present and allowing the other people to become wholly present other this person in particular. 37:29Then the, the issues that are around, it can be dealt with and the attitude can shift. And there can no longer be. It doesn't have to be an aggressive situation, which is what had developed 37:41Right. But once that all dissipates. Then you can have the real conversations about the work that really should be being done in those in that scenario. 37:52Right, I should be held accountable for that in my position and that person should be able to say what they have to say. But there was no space for 38:00Any of that. 38:02And to east and east and east and about two weeks later, one of the gentlemen that work for me came to me and said, What did you do 38:13What did you do 38:14Well you fixed it for you, but you didn't fix it for me. 38:19And I said, Well, I could teach you what it was like, why can't you just fix it. brandon handley38:26That's funny. That's funny. So one of the things that you kind of, you start out there to with the is not having to take action right away, right, because we feel that 38:36We need to take this action immediately to for some type of corrective measure like 38:42Where the like where the savior of whatever is happening, they're like, well, there's no we got to fix this. Right. But you're saying though, you just kind of step back. Yeah. But some of the things just play out on their own and right Donnalynn Riley38:55Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. There's actually a three step process that I teach that 39:02Is a called the triple a method of transformation and that three step process is really important. Some people get one step. 39:12Some people get two steps, but rarely do we hear people talk about the third, the middle step right 39:18Right. So the first step in that is awareness and we've talked a lot about that today, which is 39:23Wonderful. And the third step in that is the action stage right the adaptation. What are you going to do, usually people kind of jump from one to the other and they go, they go like, yes, I'm aware there's a problem. Now I have a solution. 39:38And it's the middle step that is the most important and that really isn't an accurate assessment, you can't make an accurate assessment, unless you're in a receiving mode you're in a 39:58Listening period. A watching period a learning period right it's you can't assess something. If you think you know everything about it already. 40:09So you have to do the exploration that is that middle stage that's between Awareness. Awareness of yourself awareness of your situation and then 40:21Learning so that you can be accurate in your assessment. And that's, I think, really where most of the time it all falls apart is that the assessment is not accurate. 40:33Hmm. And so that's how you jump from the one step to the other step is that you go like now I got this move on. 40:43But you don't know yet. But there's like a guy behind the curtain run and my thing. You know what I mean. 40:48Sure. 40:49So that's brandon handley40:51That's more than you know awareness of your thought process awareness of the, you know, conscious choices awareness of doing these things. 41:00With purpose and intention, but also, you know, I like how you bring up this you know accurate assessment piece because it was just yesterday as matter of fact I sat down with a transformational coach and 41:14It was what you're saying here is you can assess, but kind of like a and I feel like this is what I had done right I assess the situation quickly. 41:24And felt that was good enough. Right. And then he goes, Well, I think, actually, you need to go one more layer deeper. Yeah. And he took me one more layer deeper. And I was like, Oh my gosh, you know, Donnalynn Riley41:35Totally different answer to. Right. brandon handley41:37Well, totally different answer. Totally different feeling totally different space in place and you know 41:44Therefore, ergo my assessment initially was not accurate. Yeah, that's right. Right. 41:53And you know we're here. We keep learning and this, this is even has to do with just, you know, if you're working with a client, they feel like they know who they are. All right. And you've got it you what you're doing is you're helping them to slow down and 42:07Truly learn who they really are. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley42:09That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And I think that was true for me. So I think that one of the things that makes it easier for me to 42:18To talk to people is that I've stood someplace. Very, very similar to where they're standing and so that feeling like I know especially having some early success. 42:30Right, sure. No, I do. No. 42:33No, I did it. I know how to do it. No, no, actually you don't 42:39Because you did it, but you didn't know how you did it. 42:41Yeah, you did it, but you can't repeat it, and 42:46Source, all of that. brandon handley42:48Sure, yeah. 42:50But it's looking those steps and and and i think that we've been fortunate, right, like a laughed at the beginning how there's, you know, 43:00There's pathways for us to take you know that the plenty of people have done this before us. We're not the first people to show up like I got this. 43:08Follow me like there's no whole whole society is built on this and 43:13We're lucky that we've got that available to us right that framework, the possibility to kind of 43:18Go to even you right or you know your spiritual coaches to run them in the first time, like there's a whole nother way. 43:25And it fits into this and, oh, I can get the same results by but but by doing it this way instead of this other brash like I'm going to take the bull by the horns and crush everybody mentality. Right. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley43:40Yeah, I, I, actually, when I first kind of got that there was another way and that it was actually more effective I so I had been into herbs, my whole life where I felt like I i liked spices in my food, and I 43:54I knew some of the properties of things. And I would you know give myself cold medicine by eating the garlic or whatever it was. Right, sure, and and 44:03I got that there was, I knew about herbs and spices that there were in different parts of the world, they would do the same things, but be totally different plans. 44:13And I was like, 44:14Oh, I don't really get why that's true, that you can take turmeric from India and you can take, you know, yarrow from North America and you're going to get a similar thing and happening for you. 44:29And I, I knew that it was possible, but I couldn't make any sense of it until we got to this concept, this concept of being present and being aware 44:44And showing up in a new way and then taking action. Then I got, oh, there are just so many ways, right. I could have said 10 different things in that moment. 44:57And gotten a really similar response to that, or maybe my relationship problem, like I've, I've worked with people a lot with 45:07business relationships where they're particularly with employees, where they're not getting the results they want with the employees and they feel like it's the employees problem. 45:18And that works. The first or second or third employee, but it does not work after that. 45:23To face a few things. 45:26And you can try all the techniques you want, right, there's a lot of management techniques and those i'm sure can be effective in under certain circumstances. 45:37But really when you're willing to do that work inside you and the technique, doesn't matter anymore because 45:45The result can happen regardless of the technique that you're using, sort of like that plant it's planted in a, you know, different sides of the earth, but it's helping your body because the world is meant to support us for sure that's what that's what is here for brandon handley46:01At least from our perspective. Hundred percent hundred percent Donnalynn Riley46:05Plant feels like it's there for them. brandon handley46:08But what I just I just saw like you know I think somebody talk. I think I was listening to Wayne Dyer right and he's talking about like if you lift the seeds or whatever and you plant them that they take in that your DNA, and they grow to to you. 46:21Yeah, so 46:22So I'll always always something interesting. 46:26Always something interesting. Geez, you said something there that I wanted to hit on but uh what you know. 46:34So what are some. What are some that's what's gonna say, so you're, you know, the techniques become 46:42More like a again a vehicle for what's inside of you, right, and that's your focal point, you're like, All right, you know, 46:49It's the techniques, not working. It's because I look I take to jujitsu right and oftentimes the, the deal is, I'm using a technique, but I'm also trying to put all this force power behind like 47:04Running grown in 47:06But it's when I relax and just simply apply the technique. 47:11That it works. I'm like, why, what this doesn't make any sense. Right. So again, it sounds like you know if you do the inner work and you figure out kind of what's in you just you just kind of let that out, Masha, but you focus it gently on the technique, it works. Donnalynn Riley47:23Yeah, we're back where we were when we started right life can be a lot easier than we make it brandon handley47:30And and so you know what what are 47:34What are some of the other things that you're finding with your clients right. How are they, what's their reception been to their new selves. Donnalynn Riley47:44Reception to their new cells. Fantastic question. 47:48Wow. I like I'm pretty good. brandon handley47:54Sure. Donnalynn Riley47:55You know, it feels a lot better to be not frustrated and not irritated and have a new way to accept your imperfections and to say I can be whole and I can show up and I can shift my life in these ways where I get the result that I want and still be may brandon handley48:18Not have to Donnalynn Riley48:19Turn into somebody else. I mean, I think these are the kinds of things that a lot of times people really feel like, all right, I want to go there. So I'll just be someone else for a while. 48:33They 48:34Got themselves off from themselves, right. brandon handley48:36So, Donnalynn Riley48:37And this is how people end up to be older and more bitter. 48:43And then eventually at some point they say I'm not doing that anymore. And sometimes that's at retirement age sometimes that's a lot earlier. 48:52You're really lucky if you don't have a lot of patience for that kind of thing in your life. brandon handley48:57Well, you know, you know, recently, my wife, she she hit that point right she just said this is enough. This is too much and and she's now you know we come from two different types of backgrounds. Right. 49:08Where she came from, you know, the you work hard, you get a job you keep that job for as long as you can, it's safe. It's good. They watch out for you. 49:16But at what cost, right, I think you'd mentioned that to like what costs like you're the costs. 49:22Is you your life, your, your whole, you know, they call it grind it out for a reason. You're losing each day to the grind. So I don't want to keep you too long, but this has been, I've had a lot of fun with this conversation. 49:35A lot of fun with this conversation. 49:37Where, where should and we did talk about you do have something coming up. I want to make sure people know that you've got this, you've got this challenge come out to us talk on that. Donnalynn Riley49:45You. I do. I have a five day 49:49Workshop, or I'm 49:53Just loving the words just scramble away from you. brandon handley49:56Absolutely, it says all day every day. 49:59To Donnalynn Riley49:59Day challenge coming up and it, it is called get out of your head. Embrace your imperfections and get on track with your business. 50:10And so that's what we're going to do for five days, we're going to go through the process and we're going to really delve into that process. We talked a little bit more 50:19Earlier about the AAA method of transformation and get to apply some of that and really see what kind of 50:29changes we can make in such a short period of time for lots and lots of people to to quiet the noise to to find that space that we've been talking about and to still be wholly yourself to really embrace that you're okay, as Your imperfections and then apply that process. 50:51It's a very interesting process, I think. 50:53It will be really great to see how everybody does. brandon handley50:56That's awesome. So what type of people should be attending this event. Donnalynn Riley51:00Anyone who's interested in business. 51:05Who is open. Yeah. 51:07Yeah, so this is this work is not easy. It's not like, you know, kind of, you were talking about this with talking about your wife's background and a lot of people come from a background where it's kind of supposed to be hard. And when life is not fun. They say, what is it they say they say brandon handley51:27Oh my lemonade. 51:31Life's not supposed to be fair, I don't know. Donnalynn Riley51:33Yeah, all that brandon handley51:34All that stuff. Donnalynn Riley51:35So what, like, I get that. And there are people who need that kind of structure in their life, and they're not ready to let go of that that's okay with me. brandon handley51:43Yeah. Donnalynn Riley51:43Don't come to mind. 51:47But anyone everyone. I hope Pro has a business involvement writing particularly I work for the most part with entrepreneurs. 51:57So you're the driver of your business boat, it makes it much easier. And who wants to work on something and knows that the answer is somewhere in them might they're willing to do some work for it. That is personal. That is development personal development work. 52:20And and really you show up with willingness and I'd be happy to guide you all the way through the process that would be great. brandon handley52:30Awesome and listen. 52:32You know, you've had you been a successful CEO, you started off successful businesses you sold businesses. 52:41And, you know, for anybody, which website. Again, Donald in Donnalynn Riley52:46Donnellan Riley calm. brandon handley52:48Down. So head over to the site shine house or for videos yourself, you will be able to see 52:53That she knows what she's talking about. So I think that that's really exciting. And, you know, we didn't dig too deep into the business aspects of today. We just had a really great. I felt like conversation. 53:03But you clearly know you know what it is that you're doing. You've done the work you contains to do the work. And you know what you're putting out. I think there's no top notch really really quality stuff. Donnalynn Riley53:13Thank you so much. It was really a pleasure to be here and to get to talk about this topic in such depth. So that's really nice. It's great that you're talking about this in a in a really deep way this sort of spirituality and business and in that space. brandon handley53:28You know what, you got to be able to like you keep saying, and that's what it means to bring all of who you are right, they're not two separate things. If you keep your spiritual self over here and your material or reality over here, you're missing out on the one, two punch you know 53:44You really you've really got the opportunity to kind of blend you're you're working at 50% of capacity. Yeah, right. So he can 53:51You know blend those two which which I know you can teach how to do what you get to bring to your workplace or wherever you decide to show up after you learn about who you are. It's just, it's that much more powerful. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley54:04It really is. brandon handley54:05Yeah. Hundred percent. Thanks again. Donnalynn Riley00:59:18Thank you.

