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Can You Really Change Your Brain by Changing Your Thoughts?   Neurosurgeon, Iraq War vet, and author Dr. Lee Warren shows Curtis Chang how to perform "self brain surgery"—no scalpel, just the brutal truth: your automatic thoughts are rewiring your brain every day, and a lot of them are lying to you. Curtis and Lee dig into neuroplasticity, why you keep looping the same stress scripts, how gratitude can hijack anxiety, and they connect the dots between brain science and faith as represented in Philippians 4 and Romans 12. If you're stuck in anxiety, trauma, or toxic patterns, this episode could be a wake-up call—and a way forward.   Enter to win: Dr. Lee Warren Book Give Away Sign up for the Good Faith Newsletter Register for the Illuminate Arts + Faith Conference   02:38 - How Do Thoughts Reshape the Brain? 07:39 - Personal Story: Grieving and Neuroplasticity 11:08 - Philippians 4 and Neuroscience 18:01 - Gratitude as a Brain Switch 21:51 - Neuroscience vs. Classic Therapy 31:03 - Building New Habits and Synaptic Pruning 32:28 - The "Self" in Self Brain Surgery and the Holy Spirit 44:07) - Wisdom to Know What Can and Cannot Change 52:34 - Epigenetics and Generational Influence 56:49 - Final Word: Hope and Agency   Mentioned In This Episode: Dr. Lee Warren's The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery Philippians 4:6–8 (ESV) Romans 12:1–2 (ESV) 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) Romans 5:3–5 (ESV) Deuteronomy 5:9-10 (ESV) Summary: Study finds epigenetic changes in children of Holocaust survivors Chris Voss's Never Split the Difference The Original Serenity Prayer   More From Dr. Lee Warren: Listen: The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast Dr. Warren's website Dr. Warren's  No Place to Hide Dr. Warren's  Hope Is the First Dose Dr. Warren's  I've Seen the End of You   Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook   The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

