Podcasts about every christian

Kyle Worley is joined by Lauren & Tyler to discuss the story of “The Pilgrim's Progress.” Questions Covered in This Episode: What is Lithos? What is Pilgrims' Progress? Why should everyone read it? What is it an allegory for? Why did the book's popularity fade?  Why is there a renewed interest? Why would you tell a family that this story is worth their time? What resources would you recommend are necessities for family discipleship? Guest Bios: Tyler Van Halteren founded Lithos Kids in 2020 after seeing the impact short bedtime stories had on his son. He is the author of the Little Pilgrim series as well as The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook. Canadian by birth, Tyler previously served as a pastor in rural Ontario and later as a Bible professor in Cambodia. His growing young family now resides in Canada. Tyler holds a M.Div. from The Master's Seminary. Lauren Ducommun and her family served as missionaries in Indonesia before returning to Canada. She joined the team in 2020 and currently oversees our US warehouse, social media content, marketing, editing, and proofreading. She also modernized The Pilgrim's Progress: Legacy Edition and formatted Paradise Lost: Legacy Edition! Her family now resides near Fort Worth, Texas, where she works from home with her two kids, ages nine and thirteen. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: Lithos “The Pilgrim's Progress” by John Bunyan “Little Pilgrim's Big Journey” by Tyler Van Halteren Follow Us:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | WebsiteSupport Training the Church and Become a Patron:patreon.com/trainingthechurchYou can now receive your first seminary class for FREE from Midwestern Seminary after completing Lifeway's Deep Discipleship curriculum, featuring JT, Jen and Kyle. Learn more at mbts.edu/deepdiscipleship.To learn more about our sponsors please visit our sponsor page.Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Want to Start or Grow a Successful Business? Schedule a FREE 13-Point Assessment with Clay Clark Today At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com   Join Clay Clark's Thrivetime Show Business Workshop!!! Learn Branding, Marketing, SEO, Sales, Workflow Design, Accounting & More. **Request Tickets & See Testimonials At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com  **Request Tickets Via Text At (918) 851-0102   See the Thousands of Success Stories and Millionaires That Clay Clark Has Helped to Produce HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/ Download A Millionaire's Guide to Become Sustainably Rich: A Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Successful Money-Generating and Time-Freedom Creating Business HERE: www.ThrivetimeShow.com/Millionaire   See Thousands of Case Studies Today HERE: www.thrivetimeshow.com/does-it-work/  

Every Christian has a testimony. It may be dramatic or quiet, but if Jesus has changed your life, He has given you a story of His grace, mercy, and transforming power. In Mark chapter 5, Jesus sent a man, whose life had been radically changed, back to his own people with one simple assignment: “Tell others what the Lord has done for you.” In the same way, God desires to use our testimonies to point people to Christ, open doors for the gospel, and reveal His power to a world that desperately needs hope. Speaker: Pastor Ben Dixon Scripture: Mark 5:18-20 Series: Reach Out Thank you for Joining. For more information visit www.BenDixon.org or fill out a Northwest Church Connect Card - https://nwc.churchcenter.com/people/forms/118663

Today's Service Summary: "Ignorance Is a Silent Killer" Key Scripture: Hosea 4:6 — "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Main Message: Spiritual ignorance is dangerous because it leaves believers vulnerable to deception, fear, and poor decisions. The Bible is the primary way God speaks and reveals His will for our lives. Every Christian should continually read, study, meditate on, memorize, and hear God's Word to grow spiritually. God's Word is a lamp that guides us one step at a time, helping us make wise decisions and walk in His will. The pastor shared personal testimonies of how God used Scripture to provide direction, encouragement, and confirmation during important moments in his life and ministry. The message concluded with a challenge to seek God's will daily, trust His guidance, and build a strong foundation in His Word. Highlighted Quotes "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6) "Ignorance is a silent killer spiritually." "Open Bible, God speaking. Closed Bible, God not speaking." "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) "Not my will, Father, but Yours be done."

Spontaneous short episodes recorded Off The Cuff from the heart and life of Matt Knoll

HOW TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX6NdGnm_vASUBSCRIBE https://www.youtube.com/c/biblelineLIKE https://www.facebook.com/biblelineminCOMMENT ask us a question!SHARE with all your friends and familyHave a Bible question? The questions@biblelineministries.org email address is not longer in use, but you can:- Explore Pastor Jesse's full teaching library: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleLine/playlists- Watch a clear gospel presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX6NdGnm_vA- Ask your question live on air during our YouTube call-in show:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLElaVGv3oAZ6Y9q4uV9TOX5PMEYimFXqgSupport Bibleline - https://www.calvaryoftampa.org/donate/Bibleline is a ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida and is hosted by Pastor Jesse Martinez.LIKE THIS? CHECK THESE GUYS OUT:@Northlandchurchstc@YankeeArnoldMinistries@focusevangelisticministriesinc@TheKeesBoerMinistryChannel@FishersWithFaithMinistries@QuentinRoad@NorthsideChurchAthens@C4CApologetics@OnoDiamante#bibleline #salvation

Spontaneous short episodes recorded Off The Cuff from the heart and life of Matt Knoll

In today's homily, Fr. Tyler Mentzer, MIC, explores the timeless wisdom of St. Bonaventure, who teaches that Christian perfection comes not through knowledge alone, but through the burning love of Jesus Christ. Discover the Franciscan path of prayer, humility, grace, and total union with God.Fr. Tyler Mentzer reminds us that holiness is not reserved for theologians or mystics. Every Christian is invited to this same journey. The path to perfection is simple, though demanding: reject sin, cultivate humility, live a holy life, pray fervently, meditate on Christ's Passion, and allow God's grace to inflame your heart. As St. Bonaventure teaches, the goal is not merely to know about God, but to become so united with Him that love itself transforms us.Readings for July 15th 2026: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071526.cfm ★ Support this podcast ★

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260715fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: 1 Corinthians 3:5-11 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 The First Button In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Have you ever gotten dressed in the dark? Maybe you started buttoning your shirt and everything seemed fine at first. But when you got to the last button, something looked funny. One side was higher than the other! You turn on a light and discover the problem. The very first button was in the wrong hole. Because the first button was wrong, every other button ended up wrong too. One little mistake at the beginning changed everything at the end. Paul was dealing with a problem at the church in Corinth. Some people were arguing about which teacher was most important. Was it Paul, who started the church? Was it Apollos, who helped teach the people afterward? Paul reminded them that they were all working together for God. One person planted the seed. Another person watered it. But God was the one making it grow. Then Paul shared something even more important. Every Christian is building on the exact same foundation: Jesus Christ. A foundation is the part of a building that everything else sits on. If the foundation cracks, the whole building is in trouble. But if the foundation is strong, the building can stand firm. Jesus is the strong foundation for the church. Jesus is also the strong foundation for our family. Sometimes it’s easy to build our lives on other things. We might think, “I’ll be happy if I make the team.” Or “Everything will be okay if I get a good grade.” Or “I need everyone to like me.” Those things aren’t bad. Sports, school, and friendships are gifts from God. But they make terrible foundations. What happens if you don’t make the team? What happens if you get a bad grade? What happens if a friend says something hurtful? If those things are your foundation, your whole life can start to feel shaky like it's going to crash down! Our foundation is already laid for us in Jesus. That means your value doesn’t depend on how well you play, how smart you are, or what other people think about you. Your value comes from Jesus. When Jesus died and rose again, he forgave every sin. He made you part of God’s family. He promised to love you forever. When our family prays together, reads God’s Word together, and reminds each other about God’s forgiveness, we are building on a rock-solid foundation. It's a “first-button” issue: When Jesus is our foundation, we know how the rest of our story lines up. No matter what difficult days come, Jesus will hold us up now until he invites us to our forever home in heaven. Now THAT'S a really good ending! Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for being our strong foundation. When we are tempted to build our lives on sports, grades, popularity, or other things, remind us that you are what matters most. Help our family stay close to you through your Word and prayer. Thank you for loving us, forgiving us, and holding us up every day. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children What happened when the first button was put in the wrong hole? Who does Paul say is the foundation of the church? Questions for Elementary Age Children What are some things kids your age sometimes think are the most important things in life? Why can sports, grades, friends, or hobbies make us happy but still be poor foundations? Questions for Middle School and Above Imagine two families. One builds everything around success and achievements. The other builds everything around Jesus. What differences might you notice when both families go through a difficult time? Look at the practical examples mentioned at the end: praying together, reading God’s Word, and reminding each other of forgiveness. Which of these do you think our family is doing well, and which one could we work on to make our foundation stronger? Download Family Devotions Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

What happens when students step away from the constant noise of social media, academic pressure, and cultural confusion? In this episode, Kasey Leander sits down with Dustin Jizmejian, Senior Director of Conferences and Events at Summit Ministries, to explore why immersive Christian experiences can have a lasting impact on a student's faith, worldview, and purpose. Today's students are more connected than ever, yet many feel increasingly anxious, isolated, and uncertain about what is true. Dustin explains why intentionally stepping away from everyday distractions creates space for meaningful conversations, authentic community, and a deeper encounter with God. Together, they discuss how Scripture shapes our understanding of retreat, discipleship, and spiritual formation—and why Christian conferences remain one of the most effective ways to equip young people with a biblical worldview. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, youth pastor, educator, or student, this conversation will encourage you to think differently about the power of intentional discipleship and investing in the next generation. In this episode: Why are students more anxious, isolated, and distracted than ever How constant digital noise shapes identity and faith Why stepping away creates room for spiritual growth What the Bible teaches about retreat, community, and discipleship How Summit's student conferences help young people build a resilient biblical worldview Stories of students whose lives were transformed through Summit Why lasting faith is often formed through an immersive Christian community How parents and churches can better prepare students for today's culture For more than 60 years, Summit Ministries has equipped thousands of students to think critically, evaluate competing worldviews, and embrace God's truth with confidence. Through two-week summer conferences and other immersive programs, students engage with leading Christian scholars, build lifelong friendships, ask honest questions, and develop a faith that can withstand today's cultural challenges. If you want to help the student in your life grow in wisdom, confidence, and a biblical worldview, there's no better place to start. Learn more or register at Summit.org. If this episode encouraged you, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a parent, pastor, youth leader, teacher, or student looking for practical ways to grow in truth and live faithfully. Have a question you'd like us to discuss on a future episode? Email us at podcast@summit.org.

