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View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.lordoflords.org/sermons/the-unpredictable-promised-harvest/Watch this sermon directly on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoyR656gi1UPredictability, that's how we tend to like things in our lives. We want our car to start when we turn the key. We want our refrigerator to keep our food cold and our freezer to keep it colder. We expect it to be hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and cooler in the spring and fall. We expect that four-letter "W" word to be around all the time. Consistent. Reliable. Predictable.That's what makes Jesus' parable in today's Gospel so maddeningly frustrating ... and at the same time wonderfully exhilarating! It's just not predictable. A farmer goes out to sow his seed, but he doesn't know what's going to grow or where or how. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. He just scatters the seed. We think how terribly wasteful and inefficient this is. We are the kind of people who pull out the tape measure to make sure we plant our cucumbers at ½ inch depth, our peppers 18 inches apart, and our tomatoes around May 31. We dig furrows, plant the seed, and put the little stakes at the end of each row -- all to maximize our garden's potential. Then, because it's Wyoming, we are pleasantly surprised when anything grows!Even with all that care and precision, we still have no idea how well our plants will grow. We do the work and let God do the rest. It is all very unpredictable.And that's exactly what Jesus is teaching us today. The seed of God's Word is wonderfully, maddeningly unpredictable. You can sow it, plant it or scatter it, but you don't know whether that Word is going to take root and grow or not. You don't know which seeds will be snatched or baked or choked ... or which will produce an abundant harvest.The Sower was reckless with his Seed, letting it fall where it may. And this is exactly what Jesus is doing as he scatters the seed of his Word to the "large crowds" that listened to him teach from the boat. Jesus scattered this seed to anyone within earshot -- the devout, the curious, the super-religious, the seekers, the skeptics, the Jewish opposition, the tax collectors, and sinners. He scattered the seed liberally -- not only to those whom he thinks will give the greatest return on the investment or on those who meet the proper demographics -- but to all.Jesus is teaching us to do exactly the same thing. We scatter the seed of his Word in as many ways, in as many places, to as many different people as we can. We scatter his seed to the big homes next to the golf course, the neighborhoods around the church, throughout Casper, and the communities of Bar Nunn, Mills, and Evansville. We hang flyers on doors and post reels on social media. We share God's Word on our webpage, YouTube, email, from the pulpit in church, and with adult instruction classes in people's homes. We share the Word with young families, the single mom, the widowed grandfather, the lonely teenager, the overwhelmed college student, the alcoholic businessman, the depressed housewife, and the cute little kids.But there is no predictability when or how or with whom the gospel seed grows. That's why we try to scatter the seed in so many ways. All God asks and expects us to do is scatter the seed and support the scattering with our time, effort, prayers, and offerings. He will bless the harvest.We plant the seeds, but some of the soil is hard. It isn't allowed to take root. These are the hearts (our hearts) that are stubborn and resistant, feeling no need to repent, no hunger or thirst for God's Word, and does not allow for conversion and change. If someone does not want God's gospel -- his free and unconditional forgiveness, his deliverance from death and the Devil, and his reconciliation with the holy God -- the Lord of the harvest does not force the gospel to stay but allows the seed to be snatched away. A Gideon's Bible in every hotel room and a church on every corner doesn't bother Satan if he can keep snatching the gospel from hard and stubborn hearts.Some of the seeds we sow will fall on ground cluttered with rocks and stones. Here the seed springs up quickly but cannot stand the heat. Satan loves a faith that is based on feelings, emotions, and convenience, rather than digging deep roots into Christ's gospel. It's a quick and easy faith of compromise, convenience, and mediocrity that cannot stand strong with the heat of challenges and conflicts, persecution and pain.Some of the seeds we scatter will fall on ground with weeds so there is competition. Competition with the difficulties at work, the struggles at home, the hurt feelings with friends, the worries and concerns of life, the vacationing and sleeping in, or the lusts of the flesh and the pleasures of the world. All these will choke the Word of God from growing in hearts and transforming lives.Totally unpredictable.Instead of predictability, we have something better -- we have God's promise through his prophet, "Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11). God's Word works. It will either be rejected or accepted. It will either be discounted or believed. It will either harden or convert. It will either create enemies or create saints.This is good! When things are in our hands, we can never be sure of the outcome. When we're on our own, what can we do? What can we accomplish? I can't even make my garden grow, let alone produce a harvest for God!But in God's hands -- his creating hands, his nail-pierced hands, his faith-instilling hands -- then we can be sure. Absolutely sure. Those hands, once pierced and fastened to the cross but now raised from the dead, are the hands that have defeated all our enemies and chase away the Evil One. Those are the hands that have taken the weeds and doubts of sin and pulled them up by the roots and forgiven them. Those are the hands that shield us from the burning persecution of Satan and shade us by his grace and care.These are the hands that take your hard, rocky, weed-infested soil and turns it over through the cultivating of his holy, inspired Word -- his Law and Gospel. The Law prepares the soil of the heart for the seed of the Gospel. The Law points out the rocks, weeds, and hard soil. It causes you to repent of those rocks, weeds, and hardness. It breaks up the rocks, pulls the weeds, and softens your hard heart.Then the Gospel cultivates your soil. You drink deeply of the water of your Baptism through repentance and absolution. You are nourished with the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper. You are blessed with his benediction and grace. You are fertilized with all the nutrients you need to grow your faith through God's holy Scriptures.God, the ultimate Sower and the Lord of the harvest, will bring about the harvest he desires. What does this harvest look like? It's not simply a full sanctuary, increased Bible study attendance, and a budget in the black. It's a marvelously, miraculously, maddeningly unpredictable harvest 30, 60, 100 times what was sown. (If you've ever planted anything, you know how astronomically amazing those harvest numbers are.) This harvest displays itself in your life by worshiping weekly, praying constantly, studying daily, speaking truthfully, helping faithfully, serving consistently, loving unconditionally, and forgiving repeatedly. It's not often the big and spectacular that is accomplished, but rather the ordinary and mundane. It's hearing, understanding, and living the Word in your life, in your family, at your job, at your school, and with your friends. Producing fruit. Living as Christ. Loving as you have been loved. Forgiving as you have been forgiven. Serving as you have been served. These are the fruits of faith that are pleasing to the Sower.Let me tell you a story of how God works this in real life. Several years ago, I received an email in the spring asking if our church had a class on the basics of the Bible. The writer of the email said she had gone to a WELS church with a friend, was impressed, and wanted to learn more about the Bible. She had received flyers on her door in Racine from us in the past. She checked out the church on our webpage and even watched a few of my sermons. So, she joined the Bible Inquirer's Class I had just started. There wasn't really any intention of leaving her church and joining our Lutheran Church. But then God's Word began to dig roots, grow, and flourish. She found the truth of God's Word and the free forgiveness in Christ she had been missing her whole life. The Holy Spirit moved her to join our congregation that summer.But the story doesn't end there. While God's Word began to blossom and change her life, the Word also began to germinate within her two daughters. Her 9-year-old daughter would play with their 7-year-old neighbor, Gracie. After coming in to get dressed for church one day, her daughter said, "Gracie has never heard of God and Jesus and stuff ... so I told her about it."A few weeks later, Mom was folding laundry in her bedroom and noticed that her daughter and Gracie were sitting on the backsteps. Her daughter had out her Children's Bible and was reading Gracie the story of Adam and Eve, and Gracie looked incredibly taken by the story! Mom said that was even more amazing was that her daughter absolutely, positively, hates reading and will do just about anything to avoid it. And there she was, all on her own (with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course), reading the Bible to the neighbor girl. And enjoying it!Over the course of the summer, her two daughters read Gracie over 50 pages of the Bible. Then they both told their mom, "You know, Mom, the Bible is actually really interesting!"Then her 9-year-old explained that she had gotten out her old first communion dress and dressed Gracie in it. Then she got some water and baptized her!What an unpredictable but promised harvest! All from scattering the seed with a door hanger, a friendly invitation to church, and a webpage. Then the seed of the Word beginning to take root in Bible Class, maturing into membership, and blossoming in a family and a neighborhood.What is God going to accomplish in you and through you? I don't know. But I want you to eager to see the field ripe for harvest. God has planted his seed deep into your heart for a purpose, and he will see it through to completion. Let the Word take root in your heart. Continue to recklessly scatter the seed. Preach the Word and plant it home. Know that you have God's promise that his Word will produce a harvest. Not always the same harvest. Not always the harvest we're looking for or praying for. But it will be a marvelous, miraculous, maddeningly unpredictable, promised harvest. In you and through you. Good seed sprouting in good soil. Amen.

Chapters (00:00:00) - Battleground: The Battle of the Mind(00:01:26) - Battle of the Mind(00:03:36) - Second Corinthians, Chapter 10(00:04:16) - Paul's Battle for the Mind(00:10:12) - Paul's Battle Against Strongholds(00:15:47) - strongholds in our life(00:22:00) - Taking Every Thought Into captivity(00:29:54) - Jesus Christ is Good Enough(00:30:50) - Taking Every Thought Captive(00:32:04) - The Greatest Stronghold in the Mind(00:34:56) - All God's strongholds