Acts 19:120 (ESV) Paul in Ephesus 19And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. 3And he said, Into what then were you baptized? They said, Into Johns baptism. 4And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. 5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7There were about twelve men in all. 8And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. The Sons of Sceva 11And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims. 14Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15But the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you? 16And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Acts 18:123 (ESV) Paul in Corinth 18After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. 7And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.11And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13saying, This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law. 14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things. 16And he drove them from the tribunal. 17And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this. Paul Returns to Antioch 18After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21But on taking leave of them he said, I will return to you if God wills, and he set sail from Ephesus. 22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Romans 8 :12-17 12So then, my dear family, we are in debt – but not to human flesh, to live our life in that way. 13If you live in accordance with the flesh, you will die; but if, by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14All who are led by the spirit of God, you see, are God's children. 15You didn't receive a spirit of slavery, did you, to go back again into a state of fear? But you received the spirit of sonship, in whom we call out ‘Abba, father!' 16When that happens, it is the spirit itself giving supporting witness to what our own spirit is saying, that we are God's children. 17And if we're children, we are also heirs: heirs of God, and fellow heirs with the Messiah, as long as we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation . SPCK. Kindle Edition. Gracious and holy Father, give me wisdom to perceive you, intelligence to fathom you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Benedict

A new place 10/05/2020 Genesis28:10-17 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.  When you find yourself in a place Jacob’s story Jacob was running away from Esau his nemesis He was looking for shelter, safety and a rediscovery of himself His sin was the greatest burden he wanted to shake of So maybe a faraway journey to Padanaram might just do it What place do you find yourself in right now? Place- corner, dead-end, not much wiggle room What journey are you on right now? Journey of self-discovery Fulfilment  God will give you dominion In your journey You need Dominion over your environment to stop running away  Dominion In a strange place Genesis 22:4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.  Dominion In an unknown and unfamiliar place Genesis 22:16 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. God will Change your dream to give you Dominion over your obstacles Jacobs biggest obstacle was his memories of being a cheat In one encounter God changed it From a nightmare into a revelation  Dominion over circumstances and enemies Psalm 66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