Who Taught You to Believe That? | The Ancient Warning Every Christian Needs Every Christian is being discipled by someone—but are they leading you toward Christ or away from Him? In this episode, Lenny Esposito explores Deuteronomy 13 to uncover God's timeless warning about false prophets, counterfeit gospels, and the subtle influences shaping our faith today. From modern church movements to social media algorithms, learn how to test every teaching against Scripture and recognize the voices that truly lead to Christ.

Every Christian struggles with worry and doubt. Today we're going to look at what Jesus says about worry and the superpower to overcome it. Discussion Guide: https://longhollow.com/the-forgotten-jesus-podcast-discussion-guides Notes: https://longhollow.com/theforgottenjesuspodcastshownotes

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We have built some real momentum in the readings for this first half of summer. Of course, you may have a congregation that is in a week, out a week — or, if you have lots of snowbirds, either your sanctuary feels more full or more empty. But the texts march on, and so do we!This is the second Sunday inside Matthew's parables chapter. Last week the Parable of the Sower opened the section; this week we get the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. Both parables share an image of a field, a sower, and a problem — but they ask different questions. The Sower asks what happens to the word once it has been scattered. The Wheat and the Weeds asks how to live in a field where good and bad are mixed and indistinguishable, and what to do when the impulse rises to sort it out ourselves.Image courtesy of Sickle of Truth: A Bible Student BlogThe Old Testament tracks both lead toward the Gospel in different ways. * Track One follows Jacob deeper into Genesis — to the famous dream at Bethel, where Jacob, fleeing his brother's anger, lays his head on a stone and sees a ladder reaching to heaven. Psalm 139 pairs with that scene by insisting there is no place where God's presence does not reach. * Track Two offers a choice between Wisdom of Solomon's meditation on the lenient sovereignty of God and Isaiah's short, sharp declaration of God's uniqueness; both are paired with Psalm 86, including its prayer for an undivided heart. * The Epistle continues the long climb through Romans 8 — today's portion includes some of Paul's most stirring language about being children of God, the groaning of creation, and the patience of hope.A note for preachers following a series: this Sunday continues the new arc of parables. The Sower (last week), the Wheat and the Weeds (today), and in coming weeks the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl, and the Net — these images are the way Jesus has chosen to talk about the kingdom of heaven. Our job as preachers, increasingly, is to slow down enough to let the images do their work.The ReadingsGenesis 28:10–19aFirst Reading (Track One) — Jacob's Dream at BethelSummaryJacob is on the run. He has just cheated his brother Esau out of their father's blessing, and Esau has vowed to kill him. Rebekah has sent him toward her brother's house in Haran, ostensibly to find a wife but really to keep him alive. The selected verses pick him up somewhere on the road, alone, in an unnamed place at sundown. He takes a stone, puts it under his head, and lies down. And he dreams: a ladder, or stairway, with its foot on the ground and its top reaching up into the heavens, and the angels of God going up and down on it. God stands beside him — or above the ladder — and renews the covenant once given to Abraham: this land, descendants beyond counting, blessing for all the families of the earth. And then the line on which the whole scene turns: I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. Jacob wakes, and the first words out of his mouth are: Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it. He is afraid. He calls the place awesome. He sets up the stone as a pillar, pours oil on it, and names the place Bethel — house of God.Key Ideas for Preaching* Jacob is fleeing the consequences of his own deception. The grace God gives him in this dream is given to a manipulator on the run. Where in your congregation are people quietly assuming that God's presence is reserved for those who have their lives sorted out, and how might Jacob's story interrupt that?* “Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it.” That is one of the most honest lines in Genesis. Jacob discovers that God has been somewhere he did not expect, and he himself was the last to notice. Where in your people's lives might God have been present in a place they did not credit, and what would it look like to wake up to it now?* The ladder is set up on the earth. The traffic on it is two-way — angels ascending and descending. Heaven and earth are connected, and the connection runs in both directions. How might this image steady a congregation that imagines God as remote, or imagines spiritual life as something we have to climb up to?* The promise God speaks to Jacob is mostly about presence: I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. Not just here at this holy site, but on the road. What might it mean for your people that the God of Bethel is the same God of every uncomfortable, unconsecrated place their lives will take them?Significant Cautions* Do not romanticize Jacob into a hero of the dream. He is, at this point in Genesis, a deceiver running from his consequences. The point of the scene is not Jacob's virtue but God's grace toward someone who has not earned it.* “House of God” language can be too quickly applied to a church building. The place Jacob names Bethel is a piece of open ground with a stone in it. The text is not really endorsing sacred architecture; it is naming places where God surprises us.* The promise that Jacob's offspring will inherit the land has had a long and painful history of being used to justify the taking of land from other people. If you touch this part of the text, handle it carefully and avoid reading the ancient promise as a blanket endorsement of any modern claim.Psalm 139:1–12, 23–24The Psalm (Track One) — You Have Searched Me and Known MeSummaryOne of the most intimate and personal psalms in the Bible. The opening verses celebrate God's deep knowledge of the psalmist — sitting down and rising up, the thoughts before they are spoken, the path before it is taken. The middle section asks the question Jacob might have asked: where can I go from your presence? The answer is: nowhere. Not heaven, not Sheol, not the wings of the morning, not the deepest sea, not the darkness. Even the darkness is not dark to God; the night is as bright as the day. The lectionary skips the harder middle verses and picks up at the closing: search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts; see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.Key Ideas for Preaching* This psalm reads like a meditation on Jacob's realization — surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. The psalm extends that to every place. Where in your congregation might people need to hear that there is no place outside God's attention, and what does that mean for the places they are quietly afraid to go?* “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day.” That is one of the most beautiful sentences in the psalms. How might your sermon let your people feel the kindness of that line — not God's surveillance, but God's presence in the very darkness they have been hiding in?* The closing prayer asks God to search the psalmist — not to judge but to lead. That is a remarkable posture. Where in your people's lives might openness to being known by God be more freeing than the long work of self-management?Significant Cautions* God's constant knowing can feel like surveillance, especially to people who have lived under abusive or controlling authorities. Be gentle with this language. The God of Psalm 139 holds us, not watches us.* The omitted middle verses (19–22) contain harsh language about hating God's enemies. The lectionary leaves these out for good reason. If you reach for them, handle them with care.Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16–19First Reading (Track Two, primary option) — You Are Lord of AllSummaryFrom the book of Wisdom, part of the Apocrypha (or deuterocanonical books, depending on tradition). The selected verses celebrate God's universal sovereignty and patient mercy. There is no other God beside this one, the text says, and this God's strength is the source of righteousness. Because God is sovereign over all, God can afford to be lenient — to spare all, to be patient with all, to leave room for repentance. And then the closing line that may be why the lectionary pairs this with today's Gospel: through such acts, God teaches the people that the righteous must be kind.Key Ideas for Preaching* The connection the text makes between God's sovereignty and God's mercy is striking. Because God is in total command, God can be patient. Cruelty and impatience are the marks of weakness, not strength. Where in your congregation has impatience been mistaken for moral seriousness, and what would it look like to learn the patience of the strong?* “The righteous must be kind.” That is, in five words, the ethical conclusion the text draws from God's character. Where in your congregation has righteousness been imagined as something other than kindness, and what might shift if these two were not allowed to come apart?Significant Cautions* Some traditions (most Protestant ones) do not consider Wisdom canonical. If your congregation's tradition uses Isaiah 44 instead, the next section of this guide covers it.* “The strong are merciful” can sometimes shade into a paternalism that treats mercy as something dispensed from on high. The text is reaching for something different — a mercy that flows from confidence, not condescension.Isaiah 44:6–8First Reading (Track Two, alternative option) — I Am the First and I Am the LastSummaryA short, sharp declaration of God's uniqueness. The Lord, the King of Israel, the Lord of hosts, declares: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them speak. Who can declare the things to come as I have done? Do not fear, do not be afraid. You are my witnesses. Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.Key Ideas for Preaching* “Do not fear, do not be afraid.” That phrase, echoing several Sundays back in Matthew 10, anchors this short text. The reason not to fear is the same: there is no rival power. What does it look like for your people to hear that the deepest threats they imagine have, in the end, no real competing authority?* “You are my witnesses.” That is a striking thing for God to say. It places God's people inside the testimony, not at the edge of it. Where in your congregation might the language of witness need to be recovered — not as performance, but as the kind of life that quietly testifies to what is true?Significant Cautions* “There is no other god” has sometimes been used in interreligious contexts in ways that flatten and demean other faiths. Isaiah is speaking inside a particular ancient struggle against idolatry, not handing the church a position paper on world religions.Psalm 86:11–17The Psalm (Track Two) — An Undivided HeartSummaryA continuation of the psalm we already heard a few weeks ago (Proper 7). The selected verses contain one of the most quoted lines from the psalms: teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. The psalmist gives thanks for God's steadfast love and deliverance, names the trouble he is in (the insolent and the ruthless are after his life), and pleads for help, for a sign of favor, for God's strength.Key Ideas for Preaching* “An undivided heart.” That is a request many of us would not dare to pray, because we know how divided our hearts are. The psalmist is honest about needing to be given a single-mindedness he does not yet have. Where in your congregation might the gift of an undivided heart be more needed than the discipline of trying to manufacture one?* The psalmist names that ruthless people are after his life — and then, in the same psalm, names God as merciful and gracious. Both things are true at the same time. The psalm does not pretend the threats are not real in order to praise God. How might your people learn to hold real danger and real praise in the same prayer?Significant Cautions* “Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may be put to shame” is honest prayer but easy to weaponize. Be careful preaching this verse in a way that gives moral cover to grudges your congregation is already nursing.Romans 8:12–25The Epistle — Children of God, Heirs with Christ, Creation GroaningSummaryPaul continues the unfolding of Romans 8. We are debtors not to the old way of living, he says, but to the Spirit. All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God — not slaves anymore, but adopted, with the right to call out, in the most intimate language Paul can find, Abba! Father! If we are children, we are heirs, joint heirs with Christ, sharing in his suffering and in his glory. The passage then opens out into one of the most cosmic visions in the New Testament. The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed. The creation itself waits, with eager longing, for the revealing of the children of God. The creation has been subjected to futility — not by its own choice — in hope. It groans. We groan with it. We who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait for adoption and the redemption of our bodies. We were saved in hope, and hope that is seen is not hope. We wait, with patience, for what we do not yet see.Key Ideas for Preaching* Paul calls God by the name Jesus called him — Abba. That is the Aramaic word a child would have used, intimate, not formal. The Spirit makes us able to use that word too. What might it shift in your people's prayer life to hear that the language of intimacy with God is not reserved for spiritual experts?* Paul includes the whole creation in the work of redemption. The trees, the soil, the seas, the suffering creatures — they are not background scenery to the human drama. They are part of it. They groan; they wait. How might this widen your congregation's sense of what salvation includes?* “Hope that is seen is not hope.” Christian hope, by definition, is hope in something we cannot yet point to. We do not have it in hand; we wait for it. Where in your congregation has hope been collapsed into optimism, and how might Paul's patience steady it?* The passage holds together suffering and glory in a way that does not minimize either. Paul does not say the suffering is not real; he says it is not the final word. What does it look like for your congregation to grieve honestly and hope honestly in the same breath?Significant Cautions* “If we suffer with him” has sometimes been used to bless suffering that should be opposed. Paul is talking about the cost of belonging to Christ, not about staying in abusive relationships or harmful situations. Be careful here.* The adoption language has been used in ways that exclude or shame those for whom adoption is a complicated family experience. The word is theological here — about being made part of God's family by grace — but it lands on a particular set of human stories. Handle it with awareness.* “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory” can be heard cruelly by someone in real, present suffering. Paul is not minimizing their pain. He is naming an even larger reality. Say so.* The cosmic creation imagery (the whole creation groaning) has sometimes been used to bless any sentimental view of nature. Paul has something more specific in mind — a creation broken, in hope of being remade. Do not flatten this into pantheism or sentimentality.Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43The Gospel — The Wheat and the WeedsSummaryJesus tells another parable. The kingdom of heaven, he says, is like someone who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds in among the wheat, and went away. When the plants came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared as well. The servants come to the master, alarmed: did you not sow good seed? Where did these weeds come from? An enemy has done this, he answers. They offer to go and pull them up. The master refuses. No, he says — in pulling up the weeds, you would uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, the reapers will sort them out. The lectionary then jumps to Jesus' private interpretation with his disciples. The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one; the enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. The weeds will be gathered and burned. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen.Key Ideas for Preaching* The weed in this parable is almost certainly darnel — a real plant that looks identical to wheat in the early stages of growth. You cannot tell them apart until the grain heads form. The master's refusal to let the servants pull up the weeds is not a moral instruction about tolerance; it is a botanical fact. They literally cannot tell. How might your sermon take that fact seriously and let it reshape the whole feel of the parable?* The servants in the parable are confident. They are sure they know which plants are weeds. The master, gently, refuses their confidence. Where in your congregation has confidence about who is in and who is out crept in, and what would it look like to take the master's caution seriously?* Jesus tells the disciples that the field is the world — not the church. That is worth saying out loud. The parable is not giving the church permission to be lenient about who belongs inside its life. It is talking about the much larger field of the world, where good and evil grow together, and where we are not the reapers. What does it look like for your congregation to know the difference between the church's discernment and the final judgment of the world?* The history of Christian attempts to pull up the weeds in advance is, frankly, awful. The church has identified the wrong people as weeds in every generation. Where in your congregation's past, or in your congregation's present, has someone been pulled up who was, in fact, wheat? How might honest naming help your people walk more humbly into the future?* The parable is not a call to moral passivity. The wheat still has to be tended. Injustice still has to be opposed. What the parable forbids is the human attempt to do the final sorting now. How might your sermon hold together active love for what is good and patient restraint from premature judgment?Significant Cautions* This parable has been used in some of the most damaging ways imaginable — to identify whole groups of people as “weeds”. Every Christian generation has done it, and every Christian generation has been at least partly wrong. Be especially careful with any application of this parable to actual people.* “The field is the world” means just that. The parable is not a license for the church to be lax about its own internal life. Paul and other New Testament writers have plenty to say about that. But the parable is talking about the larger field, where the final sort is not ours.* The interpretation in verses 36–43 is fierce — furnace, weeping, gnashing of teeth. Be careful with this language. It is in the text, but it is not the central point. The central point is the master's caution to the servants in the first half: let both grow together. The judgment language is the backdrop, not the foreground.* “Let anyone with ears listen” has been preached as a kind of warning. It is better heard as an invitation. The parable is doing slow, careful work; the listening it asks for is patient.* The parable can be misused in the opposite direction — as a license to ignore evil because the harvest is coming. It does not say that. It restrains us from premature sorting; it does not absolve us from active love and justice in the meantime.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day. The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds is one of the most pastorally and politically important parables in Matthew, and the preacher who slows down with it will find that it has much to say to the moment in which most congregations are gathered — a moment in which the human impulse to sort people into wheat and weeds has rarely felt more intense.On Track One, Jacob's dream at Bethel pairs with the parable in a quiet but pointed way. Jacob is, by any honest measure, a weed in his family's field at this point in Genesis. He has cheated his brother and is running from the consequences. And God meets him with grace. The story is its own commentary on the parable: the people we would have written off as weeds turn out to be, in God's hands, wheat in the making. Psalm 139 widens the point: there is no place where God's knowing does not reach, no darkness God does not see clear through. The God who finds Jacob on the road is the same God who finds us in whatever country we have been hiding in.On Track Two, the connection runs through the question of who has the right to judge. Wisdom of Solomon names God as the sovereign whose strength expresses itself in patience. Isaiah names God as the one and only — with no real rivals to fear. Psalm 86 asks for the gift of an undivided heart. Together, these texts ease the listener into the Gospel's harder claim: the final word about wheat and weeds is not ours.Romans 8 sits inside the day as the cosmic frame. The whole creation groans. We groan with it. The hope we wait for is not yet visible. The patience Paul asks for is the same patience the master asks for in the parable — a willingness to let the field be the field, to let the harvest be the harvest, to trust that the One who set this all in motion has not lost track of any of it. The same Spirit who lets us cry Abba is the Spirit who teaches us to wait.For preachers continuing the series: the parables arc is now two weeks old. The Sower last week named God's lavish scattering. The Wheat and the Weeds this week names God's patient deferral of judgment. Together they form a particular picture of the kingdom — generous in its giving, patient in its sorting, and not finally in our hands. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Have you noticed how much spiritual language sounds the same these days?Manifesting.Alignment.Energy.The universe.Partnership.Sometimes the words sound familiar enough that we stop asking where they come from. And that matters. Because two things can sound similar on the surface while leading in completely different directions underneath. In this episode of the Kingdom Spiritual Intelligence series, I unpack the difference between manifestation and Holy Spirit partnership. Not to create fear, but to increase discernment. Not everything spiritual is sourced from the same kingdom.We will talk about:• The difference between manifestation and Kingdom partnership• Why source matters more than methods• The role of authority in the Kingdom of God• Why God is a Father, not a force• How spiritual language can hide counterfeit beliefs• The question every believer should ask: Which kingdom is this coming from?The goal is not suspicion. The goal is relationship. Because the more clearly we know the King, the easier it becomes to recognize what does and does not belong to His Kingdom. Learn more at https://www.ivibrantliving.com/