In this session, we cover the readings appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9), Year A, falling on July 5, 2026.Of course, you may be in search of something “patriotic” to say with the Independence Day celebration (aka, July 4) in America. That's not really our bag here at the Lectionary Lab, but I'll see if I can't whip up a little something for the Thursday Sermon (on Wednesday) — which I will send out this week on Tuesday for the holiday!This Sunday turns a corner. Last week closed the four-week Matthew 10 sending discourse with the small image of a cup of cold water. This week, the Gospel offers what may be the most beloved invitation in all of Scripture: come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. After weeks of being called, sent, warned, and welcomed, the same Jesus turns to his disciples and says: come.The Old Testament tracks both lead toward that Gospel, but they get there along very different roads. Track One brings us a tender story from Genesis — the long account of Abraham's servant finding Rebekah — paired with either Psalm 45's royal wedding song or Song of Solomon's love poem. (The lectionary offers the two as alternatives, and this guide treats both fully.) Track Two brings us Zechariah's vision of a humble king coming on a donkey rather than a war horse, paired with Psalm 145's sweeping celebration of God's compassion for all. The Epistle moves into Romans 7 — Paul's honest, piercing description of the war between intention and action.A small but real continuity is worth noticing as you prepare. Rebekah's first kindness in Genesis 24, in the verses just before our reading, was to draw water for a thirsty servant — and then for his camels. That echo of last week's cup of cold water is the lectionary doing some quiet preaching on its own. For preachers following a sermon series, this Sunday opens a new arc; the Matthew 10 cycle is complete, and Matthew 11 begins a new movement that will carry into the parables in the weeks ahead.A small but real continuity is worth noticing as you prepare. Rebekah's first kindness in Genesis 24, in the verses just before our reading, was to draw water for a thirsty servant — and then for his camels. That echo of last week's cup of cold water is the lectionary doing some quiet preaching on its own.The ReadingsGenesis 24:34–38, 42–49, 58–67First Reading (Track One) — The Finding of RebekahSummaryThis is selected portions of the longest chapter in Genesis. After Sarah's death, Abraham sends his trusted servant back to his homeland to find a wife for Isaac. The selected verses give us three moments: the servant explaining his mission to Rebekah's family, his retelling of the prayer he had silently prayed at the well and how Rebekah had appeared at exactly the right moment, and the close of the story — Rebekah's choice to go, her family's blessing, her journey to Canaan, and the meeting with Isaac in the field. Isaac, the text tells us, brings her into the tent that had been his mother's, and is comforted after his mother's death.Photo by james ballard on UnsplashKey Ideas for Preaching* Rebekah's first kindness, in the verses just before our reading, was to draw water for the servant — and then to draw water for his ten thirsty camels. After last week's cup of cold water, the echo is hard to miss. What does it mean for your congregation that a story this important to the family of Israel begins with the small kindness of a young woman drawing water for thirsty strangers?* When the servant prayed, he says, his prayer was answered before he had finished speaking. The text holds together strong human action and quiet divine arrangement, neither one swallowing the other. Where does your congregation tend to imagine that God's providence and human kindness compete, and how might this text suggest they work together?* Rebekah's “I will go” is one of the clearest moments of agency for a woman in Genesis. She is asked, and she chooses. What does it look like to honor the women in your congregation by reading this story with careful attention to her voice, not just to the men around her?* The story closes with Isaac being comforted after the death of his mother. He has barely spoken since the binding two chapters ago — and now, quietly, the text tells us he is starting to heal. How might your sermon let your people feel that healing often happens slowly, in ordinary ways, after the wounds we cannot easily name?Significant Cautions* The story has often been used to bless arranged marriages or to model dating advice. The text is doing something much larger; do not flatten it into a prescription for modern relationships.* The servant's prayer at the well has sometimes been read as a model for laying out tests to see if God will give the right sign. That is a small and anxious use of a story that is mostly about quiet divine arrangement, not negotiated tests.* Sarah, who dies just before this story, was wronged in this family in ways the text does not resolve. Be honest that the comfort Isaac receives at the end of the chapter does not erase the harder family history that has come before.Psalm 45:10–17The Psalm (Track One, primary option) — A Royal Wedding SongSummaryA wedding song — one of the few psalms not addressed to God but to a king and his bride. The selected verses focus on the bride. She is counseled to leave her own people and join her husband. She is described in glorious clothing, accompanied by joyful companions, and brought with celebration into the king's palace. The psalm closes with a promise that her sons will be princes in all the earth.Key Ideas for Preaching* The psalm describes a celebration — joy at a wedding, glad procession, glorious clothing. After several weeks of demanding texts, what would it look like to let your congregation feel the goodness of celebration as a faithful response to God?* The Christian tradition has often read this psalm allegorically as the marriage of Christ and the church. There is real poetic richness in that reading. How might it shape your sermon to let the psalm be both a wedding song and an image of the love that holds the church?Significant Cautions* “Forget your people and your father's house” has been a difficult line throughout the psalm's history. In its original setting, it describes a foreign princess marrying into Israel — a major dislocation. Modern readers are right to feel the strangeness of the line. Do not preach it in a way that suggests God ever asks anyone to simply forget where they come from.* The psalm focuses almost entirely on the bride's appearance and her function as the producer of royal sons. That is one voice within Scripture, not the whole of what Scripture says about women. Be careful with how you handle the imagery in a contemporary congregation.Song of Solomon 2:8–13The Psalm (Track One, alternative option) — Arise, My LoveSummaryAn alternative reading to Psalm 45. The Beloved's voice rings out across the hills: “the voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.” The lover calls the Beloved to come away. Winter is over. The flowers appear. The fig tree puts forth its early fruit. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.Key Ideas for Preaching* The book of Song of Solomon, surprisingly to many in the pews, is in the Bible — and most of what it celebrates is human, embodied love. What does it do for your congregation to hear that the Scriptures have room for an unabashed celebration of human longing?* The image of winter ending and the world flowering again has been used by faithful readers across generations as a picture of God's renewing work. How might your sermon let the text speak both as a love poem and as a picture of what God's love does to a frozen heart?Significant Cautions* The text has, for most of its history in the church, been allegorized into a song about Christ and the church or God and the soul. That tradition is rich. But it has sometimes been used to apologize for the book's frankly erotic content. The text was given to us as it is. Be careful not to scrub it for modern propriety.* Be careful, on the other hand, not to use this text to baptize any contemporary picture of romance. The poem describes mutual longing, mutual delight, and the breaking of seasons; it is not a manual for human relationships and should not be flattened into one.Zechariah 9:9–12First Reading (Track Two) — The Humble KingSummaryA vision of a king coming to Jerusalem — but not the kind of king the people are expecting. He is humble and righteous, victorious yet riding on a donkey rather than a war horse. When he comes, he will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem. The bow of battle will be broken. He will command peace to the nations, and his rule will reach from sea to sea. The reading closes with a word to the “prisoners of hope” — return to your stronghold, double restoration is on the way.Key Ideas for Preaching* The king Zechariah envisions is humble — he comes riding a donkey rather than a war horse. Power that does not look like power. This is the picture the Gospels will pick up at the entry to Jerusalem, and it is the picture Jesus offers of himself in today's Gospel as “gentle and humble in heart.” What does it mean for your congregation to follow this kind of king in a world that still measures power by chariots?* The peace this king brings includes cutting off the implements of war. Not making them better; getting rid of them. Where in your congregation has the language of peace been allowed to coexist with the quiet building up of weapons of one kind or another?* “Prisoners of hope” is one of the strangest and most beautiful phrases in the prophets. The people of God are imagined as captives — but captives of hope, not despair. What might it mean to your people to hear themselves named that way?Significant Cautions* This text is most often heard on Palm Sunday, when it gets read as a prediction of Jesus' entry to Jerusalem. Hearing it now, outside that context, gives a preacher a chance to let it speak first in its own voice. Be careful not to rush it toward Christ in a way that strips it of its own original power.* “Peace to the nations” has sometimes been used to bless military adventures branded as bringing peace. The text says the opposite. The peace comes from disarmament, not from victory.Psalm 145:8–14The Psalm (Track Two) — Good to AllSummaryA great hymn of praise to God's goodness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. God is good to all, and God's compassion is over all that God has made. All God's works give thanks; the faithful bless God. God's kingdom is everlasting. The Lord upholds those who are falling and raises up those who are bowed down.Key Ideas for Preaching* “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” That is a remarkably wide claim. Not good to the worthy. Good to all. Where has your congregation accepted, without thinking, the idea that some are inside God's compassion and some are not?* The psalm is full of universal language — all, every, all that he has made. This is one of the cosmic visions of God's reach in the Hebrew Bible. How might your sermon let your congregation feel the size of that reach?* “The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.” This pairs beautifully with the Gospel's invitation to come to Christ and find rest. What does it look like to preach to those who are falling — gently, without shame?Significant Cautions* “Slow to anger” can be heard bitterly by people who have been crying out for justice for a long time. Do not preach this verse without making room for that experience.* “Upholds all who are falling” can land cruelly on those whose loved ones did, in fact, fall and not get caught. Be careful with this verse near grief.Romans 7:15–25aThe Epistle — The War WithinSummaryOne of the most psychologically piercing passages in the New Testament. Paul describes the experience of doing what he does not want and not doing what he wants. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” He finds, he says, a kind of law at work in him — that when he wants to do good, evil is right there. He delights in God's law in his inmost self, but another law is at work in his body. The passage rises to a cry: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” And then, almost without taking a breath, it pivots: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”Key Ideas for Preaching* This is one of the most honest descriptions of the human condition anywhere in Scripture. Paul does not pretend to have mastered himself. He names the experience that everyone in the room recognizes — wanting to do better and finding the same old patterns returning. What does it mean for your congregation to hear that the Bible knows this experience by heart?* The cry “wretched man that I am” is not despair. It is honest grief that something is broken — and it leads directly to the cry for rescue. How might your sermon teach your people that naming what is broken in themselves is not the same as despairing of themselves?* The pivot at the end is not a quick fix. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” does not mean the internal struggle disappears overnight. Paul will go on in chapter 8 to describe how the Spirit groans with us in the meantime. Where might your sermon hold the honesty of the struggle and the hope of the rescue together, without rushing past either?Significant Cautions* This passage has been argued about for centuries — whether Paul is describing his pre-Christian past, his ongoing experience as a believer, or some other voice altogether. Faithful readers come down differently. Do not preach as if the question has been settled.* The passage has sometimes been used to bless moral failure — “even Paul couldn't do it, so why try?” That is a misuse. Paul is naming the struggle, not surrendering to it.* The “body of death” language has sometimes been used to disparage the physical body as the source of sin. That is not what Paul says. The whole human person, body and mind together, is involved in the struggle, not the body alone.* “Try harder” sermons that ignore Paul's actual point are common with this text. The point is not effort. The point is the rescue.Matthew 11:16–19, 25–30The Gospel — Come to Me, All Who Are WearySummaryTwo paired sections of Matthew 11. In the first, Jesus complains about his generation. They are like children in the marketplace who cannot be pleased — neither the dance music nor the funeral song moves them. John came as an ascetic and was called demon-possessed. Jesus came eating and drinking and was called a glutton. The wisdom of God will be vindicated, he says, by what it actually produces. The reading then skips ahead — past the harsh woes against the Galilean cities, which the lectionary omits — to Jesus' thanksgiving. He thanks the Father for hiding things from the wise and revealing them to infants. And then the famous invitation: come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.Key Ideas for Preaching* The opening verses describe a generation that cannot be pleased by either austerity or celebration. Where in your own time do you see the same dynamic — a culture that rejects every kind of religious witness, on different grounds? How might your sermon take that pattern seriously rather than dismiss it?* Jesus says wisdom is vindicated by what it produces — its deeds. Not by its claims, its slogans, or its theology, but by what comes of it in actual lives. Where in your congregation has wisdom been measured by talk rather than by fruit, and how might today's text reset that?* The thanksgiving in verse 25 is for what God reveals to “infants” — the simple, the small. That has often been misread as anti-intellectual. It is not. It is a critique of the kind of wisdom that is too sure of itself to receive a gift. What does it mean for your people to come to God like infants — open-handed, not pre-loaded with answers?* The famous invitation — “come to me, all you who are weary” — is offered to everyone, no test required. After four weeks of Matthew 10's increasingly demanding sending discourse, this is the gentlest possible turn. How might your sermon help your congregation feel the contrast and receive the invitation?* A yoke is the wooden frame that binds two oxen together so they can pull a load. A well-fitted yoke makes the work bearable; a poorly fitted one is torture. Jesus offers an easy yoke — one that fits, one that pairs the weary person with him. What does it look like for your people to be yoked with Christ in their actual daily work?* “Rest for your souls.” Not just rest for the body, though that matters too. Rest in the deeper place. What kind of rest are your people most in need of, and how might today's text point them toward it?Significant Cautions* The “easy yoke” should not be flattened into the claim that following Jesus is without cost. We have just spent four Sundays on the cost of being sent. The yoke is easy because of who it is shared with, not because the work is small.* The “hidden from the wise” language has been misused to bless anti-intellectualism. Jesus is not against thinking. He is against the kind of self-satisfied wisdom that cannot receive what is given.* “Come to me, all you who are weary” has been preached in ways that minimize the systemic causes of human weariness. People are not just personally tired; many are exhausted by work conditions, economic pressure, racism, and political structures that are wearing them down. The invitation is real, but it does not let the church off the hook for addressing what is producing the weariness.* The “yoke” image has been used by abusive religious systems to bind people to harmful authorities. Be careful that nothing in your sermon sounds like that. Jesus' yoke is gentle. Anything that is not is not his.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day, and it offers one of the most beloved invitations in all of Scripture. After four Sundays inside the Matthew 10 sending discourse — in which Jesus has called, sent, warned, and welcomed his disciples — the same Gospel now offers them, and us, a startling change of key. Come to me. Find rest. The same Jesus who was sending people out is the one who now invites them in.The Old Testament tracks both lead toward that Gospel along very different roads. * On Track One, Genesis 24 gives us a tender story of God's providence working through human kindness and choice. Isaac, whose binding we read about two Sundays ago, is now being comforted. Rebekah's voice (and her camels) carry forward last week's cup of cold water into a new generation. Whether you choose Psalm 45 or Song of Solomon, the paired text celebrates love that comes when winter ends. The whole track has the quality of a thaw — a turning toward warmth after the heaviness of recent weeks.* On Track Two, Zechariah's vision of the humble king on a donkey leads directly into the Gospel's “gentle and humble in heart” Jesus. Psalm 145 widens the scope: God's mercy is for all, God's compassion over everything that has been made. The track invites a congregation to see the kingdom of God as fundamentally gentle in nature.* Romans 7 sits inside the day in a fascinating way. After the Gospel's invitation, Paul's honest description of the war between desire and action gives a name to one of the heavy burdens we carry. The rest Jesus offers is not the absence of that struggle. It is the company in which the struggle is held.For preachers continuing a sermon series, this week opens a new arc. The four-week Matthew 10 sending discourse is complete. * Matthew 11 begins a movement that will carry into parables and signs in the weeks ahead. The transition from “go out” (Matthew 10) to “come to me” (Matthew 11) is itself the heart of this Sunday's word. Sending and rest are not opposites; they are two sides of the same life. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Teacher: Rob Zimmermann Download Sermon Notes  Watch Episode Give Online: http://westgatechapel.org/give Chapters (00:00:04) - Let Your kingdom come(00:03:35) - Welcome to Westgate Chapel(00:07:47) - Prayer for the Middle School Students(00:09:05) - Don't You Worry About Tomorrow(00:16:00) - All My Life I Will Sing of the Good(00:22:09) - All God's provisions(00:24:57) - First Things First(00:31:02) - Why Don't People Give a Tithing?(00:37:09) - What Was A Tithing?(00:42:44) - The Timhe(00:48:54) - The Dangerous Place of Spiritual Drift(00:57:04) - Letter C(01:00:33) - Testify to God's Faithfulness(01:04:21) - How Does Tithing In the New Testament Inform Our Life(01:09:08) - Putting Your Heart in God's Word(01:19:56) - God Bless Your People