Jesus Calls Twelve Ordinary Men Luke 6:12-19 Exegetical Main Point: Jesus called and trained twelve Apostles to spread his Kingdom in the world. The calling of these new leaders is a judgment on Israel and the creation of a new people of God. Sermon Main Point: Jesus called twelve ordinary men upon which he would build his church. Intro Do you ever struggle to believe that God could use someone like you? I do, quite often. In fact, I’m seeing more clearly that not just a few of us, but many, have a hard time believing that God could use us. Our lives our too messy. We believe that God only calls the qualified, those with good pasts, the ones who seem to have it all together. Sure, God saving us is one thing, but using us as effective evangelists, leaders, or for any other noteworthy kingdom building activity is another thing. If you feel unqualified, you’re in good company, and God has good news for you. Today’s passage shows us that the Kingdom of God is much different than the kingdom of this world. Jesus’s kingdom building strategy is rather surprising. He didn’t choose who you would expect to be his leaders, he called twelve very ordinary men. My prayer today is that you will see and believe in the God who makes the most unworthy sinners into beautiful and incredibly important in his kingdom. Let’s get into the text. Verse 12: 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. The first three words, “in these days”, call us to consider the context. Jesus’s influence was growing. Everywhere he went he preached powerfully and power for healing came from him. The Messiah had come to release Israel’s burdens and bring them into his rest. But the religious leaders were too distracted by their own influence and power to see that the Kingdom of God had dawned on them in Jesus. Instead, they wanted Jesus dead and they conspired his murder together. The pressures of ministry were building. How did Jesus respond? Look again at verse 12. Prayer First, Jesus got alone and prayed…all night. Before doing anything, he spent time with his Father. He did the thing that seems so unnatural to us, the thing that often feels like you are doing nothing at all. He didn’t worry. He didn’t sin out of anger at those who were rejecting him. He put his faith in God and talked to him. Prayer is nothing more than a conversation with God. God started the conversation by speaking to us first through his word, and now we make our requests known to him because he welcomes it. Notice that Jesus went out to a mountain. Jesus got alone. He found a place where he could get away from the craziness of life, ministry, and worries, like some of us need to do today, and sought God for direction. Jesus prayed all night. He didn’t whisper a five second prayer in this moment of need, though I’m sure he also did that regularly. He didn’t give up when he got tired, bored, or felt like God wasn’t listening. No, he waited on God. What about you? Think about the last big decision you had to make, the last time you were under pressure. Moving? A relationship? Job? Something that would significantly affect your time and money. How long did you wait on God in prayer? Pause. I’m not good at this. In fact, I don’t think people in our circles are very good at this. Some of us don’t know how to pray for more than five minutes, let alone all night! We want the quick fix, check the box and move forward kind of prayer life. But Jesus models for us a relationship with God that wrestles and waits and deliberates with God over hard decisions.[1] As you’ll see, God’s plans are not always in line with what would make most sense to us in this world. His wisdom is different than man’s wisdom. For this reason, we must seek him and wait on him in prayer. Some of us go to the opposite extreme and we are crippled by hard decisions. Some of us simply need to get up and do something. But I think, for the majority of us, we could grow in sitting with God, with his Word open in front of us, letting him guide our thoughts and decisions about important things. Do not overlook this, friends. Jesus’s kingdom strategy was always birthed out of a place of communion with his Father in prayer. In fact, Jesus tells his disciples that he only did what he saw his Father doing” (Jn 5:19). We must follow our master in this way. We must not be a prayerless church who makes our own strategy while never approaching our master for direction. The Apostles Let’s look at verse 13: “When day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.” Jesus didn’t go to bed after staying up all night. He had plans from God to fulfill. It is implied here that Jesus received direction from God in this night of prayer who he would appoint as apostles. Jesus evidently had many disciples following him at this point and on this day he called them all together and chose from them twelve. Can you imagine having your name called that day. Everyone standing together and Jesus calling out one after another up to twelve. Jesus wanted these particular men near him. These men would be Jesus’s closest friends, those with whom he would share his last meal; he would wash their feet. He would even be betrayed by one of them. And he named them Apostles. What does it mean that Jesus “named” them Apostles? This word Apostle simply means “one who is sent”. There are others in Scripture who are called apostles but this group was unique, and everybody knew it. They are an exclusive group referred to as “the Twelve” in the rest of the Scriptures. Jesus had a particular purpose and mission in mind for these men. These twelve, in fact, would be the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20). They would witness Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection and instruct the church in all that they had seen and been taught. Judgment on Israel Why twelve? Do you remember where else this number shows up in Scripture? Just as there were twelve tribes in Israel, Jesus appointed twelve apostles. Even as Moses came down from Mt. Sanai to the newly rescued twelve Tribes of Israel, a brand new people of God at that point in history, Jesus comes down off of a mountain and selects his twelve Apostles, showing that he is beginning the process of creating a new people of God yet again. Jesus’ choice of twelvewas a deliberate move with a deliberate message. This act was, in part, a judgment on Israel, who had long been unfaithful to God in their purpose of multiplying and spreading his name and kingdom over all the earth. So, God was doing something new. The Kingdom would no longer spread through the expansion of Israel’s borders or through access to the temple. People would no longer belong to God on the basis of their ethnic identity or adherence to the Law, but rather on the basis of their relationship with Jesus. Through him they would live faithful lives. I will unpack this more later in this sermon. In fact, Luke hints at this in verse 17 where the crowds were made up of both Jews from Judea and Jerusalem and Gentilesfrom Tyre and Sidon. This New Covenant people would be made up of both Jew and Gentile. In calling the twelve Jesus was showing that he was creating a New Covenant people of God through Jesus, a people who would spread his kingdom over all the earth. The Team: Now let’s discuss what men Jesus chose to found this new people. They were probably highly skilled and successful people right? Let’s look at verse 14 and meet the team. I will highlight a few of them. There’s little known about this group of men, but of all of them Simon Peter the Galilean fisherman, whom Luke has already introduced to us in chapter 5 is most well-known. In every list of the twelve Peter is mentioned first as he seems to be a first among equals on this team. Andrew was Peter’s brother. James and John were also fishermen and perhaps business partners with Peter and would make up Jesus’s inner circle along with Peter. Matthew, who was also called Levi, is the tax collector we read about in the last chapter. He would end up writing the Gospel of Matthew. Thomas, who is called “the twin” is best known for being the doubter of Jesus’ resurrection. Sad to be caught with that reputation! Simon the zealot was a part of a revolutionary group that hated the Romans and looked for opportunities to murder and overthrow them. He and “Judas the son of James” who is also called Thaddeus in other lists is mentioned just four times.[2] Judas Iscariot, apparently the only one from outside of Galilee, finishes every list because of the fact that he is known as the traitor who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. What do these men have in common? At least two things: 1) They are incredibly ordinary men and 2) they have very little in common. They aren’t who you’d expect God to choose as the core leaders of his church. This was a weird bunch, an extremely ordinary bunch. Not the priests. Not the politicians. Not the famous. Fishermen and tax collectors! This was a bold move! It was downright dangerous to have Matthew, the tax collector, who worked for the Romans anywhere near Simon the zealot. I wonder if Jesus often caught the two eyeing each other suspiciously. You’ve got blue-collar fishermen, a city boy, married guys with kids along with young singles. What was Jesus thinking?!Jesus wanted to start a new team and change the world and this was the team he picked? Jesus had a short time to train them and then he would be killed. There was no plan b, guys. Everything rested on these guys! Ultimately, the one thing that brought this rag tag bunch together was Jesus, the one who transforms lowly sinners and big mouths like Peter, into Apostles who would be used to write Scripture, establish the church, and turn the world upside down! Don’t you see? This is our humble beginning, a foretaste of what the Church would be like, a complicated mess of people who would be empowered by God’s Spirit to change the world. This would be a church made up of All Peoples. All Peoples Church. Training So Jesus had his team. Now what is the first step Jesus takes in preparing these men for their work? Verse 17: 17And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. We’re told that after Jesus called the twelve he came down “with them” and immediately began ministering to the crowds. Notice the words “with them”. Jesus brought the twelve along in his ministry. This, friends, is discipleship. Jesus had the twelve “with him” so that he could demonstrate the kingdom through miracle working and to teach what the kingdom was like. Jesus didn’t buy a building and invite the twelve to come on Sunday’s at 5pm each week for a lesson. No, he brought them out into real life ministry and let them see how it works. Jesus spent nearly every waking moment with these men, equipping, empowering, and sending them to do what he did and teach what he taught. But this was only the beginning of the training. They would not be spectators for long as Jesus would soon give the same authority to these men to heal, cast out demons, and proclaim the kingdom. In Acts, Luke even describes the Apostles as having the same sort of power coming out from them for healing! This is why we believe and teach that discipleship is best done in the context of everyday life where we can be with each other and see the gospel incarnate into the everyday stuff of life. Jesus shows us that discipleship is better caught than merely taught. This is Jesus’s idea of disciple-making, and it lasted for three short years until his death. And it would continue by the Spirit after he ascended. God’s strategy is not like ours. In the incarnation, he became an ordinary man so that he could call ordinary men to watch him and see him live. He didn’t try to convert the world powers. He chose to raise up a small group of ordinary men to train and send as his messengers. This is where you and me fit in. The Church This was our start, church. It begins here. We exist today as a church through the Apostle’s Spirit-empowered witness. The Gospel has come down from one generation to the next through other faithful disciple-makers. And we who are trusting Jesus are the people of God! We’re a weird bunch like the Apostles, made up of sinners from every background, ethnicity, and social class, but transformed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Most of us are not the elite of society, the rich, or powerful, but God has chosen us and filled us with his Holy Spirit for the cause of his kingdom advancement on earth. Don’t you see? God loves to call the ordinary to do his work. Why? Because it shows off his glory! When God uses ordinary people to transform the world, there is no confusion about who gets the credit for it. The Apostle Paul calls God the one who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist (Rom 4:17). There’s no boasting if you were dead and someone made you alive is there? You may be ordinary, even unqualified, but in Christ and by the Holy Spirit, you have become an indispensable part of the team. Man looks at outward appearances. But God is not partial and will use anyone who puts their faith in him. I hope you’re not still wondering if he wants to use you. Now So how should we live if this is who we are? Know your place and rejoice in it.God doesn’t make mistakes. God chooses particular people and leaders in particular times and places for the advance of his kingdom. Some of you are going to be like Peter who was a well-known prominent leader, and some of you will be like Bartholomew who was mentioned only once in Scripture but historically went on to accomplish great things for God. If you are named in the Lamb’s book of life, you have a reason to rejoice! Pray and pick a team to train up. Before Jesus ascended, he spoke the mission statement of the church, in which is given the chief command, to make disciples. This is Jesus’s strategy! If you want to change the world, replicate Christ by calling and training others to go and do the same. Jesus came down “with them”. He modeled the kingdom for them. In our circles we think discipleship means 1) giving a book for someone to read 2) or just talking it out. There’s a lot of information dumping. But the reality is most people don’t learn like that. Most people through history learned through apprenticeship. They watched someone model for them how to live and work and play and rest. Yes, books are helpful. Yes, talking will be weaved throughout the process, but we need to rethink our discipleship strategy based on Jesus’ model. We need to showour disciples how to fight, forgive, and reconcile. We need to showour disciples how to share the Gospel, how to pray, how to study and apply the Bible. We need to have people live with us, have people in our homes and around us so that we can show others how to rejoice in victories and take big hits. I want to challenge you this week to consider who God is calling you to disciple? I want each of you to spend some time in prayer this week and let God show you who you could walk with in this kind of way. Consider journaling out what God is showing you and share it with your DNA groups so that they can help you be faithful to what God is calling you to. Who has God given you a voice in their life? Speaking of DNA’s, this is the perfect place to put this in action. In fact, this is the whole purpose of that ministry structure! We’re trying to replicate Jesus’s model in our context. Perhaps there are a few in your Missional Community who you could invite into more of what you are doing, that you could spend more time in prayer and word together. How about outside of the church? Are their neighbors or co-workers who you have influence over? Maybe it’s time to invite them into your life in a new way for discipleship. If you don’t know who to disciple, find someone who knows just a little less about the Bible than you do and just ask them to spend some time with you. But discipleship doesn’t stop there. Not only are you called to make disciples. You are a disciple! Who in the church do you know that lives out the kingdom? Follow them. Don’t make this weird. But simply look for ways to get around these individuals and ask a lot of good questions. Let them model it for you – even if that’s over zoom! Are you taking seriously Jesus’s call to make disciples? Let’s realign our strategy with Jesus’s strategy. It seems to have been effective. This is God’s plan to transform the world. There is no plan b. He chose to change the world through ordinary men and women who train up other ordinary men and women to follow Jesus in the same way. Follow him. Maybe you’re not yet a disciple of Jesus.In the same way Jesus called these men to come and follow him, Jesus is calling you today to come follow him, to lay down your old life and find new life in him. On the cross Jesus paid the way for you to be his and to join his team. He rose from death proving that his team will be victorious, so you must repent so that you won’t have to die and face his judgment for rebelling against his kingdom. Every sinner who calls on Jesus gets to join the team as an essential member. Lay down your doubts and fears about your inadequacies and let him define your value and purpose. [1]For a helpful resource on extended prayer see http://www.stmichaelsnc.org.au/The%20Hour%20That%20Changes%20the%20World.pdf [2]https://markdriscoll.org/sermons/jesus-calls-the-twelve/