How Can Christians Turn Groans into Growth By Responding to Ecological Grief?   In this episode of the Good Faith Podcast, host Curtis Chang talks with Dr. Jonathan Moo, a decorated professor of both the New Testament and Environmental Studies, about why Christian creation care belongs at the center of discipleship. Drawing from Romans 8, Colossians 1, and Genesis 1–2, Moo connects biblical hope for new creation with practical action on climate change, stewardship, and loving our neighbors by caring for the places they depend on and enjoy. The conversation explores how faith and science can work together, why "dominion" looks like Christ-shaped service, and how small, local projects—from Uganda to Texas—offer tangible models of environmental renewal. Dr. Moo offers us a bigger vision of human flourishing, plus concrete next steps for Christians and churches to live joyfully and faithfully in God's world.   05:04 - How Do Jonathan Moo's Academic and Faith and Love for Creation Intersect? 07:51 - Romans 8 and Lament for Creation 17:38 - Salvation, Resurrection, and the Earth 22:08 - Practical Examples of Creation Care 27:01 - Motivating People To Move From Enjoying Nature To Actively Caring For It 31:24 - How Do We Address Interpretations of "Dominion"? 36:32 - Jesus as Model for Dominion 39:34 - Understanding Barriers Between Evangelicals and Science  47:16 - Engaging with Skeptics and Loved Ones 53:25 - Advice for Skeptics  55:11 - Practical Steps for the Environmentally Concerned   Episode Companion: Christians and Climate Change Guide 2   Sign up for the Good Faith Newsletter   Learn more about George Fox Talks     Mentioned In This Episode: Tools, Websites, and Organizations A Rocha USA Bull Creek Restoration Project Climate Stewards USA   Books and Authors Learn more about Aldo Leopold Learn more about Alister McGrath Learn more about Evelyn Waugh Learn more about Wendell Berry Debra Rienstra's Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth   Biblical Passages Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) Romans 8 (ESV) Genesis 1 and 2 (ESV) Mark 12:30-31 (ESV)   Concepts and Ideas Carbon Calculator (use for offsets) Bio Sand Filters No Till Agriculture Mulching and Crop Rotation   More From Dr. Jonathan Moo: Jonathan & Douglas Moo's Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World (Biblical Theology for Life) More about Dr. Moo: Whitworth professor acts as a wilderness guide A reminder of Dr. Moo's A.W.A.K.E. acronym   Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook   The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptGood morning. Nope, wrong way. There we go. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are beginning the year with a series on New Testament prayers. So just the first four weeks, we're going to look at. When you read the New Testament, you're going to see in various points where it's not teaching, it's. It's not application, it's not correction, but it's actually just there's a prayer. And we're going to look at a few of these over the next few weeks with the goal of encouraging us to pray, which is a discipline that we as Christians need to continue to grow and especially as we start out a new year. Then we'll jump into second Samuel and we're done with this to finish out first and second Samuel. So we're going to be in first Thessalonians 5, 23, 24. Last week, Chet took us to Ephesians 1, and we got to look at a prayer that calls God's people to delight in worship in God and his glory, to know him. And this week we get to see another aspect of what God desires for his people.So I am getting closer to 40. Yeah. Which means getting closer to the age where you start going to the doctor more because you get to discover all the ways that your body is trying to kill you. You just. When you're younger, most folks, the only doctor that you have is whoever you see at urgent care. But when you get older, you, like, have your own doctor. And then you start having a team of specialists, which I've gotten a head start on already. I realized I had entered a new phase of life when I started bragging about how good my specialist was. But this, this is what happens, because the older you get, like, statistically, when you're younger, your car is more likely to kill you. When you get older, your heart is more likely to kill you. So you, if you want to live, if you want to thrive, you want to flourish bodily, you've got to actually go to the doctor more regularly. And our older folks know this. How many of you of our older folks this that? A big topic of conversation that shows up every time that y' all get together is doctor visits, right? It. It's, it's. That's a reality. And we should consider our health seriously. We should go to the doctor. We should be healthy. We should do all of those things. We should take our health deadly serious. It matters.Paul in, in. In First Timothy 4, he makes the point that for a while, bodily training is of some Value. So he starts that statement with saying, yes, you should. You should take care of your body. There's some value there. But he continues and says, godliness is of value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also the life to come.> For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8, ESV)So it makes the case, yes, bodily training is of value, but you should train for godliness. As serious as we take our physical health, the question is, how serious are we taking our spiritual health? And more specifically, how serious are we taking sin in our lives? And that's the subject matter for this prayer today. This is a prayer of sanctification. It's very brief, but I'm encouraged that we get to look at this this morning and hopefully we will see a prayer that calls us to grow in being more like Christ, the process of sanctification. So let me pray for us, and then we will walk through this together.Heavenly Father, I pray that you might help us consider the reality of our sin in ways that we may not have or are not. That takes you going to work in our hearts in a way that compels us to be the people that you've called us to be. So God, I pray that you'd speak to us and that we would respond. In Jesus name, Amen.All right, so first Thessalonians 5, 23, 24.> Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, ESV)All right, so this is a prayer. It's a benediction, a blessing, a prayer that he prays over this church in Thessalonica. So before we jump into this prayer that comes at the end of First Thessalonians, I want to give a little bit of context for this letter that Paul wrote to this church in Thessalonica. So Thessalonica is a city in Greece, still is a major city in Greece, and at the time in ancient Greece was a major city that Paul traveled to. In Acts 17, he plants this church. It begins, it grows, and then there's some persecution and suffering that happens, and the God takes him elsewhere. And one of the things that Paul does in his ministry as he starts churches all over Asia Minor, Asia Minor in Europe, is he ministers to them from a distance. And some of that we get in these letters that God has inspired through him, teaching truth to these Thessalonians.So when you read First Thessalonians, there's a major theme that shows up over and over again. And that is the encouragement that Christ will return, that Jesus is coming back. That's a, that's a big part of this letter. And that's important for Christians to remember that Jesus is actually coming back. If you were here this time last year in January, we were finishing a five month journey through the book of Revelation. And one of the helpful things that we gathered from that is this regular reminder that the end is coming, that Jesus will come, he will make all things new, that we need that encouragement, especially when life is very difficult.Over the past couple of weeks we've had sickness, various forms of sickness flow through our house, which has been loads of fun, you guys, but we had the flu. Now we've got some type of infection. And one of my kids who was going through seven days of fever ridden flu in the middle of it, she just was so tired of it. She just was like, I'm, I'm so, I've just, I want to be well. And I just had to say, hey, listen, I know the flu stinks. Waking up every day feeling like this is rotten, it's awful. But there's a day coming in just a few days, you're going to wake up and you're going to finally feel better. And she just needed that little bit of encouragement to pick her head up and realize, okay, no, this is hard, but I'm going to be okay at the end of this. And the New Testament does this over and over again. It picks up our gaze a bit and says, Jesus is coming. He's going to make all things new. And that's the big theme that runs throughout this letter. And towards the end of him really pressing this upon this church, he prays this blessing over them. May the God of peace sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.As, as Jesus is going to come, he says now, may the God of peace, which pause for a moment. Isaac Hill and I were, we were discussing this this week and he just made a really good point. He says it's so helpful that he, he could have chosen any attribute to emphasize here about God. But he says, may the God of peace. It doesn't say may the God of wrath. He says, may the God of peace, which is a picture of God the Father who makes peace with us. We once were lost, dead in our sin, enemies of God. But through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to become friends of God because he makes peace with Us and we live in peace with God, says, may the God of peace sanctify you completely. May sanctify you. So that is the prayer of sanctification. So let me take a moment and define sanctification, okay? Because it's important for us to not miss this sanctify, which is the verb form here, or sanctification, which is the noun form, the state of being. Sanctified comes from the Latin word sanctus, which means holy. And the original language, which is the Greek here it's hagios. So this is the process of becoming holy as God is holy.When you read the Old Testament and the Old Testament law, in Leviticus 11, it says, Be holy as I am holy. But we get the fullest picture of what sanctification is in the New Testament.> For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44, ESV)So if I had to define sanctification for us this side of the New Testament. And sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus Christ through repenting of sin and obeying him. Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus through repenting of sin and obeying him. Which means that for the life of the Christian, this is one of the most important aspects of our faith. It is becoming more like Jesus taking sin seriously, repenting and obeying him. That this should mark our lives.Every now and then I'll be meeting with somebody and they'll, they'll ask some version of. I'm just trying to figure out like what, what is God's will for my life? I just want to know what God's will is for me. And when they say that, I have to have some self control because an intrusive thought comes in. Because first Thessalonians 4, 3 is the, the one verse that captures that idea. The bet, like the most explicit in the Scriptures, 1st Thessalonians 4. 3 says, for this is the will of God, your sanctification.> For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thessalonians 4:3, ESV)And every time someone, I know what they're saying. It's not that the will of God is just narrow to sanctification. They're asking about how do I think about this job or how do I think about this decision. I just wonder what the will of God is. In the back of my head, I'm like, it's your sanctification. No, put that away. You're talking about something else. But that is a big part of the will of God for us is that we would be more like Him. That's one of God's grand desires for us, is that we would be more and more like him. That's a big part of our faith. And in the context of First Thessalonians 4, when he continues, for this is the will of God, your sanctification. He starts to name what is one of, probably one of the bigger sins in that church and in that city at the time. He says that you had abstained from sexual immorality. And he goes on to explain that further. But you broaden that out to the rest of the New Testament and you see that God desires His people to take sin seriously. I want you to hear that He. He wants his people to take our sin seriously.> And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24, ESV)Galatians chapter 5, verse 24 says, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. That he references the horrific, violent, brutal murder of Christ pulls that imagery to mind. And he says, all of that violence you should reserve for your flesh, that you should murder, destroy, end the desires of your flesh.> Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4, ESV)Romans chapter 2, verse 4 says, or do you presume on the riches of his kindness in forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? It's this idea that gets throws up over again. We do not presume upon the kindness of God. The kindness of God and His patience and his forbearance is meant to lead us to repentance, to the turning away of sin to crucifying the flesh. You see this over and over and over again in the New Testament as it calls us to take our sin seriously.So we should, as Christians, consider our sin seriously. That we should consider all the ways in which we sin. We should live a life that is one of walking in the light, that is one of confession, confessing our sin to the Lord and confessing it to other Christians as we walk in the light together. That we should be in the process of sanctification, reading our Bibles and reading His Word and knowing God and His Word and knowing his holiness, and as we read His Word, realizing and reflecting upon all the ways in which we sin against God. That we should grow in this type of holiness. That we should grow in the difficult work of identifying patterns in our life that need to be changed and changing those patterns. We should identify habits, we should consider what we watch. We should consider the things that we scroll through. We should consider the things that we fantasize about, the things we think about that in all these ways and more, we should consider our sanctification seriously. We should be serious about our repentance as we plead for God to sanctify us. We should have this type of Prayer, pleading for God.And think about how thorough Paul is here. He says, now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And he says, and may your whole spirit so that word, the word for completely and the word for hold there in the original language are the same. And I, and I, I think, completely captures some of this. I do like what the NIV says. The NIV says, may he sanctify you through and through. May he sanctify you through and through thoroughly. And then he goes on to picture this. Your whole spirit, your whole soul and body be kept blameless. Now, I, I, I don't think what Paul's doing there is dividing the self into three different parts, body, soul, spirit. I don't think that's what he's doing. He's not doing three clean divisions of who we are. I think what Paul's getting at here is he's saying all of you, and this is what the scriptures do sometimes and just capturing all of who we are. This is your thoughts, your actions, your immaterial self, your spiritual self, your material self, your body, every aspect of may God sanctify you completely. And this should be our desire.Let me address an aspect of sanctification that I think our church, specifically we need to receive this and understand this. Well, I'm going to say something, and for some of us that's going to be quite jarring. But just stay with me. You should desire. We should desire to please God in our sanctification. Now let me qualify for a moment when it comes to the work of justification, faith in Jesus Christ. When he converts us, we go from old to new, dead to alive. We're born again before Christ. You cannot please God. I think it's important, because we say this sometimes, is that we cannot please God with our good works. We cannot please God. We cannot earn our favor, earn favor before. We cannot earn our status before Him. And it's like, yes and amen. We absolutely should remember that, that we cannot please God in earning our place before him. So have that locked in our brain when he makes us new and brings us to a new life in Christ. In our sanctification, we should want to please God. We should want to please Him. And the New Testament captures this over and over again.> But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4, ESV)I'll just give you a couple of ways it captures this in First, Thessalonians 2, 4, it says, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God, who tests our hearts in Colossians 1 a prayer, he says, and so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.> And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9–10, ESV)So when it comes to the work of sanctification, the work of becoming more like Christ, the repenting of sin and obeying him, that we should want to please God, that is for our joy, for our flourishing, for our good, and we have to kind of separate those two parts of our brain that we will never please God to be saved. But in Christ, when he puts the Holy Spirit within us, that work that is flowing in us when we lean into this, it is pleasing to God. Every deliberate choice to kill sin and to honor God is a choice to depend upon his power and not our own. Every time we decide to know, I want to grow in this, I want to be holy as God is holy. It pleases him, it's pleases him. When we confess Jesus is better than everything else and we live that out. When we have temptation that comes to us and presents, send us and we just say, no, I want Jesus, I believe that he's better than everything else. And therefore I'm going to desire, I'm going to choose, I'm going to follow Christ here. It's pleasing. And we should remember that language because I think sometimes we get so much in the language of I don't have to please God, I have to please God, I have to please God. And we blur the lines a bit till we get to a little bit of Romans 6 where we're presuming upon the grace of God and that's not a place where we need to be as Christians, we should desire to grow in sanctification.We should take our spiritual health seriously as like more seriously than we do even our physical health, as I said earlier, with all the time and energy that we take to think about our physical health, to think about our overall financial well being, our overall success in life, all that ever different aspects of our life which we should consider and pray for, we have a lot of energy that's directed in that. And then some of us, we have little energy that's directed in seeking the Lord, asking Him to sanctify us. I mean, consider our prayers. Consider what you pray for on a regular basis. Do you pray for, for physical health? Do you pray for financial success? Do you pray for a lot of good Things that you should absolutely pray for. God never grows tired of hearing those prayers. You should. We should grow and we should pray. We should do all of that. But do we pray for that with more zeal, more passion, more earnestness, more consistency than we do in praying and considering our own sin? That's something we should reckon with and we should consider.I mean, think about the psalmist, how the psalmist pray. Go to Psalm 139. It says, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.> Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24, ESV)When is the last time that we prayed like that? That on our face before the Lord? We're saying, God, would you search me? Would you know my heart? Try me, expose me, help me see. I don't want these grievous ways to have victory in my life. I want you to lead me in the way of everlasting. When is the last time that we prayed passionately, consistently, fervently like that?Consider how David prays in Psalm 51 after he. He sins against Bathsheba and Uriah, which we'll read about in Second Samuel, coming up. And he has this prayer of repentance. He says in verse seven, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.> Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7, ESV)When is the last time on your face before the Lord? You said, God, purge me. Purge me of the sin. Purge me like hyssop. Cleanse me. Remove this. I want to be holy as you are holy. I want to be whiter than snow. I don't want to be a slave to my sin. Would you purge me of this? When is the last time that we fervently prayed like this? This is the type of intensity that God desires of his people that we might pray like this, y'. All. We will. We currently do. And we will probably, with the size of our church, always have someone who is battling cancer, who is battling disease. And this church, we respond by consistently and passionately pleading with the Lord on behalf of our church family to heal. And we're not going to stop doing that. But with that type of intensity that we're asking for physical healing, do we do that with spiritual healing, with becoming more like Christ, with repenting of sin and becoming more like him. Do we pray like this? Because we should.We should consider all the ways in which we are plagued by sin and praying. We should pray earnestly. God so tired of the sexual sin that's bound up within me. I'm so tired of stumbling and falling with actions and with thoughts. God, would you purge me? Would you cleanse me? Would you remove it? I don't want to sin against you when the temptation comes. I want to believe that you're better. Would you cleanse me of this? God, would you purge me of a dishonest tongue? Because I don't know what happens at work. My boss talks and it gets me stressed out and I tell half truths. I'm hanging out with my friends and they're telling all kinds of stories and I feel like I gotta tell a story and then I embellish upon it. And then all of a sudden I just. I don't want this anymore. I want to speak truthfully. God, would you purge me of a dishonest tongue? Would you cleanse me of the heartless apathy that has plagued me in this season? I feel so spiritually dry and distant. And I don't want it. God, I want to. I want a fervor for you. I don't want to be so apathetic. God, would you cleanse me of this? God, would you purge me of the greed within me? Because every time I get a raise, all I can think about is the next thing I want to buy that. All I can think about is more and more. I don't want that. God, would you purge me of my greed? Would you cleanse me of my faithless anxiety that I'm so tired of being so fearful of everything else but you? But God, I want to fear you. Above all, I want to try. I don't want to live in a persistent, consistent state of anxiety. God, would you purge me of the petty rivalries that I create in my own heart with people that don't even know that I'm mad at them and the gossip that flows out of me and the slander that flows out of me? I don't want this anymore. Would you cleanse me of this desire to seek substances for my pain? I'm tired of just wanting the next drink. I'm tired of getting THC in my system. I just. I don't want. Would you cleanse me of my faithless anxiety, my faithless idolatry? And on and on and on and all the ways that we should consider, all the ways in which we sin against God? When is the last time that we got on our face and prayed with that type of zeal? That's what God desires of his people, to pray and say, God, peace, sanctify me. Sanctify my whole spirit, my whole, every part of me. Keep me blameless until the coming of Jesus Christ.John Owen, the Puritan pastor from centuries ago, and his work, Mortification of Sin and Mortification of Sin, which mortification just means putting to death of a thing. He impacts this idea of mortifying sin in the flesh. He says to mortify means to put any living thing to death. To kill a man or any other living thing is to take away the principle of all its strength, vigor and power so that it cannot act or exert or put forth any proper actings of its own. He goes on to say, it is the constant duty of believers to render a death blow to the deeds of the flesh that they may not have life and strength to bring forth their destructive influence. Boy, oh boy, when have we prayed that God would remove the strength, the vigor, the power, the destructive influence, the life, all of it from our sin? I just want you to remove the destructive influence of this sin in my life. God, would you do it? You put the spirit in me. It's alive and it worked in me. Would you empower me to put this to death? This is the pursuit of the Christian life. This is what God desires of his people. How often are we praying for our sanctification like this.And push this even further. How often are we praying these type of prayers for one another? How often are we praying? Because look at this, this is Paul praying for them. He's praying for their sanctification. And how often are we doing that with one another? Because sanctification is not a solo sport, it's team sport. We have a Western American individualistic mindset that my sin is my business. The Bible says, no, it is not your business. You belong to a community. No, your sin is not just your business. This is how we love one another.Well, I was watching over the holiday season, I was watching a movie called the Long Walk, which is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel. And it's about a dystopian future after an American civil war where there's a totalitarian regime in place. And they, they have a contest and a lottery for that contest. They take young men from all 50 states and they put them in the Long Walk, which is a death march, which is quite the movie to watch over the holidays. But I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and a death march, if you don't know what that is historically, it's where you tell people to walk. And every person that stops walking is shot. And the last person standing, last person walking, the end wins. The contest. And one of the things I appreciate about this story is that the main character, he arrives and he. He decides, I'm going to team up with some of these other guys and we're going to walk together. And they. They team up and they walk together. There's another guy that shows up, and his strategy is to walk alone. And he. His whole strategy is to discourage everyone else who's walking. And for a few days, it works. He gets in the head of a few other guys, they stop walking, they're killed, and he just keeps walking. And that works for one, two, three days. But about day four, day five, and day six, when there's only about 10 people left, the guys who've been walking together are still walking together. And there are times where it's in the middle of the night, and one of them is literally sleepwalking. He's asleep and he's walking. He's slowing down, and his friend grabs him and carries him every step of the way. So they endure as they go up steep inclines, and people are starting to fall off. One by one, they encourage each other together. And these five are walking together. By day five or six, the guy who's been walking alone begins to go insane. Name? He begins to lose his mind. He has this desire. He's freaking out where he wants a team, he wants people to walk with him. He feels all types of disorientation. Then he finally stops walking and he dies. And as I'm watching that, I'm like, that is such a picture of why we need each other so much. That sin is serious. This life is serious. There's a lot on the line, and we should walk together. We're not designed to walk alone. We're designed to walk together. That means we should care about each other enough to care about each other's sin and sanctification.When is the last time that you. You reached out to someone in your group and asked them, would you be praying for me? I'm struggling right now with temptation. I've been struggling with sin. But would you pray for me? When's the last time that you've reached out to someone in your group, someone you're walking with, inviting them in? When's the last time that you spoke honestly about the reality of the sin that you're struggling through? When's the last. At a time, at a care night, as we're talking to each other in group, that you were real and honest and didn't give polished stories of your reality even further? When is the last Time that you cared enough about someone else that you're walking with to go out of your way to ask them tough questions. Do you know their sin? You've walked with them for a year, a few years, you know what's happening. When was the last time that you went on your way to ask them difficult questions, to reach out and say, hey, I know it's been hard lately, but I'm praying for you. And you're on your face pleading and praying, may God sanctify him completely. May he sanctify her completely. May you help this brother or sister, crucify this desire, and may they have victory. When have you been praying like this and caring about someone else that you walk with? This is what we're called to. This is sanctification in the church of Jesus Christ. This is what part of the reason he's given us one another, that we might walk together in this battle with sin.Let me close with this. In verse 24, he says, he who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. The good news of God's sanctifying work is that God is the One at work within us. God is the one at work with us. He will surely do it. It is he that will keep us blameless. The God who calls us into faith carries us through to completion and works within us every step of the way. And if you belong to Jesus Christ, he will surely do it. And that is encouraging. And some of us need to be reminded of that today. Some of you need to be reminded of this because some of us have been trying to sanctify our worldly minds by our own effort, by our own strength. And we're neglecting this opportunity to run to the Lord in prayer, pleading with him, relying upon Him. Search me, know me, purge me, cleanse me, sanctify me by his power and not our own.Some of us need to hear this this morning because some of you are deeply discouraged right now. You've been stumbling and stumbling and stumbling and I want you to hear so clearly this morning. He is at work within you and he will surely do it. That as you lean into the reality of spirit filled dependence upon him to crucify the desires of the flesh. Yes, we know biblically we're never going to be perfect. We know that. We know we're never going to arrive there. We know that we're broken, sinful, corrupt to the core. We get that. And also the Spirit at work within us will mold us and shape us in the image of Christ. And whatever you're facing right Now God is at work. If you belong to him, he will surely do it.Some of us have neglected. Though hear this. Some of us have neglected the power of God coming to bear on our lives because we have not taken sin seriously enough. And it is time for us to start taking some sin seriously. The beginning of this year. Some of you need to start taking sin seriously. You need to start praying for God to search you, to know you, to purge you, to cleanse you. Some of you have neglected the power of God to destroy the patterns of sin in your life, be it for reasons of apathy, distraction, indulgence, indifference, unbelief. But all of those we got to put at the foot of the cross and we got to plead for God to change us. But if we belong to Christ, we have to start taking this seriously. And for some of you, some of you have only depended upon your own self. And this morning, it is time for you to depend upon the Lord to actually see him as Lord and ruler of your life, taking over every aspect of your life, including the things that you've held most dear to you, so that he might change you and conform you into his image. And beautiful, wonderful ways to bring about the change that God wants for you because there is a man or a woman that he has made you to be that is growing in Christ likeness. But you cannot take those steps to flourish and grow into his image until you start taking sin seriously. But if you woo, if you, if you, if you take the leap of faith, if you walk in the light, if you start talking to other Christians, if you do the tough work of sanctification, you will change. He will surely do it.This is how we're going to close this morning. It's going to be a little bit different. We're going to take communion here in a moment. So let me go ahead and introduce communion now as we prepare for the table. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. And he said, this is my body that was broken for you. And he took the cup. This is the cup of the new covenant. This is my blood that was shed for you, that as often as you eat and drink this, you proclaim my death until I return.> For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26, ESV)So the table is a reminder that our sin cost the blood of God and that God and His abundant mercy and kindness gives us Jesus Christ. That covers our sin. So typically, we take a few moments and we consider our sin and we consider our Savior and then we come to the table. But that's not what we're going to do this morning. We're going to do something a little bit different. I'm going to ask Matt to come up and Matt is going to sing a song over us. So right now we're going to pray. We're going to pray. The song captures Psalm 139, Search me and his kindness leads us to repentance in Romans 2. And we're going to pray. We're not coming to the table. We're going to sit and we're going to pray. And we're going to ask the Lord to sanctify us. We're going to ask the Lord to expose us, to search us, to know us, to find the grievous ways within us. And we're going to sit in silence as he sings and ministers to us, as he sings over us. We're going to consider our sin. And I hope right now that the Holy Spirit begins to prod and worship. I hope he starts giving you action steps when you leave here today that you start having conversations. We got a care night this week in our community groups. I hope that you come prepared to bear burdens with one another there. But we're going to do the work right now where God's going to work in our heart. So don't come to the table. We're going to pray. And when he's done singing the song, then he'll invite us to the table. But right now, sit and pray before the Lord in silence. And may the Lord go to work in our hearts.