What does true freedom really mean? In this special America 250 episode of Her God Story, Jodie Chiricosta imagines a thoughtful conversation with Abigail Adams—woman of faith, patriot, and one of the strongest moral voices of America's founding era.Drawing from Abigail's letters and historical writings, this inspiring episode explores freedom, virtue, courage, faith, and responsibility—and why liberty must remain grounded in God and moral character to endure.You'll be encouraged to:Stand firm in the freedom Christ givesFind courage and steadiness in uncertain timesGrow in faith and moral convictionUse your influence to serve others wellAnd live with greater purpose and responsibilityAbigail Adams: The Blessing of Freedom is a timely reminder that true liberty is both a gift and a sacred trust. Click here for SHOW NOTES!Start a Her God Story Podcast Club! Learn more here!Share this message with a friend and subscribe for weekly encouragement and inspiration! Check out HerGodStory.org for a FREE 6-WEEK DEVOTIONAL and to see upcoming guests. Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today! Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org, FOLLOW US ON:Facebook: @SomebodyCaresAmerica Youtube: SomebodyCaresAmerica Rumble: SomebodyCares X: _SomebodyCares.Instagram: SomebodyCaresAmericaLinkedIn: Somebody Cares America You can also receive periodic ministry updates or join our prayer team by signing up here!Read Jodie's BLOG at LivingYourFaith.net

God Can Give You a New Heart Ezekiel 36:26-28 “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.  You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” When I read this verse, I was instantly in love.  I think there is so much in this short verse.  “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  The Lord will give us a new heart and a new spirit.  That is amazing to me.  Do you understand how amazing that is?  This is saying that nothing is too much for the Lord.  Sometimes we think that our past is too much, and so when the Lord is talking about loving us, He is talking about loving others, but not us.  When He is asking us to love Him, He is talking to other people.  He knows that I could never love Him because I could never love anyone. I wonder if we all know and realize that God knows all we have been through?  God knows about your childhood.  God knows about the parent or spouse who abused you.  He still loves you!  He knows about the sins of our past.  He still loves us!  He knows about the terrible way we treated others over the years, but he still loves us.  He knows about that thing that you did that one time that you think no one knows about.  He knows, and He still loves you.  He knows about drinking and drugs.  He still loves you!  He knows about that unforgivable thing that you did that you would do anything to take back, but you can't.  He still loves you!  I know I may sound like a broken record because I give you this message often.  It is because it is the foundation of everything.  If you know that God loves you just as you are, sins and all, then you can love God.  If you can't accept that God loves you, then I am not sure if you can love God. I have heard it said before that we can only love God as much as we love ourselves.   I don't know if this is true or not.  Honestly, I hope it is not because I know a lot of people who don't love themselves very much, and it makes me sad to think that they might not be able to love the Lord.  Also, it makes us wonder if they can feel the Lord's love.  If we do not think that we are worthy of love, then how can we believe that the Lord loves us?  This is why I love this verse!  The Lord can give us a new heart. Maybe our hearts have been broken too many times.  Maybe our hearts have too much baggage, and we just can't seem to let go of it.  Maybe our hearts are full of unforgiveness.  We may have been hurt so much in the past that we don't want to forgive.  We can't see a way to forgive the horrible things that have happened.  We don't have to; the Lord can give us a new heart.  It says right in the verse that He will take out the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.  Do you feel like He is talking to you?  Do you feel like you have been hurt one too many times, and it is too difficult for you to love anyone?  Have you asked the Lord for help?  Have you asked Him for a new spirit or a new heart?  Maybe this had never occurred to you.  I know I never knew this verse before.  But now that I do, I know that all we need to do is turn to the Lord, and he will give us a new heart and a new spirit.  How amazing is that? The next part of the verse is one that I need to remind myself of often.  “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”  The Lord will put his spirit in us and cause us to walk in His statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.  I am constantly thinking that I have to do this all on my own.  I turn to God, and I ask Him for help.  We talk often.  And yet, when it comes down to it, I try to be perfect for Him.  I am hard on myself if I am not doing what I think He wants me to do.  I wonder whether I am praying the right way, should I be fasting, should I be doing more?  I wonder if the Lord is pleased with what I am doing, and I wonder if He thinks I am not doing enough.  I know that He loves me and that He doesn't need anything from me.  Then I act like I need to do everything on my own.   I like this part of the verse because God is telling us that He will put His Spirit within me and He will cause me to walk in His statutes.  I don't have to do it all on my own.  God is not saying that He will help me.  He is saying He will do it for me.  Why don't I rest in the promise?  Why do I strive to be perfect when I know the Lord doesn't need my perfection?  All He needs is my yes.  All He wants is for us to be a willing vessel and then for us to let Him do His work.  I worry that I don't have enough faith.  Then the Holy Spirit tells me that faith is a gift from the Lord.  If I want more, all I have to do is ask.  I worry that I won't walk in His footsteps, and yet this verse is saying He will give His Spirit so that I will.  I worry that my prayers are not fruitful, and the Holy Spirit tells me that He alone can make them fruitful.  All God needs from us is our YES!  Yes, I am willing.  Yes, I am your vessel, fill me up.  Yes, I want my will to be your will.  Yes, I believe, help my unbelief.  All we need to do is give God permission, and He will take care of the rest.  Can you do that? The last line of the verse says, “You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”  We shall be His people, and He will be our God! I want to leave you with the words of God from our Prayer Group March 2021 because they go so well with this verse and because they are so powerful. “Listen to your heartbeat. I want to be fully one with you.  Draw closer. The Father and I are one, and you are one with me, so you are one with the Father as well. I will pour down my grace upon your heart, your will, your very soul. You will look like me. Trust in me.  Follow me. Take time to listen to me, to know my will. Fear nothing. Have confidence in me. I am your Lord and God. I died for you to grow ever closer to me.” Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to the podcast today.  I ask that you put a new heart in us and a new spirit.  Lord, take our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh.  Lord, the world can be cruel, and we need a new heart and spirit.  Lord, help all those who don't believe they are worthy of your love.  Help them to feel your love and to love you right back.  Lord, help us to walk in your ways.  We say yes to your spirit, causing us to dwell in your ways, and we thank you for being so gracious.  Walking in your ways is not always easy, and we appreciate all the help we can get.  Lord, we are grateful that we are yours and you are ours.  We love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on the journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  If you've been feeling distant from God lately but aren't sure why, I created a free quiz called "What's Quietly Blocking Your Connection With God?" In just a few minutes, you'll discover one of four common obstacles that may be affecting your relationship with God. At the end, you'll receive a personalized result, a short podcast episode, and a mentoring replay chosen specifically for your result. CLICK HERE for the quiz. I look forward to spending time with you on Monday.  Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend! Today's Word from the Lord was received in November 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “Each of you is more precious to me than anything else I have created. And I love my creations in all their forms. But each of you are my crowning glory.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

RTB's sister podcast, Novel Dialogue, spoke recently with Aaron Gwyn. He is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynne's War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God's Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism), we learn that Robert Lemmons is a real historical figure and so is Levi English. One way to grasp Gwyn's achievement is to consider the contrast between his durably realist work and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Blood Meridian. Much as Aaron and Sean admire that novel, McCarthy's characters strike them as monstrous and incredible. How about Charles Portis's True Grit, asks John? Aaron loves it for its ventriloquizing power, and its truth-loving willingness to weave in unsettling back stories like Rooster Cogburn's ties to Quantrill's Rangers, an eerily modern pro-Confederate terrorist paramilitary. In NOvel Dialogue's "signature question," we learn why Aaron's favorite teacher was Robert Hill, Pink-Floyd-loving drummer and perennial inspiration (audio here). Mentioned in this episode: Richard Slotkin's notion of “the man who knows Indians” comes from Gunfighter Nation Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) Herman Melville, Moby Dick William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! Toni Morrison, Beloved Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow John Williams, Stoner (but also Butcher's Crossing –-which John loves— and Augustus, which did indeed split the National Book Award (not the Pulitzer) in 1973 with John Barth's Chimera. Larry McMurtry's hard-to-get-into Lonesome Dove Read transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RTB's sister podcast, Novel Dialogue, spoke recently with Aaron Gwyn. He is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynne's War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God's Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism), we learn that Robert Lemmons is a real historical figure and so is Levi English. One way to grasp Gwyn's achievement is to consider the contrast between his durably realist work and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Blood Meridian. Much as Aaron and Sean admire that novel, McCarthy's characters strike them as monstrous and incredible. How about Charles Portis's True Grit, asks John? Aaron loves it for its ventriloquizing power, and its truth-loving willingness to weave in unsettling back stories like Rooster Cogburn's ties to Quantrill's Rangers, an eerily modern pro-Confederate terrorist paramilitary. In NOvel Dialogue's "signature question," we learn why Aaron's favorite teacher was Robert Hill, Pink-Floyd-loving drummer and perennial inspiration (audio here). Mentioned in this episode: Richard Slotkin's notion of “the man who knows Indians” comes from Gunfighter Nation Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) Herman Melville, Moby Dick William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! Toni Morrison, Beloved Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow John Williams, Stoner (but also Butcher's Crossing –-which John loves— and Augustus, which did indeed split the National Book Award (not the Pulitzer) in 1973 with John Barth's Chimera. Larry McMurtry's hard-to-get-into Lonesome Dove Read transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