Every Christian is a witness. Not just those with a special calling to evangelism, but every person who claims to follow Christ carries a testimony in the way they live and the way they speak. Colossians 4:5-6 makes this clear, calling believers to walk wisely toward those outside the faith and to speak in a way that is both gracious and truthful. This is not an abstract ideal. It is a practical, daily reality. People around us are constantly drawing conclusions about Jesus Christ based on the lives of those who claim to follow Him, whether we are aware of it or not.

0:14 Podcast Introduction1:16 Testing New Lenses5:37 Israel's Cycles and Burdens8:14 The Sheepfold Defined12:26 Church and Cultural Drift15:55 Greek Philosophy Enters19:37 Scripture Corrects Us23:32 Hellenization of Christianity25:58 God in Biblical View29:11 Timeless God Debate31:46 Bible and the Reformation33:44 Miller and Bible Study37:36 Adventist Reading Approach40:04 One Flock, One Shepherd43:14 Closing Prayer and ThanksSign up for my newsletter to receive fresh posts, encouragement, and Bible reflections straight to your inbox. There is a blog post that accompanies this episode at PrMarlon.comConnect with me.Check out our church at Cloverdale.orgThe intro music Fleet of Happy Fingers by Ryan Bell

This message was given by Pastor DJ Ritchey on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at Memorial Heights Baptist Church.

Every Christian is in the ministry, whether we realize it or not. God desires each of us to serve Him and serve others. In today's message, Pastor Cucuzza explains what this looks like and how we can best bring glory to God as Pastor continues his verse-by-verse study in the book of Colossians.

What's the one verse that drives your life and shapes your faith journey? You need a verse to call our own that challenges you to live purposefully. In this week's message, Pastor Jim Ramos introduces the idea of a 'death verse'—a scripture that will define you when you meet Jesus face to face.  This message is from The MAG, The McMinnville Area Gathering for men in McMinnville, Oregon. Want to protect your marriage? Get our free ebook: 7 Guardrails to Protect Your Marriage Before It's Too Late. Has Men in the Arena helped you make a change in your life, small or large? We want to hear your impact story! You can start a ministry to father the fatherless in your church! Learn how with our sponsor, Kids Outdoor Zone at https://kidsoutdoorzone.com/arena.

What would you do if the thing that scares you the most actually happened? For many creators, having their gift or career taken away would feel like a death sentence.  Could you trust God if your future as a creator was uncertain? In this transparent episode, host Allen C. Paul shares how he handled a potentially career-threatening injury, and the lessons he learned about faith and trusting God with your creative dreams when the storms of life come your way. You'll discover the Biblical truths and foundational mindset you'll need to overcome the fear of the unknown that could paralyze you as you pursue your God-given goals. Send us a message!Please vote for my Podcast Movement speaker submission! It only takes a second and will help me share valuable tips with more wonderful creators like you - and build a bigger base that will bless our God and Gigs community. Vote here - https://allencpaul.com/voteVoting ends July 21st, so please cast your vote right away!Support the showDownload our FREE 7 Day Prayer Devotional for Creatorshttps://godandgigs.com/prayerFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL!  InstagramFacebook YouTubeWant to be a guest on The God and Gigs Show? Send us a message on PodMatch, here! © 2026 Paul Creative Solutions

Spontaneous short episodes recorded Off The Cuff from the heart and life of Matt Knoll

1 Peter 3:8-18 (ESV)This is a THMC EM sermon by Lead Pastor Tim Park spoken at The Home Mission Church in Los Angeles, CA.Visit us on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for updates.