Find out what the “Six White Boomers” means for Australians during the holidays in this special Christmas week episode of Being Human with Steve Cuss. Steve gets cozy alongside The Bulletin co-hosts Russell Moore and Clarissa Moll for a candid, funny, and deeply comforting conversation about Advent, Christmas carols, and the “mental and emotional load” many people carry this season. Together they explore joy and grief at the manger, the hope of Emmanuel (God with us), and how the nativity story—through figures like Joseph, the shepherds, and the light in John 1—invites us to bring our whole selves to Jesus and be “human-sized” again.  Episode Resources: Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God How A Charlie Brown Christmas Almost Wasn't (The New Yorker) Bing Crosby - Christmas Classics “In the Bleak Midwinter” (Christina Rossetti poem + Gustav Holst tune) Boney M's Mary's Boy Child https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/just-drop-the-blanket/ A Charlie Brown Christmas: Linus reciting Luke 2:8-20 Russell Moore's Always Festivus and Never Christmas (article) White Christmas (movie trailer) The Bells of St. Mary's (movie trailer) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (trailer) The Nightmare Before Christmas (“What's This?” clip) Six White Boomers (Australian Christmas song about kangaroos) Wombat Divine (Australian children's Christmas story) Biblical Passages Luke 2:8-10 (ESV) Matthew 2 (ESV) John 1 (ESV) Romans 8 (ESV) Sign up for Steve's Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter Get Your Copy: The Five Steps to Christmas Sanity PDF New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Side Baptist ChurchAbbeville, South CarolinaPastor Joel BradberryDecember 21, 2025Sunday AM Servicehttps://www.southsideabbeville.comSermon Notes:A. The Birth (1-7)I. It was an historical birth (1-5)Micah 5:2 (ESV)Romans 8:28 (NKJV)II. It was a humble birth (6-7)Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)B. Reaction to Jesus' birth (8-20)I. Heaven's reaction (8-14)Luke 2:10–12Luke 2:14“Know Jesus, know peace—No Jesus, no peace!”Peace WITH GodPeace OF GodII. Shepherds' response (15-20)(1) They verified the Good News(2) They believed the Good News(3) They repeated the Good NewsTake-Aways:-What humility for God to come to us! The Uncreated Being tabernacles with His creatures!-Preach the Gospel to yourself every day! Good News is what He has done—not what I have to do.-What sense does it make for Good News to remain in the pews?