RTB's sister podcast, Novel Dialogue, spoke recently with Aaron Gwyn. He is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynne's War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God's Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism), we learn that Robert Lemmons is a real historical figure and so is Levi English. One way to grasp Gwyn's achievement is to consider the contrast between his durably realist work and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Blood Meridian. Much as Aaron and Sean admire that novel, McCarthy's characters strike them as monstrous and incredible. How about Charles Portis's True Grit, asks John? Aaron loves it for its ventriloquizing power, and its truth-loving willingness to weave in unsettling back stories like Rooster Cogburn's ties to Quantrill's Rangers, an eerily modern pro-Confederate terrorist paramilitary. In NOvel Dialogue's "signature question," we learn why Aaron's favorite teacher was Robert Hill, Pink-Floyd-loving drummer and perennial inspiration (audio here). Mentioned in this episode: Richard Slotkin's notion of “the man who knows Indians” comes from Gunfighter Nation Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) Herman Melville, Moby Dick William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! Toni Morrison, Beloved Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow John Williams, Stoner (but also Butcher's Crossing –-which John loves— and Augustus, which did indeed split the National Book Award (not the Pulitzer) in 1973 with John Barth's Chimera. Larry McMurtry's hard-to-get-into Lonesome Dove Read transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

Most Christians think of inheritance in terms of money, land, or possessions. But what if one of the greatest inheritances God has given you is the place where you live? Your neighborhood, your city, your state, and even your nation are not accidents—they're part of the stewardship God has entrusted to you. In this first episode of our four-part America series, we explore the biblical call to seek the welfare of your place and why faithful Christian families have a responsibility to build, bless, and cultivate the communities around them. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to love your country without idolizing it, this conversation is for you. Please partner with us in inspiring and equipping multi-gen families at https://abrahamswallet.com/support AW website Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Chapters (00:00:00) - America: The Good Old USA(00:01:00) - Abraham's Wallet(00:02:26) - Loner(00:03:19) - I HAD A BAD WEEK Watching Middle School Graduation(00:05:33) - My Adopted Mother in Law's Battle for her Life(00:07:31) - Americans: The Welfare of Their City, State and National(00:14:27) - Regarding the Dedication of a Nation(00:16:15) - First Timothy, Prayer for Kings and All Who Are in High Authority(00:19:53) - Pro-America: When You Throw Your Hands Up and Say You(00:24:36) - Americans: Righteousness and Just Laws(00:28:58) - Mark Burnett on Civic Engagement(00:34:00) - All God's Glory Shift(00:35:29) - Isaiah 60: The nations will come to God(00:37:46) - Pray for Your Country This Week(00:38:54) - Thanksgiving Blessings: Our Heritage

In this episode of Kingdom Crossroads, TS Wright welcomes Christian author, speaker, blogger, and devotional writer Maureen Miller for a heartfelt conversation about faith, writing, encouragement, and seeing God's extraordinary character in the ordinary places of life.Maureen shares how being raised in a Christian home shaped her early faith, while also speaking honestly about seasons of struggle, repentance, and learning to walk in the freedom Christ gives. She explains how God has used both her victories and difficult seasons to deepen her compassion for others and strengthen her calling as a writer and encourager.Maureen also introduces her ministry, Windows and Wallflowers, where she writes about perseverance, belonging, and the way God reveals Himself through creation, story, and everyday experiences. She discusses her debut novel, Gideon's Book, a time-slip Christian fiction story that honors the work of Gideons International while exploring themes of calling, adoption, the sanctity of human life, racial bias, and biblical morality through storytelling.The conversation also highlights Maureen's devotional writing, including her contributions to All God's Creatures, a Guideposts devotional for animal lovers. Maureen closes by sharing a touching devotional about a rescued baby chipmunk and the reminder that God is our refuge, safety, and source of comfort in difficult seasons.This episode is a powerful encouragement for anyone who feels like they are on the outside looking in, wrestling with confusion, or needing a fresh reminder that Jesus calls us into freedom, purpose, and abundant life.In This EpisodeTS Wright and Maureen Miller discuss:Maureen's Christian upbringing and spiritual journeyHow God plants His desires in our heartsRepentance, freedom, and walking away from sinMaureen's ministry, Windows and WallflowersHer debut novel, Gideon's BookChristian fiction as a way to communicate biblical worldviewThe sanctity of life, adoption, and birth mothersWriting devotionals through creation and everyday storiesEncouragement for those living in confusion or spiritual wearinessKeeping your eyes on Jesus in the stormFeatured GuestMaureen Miller is a Christian author, speaker, blogger, and devotional writer. Her ministry, Windows and Wallflowers, encourages readers to discover God's extraordinary character in the ordinary moments of life. She is the author of Gideon's Book and has contributed to collaborative books and devotional projects, including Guideposts' All God's Creatures.Guest WebsiteMaureen Miller Author www.maureenmillerauthor.comFeatured BookGideon's Book: A Novel by Maureen MillerScripture References MentionedJeremiah 29:11Romans 8:28Romans 1Judges 6Psalm 139Psalm 91:15Check out this link to view Kingdom Cross Roads on TV.https://jesussaid.tv/?affiliate=tswright_gccTo get a copy of our new book "Embracing the Truth" or to have TS Wright speak at your event or conference or if you simply want spiritual or life coaching or just a consultation visit:www.tswrightspeaks.comVisit our website to learn more about The God Centered Concept. The God Centered Concept is designed to bring real discipleship and spreading the Gospel to help spark the Great Harvest, a revival in this generation.www.godcenteredconcept.comKingdom Cross Roads Podcast is a part of The God Centered Concept.Tags / KeywordsMaureen Miller, Gideon's Book, Christian author interview, Christian fiction, Kingdom Crossroads, TS Wright, Christian podcast, faith journey, devotional writing, Christian encouragement, repentance, freedom in Christ, biblical worldview, adoption, sanctity of life, Gideons International, Windows and Wallflowers, All God's Creatures, Guideposts devotional, Christian testimony, Christian women writers

Every life transition brings a choice: will we trust our own plans or follow God's direction?In this encouraging episode of Her God Story, Jodie Chiricosta sits down with writer, editor, and author Abby Trivett to explore what it looks like to follow God through the pivotal transitions of adulthood. From choosing a college and career path to building new friendships, discovering your purpose, and learning to trust God with an uncertain future, Abby shares how the Lord faithfully guided her every step.Through honest stories of overcoming comparison, anxiety, and self-doubt, Abby reflects on the lessons she learned about finding her identity in Christ rather than in achievements, expectations, or the opinions of others. She also shares how simple acts of obedience opened doors to God's greater purpose and helped shape her calling and career.You'll how to: • Find confidence in your identity in Christ • Trust God's direction during major life decisions • Discern His voice in seasons of change and uncertainty • Overcome comparison and performance-driven thinking • Build friendships that strengthen your faith • Hold on to hope while waiting for God's timingWhether you're graduating, starting a new career, stepping into adulthood, or navigating a season of transition, this conversation will encourage you to trust God's leading and embrace the purpose He has for your life. Because the moments that shape our future often begin with a simple act of obedience—and sometimes God can suddenly do more than we ever imagined.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Start a Her God Story Podcast Club! Learn more here!Share this message with a friend and subscribe for weekly encouragement and inspiration! Check out HerGodStory.org for a FREE 6-WEEK DEVOTIONAL and to see upcoming guests. Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today! Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org,

Questions are an essential element of faith. Our community is called "Crossings" in reference to a story in Genesis in which Jacob wrestles with God before crossing the River Jabbok. Wrestling and questioning aren't opposed to faith; they are the necessary conditions for it. Each summer, we pass the microphone to members of our community who share their "Most Important Question". It's an opportunity for us to get to know each other, and to remind ourselves that we are not alone in our questioning. Worship Songs: Yet Not I, But Through Christ in MeYou Hold it All⁠You Hold it All⁠⁠God of Death to LifeMake RoomTeaching Song:  Crack the Case

2 Corinthians 13:11-1411 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God's people here send their greetings.14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Poured Out on All God's People | Joel 2:28–29Texts: Joel 2:28–29; Acts 2:14–18; Luke 24:49; John 14:16–17; Romans 8:11A lot of people live like God saves by grace, but expects them to keep going by grit.On Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Jose begins the new series Come, Holy Spirit by reminding us that God does not redeem His people and then leave them empty. He fills what He reclaims. The Christian life is not just a life we are commanded to live. It is a life we are empowered to live by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.In this message, we see Joel's promise of devastation, return, mercy, restoration, and then the outpouring of God's Spirit. This is not a promise for a spiritual elite. It is not for only the gifted, the visible, or the already mature. It is the promise poured out on all God's redeemed people.This message is an invitation to stop trying to live the redeemed life in your own strength and to receive the Spirit as God's gift for His people.Broad River Church | Norwalk, CT Join us Sundays: 9:00 AM & 11:00 AM (English) | 1:00 PM (Español) Learn more or take your next step: https://broadriver.church/nextstepsFollow us on Instagram: @iambroadriverchurch

She loved God, served in ministry, and looked like she had it all together—but behind the scenes, Robin Weaver was slowly falling apart. What happens when shame, disappointment, and hidden wounds pull you farther from God than you ever thought possible? And can a life marked by failure truly be restored?In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, Robin shares her remarkable journey through ministry wounds, miscarriages, moral failure, restoration, and the overwhelming grace of God that changed everything.Raised in a pastor's home and shaped by both miracles and hardship, Robin opens up about the hidden walls she built around her heart, the pain that slowly pulled her away from God's path, and the moment she cried out for rescue when she could no longer find her way back on her own. What followed was not condemnation—but radical forgiveness, healing, and transformation through the love of Jesus and the support of godly community.You'll hear powerful stories of miraculous healing, God's faithfulness through loss, the restoration of a marriage, and how surrendering fully to the Holy Spirit opened Robin's heart in ways she never thought possible. Her testimony is a moving reminder that no one is too far gone for God's mercy and that obedience to Him always leads to life.In this episode, you'll discover:How unhealed wounds can quietly harden the heartWhy shame loses its power in the presence of graceWhat true restoration looks like after failureHow God uses obedience to lead us into blessingWhy intimacy with Jesus changes everythingIf you've ever struggled with disappointment, hidden pain, regret, or feeling spiritually distant, Robin's story will encourage you to believe that God still pursues, restores, and has a purpose for your life.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today!Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org,FOLLOW US ON:Facebook: @SomebodyCaresAmericaYoutube: SomebodyCaresAmericaRumble: SomebodyCaresX: _SomebodyCares.Instagram: SomebodyCaresAmericaLinkedIn: Somebody Cares AmericaYou can also receive periodic ministry updates or join our prayer team by signing up here!