"Find the divine in the daily, the Christ in the common, and whatever you do, give thanks to God."Where have you found God today?//Colossians 3:17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything...giving thanks to God.//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot and Arctic by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Rev. Jim Keat is the Digital Minister at The Riverside Church. Visit www.JimKeat.com to see more of his online content.

"Find the divine in the daily, the Christ in the common, and whatever you do, give thanks to God."Where have you found God today?//Colossians 3:17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything...giving thanks to God.//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot and Arctic by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Rev. Jim Keat is the Digital Minister at The Riverside Church. Visit www.JimKeat.com to see more of his online content.

Song: The Son of God goes Forth to WarPassage: Psalm 118:19-29Hello everyone and Welcome to episode #9 of the Anno Domini Podcast. A podcast dedicated to the supremacy of Christ over all things including our days, weeks, and months.Join me as we explore how Christ is revealed through the cyclical life of the church calendar year. We’ll discover how this calendar once structured culture and how it can again. We’ll also discuss practical ways to observe and celebrate these holy days in our quest to glorify God and live the good life in the midst of all good He has given us. Welcome back friends. My name is Joe Stout and my wife Elizabeth and I and our 8 children live in the wet and occasionally sunny Pacific Northwest. For those of you who may be new, this podcast, Anno Domini which literally means “In the Year of our Lord”, this podcast explores the year of the Lord as it has been traditionally marked on the Church Calendar. Our first episode started at the beginning of the Church New Year which this year fell on December 1st. Unlike our modern tradition of marking January 1st as the new beginning, the Church calendar marks the first Sunday of Advent, or the coming of Christ unto a dark world, as the perpetual new beginning. We begin by celebrating the coming of Christ in His various ways. Since the dates are different each year, this cycle was from December 1st through December 23rd. After Advent of course we celebrate Christmastide or Christmastime with Christmas Eve, and then all 12 days of Christmas. We then move into the period of Epiphany, the revealing of Christ unto a broken world which falls from January 6th through February 25th this season. Ash Wednesday, which this year fell on February 26th marks the beginning of the Season of Lent, the season in which we find ourselves now. As I remarked in the last episode, “the time of lent precedes the victory of Christ on the cross…Jesus was tempted for 40 days … was humbled to the point of death on a cross and during all of this faithfully obeyed His Father in Heaven. Because He was faithful in this, God raised Him up to glory and Christ calls us to follow the same path.”As we enter Holy Week, the culmination of Lent, let us remember the promise of God found James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” PracticalAs I pointed out in the last episode, The period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 40 days not including the Lord’s Day each week. This means that Palm Sunday is a unique holy day in that it falls within the Lenten Season but being that it is on a Sunday, any fasting would be abstained from since the Lord’s Day is meant to be celebrated with feasting and rest. Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week which is the big finale of the Lenten season and concludes on Easter morning.Since part of the Anno Domini podcast centers around how we are to practically celebrate these holy days, I ought to give an account of the current events surrounding Palm Sunday 2020. As of the recording of this episode we are watching a local, national, and global historical event unfold. I’m of course speaking of the Chinese Virus that began in Wuhan China in December of 2019 and has spread around the globe. This virus is causing governments, gripped by fear, to self immolate entire economies, isolate people to their homes and hospital beds, and most egregious of all, forbid the gathering of people anywhere and everywhere for any reason at all. This means that for the last several weeks, showing up for the Lord’s Day service has been impossible for nearly everyone. Because technology often is a blessing when used rightly, many churches, ours included, have offered a live-stream of a Sunday morning sermon. This is nice and helps stave off feelings of isolation but a sermon is certainly not church. The gathering of a family to hear a sermon falls far short of our needed weekly gatherings. On Ash Wednesday, nearly a month before the madness began, I shared a hymn written by G.K. Chesterton that included the phrase, ”take not thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.” Never in my life have I seen a prayer answered on such a large scale in such a short time. As I said on Ash Wednesday, “…our rulers here on earth are faltering failures and we as a people are drifting and dying because our walls, made of gold in our prosperity, are actually entombing us. Scorn is a weapon to divide brother against brother. We are asking God not to spare His wrath or His thunder against us but instead to take away the one thing that is causing all of this mess…our pride.”One of the many things the global pandemic fear has exposed is the frailty of our reality. We think the things we know, the things that are familiar to us will last. The good times will never end is an easy lie to believe. Our walls of gold, as enduring as a the morning mist were entombing us into the false sense of security. Now as we shelter in place at the beginning of what is likely to be an unnecessary but very large economic depression we can take joy. God has heard our prayers, instead of allowing the walls of gold to entomb us forever, He is stripping away the pride of life that has caused such rebellion in our hearts. What an exciting time to be alive. I cannot stress enough what a blessing this chastisement has the potential to accomplish. If we humble ourselves before God during this time of suffering He promises to lift us up and strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees. With the unknown comes a temptation to great fear. In fact this is the natural response. Those without the blessing of Christ’s covering will respond with fear because that is the only way the natural man knows. But we are Christians and we believe that the providence of God can be waited on expectantly to provide for us our daily bread. We also can now trust God to provide for us a life stripped of those things which prevent us from trusting Him. We also can trust God during this time to send His Spirit to awaken in us a devotion to Him that often proves impossible during times of plenty. As someone amusingly said in reference to the paralyzing fear surrounding this virus, “I wasn’t quite ready to give up this much for Lent.” Of course we know that lent is not about “giving things up” it’s about begging God to do whatever it takes, to take whatever it takes, to trust, follow, and obey Him in all that He commands. So let us receive this discipline from the Lord joyfully knowing that he scourges every son He receives. So practically speaking, what can we do this Palm Sunday since we won’t be allowed to actually worship as the Body of Christ? Well the things that have been helpful for the Stout family has been to treat Sunday morning as much like a Lord’s Day morning as possible. We get up, we get dressed, we eat breakfast, and then we gather together to worship together the King of Glory. We try not to treat our Sunday morning worship too casually. This is already a temptation for modern Christians and it only gets worse when you can’t leave your home. Therefore there is no watching the sermon in pajamas just as you shouldn’t go to church in your pajamas. Our church actually provides some songs to sing “together” and we sing along heartily. We hold our kiddos to the same standards of sitting still and not talking during the sermon. This is really quite inadequate for the long haul but is better than nothing. If one had to describe the essential reason for weekly Lord’s Day worship I would argue that the sermon and praise and worship are really pointing to the pinnacle of the service which is the Lord’s Supper. We’re going to talk about this in depth for our next episode on Holy Thursday and so I will develop my argument far more there but suffice it to say that I am persuaded, and am certainly not alone, that the sermon, the singing, the confession of sin, it is all leading us toward one major event, and that event is to eat a meal of Peace with our King. We were alienated from God and were His enemies but by the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been brought near to Him. This weekly meal represents this. It represents the fact that we are no longer at war with God but that through Christ we now have peace. It tells us that we belong to the King and that we belong at the King’s table. This unfortunately cannot truly be done at home, at least not in the way it has been instituted as overseen by the elders of your local church. Because of this, let us pray that the quarantine lockdown fears end and that we can go back to the Lord’s Table where those who have been baptized and claim Christ as King, we can go back to the table where we belong. BiblicalThere are several texts to chose from on Palm Sunday. We have readings from Isaiah, Psalms, Philippians, and the Gospel of John. If you are listening to this, it is likely you have heard the account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a the colt of donkey. In three of the gospel accounts, we are told that as Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on the colt, the people welcomed Him with praise and received Him as a King. In fact they were spreading their clothes on the ground as well as laying down branch of trees and in John’s gospel, those branches are referred to as Palms. This is Christ coming as King unto Jerusalem and for a large number of the cities inhabitants, He was rightly received as King. However, as we know, there were other forces at work in the city and the leaders of the Jews were consumed with envy and hatred of Jesus. While the Lord’s faithful were celebrating the coming of the King, others we’re biding their time and waiting for their opportunity to strike down the King of Glory. Our lectionary reading from Psalm 118:19-29 speaks of this. Let’s read the very word of God.Psalm 118:19-29Open to me the gates of righteousness;I will go through them,And I will praise the Lord.This is the gate of the Lord,Through which the righteous shall enter.I will praise You,For You have answered me,And have become my salvation.The stone which the builders rejectedHas become the chief cornerstone.This was the Lord’s doing;It is marvelous in our eyes.This is the day the Lord has made;We will rejoice and be glad in it.Save now, I pray, O Lord;O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.God is the Lord,And He has given us light;Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.You are my God, and I will praise You;You are my God, I will exalt You.Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!For His mercy endures forever.In this Psalm we are told that the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This verse is one of the most quoted in the New Testament. It is referenced in each of the synoptic gospels as part of the culminating meaning of the Parable of the Tenants. It was told by Jesus after He had entered Jerusalem in triumph but before He was betrayed into the hands of the Jews. If you remember, Jesus tells the story of vineyard that had been planted and the care of which was entrusted to a specific group of people. In the story these tenants are the Jews. When harvest time came, the Master sent servants to collect some of the fruit. The tenants, beat and treated shamefully all of the servants the Master of the Vineyard sends. These servants represent the way in which the Jews treated God’s chosen prophets…shamefully. At his trial prior to his death Stephan speaks these divesting words to the Jewish leaders…”Which of the prophets have not your father’s persecuted?” The answer is of course none. The Jews rejected them all. Finally, in the parable, the Master of the Vineyard decides to send His only Son thinking perhaps they will respect Him. Quite the opposite in fact happens and the tenets reach the pinnacle of their wickedness and throw the son out of the vineyard and kill Him, thinking they were securing the inheritance for themselves. But instead they planted the seed of their own ruin as the Master eventually comes and destroys those tenants and gives the vineyard to others. This speaks of the way God removed the Jews from the special status as His chosen people and grafted in the Gentiles in their place. Finally Jesus finishes by quoting Psalm 118:22 applying its meaning to the nation of Israel at that time. It was at this time that we are told the “ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them.” The reason why this matters is that Jesus is not a safe person to be around. He is the kind of Friend that is absolutely going to get you in trouble with the people in charge. The Lion of Judah is dangerous and although He is good following Him means a choosing life of exchanging your own desires for those he gives you. Desires that will mean suffering. Jesus is a conquering King and when we follow Him we are actually following Him into battle. This battle is against the desires of the flesh, the lusts of the world, the pride of life, and against Satan himself. It is a battle that we can gladly and joyfully follow our King Jesus into knowing that it will cost us our lives. HistoricalPalm Sunday as I said earlier is the beginning of Holy Week. It is the finale of Lent and during times where gathering for worship is not outlawed there can often be services every day of the week. In Protestant Christianity there usually is at the very least a Good Friday service although even those unfortunately are becoming less frequent. During Palm Sunday often the church will be decorated with branches, sometime palm branches if they are available. In those denominations that celebrate Ash Wednesday, the branches used in worship on Palm Sunday are usually kept until the following Ash Wednesday and burned and the ashes from the Palm fronds are used to mark those penitent for the beginning of Lent. This is used to help Christians understand and realized the cyclical life of the Church and that God gives us patterns to follow faithfully. MusicalDuring our section on the biblical text for Palm Sunday, the theme of warfare came up frequently. The fact that Christ comes riding on the branches of trees is not a coincidental occurrence. In fact in two places the Old Testament records an event that bears certain similarities.In both 1 Chronicles 14 and 2 Samuel 5 we read this story.13And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. 14And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 15And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. 17And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.”As Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on the tops of the trees just as He had done against the Philistines, we are told in the various gospel accounts of His actions. He curses the fig tree symbolizing the nation of Israel the curse being that they would be cut off for their unbelief and bear fruit no longer. He then weeps over Jerusalem because He knows of its coming destruction in just a few short decades. He then goes and makes war on those who would turn His Father’s house into a den of thieves. These are the actions of a King going forth to war. The only gospel that doesn’t mention this fact is the Gospel of John who chooses instead to focus on the imagery of a seed dying to bring forth a harvest. During His triumphal entry Jesus had one thing on His mind. Going to war. He was going to wage war against the domain of darkness in a way that not even Satan could have seen coming. He was going to die for the sins of His people. All of that is an entrance of sorts into the hymn we will be exploring today which was written in 1812 by Reginald Heber called the Son of God goes Forth to War. This song is a wonderful encouragement for the Church Militant, those of us in the body of Christ who are still here on earth doing battle for the King. Let’s take a look at the words.The Son of God goes forth to war:A kingly crown to gain;His blood-red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink his cup of woe,Triumphant over pain,Who patient bears his cross below,He follows in His train.2The martyr first, whose eagle eyeCould pierce beyond the grave,Who saw his Master in the sky,And called to Him to save:Like Him, with pardon on his tongue,In midst of mortal pain,He prayed for them that did the wrong:Who follows in his train?3A glorious band, the chosen fewOn whom the Spirit came,Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,And mocked the cross and flame.They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,The lion’s gory mane,They bowed their necks, the death to feel:Who follows in their train?4A noble army, men and boys,The matron and the maid,Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,In robes of light arrayed.They climbed the steep ascent of heaven Through peril, toil, and pain:O God, to us may grace be givenTo follow in their train.We have in this hymn Christ setting the example by being the first to go to war and gain His crown of glory. He of course accomplished this upon the cross which is why Paul tells us that He is seated in power, reigning right now at the right hand of God. He will continue to reign Paul assures us until all enemies have been vanquished, the world has been converted to Christ and only the last enemy remains, death itself. Then Christ will return vanquish the final enemy, unite heaven and earth in glorious renewal and the dead will be raised again to glory for the final judgement. The hymn writer continually asks “Who will follow in His train?” or this is another way of asking who will follow after the King? In verse one, those who are able to follow in His train are those who are ready drink His cup of woe and to be patient and bear the cross of Christ in this temporal life.Verse 2 tells the story of the first hero of the faith. Stephan who could see “beyond the grave” or through the temporal things that so often distract us to what really matter. Christ beckoned to Stephan as he was being stoned and Stephan like his Master asked God to forgive those who did the wrong even while he was in the pain of death. Who will follow his example?Verse 3 tells the story of the 12 apostles who were valiant men upon whom was the Spirit of Christ. These 12 men, unlike any men before or after, were chosen by Christ and we’re given immense suffering to endure for the cross. Some were fed to lions, some slain with the sword. We are told they bowed their necks their death to feel. In other word’s they were not afraid to die nor were they going to run away from the Great Commission. They remembered that Christ had charged them with that of going into all the world and baptizing the nations. As Peter famously said with his life on the line…”We must obey God rather than men.”Verse 4 speaks of the multitudes that have given their lives for Christ in humble and faithful obedience to Him. We are told men, boys, women, girls, anyone claimed by Christ through baptism that has gone before us and is with Him in paradise are now rejoicing around the throne of Christ in glorious garments. We are also told how they got there, through a steep climb toward eternity during their earthly life experiencing peril, toil, and pain during the journey. The hymn concludes by asking God to give us, the Church Militant, the grace to follow in their train. With that I will play this hymn and look forward to seeing you for our next episode exploring Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. I hope that Christ fills you with encouragement as you worship Him this Lord’s Day in your homes and that we will soon find ourselves worshipping together once more in the beauty of holiness.