"Joy is an emotion that's acquired by the anticipation, acquisition, or even the expectation of something great or wonderful." Lighting the second candle of Advent--Joy, guest speaker Pastor Lee Cummings brings a message on the power of joy and how we can live daily in the joy of the Lord. Our hope is that this message would spark this joy in you and give you hope! Scripture references: Nehemiah 8:1- (ESV) Romans 14:17 (ESV) Romans 15:13 (ESV) Connect With Us: To learn more about Victory Church and to get connected, visit us at https://victory.church/ Worship Gathering Times: To see locations & worship gathering times, visit https://victory.church/locations/ Prayer: We believe in praying big prayers to a big God and expecting big results. If you're in need of prayer, our team would be honored to pray with you. You can reach us for prayer at https://victory.church/prayer Giving: At Victory, we steward God's resources well and with radical generosity. If you'd like to give toward the mission of Victory Church, visit https://victory.church/give/ Follow Us: OKC Campus: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorychurchokc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorychurchok Edmond Campus: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoryedmond/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victory.churchEDM Grapevine (Texas) Campus: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorychurchgrapevine/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089341962919

Jesus Followers Can Personally Talk to God, the Universe's Creator, About Issues Like His Will for You; but Do You? MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe; and you can talk to God like you talk to your father. Remember God loves you. Imagine climbing up into His lap and imagine Him wrapping His arms around you – He is God your loving father. As God tells you in 2 Samuel 7:14-15: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.". You need to start talking to Him as the best dad there could ever be. Talk to God, regularly, about your life; your concerns; and your needs. You need to ask Him for His counsel, and you need to ask Him questions regarding His will for your life.     TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, may the pains I experience in life kill the things that need to die in me — arrogance, pride, and indifference to others. Help me, daily, to see my frailty and how dependent I am on you, the Master of the Universe. In Jesus' name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 72). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will proclaim Him. (Philippians 1:15f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 1:7; Matthew 6:7-15; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Psalms 12:1-8. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Prayer for America”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Ever wonder if you're really saved? Question your own salvation? Ever feel out of place at church where you would expect to feel welcome. You're not alone... Shane and Joe share some of the common challenges to this Christian walk, and some encouragement. Matthew 5:48 (ESV)Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)Romans 7:15-20 (ESV)Help support the channel by sharing your favorite episodes with friends, family, coworkers, or your church.Reach out with kind words, encouragement, or topic requests: ⁠⁠⁠holyunqualified@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠Join us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/holyunqualifiedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠Music: McCarthy by Blue Dot Sessions (⁠⁠⁠www.sessions.blue⁠⁠⁠)#impostersyndrome #newchurch #churchhopping

Feeling Condemned? Shane and Joe discuss the impact of condemnation on the way we think about and interact with God. How to accept the Grace and Mercy of God.John 3:16-17 (ESV)Romans 8:1 (NKJV)Help support the channel by sharing your favorite episodes with friends,family, coworkers, or your church.Reach out with kind words, encouragement, or topic requests: ⁠holyunqualified@gmail.com⁠Join us on Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/holyunqualifiedpodcast⁠⁠Music:McCarthy by Blue Dot Sessions (⁠www.sessions.blue⁠)

God Sees a Jesus Follower as Being “In Christ”; Therefore, God Sees a Jesus Follower as His Son or Daughter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As Followers of Jesus, you are "In Christ" -- God looks at you, as a Jesus Follower, and He sees Jesus in you. Throughout the Epistles we find: "In Christ" or "In Him". In Galatians 3:14, Paul tells you that your faith in Jesus makes you “In Christ” and a recipient of God's Covenant with Abraham: “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.". Also, Paul goes even further, in Galatians 3:25-28, to tell you that, through your faith in Jesus, you no longer need any kind of intermediary because you are “In Christ” and you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe: “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”. When God sees you, “In Christ" as a Jesus Follower, He sees Jesus, the Son. Therefore, God sees you as His son or daughter.     TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Addictions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Self-Control. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 3:21-26; Romans 6:5-11; Romans 6:22-23; Psalms 63:1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Being in Christ, Part 1”,at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Ezekiel 37:1–14 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 8, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) (ESV)Romans 8:10–11 (Listen) 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus1 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Footnotes [1] 8:11 Some manuscripts lack Jesus (ESV)

In this episode, I respond to a recent video made by Gavin Ortlund called, “Are Catholics Christians? Why Protestants Can Say YES”. Gavin argues that early Reformation theologians like Martin Luther and John Calvin both believed that Catholics are saved. He also makes a postmodern argument for church unity.In my response, I cover John Calvin's actual thoughts on whether Catholics can be considered “Christians”. I talk about the problems with elitist “intellectuals” like Gavin Ortlund ripping old theologians out of context to push a postmodern, liberal narrative. I also discuss the dangers of referring to church history and old theologians before referencing the Bible. I give a more detailed breakdown of the Catholic and Protestant doctrines of justification and how they are fundamentally opposed to each other. Finally, I talk about what the Bible has to say about people like Gavin Ortlund who distort doctrine and words for personal gain. I hope you enjoy! Books mentioned:Institutes of the Christian Religion - John CalvinRoman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment - Gregg R. AllisonFaith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught...and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) - Thomas SchreinerOther books to read related to this topic:Justification: An Introduction - Thomas Schreiner Scripture Mentioned:Galatians 1: 6-10 (ESV)Romans 1:17 (ESV)1 Timothy 6:3-10 (ESV)2 Timothy 4:1-8 (ESV)James 2:18 (ESV)2 Peter 2:1-22 (ESV) Sign up for my newsletter and never miss an episode: https://optivnetwork.comFollow me on X: https://x.com/andyschmitt99Email me at andy@optivnetwork.com with your questions!Music: "nesting" by Birocratic (http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL)

Jesus Followers Can Personally Talk to God, the Universe's Creator, About Issues Like His Will for You; but Do You? MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe; and you can talk to God like you talk to your father. Remember God loves you. Imagine climbing up into His lap and imagine Him wrapping His arms around you – He is God your loving father. As God tells you in 2 Samuel 7:14-15: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.". You need to start talking to Him as the best dad there could ever be. Talk to God, regularly, about your life; your concerns; and your needs. You need to ask Him for His counsel, and you need to ask Him questions regarding His will for your life.     TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, may the pains I experience in life kill the things that need to die in me — arrogance, pride, and indifference to others. Help me, daily, to see my frailty and how dependent I am on you, the Master of the Universe. In Jesus' name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 72). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will proclaim Him. (Philippians 1:15f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 1:7; Matthew 6:7-15; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Psalms 12:1-8. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Wake Up America!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Pastor Aaron shares a message about hammering away a heart of stone and receiving a heart of flesh. We also take a look at the key to receiving life changing results in our faith journey. Scriptures referenced in this message:· Colossians 1:21-23 ESV· Ezekiel 36:26 ESV· Jeremiah 23:29 ESV· Proverbs 16:18· 1 Peter 5:6 ESV· Isaiah 41:10 ESV· Ephesians 4:32 ESV· Matthew 6:12 ESV· Matthew 6:14-15 ESV· Romans 12:2· Romans 7:18-19 ESV· Matthew 11:29-30 ESV· 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 ESV· Matthew 5:27–30 ESV· James 1:19-20 ESV· Genesis 3:1–13 ESV· Matthew 4:1-11 ESV· John 8:31-32 ESVLearn more about salvation, info about Destiny Church, or how to give by visiting our website.Real | Relevant | Relationship

Matthew 3:13–17 The Baptism of Jesus [13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. [14] John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” [15] But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. [16] And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; [17] and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV) Romans 6:1–14 Dead to Sin, Alive to God [1] What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [14] For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (ESV)