*Listen to the Show notes and podcast transcript with this multi-language player. Summary This conversation reveals that God's ultimate purpose in sending Jesus was to restore humanity into relationship with Himself through a new covenant established by His blood. Through Christ's perfect sacrifice, believers now have direct access to the Father. The heart of God is not centered on religion or denomination, but on a people who willingly choose to worship Him from their hearts. True worship is not confined to moments but is expressed through a daily relationship of love, humility, obedience, and surrender. As believers come into His presence, transformation and cleansing take place, enabling them to become the very people God has always desired—those who live in continual relationship and worship before Him. Show Notes Why the Father sent Jesus: to restore relationship through graceThe necessity of a perfect sacrifice to regain access to GodThe new covenant established through the blood of Jesus ChristGod's desire has always been a people who worship HimDeliverance from Egypt as a picture of being brought out to worshipWorship is not about denomination but about relationshipGod is seeking willing hearts, not forced obedienceThe difference between obedience (angels) and chosen worship (sons)True worship is expressed through everyday relationship with GodHumility and servanthood as key aspects of worshipLoving God begins with understanding who He created you to beAccess to God's presence is already available through ChristTransformation and cleansing happen in His presenceChoosing faith to step into worship now, not waiting for perfection“Taking the elevator” — entering His presence rather than striving Quotes “God's not looking for anybody in a denomination. He's looking for them to be His worshipers.”“All God wanted really was us.”“He's not just looking for people that obey Him… He's looking for somebody that out of their own hearts… they'll serve Him and worship Him.”“The worship He's looking for is our everyday relationship with Him.”“You already have the access into the Father's presence by the blood of Jesus Christ.”“In His presence, that's where you change, and that's where cleansing comes from.”“You can take the stairs, or you can get in the elevator.” Scriptural References John 3 (16)God's love demonstrated through giving His Son for eternal life.Hebrews 10 (19)Believers have bold access into God's presence through Christ.Exodus 19 (4)God delivers His people in order to bring them to Himself.John 14 (6)Jesus is the only way to the Father.Malachi 3 (2-3)God purifies His people to become righteous worshipers.Revelation 4 (8)A picture of continual worship before God's throne.Matthew 16 (24)Following Christ requires surrender and commitment. Takeaway God's desire has always been simple yet profound: a people who willingly choose Him. Through Jesus, access to the Father is already open—not something to earn, but something to step into by faith. True transformation doesn't come from striving to become clean; it comes from entering His presence and worshiping Him now. The call is not to religion, but to relationship—to live every day as a worshiper who loves, serves, and walks with Him.

Tom Logue - May 17th 2026 Jesus is not just part of life—He is the cornerstone holding everything together. In this message from Matthew 21, we continue through our series The King & His Kingdom as Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard owner—a sobering and powerful parable directed at the religious leaders who had rejected God's authority and refused to honor Him with what He entrusted to them. Jesus describes a landowner who plants a vineyard, entrusts it to tenant farmers, and sends servants to collect fruit from it. But instead of honoring the owner, the tenants reject, beat, and kill the servants—and eventually even kill the owner's son. Through this parable, Jesus exposes the failure of the religious leaders of Israel. God entrusted them with His people, His city, and His kingdom, but instead of stewarding those things faithfully, they used them for themselves. They rejected the prophets God sent to call them to repentance, and now they were rejecting the Son Himself. But this message doesn't stop with them—it confronts us too. At the center of this sermon is a deeply practical and challenging truth: we are stewards, not owners. Everything we have has been entrusted to us by God—our bodies, our relationships, our time, our finances, our gifts, and even the message of the gospel itself. The question is not whether we have these things, but whether we are stewarding them in a way that honors the One they belong to. This message challenges us to take honest inventory of our lives. Are we stewarding our bodies well? Are our relationships healthy? Are we using our time wisely in light of eternity? Are we serving God with our money, or being mastered by it? And are we faithfully sharing the gospel that has the power to save and transform lives? The sermon also explores the biblical call to generosity and tithing—not as religious obligation alone, but as an act of worship and trust. Ultimately, Jesus is worthy not just of leftovers or percentages, but wholehearted devotion. Like Mary of Bethany breaking the alabaster jar at Jesus' feet, we are invited to become worshippers who “break the bottle” because Jesus gave everything for us. And at the center of it all stands Jesus Himself. Quoting Psalm 118, Jesus reveals that He is the cornerstone rejected by the builders. Remove the cornerstone, and everything falls apart. But when our lives are built upon Him, everything else finds its proper place. This message is an invitation to stop living like owners and begin living like faithful stewards—people who surrender every part of life to Jesus, the true King and cornerstone of it all. Learn more about our church: https://restoredtemecula.churchFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restoredtemeculaand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restoredtemecula #Matthew21 #Stewardship #JesusIsKing #Cornerstone #ChristianLiving #Generosity #Gospel #RestoredTemecula Share this message with someone who needs to hear it. Chapters (00:00:00) - Welcome Home: Restored Church(00:00:30) - Matthew(00:01:30) - Holy Spirit Prayers for the Church(00:04:32) - Read the Parable of the Vineyard Owner(00:05:22) - Jesus' Parables in Matthew 21(00:08:28) - Parable 8: Elements of the Parable(00:09:02) - Jesus Parable of the Vineyard(00:14:23) - Jesus' Words on the Kingdom of God(00:18:47) - We're Stewards of What God Entrusts to Us(00:20:03) - Some Things That God Entrusts to Us(00:25:26) - Take a Look at Your Relationships(00:28:11) - How Are You Using Your Time?(00:32:47) - God Entrusts Us With Money(00:37:15) - The Biblical Principle of Tithing(00:40:34) - Tithing is a Test(00:45:46) - Why Mary Broke the Bottle for Jesus(00:50:26) - Follow Jesus With Your Finances(00:51:01) - Ways of Steward of the Gospel(00:56:22) - Are You Rejecting the Cornerstone of Life?(01:01:33) - He's so Patient With SINners!(01:08:03) - All God's People(01:09:35) - Prayers for the Day

When you truly surrender your life to God, He leads every step.Raised in a pastor's home, Lillian learned early to follow the Lord—but it was through real-life challenges, heartbreak, financial hardship, and unexpected turns that her faith was truly refined. Time after time, God proved Himself faithful—guiding her decisions, providing in seasons of need, protecting her in danger, and using her gifts far beyond what she imagined.From ministering through sign language to the hearing impaired, to bringing comfort and healing through her work as a massage therapist, Lillian lives out a faith that extends far beyond the walls of the church. Whether in a treatment room, a conversation, or a moment of crisis, she has seen God meet people right where they are—bringing physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration.Through deeply personal stories of provision, direction in relationships, and hands-on ministry, Lillian reveals what it looks like to live a life anchored in prayer and fully available to God's leading.In this episode, you'll be encouraged and equipped to:Recognize God's guidance in your everyday decisionsTrust Him more deeply in seasons of uncertaintySee His provision even in times of lackGrow in confidence through a lifestyle of prayerDiscover how God can use your unique gifts—inside and outside the churchThis conversation will strengthen your faith, expand your vision for ministry in everyday life, and remind you that God is actively guiding your steps—every step of the way.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Start a Her God Story Podcast Club! Learn more here!Share this message with a friend and subscribe for weekly encouragement and inspiration!Check out HerGodStory.org for a FREE 6-WEEK DEVOTIONAL and to see upcoming guests.Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today!Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org,

John 5:24When you imagine God's face...what do you see? If you visualize anger, you're wrong. All God's anger at sin was poured on Christ at the cross. This means if you're in Christ, you're free from God's wrath because of Christ's death and resurrection.

Description: Explore judicial and parental forgiveness, emphasizing forgiveness without reconciliation, and God's loving discipline that teaches righteousness and peace. Chapters: 0:00 Opening 00:10:45 All God's Forgiving Grace 00:19:22 Heal the Soul of Hebrews 12 00:23:23 Forgiveness Doesn't Always Lead to Reconciliation 00:35:15 Forgive Me, Make Me Your Child Recorded on May 3, 2026 at Skycrest

In this episode of The Leader's Notebook (Ep. 310), I explore the highest levels of generosity and the joy of giving as God intends. From Luke 19:20–30 and the story of the unnamed donkey owner to David's lavish gifts in Jerusalem, we see that God blesses those who obey and give with a cheerful, open heart. Tithing anchors our giving, but God calls us beyond the minimum into a life of grace, delight, and freedom. Whether through finances, time, or spirit, surrendering to God's “The Lord has need of it” brings unexpected blessing, joy, and abundant life. Experience the thrill of generosity and learn to live fully in God's grace.– Dr. Mark Rutland Chapters (00:00:03) - The Leaders Notebook(00:00:25) - Coming to the Highest Levels of Philanthropy(00:03:05) - Prayer for the Colt(00:05:02) - The Man Who gave the Donkey on Palm Sunday(00:10:24) - The New Ford F-250(00:16:31) - Tithing and Forgiveness(00:21:40) - The Joy of Giving(00:26:47) - Send the Holy Ghost to Your Life(00:31:19) - The Joy of Tithing(00:35:24) - A Diamond Ring Offering(00:40:42) - A million-dollar gift to SEIU(00:45:16) - How Much Money Should You Give?(00:49:03) - All God's Blessings for the Church(00:50:47) - The Leader's Notebook

A life of faith is not built in grand moments—it's shaped in the quiet, daily decisions to say yes to God.In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Carolyn Inez Jones shares how a steady, surrendered “yes” to God transformed every season of her life—from a tender beginning of faith as a young girl, through deep family pain and forgiveness, to stepping out in obedience across cultures and continents. Her story reveals what it truly means to live out God's Word in real, practical ways.Through heartfelt testimony and authentic insight, you'll discover:How to move from simply hearing God's Word to living it out dailyWhat faithful obedience looks like in both ordinary and life-altering momentsHow to walk in forgiveness and healing after deep personal hurtPractical ways to recognize God's hand at work in your lifeThe confidence to trust God's leading—even when the outcome is uncertainCarolyn's journey is a compelling reminder that God works powerfully through willing hearts. If you've ever felt hesitant, overlooked, or unsure how your faith fits into everyday life, this episode will inspire you to take your next step of obedience.Because every time you say yes to God, He does more than you can imagine—and He is still writing your story.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today!Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org,Read Jodie's BLOG at LivingYourFaith.netFOLLOW US ON:Facebook: @SomebodyCaresAmericaYoutube: SomebodyCaresAmericaRumble: SomebodyCaresX: _SomebodyCares.Instagram: SomebodyCaresAmericaLinkedIn: Somebody Cares AmericaYou can also receive periodic ministry updates or join our prayer team by signing up here!

Teacher: Rob Zimmermann Download Sermon Notes  Watch Episode Give Online: http://westgatechapel.org/give Chapters (00:00:00) - All Praise to God For The Life of Jesus Christ(00:05:08) - Westgate Chapel Family Worship(00:06:24) - Volunteers Need to Sign Up for VBS(00:10:04) - All My Life's Been Good(00:21:05) - He is Good(00:22:04) - All About It(00:24:38) - God Provides Opportunities for Christians(00:31:48) - 4,000 Meals for Nobody(00:33:16) - Say Yes to Jesus!(00:39:03) - What Does the Bible Teach About Death?(00:44:23) - What Will Heaven Be Like?(00:45:58) - Heaven is a Place, Not a Mindscape(00:54:50) - The Beautiful City of Heaven(01:03:24) - The Hope of Heaven(01:08:10) - How the Hope of Heaven Provides Endurance in Suffering(01:10:56) - 4 The Hope of Heaven(01:13:20) - God's Plan for Those Who Follow Him(01:16:34) - All God's Gifts to Us(01:23:35) - Wonders of Hell

In baseball, you count absolutely everything. Gets pretty obsessive, but if you love baseball, you learn to love counting too. Who knew it's the same with religion? The “people of the book,” the ancient Hebrews who wrote the scriptures Christians cherish as well, counted everything. But their numbers didn't have to be accurate to be true. Literal accuracy was not the point. Hebrew numbers, like their letters, carried meaning, and Hebrew letters were also numbered, so words had numbers that had meaning, and counts of time, people, things, had meaning too. It was a complex system for conveying meaning encoded into our scripture, and if we are to understand original intent, we need to pay attention to the counting. We just finished counting the forty days of Lent—meaning a time of trial and testing into rebirth. Now with Easter passed, Jesus risen, seems we should be done counting. But Easter Sunday started a new count, one built on the Hebrew counting between their ancient barley and wheat harvests, Passover and Shavu'ot, Exodus and giving of the Law—meaning a gradual graduation from physical liberation to spiritual freedom. Meaning built into the Christian counting between Easter and Pentecost. Both traditions count seven weeks of seven, 49 plus one day, 50. The Christian tradition breaks this down to forty plus ten: forty days with the risen Jesus on earth, ten more to integrate Jesus' unseen spirit before Pentecost. Symbolic, not literal. We think of salvation as an event, a moment when God bestows acceptance, but scriptures show the experience of Jesus' followers as gradually becoming ready to see that salvation is not given at all. It is experienced, realized, remembered... No one recognizes the risen Jesus until intimacy is re-experienced in a period of adjustment to altered states of awareness, from physical presence to unseen spirit—until we can remember the Pentecost moment, full awareness, is possible. All God has is already here, within. The shape of our journey is a counting until we're ready to see. The counting gives structure, symbolic meaning, and the reminder that we're all in the count.

In baseball, you count absolutely everything. Gets pretty obsessive, but if you love baseball, you learn to love counting too. Who knew it's the same with religion? The “people of the book,” the ancient Hebrews who wrote the scriptures Christians cherish as well, counted everything. But their numbers didn't have to be accurate to be true. Literal accuracy was not the point. Hebrew numbers, like their letters, carried meaning, and Hebrew letters were also numbered, so words had numbers that had meaning, and counts of time, people, things, had meaning too. It was a complex system for conveying meaning encoded into our scripture, and if we are to understand original intent, we need to pay attention to the counting. We just finished counting the forty days of Lent—meaning a time of trial and testing into rebirth. Now with Easter passed, Jesus risen, seems we should be done counting. But Easter Sunday started a new count, one built on the Hebrew counting between their ancient barley and wheat harvests, Passover and Shavu'ot, Exodus and giving of the Law—meaning a gradual graduation from physical liberation to spiritual freedom. Meaning built into the Christian counting between Easter and Pentecost. Both traditions count seven weeks of seven, 49 plus one day, 50. The Christian tradition breaks this down to forty plus ten: forty days with the risen Jesus on earth, ten more to integrate Jesus' unseen spirit before Pentecost. Symbolic, not literal. We think of salvation as an event, a moment when God bestows acceptance, but scriptures show the experience of Jesus' followers as gradually becoming ready to see that salvation is not given at all. It is experienced, realized, remembered... No one recognizes the risen Jesus until intimacy is re-experienced in a period of adjustment to altered states of awareness, from physical presence to unseen spirit—until we can remember the Pentecost moment, full awareness, is possible. All God has is already here, within. The shape of our journey is a counting until we're ready to see. The counting gives structure, symbolic meaning, and the reminder that we're all in the count.

Teacher: Rob Zimmermann Download Sermon Notes  Watch Episode Give Online: http://westgatechapel.org/give Connect With Us: http://westgatechapel.org/connect Chapters (00:00:02) - When Death Was Arrested and My Life Started(00:11:27) - Easter Sunday(00:14:59) - All God's Blessings(00:23:25) - Dead Things Come Alive In the Name of Jesus(00:27:10) - Wonders of the World(00:30:22) - The Kingdom of Heaven(00:38:24) - What is the Kingdom of Heaven?(00:43:00) - What Makes the Kingdom of Heaven So Valuable?(00:49:13) - How Does This Connect to Easter(00:55:24) - The Greatest Fear of All(00:58:05) - The Resurrection(00:59:34) - What Does the Resurrection Reveal About the Kingdom of Heaven?(01:06:14) - God's Mercy for Sinners(01:08:05) - Responding to the Cross(01:14:18) - Wonders of Westgate Church

At Christmas, we confess Jesus is fully human, and fully God. The payoff for that doctrine is Good Friday. On the cross, the full brokenness of our humanity – the Roman soldiers and Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial and Pilate and Caiaphas' cowardice, and every sin and every sickness and every disappointment and every injustice and every violence and every war – is present here.  WHILE AT THE SAME TIME all of the love of God – his humiliation to become human and his counting of the hairs on your head and the tears he sheds with us and the life he promises to give us and his great love that lays itself down - is present here as well. Today, all things human and all things divine collapse into a single thing, a singularity, where ALL sin meets ALL God's love.

What did you think of this episode?Have you considered writing with a team? Maureen Miller shares tips for engaging with the world of collaborative writing. Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I'm your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. I'm so glad you're listening in. During this episode, you'll learn about … Collaborative Writing Tips to Enhance Your Career My industry expert, Maureen Miller, is an author and speaker whose stories have been published in numerous collaborative publications. She contributes to Guideposts' All God's Creatures, her local newspaper, and several online devotion sites, including the award-winning Arise Daily. Married for thirty-six years to her childhood sweetheart, Bill, they live on Selah Farm in western North Carolina. Alright, let's head into our content for today… Collaborative Writing— Being Part of a Team1) What is collaborative / teamwork writing? 2) How does one best discover places to submit? 3) What are several keys to being selected for a collaborative (that is, making a good first impression)?Listener giveaway: 2026 Guidepost All God's Creatures, a daily devotional Gideon's Book on AmazonMaureen Miller Contact Maureen MillerChristian Writers Market Guide 2026 editionCIPA - Christian Indie Publishing Association540 Writers CommunityAWSA - Advanced Writers and Speakers AssociationChristian Devotions - Write for UsAll God's Creatures Daily Devotional Give Away! (Join us in the Your Best Writing Life FB Group. Leave a comment to be in the running. The drawing takes place on 4-6-2026)Visit  Your Best Writing Life website.Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing LifeYour host - Linda Goldfarb#1 Podcast in the "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers in 2024".Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy PodcastAwarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast

Welcome Graham fam! We are so glad you could watch Sunday morning online with us. SERMON TITLE:Making a Holy Week 3: Fulfillment of Prophecy SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 53:1-12 1 Peter 2:21 POINTS: I Must Believe! My Weakness and My Sin! It’s All God’s Plan! Jesus is Satisfied and Rewarded! Watch past services: https://www.gcwesleyan.org/teaching/ Subscribe to Graham Chapel Youth: https://is.gd/grahamyouth Give to Graham Chapel: https://www.gcwesleyan.org/give/ Graham Chapel Wesleyan Church is in Mayo, SC near Cowpens and Chesnee in Spartanburg County. We'd love to have you join us in person on Sundays or Wednesdays for youth! Visit our website to learn more. YouTube TagsJesus Christ, Holy Week, Son of Man, Gospel, Faith, Christian Sermon, Holy Spirit, Redemption, Salvation, God in Flesh, Christianity, Bible Study

Why do we end our worship service with a benediction? We will be finishing our series on worship this week by answering that very question. As we have seen, our worship is meant to be very God and His Word centered. Things are done for God, as God commanded that they be done. Our service opens with an invitation to worship from God's Word, and now we will look at the close of our service from God's Word as well, the benediction or blessing. Is that something important? Is anything really happening?  In order to answer those questions, we need to look at a more basic question: What is blessing? There is a lot of confusion about what is a blessing. Is it physical things? That seems too unspiritual! Is it just spiritual? That seems like that doesn't take into account all that God does in our lives! We will attempt to get some clarity around this issue, and I hope by the end of it, you will see the benediction for the real blessing that it is.  We will look at two points this morning: God's blessings are comprehensive and All God's Blessings are in Christ. 

A single dream changed everything.In the midst of heartbreak, rejection, and deep searching, Tessa Afshar encountered Jesus in a way she could not explain—and could not ignore. Raised in a Muslim home in the Middle East and shaped by a culture driven by achievement and performance, Tessa carried wounds of loss and abandonment that success could never heal. But in one unforgettable dream by the Sea of Galilee, she experienced the unmistakable love and authority of Christ—and discovered a faithful God who pursues before we even know we are being pursued.What followed was not a pain-free life, but a redeemed one.In this deeply honest conversation, Tessa shares how God restored her identity, healed the roots of rejection, walked her through burnout, and ultimately fulfilled the long-buried dream of becoming a writer—far beyond what she imagined possible.In this episode, you will:Be reminded that God's faithfulness reaches into your darkest seasons.Find hope if you are navigating loss, rejection, or unanswered questions.Learn how to anchor your identity in God's acceptance rather than performance.Gain insight into healing burnout and hidden wounds at their source.Be encouraged to trust that God is still restoring what feels lost.This is a story of grace that pursues, faithfulness that redeems, and a Savior who reveals Himself personally and powerfully.The God who met Tessa in a dream is the same faithful God who is writing your story today.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today! Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org, Read Jodie's BLOG at LivingYourFaith.netFOLLOW US ON:Facebook: @SomebodyCaresAmerica Youtube: SomebodyCaresAmerica Rumble: SomebodyCares X: _SomebodyCares.Instagram: SomebodyCaresAmericaLinkedIn: Somebody Cares America You can also receive periodic ministry updates or join our prayer team by signing up here!

Tom Logue - March 15th 2025 Desperation gets God's attention—because Jesus is deeply compassionate and powerful to heal. This week, Tom continues our King & His Kingdom series in Matthew 20:29–34, where Jesus encounters two blind men sitting along the road as He leaves Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. These men—beggars and social outcasts—cry out repeatedly, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Even when the crowd tries to silence them, their desperation only grows louder. Their story reveals a powerful truth: even imperfect faith, when placed in Jesus, can bring us into contact with His grace. Tom contrasts the desperate faith of the blind men with the crowd following Jesus. While the blind men cry out for mercy in their affliction, the crowd attempts to quiet them. It's a reminder that followers of Jesus aren't perfect—sometimes we get in the way of what God wants to do. Instead of silencing desperation, Tom challenges the church to support it, recognizing that many people among us are carrying deep afflictions and need the freedom to cry out to God. The sermon presses into an uncomfortable reality: when we face pain or unmet needs, we often try to hide our afflictions or medicate them—through distraction, entertainment, substances, or busyness—instead of bringing them honestly to Jesus. The blind men model a better response. They refuse to stay silent and cry out for mercy until Jesus stops. And when He does, the text says He is moved with compassion, a deep gut-level response that leads Him to act. Jesus touches their eyes, heals them, and immediately they follow Him. Tom closes with a defining statement about what it means to be a Christian: followers of Jesus are people who have been touched by Jesus. They're not just people who believe certain ideas about Him—they're people whose lives have been changed by His mercy and who now follow Him because they've experienced His grace. The invitation of this message is simple and powerful: bring your afflictions to Jesus. Cry out for mercy. He is compassionate, He is King, and one touch from Him can change everything. Learn more about our church: https://restoredtemecula.church Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restoredtemecula and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restoredtemecula #KingAndHisKingdom #Matthew20 #Mercy #Faith #Prayer #FollowJesus #RestoredTemecula Share this message with someone who needs to hear it. Chapters (00:00:00) - Thanksgiving Prayer(00:02:39) - The King and His Kingdom(00:06:42) - Jesus Touching the Blind Men(00:08:31) - The Blind Men and the Begging(00:13:41) - Jesus Called Son of David(00:17:14) - What Do You Do To Hide Your Afflictions?(00:21:59) - The Crowd and His Aid for the Blind Men(00:24:31) - Followers of Jesus Are Not Perfect(00:28:33) - Discerning the Different Worship Environments(00:33:55) - A Concern for the Church's(00:38:20) - Crying Out in Prayer and Fasting for God's Mercy(00:43:51) - Why Does Desperation Get God's Attention?(00:49:13) - Jesus Christ heals the blind(00:50:19) - Followers of Jesus(00:56:48) - All God's People Prayer

All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them. E.M. Bounds - Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23-25 & Mark 14:1-26

Aaron Gwyn is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynn's War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God's Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism) and Novel Dialogue's own John Plotz, we learn that Robert Lemmons is a real historical figure and so is Levi English.One way to grasp Gwyn's achievement is to consider the contrast between his durably realist work and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Blood Meridian. Much as Aaron and Sean admire that novel, McCarthy's characters strike them as monstrous and incredible. How about Charles Portis's True Grit, asks John? Aaron loves it for its ventriloquizing power, and its truth-loving willingness to weave in unsettling back stories like Rooster Cogburn's ties to Quantrill's Rangers, an eerily modern pro-Confederate terrorist paramilitary. In our signature question, we learn why Aaron's favorite teacher was Robert Hill, Pink-Floyd-loving drummer and perennial inspiration (audio here). Mentioned in the episode: Richard Slotkin's notion of “the man who knows Indians” comes from Gunfighter Nation Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) Herman Melville, Moby Dick William Faulkner Absalom Absalom Toni Morrison, Beloved Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow. John Williams, Stoner (but also Butcher's Crossing –-which John loves— and Augustus, which did indeed split the National Book Award (not the Pulitzer) in 1973 with John Barth's Chimera. Larry McMurtry's hard-to-get-into Lonesome Dove Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Aaron Gwyn is the author of four novels: The World Beneath, Wynn's War, and, most recently, two wonderfully linked historical novels, All God's Children, which won the Oklahoma Book award, and The Cannibal Owl. In his conversation with Sean McCann of Wesleyan (A Pinnacle of Feeling: American Literature and Presidential Government and Gumshoe America: Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Rise and Fall of New Deal Liberalism) and Novel Dialogue's own John Plotz, we learn that Robert Lemmons is a real historical figure and so is Levi English.One way to grasp Gwyn's achievement is to consider the contrast between his durably realist work and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Blood Meridian. Much as Aaron and Sean admire that novel, McCarthy's characters strike them as monstrous and incredible. How about Charles Portis's True Grit, asks John? Aaron loves it for its ventriloquizing power, and its truth-loving willingness to weave in unsettling back stories like Rooster Cogburn's ties to Quantrill's Rangers, an eerily modern pro-Confederate terrorist paramilitary. In our signature question, we learn why Aaron's favorite teacher was Robert Hill, Pink-Floyd-loving drummer and perennial inspiration (audio here). Mentioned in the episode: Richard Slotkin's notion of “the man who knows Indians” comes from Gunfighter Nation Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) Herman Melville, Moby Dick William Faulkner Absalom Absalom Toni Morrison, Beloved Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow. John Williams, Stoner (but also Butcher's Crossing –-which John loves— and Augustus, which did indeed split the National Book Award (not the Pulitzer) in 1973 with John Barth's Chimera. Larry McMurtry's hard-to-get-into Lonesome Dove Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

God is sending people to us. As His church grows, so does the responsibility and opportunity before us. Our responsibility is to steward the growth that is already here and the growth that is to come. God is entrusting us to disciple people and to send people. He is inviting us to be a part of His plan. There have been pastors and leaders who have put their yes on the table before us. Now it is our turn. To get where God is leading us, it will take finances, resources, and open handed obedience. We are sharing God's vision for the next two years. We are building bridges to the next generation, the next season of missions, the next yes. If God keeps sending people, it is our responsibility to make room. In Acts 9, God accomplished His plan through unexpected people with unexpected assignments. Jesus got Saul's attention and told him to go. Saul stepped into the unknown. Then God spoke to Ananias. He listened, even when it seemed scary and impossible. He did not rebuttal what God said. He simply obeyed. That obedience changed the world. All God wants from us is our yes. If we will say yes and keep listening, He will give us the details. What does next look like for you, your home, and our church? Turn your eyes and ears to Him. Respond to what Jesus is speaking. Say yes to what's next.Check out our video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/rG-Ur7LX-F8Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/8wmeCwBf_zkLearn more about us at chestnutmountain.orgFollow us on Facebook & Instagram @chestnutmtn_Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave a review, and let us know what you think.

At What Point Should I Just Stop Praying? | Christ For YouText: Matthew 15:21–28 | Lent 2 (Historic One-Year Lectionary)What do you do when nothing changes, when your prayers go unanswered? When God feels silent, do you assume silence means “no”? Do you quit hoping and call it “being reasonable”?This Gospel puts you in the middle: a Canaanite woman cries for mercy, and Jesus does not answer her a word. The Law exposes us. We don't just want answers, we want control. We want God on our timeline, and when He delays, we start translating delay into indifference.But faith refuses to turn silence into a verdict. She comes closer, kneels, and prays, “Lord, help me.” She confesses she deserves nothing and still clings to Christ: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs.” Even “unanswered” prayers are still heard by God. His silence is not His absence.Then the Gospel: look to Jesus in Gethsemane. The Father does not remove the cup. The answer is the cross, for you. Jesus bears the forsakenness you deserve so you can pray “Our Father” with confidence. All God's promises find their “Yes” in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20). So stay at Jesus' feet, and keep praying.Subscribe & Share:Spotify: Christ For YouPortuguês: Cristo Para VocêWebsite: ZionWG.orgLooking for a Lutheran Church near you?Support the preaching of God's Word

Tom Logue - March 1st 2026 Chapters (00:00:00) - Welcome Home: Restored Church(00:00:35) - A message about the church's move(00:02:42) - Matthew: The King and His Kingdom(00:03:51) - God's strength in our weakness(00:05:35) - 4 Women Who Stayed with Jesus on the Cross(00:10:02) - Salome Comes to Jesus with James and John(00:15:47) - All People Want to Be Great(00:20:53) - The Greatest of All Time(00:26:07) - The Ways that You Serve One Another(00:28:35) - Ransom for Many in Matthew 28(00:34:23) - Nobody loves You Like Jesus Loves You(00:38:23) - Millie Gets A 360-D Camera For Christmas(00:42:49) - Skiing in 360 degrees(00:49:18) - The Reasons We Don't Serve God(00:53:15) - Has the gospel changed your life?(00:58:27) - Jesus on Realizing His Greatness(01:03:27) - All God's Blessings(01:05:24) - God's Prayer for Wonders

Psalm 132: God's Covenant Promise and the Coming King Series: Walking Through the Psalms Host: Dave Jenkins Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Scripture: Psalm 132 Show Summary Psalm 132 is one of the most historically grounded and covenant-rich Songs of Ascents. As pilgrims traveled up to Jerusalem, they sang of God's covenant promises, His dwelling with His people, and His chosen King. This psalm looks back to David's zeal to establish the ark in Jerusalem, upward to God's chosen dwelling place in Zion, and forward to the promised King who reigns forever. Ultimately, Psalm 132 finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ—the true Son of David, the eternal King, and the true dwelling place of God with His people. God is not absent. God is not forgetful. He keeps His covenant promises in Christ.

Teacher: Rob Zimmermann Download Sermon Notes  Watch Episode Give Online: http://westgatechapel.org/give Connect With Us: http://westgatechapel.org/connect Chapters (00:00:04) - There's joy in the house of the Lord(00:04:13) - Waldgate Church Annual Meeting 2019(00:06:04) - Westgate Chapel Men's Breakfast(00:07:57) - Pray for the Team Traveling to Baden, Germany(00:09:58) - Prayers for the Varden Team(00:11:38) - God's Mercy is More Than Anything We Need(00:14:42) - Christ the Lord(00:20:27) - Sing the Song of Ages(00:25:46) - All God's Blessings(00:28:53) - Good Morning, Church Family(00:29:28) - 2018 Annual Meeting(00:32:12) - Jeremiah 17: Blessed is the Man Who Trusts in the(00:35:22) - Grow Deep Roots Into Jesus(00:38:32) - A New Couple Join Our Church(00:39:13) - Married at Westgate: What is it about the church that(00:40:17) - THE ART OF MARRIAGE CLASS(00:42:41) - Life Groups in the Church(00:44:42) - If You Are Looking for a Life Group, Our Church Has Got(00:47:18) - 71% of our adults are actively serving and using their gifts(00:49:59) - Our 5 Year Vision(00:54:01) - Little Faith Church's 5 year Vision(00:55:07) - Pastor Rob's Conviction on the Salvations(00:57:44) - A message for seniors(00:59:36) - Senior Ministry at Kingston, Oakleaf Village(01:03:51) - What excites you most about the ministry?(01:05:16) - Love Your Neighbors Program(01:10:31) - The Westgate Chapel Legacy Team(01:13:21) - 2016: A Year of Growth(01:15:07) - Growth of our financial resources(01:17:37) - Jeremiah 17: A Call to Renew Our Hearts

Our readings today – in Exodus and Romans tie in together in their reference to the exaltation of Moses, now ready, in God's sight, to serve him after 40 years of preparation “in the land of Midian.”  Moses is now a meek and humble man (Numbers 12 v.3) – God can now use him.      Paul's points in our Roman's chapter (9) are illuminating: first, he states how God “says to Moses, ‘'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy… So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.'” [v.15,16] In our Exodus reading yesterday we saw how God could not use Moses' own “will and exertion” [2 v.11-15].  Paul then drives home the lesson that we cannot deserve, i.e. ‘earn' God's blessing by our own efforts.All God's blessings are an expression of God's mercy. This is parallel to talking about God's grace; therefore it is really saddening today when so many talk and write glibly about ‘grace' as though it is an ever-flowing factor that they can be certain about – regardless of how they behave,              Paul next makes the point that “Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth'”. [v.17]   This is not the proclamation of God's actual name as an intellectual understanding, but of God's reputation – that was about to be established by what he did.  We will read of this in the next few days; the dramatic deliverance from Egypt of the descendants of Jacob.              In relation to this, look carefully at our reading in Exodus 3  where God's name is given as , “I will be what I will be” [v.14 – as shown in the ESV footnote] Primarily, this means God will ‘make' his name, that is, his reputation, by what is about to happen – “This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” [v.15].   Their deliverance from Egypt became a ‘memorial' which all generations would look back to – as a foundation for their confidence in God.  Thus, when we come to read Psalm 135 and its praises to the LORD we will see the full significance in v.8-13 of the LORD's name and “renown.”  It is fully expressed in Isaiah 63 v.11-14 how you God “led your people to make for yourself a glorious name.”  Daniel makes the same point in his impassioned prayer (9 v.15)               In the same way we look back to the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior – and how God made for himself the name of ‘Father.'  This was not so in the Old Testament. We are privileged to call God   ‘Father' – but how many “hallow” that name when they say the Lord's Prayer?  Do we?                It is just as vital to ask; how many are striving to make a ‘name' for themselves which Christ will “remember” when the time comes for him to “confess' what those in his service have achieved according to the “talents” given to them?  Think about what Jesus says in Rev. 3 v.5, “The one who conquers (him/herself!) … I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”    Our ‘name” i.e., reputation, Christ will “confess” – will be achieved by you and I in various ways; for example, to quote James 1 v.27, “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” 

God's love never lets go—even through failure, loss, and shame—redeeming what can feel beyond repair. In this deeply moving episode, Terri Lynn-Corbett shares her journey through rejection, broken relationships, and painful questions, revealing how God proved Himself faithful, present, and powerfully restoring.Through seasons marked by heartbreak and disappointment, Terri discovered that our mistakes do not cancel God's plans. Instead, He specializes in restoring what has been broken and rebuilding lives on the firm foundation of His love. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, Terri encountered Jesus not with condemnation, but with compassion—inviting her to come boldly, baggage and all, and receive true healing and identity.What once felt like ashes became beauty as God replaced sorrow with joy, fear with hope, and shame with freedom. Terri's testimony is a compelling reminder that God's promises never fail, His love never leaves, and our true identity and affirmation are found in Him alone.If you've ever wondered whether God could still love you, restore you, or use your story for good, this conversation will remind you that God is still writing your story—and His love never lets go.Click here for SHOW NOTES!Start a Her God Story Podcast Club! Learn more here!Share this message with a friend and subscribe for weekly encouragement and inspiration! Check out HerGodStory.org for a FREE 6-WEEK DEVOTIONAL and to see upcoming guests. Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them! And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today! Learn more about the ministry at SomebodyCares.org, FOLLOW US ON:Facebook: @SomebodyCaresAmerica Youtube: SomebodyCaresAmerica Rumble: SomebodyCares X: _SomebodyCares.Instagram: SomebodyCaresAmericaLinkedIn: Somebody Cares America You can also receive periodic ministry updates or join our prayer team by signing up here!

God used the Israelites journey through the wilderness to teach them how to be His People. Sabbath-keeping comes in at #4 on His Top Ten List. Come see what it looks like to keep the Sabbath holy and learn about the gifts we've been given to make obedience easier. All God's People are blessed when they faithfully keep the Lord's Sabbath. Come and join in the blessing!

Teacher: Rob Zimmermann Download Sermon Notes  Watch Episode Give Online: http://westgatechapel.org/give Connect With Us: http://westgatechapel.org/connect Chapters (00:00:00) - All God's People Praise the Lord(00:04:19) - Wonders Welcome at Westgate Chapel(00:06:18) - Alpha(00:13:37) - All the Glory to the Lord(00:19:53) - Morning Offerings to God(00:22:04) - 2018 Annual Meeting(00:23:34) - The Statement of Faith(00:25:15) - What a 10 Year Plan for Your Life(00:30:45) - Joseph Forged for God's Purposes(00:34:30) - Genesis 37: The Dreams of Jacob and Joseph(00:43:14) - Jacob the Descent into Hatred(00:52:00) - Jacob's Dreams and His Family(00:54:31) - Joseph Had a Huge Dream(00:59:08) - Why Joseph Did Not Die At the Hands of His Brothers (Gen(01:03:38) - How to Love a Broken Dream(01:11:26) - Seasons of Disappointment and Trust(01:20:48) - Great Is Your Faithfulness to Me(01:27:00) - God Will Never Fail You

Suzanne recounts a drop in from Wayne Dyer, who shares a message on how we are all just a part the whole, the I AM. No matter what your human story is, you are part of one vast, infinitely loving field of consciousness and when you have the courage to say, "it is ALL God," you can truly find peace. You are so very loved! Suzanne Giesemann is a former Navy Commander-turned spiritual teacher, author, documentarian and evidential medium. Through The Awakened Way, she shares practical tools for living with peace, balance, and joyful connection to Spirit. In her vast YouTube library you will find inspired teachings, messages from her guides, Sanaya, meditations, and evidence that love and life never end. To stay connected Join my newsletter - https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1847278/171504674222901095/share Follow me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneGiesemann See my linktr.ee - https://linktr.ee/suzanne_giesemann Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Thou, O God, hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor.” — Psalm 68:10 All God's gifts are prepared gifts laid up in store for wants foreseen. He anticipates our needs; and out of the fulness which He has treasured up in Christ Jesus, He provides of His goodness for the poor. You may trust […]

How do ordinary people tap into the wisdom of God for everyday living? Join Chip for a very practical approach to that question.Introduction: What is the biggest challenge you're facing in your life right now?Defining the wisdom of God:“Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture… All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time…Not only could His acts not be better done: a better way to do them could not be imagined.” -A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the HolyHow has God revealed His wisdom to us?Through CREATION -Psalm 19:1-7Through PROVIDENCE -Psalm 33:10-11Through REDEMPTION -1 Corinthians 2:6-10Through His SON -1 Corinthians 1:30How must we respond to the wisdom of God?We must LEARN to live wisely! -Ephesians 5:15-17HOW do we do that?We must REVERENCE God's ways. -Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28We must RECEIVE His Word. -Psalm 119:97-100, 2 Timothy 3:15-17We must ASK for it specifically. -James 1:5; Colossians 1:9We must learn to TRUST Him completely… that all that comes our way is from the hand of a good and loving God who knowing all things actual and possible, is exerting His unlimited power to execute the best possible outcomes, by the best possible means, to fulfill the highest possible purposes.Broadcast ResourceThe Real God ResourcesMessage NotesAdditional Resource MentionsDaily DiscipleshipA.W. Tozer - The Knowledge of the HolyJ.I. Packer - Knowing GodConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

What's the biggest challenge you're facing right now? Finances? A relationship? A health issue? You need strength and you need endurance. Chip suggests that there's one thing that will revolutionize your approach to this situation. Join him as he talks about God's wisdom.Introduction: What is the biggest challenge you're facing in your life right now?Defining the wisdom of God:“Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture… All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time…Not only could His acts not be better done: a better way to do them could not be imagined.” -A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the HolyHow has God revealed His wisdom to us?Through CREATION -Psalm 19:1-7Through PROVIDENCE -Psalm 33:10-11Through REDEMPTION -1 Corinthians 2:6-10Through His SON -1 Corinthians 1:30How must we respond to the wisdom of God?We must LEARN to live wisely! -Ephesians 5:15-17HOW do we do that?We must REVERENCE God's ways. -Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28We must RECEIVE His Word. -Psalm 119:97-100, 2 Timothy 3:15-17We must ASK for it specifically. -James 1:5; Colossians 1:9We must learn to TRUST Him completely… that all that comes our way is from the hand of a good and loving God who knowing all things actual and possible, is exerting His unlimited power to execute the best possible outcomes, by the best possible means, to fulfill the highest possible purposes.Broadcast ResourceThe Real God ResourcesMessage NotesAdditional Resource MentionsDaily DiscipleshipA.W. Tozer - The Knowledge of the HolyJ.I. Packer - Knowing GodConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

In this week's episode of Typology, I sit down with Dr. Terence Lester—an Enneagram Eight, author of From Dropout to Doctorate, and the visionary founder of Love Beyond Walls. Terence's story is as powerful as it is inspiring. From his early years in Atlanta to leading a movement that uplifts those experiencing poverty and homelessness, his journey embodies both courage and compassion. Together, we explore what it means to be an Enneagram Eight in the trenches of community work—wrestling with control, burnout, and the temptation to over-function. Terence opens up about a devastating car accident that reshaped his sense of identity, his relationship with productivity, and ultimately, his capacity for gratitude. We also dive into the intersection of action and contemplation, the influence of Henri Nouwen on Terence's life, and the healing power of reconciliation in his own family story. Along the way, Terence reminds us that leadership isn't about posturing but about vulnerability, presence, and the willingness to walk alongside others in their pain. This conversation is an invitation to rethink how we serve, how we love, and how we grow. You'll walk away with profound insights about resilience, healing, and the transformative power of the Enneagram.       ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Terence Lester is a storyteller, public scholar, speaker, community activist and author of From Dropout to Doctorate. He is the founder and executive director of Love Beyond Walls, a nonprofit organization focused on raising awareness about poverty, homelessness and community mobilization. He serves as the director of public policy and social change and as a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky (HBCU). He received his PhD with a concentration in public policy and social change from Union Institute and University. Terence has authored four additional books with IVP, including one with his sixteen-year-old daughter, Zion, titled Zion Learns to See: Opening Our Eyes to Homelessness. The other titles include I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People, When We Stand: The Power of Seeking Justice Together, and All God's Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity.  Terence is known for nationwide campaigns that bring awareness to homelessness, poverty and economic inequality. His awareness campaigns have been featured on ML K50, CNN, Good Morning America, Essence, TEDx, TVONE, Creative Mornings, USA Today, NBC News, Black Enterprise, Rolling Out, Upworthy and more. These campaigns have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. Terence is happily married to his best friend, Cecilia, and they have two amazing children, Zion Joy and Terence II.  Learn more about Dr. Lester by visiting his website at www.terencelester.org or follow on social media at @imterencelester or @lovebeyondwalls.