Spontaneous short episodes recorded Off The Cuff from the heart and life of Matt Knoll

Send us Fan MailIt's been said of Robert Murray M'Cheyne that he is someone who, "being dead yet speaketh". Robert Murray M'Cheyne only ministered for seven years, but those seven years had a huge and lasting impact. He not only put together one of the most popular Bible reading plans, but he was a man, that once saved, never wasted time on "worldly things." He was fully and completely devoted to God, and we can learn much from him!Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to check out everything Proverbs 9:10 on our website, www.proverbs910ministries.com! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Rumble, YouTube, Twitter, Truth Social, and Gettr!

Every Christian holds dual citizenship, belonging both to an earthly nation and to the kingdom of God. In this special one-week message, Pastor Brent explores what the Bible teaches about rightly ordering our loves and allegiances, with Christ's kingdom always coming first.

Pastor Michelle shares an encouraging message on every believer's calling to evangelism and discipleship. Learn why sharing your testimony matters, and how God's love can impact those around you.

Every Christian is a MissionaryYou are going to be inspired, challenged, and enlightened.July 2, 2026Find more about Gian here: mygiancarlo.com#VictoryChurch #odessatx

Learn the seven traits you need to live a victorious Christian life

The Praise O'Clock Show (also known as The Praiseworld Podcast) is the breakfast show of Praiseworld Radio.Host: Goodness EzehQuote of The Day "Dying should not be the worst of your fears; not having lived should be your worst fear. Start living."  — Andres Lara

In this episode of Take Heart, Cory Wing explores the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. From Israel at Sinai to the New Covenant in Christ, Scripture reveals that every Christian has direct access to God through Jesus, our perfect High Priest. What does it mean to be part of a royal priesthood? How should that shape your worship, service, and daily life? Cory explains how believers are called to offer spiritual sacrifices, proclaim God’s excellencies, and live faithfully in every sphere of life.

The 7 Men Every Christian Woman Should Run FromChapters:00:00 - Intro02:06 - Man #1 — The Unbeliever03:41 - Man #2 — The Charmer With No Character05:34 - Man #3 — The Spiritually Passive Man07:17 - Man #4 — The Angry Man09:27 - Man #5 — The Spiritually Manipulative Man11:30 - Man #6 — The Man With No Accountability13:16 - Man #7 — The Double-Minded Man14:58 - What to Do Next?For more information visit Pastorvlad.org

In this episode of Take Heart, Cory Wing explores the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. From Israel at Sinai to the New Covenant in Christ, Scripture reveals that every Christian has direct access to God through Jesus, our perfect High Priest. What does it mean to be part of a royal priesthood? How should that shape your worship, service, and daily life? Cory explains how believers are called to offer spiritual sacrifices, proclaim God's excellencies, and live faithfully in every sphere of life.Watch all of our videos and subscribe to our channel for the latest content >HereHere

Way back in the year 1750, the famous preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards preached his farewell sermon in Northampton, Massachusetts. We all know that when people give their parting words, they say things that they deem of the utmost importance. Guidelines that they want to be remembered. Edwards spoke these words that have absolutely no expiration date: “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual.” Parents, do you hear what Edwards is telling us? In order to effectively pass on the faith, we must prioritize the Christian education of our children in the home. This means that we not only know and live out God's will and way for our lives ourselves, but we speak truth to our kids, and we do it all without ceasing. Are you committed to this in your home?

In this episode of Take Heart, Cory Wing explores the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. From Israel at Sinai to the New Covenant in Christ, Scripture reveals that every Christian has direct access to God through Jesus, our perfect High Priest. What does it mean to be part of a royal priesthood? How should that shape your worship, service, and daily life? Cory explains how believers are called to offer spiritual sacrifices, proclaim God’s excellencies, and live faithfully in every sphere of life.

Most discussions around the Jezebel spirit miss the mark. Pastor Craig Caster shatters the misconceptions, revealing its true origin rooted in spiritual warfare — not just a demonic label, but a call to awakening. If you're tired of being deceived and ready to understand how this spirit influences women, men, and the church, this episode is your breakthrough.Explore how Jezebel's roots stretch back to Genesis and the rise of idolatry, rebellion, and manipulation — all tactics Satan used then, and still uses today. Pastor Craig shares eye-opening insights on Satan's three primary lies: doubting God's Word, denying consequences, and embracing independence from His authority. You'll discover how these deceptions fuel not just the spirit of Jezebel but the chaos we witness in families, churches, and communities.We break down real, tangible strategies to combat this spirit—how to disciple women, defend your marriage, and confront spiritual blindness. Pastor Craig emphasizes the biblical truths that expose the devil's schemes and empower believers to stand firm. If you want to protect your loved ones, recognize the lies, and reclaim authority over your spiritual life, this is essential listening.In a culture obsessed with self-reliance and rebellion, understanding the spiritual warfare behind Jezebel isn't optional—it's vital. This episode will ignite your faith, refine your discernment, and equip you to confront evil with truth. The spiritual battle is real, but victory is available when you know your authority in Christ.Are you ready to break free from deception? To see past the lies and step into biblical victory? Then don't miss this episode—your spiritual awakening starts now.

Every parent is shaping their child's heart. The question is: what are you shaping it toward? In Deuteronomy 6, God gives parents a vision that's far bigger than simply raising well-behaved kids. He's calling us to raise disciples who know and love Him. In this message, Pastor Spencer Martin shares practical wisdom for Christian parents on raising children in the Lord. Discover how your own walk with Jesus shapes your parenting, why everyday family rhythms matter, and how to build a Christ-centered home. In this message, you'll learn: - Why parenting starts with leading yourself spiritually - How to disciple your children through everyday moments - Biblical principles for discipline, family rhythms, and spiritual leadership - How to create a Christ-centered home - Why parents can have hope, even when parenting feels discouraging Whether you're parents to young children, teenagers, or adult kids — or preparing for a future family — this message will encourage you with practical biblical parenting principles and the hope of the gospel.

Acts 13:1-52

There is a side of America's story that most people were never taught, and it changes the way you look at this nation entirely. Behind the familiar names, founding documents, battles, speeches, and symbols is a much deeper story, one filled with conviction, sacrifice, providence, and a Christian heritage that has been quietly buried under generations of revision and forgetfulness. In this special Fourth of July message, we are going to pull back the curtain on the real story of the United States of America, and you may be shocked to discover just how much of our nation's beginning was shaped by people who understood that freedom without God cannot survive.

In this final message of our Above All Else series on the heart and the seven deadly sins, Pastor Grant Clark brings everything we have excavated over the last two months to a single point of focus. After eight weeks of looking inward at pride, envy, lust, greed, sloth, wrath, and gluttony, Hebrews 12 turns our attention away from ourselves and fixes it on Jesus, the one who has already run and finished the race ahead of us. The argument is simple but freeing: we do not defeat sin by staring at sin, we are transformed by beholding Christ."Every Christian has something they need to lay aside."Working from Hebrews 12:1-3, Grant unpacks the old term besetting sin and calls us to name what trips us up, then to lay it aside and run with endurance.What a besetting sin is:- "A besetting sin is a persistent, deeply ingrained habit or weakness that continues to plague a person, and is hard for them to overcome. It is the specific temptation that you fall into repeatedly."Characteristics of besetting sins:- Recurring- Entangling- Highly PersonalizedIn The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis pictures a senior demon training a younger one to tempt people not with wild, outlandish sins we would easily reject, but with subtle temptations tailored to our own story, patterns, and habits.The one application Hebrews gives us:- Fix your eyes on Jesus, and consider him. There is no second point. We do not look in, we look up. We do not stare at our sin, we behold Christ. Transformation comes from beholding him, not from endless introspection."For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ." - Robert Murray M'CheyneThe seven deadly sins are all different ways of looking away from Jesus:- Pride looks to self.- Envy looks to others.- Lust looks to pleasure.- Greed looks to possessions and money.- Sloth looks to comfort and satisfaction.- Wrath looks to revenge.- Gluttony looks to consumption.Scripture referenced:- Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)- Hebrews 12:1-3 (CSB)- Hebrews 11- 2 Samuel 11; Psalm 51- Hebrews 3:12-13- Hebrews 12:3- 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)- Colossians 1:15-22 (CSB)- Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)- Hebrews 4:15

Discipleship is about far more than sharing information. As Bishop Matt Thomas says, "Disciple making is about coming alongside someone and showing them how to live and teaching them how to live." Before we can lead someone else, we have to ask ourselves an important question: Is my life worth following?That was the heart of this week's message as we continued our study through Jonah.Last week, we talked about our responsibility to show others what it looks like to follow Jesus. This week, Pastor Mark took that thought a step further. If we're going to point people toward Christ, our lives must reflect Him consistently. Our relationship with Jesus isn't something we put on when it's convenient or remove when it's difficult. We have been united with Christ, and our identity should shape the way we live every day.Pastor Mark addressed an important reality for every believer: we all struggle with sin. None of us reaches perfection on this side of heaven. The difference is whether we are fighting against sin or becoming comfortable with it. God's grace covers those who are continually surrendering their lives to Him and battling against their sinful nature. But when we choose to walk in sin without repentance, it robs us of the power, authority, and witness God desires for us today, while also affecting the eternal rewards He longs to give His children.Sin always steals. It destroys relationships, weakens our testimony, and keeps us from fully displaying the transforming work of Christ.When we read the story of Jonah, it's easy to focus on Jonah himself, but Pastor Mark challenged us to look beyond the prophet and consider the people of Nineveh. God wasn't simply sending Jonah on an assignment. He was calling an entire city to turn away from their sinful way of life and experience transformation.That same invitation is extended to us.Turning to Galatians 5:13-25, we see that Christian freedom isn't permission to satisfy our sinful desires. Instead, our freedom allows us to serve others in love. Paul reminds believers to walk by the Spirit so they won't gratify the desires of the flesh.Every day, every hour, every decision presents a choice. Will we allow our emotions, opinions, politics, or personal preferences to direct our lives, or will we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us?Paul makes it clear that the flesh and the Spirit are constantly at war with one another. Every Christian knows this struggle. Like Paul wrote in Romans 7, we often find ourselves doing the very things we don't want to do. The presence of this battle doesn't mean we've failed. In many ways, it's evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work within us. Once we belong to Christ, the war begins because our new nature and our old nature no longer agree.The good news is that we aren't left to fight alone.When we walk by the Spirit, we experience victory over the flesh. Temptation doesn't disappear, but temptation no longer has to become our master. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to choose obedience, even when our flesh wants something different.Pastor Mark used the picture of a GPS to explain what it means to be led by the Spirit. Most of us have ignored our GPS at some point or followed one that took us in the wrong direction. The Holy Spirit is different. He never makes a mistake. He faithfully leads us through God's Word, through His voice speaking to our hearts, and through the wisdom of godly people around us.The question isn't whether the Spirit is leading.The question is whether we're following.God never forces obedience. The Holy Spirit doesn't drive us against our will. He lovingly leads us, inviting us to trust Him one step at a time. As we follow Him, our desires begin to change, and the grip of sin begins to loosen.Galatians then paints two completely different pictures of life. One is marked by the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, idolatry, jealousy, selfish ambition, anger, division, envy, drunkenness, and every form of living apart from God. The other is marked by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.These aren't personality traits reserved for certain Christians. They are the evidence of a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Jesus perfectly displayed every one of these qualities, and through His Spirit, He empowers His followers to do the same.This doesn't happen by trying harder. It begins with obedience. God never asks us to do something without providing the strength to accomplish it. As we take steps of obedience, the Holy Spirit produces His fruit within us and transforms us from the inside out.Paul closes this passage by reminding believers that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we now live by the Spirit, we are called to keep in step with Him.Pastor Mark illustrated this with the picture of marriage. When someone gets married, they leave behind the single life because their identity has changed. In the same way, those who belong to Christ have died to their old way of living. We have been crucified with Christ and raised to new life. Our actions should reflect the new identity we've been given.So how do we show the world a life worth living?Not by pretending to be perfect.Not by relying on our own strength.But by walking daily with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to shape our character, guide our decisions, and transform our hearts until our lives become a living testimony of Jesus.The Spirit's invitation is simple:Live in a new way. Walk in step with the Spirit, and let your life point others to Christ.