Scripture: Romans 12:2 Key Takeaways:   Resist the Formation of the World   Galatians 1:3-5 (ESV) Romans 8:5-8 (ESV) “We can present our bodies to the Lord as genuinely holy and acceptable sacrifices only if we “do not conform to this world” but “are transformed by the renewing of the mind. - Douglas Moo Renew your Mind by the Gospel   Titus 3:5-7 (ESV)   “MY DEAR WORMWOOD, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties; indeed, in your better moments, I trust you would hardly even wish to do so. In the meantime we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy's camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favour.” - Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis   Ephesians 4:17-24 (ESV)   Restore your Dignity by the Spirit's Help   Romans 8:13-14 (NIV) 2 Cor 3:17-18 (ESV)

God Sees a Jesus Follower as Being “In Christ”; Therefore, God Sees a Jesus Follower as His Son or Daughter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As Followers of Jesus, you are "In Christ" -- God looks at you, as a Jesus Follower, and He sees Jesus in you. Throughout the Epistles we find: "In Christ" or "In Him". In Galatians 3:14, Paul tells you that your faith in Jesus makes you “In Christ” and a recipient of God's Covenant with Abraham: “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.". Also, Paul goes even further, in Galatians 3:25-28, to tell you that, through your faith in Jesus, you no longer need any kind of intermediary because you are “In Christ” and you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe: “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”. When God sees you, “In Christ" as a Jesus Follower, He sees Jesus, the Son. Therefore, God sees you as His son or daughter.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Anxiety. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 3:21-26; Romans 6:5-11; Romans 6:22-23; Psalms 63:1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Hearing God's Voice”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Few Are Promulgating Peace in Today's Health Care, Race, Religion, or Politics; but Are Jesus Followers Doing God's Will as His Peacemakers? MESSAGE SUMMARY: God, through Jesus the Christ, gave us the ministry of Reconciliation. In Jesus, God was Reconciling the world to Himself and not counting their trespasses or sins against them, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”. God entrusted us with the message of reconciliation; therefore, we are “ambassadors for Christ”. We are implored, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled with God and to live a life like someone who has been given the opportunity to reflect Jesus in their life and to be at peace with God. Blessed are the peacemakers – ambassadors of God's peace – Jesus Followers are intended, by God, to be His Peacemakers for the World.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 5:11; Mathew 5:12; Luke 1:30-35; Psalms 108:1-13. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “He Is Risen: From Good Friday to Easter!”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Feasting In the House of The King 2 Samuel 9:1-13 by Josh Head 1 John 3:1 (ESV) Romans 8:15 Romans 8:16-17 Psalm 63:5-6 (ESV) “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer. They receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord, in reverence, humility, and joy. They receive each other's blessings as the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if there is so much happiness and joy even in a single encounter of one Christian with another, what inexhaustible riches must invariably open up for those who by God's will are privileged to live in daily community life with other Christians!” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God of Vengeance - Show NotesWhy does a loving God show wrath?Ezekiel 25:17 ESV 1. How does injustice make you feel? What do you default to? Do you hate? Do you want the maximum penalty? Have you ever said or heard someone say “I hope they rot in hell!”?2. Is it possible that your view of God's vengeance is tainted by yours?James 1:20 ESVRomans 12:17-20 ESV“The vengeance of God is to help aid man, and point man back to the Father, not to destroy.” - from podcastRomans 1:18 ESV3. Have you ever known someone, maybe a friend, who was a bad influence on everyone? How did their influence affect the lives of the people around them?4. Can you see how our current culture influences people into deceived and harmful lifestyles?John 8:32 NIVGalatians 5:1 NIVEven in God's wrath, He restrains HimselfGenesis 18:22-33 ESVMoses Intercedes for Israel - Exodus 32Romans 1:24-25 ESVPsalm 103:8-10 NIV 5. How does God's restraint help you to view His actions of vengeance?God's greatest wrath was poured out on Himself, on His own sonRomans 3:21-22 NLT6. In what ways does the sacrifice of Jesus, the fact that He took God's wrath so we didn't have to, impact your view of God?Additional verses:1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV Romans 5:6-11 ESVChallenge: We all have people we struggle with. This week your challenge is to carry out Romans 12:17-20. Pray for them. Do something for them. Overcome evil with good.Thank you for listening to the One Loud Voice podcast. If you are interested in joining or starting a group study, please visit our website, oneloudvoice.org for more information.If you like this content, we encourage you to also follow us on Facebook or Instagram

God Sees a Jesus Follower as Being “In Christ”; Therefore, God Sees a Jesus Follower as His Son or Daughter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As Followers of Jesus, you are "In Christ" -- God looks at you, as a Jesus Follower, and He sees Jesus in you. Throughout the Epistles we find: "In Christ" or "In Him". In Galatians 3:14, Paul tells you that your faith in Jesus makes you “In Christ” and a recipient of God's Covenant with Abraham: “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.". Also, Paul goes even further, in Galatians 3:25-28, to tell you that, through your faith in Jesus, you no longer need any kind of intermediary because you are “In Christ” and you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe: “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”. When God sees you, “In Christ" as a Jesus Follower, He sees Jesus, the Son. Therefore, God sees you as His son or daughter.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Despair. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Joy. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 3:21-26; Romans 6:5-11; Romans 6:22-23; Psalms 63:1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Are You Willing to Speak Up and Share, Publicly, Your Relationship with Jesus?”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Few Are Promulgating Peace in Today's Health Care, Race, Religion, or Politics; but Are Jesus Followers Doing God's Will as His Peacemakers? MESSAGE SUMMARY: God, through Jesus the Christ, gave us the ministry of Reconciliation. In Jesus, God was Reconciling the world to Himself and not counting their trespasses or sins against them, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”. God entrusted us with the message of reconciliation; therefore, we are “ambassadors for Christ”. We are implored, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled with God and to live a life like someone who has been given the opportunity to reflect Jesus in their life and to be at peace with God. Blessed are the peacemakers – ambassadors of God's peace – Jesus Followers are intended, by God, to be His Peacemakers for the World.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Hatred. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Love. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 5:11; Mathew 5:12; Luke 1:30-35; Psalms 108:1-13. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Be Strong & Courageous”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV Philippians 3:15-20 ESV Romans 6:22 ESV 1 Corinthians 3:11-26 ESV 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 ESV

Introduction--It is possible to miss the forest for the trees. That saying exists for a reason. It is possible to miss the whole of something because we are fixated on just parts of it.-When I say Matthew chapter 18, what comes to your mind---Most believers, who are truly familiar with Scripture, will immediately think - church discipline.-They are not wrong. We find a process for church discipline in Matthew 18.-But, in fact, that discussion of church discipline is a part of a much large discussion. Matthew chapter 18 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible on what it means to be a CHILD OF GOD.-Jesus has just given Peter a lesson about how to behave regarding an earthly expectation. Should we or should we not pay the temple tax-- Jesus taught him about that.-But our responsibilities in THIS WORLD should never obscure our focus on an identity that transcends this world. If we know God, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are God's children NOW and FOREVER.-The Bible announces this truth again and again.-ESV John 1-12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.-ESV John 11-51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.-ESV Romans 8-16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also

Introduction--It is possible to miss the forest for the trees. That saying exists for a reason. It is possible to miss the whole of something because we are fixated on just parts of it.-When I say Matthew chapter 18, what comes to your mind---Most believers, who are truly familiar with Scripture, will immediately think - church discipline.-They are not wrong. We find a process for church discipline in Matthew 18.-But, in fact, that discussion of church discipline is a part of a much large discussion. Matthew chapter 18 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible on what it means to be a CHILD OF GOD.-Jesus has just given Peter a lesson about how to behave regarding an earthly expectation. Should we or should we not pay the temple tax-- Jesus taught him about that.-But our responsibilities in THIS WORLD should never obscure our focus on an identity that transcends this world. If we know God, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are God's children NOW and FOREVER.-The Bible announces this truth again and again.-ESV John 1-12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.-ESV John 11-51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.-ESV Romans 8-16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also

The Bible tells us “faith without good deeds is useless” (James 2:20). We should not only be talk but action when it comes to our faith, and guest speaker Pastor Jonathan Laurie's reminding us of that in this Sunday episode. Notes James is stating that merely saying you have faith does not mean you have it. The sin of commission is knowing what is wrong and doing it anyway. The sin of omission is knowing what is right and not doing it. 1. Dead Faith. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” —John 3:16 We are saved by grace through faith, not works. But saving faith will have works. 2. Demonic Faith. A faith that only stirs our hearts, stimulates our intellect, and does not bring forth a transformed life does not bear spiritual fruit—it is not a true faith. 3. Dynamic Faith. Dynamic saving faith, to start with, is based on the Word of God. “The whole person plays a part in true saving faith. The mind understands the truth; the heart desires the truth; and the will acts upon the truth. The men and women of faith named in Hebrews 11 were people of action: God spoke, and they obeyed.” —Warren Wiersbe “Of what value is the grace I profess to receive if it does not dramatically change the way that I live. If it does not change the way that I live, it will never change my eternal destiny.” —C. H. Spurgeon Scripture Referenced Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV) Matthew 7:18–23 (ESV) Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV) James 2:18–20 (ESV) Revelation 12:12 (ESV) Romans 10:17 (ESV) --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bible tells us “faith without good deeds is useless” (James 2:20). We should not only be talk but action when it comes to our faith, and guest speaker Pastor Jonathan Laurie's reminding us of that in this Sunday episode. Notes James is stating that merely saying you have faith does not mean you have it. The sin of commission is knowing what is wrong and doing it anyway. The sin of omission is knowing what is right and not doing it. 1. Dead Faith. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” —John 3:16 We are saved by grace through faith, not works. But saving faith will have works. 2. Demonic Faith. A faith that only stirs our hearts, stimulates our intellect, and does not bring forth a transformed life does not bear spiritual fruit—it is not a true faith. 3. Dynamic Faith. Dynamic saving faith, to start with, is based on the Word of God. “The whole person plays a part in true saving faith. The mind understands the truth; the heart desires the truth; and the will acts upon the truth. The men and women of faith named in Hebrews 11 were people of action: God spoke, and they obeyed.” —Warren Wiersbe “Of what value is the grace I profess to receive if it does not dramatically change the way that I live. If it does not change the way that I live, it will never change my eternal destiny.” —C. H. Spurgeon Scripture Referenced Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV) Matthew 7:18–23 (ESV) Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV) James 2:18–20 (ESV) Revelation 12:12 (ESV) Romans 10:17 (ESV) --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Romans 9:30–33 Israel's Unbelief [30] What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. [32] Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, [33] as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (ESV) Romans 10:1–4 [1] Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. [2] For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. [3] For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. [4] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (ESV)