A quick update for some things that happened overnight.The Festival Of The Living Rooms 2 has changed it's date to May 15-17And there will be an online con from Europe this weekend.Bleib auf der Couch! Conhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/619252458929819/MusicKatt McConnell - A Singing Of Dragons - Faces In The Foghttp://waxchaotic.com/store.phpRandom Fractions - Into The Sea - Random Fractionshttps://randomfractions.bandcamp.com/Joe Bethancourt - Will We Still Have Country Music Out In Space - That Great Big Way Out ThereTom Smith - My Self Driving Pickup Left Today - Holy Crap A New Albumhttps://tomsmith.bandcamp.com/Summer Russell - The Entwife - The Entwife Singlehttps://summerrussell.bandcamp.com/Gary Hanak - I Never See The Rain - I Never See The Rain Singlehttps://garyhanak.bandcamp.com/SJ Tucker - Little Bird - Stolen Seasonhttps://skinnywhitechick.bandcamp.com/Mike Whitaker - Red Sun Rising - The Oak, The Rowan and The Wild Rosehttps://mikewhitaker1379.bandcamp.com/Leslie Hudson - Stargazer - Keep Left At The Forkhttps://lesliehudson.bandcamp.com/Annie Griffith - The Queen Of All That's Green - Arisehttps://anniegriffith.bandcamp.com/Links for this week's showConventionsMay 15-17Festival Of The Living Roomshttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1606369249486666/Filk InformationFriends Of Filkhttps://friendsoffilk.orgFilk Streamshttp://filkstreams.org/House Concerts and House FilksMassFilchttps://www.massfilc.org/meetings.shtmlPhoenix Filk Circlehttps://phoenixfilkcircle.wordpress.comLos Angeles Filk Circlehttps://www.conchord.org/lafaad.htmlDes Moines First Friday Filkhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/548389495176195Milwaukee Housefilkhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/533294056830869/Provo Filk Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/Provo-Filk-Group-713192665748714/Minneapolis House 4th Weekend House Filkshttp://freemars.org/mailman/listinfo/housefilk_freemars.orgOnline Concert Thing, You Tube and TwitchSJ Tucker Mar 29https://onlineconcertthing.com/Twitter@emberfiresong, @filkertom, @SummerRussell, @s00j, @TaTM_blog, @stevieannie, @invisiblepianoLinks to the Podcasthttp://filkcast.blogspot.comhttp://facebook.com/groups/FilkCasthttps://twitter.com/FilkCastIntro Music - Hope Eyrie by Leslie Fish - Julia Ecklar - Guitar - Kristoph Klover

Empty Tables. Empty Lives.The Big Question: If You Woke Up Tomorrow And All Your Family And Closest Friends Were Radically Saved And Daily Walking With God. Who Would Be The Next Person That You Would Care If They Went To Heaven.Luke 4:16-2016And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”(Leif, Christoph, Merlin + 20 more, Maren & Jessica, Kevin, Brett, John, Jason.)Hebrews 13:1-2“1Let brotherly love continue. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”Don’t Wait For An Invitation. There’s Always Someone Who Needs Your Love. (Johnny Cash Principle)Not Qualified? God Can Draw A Straight Line With A Crooked Stick. Don’t Have All The Answers? I’m Just A Beggar Showing Another Beggar Where To Find The Bread. Yes! People Are Messy, But God Has A Big Broom. It Will Cost You Something, But It Cost Jesus Far More. You Will Get Hurt, But Your Healing Will Heal Bigger Wounds. You Don’t Have To Trust People. You Just Have To Trust God. The Door Swings Both Ways. You’ll Never Let Yourself Out Until You Let People In. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Matthew 3:13-1713Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

New series part oneWhat we believe:Over the next weeks we will unpack the “what?” and the “how?” of what we do.Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint1 Cor 3:9 For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's buildingMark 16:15-20 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

The Nicene Creed p. 880 UMC hymnal *We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. *We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. *We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. We see a complete picture of the Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16,17 —- 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Here we see the Godhead united: The Father speaking from heaven The Son Jesus The Holy Spirit descending like a dove In the Great Commission, Jesus teaches of the Trinity: Matthew 28:18,19 — 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Luke 4:16–30    16[Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,    because he has anointed me       to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives    and recovering of sight to the blind,       to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.