Every Christian knows someone who used to be a Christian. Why do people fall away from the faith? How can we make sure it doesn't happen to us? 1 Timothy 4:1-5 shows us how to avoid apostasy, by discerning the enemy's deception.

A powerful reflection on spiritual passion, Christian witness, and overcoming complacency in the modern world.Every night, join Father Joseph Matlak as he ends the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Matlak guides you in prayer and shares a brief reflection and a thorough examination of conscience providing you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Join us each day in your inbox https://www.goodcatholic.com/nightprayer________________

The 7 Women Every Christian Man Should RUN FromChapters:00:00 - Intro02:26 - Woman #1 —The Seductress04:39 - Woman #2 — The Contentious Woman06:42 - Woman #3 — The Jezebel08:52 - Woman #4 — The Unbeliever10:25 - Woman #5 — The Idle Woman12:11 - Woman #6 — The Woman Who Uses Tears as a Weapon14:38 - Woman #7 — The Double-Minded Woman Who Loves God and the World17:21 - Close & Call to ActionFor more information visit Pastorvlad.org

Who Does the Lord Know? (1) (audio) David Eells, 6/21/26 We received a question regarding Matthew 7:23 and how these people could say they know the Lord, and yet the Lord says, “I never knew you”. Also, Some people think that they are lost people, or that they were never really saved. And so I thought we could look at that today and identify who the Lord knows and those whom the Lord said He never knew. Let's look first in Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. The Bible talks about false prophets quite a bit in both the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes they don't appear to have been apostate, but in some cases, they definitely are. This is true in 2 Peter chapter 2; and the Christians he's talking about there. I believe the whole chapter really is about false prophets. 2Pe 2:15 forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; Of course, the only one that can forsake the right way is somebody who's been there, and obviously, they are being an apostate or fallen away in this case. For instance in 2Pe 2:20-21 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. 21 For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. This and many other scriptures clearly refute the ”once saved always saved doctrine.  Another good example would be in Jude 11 Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. 12 These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; This includes those who fell into the error of trying to be “a profit” instead of a prophet. But I just wanted to make that point, because some people say that all false prophets are lost people, and that's just not the case. Of course, a lot of times, when we talk about Christians, we really should identify Christians the way the Bible identifies Christians, and not the way the worldly church identifies them. The way the worldly church identifies Christians now is those who have been born in spirit. Their spirit has been born from God, and they have a new spirit. But it is more than that. that's not the way the scriptures identify as Christians. Scriptures identify Christians as those who walk and talk the way Christ walked and talked. Also, there's a big difference between somebody who's just been born in spirit and those who walk the way Christ walked, because you can have Christ's spirit and not live His life as Paul exhorted Christians in Rom 8:13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. That's an exhortation given to those who have the spirit of Christ because he went on to exhort that those who have the spirit of Christ should go on to receive the Spirit of God. Everyone who is born of God receives the Spirit of Christ and today, that's called a born-again Christian. As we read the text, we'll see that “Christian” is identified scripturally as something completely different. So keep that in mind that I'm talking about Christians in the way that the church uses the term, those who have been born in spirit. Back to Mat 7:16 By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; (Again, now he's not just identifying prophets. Now he's broadening the scope. And in the next few verses, he uses the word “every” several times. So he's broadening the scope to talk about everybody, not just false prophets.) 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Now, this same verse is used in Matthew 3:10, where John the Baptist is rebuking the Covenant people of God; those religious leaders who made their stand on believing that Abraham was their father. Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: 9 and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  I want you to notice here that He's talking about the Covenant people, thinking that because they were children of Abraham, they were entitled to God's blessings. And John told them that that's not the truth. The truth is, only bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance brings you into God's blessings. I think this is a good exhortation for Christians today, because Christians think, “Well, I'm a Christian, God's my Father so I can just go and do what I want to do now.” But this is not so. It says every tree that doesn't bring forth good fruit among us is hewn down and cast into the fire.  The scripture also says in Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away:… Notice: Every branch in me… Now that can be no other than God's people, right? We're all responsible to bring forth fruit. The fruit is what identifies us as Christians, and the fruit here, as we see in the text, is the actions of your life. The fruit is love, the joy, the peace, the righteousness; all those things that Christ was and is. The actions of our life are the fruit of the inner life, that's what He's talking about; the fruit. Along the same line in several of Jesus's parables, He came looking for fruit on the fig tree. He wasn't looking for fruit on a tree that wasn't supposed to bring forth fruit. He was looking for fruit on a tree that was created to bring forth fruit. It is the fig tree that identifies God's people. Luk 13:6-9 And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. 7 And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? 8 And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.  Notice: The Lord is the one who's going to cut it down. The Lord is long-suffering with us to bear fruit, but be that as it may, we've been given a certain amount of time to bear that fruit, and I think that's what He's talking about in Matthew 7, because as He goes on in Mat 7:20 Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Now he's identifying fruit as doing the will of the Father. The fruit of the Spirit is doing the will of the Father. He goes on to say, 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? Let me make a point here. Do you suppose that it's possible that an apostate Christian could prophesy? I mean, prophesy from the Lord? We have examples in the scriptures of false prophets who prophesied in the name of the Lord. A good example is in 1 Samuel 19. This is talking about Saul after he had fallen away from the Lord; in fact, he had been rejected by the Lord. It says 1Sa 19:23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? Now, some people say, well, because he stripped off all his clothes, that doesn't seem like a godly thing to do, but I think what the Holy Spirit was showing to people around him was that he was walking naked before the Lord. He wasn't dressed up with Christ. He didn't have on his wedding garment, so on and so forth. He had fallen away in his works, because remember when we studied the garment, it symbolized your works, right? In Revelation 19, the righteous acts of the saints were the garment that the bride is wearing.  Now, I want you to notice this too; this same man had a demon that was sent from God to him. 1Sa 18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul. Now this is the same Saul whom the Lord had departed from, who later prophesied in the name of the Lord, because the Spirit came upon him. Here, he prophesied in verse 10 by an evil spirit. He had obviously become a false prophet. Was it always that way? No, it wasn't always that way. He was the anointed of the Lord. But yet he became a false prophet. He became what we would know today as an apostate Christian. He was rejected in 1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king. So he had been rejected by the Lord, received an evil spirit by which he prophesied, and later even prophesied in the name of the Lord when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Now, going back to what I consider to be probably apostate Christians in Mat 7: 22 …Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name,… And some people say, ‘Well, that wouldn't be possible if this person did not know the Lord at all to be able to prophesy by thy name.' And the point I want you to see here, too, is that it says by thy name and not in thy name; in the original, it says by thy name, meaning they could be prophesying true enough, but they weren't in the name. They weren't getting a reward because they weren't abiding in the name of the Lord. Another point, it says, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 12, when they accused Him of casting out demons by the prince of demons, Beelzebub? Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 25 And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. You know, I think you'll find that Satan doesn't cast out Satan; that even the most apostate Christians, because of their Covenant relationship with the Lord, still have authority to do that and can do it. I've seen people that the Lord identified to me as false prophets and actually did prophesy wrongly, and I've seen them cast out demons too. They had the Covenant relationship because of the Jews. The seven sons of Sceva were Jews. You see, the Jews were casting out demons. This wasn't new to the Jews to cast out demons. They had been doing that. And because of Covenant relationship, the Jews got healing, and they got deliverance. Even today, people, because of Covenant relationship, before being completely rejected by God, they can still cast out demons.  I know of a false prophet in particular who has identified too many people who cast out demons; in fact, he cast them out with me. Let me say this: a person who is lost, who does not know the Lord, how do they cast out demons? Those who have no Covenant relationship with the Lord; how do they cast out demons? Their father manifestly is Beelzebub, so how do they cast out demons? Well, what happened to the seven sons of Sceva when they tried to use “by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” to cast out demons in Acts 19:13 and then got whipped? They did not know the one who was creating the New Covenant. I think the point is that you have to be in some kind of a Covenant relationship in order to be casting demons out, because Satan doesn't cast out Satan.  The One who lives in you now casts out demons. 1Jn 4:4 … greater is he that's in you than he that is in the world. Who's in the world? Satan. Does Satan cast out his own kingdom? Jesus said, No, he doesn't do that. Well, here's the point. Were they casting the demons out by the Spirit of God or were they casting them out by Satan? Jesus said they couldn't cast them out by Satan. The lost people's authority is Satan. The one that lives in them is Satan. The point I'm making about these people here, these false prophets, is that many of them are apostate Christians. Remember, an apostate is one who is falling away from the truth and the grace of God. And it's somebody who is obviously saying, Lord, Lord, (so they obviously believed in their heart that Jesus was their Lord) Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy and by thy name cast out demons and by thy name do many mighty works? Notice they were not “in” thy name but God permitted this “by” thy name as a witness of Jesus. Who is it today that we know that is doing this in the name of the Lord, if it's not somebody who is abiding in His name, which is far more powerful?  I was in a situation where a preacher and his girl friend were trying to cast many demons out of a man who chased them out of the building. Previously the demon possessed man chased  the preachers deacon through a plate glass door, shattering it, and sending him to the hospital. So, they sent for me and told me their story. They watched from the doorway as I approached this man who thought to do the same to me. By the grace of God he cowered and was delivered. Many today are in “by” mode, meaning they are using the name of the Lord and not doing it in the name. I agree that some people profess the Lord and don't know the Lord or haven't been sent by Him. And all false prophets are not apostate Christians or just lost deceivers. ; not all of them. And I'm convinced that there is some chicanery going on even in Christian circles. I don't know if any of you are familiar with it, but I've been among some of them where they see a demon behind every bush. They cast demons out daily from everybody's flesh. But a lot of that's not demons, it's just run away flesh.  Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Now here's the point: is there such a thing as a Christian who's been born in spirit that God spoke to and said, “I don't know you” or “I never knew you?” Yes, we have examples of that. But first, before we get away from this, I want to read on because He says, I never knew you depart from me you that work iniquity. What is it for the Lord to know you? I want to look at that and what that means. When he says depart from me ye that work iniquity verse 24 went right on Every one therefore; (Meaning: He's talking about the same thing as just before this verse.) Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. 26 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: Notice, He didn't say whether you had the spirit of Christ or not; it all has to do with obedience. The difference between a foolish man and a wise man is strictly just one word; obedience. The born again spirit filled with the Holy Spirit gives us power to obey through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. Our text deals with the fruit, which has to do with whether you're obeying. So the main difference between the wise and the foolish is hearing the words and doing them. Notice that both men here in this text heard the words, but only one obeyed, and that was the wise man. 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. And this is the test that follows. I want to make that point before we go on because I want to look at the foolish virgins briefly, because God spoke to them, and He says, I don't know you. Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Again, what's the difference between the wise and the foolish? It's just one thing, being a hearer and a doer by the anointing of God. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. We know that in Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, Searching all his innermost parts. The spirit of man is the lamp of the oil. And the oil being the life of God or the Holy Spirit is to be in that lamp. And there's a vessel that the wise virgins took with them that was also full of oil; that obviously the foolish did not bring. What do you think the vessel is that also has the oil? We've talked about the difference between the born again spirit and the born again soul, which is your mind, will, and emotions. This is the fruit of the Spirit being born in the soul.  The person who had just a born-again spirit, but brought forth no fruit in the soul through obedience will be rejected. They were not bearing the fruit of obedience so they could be born again in the soul. The vessel that they brought with their lamp is the vessel of their physical life because that's where you bear the fruit of the oil. That's where you bear the fruit of Christ to be seen by the world. Now, even the foolish virgins here had oil in their lamp or spirit. So you can't classify them as non-Christians? Or, what we've been calling Christians. You understand? Verse 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. This was another question someone had a while back about a word, so I went and looked it up. It's the Greek word, kosmeo. Kosmeo is the word we get cosmetics from. And it simply means ‘to arrange or to adorn'. It's not implying that their lamps were out and they lit them, you understand? It's just talking about adorning or arranging their lamps. They chose to translate it trim in this text; I don't think that's a very good word to use. To trim is to bring the wick up so the light shines best. Continuing in Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. Notice that - the door was shut. That was ominous because that door being shut is mentioned in other places in the scripture, like in Luke 13:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour. He said, I know you not. Now these virgins did have oil in their lamps. So obviously what the Lord means by knowing you is more than just receiving a new spirit, a born-again spirit. There must be fruit born of that spirit life in order for the Lord to know you. And I want to look at that too. Before we go there, let's look at Luke too, because it has a very close parallel to this door being closed. Luk 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; … (Obviously the same text there.) and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; 26 then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; 27 and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. See, so many people are relying on their relationship with the Lord by what they know, by who they're connected with, by the fact that they're a Christian, that they've accepted Jesus as their Savior, but they're using none of the criteria of the scriptures. The only basis that God rebuked any of these people was for their disobedience. And we know that the only way we can obey is by having faith in the Lord and being filled with His Spirit. If we have faith, we'll obey. We'll overcome the sins that we struggle against because we fight the good fight of faith. It's not by works. I'm not trying to magnify our works; I'm trying to magnify the Lord's works through us. The criteria by which the Lord is going to judge any of us is going to be works. And he says to them, because of their evil works, not because they weren't Christians, because it's obvious to me from Matthew 25, and what we just read here, that He's talking to His children. But He says, I know not whence ye are… What causes the Lord to know us? First of all, many people are going to be found in this situation. In Matthew 25, there were 10 virgins. It was talking about the time of the coming of the Lord, how that five were ready, and five were not. That's only half of the people mentioned; half were not ready to meet the Lord, and half were. The very next parable is the parable of the talents, and again, there's no paragraph indentation, so He just goes on in Mat 25:14 For it is as when a man, going into another country, (In other words, he's telling you, watch, I'm going to show you the same thing in another way.) There were three groups at that time who had each been given talents. And one-third of them were rejected because they didn't bring forth the fruit that God put in, right? Doesn't the Bible say a third of the stars of heaven will be cast down to the earth? How come it was half of the virgins and yet a third of those with the talents? Because the virgins are those who are living on the earth when the Lord returns, and these men with the talents are standing before the judgment after death, after resurrection, you see? We're talking about those who are living at the time the Lord returns in order to be caught up to be with the Lord. What about the people who die? There are obviously three groups. A third of the stars of heaven were cast to the earth in the Book of Revelation. That's a third of the people. The scriptures say that Abraham's seed are as the stars; also, Jacob. The stars are likened to God's people. In Jacob's dream of the stars, they're the children of the bride chamber; it's in many, many places. There's the star glory in 1 Corinthians 15; the star glory is a person who's manifested star glory with the Lord. And some go on to moon glory and sun glory. But a third of the stars of heaven are being cast to the earth, and it goes on in Rev 6:13 and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. That's not talking about angels, that's talking about God's people not coming to maturity. You see, this is what's happening to a third of the stars. And yet of the people who are alive and remain, half of those people do not enter to being with the Lord. During this end time many will fall in the great falling away. They were called, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. Do you suppose that if your lamp is going out, you would be called twice dead? I do and that's what he's talking about; there's a great falling away happening right there. I think during the tribulation period, probably a third of the Christians are going to take the mark and spiritually die, and out of the ones that are left, half of them are going to be rejected. This is what I feel from these two parables. In the parable of the sower in Mat 13, three out of four did not bear fruit and were rejected. But let's look now at the Lord and how He knows us. You know that the Lord foreknew a group of people in Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: Let's see who the Lord knew. Okay, it's really important that we know who He foreknew because He didn't foreknow every Christian. I can prove that to you Notice who he's talking about; who was foreknown. Now, that's not knowing what's going to happen before it happens. Foreknew is like Adam knew his wife. The word ‘know' implies an intimate relationship. Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: These people whom He foreknew here is not talking about He foreknew that they would overcome. He knew this person. He knew their nature before the world was created. Watch, it says, For whom He foreknew, He foreordained. (Everybody that He foreknew, He foreordained.) Notice to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Notice now, there's no way out of this verse. If you start in on one end of it, you've got to come out on the other end of it. The ones He foreknew, he foreordained, (He predestined) to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. So, everybody that God foreknew from the foundation of the world will be conformed to the image of His Son. That doesn't mean everyone that we call ‘Christians'. So, Jesus pointed out this group; He called them 30-60 and a 100-fold fruit. Fruit of what? The fruit of Christ. The 30-60 and a 100-fold are going to be conformed to the image of Christ. These are the ones He foreknew. What is it to know God? Did God know anybody who was not in Covenant relationship? No, He didn't. I'm going to make this point at the very beginning that God only knows one family in all the earth, and that family is born again spiritual Israel. Amo 3:2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Now keep that in your mind that the Lord has only known Israel from the foundation until now. Even though Israel was changed in the New Covenant, it's still Israel. He makes a point back in Rom 9:6 … For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: In other words, ‘real Israel' is going to be picked out of the midst of mans ‘Israel'. You understand? Because remember, For many are called, but few chosen. Mat 22:14 That word chosen is eklektos, or elected. And Paul exhorts us to give diligence to make our calling and election sure. (2Pe.1:10) This group of people in Romans 8 was called and elect because in verse 33, he said who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? … So, he's specifically talking about the elect, not just the called. Now, everybody who's the elect has to be called because the word call means invited. You remember when Jesus came to the Jews, they were invited, but they all weren't elect, and the reason was that they didn't accept Jesus. So it's only Israel that He knows and specifically only those who are of faith in the Promises.  Let's look at Rom 11:1 I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. He cast off all but the elect who are born from above for they are His people. There were some Israelites that He didn't cast off because Paul said, For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. So God didn't cast off the chosen or elect Israelites. But there were other Israelites that He did. 2 God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Notice that. Nobody that God foreknew did He cast off. You know why? Let's read on, and we'll see why. 2 God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture saith of Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel: 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election (or chosen) of grace. Now the remnant is according to the election of grace. Notice that Israel did fall away, but not the elect, not the chosen, not the foreknown. Watch. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. In other words, by no more of your works, no more works of the law, are you going to be justified before God. 7 What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, … Notice, the elect or the chosen will obtain it. The foreknown will obtain it, and they will not be cast off. See, we're identifying something here. There were many people called out of Egypt who fell in the wilderness and did not make it to the Promised Land. The Bible says many are called, but few are chosen or ‘elect'. Who are the ones He foreknew? The many called or the few chosen? So, obviously, from this text you can see very clearly that the ones He foreknew were elect, meaning chosen, and they obtained it. Why did they obtain it? Let's see what it means to be known by God. Look at this verse very closely in Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 for if God spared not the natural branches (Israel), neither will he spare thee. 22 Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.  The point I wanted to make is in verse 26 And so all Israel shall be saved. So what about all those who were cut off? They were Israel. They were called, but they were not elect. Remember what we saw back at the beginning of the chapter: those who were called and fell away in the wilderness. Those who rebelled against God, the ones whose hearts He hardened, He said, But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened. (Rom.11:7) Who is Israel? Who is the Israel that God foreknew? It's the elect. It is the foreknown. What about the rest of them? He didn't foreknow them. You know why? Because they didn't endure to the end in faith and obedience.  I want you to notice that everybody who was not foreknown and who was not written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world is going to be deceived and fall away. Everybody. We're talking about those called who fell in the wilderness. That's talking about the world, the flesh, everybody who is not foreknown is going to be deceived by the Beast.  Look at Rev 13:8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain. Notice, it's everyone who is not written or not foreknown. Many Christians are called, meaning invited, but will not come to prove to be the elect, or chosen. They won't obtain the promise because of unbelief and are broken off. You understand what I'm saying? Remember they do not obtain the promise because they do not endure in faith. You can't obtain the promise that way. Look at Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. So everybody whose name was not written there is going to be deceived, but everybody whose name that is written there will see through it. They are the elect; they will obtain. They are the foreknown; they will obtain. They will be the ‘Paul out of Israel', who God chose to go on and to bear fruit.  Today, we see Israel as a type of Christianity. Out of that, there are some who are going to go on and be obedient. Because obedience proves your faith. If you have no obedience, if you do not obey, if you are not a doer of the word, you have no proof for your faith. The way God is going to prove that you walk by faith is by your works. Everyone who walks by faith will overcome. If we walk by faith, we will overcome the trials in this life; the sin, the works of the devil; we will win.  There's another point I want you to see. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, in Ephesians, where it also says God chose us; that's the word eklektos in Him, before the foundation of the world. Now, if Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, when was He manifestly slain? Not until 2,000 years ago. Now, if our names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world, when are they manifestly written in the Lamb's Book of Life? They're manifestly written in the Lamb's Book of Life when you're born again. Therefore, you were foreknown just as Christ was foreknown. You see that? It is really important that you follow this now. It's manifest when you're born into the Kingdom. In God's plan and His foreknowledge. Just like Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, but He wasn't killed then. When God set His plan into manifestation, Jesus was sacrificed. But it might as well have been because God calls the things to be not as though they were.  So, when you were born from above you were written in the Book of Life. I'm not talking about in God's plan that He foreknew. I'm talking about when manifestly your name was written in. Because everyone who's born of God is written in His Book. But remember, the ones that He foreknew from the beginning were those who endured to the end and came into the manifestation of Jesus. Psa 87:4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: This one was born there. 5 Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her. 6 Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. Selah. The point is, when you're born into the Kingdom, that's when God writes your name. He said, Rejoice not that you have power over the demons, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luk 10:20) So here's the point. Everybody that's born, including all of those that came out of Egypt, were written in that book. But some were blotted out. Who was it that was blotted out, before the full manifestation of Jesus? Remember, we're talking about those whom He foreknew before the foundation of the world who came into the image of His Son. But according to Rev 3:5, He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,…. So you've got many names written in manifestly, and those who don't overcome are blotted out. Before what? Before the full manifestation, the ones who were foreknown. So all the Jews who came out of Egypt were written at that time. Also, every Christian who receives a new born-again spirit from God is written at that time. But only the ones who endure to bear fruit were foreknown. Therefore, of those who fall in the wilderness, He says, I know you not. I never knew you. Why? He didn't foreknow them. What was the main difference between those two groups of people, the wise and the foolish? The main difference was that they both heard the word, but only the wise became a doer of the word. In both Matthew 7 and Matthew 25, the difference between the wise and the foolish is the same. And yet, clearly, even the foolish had oil in their lamps. But their oil was going out. See, there's a great falling away coming because of tribulation, because of trials and people are going to fall away. Look at Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous. There will be those who will be written in Zion but the sinner in Zion will be destroyed out of it. Look in Isa 4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem; 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. God is doing a work of purging from the church those who are walking in wickedness, those who are guilty of blood, and walking in disobedience.  This scripture is very plain about being blotted out: Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous. There's another one where Moses was interceding for the people in Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. So those who are written among the living, those who have manifested fruit, those who came into the image of Christ through the Word. Those who are written at the end are going to be the ones that He foreknew. They're going to be the elect, the ones that He chose. He exhorts us in 2Pe 1:10 Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: Look at 2Ti 2:19 Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. See, the Lord knows them that are His and that's going to be the ones who depart from unrighteousness, so he's exhorting everybody that names the name of the Lord to depart from unrighteousness, to depart from iniquity. See, we're finding out who the Lord knows. Do you know who He knows? He knows Jesus. He knows the name, which is the nature and character of Jesus. Can you imagine God having relationship with us as Adam did with Eve? (That's what the word ‘know' means.) Imagine God having a relationship with somebody who is contrary to His nature? Do you understand that? God cannot know someone who is contrary to His nature and Word. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God".   Just like He commands us Christians not to choose an unbelieving mate, right? Why did He tell us not to choose an unbelieving mate? Because we're not to know anybody with a contrary nature. What fellowship has light with darkness? So God knows and sows the Word who is Jesus. To the extent Jesus is in you, that's to the extent God knows you.  Who did Jesus say the Father would love? Every Christian? No, He didn't. Joh 14:23…If a man love me he will keep my word: and my Father will love him and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. What is the proof that you love God? Jesus said several times that the proof that you love God is that you obey his commandments. This is the one He knows. 1Co 8:3 but if any man loveth God, the same is known by him. In other words, we are proving our love for God by walking in faith and obeying His commandments. The ones that God knows or foreknew are the ones that love Him. Why? Because they not only hear the Word, they do the Word. The ones that God knows will come to know Him because of the foreknowledge part, like I said. It's in the mind of God. It's calling those things that be not as though they were. God spoke, and ever since He spoke this plan, it's been coming into existence. Don't miss it!  It was Jesus Who was foreknown to die for the world, but He wasn't manifest until Calvary. And you, who were foreknown to be in God, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, weren't manifest until you were born. Of those who are born and walk by faith and overcome and endure to the end, Jesus said, they shall be saved. Those who endure through the wilderness and enter into the Promised Land; they are the types of the elect. The very thing that causes you to go on is faith and if you don't understand that, then you can't overcome it anyway. Ever since Exodus chapter 3 the Lord revealed Himself to Moses. But you know Moses didn't know the Lord? He confessed it in Exodus chapter 33. He did not know the Lord. We are coming to know the Lord. The Lord is the nature of Jesus Christ.  And the more we come to know that nature of the real Jesus, the more we're coming to know the Lord. The one the Father knows, or even foreknew, was Jesus, because He was of like nature. God can only know that which is of like nature. Jesus said in Joh 14:9 If you have seen me you have seen the Father. He doesn't know the worldly person. He doesn't know the wicked person. He knows the righteous man that's inside of those who love Him. Exo 33:12 And Moses said unto Jehovah, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, See, the Lord had told Moses, I know thee by name. You know what the word ‘name' means? It's the same in the Hebrew as it is in the Greek. It's nature, character, and authority. The Lord told him, I know thee by name, and thou hast found favor in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee. The Bible talks about the Jews, how they knew the doings of the Lord, but Moses knew the ways of the Lord. There's a difference in knowing His doing and knowing His ways. If you know His ways, you can walk with Him. If you only know His doings, sometimes you're just going from judgment to judgment. …that I may know thee, to the end that I may find favor in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And in verse 17 And Jehovah said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken; for thou hast found favor in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, Show me, I pray thee, thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; Moses found out the name of the Lord in Exodus chapter 3. He told him the exact name. YHWH, I AM THAT I AM. So obviously, he's talking about a different name here. He's talking about the real name here.  Verse 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name (the Shem) of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live. Moses represented the Law; you couldn't come into the likeness of Christ through the Law. So he didn't get to see the face of the Lord, but we have a promise in 1 Corinthians 13. Moses didn't see His face; he spoke to Him face to face, but he didn't see His face. There's a difference. We can speak to the Lord face to face, but not see Him. Now there's a difference. He spoke to God face to face, but he didn't see His face. For man shall not see me and live. In other words, as man, you can't know Him. And as man, you are not known by Him. 1Co 15:50 Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. It is your spirit man that can know Him and be known by Him. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmity that we can know Him and see Him.  But He goes on to say, 21 and Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock: (The only place you can see God is standing upon the rock, right? That's Jesus, and you have to stand upon the Word of God.) 22 and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by: 23 and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen. Now, when He revealed the name of the Lord, the Lord said He was going to proclaim His name. It wasn't YHWH because He told him that 30 chapters before. Look at Exo 34:5 And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. 6 And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, (YHWH; it's YHWH, in the original, that's what He said.) a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth; 7 keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. This is His Nature, Character, and Authority, Which is the meaning of Name. Now, He just proclaimed the name of the Lord. But what Moses didn't know, and he asked God to show him, ‘Show me thy ways, so I'll know the one who's going with us.' See, this is knowing God. Knowing this person whose name represents the I AM, that's knowing God. The opposite is also true. God knows the same nature. He knows Jesus Christ. He knows Jesus in us. And it is Christ in us by Word and Spirit that is the hope of glory. Remember in Romans 8, the ones He foreknew, and you go all the way to the end of the verse that says, He also glorified. Everyone He foreknew, He glorified. Now in 1Co.13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. So knowing fully is seeing God face to face. Moses said, ‘I don't know You; reveal Yourself to me.' Therefore, he could not see Him face to face. Coming to maturity, bearing fruit, or manifesting Christ's likeness is coming to know Him face to face. It is coming to know Him fully as I was fully known. Who is going to come to know Him fully? Only those who were fully known will come to know Him fully and will see Him face to face.  Moses himself said, ‘I don't know You yet.' By the Law, you can't know God face to face. That's why Moses didn't enter into the Promised Land as a type and a shadow because the Law could not make perfect. It's also why Moses couldn't see God's face; he could only see His shadow, His back parts. Did you see that? By the Law, all they could see was shadow, so God said I'll let you see My hinder parts but He wouldn't let you see His face because by the Law you can never come to know God. It's only by His grace that you can come to know God.  Now Moses was asking for this, ‘Let me know the One Who's going to go with us.' In the New Testament, our Moses is Jesus; He did know God face to face. And we're coming to know God face to face through His grace and through His sacrifice. But the ones that are going to fully know God are the ones that were fully known by God before the foundation of the world. All the rest of them are going to fall away, just like those people in the wilderness. They were written in, but blotted out before coming to the fullness of God, which was what? The Promised Land. Did you know that, as a child, we can speak to God face to face? And God can speak to us face to face as a child of God. And the reason we can speak to God as a child is because of our Covenant relationship. But coming to know the Lord is seeing Him face to face by faith. 2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. That's coming into His nature, coming into His life, coming to know Him. Moses knew the literal name, Y-H-W-H, but he didn't know the One that name just represented. Remember we build on the foundation and we need to able to stand upon the rock when the wind blows and the rain beats against that house. Look, what is the firm foundation of God that stands? It's the name of the Lord. And that everybody who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. We can't stand on that rock in our own strength. I know I've shared this vision that my wife had years ago, how that I was standing on this rock wearing what was like metal leg braces.  The ones who are foreknown are going to stand on that rock of the Word and this shows us it won't be by their own strength, but by the strength of the Lord. So that's why it's our faith that counts. If it were by our works, it would be our strength that would cause us to stand but it's not. We can praise God for this, because it's not by our works. It's by grace, and the only way to get grace is faith in the promises. I thank God that Jesus freely gave us this salvation that we're talking about. We can accept it by faith without trying to work it up in ourselves. Everybody seems to go through that stage of trying to earn their salvation and failing miserably because it's got to be freely given by grace. It's got to be the strength that God supplies, and God supplies that strength by simply believing the word of God, not walking by sight, but believing the word of God. We believe that Jesus took away our sins. Initially we can't see that, but as we believe that He did it will happen. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We proclaim and confess the word; that's standing upon the rock and that's the only place you can see the Lord. Right now, maybe we speak to Him more face-to-face than see Him face to face. But we're going to know fully, if we walk by faith, even as we were fully known. Can you imagine that? You're going to know God fully as you were fully known. That's a tremendous promise! I mean, we want to know God, and gradually, the more we stand upon the rock, the more we're going to see His face. It's progressive, it's not an instantaneous thing.  When Moses stood upon the rock and the Lord proclaimed the Name, He proclaimed the nature of God there. This is the way God is, and yet, we're only learning the nature of God a little by little, line upon line, here a little and there a little. We're learning His nature. A lot of people are building things upon the foundation of God that have got to be torn back down, like in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. People build on it, the wood, hay, and the stubble of their own works, own doctrines, and religious establishment. All those dead things have to be burned back down by tribulation, and then start over. We build upon the foundation, which is Christ. There's no other foundation that can be laid that will work. That's what Paul was saying. Some people are on the shifting sand, yet some who are really on the right foundation, but they're building wrong things on the right foundation, the right foundation being that Jesus took away our sins.  But again, you can make the same mistake the Pharisees made in making of no effect the Word of God by their traditions. This is what the worldly church is famous for. This is what the Jews were famous for and Jesus rebuked them several times for that. If you make of no effect the word of God by your traditions, you're not standing upon the rock, and you're not going to see His face.  We have to come to know this Lord. We have to humble ourselves to His word. People have ulterior motives for believing what they believe, which is religion's way; they have different reasons for believing what they believe and they don't like to be wrong. They want to be seen as right. They live purely for the glory of men. And so they never change their mind even when you can show them all the verses in the word. They're building other things on the foundation and those things are going to be torn down by tribulations that are coming. Hopefully, many people will repent and rebuild the right things on the right foundation and bear fruit. That's why tribulation is coming. It's coming to tear down, to shake, the things that can be shaken, shake them right down to the ground so that God can rebuild the truth. There's going to be a great outpouring of truth in the tribulation period for those who love the truth. But sadly, for those who will believe a lie, there's great deception coming. That deception is going to blot a lot of names out of the Book of Life so that those who are foreknown will be there alone. Those that are left in Zion will be holy, you understand, because the spirit of fire has cleansed it, so the way is to walk by faith, to stand upon the Word of God continuously, and not be swayed by the traditions of men, by Babylon's wood, hay and stubble. Babylon really has been around since, as people say, the Tower of Babel, but really the nature of Babylon has been around since the very beginning. Religion is supplanting God's way. The problem is, all we like sheep have gone astray, each one after his own way, and that's why we've got so many religions. But we've got God's standard to go by. God's way, and you really can't accept anything else. Religion's ideas, how to organize the church, and how to do the works of God. Religion's ideas are Babylon. God's people, historically, the Jews were taken captive by Babylon, and will later be delivered from the bondage of Babylon to build Zion, and that's really the Christian walk. Every Christian starts out taken captive to Babylon. That's the false ideas of ways God wants things done, false ideas of the nature of God, the name of God, and their false image of Jesus. Everyone needs to be delivered from all that. Their false teachings, church doctrines, traditions of men, etc., and go to Zion where the truth is. The Lord Jesus is our Zion; the true Word is our Zion. It's seeing God the way God wants to be seen; it's knowing God the way God wants to be known, and without knowing God the way God wants to be known, He doesn't know you. Do you know who God knows? It's the inner man, the seed of Christ that's on the inside of us. God knows Him.  And the point is, if we're not like those virgins taking the vessel of oil along with the lamp with the oil, then we're not bearing fruit in the area of the soul. Their lamps went out because they didn't carry the oil in the vessel. In these days, people don't think it's necessary to obey. But bearing fruit in the area of the soul comes from obedience. Peter said that, and it's something we need to see. 1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: 23 having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. In other words, we're still being born again; we're being born again in our soul. And our souls are being purified, and we're walking in holiness. Heb 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: 1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. 3 And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. And Jesus said in Joh 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father. Who is Christ in you. For a more complete teaching on those who are chosen and the elect, see our book Predestined Called and Elect on our Website.

“For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT) As believers, we have the sacred trust of the gospel message. Jesus has given us our command: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16 NLT). That’s another worthwhile cost of following Christ: the responsibility of sharing His Good News with others. Every believer is called to do it. Every Christian is tasked with getting the gospel message out. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul mentions “the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11 NLT). Emphasizing the sacred trust of the gospel again in 1 Thessalonians 2:4, he wrote, “For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts” (NLT). Here’s what that means. As Christians, we all have the same gospel. And we each must ask ourselves the question, “How am I getting the gospel out?” It doesn’t matter how other people are getting the gospel out. That’s their responsibility. What matters is how we’re doing it. That’s our call as followers of Jesus, and it’s one we can’t ignore. Too much depends on our obedience. We need to think about our family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and others in our sphere of influence and ask, “Am I getting the gospel out to these people in a way that’s clear, concise, and impactful?” Jesus sees exactly how diligent we are in carrying out our sacred responsibility. In the last chapter of the New Testament, He says, “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds” (Revelation 22:12 NLT). That reward will be directly connected to how faithful we are in this life. Often, we place far too much stock in this life alone. We act as though everything that’s going to happen happens here. Of course, a lot of significant things do happen in this life. The most important decision we will ever make happens in this life: the decision about what we do with Jesus Christ. But we mustn’t let the things in this life distract us from our responsibility regarding the next life. Paul framed the urgency of our mission perfectly when he wrote, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14–15 NLT). Our faithfulness here will result in rewards there—in Heaven, and when Heaven comes to earth, when we go home. Reflection question: What does faithfulness to the gospel message look like in your life? Harvest Crusade tickets are fully claimed—but it’s not too late to participate and witness what God does on July 11. Invite your loved ones to watch online with you and make sure you join the waitlist in case more tickets become available. — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode Frs. John and Sean explore the baptismal call to share in Christ's threefold office as priest, prophet, and king. What do these titles actually mean for ordinary Catholics? Drawing from Scripture, tradition, and everyday life, the podcast examines how all the baptized are called to offer sacrifice, proclaim truth, and exercise stewardship. Far from being reserved for clergy, the mission of priest, prophet, and king belongs to every Christian as a participation in the life and mission of Christ Himself.

For the best experience, visit our YouTube Channel!For those who followed me when I was on social media regularly, you know that I love a good thrift store! There is a special kind of joy in thrifting that can't be replicated online. You walk into the store not knowing what you'll find, and every shelf holds possibility. There's something especially satisfying about finding a beautiful theology book on a shelf for just a few dollars. Over the years, thrifting has become one of my favorite ways to build a library. Not only is it more affordable, but it feels like the true reflection of what I'm finding in a book about God: treasure.In today's video, I'm taking you along and sharing:• How I hunt for theology books in thrift stores.• How I discern which books are worth bringing home.• Why I recommend some books to others and keep different books for my own reading.• Practical tips for thrifting theology books and building your own library on a budget.If you'd like my theology book lists and recommendations, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at phylicia@phyliciamasonheimer.com.Visit our newly launched Summer Shop at www.everywomanatheologian.com.My new favorite! Carry your summer reads in our new Preach Christ Summer Tote, designed to keep your favorite books close at hand all season long.At Every Woman a Theologian, we believe theology isn't reserved for scholars. Every Christian is invited to know God more deeply through His Word. Subscribe for rich biblical teaching, practical discipleship, and encouragement to think biblically and live faithfully in everyday life. And if you'd like Bible teaching delivered right to your inbox, join our email list for the latest resources, recommendations, and updates.#ThriftingBooks #TheologyBooks #ChristianBooks #BookRecommendations #BibleStudy #EveryWomanATheologian #PhyliciaMasonheimer #ChristianYouTube #BookThrifting (edited)

In this episode of the Ink and Impact Podcast, Christian book coach Dalene Bickel reveals three essential questions every Christian author needs to be able to answer before writing or self-publishing their nonfiction book. From clarifying your book's purpose to examining your deeper motivations as a writer, this episode challenges you to think differently about your author journey. If you're working on a manuscript, preparing to self-publish, or considering a second edition, you won't want to miss these practical and faith-filled insights. Resources mentioned in this episode: Publish With Purpose Substack community — Dalene's new community where she shares industry updates and hosts live Q&A sessions.Dalene Bickel's personal Substack feed — for following Dalene individually on Substack.dalenebickel.com/coaching — link to schedule a one-on-one book coaching session with Dalene.The One Year Collection of Weekly Writing Prompts: Write Your Life Story One Question at a Time — Dalene's own book, written to help you write your life story.Send us Fan MailJoin my new free Publish with Purpose Substack community for industry updates, live Q&A sessions, and to connect with fellow Christian writers!

Every Christian struggles with worry and doubt. Today we're going to look at what Jesus says about worry and the superpower to overcome it. Discussion Guide: https://longhollow.com/the-forgotten-jesus-podcast-discussion-guides Notes: https://longhollow.com/theforgottenjesuspodcastshownotes