1 Peter 4:12-19 (ESV) Section 1: 1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) 1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV) 1 Peter 4:15-16 (ESV) Matthew 10:34 (ESV) 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV) Romans 1:21-25 (ESV) Jude 1:3-4, 8, 11 (ESV) Section 2: 1 Peter 4:17-19 (ESV) Ezekiel 8:6, 9-18 (ESV) Closing: Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) Matthew 13:24-30 (ESV) Matthew 13:36-43 (ESV)

Jesus Followers Can Personally Talk to God, the Universe's Creator, About Issues Like His Will for You; but Do You? MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe; and you can talk to God like you talk to your father. Remember God loves you. Imagine climbing up into His lap and imagine Him wrapping His arms around you – He is God your loving father. As God tells you in 2 Samuel 7:14-15: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.". You need to start talking to Him as the best dad there could ever be. Talk to God, regularly, about your life; your concerns; and your needs. You need to ask Him for His counsel, and you need to ask Him questions regarding His will for your life.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, may the pains I experience in life kill the things that need to die in me — arrogance, pride, and indifference to others. Help me, daily, to see my frailty and how dependent I am on you, the Master of the Universe. In Jesus' name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 72). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be anxious. (Philippians 4:6f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 1:7; Matthew 6:7-15; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Psalms 12:1-8. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Our Realities Speak to Our Real Priorities”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Welcome to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast. Every first Sunday of the month, we bring you a show dedicated to establishing and reinforcing a high view of the scriptures and Jesus Christ of whom the scriptures speak. So tell all your podcasting friends and family that this show is available for free to https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/listen-and-subscribe (Listen and Subscribe) on the podcast platform of their choice. https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/email-news-updates (Join our Mailing List)  and receive the latest show news and updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is often misunderstood and seldom shared effectively with others. In this second two-part episode, we share some practical insight into how you can overcome fear and objections and confidently share the gospel message with others. Scriptures links and references: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+14%3A12&version=ESV (Romans 14 (12)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3%3A23&version=ESV (Romans 3 (23)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3%3A19&version=ESV (Romans 3 (19)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+64%3A6&version=ESV (Isaiah 64 (6)) https://www.christianbook.com/share-jesus-without-fear/william-fay/9780805418392/pd/18393 (Share Jesus without Fear: William Fay: 9780805418392 - Christianbook.com) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+13%3A1-9&version=ESV (Matthew 13 (1-9)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+1%3A4-8&version=ESV (Mark 1 (4-8)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+3%3A15&version=ESV (1 Peter 3 (15)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A+19-20&version=ESV (Matthew 28 (19-20)) https://www.livingwaters.com (Ray Comfort's ministry website) Please consider partnering with us: When you support The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast through your prayers and gifts, you enable us to provide sound biblical teaching that helps others open up their understanding of the scriptures across the globe. Please https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/donate-now (Donate Now), and thank you for your gracious, thoughtful support. This podcast is a production of Core-Truth Media, Copyright 2022 Core-Truth Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and or duplication of this media without permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be shared, provided that full and clear credit be given to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Recorded and engineered at https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/prevailed-studios (Prevailed Studios).

Today, I am not only introducing you to one of my wisest and dearest friends, but my podcast partner: Miss Yvette Allen. In this episode we discuss our new LIFE: DECLUTTERED MINI CHALLENGE and cover the 7 topics in that challenge: home, calendar, digital space, mind, heart, body, and Spirit. Listen in to get inspired to make room for the good things of God and the abundant life. Making Room is all about making room for the abundant life and how we declutter the things that get in the way to make room for the good things of God. https://adept-builder-8973.ck.page/ae572d93f7 (Life: Decluttered Challenge)  Resources: https://www.amazon.ca/Ruthless-Elimination-Hurry-Emotionally-Spiritually-ebook/dp/B07NCJB86S/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1654900874&sr=8-1 (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World) by John Mark Comer https://player.captivate.fm/episode/3ec85cc6-71e3-402d-9b6b-b28e75634bcc (How to Read the Bible and Why it Matters with The Bible Recap's Tara-Leigh Cobble) https://unroll.me/ (Unroll.Me) https://www.amazon.ca/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth-ebook/dp/B00GS084YA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655016210&sr=8-1 (How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth) by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart https://www.amazon.ca/Epic-Eden-Christian-Entry-Testament-ebook/dp/B0035RP56O/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= (The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament) by Sandra L. Richter https://www.amazon.ca/Every-Good-Endeavor-Connecting-Your-ebook/dp/B007T8R18K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655011240&sr=8-1 (Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work) by Timothy Keller https://www.amazon.ca/Eerdmans-Commentary-Bible-James-Dunn/dp/0802879780/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655047152&sr=8-1 (Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible) by James D. G. Dunn https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A13&version=ESV (1 Peter 1:13) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+10%3A10&version=ESV (John 10:10) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+10&version=ESV (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+5%3A1&version=ESV (Galatians 5:1) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%206%3A20&version=ESV (1 Corinthians 6:20) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+12&version=ESV (Romans 12:1) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208%3A2&version=ESV (Romans 8:2) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=+ephesians+5%3A13-14&version=ESV (Ephesians 5:13–14) Connect with Faith School: YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLewmak0ZIb-un99yUJ1_w (Faith School) IG: https://www.instagram.com/leah.rempel/ (@leah.rempel) and http://instagram.com/faithschoolpod (@faithschoolpod) http://leahrempel.com/ (leahrempel.com)

Welcome to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast. Every first Sunday of the month, we bring you a show dedicated to establishing and reinforcing a high view of the scriptures and Jesus Christ of whom the scriptures speak. So tell all your podcasting friends and family that this show is available for free to https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/listen-and-subscribe (Listen and Subscribe) on the podcast platform of their choice. https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/email-news-updates (Join our Mailing List)  and receive the latest show news and updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is often misunderstood and seldom shared effectively with others. In this first of a two-part episode, we look to the Word of God for a Full accurate understanding of the Gospel message according to Jesus Christ. This is an episode you will want to share with others. Scriptures links and references: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOHN+3%3A18&version=ESV (John 3 (18)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1%3A16&version=ESV (Romans 1 (16)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus+34%3A6-8&version=ESV (Exodus 34 (6-8)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A4-5&version=ESV (Ephesians 2 (4-5)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+22%3A11-14&version=ESV (Matthew 22 (11-14)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians+1%3A6-10&version=ESV (Galatians 1 (6-10)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians+3%3A8&version=ESV (Galatians 3 (8)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A1-6&version=ESV (Romans 1 (1-6)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+53%3A1-3&version=ESV (Psalm 53 (1-3)) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A1-21&version=ESV (John 3 (1-21)) Please consider partnering with us: When you support The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast through your prayers and gifts, you enable us to provide sound biblical teaching that helps others open up their understanding of the scriptures across the globe. Please https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/donate-now (Donate Now), and thank you for your gracious, thoughtful support. This podcast is a production of Core-Truth Media, Copyright 2022 Core-Truth Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and or duplication of this media without permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be shared, provided that full and clear credit be given to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Recorded and engineered at https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/prevailed-studios (Prevailed Studios).