LINKS BELOW! A rundown of the intensely infectious album new album ‘I’ from Dutch, female-fronted melodic death metal band For I Am King via Redfield Records (FFO: Arch Enemy, Darkest Hour, Bloodhunter). FlightOfIcarus waxes poetic about the album, killer riffs, and thoughts on female-fronted metal bands in general. Also discussed: Sectorial, Zapruder, Disciples Of The Void, and frustration over further concert cancellations and censorship in response to misguided activism; Uada as the latest topic. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, like, comment, rate, etc. Find more over at MetalTrenches.comBecome a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/metaltrenchesReviews and Full Album Streams:For I Am King: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/i-1715Sectorial: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/vyr-1713Zapruder: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/zapruder-1667Disciples Of The Void: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/disciples-of-the-void-1711Uada: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/cult-of-a-dying-sun-1477Other killer female-fronted bands here: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/the-heaviest-female-fronted-bands-right-now-17And here: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/6-more-heaviest-female-fronted-bands-63Taake/Censorship Article: https://metaltrenches.com/reviews/on-taake-and-antifa-1377Connect:https://metaltrenches.comhttps://metaltrenches.bandcamp.com/https://twitter.com/MetalTrencheshttps://www.instagram.com/metal.trenches/SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/dogQCDTheme Song: The Hudson Horror – “What The Moon Brings”Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/metaltrenches/creators)

In today's episode we are concluding our season 2 on hot health trends/topics with one of my favorite hot topics coconut oil.This amazing oil has so many health benefits that I could dish with y'all on for days but I chose the top ones to discuss today.Promotes smooth and younger skinPromotes hair growthHelps you lose weight and your going to want to hear this one for surePrevents cavities and gum disease-Also catch our discussion on bad breath over in episode #20Prevent heart disease and catch more on healthy fats in episode #17And finally it helps you feel energized and who couldn't use a lot more of that-right?Continue the conversation with us in our WWHLP facebook group join here https://www.facebook.com/groups/308405143283183Don't Forget To Subscribe & Review Us iTunesAre you subscribed to my podcast? If you're not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don't want you to miss an episode. I'm adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you're not subscribed there's a good chance you'll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!Now if you're feeling the extra love, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they're also fun for me to go in and read and then highlight you on a future episode. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark 9:14–29     14When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly  amazed and ran up to [Jesus] and greeted him. 16And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

The Names and Titles of Jesus – The King of Kings Episode 103 This series of the names and titles of Jesus will give us a more in-depth understanding of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is eleventh in the series. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth Abraham blessed by Melchizedek 7 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. 4Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 5Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people— that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. 6This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. 9One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor Judah Genesis 49:10 “Judah, your brothers will praise you;… The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. Israel Rejects God 1 Samuel 8 (NIV)6But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 1 Samuel 12:12(NIV)… you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. The Anointing of King David (1 Sam. 16) David was not “the” king of promise “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah ... For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 33:14-26). “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body and I will establish his kingdom ... Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure before me forever” (II Samuel 7:11-16). David was not “the” king of promise Isaiah speaks of the coming son who will shoulder the government “upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom ... from this time forth and for evermore” (9:6-9) Ezekiel says that the Lord “will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David” (34:23). “My servant David shall be king over them ... forever” (Ezekiel 37:24-25). Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. Once again their King would be God. God The Son Matthew 1:1-17(NIV) This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham--Jesse the father of King David David --Josiah the father of Jeconiah[and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12After the exile to Babylon---16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. 18This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”). Luke 1 New International Version (NIV) God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Matthew 2 New International Version (NIV) 2 After Jesus from as born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ Matthew 3 The Baptism of Jesus In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased.” Jesus reveals himself as the king of the Jews “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” John1:49 Teaching Parable, Parable, Parable, Parable about the kingdom of God Demonstrating His Power as King over—Satan—nature—sickness—time and space—death. Fulfilling Prophecy—Prophecy—Prophecy--Prophecy The Coming of Zion’s King Zechariah 9 9.Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth Hey Vav Hey Yod YHVH . Hebrew language reads right to left. – – Sound, pictographs meaning, and numerical value. Yod = Means extended arm and hand. Hey = Means the breath of God, behold or reveal, Abraham – 5 for Grace, Vav = Means spike or nail. It is also the number 6 in the Hebrew alphabet meaning man and is the exact center of the Torah. Hey = Means the breath of God, behold or reveal, Abraham –or  5 for Grace, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” 18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Hebrews 1 8But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 1 Timothy 6 (NIV) Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. Revelation 3:21 King James Version (KJV) 21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 19 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Psalm 21 Why do the nations conspire[a]and the peoples plot in vain? 2The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, 3“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Takeaways From Psalm 2 Vs. 4-9 We have a King. Greater than all Kings, God says, My King Vs. 1-3 Tells us we, as human beings hate that King. Vs. 11-12 Declares though we who have hated Him we need the King. We will never have blessedness until we serve the King and kiss The King. He is the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2). He is the King of Israel (John 1:49). He is the King of the nations (Rev. 15:3–4). He is the King of Heaven (Dan. 4:34, 37). He is the King of righteousness (Heb. 7:1–3). He is the King of peace (Heb. 7:1–3). He is the King of glory (Ps. 24:7–8). He is the King of the ages (1 Tim. 1:17). He is the King of all kings (Rev. 10:12, 16). Worship Jesus the King. Subscribe to the podcast: {Apple Podcasts}{Stitcher}{Google Play}{IHeartRadio}{YouTube}{Spotify}{CastBox}

The Greatness of Jesus In The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to

The Greatness of Jesus In The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to

Ephesians 2:11–22    11Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

17And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” 18Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” 19And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim […]

Luke 24:13-35: "That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." 25And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29but they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" 33And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread."

Luke 22:1-20: "1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. 2And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. 3Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. 7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it." 9They said to him, "Where will you have us prepare it?" 10He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11and tell the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there." 13And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 14And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Welcome, brave adventurers...... to the fifth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 23rd December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 27th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.comOstron, Ryu and Lennon are back again this week, and Lennon's hidden the Killer DM hat somewhere safe. In this week's show, Ostron dips into his Adventurer’s Pack and teaches us how to spell. Then we take a look at some D&D News as we bring you:Dragon + issue 17And some news on the Revised Ranger from the latest episode of Dragon TalkAfter that we take a Short Rest and poke our heads into the Gnomish Workshop where we resume looking at different bonuses DMs can give to their players; before finally finishing off the show by looking into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say.LinksD&D SpellsDragon+ Issue 17Dragon Talk 20th December 2017A Short Rest: Twelve Days of Bonuses, Part 2Twelve Days of Bonuses, Part 2This Week’s Community QuestionsHas D&D impacted your life in a meaningful way? Are there any in-game moments that helped you in real-life that you’d like to share?Now that we have more details about the RR, what are your thoughts? Do you agree that it’s just the Beastmaster that needs fixing? Would you prefer an entirely new class, a sub-class, or are you happy with the idea of Ability Swaps? What would you like to see from UA in 2018?Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodcast.comYou can also follow us on the social media sites! We’re on Facebook! Head over to facebook.com/heroesrisednd and say "hi", or check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff.Liked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, or contact us using oSupport the show (http://patreon.com/heroesrisednd)