Few Are Promulgating Peace in Today's Health Care, Race, Religion, or Politics; but Are Jesus Followers Doing God's Will as His Peacemakers? MESSAGE SUMMARY: God, through Jesus the Christ, gave us the ministry of Reconciliation. In Jesus, God was Reconciling the world to Himself and not counting their trespasses or sins against them, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”. God entrusted us with the message of reconciliation; therefore, we are “ambassadors for Christ”. We are implored, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled with God and to live a life like someone who has been given the opportunity to reflect Jesus in their life and to be at peace with God. Blessed are the peacemakers – ambassadors of God's peace – Jesus Followers are intended, by God, to be His Peacemakers for the World.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 5:11; Mathew 5:12; Luke 1:30-35; Psalms 108:1-13. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “ The Upper Room Part 1: The Promise of the Spirit (Apostles Anglican Church; Knoxville, TN)”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Welcome to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast. Every first Sunday of the month, we bring you a show dedicated to establishing and reinforcing a high view of the scriptures and Jesus Christ of whom the scriptures speak. So tell all your podcasting friends and family that this show is available for free to https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/listen-and-subscribe (Listen and Subscribe) on the podcast platform of their choice. https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/email-news-updates (Join our Mailing List)  and receive the latest show news and updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. In this episode, we share the following three fundamental principles from our Relentlessly Biblical™ approach to ministry that will reinforce your view of the Scriptures, strengthen your commitment, and put your faith into action. 1. [01:10] Establish and Reinforce a High View of the Scriptures 2. [33:21] Read your Bible 3. [59:38] Help Open Someone's Understanding of the Scriptures Scriptures links and references: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A1-9&version=ESV (Joshua 1 v.1-9) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+3%3A16-17&version=ESV (Jeremiah 179 v.) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A9-12&version=ESV (John 3 v.9-12) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A4-5&version=ESV (John 1 v.4-5) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+3%3A16-17&version=ESV (2 Timothy 3 v.16-17) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+12%3A2&version=ESV (Romans: 12 v.2) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22%3A23-33&version=ESV (Matthew 22 v.23-33) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+24%3A13-32&version=ESV (Luke 24 v.13-32) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5&version=ESV (Matthew 5) - Verse 4 (Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+19&version=ESV (Psalm 19) - Verses 1-6 speak to God's general revelation to humanity. Verses 7-14 are perfect synopsis of God's divine revelation through the Scriptures. (Recommended Reading: Psalm 119 - It expands the message of Psalm 19 in more wonderful detail) https://bibleapologetics.org/j-c-ryle-a-passion-for-holiness/ (J. C. Ryle – A Passion for Holiness - Bible Apologetics - A DAILY DEVOTION) - Source of "Read your Bible Daily" quote. Please consider partnering with us: When you support The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast through your prayers and gifts, you enable us to provide sound biblical teaching that helps others open up their understanding of the scriptures across the globe. Please https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/donate-now (Donate Now), and thank you for your gracious, thoughtful support. This podcast is a production of Core-Truth Media, Copyright 2022 Core-Truth Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and or duplication of this media without permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be shared, provided that full and clear credit be given to The Relentlessly Biblical™ Podcast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Recorded and engineered at https://relentlessly-biblical.captivate.fm/prevailed-studios (Prevailed Studios).

04-21-2022 Spring Revival Night 5 Songs- Jimmy Adkins 17- Revive Us Again 120 – The Solid Rock 52 – I Need Thee Every Hour 386 – I'll Be Satisfied 632 – Time Enough Yet Jim “Doc” Frederick Prayer- Philippians 4:6-7 Led by: George Robbins Dale Willis 1 John 2 Peter 1:5-8 Genesis 37:9-10, 12, 21-22 Genesis 39:2, 21 Genesis 40:2-8, 23 Genesis 41:1, 16, 46, 51-52 Genesis 42:16-17 Genesis 50:19-21 (ESV) Romans 12:17 Matthew 5:44 Closing Prayer- Dan Hittepole

Jesus Followers Can Personally Talk to God, the Universe's Creator, About Issues Like His Will for You; but Do You? MESSAGE SUMMARY: As a Jesus Follower, you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe; and you can talk to God like you talk to your father. Remember God loves you. Imagine climbing up into His lap and imagine Him wrapping His arms around you – He is God your loving father. As God tells you in 2 Samuel 7:14-15: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.". You need to start talking to Him as the best dad there could ever be. Talk to God, regularly, about your life; your concerns; and your needs. You need to ask Him for His counsel, and you need to ask Him questions regarding His will for your life.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, may the pains I experience in life kill the things that need to die in me — arrogance, pride, and indifference to others. Help me, daily, to see my frailty and how dependent I am on you, the Master of the Universe. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 72). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, Nothing compares with knowing Jesus. (Philippians 3:7f). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 1:7; Matthew 6:7-15; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Psalms 12:1-8. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “How God Says He Loves Us: Part 2 -- The Covenant with Abraham”, at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Description:On this episode of Old Fashioned Theology, Daniel and Ryan dive into the gospel theme of Christian unity while enjoying the Pour Choice of the Week, Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Pour Choice of the Week: Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Timestamps: Intro: 0:00; Pour Choice of the Week: 0:46; Christian Unity: 10:52; Farewell Toast: 32:50 Scripture References: 1) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+4%3A4-6&version=ESV (Ephesians 4:4-6): "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." 2) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy+6&version=ESV (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." 3) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+2&version=ESV (Ephesians 2:14-16): "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." 4) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204%3A1%2D3&version=ESV (Ephesians 4:1-3): "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 5) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17&version=ESV (John 17:21-22): "...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one..." 6) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+15%3A5-6&version=ESV (Romans 15:5-6): "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Links: 1) https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/our-brands/eagle-rare.html (Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon) Credits: Written and Produced by Daniel Carpenter & Ryan Boyd Edited by Daniel Carpenter Audio Engineered by Joel Carpenter Disclaimer: All claims made here about alcohol, whether in this episode, in this description, or on our podcast as a whole, are intended only for those of legal drinking age. All links provided here should only be accessed by those of legal drinking age.

How God Says He Loves Us: Part 2 -- The Covenant with Abraham MESSAGE SUMMARY: Throughout human history, God has reached out to humans for a personal relationship and to express His love for humankind. We have a God that loves us so much, and God's love for us is expressed to us through His “covenants”. Also, God's “covenants” reveal to us His grace and faithfulness. In today's message, we will discuss God's Covenant with Abram and Abraham. A “covenant” can be defined as an “oath or promise of God”. In a Biblical covenant: 1) God establishes the Covenant; 2) God always implies that “I am your God, and you are my people” – God desires a personal relationship with us; and 3) God sets the covenant's terms and rulers. In Genesis 12:1-5, God presents His promise to Abram: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.". In Genesis 15:18, God makes a covenant with Abram: “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give his land . . .'”. In Genesis 17:4-5, God makes another covenant with Abram changing Abram's name to Abraham: “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.". in Genesis 21-1-4, Abraham's son through Sarah, that God had promised Abraham, is born: “The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.”. In Genesis 22:1-18, the final part of God's covenant with Abraham is found when God provided the blood sacrifice of the lamb that sealed His covenant with Abraham: “And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.'”. The significance of God's covenant with Abraham includes: 1) Abraham believed God and had faith, and because of Abraham's faith God made Abraham righteous – foretells the significance of the Gospel because God's covenant through Jesus for us is a covenant of faith; 2) God's covenant with Abraham foreshadows His covenant through Jesus as he Messiah, the Christ – Isaac is the first legitimate son of Abraham, and Jesus is considered the last son through Abraham, Isaac voluntarily went to the alter and Jesus voluntarily went to the cross, Abraham offered his son as a sacrifice and God gave His Son as a sacrifice; 3) God's covenant is still being fulfilled today – in a physical sense, the covenant is fulfilled through the Arabs and the Jews since both consider Abraham as their father and fulfilled in a spiritual sense through Jesus as Paul tells us in Galatians 3:14: “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.". Remember, the God who made covenant with Abraham is Jesus.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 10:9; Genesis 9:20-29; Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:1-9; Genesis 15:1-27; 1 Peter 3:18-21; John 3:16-17; Hebrews 11:6; Galatians 3:7-9,14-16,29. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “As a Jesus Follower, the Greatest Witness for the Gospel that You Can Give Is for Others to See Jesus IN You”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/   DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Description: On this episode of Old Fashioned Theology, Daniel and Ryan dive into the gospel theme of death while enjoying the Pour Choice of the Week, Old Bardstown Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. Pour Choice of the Week: Old Bardstown Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Timestamps: Intro: 0:00; Pour Choice of the Week: 0:55; The Gospel Narrative and Death: 8:46; Farewell Toast: 36:33 Scripture References: 1) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+9%3A27&version=ESV (Hebrews 9:27)—"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." 2) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A7&version=ESV (Genesis 2:7)—"then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." 3) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A19&version=ESV (Genesis 3:19)—"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 4) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A4&version=ESV (John 1:4)—"In him was life, and the life was the light of men." 5) https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=I+am+the+way+the+truth+and+the+life&version=ESV (John 14:6)—"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" 6) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+5&version=ESV (Romans 5:20-21)—"Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 7) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A16-19&version=ESV (1 Corinthians 15:16-19)—"For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." 8) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A21-23&version=ESV (Philippians 1:21-23)—“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” Links: 1) https://www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com/the-whiskeys/old-bardstown-bottled-in-bond/ (Old Bardstown Bottled-in-Bond) 2) https://www.christianity.com/church/church-life/what-is-ash-wednesday-why-do-christians-celebrate-it.html (What is Ash Wednesday? It's Meaning & Why It's Celebrated) Credits: Written and Produced by Daniel Carpenter & Ryan Boyd Edited and Mixed by Daniel Carpenter Disclaimer: All claims made here about alcohol, whether in this episode, in this description, or on our podcast as a whole, are intended only for those of legal drinking age. All links provided here should only be accessed by those of legal drinking age.

As a woman after God's heart, it is inevitable you will come up against attacks from the enemy. Today, we are talking about how to remain immovable in the face of attacks and the verses we can cling to as we push through. You can find the Bible I use HERE Mine is a softcover, but other than that, they are the same. (If you decide to use this link to purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon at no additional cost to you. The commission helps to keep the Esther Endeavors Community going. Thank you!) Favorite Thing This Week: Sisters in Christ The featured verses for this week are: Philippians 1:6 (ESV) 1 corinthians 15:58 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 16:13 2 Timothy 4:18 Romans 12:12 (ESV) Romans 8:31-39 Worship on the way out: Casting Crowns - Praise You in the Storm Connect with us over on Instagram @EstherEndeavors or on the blog at EstherEndeavors.com Resources: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

An archetype is an original pattern, model, or symbol, a persistent representation of an idea or concept. As Christians, we need to strive to represent God in a way that brings all glory to Him. In this episode, we want to eliminate the negative perception we as Christians encounter and replace them with the image that God calls us to exemplify. If you are struggling with the impression others may have of you as a believer, this episode is for you! We hope this message blesses you all, enjoy! Scripture Reference: 1 John 1:9-10 ESV Romans 6:1-2 KJV Psalm 37:4 ESV Mathew 7:1-2 Galatians 6:1 Romans 3:23 James 5:19-20 James 1:19 Proverbs 16:24 Proverbs 18:21 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lets-talk-but-gods-way/support

In this encouraging message, Pastor Zach Maddox shares how we can have a hope-filled Christmas. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to find hope by believing in Jesus. Notes: Christmas at Connection Point A Hope-filled Christmas Theme: We can have a hope-filled Christmas. Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to find hope by believing in Jesus. Text: Luke 2:10-14 (NLT) We can have a hope-filled Christmas because Jesus changes the lives of ordinary people. Luke 2:15 (NLT) We can have a hope-filled Christmas because Jesus brings joy. We can have a hope-filled Christmas because Jesus brings peace. Jesus is hope. Luke 2:14 (NLT) John 3:19 (NLT) John 1:11-12 (NLT) John 14:27 (ESV) Romans 15:13 (ESV) Conclusion: We can experience a hope-filled Christmas by believing in Jesus, who is hope. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is your favorite Christmas song? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. How do people around you try to find joy and peace in their lives? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. Why does joy sometimes diminish in our lives, even if you are a follower of Jesus? In what area of your life are you not experiencing peace? How do you intend to enjoy a hope-filled Christmas this year?

In this powerful message, Pastor Zach Maddox shares how racism gets resolved. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to use power rightly, bless those who persecute you, and pursue loving unity. Notes: Theme: How does racism get resolved? Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to use power rightly, bless those who persecute you, and pursue loving unity. Text: John 13:34-35 (ESV) Racism gets resolved when we use power rightly. Genesis 1:28 (ESV) Luke 8:40-48 (ESV) Racism gets resolved when we bless those who persecute us. Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV) Luke 7:1-5 (ESV) Romans 5:8-11 (NLT) Racism gets resolved when the church pursues loving unity. John 13:34-35 (ESV) Ephesians 2:14 (NLT) Conclusion: Racism gets resolved when we use power rightly, when we bless those who persecute us, and when we pursue loving unity. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is your favorite season of the year? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. In what ways or with whom are you sharing Good News, showing compassion, or participating in justice advocacy? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. When was a time you used power in wrongful ways? Or a time when someone used power incorrectly with you? When was a time you used power correctly? Or a time when someone used power correctly with you? When have you blessed someone who persecuted you? What can you do this week to increase unity with others at Connection Point?

In this heart transforming message, Pastor Zach Maddox shares how we can live as authentic followers of Jesus by displaying grace and discernment. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to seek God for the transformation of your heart. Nots: Theme: We live as authentic followers of Jesus by displaying grace and discernment. Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to seek God for the transformation of your heart. Text: Matthew 7:1-6 (ESV) We live as authentic followers of Jesus by displaying grace. Matthew 5:7 (ESV) Matthew 6:12 (ESV) Romans 14:4 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 4:4-5 (ESV) We live as authentic followers of Jesus by dealing with our evil hearts. Romans 7:21 (ESV) Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) Romans 6:5-14 (NLT) We live as authentic followers of Jesus through discernment. Romans 7:24-25 (NLT) In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. Who is participating in the Freedom 5k? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. Besides Jesus, who is your favorite person in Scripture and why? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. How have you displayed grace toward others this week? How have you judged others this week? How do you personally allow God to search your heart? (i.e. Bible reading, prayers, etc…) How can we respond to people who attack us?

In this Father's Day message, Pastor Zach Maddox talks about how we become healthy and whole. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to be initiated into your new creation life by Jesus. Notes: Theme: How do we become healthy and whole people? Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to be initiated into your new creation life by Jesus. Text: Luke 10:21-24 (NLT) We become healthy and whole by dealing with our sin wound. We become healthy and whole by learning five important life lessons. Life is hard. You are not that important. Your life is not about you. You are not in control. You are going to die. Men become healthy and whole by learning to live an integrated life. We become healthy and whole through God encounters. We become healthy and whole by living in our new creation reality. Luke 10:23-24 (NLT) Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV) Luke 10:20 (ESV) Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4 (ESV) Luke 12:25 (ESV) Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (ESV) Conclusion: Allow Jesus to initiate you into your new creation life and experience the health and wholeness only He can bring. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is your favorite brand of ice cream? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. What is your favorite memory of your father (or parent)? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. How do you deal with pain in your life? Which one of the five life lessons (above) do you struggle with the most? What does your daily abiding look like? Share a time when you encountered God in a meaningful way?

In this challenging message, Pastor Zach Maddox talks about why we should follow Jesus. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to follow Jesus and share Him with others. Notes: Theme: Why should we follow Jesus? Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to follow Jesus and share Him with others. Text: John 14:1-7 (ESV) We should follow Jesus because He is the only One who can bring true peace to our lives. We should follow Jesus because He prepares a place in heaven for those who follow Him. We should follow Jesus because He is coming again to judge the world. Revelation 1:7 (NLT) Revelation 19:11-16 (NLT) We should follow Jesus because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John 3:16-21 (NLT) Romans 10:13 (ESV) Romans 1:18-20 (ESV) Romans 2:1-3 (NIV) We must tell others about Jesus because all roads do not lead to God. Luke 16:19-31 Luke 13:22-29 Matthew 7:21-23 Matthew 24:14 Revelation 20:11-15 (NLT) Conclusion: Follow Jesus and help others follow Him too. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is everyone doing for Father's Day? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. What does universalism mean? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. How do you deal with difficulties? How did you come to faith in Jesus? What resource do you plan on working through this summer to better equip you to share Jesus with others? Who are three people you could be praying for to come to faith in Jesus? How could you serve them? How could you spend time with them?

In this message, Pastor Zach Maddox talks about our Creator's plan for human sexuality. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to experience the benefits of following God's plan for human sexuality. Notes: Theme: What is our Creator's plan for human sexuality? Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to experience the benefits of following God's plan for human sexuality. Text: Mark 7:1-8, 14-23 (NLT) Where did our current views of sexuality come from? What is our Creator's plan for human sexuality? Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV) Genesis 2:25 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 7:3-6 (NLT) What are the consequences of not following our Creator's plan? Mark 7:20-23 (ESV) Romans 1:21-32 (ESV) What are the benefits of following our Creator's plan? John 10:10 (NIV) Will we be shaped more by the culture in which we live or will we live freely in the Kingdom of God? 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) Conclusion: Following our Creator's plan for sexuality allows us to enjoy stronger bonds in marriage, avoid sexually transmitted diseases, be more emotionally healthy, and socially stable. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Life Group Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What are/were your Memorial Day plans? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. What are the do's and don'ts you've heard about sex from church? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. How have your thoughts regarding sexuality been shaped by our culture? What kinds of consequences have you faced by not following God's plan for sexuality? What kinds of benefits have you experienced by following God's plan?

In this message, Pastor Zach Maddox talks about what marriage is for. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to display God to the world with your marriage. Notes: Theme: What is marriage for? Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to display God to the world with your marriage. Text: Matthew 19:3-9 (ESV) Marriage is about friendship. Genesis 2:18 (ESV) Hosea 13:9 (ESV) John 14:26 (ESV) Genesis 1:27 (ESV) Marriage occurs between a man and a woman to display the image of God. Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV) Romans 1:16 (ESV) Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV) Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV) Genesis 2:24 (ESV) Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV) Matthew 5:17-19 (ESV) Exodus 20:14 (ESV) Leviticus 18:22 (NLT) Mark 7:20-23 (ESV) Marriage is meant to last a lifetime. Matthew 19:10 (ESV) 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 (NLT) Malachi 2:16 (NLT) Marriage is about displaying God to the world. Ephesians 5:31-32 (ESV) Conclusion: You can display God to the world with your marriage! In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is your favorite summertime activity? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. Who are your 2am friends? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. What can you do to deepen your relationships with others? How does God's definition of marriage seem counter to our culture's current definition of marriage? What is lost if we don't uphold God's definition of marriage? If you are married, what is something you could do this week to serve your spouse?

In this important message, Pastor Zach Maddox shares how we can live like Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to develop spiritual disciplines that produce Christlike character for the benefit of our community. Notes: Theme: We can live like Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Life Change Goal: Our prayer is that this message encourages you to develop spiritual disciplines that produce Christlike character for the benefit of our community. Text: Luke 3:21-22; 4:1-2, 13-15 (ESV) We can live like Jesus because He was not only God but also man. John 1:14 (ESV) Philippians 2:5-7 (ESV) Philippians 2:6 (MSG) We can live like Jesus with the Holy Spirit. John 14:12 (ESV) Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) John 5:19 (ESV) Romans 8:11 (ESV) Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV) We can be like Jesus through spiritual disciplines. Conclusion: We can be like Jesus by partnering with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, forming Christlike character that benefits our community. In response to this message I will… I will share part of this message with... Life Group Discussion Questions: Start Talking. Find a conversation starter for your group. What is your favorite outdoor activity? Start Thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking. What spiritual disciplines are you familiar with? Start Sharing. Choose a couple of questions to create openness. Why do we like to think that Jesus did what He did only because He was the Son of God? What does it mean to you that the same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus empowers you (Romans 8:11)? What spiritual disciplines do you regularly do? What spiritual disciplines could you start to do?