Luke 19:11-27: "As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Engage in business until I come.' 14But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' 15When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.' 17And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.' 18And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made five minas.' 19And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' 20Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' 22He said to him, 'I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' 24And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.' 25And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!' 26'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'""

By Pastor Brandon Dirmann Scriptures - Genesis 28:10-21 (NKJV) - Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.   - John 1:51 (NKJV) - And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Message Points Jesus is your connection to God Jesus is your connection to the presence of God Jesus is your connection to the power of God

Jesus Has Entered The Building! - 05.28.17 The Good Book Series Luke 4:16-21 (NASB) 16And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Isaiah 61 Prophecy) BE LOVE SUMMER: Offering free to the community, asking nothing in return! Drive-Thru Prayer every Thursday - June 1st, Thursday 6:00 PM Life Skills Camp for Special Needs children, offered in partnership with Dance for a Cause - Starts June 5th, Monday 8:00 AM-12 PM Outreach Night, take water bottles to the Soccer Complex - June 7th, Wednesday 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Youth Group Hang-Outs for the rest of the summer - June 14th, Wednesday 7:00 PM Parent’s Night Out, Glow in the Dark, Jesus Is The Light, Night, One year olds to 5th Graders - June 16th, Friday 6:00 - 9:00 PM RiverTown Originals with Jennifer Mozley, Free Concert for the Community - June 23rd, Friday 7:00-8:00 PM All-American Hoedown, Square Dance and Karaoke, Family Fun Night - July 5th, Wednesday 6:00 PM Relationally Parenting Teens, A Free Parenting Seminar by Patrick Doyle of Veritas Counseling - July 6th, Thursday 6:30-8:30 PM Bridges of Faith Work Day in Verbena, AL to support ministry to Ukranian Orphans - July 14-15th, Friday-Saturday Parent’s Night Out: Water Play Night, Learn that Jesus is Living Water, One year olds to 5th Graders - July 21st, Friday 6:00-9:00 PM Back To School Pig Roast, Roasting On-Site a 100lb hog for Fourth-Sunday Feast. - Sunday, July 23rd - After 11:00am Express Service Take the City Outreach - July 28th-29th, Friday 6:30 PM and Saturday 12:30 PM Family Night In: See the kids show what they learned during our Parent’s Night Outs - August 4th, Friday 6-9 PM: WHY? The BE LOVE Question: Who And How Many People Would Be UnLoved If You Weren’t Here? 1 John 4:7-13, 19 (NIV) 7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13This is how we know that we live in him and he in us. 19We love because he first loved us.

Greed: Luke 12:13-24: "13Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." 16And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. 17And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' 18Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' 20But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' 21So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." 22And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!"

ALTAR DAY "My One Word" 2017 2 Kings 13:14-20 WHAT IS A “ONE WORD” ALTAR? THE ARROW THAT PREDICTS MY FUTURE. 2 Kings 13:14-17 When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you shall defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” The Four Predictive Principles Of “My One Word.” #1: Every Story Of TRANSFORMATION Begins With A WORD From God. #2: Do SOMETHING About ONE THING Instead Of NOTHING About Everything. #3: My One Word is a LENS through which you will SEE, not a PROMISE which you must keep. #4: Keep Your “Word From God” In FRONT of you so you won’t FORGET God’s Voice. THE POINT I KEEP STRIKING THE GROUND. 2 Kings 13:18-20 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.” 20And Elisha died, and they buried him. THE PLOW AND OXEN I BURN. 1 Kings 19:19, 21 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. 21So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

New Hope For Old Habits At Christmas 12.11.16. “Not This Year!” Series Luke 2:1-8 1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2(And this taxing was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were much afraid. Hope Delivered Directly From God. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10 Answers Today For My Real Needs. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Breakthrough Birth From An Unknown, Unexpected, And Unrecognized Source. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:12-14 Initiate Action Now. 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:15,16 Transformation Takes Off And Takes Time. 17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:17, 20

Ruth 3:10-18 AFFIRM - The Best Flavor. 10Then he said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11“And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. STOP - Know Your Place. (boundaries) 12“And now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13“Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning.” HONOR - Words Protect Family. (Can’t Be Taken Back.) 14So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” GIVE - Go Beyond Expectations. 15Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” ACT - Face Unsettled Issues. 18Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.”

The Spirit OF the Prophet Elijah.Too often we repeat scripture so much in the Body of Christ we create cliches that dangerously masquerade the potency of their message. When the hour of their relevancy is upon us we face the real possibility of missing the moment, while it takes place right before our eyes. It was like this in Jesus's day. Their eyes were peeled for the return of the prophet ELIJAH, yet they couldn't see the spirit of the prophet of Elijah resting upon John, an exceptional servant of the Lord preaching among them. Malachi 4:6"... Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."Luke 1:17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." The end-time Elijah initiative. A Prophetic Word.

Co-pastor Timothy Kim talks about what hope is, what it takes to imagine better things, and how that relates to the idea of God's Kingdom being present for us today (and not in the distant, unknown future).Readings:Luke 24:13-2413Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”Excerpt from Paul Tillich's Sermon "The Right to Hope"“Where there is genuine hope, there that for which we hope already has some presence.  In some way, the hoped for is at the same time here and not here. It is not yet fulfilled, and it may remain unfulfilled. But it here, in the situation and in ourselves, as a power which drives those who hope into the future. There is a beginning here and now. And this beginning drives toward an end. The hope itself, IF it is rooted in the reality of something already given, becomes a driving, power and makes fulfillment not certain, but possible.”

Pastor Zenzile Legend February 2, 2014 Colossians 3:12-17 12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Pastor Z. Legend January 5, 2014 Mark 16:15-20 Mark 16:15Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Baptism of the Lord Sunday Matthew 3: 3:13-17 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 16:16 "He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [[f]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned. 17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. 19So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it)."

Mark 16:16 "He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [[f]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned. 17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. 19So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it)."

Mark 16:16 "He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [[f]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned. 17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. 19So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it)."

Mark 16:16 "He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [[f]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned. 17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. 19So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it)."

Click here to listen or download this message. 10-03-10, SAM, CLCPower of our words 2The spoken word (Rhema) is our only offensive weapon, we must use it!Ephesians 6:17-19 (New American Standard Bible) 17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,Hebrews 3:1 (New American Standard Bible) 1Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;Hebrews 12:2 (New King James Version)2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher (some translations say perfecter) of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Hebrews 7:25 (New American Standard Bible) 25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.1 John 2:1 says He’s our advocateRomans 8:34 (New American Standard Bible) 34who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.He’s the advocate, the devil is the accuser, our testimony is what Jesus has to work with.Mark 5:25-34 (New American Standard Bible) 25A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse-- 27after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." 29Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" 31And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" 32And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."Joshua 1Ps 1Numbers 13:30 (King James Version) 30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.Click here to go the the site where you can view the whole sermon outline, listen online, or download to your computer.

1 Peter 1:14-1914As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 17And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.Be sure to check us out at www.strochcc.org

1 Kings 18 1And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 9And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. 13Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 15And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. 16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. 19Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. 20So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 25And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. 30And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: 32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. KB Chan Music

click hereVisit the Recover In Christ web site. Genesis 3 1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

click here Visit the Recover In Christ web site. Romans 11 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, 3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. 29For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 33O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

click hereVisit the Recover In Christ web site. Romans 3 1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 5But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 7For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. 9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17And the way of peace have they not known: 18There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Visit the Recover In Christ web site. leviticus 4 1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: 3If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. 4And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. 5And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 6And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. 7And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 9And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away, 10As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering. 11And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, 12Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. 13And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; 14When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. 15And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. 16And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: 17And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. 18And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 19And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. 20And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. 21And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation. 22When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; 23Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: 24And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering. 25And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. 26And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. 27And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; 28Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned