Podcasts about Father

The Catechism introduces us to the Holy Spirit and describes how the Spirit reveals the Father and the Son to us. It also gives us some background and context regarding the way we describe the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic Church compared to the way that the Eastern Orthodox Church describes the Holy Spirit. Fr. Mike breaks it down for us and gives us some hope for a future reconciliation between Eastern and Western Churches. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 243-248. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

You might know who Carter G. Woodsn is, coined the father of Black history... but do you know about his father? This is the untold story of a man who refused to deny his self-worth! For more of the Black history you didn't learn in school, sign up for PushBlack's newsletter at https://www.pushblack.us/signup. — 2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. We exist to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. The production team for this podcast includes Lilly Workneh and Cydney Smith, who also edited this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SS Jacob Wilson, A's General Manager David Forst, and Assistant General Manager Dan Feinstein conduct a press conference in Las Vegas, NV. 0:00 Start of show 1:30 A's Jacob Wilson to a 7-year contract extension 9:55 Jacob Wilson Press Conference 23:47 Jacob Wilson - A's Shortstop 34:30 David Forst - A's General Manager 43:18 Jack Wilson - 2004 All-Star & Father of Jacob Wilson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Father shows us that Jesus must be God.

Your family's biggest hindrance to being a biblical family may not be what you think it is. Join AMBrewster to learn about our biggest enemy and how to fight against it.Truth.Love.Parent. is a podcast of Truth.Love.Family., an Evermind Ministry.Action Steps Purchase “Quit: how to stop family strife for good.” https://amzn.to/40haxLz Support our 501(c)(3) by becoming a TLP Friend! https://www.truthloveparent.com/donate.html Download the Evermind App. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683 Use the promo code EVERMIND at MyPillow.com. https://www.mypillow.com/evermind  Discover the following episodes by clicking the titles or navigating to the episode in your app: The Spiritual Warfare in Your Home https://www.truthloveparent.com/spiritual-warfare-in-your-home.html  Discipleship Parenting https://www.truthloveparent.com/discipleship-parenting-series.html  Your Family Needs to Go to Church Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/your-family-needs-to-go-to-church-series.html  TLP 41: Applying God's Truth to Our Children's Lives https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-41-applying-gods-truth-to-our-childrens-lives  Evangelism Parenting https://www.truthloveparent.com/evangelism-parenting-series.html  Biblical Parenting Essentials Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/biblical-parenting-essentials.html  Family Worship Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/family-worship-series.html  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthLoveParent/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.love.parent/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthLoveParentFollow AMBrewster on Facebook: https://fb.me/TheAMBrewsterFollow AMBrewster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrewsterhome/Follow AMBrewster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMBrewsterPin us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TruthLoveParent/Need some help? Write to us at Counselor@TruthLoveParent.com.Click here for Today's episode notes, resources, and transcript: https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-617-biblical-families-part-5-the-enemy

It used to be a lot simpler to take out the garbage. The only decision we had to make that day was to take it to the curb. Not so much anymore! Now you've got to make sure you don't put out any grass clippings or limbs with your regular trash. We recycle everything! And those items are supposed to be separated. When we lived in the Metropolitan New York area their rules about garbage disposal were even more complicated. My friend Craig had recently moved there and wasn't familiar with the regulations. He let his garbage pile up for the first few weeks with odoriferous results. He finally found the instructions on handling trash and he told me, "It wasn't that I didn't want to get rid of that garbage, I just didn't know how to." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saying Goodbye to the Garbage in Your Life." Some of us face a quandary similar to my friend's, only with the emotional and spiritual garbage of our lives. Things we've done that we wish we could undo. Things we hope no one ever finds out about. The guilty memories that keep replaying in our brain. Not to mention the pain we carry inside. We want to get rid of our garbage, we just don't know how to, and it continues to pile up in our soul. Well, there is a designated dumping ground for our lifetime of garbage. It's on a skull shaped hill with a rugged cross at the top. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 2:24. Speaking of Jesus, it says, "'He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.'" See, all the guilt of all the sins that you and I have ever done, God's Son absorbed when He was dying on that cross paying our death penalty for our sin. In Isaiah 53, God graphically describes this dumping of all our sin garbage on His Son. It says, "He carried our sorrows, He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." Just think! Every lie we've ever told, every angry, hurting word we've ever spoken, Jesus carried it on that cross. Every lustful thought, every immoral act, every adulterous act, every act of violence or selfishness, Jesus the sinless Son of God absorbed it into His soul on that cross. Why? In the words of the Bible, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son." And today this Jesus invites you to bring the accumulated garbage of your life to the cross where he died to forgive it. Jesus said of those who nailed Him to that tree, "Father, forgive them." If He could forgive that, there's nothing you've done that He cannot and will not forgive! But you have to come to Jesus willing to admit that you're a sinner, willing to tell Him that you're putting all your trust in Him to erase your sin from God's book and to give you life forever. You can trade in your guilt for His forgiveness. You can trade in your pain for His healing. You can trade in death for eternal life when you ask the One who died for you to be your own Savior. Have you ever done that? If you're not sure you have; if you're ready to finally be forgiven and clean, let me encourage you to go to our website where we have laid out very simply how you can begin your personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. Go to ANewStory.com. There is no reason to deal with the garbage of your life again. Not when Jesus Christ has shown you what to do with it. Bring all of that garbage of all of your life to Skull Hill where it was already dealt with by Jesus, and leave it there.

Send us a text****Read the Bible in a Year with me in 2026 right here on the podcast!***Bible Verses of the Week: Isaiah 53:4-6Welcome to the podcast Move Forth With Grace!  We will be reading the entire Bible in a year.  This is such a perfect way to get into God's Word each day and to develop your own relationship with God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ. I am your host Angela and want to first of all say that I am not an expert in Theology or Church History or a Minister and I never will claim to be.  I am a  wife and mother who has been reborn and want to be of service to God in gratitude for calling me back home. Welcome to the Podcast! The Bible that I will be reading from is the McArthur Daily Bible.  It is a New American Standard Bible.Thank you for being here....thank you for becoming less like you and more like Jesus.May you Move Forth with Grace today!Love, Angela Connect with me on social media or send a prayer request to me on my website here:https://campsite.bio/moveforthBible Teachers that I recommend:Mike Winger on https://biblethinker.org/meet-mike/John McArthur on https://www.gty.orgDr. Chuck Missler on www.khouse.orgNancy Missler on www.kingshighway.orgDale Partridge on www.relearn.orgChuck Smith on http://www.pastorchuck.org/RC Sproul Eschatology Playlist:https://youtu.be/n22MRa0P6_I?si=Aw53nQLSteu6T3-ASupport the show

In the early hours of March 3, 1993, someone snuck into the Maryland home of Millie Horn, where she lived with her disabled eight-year-old son, Trevor, and his nurse, Janice Saunders. After shooting both women in the head multiple times, the intruder smothered Trevor Horn to death, then quietly left the house. Hours later, the bodies of all three were discovered by Millie's sister, who stepped by to check on them.Almost immediately, suspicion fell on Millie Horn's ex-husband, Lawrence, who lived thousands of miles away in California, but with whom she'd spoken just hours before the murders occurred. In time, investigators were able to establish a financial motive, linking Lawrence Horn to the murders, yet they were unable to place Horn in Maryland when the murders occurred. Ultimately, Lawrence Horn would be tried and convicted for all three murders, but by that time, he wasn't sole perpetrator of the crime. And when prosecutors were finally able to pin down the men responsible for the deaths, it turned out the killers received guidance from a very surprising source.Recommendations:Phantasma By Kaylie SmithHappy Place By Emily HenryReferencesAssociated Press. 1993. "Man says he wasn't involved in slaying of ex-wife and son." Star-Democrat (Easton, MD), March 10: 5.Baltimore Sun. 1993. "Murder suspect denies threatening former wife." Baltimore Sun, April 9: 27.Brooke, James. 1996. "Lawsuit tests lethal power of words." New York Times, February 14.Hermann, Peter. 1994. "Father arrested in 3 murders." Baltimore Sun, July 21: 21.James Edward Perry v. State of Maryland. 2002. 0667, Sept. Term, 2001 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, November 7).James Edward Perry v. State of Maryland. 1996. 119, Sept. Term, 1995 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, December 16).Smolla, Rodney. 1999. Deliberate Intent: A Lawyer Tells the True Story of Murder by the Book. New York, NY: Crown.Sullivan, Kevin. 1994. "Accused went from glamour of Motown to a life of modest means." Washington Post, July 20.Vick, Karl. 1996. "Horn convicted for three murders." Washingotn Post, May 4: 1. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Catechism describes the various ways that God has revealed himself to us as Father over the ages, and gives us insight into God the Father “in relation to his only Son,” Jesus. Fr. Mike entreats us to examine our relationships with our earthly fathers and how they might be impacting our vision of God as Father. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 238-242. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Liam Ramos and his father were freed from detention in Texas and are now back in Minneapolis. The detention of the boy, photographed wearing a blue bunny-shaped hat, and a Spider-Man backpack sparked a national outcry. Also: The former British Ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, has resigned from the governing Labour Party because he said he does not want to cause further embarrassment by his links to Jeffrey Epstein. He appeared in the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice. Israel has said the Rafah border crossing -- between Gaza and Egypt -- will re-open for Palestinians on Monday. Oil prices fall by three percent in early trading amid signs of a de-escalation in tensions between Iran and the US. Artificial intelligence now has its own social network. And we'll bring you a round up of who won, who lost and who performed on stage at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Topics: introducing Annie, moms love wash clothes, who the baby will gravitate towards, Tay wants to celebrate Father's Day, what baby is going to call the Tays, thoughts on gentle parenting, changing personalities around different groups of people, best and worst traits from our moms, Annie tried to steal Tay's bra and being a cleptoSponsors:Revolve: Head to REVOLVE.com/TAYLOR, shop my edit, and take 15% off your first order with code TAYLORBoll & Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping and returns at BollAndBranch.com/TAYLORWildgrain: $30 off your first box and free Croissants for life when you visit Wildgrain.com/TAYLORHers: Visit forhers.com/TAYLOR to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets youPique: Secure 20% off your order and begin your intentional wellness journey today at Piquelife.com/taylorSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we explore why spending time Scripture is essential for staying rooted in Christ and how it aids us in the midst of spiritual battle. We reflect on the reality that Scripture is the living Word of God, far more powerful than we often realize. It has the ability to encourage, correct, heal, and transform our hearts. We share personal stories of how the Holy Spirit has brought Scripture to life for us and how God's Word has been an anchor during seasons of difficulty. Friends, God desires to speak to you personally through His Word and is inviting you not into just another task, but into a deeper, life-giving relationship with Him.   Heather's One Thing - The Sisters of Life on Franciscan's Campus Sister Miriam's One Thing - Healing Prayers and Renunciations by Bob Schuchts Michelle's One Thing - Frontier Camp with Life Teen   Other Resources Mentioned:  The Bible in the Year Podcast Walking with Purpose Bible Studies Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (Or find it at Ignatius Press here) Magnificat   Announcement: Our 2026 Lenten book study will be "The Way of Trust and Love" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Scepter Publishers has offered 15% off with the code ABIDE15. They also offer an ebook version as well. We will announce more information about the study in the coming weeks!   Journal Questions: How has the Lord encountered me through Holy Scripture? How has the Lord surprised me in prayer and study of the Scriptures? What obstacles prevent me from engaging with the Bible intentionally? What book of the Bible is the Lord inviting me to pray with this year?   Discussion Questions: What does your relationship with Scripture look like today? How have you been healed, convicted, or converted by Holy Scripture? Have you ever felt the Lord intimately and personally encounter you while reading Scripture? What would it look like for you to encounter the Lord in Holy Scripture daily? How do you want your relationship with the Word of God to be transformed?   Quote to Ponder: "In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men." Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely…" (CCC Paragraphs 101-102)   Scripture for Lectio: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)   Sponsor - Nazareth Organics: Nazareth Organics is a Catholic family-owned natural skincare company. Unlike many skincare companies that use lab-made chemical ingredients in their products, Nazareth Organics uses high quality, wild-crafted, and organic ingredients from nature and strives to support local farms and businesses whenever possible. From nourishing facial serums and cleansers to diaper creams and sun screens, Nazareth Organics carries natural products for a wide array of skin conditions. They use grass-fed tallow as a base for many of their balms, because it is rich in fat-soluble vitamins and fatty acids that can increase collagen production, strengthen the skin, and calm inflammation. With all these nutrients working in tandem to heal and nourish the skin, tallow is a powerhouse topical ointment for every skin type. The best thing about this business, though, is that it's dedicated to the Holy Family of Nazareth. From website to packaging, every sustainably sourced product points back to the faith and the ultimate source of creation. They also donate a portion of all proceeds to Catholic charitable organizations. If you want to honor and care for your body using pure and natural ingredients straight from God's hands, then check out Nazareth Organics. You can find them at nazareth-organics.com and use code ABIDE10 at checkout for a 10% discount. Follow them on social media at: @nazarethorganics.   Timestamps: 00:00 Nazareth Organics 01:26 Intro 02:12 Welcome 03:45 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder 04:44 The Power of Scripture 08:28 Scripture Never Gets Old 14:56 How Scripture Can Heal Wounds 19:04 It's Personal to You 24:32 Going Deeper into the Word of God 27:02 One Things  

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Father Rick Ganz explores contemplative prayer drawing from John 15 and the image of the vine and branches. He introduces the ancient Jesuit practice of the Examen and offers a beautiful vision of prayer as enjoying God's presence in all of the moments of our lives.Key Scripture Passages: Luke 18v40-43; John 15v1-9This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Sid from Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Josh from Oxford, Oxfordshire; Margaret from Woodland Hills, California; Ashley from Dallas, Texas; and Erin from Centralia, Washington. Thank you all so much!If you'd like to pay it forward and contribute toward future resources, you can learn more at practicingtheway.org/give.

Does the Didache teach Trinitarian baptism?In this episode of Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, Dr. David K. Bernard examines the Didache, an early Christian document frequently cited in debates over baptism and early church practice. The Didache includes instructions to baptize “into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” as well as guidance related to fasting before baptism. But how authoritative is this document, and how should it be understood today?Dr. Bernard explores the historical background and reliability of the Didache and contrasts it with the clear teaching of Scripture and the practice of the early church. This episode provides thoughtful, biblically grounded insight into biblical baptism, church history, and Apostolic doctrine.Whether you're a pastor, theology student, or believer seeking deeper understanding, this discussion will help clarify an important and often misunderstood topic.Subscribe to Apostolic Life in the 21st Century for more in-depth conversations on theology, Scripture, and living an Apostolic life today.Visit PentecostalPublishing.com to shop Dr. Bernard's full catalog of published works. Enter promo code DKB10 at checkout to save 10 percent on your order.If you enjoy this podcast, leave a five-star rating and a review on iTunes or your preferred podcast platform. We also appreciate it when you share Apostolic Life in the 21st Century with family and friends.

The DOJ says they may appeal a ruling that allowed a 5-year-old and his father to go back to Minneapolis. Deputy AG Todd Blanche says there will be no new charges stemming from the latest release of the Epstein files. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will close for roughly two years to allow for extensive renovations. Bad Bunny won Album of the Year and a steakhouse chain is launching a limited edition “steak commitment ring” in time for Valentine's Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I sit down with Leland Vittert to talk about his childhood diagnosis of autism and the extraordinary role his father played in shaping his resilience. We explore why removing adversity from children often backfires, and how discipline, honesty, and responsibility can become acts of love. This conversation isn't about romanticizing struggle, it's about learning how to do hard things and refusing to be defined by limitations.SHOW HIGHLIGHTS00:00 - Introduction02:10 - Autism Diagnosis and Early Childhood05:40 - A Father's Radical Commitment08:05 - Growing Up Without Friends10:55 - Self-Esteem Outside School and Sports13:20 - Why Adversity Was Never Removed17:30 - Learning You Can't Be Broken20:05 - Living With Autism as an Adult23:45 - Discipline Versus Accommodation27:00 - Teaching Social Skills Deliberately30:40 - Protection, Trust, and Character34:50 - Letting Kids Become More39:35 - Discipline as Strength45:10 - Parenting Without Expectations48:10 - Final Reflections and Where to Find Leland***Tired of feeling like you're never enough? Build your self-worth with help from this free guide: https://training.mantalks.com/self-worthPick up my book, Men's Work: A Practical Guide To Face Your Darkness, End Self-Sabotage, And Find Freedom: https://mantalks.com/mens-work-book/Heard about attachment but don't know where to start? Try the FREE Ultimate Guide To AttachmentCheck out some other free resources: How To Quit Porn | Anger Meditation | How To Lead In Your RelationshipBuild brotherhood with a powerful group of like-minded men from around the world. Check out The Alliance. Enjoy the podcast? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Podchaser. It helps us get into the ears of new listeners, expand the ManTalks Community, and help others find the tools and training they're looking for. And don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | SpotifyFor more, visit us at ManTalks.com | Facebook | Instagram

“And these are ancient things.” — 1 Chronicles 4:22 Yet not so ancient as those precious things which are the delight of our souls. Let us for a moment recount them, telling them over as misers count their gold. The sovereign choice of the Father, by which He elected us unto eternal life, or ever […]

Today’s Topics: Father Chad Ripperger joins Terry 1) Gospel – Mark 3:31-35 – The mother of Jesus and His brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called Him. A crowd seated around him told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside asking for You.” But He said to them in reply, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.” Memorial of Saint Angela Merici, Virgin Saint Angela, pray for us!Bishop Sheen quote of the day

We have a Father who is always there. Night or day, whenever the going gets tough, we can trust that He will never abandon us. He has promised to care for us, and He knows better than we do what we need.Main Points:1. God knows. He knows what I need. He knows what I am going through. He knows what I am facing right now. My heavenly Father knows. How comforting this is to an anxious heart.2. We don't pray to tell God things that He didn't know before we told Him. We pray to spend time with and bring our requests to a loving God who wants us to bring every need and worry before His throne.3. Like a good earthly Father, our Heavenly Father loves to spend time with His children. He is not annoyed by our presence. We are not a bother to Him. He gives us access to ask anything of Him.Today's Scripture Verses:Matthew 6:25-31 - ““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.Matthew 6:8 - “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”1 John 5:14-15 - “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”Quick Links:Donate to support this podcastLeave a review on Apple PodcastsGet a copy of The 5 Minute Discipleship JournalConnect on SocialJoin The 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group

Hope for Right Now Podcast – Encore Episode 2: When Help Doesn't Seem to Come There's an old Latin proverb that says, “Repetition is the mother of learning.” With that in mind, we are revisiting four of your favorite Hope for Right Now podcast episodes. Our prayer is that you would take some time to look back, and reflect on the ways you've grown in your relationship with God. We will return on February 23, 2026, with a new series based on our brand new Lenten devotional, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness. Get your copy: https://wwp.today/desertbloom. This week's encore comes from our The Psalms of Ascent: A Lenten Pilgrimage series, episode When Help Doesn't Seem to Come. It's true; we can't control life's trials, but we do have a say in how we choose to respond. We can choose despair, or we can revisit Psalm 124, which offers comfort, hope, and a new perspective.  This is a special Encore Episode originally released in February 2024. The word translated “ascent” means “to go up.” It gives an idea of being on a journey, moving to a higher place spiritually. In this week's episode, Lisa and Laura dive into Psalm 124 and explore Scripture's response when help doesn't seem to come. Trials in life are inevitable, but what if, instead of falling into despair, we choose to see them from a new perspective? Join Lisa and Laura as they set our hearts on pilgrimage, unpacking today's Psalm and applying it to our daily lives.  Open your Heart to our key Scripture. Psalm 124:1-8. Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode. 1 John 4:4: He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Romans 5:3-5: We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.  Invite Him in with this episode's questions for reflection. Where can you take a mini-pilgrimage this week? A half-hour pilgrimage to somewhere quiet? Finish the sentence: “If the Lord had not been on my side when [fill in the blank], what might have happened?” When has God come through for you in the past?  Show mentions. Beth Moore, Stepping Up: A Journey through the Psalms of Ascent Kari Jobe, Majestic, “I Am Not Alone” Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, Rev. Dennis K. Walters, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The Book of the Psalms Our presenting sponsor is Hallow. Hallow is the number one prayer and meditation app dedicated to helping you grow closer to God and find peace with thousands of guided prayers and meditations. As Lent approaches, Hallow invites you to join Pray40: The Return, a 40-day Lenten journey rooted in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, inviting you into deeper conversion and a renewed return to the Father. Visit hallow.com/walkingwithpurpose to get 3 months of Hallow free. Come home this Lent.  Let's stay connected. Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.  Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community. Stay in the know. Connect with us today.  We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ. Learn more about WWP on our website. Our shop. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

JOHN 14:1-14 - THE WAY TRUTH LIFE - BRIAN SUMNER - 2025JOHN 14:1-14 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."To support this channel and partner with Brian in Ministryhttps://www.briansumner.net/support/For more on Brianhttp://www.briansumner.nethttps://www.instagram.com/BRIANSUMNER/https://www.facebook.com/BRIANSUMNEROFFICIALTo listen to Brians Podcast, click below.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Purchase Brians Marriage book at https://www.amazon.com/Never-Fails-Da...Brian is a full time "Urban Missionary" both locally and internationally with a focus on MISSIONS - MARRIAGES - MINISTRY. Since coming to faith in 2004 doors continued opening locally and internationally to do more and more ministry with a focus on Evangelism, Outreach Missions, Marriage, Counsel, Schools, Festivals, Conferences and the like.  Everything about this ministry is made possible because of people personally partnering through the non profit. God Bless and thank you. †Support the showSUPPORT THE SHOW

282. Family Sabbath: Pause and Delight with Eryn Lynum   Mark 2:27 NIV “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”   *Transcription Below*   Eryn Lynum is a certified Master Naturalist, Bible teacher, national speaker, and author. Eryn lives in Northern Colorado with her husband, Grayson, and their four children, whom they homeschool—mainly in the great outdoors. Eryn has has been featured on FamilyLife Today, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Christian Parenting, MOPS International, Bible Gateway, Her View From Home, and For Every Mom. Every opportunity she gets, she is out exploring God's creation with her family and sharing the adventures. To learn more about Eryn, visit ErynLynum.com.   Eryn's Books Eryn's Free Resources Mentioned Nat Theo Podcast   Topics and Questions We Cover: What can this look like to daily align our activities with our deepest values? What do people actually do on this day of rest and what do you recommend for families? Are there any other practical benefits we're missing out on if we neglect rest?   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Leman Property Management Company   Related Savvy Sauce Episodes: 81 Rest with Doctor, Author, and Speaker, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith 99 Sabbath Rest with Sandy Feit 175 Practicing Sabbath with Shireen Eldridge   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:11 - 1:34) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook.   Eryn Lynum is my wonderful guest for today, and she's the author of this beautiful book, The Nature of Rest. We're going to discuss all things related to rest, ways that we can prepare for it, how we can enjoy and delight in it, what good gifts God has for us with rest, and then how to reflect well on the rhythms in our life, and so much more.   Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Eryn.   Eryn Lynum: (1:34 - 4:03) Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.   Laura Dugger: Well, I'd love for you to start us off by sharing your personal journey and tell why you are so uniquely qualified to teach and write about rest, as stress can literally kill you.   Eryn Lynum: Yeah, that's correct. So, when I was 14 years old, I was diagnosed with a potentially fatal autoimmune disorder. And kind of the context of that season, I was preparing to go overseas for the first time on a missions trip. So, I was going to be in Africa for two months. And so, before you go do something like that, you have to go to the doctor and get a checkup and vaccine recommendations, all the things. And so, my parents took me in.   Again, I was 14 at the time, and we had no reason to believe that there was anything wrong. There were no red flags. Besides, I had been a little tired, a little dizzy once in a while, but really, we just thought, okay, well, I'm growing up, my body's changing. But when the nurse took my blood pressure that day, it was 56 over 48, which is deathly low.   And so, immediately, that's a red flag. And I undergo more testing and hospital visits and seeing specialists. And they diagnosed me with something called Addison's disease. And Addison's disease, it's where your adrenal glands no longer function. So, maybe you've heard of adrenal fatigue, where someone is so taxed out that their adrenal glands can't keep up because they're meant to produce cortisol, which is our stress hormone. Well, Addison's disease is the worst-case scenario where you can't come back from it, barring a miracle. Like, my adrenal glands don't work, and they haven't for over 20 years now.   And so, you know, this system that God has given us meant to cope with stress, and it's that fight-or-flight response. At that young age, I no longer had that. And so, stress became quite literally deadly to me. And at that point, my parents, they began coaching me in biblical stress management, so identifying stressors in my life.   You know, when your shoulders start creeping up, and you can feel that tension in your neck, and knowing that those are signs that, okay, you need to step back, you need to calm yourself. Like the Psalms talk about, “I have calmed and quieted my soul,” and to bring everything to the Lord and cast all your anxieties upon Him. And this is really where I can see, in my life, I developed a very consistent prayer pattern in my life where just all day long, like conversing with the Lord.   And so, that's been a big part of this. But yeah, that's really what began leading me into this deeply restful lifestyle was out of necessity. But really what I've seen since then is God designed all of us to live and thrive through rest. Like this is His original design.   Laura Dugger: (4:04 - 4:27) I love that so much. And you articulate this so well in your book. But before I ever encountered you, I had never heard of the term master naturalist before. So, if you want to share anything about that, it would be great. And as a master naturalist, where do you see these rhythms of rest in nature?   Eryn Lynum: (4:28 - 6:54) So, a master naturalist, it's really a fancy term for nature teacher. And I pursued this because my degree and my passion are in biblical theology. And I've always been passionate about rightly handling God's word of truth from 2 Timothy 2:15.   And I began to see as my own family, my husband and I, we have three boys and a daughter, and now they're 14 down to seven. But when they were younger and we started spending more time outdoors, I started to see, okay, God has given us so many visuals and materials in nature with which we can teach about Him. Coming from Romans 1:20, that His invisible attributes, those things we can't see about God, are clearly perceived through what He has made. And I saw that also Jesus in the gospels, He used nature all the time to teach.   And God throughout scripture, like it's not just Genesis 1, nature narratives are strong throughout scripture. And so, I thought if God and Jesus use this methodology to teach, then certainly we can. And so, that's why I went through this training and taught, teach with this method is because, you know, the more we understand these materials, the more we see of God and the more we can communicate about Him.   And so, I was working as a master naturalist in our city and teaching my own programs. And I started to incorporate it more and more into my book and then later on in my podcast. And at the same time, God was leading my family into celebrating Sabbath. We had come into this season where we were just exhausted, like running businesses and raising and homeschooling kids, like all of us, no matter our circumstances, face this very real human existence of fatigue. And so, we came to a place where rest was no longer optional. It was critical and vital.   And so, I'm living in these two realms of learning about nature while I'm learning about scripture. And then God is bringing us into deep rest. So, I started to ask the question, where do we see rest in scripture? And I found that it is everywhere. The roots of rest run deep and wide throughout scripture. And also asking, where do we see rest in creation in nature? And it's also everywhere there that God designed all these cycles and these rhythms and all of his plants and creatures, even the ones that we think of as so frenetic and busy that God designed them to thrive through rest.   Laura Dugger: (6:55 - 7:04) And will you give a specific example then of something in nature as it's so apparent that it's designed for rest?   Eryn Lynum: (7:04 - 8:28) Definitely. Let's focus on one of those ones that we often think of as really busy, the hummingbird. I opened the book with the analogy of a hummingbird because when you think about a hummingbird, what do you picture in your mind?   Laura Dugger: (7:17 - 7:19) Busy, constant movement in and out.   Eryn Lynum: (7:20 - 8:28) Yeah, exactly. Like they have to visit between 1,000 and 2,000 flowers every day to get all the nectar that they need. And so, they are always like here and there in the next place. And they look like this little thing just zipping through the air and you can't even see their wings beating because they can be up to 70 times a second. It's this blur of motion. And we think about that little hummingbird, and we can sometimes feel like that little hummingbird just zipping from one thing to the next, thinking there's no time to stop.   But the hummingbird does stop. It has a very strategic method of rest called torpor. And torpor is kind of like a mini hibernation where the little bird is going to go into this deep state of rest. It lowers its body temperature by around 50 degrees and becomes completely unresponsive. And this is a regular thing that the hummingbird does, and it enables it to continue its God-given, good, busy, fruitful work. So, it's this picture of, you know, busyness is not bad. God created us for fruitful work, but it's all meant to be sustained through deep, rhythmic, intentional rest.   Laura Dugger: (8:28 - 9:06) I mean, immediately that makes me think of the weeks, even that I'm most productive, I've probably prioritized my sleep the best of it. And if I get great sleep, even if it's extra hours, that doesn't take away from the rest of the day. That probably makes my time even multiplied.   Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I love, you point out so many times how God just clearly designed his creation to enjoy this gift of rest. So, you mentioned some of the nature parts. What about some of the foundational scriptural truths on this topic?   Eryn Lynum: (9:07 - 11:52) Yeah, well, of course, where's the first place that we get the idea of rest in the scripture? Yeah, exactly. So, God completes his work of creation and then he rests and he didn't need to rest. Isaiah 40:28 tells us that he, the creator of the world does not grow weary or tired.   I believe that one reason, and I talk about a couple of them in the book, but I believe that one main reason God rested was to stop and delight. That word Sabbath, it comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which can mean to both stop and delight. Like think about God finishing his creative work, bringing, bringing everything from nothing. Ex nihilo is that theological term, everything from nothing. Creating not only the animals and the plants, but the textures and the math and the shapes and the like everything he needed to make these things. And I imagine he just wanted to stop and enjoy it. I can even picture him going through creation and listening to the birds and taking in the colors and the shapes of the clouds.   What a beautiful reminder to us, because I know for myself, I'm so prone to just run from one thing to the next, like check it off the list. What's next? But here God is modeling for us. Stop delight, praise him for what he just allowed us to accomplish, to create, to do before rushing on to the next thing.   And so, we get that first mentioned there at creation, but then think about when Sabbath was actually established, there's a framework, there's a structure it's Exodus 16. And the context here is the Israelites. They're doing what they do. They're wandering and grumbling. They're hangry and God shows mercy to them in the form of quail and manna, but he has very specific instructions for them. He says for six days, you shall gather it, but not on the seventh day. Don't go out. It is a solemn day, a Holy Sabbath to the Lord.   That's the first mention of Sabbath, that word in scripture, but consider the Israelites. They had no context for what God was calling them to do. Surely they could think back to the creation story. Okay. God worked and then rested, but they had very little idea of what he was asking them to do. This was an act of faith. God was saying, stop gathering, trust me.   And this is so hard for us because like we are so prone to gather, gather, gather, do produce work more out of this scarcity mindset. But this picture is showing God is a God of abundance and his math works. When we trust him to be the provider, not ourselves. And we take that risk on rest. He provides abundantly through it.   Laura Dugger: (11:53 - 12:05) Absolutely. And within this gift then of rest, how can rest actually reorder and re-energize our lives?   Eryn Lynum: (12:05 - 14:03) I love this question because throughout the book, we talk a lot about reordering and creating margins. So, we can rest and reprioritizing. You know, it's so interesting when we look at the creation narrative, where we get that first mention of rest, because it's backwards to what we normally think.   Think about this. God created for six days and then he rested. Adam, the first human was created on that sixth day. So, Adam's first full day was a day of arrest, dedicated to rest. And in this, we see that God worked and then rested. But we, humanity, we were always meant to begin from rest.   And you see that even in the Hebrew tradition of a day, their day begins at evening. Their day doesn't start with, let's get up and get to work. Their day starts with, let me go to rest to get ready for the work. So, first we have to reorder our concept of rest, not see it as a reward. Oh, I'm going to work, work, work, get all the things done so that maybe I can rest this weekend or on vacation, or when the kids are out of the house or in retirement, that's backwards to the biblical framework. We are meant to begin from rest.   So, starting there. And as we do that, my family has found after sabbathing for three and a half years now, everything else kind of falls into place. And that happens when you operate by God's design. You know, rest allows us to tend to the most important things. Those deep values, whether like that should be of course, faith and family. So, getting clear on your values is really important. Like what is most important to your family faith? Maybe it's community generosity. Maybe it's physical health, mental health, all these things do better. And we have more time to tend to them when we first make room and space for rest.   Laura Dugger: (14:04 - 16:28) And now a brief message from our sponsor.    With over 1,700 apartment units available throughout Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Morton and Washington. And with every price range covered, you will have plenty of options when you rent through Leman Property Management Company.   They have townhomes, duplexes, studios, and garden style options located in many areas throughout Pekin. And make sure you check out their newest offering, the McKinley located in Pekin is a new construction addition to their platinum collection featuring nine foot ceilings, large spacious layouts, beautiful finishes, such as courts, countertops, and garages. You won't want to miss this outstanding new property in Peoria, a historic downtown location and apartments adjacent to OSF Medical Center provide excellent choices.   Check out their brand new luxury property in Peoria Heights, overlooking the boutique shops and fine dining on prospect. And in Morton, they offer a variety of apartment homes with garages, a hot downtown location, and now a brand new high-end complex near Idlewood Park. If you want to become part of their team, contact them about open office positions.   They're also hiring in their maintenance department. So, we invite you to find out why so many people have chosen to make a career with them. Check them out on Facebook today or email their friendly staff at leasing@lemanprops.com. You can also stop by their website at lemanproperties.com, check them out and find your place to call home today.   It never ceases to amaze me how God's economy and his math are just different. Sometimes upside down from ours, but I feel like when you're speaking, it reminds me of Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” So, if we actually obey, I think there are so many blessings that we can enjoy from this gift of rest. So, you're talking about our values. Then what can this look like to daily align our activities with our deepest values?   Eryn Lynum: (16:30 - 18:30) Yes, this is an ongoing practice because the enemy is always trying to distract us from what is most important. And that word there is key distract. And so, first we have to learn to identify those distractions, the things that are pulling us away from what is most important, but you know, getting to those core values and on my website, I have, my husband and I developed a family values guide that helps you step by step to really figure out what are our deepest values.   So, that's erinlynum.com/values. But really what it is, is this practice of getting clear on God's best for, for us and for our families and for those around us and, and making sure that we are aligning and realigning because it's going to get out of alignment, those values with God's agenda. You know, a lot of days I just start my day with a restful pause.   I call them in the book, Selah pauses. And I am quite literally, I am sitting before the Lord, my eyes closed and my hands just up in this posture of surrender and receiving. And I will say, Lord, I am surrendering my own agenda, my own expectations for this day. And I want to receive your power, your presence, your peace. And then throughout the day, just taking those checks.   Like I practice these daily Selah pauses and moments of rest because think about Selah in the Psalms. It can mean to pause, to contemplate, to redirect. And we need to do that often because as a day goes on, I think we lose energy and focus. You know, at the beginning of the day, we might feel really like focused. And this is what I'm getting done today. And that can waver like that can wane out as the day goes on. And so, constantly just checking back in.   Okay, Lord, what is it you have for me to do today? And how do I tend to those most important things? But you have to take that restful pause to be able to do that.   Laura Dugger: (18:31 - 18:46) That's good reminder. Okay. So, to check back in with the Lord and then can you give another example of one family and what their value is and how they live that out in their daily life. And maybe even what requires us to say no to.   Eryn Lynum: (18:47 - 20:15) Ooh, that's a fantastic question. Hmm. Can it be for my own family or do you want me to give them love it from your own family?   Okay. I was asked this question recently. Someone asked me, how do you make time to be outside as a family? One of our core family values is to be out exploring in God's creation. And this has been harder in different seasons. And we have two middle schoolers now, you know, we are, we have a lot going on.   And so, it can very quickly happen where at the end of the day, we're like, wow, we really didn't spend much time outdoors today, but how we prioritize this is you do have to say no to other things. So, we're a homeschooling family. And just as an example, it can be very tempting to feel like, am I doing enough? Am I teaching them enough? We need to check off all these boxes and get the lessons done. And it's constantly surrendering that and realizing, you know, I know that our value of being outdoors is important to God. I know that he is meeting my children there. He is meeting me there. He is giving us rest and rejuvenation there.   So, trusting with that, again, going back to the Israelites, stop gathering, stop checking off all the boxes, stop trying to provide and meet your own expectations. And instead stay super focused on what God has called you to and ruthlessly get rid of the rest, anything that's keeping you from that.   Laura Dugger: (20:16 - 20:36) I love that personal example. Thank you for sharing. And how can we also in our own families or in our own life, how can we distinguish which activities are vital for the abundant life in Christ that he offers so that we don't settle for less?   Eryn Lynum: (20:38 - 22:46) I love that you bring up that, that term, the abundant life. In John 10:10, that Christ came, that we might have life and life abundantly overflowing to the fullest, like brimming over is what that word means. And that scripture also says the enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy.   And I believe that one of the enemy's biggest schemes and methods for that is to send us into hurry and hustle mode. And he does that through distraction and discontent. And so, so much of this is pressing back against distraction and discontent and getting back to how God created us to thrive.   And again, I believe that that is through this, this gift of rest. You know, you talk about, you asked about settling for less. The enemy is going to put a million things in our life that would cause us to want to settle for less.   Let me give you an example of him trying to distract us. There was a recent weekend where we were coming up on the weekend, and I had several friends reach out and ask about me doing these things like these different opportunities coming our way. Like, do you want to do this? Do you want to do this? And each of them were for on Saturday and that's usually when our family Sabbaths. And so, I had this tension because these were good things.   It's hard to say no to a good thing, but I kept feeling again and again, the Lord saying, no, rest with your family, rest with your family. And it was so sweet because come Saturday morning, I was out on our back deck sipping coffee with my husband for hours, having incredible conversations, reading great books. The kids are playing in the yard.   Several times I caught myself thinking, I almost said no to this by saying yes to other things. And again, they were good things. This life is full of good things, but God's rest is one of the best things for our families. So, it's learning to be okay with saying no to those good things. So, you can say yes to that better thing.   Laura Dugger: (22:48 - 23:17) Examples are so helpful. And that requires a level of discernment and going to the Lord to ask him, but I'm wondering if you even have a system in place for how you discern that, or is it a gut piece that you follow or any practical ways that each of us can discern what's the right kind of busy that's good. And what's the wrong kind of busy and the things that we want to say no to.   Eryn Lynum: (23:18 - 25:05) Yeah. Going back to, again, busy is not bad. God created us for fruitful work, but I think, you know, when we are following Christ and God's spirit is within us, he's going to give us that sense of this is the right kind of busy.   This is the wrong kind of busy. And practically, you know, if it has any notion of distraction, like if you're doing this thing to just distract you or to procrastinate on better things, if it has a note of busyness, you know, some people will be like, well, some people, the enemy makes us want to think that sitting on our phones can be restful because you're not technically doing much of anything, but that distraction is stealing God's true gift of rest for us.   And so, you know, our family, as we practice Sabbath throughout the week, I know that come Saturday, we have a full day of rest. And sometimes it's tempting to add a little work into there, to let it seep out of those edges of the work week and kind of into our Sabbath. And as you practice this more and more and begin just ruthlessly protecting that time, whether it's a full day, whether you start with a half day, God is going to make you more sensitive to those things. Because sometimes I'll like work it out in my mind, like, oh, this isn't work. And really like it's definitely, it's definitely trying to serve my work during the work week.   And God is saying, no, like step away from that and allow me to refresh and rejuvenate your spirit so that when you go back to the work, you do so much more powerfully energized, restful, and ready to do that work to the very best of your ability with God's power.   Laura Dugger: (25:07 - 25:36) That reminds me of a previous guest I'll link to. He did two episodes, but Jeff Henderson just said he's a pastor too. And he said, sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.   I would agree on that, which you've kind of been sharing a little glimpses of your family's experience with Sabbath, but let's just zero in on Sabbath and I'll just try and go through a series of questions. But first what's the importance of Sabbath?   Eryn Lynum: (25:37 - 26:55) Well, first God commands it. Like if God commanded it, then surely it's important, but that can also sometimes cause us to get a little legalistic about it. What is it? What isn't it? Well, it is meant to be a gift, meant to be a blessing. It's meant to empower us and what God created us for and calls us to.   And so, keeping that just center, this is meant to be a gift, but we see it all throughout scripture, the importance of rest and rest in God's design. It's celebration. Like it's not idleness. It's not doing nothing. Although sometimes like that's the most beneficial way that we can rest. Like you talked about a nap.   I love a good nap on Sabbath, but also it can be energizing activities, inspiring activities. I also love a good long walk on Sabbath. Sometimes I love cooking with fresh ingredients and working on a meal during Sabbath because I don't get much opportunity to do that during the week. Sometimes I love going out and working in the garden because that's life giving and I don't have time to do that throughout the week. And so, getting back to this concept, this idea of Sabbath and rest are celebratory. Like when we do it well as a family, it feels like a mini vacation every week.   Laura Dugger: (26:56 - 27:15) Ooh, I love that. My husband said that before about date night and I connect with that, that it's a little mini reprieve, a mini vacation each week. But then that leads me to the question because I bet so many people share their Sabbath activities with you. What do families actually do on this day of rest?   Eryn Lynum: (27:16 - 31:46) Yeah, that's a great question. And first I'll say that it should look different from family to family. We are all in unique seasons. We have different stories, different scenarios. Again, if you can't start with the full day, now I strongly believe strive and work toward that full day. That's God's design.   And we've seen the most blessing from that. But if you have to start smaller with a half day with four hours, start there. So, it's going to look different. If you have newborns, like a newborn child, it's going to look different and that's okay. No going into it, that it's going to be messy. Hebrews says strive toward rest, work toward rest. It's so counter-cultural. We have to work toward it. So, just going in, knowing these things is very helpful.   It's also going to grow, adapt, and change throughout the seasons. Our family has seen that. But a typical Sabbath for our family right now is we follow the traditional Friday evening to Saturday evening for the most part. Some people ask me, why not Sunday? Isn't Sunday the Sabbath? Well, for us, Sunday is set aside for church community and fellowship and corporate worship. And that's so life-giving to our souls. But by the time I get home from church and I'm making lunch for the family, like I'm not rested physically. So, we needed a separate day set aside for rest.   And so, Friday afternoon, we start preparing where we're going to band together and just pick up the house, get it ready, wash all the dishes and just start preparing our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our home for rest. And then we start Friday evening with communion as a family, just breaking bread and celebrating what Christ did on our behalf. And again, that, that idea of celebrate, and this marks it as special. Okay. We're heading into Sabbath. Some families will like light a white candle for Sabbath, just really marking it. And then we have, we toast to the week. So, we'll pour sparkling juice and just toast and say, “Hey, what did we see God do this week?” Like going back to that idea of stop and delight, we are setting a hard stop to the week. We are delighting. What did we see God do? What did he help us overcome? What can we thank Him for from this past week? And then we'll do an easy dinner. Think tacos, take and bake pizza spaghetti.   We use paperware, which is a bit controversial since I work as a master naturalist, but it has been an easy button for Sabbath that I'm not worried about like dishes piling up on the counter. And then we'll, we'll wrap it up with a sweet treat like ice cream and then our kids go to bed, or they'll listen to audio books. Audio books have been massive for our Sabbath because they're screen-free because we do put away all screens and work like devices on Sabbath, but they can listen to good books.   And my husband and I, we read, like people ask me, when do you find time to read? You don't find time to read. You have to make time to read. And for us, that's on the Sabbath mostly. And then Saturday we sleep in, we get up pretty early during the week and the kids just know like you don't wake mom and dad on the Sabbath. Like that's their day to sleep in.   Again, if you have a newborn or young children, that's gonna look different and that's okay. But for us, that's the season that we're in and our kids, they'll make themselves first breakfast and then eventually we'll get up and we'll join them for a second breakfast or some Sabbath. I don't want to cook at all. And so, it's just take and forage. And you know, I usually have a grocery delivery the day before or go to the grocery store and make sure we just have a ton of good stuff in the house. So, no one's, you know, everyone has what they need.   Then the rest of the day, it is just a day of delight. Reading books, playing games, being out in creation, visiting with neighbors, having great conversations together. Sabbath is this space where you get to do all those things during the week that you're like, oh, I wish I had time for that and you just don't get to them. Like recently my daughter during the week, she really wanted me, she's seven. She wanted me to sit down and watercolor paint with her, which I love doing, but it was a really busy week. And I just didn't have the space.   And so, I told her like, “Hey, I would love to do that. Can we do that on Sabbath?” And she was so happy with that answer. And come that Sabbath a few days later, she remembered, she came up to me. She's like, mom, it's time to paint. And she got all the supplies, and we went and sat outside at our picnic table and painted for the afternoon.   You know, Sabbath does so much for me as a mom to remove that guilt of the things I don't feel like I have time for because I know, and my kids know, Sabbath is coming and that's our day to be together and do those things.   Laura Dugger: (31:47 - 31:57) Hmm. Okay. That makes me curious. Then to how much of a vote does everyone in the family get for what Sabbath will look like?   Eryn Lynum: (31:57 - 34:02) Oh, that is a great question. No one's ever phrased it to me like that before. I love that. What we found that's been important to keep in mind is that we all individually find different things, restful and inspiring. I'll give you an example. One Sabbath, my husband, especially in the spring, he loves to work in the yard on Sabbath because he spends most of his week. He runs a construction company on the computer or on the phone. And so, in the spring, he wants to be out in the yard and trimming his fruit trees and just working with God's creation. And so, one Sabbath he comes and he has like the clippers in his hand and he's like, “Hey, let's go work on the yard.”   And I was like, that's great. You do that. I'm going to go read my book in the hammock. And I fell asleep for two hours while he worked on the yard. And so, a lot of this is being okay that yes, a lot of it's going to be together. Like I talked about, we did, we do communion together and we do meals together. And a lot of times we'll be out on a hike together. That's a favorite Sabbath activity. But a lot of times we're also doing separate activities.   The kids are enjoying their books or their audio books or their painting or their, uh, visiting the neighbor kids. And my husband and I are reading books on the back deck. And so, it's okay that there's going to be some together time and some separate time, you know, just being flexible with it. Like our first year of Sabbath, we went, we had to go like hardcore. We had to learn to stay. I think about in the book, I talk about the word abide meno in the Greek and it can mean to stay, to dwell, to remain.   So, we've spent our first year of Sabbath, not getting in the car. We stayed home and learned to just be home together. And after that year, we started to miss our time. We live in Colorado, missing our time hiking in the mountains. And so, we changed it. We said, okay, well, toward the end of Sabbath Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, let's go hike or let's go have a picnic in the wilderness. And just being open to that, that God's going to change you as a family and change you individually. And just growing up in a Sabbath practice together.   Laura Dugger: (34:03 - 34:20) I like the freedom that you're communicating there. And then when you mentioned the neighborhood kids, it makes me curious. Do you encourage community for some of those who recharge with other people? Would you recommend Sabbath thing with others or just keeping it your family?   Eryn Lynum: (34:21 - 36:16) Absolutely. We love inviting others into Sabbath. And it actually started with, we started our Sabbath practice. It was so sweet because God convinced us to do this. And then our first Sabbath was on January 1st. That happened to be the first Saturday that we did it. So, it was like this fresh start. And right around that time, we had moved to a new neighborhood. And our neighbors near us are Messianic Jews.   And they follow Shabbat, the traditional Shabbat. And they invited us into that. It was the sweetest evening, and they have children, young children, like we do. So, like there's chaos and there's mess. And then there's sweet times of singing together and scripture reading. And they follow it much more the traditional method than our family has.   But it was so sweet to be invited into that and to get a picture for how to invite others into this rest. And so, absolutely, we encourage, especially our kids having friends over. And we do usually ask parents, hey, can you drop them off? And then we can bring them back maybe like later that day toward the end of our Sabbath. Or if you want to come pick them up. Because again, we like to just stay home if we can.   But our kids are to the point now too where they can ride their bikes over to friends' houses. And we're fine with that. They might not be home on Sabbath once in a while. It's not a regular thing. But they're getting fed. And we know that the people they're with are people who share our values, people that we do life together.   We love having bonfires in the backyard on Sabbath. Now one thing I have to be careful of is I don't want to invite people over and feel like I need to host or clean up first. And so, for one, we don't have full families over a whole lot on Sabbath because I just don't want any sort of self-induced, self-imposed pressure.   But sometimes it's so much fun to just be like, hey, let's go meet at a park and have a picnic dinner. Or let's have a family over and do a bonfire. Just making sure that you're keeping it really, really simple if you are going to incorporate community.   Laura Dugger: (36:17 - 37:54) Guess what? We are no longer an audio-only podcast. We now have video included as well. If you want to view the conversation each week, make sure you watch our videos. We're on YouTube, and you can access videos or find answers to any of your other questions about the podcast when you visit thesavvysauce.com.   Some of these things, like you said, “They do require forethought where you have the groceries coming or certain things in place. And I think you even refer to it as a sacred striving.” So, it's important for us to learn more about that. And here's a quick story.   I just remember we've moved states quite a few times in marriage. But when I was a young mom, there was a mom in the next season of life, and she had more kids than we did. And we went to church together, and she was just like, “Oh, we learned about Sabbath. That's not a thing for moms with multiples.” And I always wrestled with that, and I love her. She's a wonderful person. Maybe she's even changed her stance on that, so it's not to speak ill of her. But I do think that we can struggle with that because that's not an actual truth. I do think that's a message from the enemy.   So, I guess this is a two-part question. How do we protect ourselves from buying into a storyline that is not true that may hold us back from Sabbath? And then also, what is kind of the both and? It's both restful, and it requires a lot of work up front to make this a reality.   Eryn Lynum: (37:55 - 41:19) It does, and knowing that, that it is going to take work, but God's going to bless it. Think about Isaiah 55:10-11, that says, “Just like the rain and the snow go forth and produce life and bring forth life from the land, so my work goes out and does not return void or empty. It produces that which I sent it out for.”.   That is true for Sabbath and rest because, again, we find it all throughout scripture. So, know that it's going to take hard work, but God will not allow it to return void. He will bless our efforts as we step into His design that He created us for.   I talk about in the book a few ways that you have to prepare mentally, physically, and spiritually. So, mentally, for me, I have to just totally remove anything mentally that's going to distract me from rest. So, I own a business, and so a lot of my work is on the computer and on the phone. I will answer, so this is like Friday, I'll answer any lingering emails, those ones that are going to be on my mind if I don't get to them. And then I put an away message on my email. So, if anyone emails me on our Sabbath, it sends an automatic reply that says, hey, thanks for your message. My family's resting. It has a little blurb in there about Sabbath. I'll get back to you in the new week.   That gives me permission to not even look at my email. In fact, people expect that I'm not looking at my email if I'm keeping my word. And so, this has just freed me up mentally to step away, and then I literally put my laptop in my closet.   With my phone, I set it to a Sabbath mode, and you can create these different focus modes if you have a smartphone, so that I can only receive messages from my mom in case of emergency. And our people, our friends, they all know this now. Like, oh, I'm not going to hear back from Erin because it's Saturday for the most part.   And so, these little things that you might just need to mentally prepare yourself. And then physically, that goes back to preparing our home. So, this is not a deep clean that we do prior to Sabbath. It's just tending to the things that are going to distract me if we don't get to them beforehand. So, again, washing all the dishes and having the kitchen clean, vacuuming. Like, that's like just a hack to make the house feel clean is I feel like it's clean if it's vacuumed.   So, just these little things, and then physically also doing that grocery order. And I have a free Sabbath guide on my website, erinlynum.com/family-sabbath. And it walks you through creating your Sabbath grocery list so that every week you have what you need in the house. These little things that truly make it, Sabbath easier and more successful.   And then preparing spiritually, going into this, like a lot of times I'll know, okay, I'm going to study this on Sabbath. For our first year, I just had like this stack of books on Sabbath that I would work through on our Sabbath. Right now, I am parked in Genesis 1 and have been for weeks. And so, just preparing spiritually, you know, this is a time of communion with our creator, with our heavenly father. And so, just having an idea of, you know, this is how I want to spend time delighting in God on the Sabbath.   That might be a long walk. That might be time in the word or time of worship but making sure that that is a keystone part of your Sabbath practice.   Laura Dugger: (41:20 - 41:45) And, you know, it really is possible. I just think so many of us celebrate holidays and we do the same thing where we plan, prepare, prioritize ahead of time so that we can delight in that day. And what a gift to get to do that weekly. So, with all of these amazing benefits, why do we still resist God's design for rest?   Eryn Lynum: (41:46 - 43:00) Because we live in a fallen world, broken by sin, and the enemy wants to do everything he can to keep us from this. This is God's design and our faith, and our souls and our families flourish in this design. And so, the enemy is going to do whatever he can to keep us from it.   He's going to insert fear. He's going to insert distraction. He's going to insert doubt. You know, when we started this practice coming up to it, I was thinking, there's no way, like how are we going to get everything done in one last day a week, all these doubts. And yet what we found so quickly is that as we took this step of faith, we quickly became so much more productive and effective and creative during the work week, because we were starting from rest and following God's design.   We resist this because it is counter-cultural. Everything in society is set up against us doing this and succeeding in this. So, again, going and knowing that our war is not against flesh and blood. It is against the powers of the spheres, like things unseen. The enemy is against us, but God is on our side. And as we step into his design, he's going to make much of it.   Laura Dugger: (43:01 - 43:12) Okay. So, if we are convinced and we want to give this a try, what is a practical first step to just obeying this and receiving this gift of rest?   Eryn Lynum: (43:13 - 45:23) Yeah, super practical here. Two first steps. The first is to set a day and time. Now you're not committing to this forever. And again, if you, if a big hesitancy here is I can't do a full day. Okay. Work and pray toward that but start smaller. If it's four hours on a Wednesday, guard that time. Ruthlessly guard it. Don't let anything be written on the schedule besides that.   So, set a day in time and then write two lists. This is going back to the idea of stop and delight, right? Your stop list. These are things that send you into hurry and hustle mode, things that are related to normal work, things that feel heavy. Some of them are so important.   Again, our work is important, but this is going to be things like devices, media, regular work, answering emails, phone calls. It might be driving in traffic. It might be spending money. Write down those things that feel heavy. That's your stop list. The things you're not going to entertain on that day or that time.   And then write your delight list. This might be hard at first because what I've found with myself, with many of us is that we forget what we delight in but causes that childlike sense of play and wonder. This is learning to be human again, coming back to those things.   So, it might be playing music or listening to music, working with fresh ingredients, reading a good book, writing by hand, watercolor painting, going for a walk. What we find is that a lot of people who spend time during the week in front of a computer want to be outdoors on the Sabbath, but people who run a landscaping company might want to be inside with a great book. So, just writing down those things that are, again, those things that you think during the week, oh, I really wish I could get to that.   Only we don't. Those are your delight list. So, now you have a day and a time. You know what you're not going to do, what you're setting aside, even physically, that should probably most definitely be your phone. Stick it in a drawer. I have my Sabbath drawer where I put my phone, and then you know what you're going to do and spend that day on.   Laura Dugger: (45:24 - 45:47) That's so good. And for those who have been listening for a while, they could even put their phone in their RO box, and I could link to that episode as well with Joey Odom. That's incredible about where our phone could be in its right place.   But Eryn, are there any other practical benefits that we might be missing out on that you've seen as a result of this Sabbath rest?   Eryn Lynum: (45:48 - 49:44) One of my favorite benefits is how it unlocks our creativity. Whether you work in a career or position that you consider creative or not, God designed all of us to be creative, to produce. And so, what I have found is that my work, my work is very in that creative sphere, writing books, creating podcast lessons for children.   It's very creative work. And I've found that Sabbath is this day where God gives my mind rest. It's so incredible thinking about how he wired our brains to thrive through rest, and science points to that that a restful mind is better at problem-solving, connecting ideas, remembering details.   And so, as my mind is allowed to rest on Sabbath, and I'm out on a walk in nature, or I'm reading a good book, or I'm writing by hand, when it comes time to sit down at the computer Monday morning, I am ready. I am flowing with ideas. They are there.   And I'll give you an example. This one isn't from Sabbath. It's from one of my daily rest rhythms that I call Selah Pause, and that's a walk in the morning. And this might be a little controversial, but this is not an easy stroll. I have my rucking pack on, and I'm trekking up a hill, which is not physically restful, of course, but it's mentally restful for me. I love it.   And so, it was in January, so it's frigid out, and everything's covered in snow, and I'm in all my snow gear, and I'm trudging up this hill. And at the time, I was dealing with a problem in my podcast where it was a good problem. We had spent the month teaching about God's designs in the human body. So, we had taught kids about God's designs in cells and DNA and the heart and the brain, but I didn't want to just let this series end. I wanted to wrap it up in some powerful way, and I didn't know how. So, I could have stayed home that morning and hashed this out and been at the computer, and how should I end this thing?   Instead, I went on this walk, and God just dropped this idea in my mind. And it was this idea. He said, ask the kids how they are wonderfully made. And that was the top. The theme was wonderfully made. And so, I put it out there to my email list. When I got back from that walk, I said, hey, I would love to hear how you kids believe you are wonderfully made by the creator. And I opened up this little voice mailbox on our website, and I didn't know if anyone would respond. And then I'm like, what if they don't? And then I don't know what to do because I said I'm going to do this thing.   I tell you, message after message came in from children from ages. I think it was three or four up to 14 from all over the world. And I was weeping as I edited that episode. I had planned to add something at the beginning and the end to build out this episode. I didn't do that because it was, I believe it's 22 minutes straight of children saying, this is my name.   I'm five years old. I live in England and I'm wonderfully made because God made me to read well or God made me fast. Or one little boy shared, he said, I know I'm wonderfully made because my mama lost a baby before me. And I'm here and I'm wonderfully made. And I'm weeping.   And this idea that God gave me, I would have missed it if I hadn't taken that pause to be out in his creation walking that day. And so, that's a very roundabout way to get back to your question of what are the other benefits? We hear from God when we make time for rest. And if we keep just rushing and hurrying, I'm concerned that we are walking by so many opportunities to hear from his spirit and to let him unlock that potential within us.   Laura Dugger: (49:45 - 50:22) Oh, I love that. And I'm even reminded of one other thing that you write in your book that today, one way we can practically experience his original design of rest is by stepping outside. And you're full of tips and ideas like that, but I so appreciate those stories.   So, you've equipped us with this foundation of rest and ways that we can prepare for it, how we can enjoy and delight in it. And so now, Eryn, how can we reflect well on our rhythms of work and rest?   Eryn Lynum: (50:25 - 53:19) So, much of this is reflection. So, much of this is stopping to consider where God is at work in our lives, where we need to recalibrate, where we need to realign, where we need to step back into his pace because we're trying to run ahead of him. And one way that we can see it, you know, like you might ask the question, am I at rest? Even me sometimes on Sabbath, I'm like, am I doing this right? Like, is this actually restful? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?   I think we can answer that question by the fruit in our lives, the fruit inside of us that God is producing and the fruit that we are producing. So, one thing I kind of sum up the book on is this question of, are you growing in truth and love? Because the enemy, when he gets us away from God's rest and into hustle, into distraction and hurry, we are not fully experiencing God.   And so, our levels of experiencing his love and offering it to others is going to suffer. Our experience of hearing his truth and living that truth out in our lives is going to suffer. And so, the opposite is true that as we live at rest, this whole concept of abide, that is living at rest, not just these rest practices, but living at rest in God's restful presence, we are going to be producing more love and more truth.   So, that's like a key visual. And then I love on that idea of abide. We spent a whole week on abide in the book and, you know, John chapter 15 being the abide passage. And what we see there is there's these 11 mentions of that word abide. And they all refer to us abiding in Christ, Christ abiding in us, God's word abiding in us. So, all this connectivity between Christ and God and us and his word.   But then it's, I think it's verse 16. There's a different mention of meno, abide. And it says that he wants us to go out and produce fruit that abides. So, this is different. It relates to our fruit and that word abide. Yes, it can mean dwell, remain, stay, but it can also mean continue and endure.   God created us to produce fruit and fruit that endures. Doesn't rot, doesn't fade, but continues into eternity. So, we can look at, okay, am I personally in my spirit? Am I growing in truth and love? Because God's spirit actually has the space to minister to me when I rest. And is that rest directly affecting the fruit of my life?   These are key things that we can look at and ask to see. Are we truly living from God's rest?   Laura Dugger: (53:19 - 53:53) I love questions so much. And that's so good to reflect then on the fruit that's being produced. And a mentor many years ago said, you never reap what you sow in the same season. So, that's a great place to even begin just reflecting. What did we do in the past season and what fruit are we reaping now? And where do we want to go then from here?   And one place we could go from here after this chat is to follow you. And you've mentioned your podcast. Do you want to elaborate on all the places that you're available?   Eryn Lynum: (53:54 - 55:03) Yes, thank you. So, the new book, The Nature of Rest is available wherever you get your books, along with my second book, Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation. And that's all about taking our kids or grandkids, the next generation outside and reconnecting the dots between creation and creator. Really returning nature study and time outdoors to its proper place as theology and the study of God.   So, those are available anywhere, including Amazon or my website, which is my name, erynlynum.com. And then my podcast is Nat Theo, short for Natural Theology. It's nature lessons rooted in the Bible. It's a podcast for kids and families where we dive deep into science and all the design and intelligence we see in creatures and plants. And we tie it all back to biblical truth so that our kids are learning science and theology at the same time.   And that's available on any podcast platform, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, right on my website, erinlynum.com, as well as YouTube. We actually provide visuals so you can watch what you're learning about as well.   Laura Dugger: (55:04 - 55:22) So, incredible. We will add links to that in the show notes for today's episode. And Eryn, you may already be familiar. We're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?   Eryn Lynum: (55:24 - 56:34) I love this question. And this is one that actually I was like, oh, I'm not asked this much. I'm going to have to really think deeply on this one.   It's get outside every day. That seems so simple, even though it's not really simple in practicality. But one thing I've learned through rest and through time outdoors is that 10 minutes matters. Like if you think I don't have time for this, but you have a 10 minute slot, go for a walk and see how God just communes with your spirit. Even in the dead of winter, if you live somewhere cold, like if it's safe to do so. For me, I had to buy like the best pair of snow pants I could find because I used to really dislike the winter. And I would just become like really down in those winter months.   And so, God just convinced me, don't go outside every single day if it's for 10 minutes. And then pretty often he just extends that. Like I think I'm going out for 10 minutes. And sure enough, I'm like playing with my kids outside. It's much longer.   But yeah, as best as you can, just prioritize that. If you have to do it first thing in the morning to make sure it happens, go for a walk and watch the sunrise. And God is going to minister to your soul through his creation.   Laura Dugger: (56:35 - 56:54) Amen. Amen. That is so good.   And this conversation has been so rich. Eryn, it is just very clear you have filled up on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you have just poured out goodness and love and truth for all of us, all over all of us today. So, thank you for all that you shared. And thank you for being my guest.   Eryn Lynum: (56:55 - 57:03) Thank you. Thank you so much for that encouragement. That means a whole lot to me. So, thank you. And for the opportunity for a great conversation.   Laura Dugger: (57:03 - 1:03:10) I really enjoyed it.    One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony and Jesse continue their deep dive into the Parable of the Prodigal Son by examining the often-overlooked character of the elder brother. While the younger son's rebellion is obvious, the elder brother's self-righteous moralism represents a more subtle—and perhaps more dangerous—form of lostness. Through careful exegesis of Luke 15:25-32, the hosts explore how religious performance, resentment of grace, and merit-based thinking can keep us far from the Father's heart even while we remain close to the Father's house. This conversation challenges listeners to examine their own hearts for traces of elder brother theology and calls us to celebrate the scandalous grace that restores sinners to sonship. Key Takeaways Two ways to be lost: The parable presents both flagrant rebellion (the younger son) and respectable self-righteousness (the elder son) as forms of spiritual lostness that require God's grace. The elder brother's geographic and spiritual position: Though physically near the house and faithful in service, the elder brother was spiritually distant from the father's heart, unable to celebrate grace extended to others. Moralism as a subtle distance: Self-righteous religion can be more deceptive than open rebellion because it appears virtuous while actually rejecting the father's character and values. The father pursues both sons: God's gracious pursuit extends not only to the openly rebellious but also to the self-righteous, demonstrating that election and grace are sovereign gifts, not earned rewards. The unresolved ending: The parable intentionally leaves the elder brother's response unstated, creating narrative tension that challenges the original audience (Pharisees and scribes) and modern readers to examine their own response to grace. Adoption as the frame of obedience: True Christian obedience flows from sonship and inheritance ("all that I have is yours"), not from a wage-earning, transactional relationship with God. Resentment reveals our theology: When we find ourselves unable to celebrate the restoration of repentant sinners, we expose our own need for repentance—not from scandal, but from envy and pride. Key Concepts The Elder Brother's Subtle Lostness The genius of Jesus' parable is that it exposes a form of lostness that religious people rarely recognize in themselves. The elder brother never left home, never squandered his inheritance, and never violated explicit commands. Yet his response to his brother's restoration reveals a heart fundamentally opposed to the father's character. His complaint—"I have served you all these years and never disobeyed your command"—demonstrates that he viewed his relationship with the father transactionally, as an employer-employee arrangement rather than a father-son bond. This is the essence of legalism: performing religious duties while remaining distant from God's heart. The tragedy is that the elder brother stood within reach of everything the father had to offer yet experienced none of the joy, fellowship, or security of sonship. This form of lostness is particularly dangerous because it wears the mask of righteousness and often goes undetected until grace is extended to someone we deem less deserving. The Father's Gracious Pursuit of the Self-Righteous Just as the father ran to meet the returning younger son, he also went out to plead with the elder brother to come into the feast. This detail is theologically significant: God pursues both the openly rebellious and the self-righteous with the same gracious initiative. The father's response to the elder brother's complaint is not harsh correction but tender invitation: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." This reveals that the problem was never scarcity or the father's favoritism—the elder brother had always possessed full access to the father's resources and affection. The barrier was entirely on the son's side: his inability to receive sonship as a gift rather than a wage. This mirrors the historical situation of the Pharisees and scribes who grumbled at Jesus for receiving sinners. They stood adjacent to the kingdom, surrounded by the promises and covenant blessings of God, yet remained outside because they could not accept grace as the principle of God's dealing with humanity. The invitation still stood, but it required them to abandon their merit-based system and enter the feast as recipients of unearned favor. The Unresolved Ending and Its Challenge to Us Luke deliberately leaves the parable unfinished—we never learn whether the elder brother eventually joined the celebration. This narrative technique places the reader in the position of the elder brother, forcing us to answer for ourselves: will we enter the feast or remain outside in bitter resentment? For the original audience of Pharisees and scribes, this unresolved ending was a direct challenge to their response to Jesus' ministry. Would they continue to grumble at God's grace toward tax collectors and sinners, or would they recognize their own need and join the celebration? For contemporary readers, the question remains equally pressing. When we hear of a notorious sinner coming to faith, do we genuinely rejoice, or do we scrutinize their repentance with suspicion? When churches extend membership to those with broken pasts, do we celebrate restoration or quietly question whether they deserve a place at the table? The parable's open ending is not a literary flaw but a pastoral strategy: it refuses to let us remain passive observers and demands that we examine whether we harbor elder brother theology in our own hearts. Memorable Quotes The father's household is a place where grace produces joy, not just merely relief. The elder brother hears the joy before he sees it. That's often how resentment works, isn't it? We're alerted to the happiness of others and somehow there's this visceral response of wanting to be resentful toward that joy, toward that unmerited favor. — Jesse Schwamb There is a way to be near the house, church adjacent, religiously active, yet to be really far from the father's heart. The elder brother is not portrayed as an atheist, but as a moralist. And moralism can be a more subtle distance than open rebellion. — Jesse Schwamb God doesn't keep sinners from repenting. The reprobate are not prohibited or prevented by God from coming to faith. They're being kept out by their own stubborn refusal to come in. That's where this punchline hits so hard. — Tony Arsenal Full Transcript [00:00:44] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 477 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  [00:00:51] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother.  [00:00:55] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother.  [00:00:56] Parables and God's Word [00:00:56] Jesse Schwamb: Speaking of ears to hear, it struck me that this whole thing we've been doing all this parable talk is really after the manner of God's words. And one of the things I've really grown to appreciate is how God speaks to the condition of those whom he addresses. He considers our ability, our capacity as his hearers to process what he's saying, and that leads into these amazing parables that we've been talking about. He doesn't speak as he is able to speak. So to speak, but I didn't mean that to happen. But as we were able to hear, and that means he spoke in these lovely parables so that we might better understand him. And today we're gonna get into some of the drama of the best, like the crown jewel as we've been saying, of maybe all the parables. The Parable of the Lost Son. We spoke a little bit about it in the last episode. Definitely want to hit that up because it's setting you up for this one, which is the definitive episode. But now we're gonna talk about this first, this younger lost son. Get into some of all of these like juicy details about what takes place, and really, again, see if we can find the heart of God. Spoiler. We can and we'll,  [00:02:04] Tony Arsenal: yeah,  [00:02:04] Affirmations and Denials [00:02:04] Jesse Schwamb: but before we do both of those things, it's of course always time at this moment to do a little affirming with or denying against. Of course, if you haven't heard us before, that's where we take a moment to say, is there something that we think is undervalued that we wanna bring forward that we'd recommend or think is awesome? Or conversely, is there something that's overvalued that's just, we're over it. The vibe is done. We're gonna deny against that. So I say to you, as I often do, Tony, are you affirming with or deny against?  [00:02:31] Tony's Nerdy Hobby: Dungeons and Dragons [00:02:31] Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming tonight. Um, I don't know how much the audience realizes of a giant ridiculous nerd I am, but we're about to go to entirely new giant nerd depths. [00:02:43] Jesse Schwamb: All right. I  [00:02:43] Tony Arsenal: think,  [00:02:44] Jesse Schwamb: let's hear it.  [00:02:44] Tony Arsenal: So, um, I was a huge fan of Stranger Things. Some, there's some issues with the show, and I understand why some people might not, um, might not feel great about watching it. You know, I think it falls within Christian liberty. But one of the main themes of the show, this is not a spoiler, you learn about this in episode one, is the whole game. The whole show frames itself around Dungeons and Dragons, right? It's kind of like a storytelling device within the show that the kids play, Dungeons and Dragons, and everything that happens in the Dungeons and Dragons game that they're playing, sort of like, um, foreshadows what's actually gonna happen in the show. Which funny if, you know Dungeons and Dragons lore, you kind of learn the entire plot of the story like ahead of time. Um, but so I, stranger Things just finished up and I've kind of been like itching to get into Dungeons and Dragons. I used to play a little bit of tabletop when I was in high school, in early college and um, I just really like the idea of sort of this collaborative storytelling game. Um, whether it's Dungeon Dragons or one of the other systems, um, Dungeons and Dragons is the most popular. It's the most well published. It's the most well established and it's probably the easiest to find a group to play with. Although it is very hard to find a group to play with, especially, uh, kind of out in the middle of nowhere where I live. So this is where the ultra super nerdy part comes in.  [00:04:02] Jesse Schwamb: Alright, here we  [00:04:03] Tony Arsenal: go. I have been painstakingly over the last week teaching Google Gemini. To be a dungeon master for me. So I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons more or less by myself with, uh, with Google Gemini, and I'm just having a lot of fun with it. Um, you can get a free copy of the rules online if you, I think it's DND, the letter NDND beyond.com. They have a full suite of like tools to create your character. Access to a basic set of the core rules. Um, you can spend a lot of money on Dungeons and Dragons, uh, and if you want to like really get into it, the books are basically textbooks. Like you're buying $300 or 300 page, $300, 300 page textbooks, um, that are not all that differently costs than like college textbooks. You'll buy a 300 page Dungeon master guide that's like $50 if you want a paper copy. So, but you can get into it for free. You can get the free rolls online, you can use their dungeon, the d and d Beyond app and do all your dice rolls for free. Um, you, you can get a free dice roller online if you don't want to do their, their app. Um, but it's just a lot of fun. I've just been having a lot of fun and I found that the, I mean. When you play a couple sessions with it, you see that the, the um, the A IDM that I've created, like it follows the same story beats 'cause it's only got so much to work with in its language model. Um, but I'm finding ways to sort of like break it out of that model by forcing it to refer to certain websites that are like Dungeons and Dragons lore websites and things like build your, build your campaign from this repository of Dungeons and Dragons stuff. So. I think you could do this with just about any sort of narrative storytelling game like this, whether you're playing a different system or d and d Pathfinders. I mean, there's all sorts of different versions of it, but it's just been a lot of fun to see, see it going. I'm trying to get a group together. 'cause I think I would, I would probably rather play Dungeons and Dragons with people, um, and rather do it in person. But it's hard to do up here. It's hard to get a, get a group going. So that's my super nerdy affirmation. I'm not just affirming Dungeons and Dragons, which would already be super nerdy. I'm affirming playing it by myself on my phone, on the bus with Google Gemini, AI acting like I'm not. Just this weird antisocial lunatic. So I'm having a lot of fun with it.  [00:06:20] Jesse Schwamb: So there are so many levels of inception there. Yeah. Like the inception and everything you just said. I love it.  [00:06:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Well, what I'm learning is, um, you can give an, and, and this is something I didn't realize, what ai, I guess I probably should have, you know, it's not like an infinite thing. Um, you can give an AI instructions and if your chat gets long enough, it actually isn't referring back to the very beginning of the chat most of the time. Right. There's a, there's like a win context window of about 30 responses. So like if you tell the AI, don't roll the dice for me, like, let me roll dices that are related to my actions, eventually it will forget that. So part of what I've been doing is basically building, I'm using Google Gemini when the AI does something I don't want it to do, I say, you just did something I don't want it to do. Gimme a diagnostic report of why you did that. It will explain to me why it did what it did. Right. Why it didn't observe the rules. And then I'm feeding that into another. Prompt that is helping me generate better prompts that it refers back to. So it's kind of this weird iterative, um, yeah, I, I don't, I'm like, I maybe I'm gonna create the singularity. I'm not sure. Maybe this is gonna be possible. We should sit over the edge. It's gonna, it's gonna learn how to cast magic spells and it's gonna fire bolt us in the face or something like that. Right. But, uh, again, high risk. I, I, for one, welcome our AO AI dungeon masters. So check it out. You should try it. If you could do this with chat GPT, you could do it with any ai. Um, it, it, it is going to get a little, I have the benefit because I have a Google Workspace account. I have access to Google Pro or the Gemini Pro, which is a better model for this kind of thing. But you could do this with, with chat GPT or something like that. And it's gonna be more or less the same experience, I think. But I'm having a, I'm having a ton of fun with it. Um. Again, I, I, there's something about just this, Dungeons and Dragons at its core is a, it's like a, an exercise in joint storytelling, which is really fascinating and interesting to me. Um, and that's what most tabletop RPGs are like. I suppose you get into something like War Hammer and it's a little bit more like a board. It's a mixture of that plus a board game. But Dungeons and Dragons, the DM is creating the, I mean, not the entire world, but is creating the narrative. And then you as a player are an actor within that narrative. And then there's a certain element of chance that dice rolls play. But for the most part, um, you're driving the story along. You're telling the story together. So it's, it's pretty interesting. I've also been watching live recordings of Dungeons and Dragon Sessions on YouTube. Oh,  [00:08:50] Jesse Schwamb: wow.  [00:08:51] Tony Arsenal: Like, there's a, there's a channel called Critical Role. Like these sessions are like three and a half hours long. So, wow. I just kinda have 'em on in the background when I'm, when I'm, uh, working or if I'm, you know, doing something else. Um, but it's really interesting stuff. It's, it's pretty cool. I think it's fun. I'm a super nerd. I'm, I'm no shame in that. Um, I'm just really enjoying it.  [00:09:09] Jesse Schwamb: Listen, nerdery is great. That's like part of the zeitgeist now. Listen to culture. It's cool to be a nerd. I don't know much about d and d. I've heard a lot about this idea of this community that forms around. Yeah. The story, correct me if I'm wrong, can't these things go on for like years, decades?  [00:09:25] Tony Arsenal: Oh yeah, yeah. Like, you can do there. There, some of this has made its way into the official rule books, but basically you could do what's called a one shot, which is like a self-contained story. Usually a single session, you know, like you get a Dungeon master, game master, whichever you wanna call the person. Three to four, maybe five characters, player characters. And one session is usually about two hours long. So it's not like you sit down for 20 minutes, 30 minutes at a time and play this right. And you could do a one shot, which is a story that's designed to, to live all within that two hour session. Um, some people will do it where there isn't really any planned like, outcome of the story. The, the DM just kind of makes up things to do as they go. And then you can have campaigns, which is like, sometimes it's like a series of one shots, but more, it is more like a long term serialized period, you know, serialized campaign where you're doing many, um, many, many kinds of, uh, things all in one driving to like a big epic goal or battle at the end, right? Um, some groups stay together for a really long time and they might do multiple campaigns, so there's a lot to it. Game's been going on for like 50, 60, 70 years, something like that. I don't remember exactly when it started, but  [00:10:41] Jesse Schwamb: yeah.  [00:10:41] Tony Arsenal: Um, it's an old game. It's kinda like the doctor who of of poor games and it's like the original tabletop role playing game, I think. [00:10:47] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Yeah, that makes sense. Again, there's something really appealing to me about not just that cooperative storytelling, but cooperative gameplay. Everybody's kind of in it together for the most part. Yeah. Those conquest, as I understand them, are joint in nature. You build solidarity, but if you're meeting with people and having fun together and telling stories and interacting with one another, there's a lot of good that comes out of that stuff there. A lot of lovely common grace in those kind of building, those long-term interactions, relationships, entertainment built on being together and having good, clean, fun together.  [00:11:17] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Well, and it's, you know, it's, um. It's an interesting exercise. It's it, in some ways it's very much like improv. Like you, you think of like an improv comedy like show I've been to somewhere. Like, you know, you go to the show and it's an improv troupe, but they're like calling people from the crowd up and asking them for like different scenarios they might do. It's kind of like that in that like the GM can plan a whole, can plan a whole thing. But if I as a player character, um. And I've done this to the virtual one just to see what it does, and it's done some interesting things. One of the campaigns I was playing, I had rescued a merchant from some giant spiders and I was helping, like, I was helping like navigate them through the woods to the next town. And we kept on getting attacked and just outta nowhere. I was like, what if I sort of act as though I'm suspicious of this merchant now because why are we getting attacked all the time? And so I, I typed in sort of like a little. A mini role play of me accusing this guy. And it was something like, Randall, we get, we're getting attacked a lot for a simple merchant, Randall merchant. What happens if I cast a tech magic? What am I gonna find? And he's like, I don't know what I'm gonna find. I know I don't know anything. And then I cast a tech magic and it shifted. I mean, I don't know where the campaign was gonna go before that, but it shifted the whole thing now where the person who gave him the package he was carrying had betrayed him. It was, so that happens in real life too in these games, real life in these games. That happens in real, in-person sessions too, where a player or a group of players may just decide instead of talking to the contact person that is supposed to give them the clue to find the dungeon they're supposed to go to, instead they ambush them and murder them in gold blood. And now the, the dungeon master has to figure out, how do I get them back to this dungeon when this is the only person that was supposed to know where it is? So it, it does end up really stretching your thinking skills and sort of your improvisational skills. There's an element of, um, you know, like chance with the dice, um, I guess like the dice falls in the lot, but the lot is in the handle. Or like, obviously that's all ordained as well too, but there is this element of chance where even the DM doesn't get to determine everything. Um, if, if I say I want to, I want to try to sneak into this room, but I'm a giant barbarian who has, you know, is wearing like chain mail, there's still a chance I could do it, but the dice roll determines that. It's not like the, the GM just says you can't do that. Um, so it's, it's a, I, I like it. I'm, I'm really looking forward to trying to, getting into it. It is hard to start a group and to get going and, um, there's a part of me that's a little bit. Gun shy of maybe like getting too invested with a group of non-Christians for something like this. 'cause it can get a little weird sometimes. But I think that, I think that'll work out. It'll be fun. I know there's actually some people in our telegram chat. Bing, bing, bing segue. There we go. There's some people in our telegram chat actually, that we're already planning to do a campaign. Um, so we might even do like a virtual reform brotherhood, Dungeons and Dragons group. So that might be a new sub channel in the telegram at some point.  [00:14:13] Jesse Schwamb: There you go. You could jump right in. Go to t.me back slash reform brotherhood.  [00:14:18] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse, what are you affirming since I just spent the last 15 minutes gushing about my nerdy hobby?  [00:14:23] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, no, that was great. Can I, can I just say two things? One is, so you're basically saying it's a bit like, like a troll shows up and everybody's like, yes. And yeah. So I love that idea. Second thing, which is follow up question, very brief. What kind of merchant was Randall.  [00:14:39] Tony Arsenal: Uh, he was a spice trader actually.  [00:14:42] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I don't trust that.  [00:14:43] Tony Arsenal: And, and silk, silk and spices.  [00:14:45] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. That's double, that's too strict.  [00:14:47] Tony Arsenal: He was actually good guy in the, in the story that developed out of this campaign. He actually became part of my family and like, like, like got adopted into the family because he lost everything on his own. Randy we're  [00:15:00] Jesse Schwamb: talking about Randy.  [00:15:01] Tony Arsenal: Randy Randall with one L. Yeah. The AI was very specific about  that.  [00:15:05] Jesse Schwamb: There's, there's nothing about this guy I trust. I, is this still ongoing? Because I think he's just trying to make his way deeper in,  [00:15:11] Tony Arsenal: uh, no, no. It, I'll, I'll wait for next week to tell you how much, even more nerdy this thing gets. But there's a whole thing that ha there was a whole thing out of this That's a tease. Tease. There was a, there was a horse and the horse died and there was lots of tears and there was a wedding and a baby. It was, it's all sorts of stuff going on in this campaign. [00:15:27] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. And I'm sure. Randy was somewhere near that horse when it happened. Right?  [00:15:32] Tony Arsenal: It was his horse.  [00:15:33] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, exactly. That's  [00:15:35] Tony Arsenal: exactly, he didn't, he didn't kill the horse. He had no power to knock down the bridge The horse was standing on.  [00:15:40] Jesse Schwamb: Listen, next week, I'm pretty sure that's what we're gonna learn is that it was all him. [00:15:45] Tony Arsenal: Alright, Jesse, save us from this. Save us from this, please. Uh,  [00:15:49] Jesse Schwamb: no.  What  [00:15:50] Tony Arsenal: you affirming, this is  [00:15:50] Jesse Schwamb: great.  [00:15:50] Jesse's Affirmation: Church Community [00:15:50] Jesse Schwamb: It's possible that there is a crossover between yours and mine if we consider. That the church is like playing a d and d game in the dungeon Masters Christ, and the campaigns, the gospel. So I was thinking maybe is it possible, uh, maybe this is just the, the theology of the cross, but that sometimes, like you need the denial to get to the affirmation. Have we talked about that kind of truth? Yeah,  [00:16:14] Tony Arsenal: yeah,  [00:16:15] Jesse Schwamb: for sure. So here's a little bit of that. I'll be very, very brief and I'm using this not as like just one thing that happened today, but what I know is for sure happening all over the world. And I mean that very literally, not just figuratively when it comes to the body of Christ, the local church. So it snowed here overnight. This was, this is the Lord's Day. We're hanging out in the Lord's Day, which is always a beautiful day to talk about God. And overnight it snowed. The snow stopped relatively late in the morning around the time that everybody would be saying, Hey, it's time to go and worship the Lord. So for those in my area, I got up, we did the whole clearing off the Kai thing. I went to church and I was there a little bit early for a practice for music. And when I pulled in, there weren't many there yet, but the whole parking lot unplowed. So there's like three inches of snow, unplowed parking lot. So I guess the denial is like the plow people decided like, not this time I, I don't think so. They understood they were contracted with the church, but my understanding is that when one of the deacons called, they were like, Ooh, yeah, we're like 35 minutes away right now, so that's gonna be a problem. So when I pulled in, here's what I was. Like surprise to find, but in a totally unexpected way, even though I understand what a surprise is. And that is that, uh, that first the elders and the deacons, everybody was just decided we're going to shovel an entire parking lot. And at some point big, I was a little bit early there, but at some point then this massive text change just started with everybody, which was, Hey, when you come to church, bring your shovel. And I, I will tell you like when I got out of the car. I was so like somebody was immediately running to clear a path with me. One of those like snow pushers, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like one, those beastly kind of like blade things.  [00:17:57] Tony Arsenal: Those things are, those things are the best.  [00:17:59] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. You just run. And so you have never met a group of people that was more happy to shovel an entire large asphalt area, which normally shouldn't even be required. And. It just struck me, even in hindsight now thinking about it, it was this lovely confluence of people serving each other and serving God. It was as if they got up that morning and said, do you know what would be the best thing in the world for me to do is to shovel. And so everybody was coming out. Everybody was shoveling it. It was to protect everyone and to allow one into elaborate, one access. It was just incredible. And so I started this because the affirmation is, I know this happens in, in all of our churches, every God fearing God, loving God serving church, something like this is happening, I think on almost every Lord's day or maybe every day of the week in various capacities. And I just think this is God's people coming together because everybody, I think when we sat down for the message was exhausted, but. But there was so much joy in doing this. I think what you normally would find to be a mundane and annoying task, and the fact that it wasn't just, it was redeemed as if like we, we found a greater purpose in it. But that's, everyone saw this as a way to love each other and to love God, and it became unexpected worship in the parking lot. That's really what it was, and it was fantastic. I really almost hope that we just get rid of the plow company and just do it this way from now on. Yeah, so I'm affirming, recognize people, recognize brothers and sisters that your, your church is doing this stuff all the time and, and be a part of it. Jump in with the kinda stuff because I love how it brings forward the gospel.  [00:19:35] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. That's a great story. It's a great, uh, a great example of the body of Christ being, what the body of Christ is and just pulling together to get it done. Um, which, you know, we do on a spiritual level, I think, more often than a physical level these days. Right, right. But, um, that's great. I'm sitting here going three inches of snow. I would've just pulled into the lot and then pulled out of the lot. But New Hampshire, it hits different in New Hampshire. Like we all d have snow tires and four wheel drive.  [00:20:02] Jesse Schwamb: It's, it's enough snow where it was like pretty wet and heavy that it, if, you know, you pack that stuff down, it gets slick. You can't see the people, like you can't have your elderly people just flying in, coming in hot and then trying to get outta the vehicle, like making their way into church.  [00:20:14] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:15] Jesse Schwamb: So there was, there was a lot more of that. But I think again, you would, one of the options would've been like, Hey, why don't we shovel out some sp spaces for the, for those who need it, for, you know, those who need to have access in a way that's a little bit less encumbered. Oh, no, no. These people are like, I see your challenge and I am going to shovel the entire parking lots.  [00:20:35] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. It used to happen once in a while, uh, at the last church, uh, at, um, your dad's church. We would, where the plow would just not come on a Sunday morning or, or more often than not. Um, you know, what happens a lot of times is the plows don't want to come more than once. Right. If they don't have to. Or sometimes they won't come if they think it's gonna melt because they don't want to deal with, uh, with like customers who are mad that you plowed and that it all melts. But either way, once in a while. The plow wouldn't come or it wouldn't come in time. And what we would do is instead of trying to shovel an entire driveway thing, we would just went, the first couple people who would get there, the young guys in the church, there was only a couple of us, but the younger guys in the church would just, we would just be making trips, helping people into the, yeah. Helping people into the building. So, um, it was a pretty, you know, it was a small church, so it was like six trips and we'd have everybody in, but um, we just kind of, that was the way we pulled together. Um, yeah, that's a great, it's a great story. I love, I love stuff like that. Yeah, me too. Whether it's, whether it's, you know, plowing a, a parking lot with shovels instead of a plow, or it's just watching, um, watching the tables and the chairs from the fellowship, you know, all just like disappear because everybody's just, uh, picks up after themselves and cleans and stuff. That's, that's like the most concrete example of the body of Christ doing what the body of Christ does. Um, it's always nice, you know, we always hear jokes about like, who can carry the most, the most chairs,  [00:22:04] Jesse Schwamb: most  [00:22:04] Tony Arsenal: chairs. Uh, I think it's true. Like a lot of times I think like I could do like seven or eight sometimes. [00:22:10] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, you, that's, so, one more thing I wanna say. I, I wanted to tell you this privately, Tony, 'cause it just cracked me up 'cause I, you'll appreciate this. But now I'm realizing I think the brothers and sisters who listened to us talk for any length of time and in the context of this conversation, but the church will appreciate this too. On my way out, I, I happened because I was there early and the snow was crazy. I parked way further out, way on the edge of the lot to just allow for greater access because of all the shoveling that was happening. And by the way, I really hope there were a ton of visitors this morning because they were like, wow, this, this church is wild. They love to shovel their own lot and they're the happiest people doing it. Some sweaty person just ushered me in while they were casting snow. Like,  [00:22:47] Tony Arsenal: is this some new version of snake handling? You shovel your own lot and your impervious to back injuries.  [00:22:53] Jesse Schwamb: Uh. So I was walking out and as I walked past, uh, there was a, uh, two young gentlemen who were congregating by this very large lifted pickup truck, which I don't have much experience with, but it looked super cool and it was started, it was warming up, and they were just like casually, like in the way that only like people with large beards wearing flannel and Carhartt kind of do, like casually leaning against the truck, talking in a way that you're like, wow, these guys are rugged. And they sound, they're super cool, and they're probably like in their twenties. And all I hear as I pass by is one guy going, yeah, well, I mean that's, I was, I said to them too, but I said, listen, I'd rather go to a church with God-fearing women than anywhere else.  [00:23:36] Tony Arsenal: Nice.  [00:23:37] Jesse Schwamb: I was just like, yep. On the prowl and I love it. And they're not wrong. This is the place to be.  [00:23:42] Tony Arsenal: It is.  [00:23:43] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. This is the place to be. Yeah. So all kinds of, all kinds of good things I think going on in that in the house of the Lord and where wherever you're at, I would say be happy and be joyful and look for those things and participate in, like you said, whether it's physical or not, but as soon as you said like the, our young men, our youth somehow have this competition of when we need to like pack up the sanctuary. How many chairs can I take at one time? Yeah. It's like the classic and it just happens. Nobody says like, okay, everybody line up. We're about to embark on the competition now. Like the strong man usher competition. It's just like, it just happens and  [00:24:17] Tony Arsenal: it's  [00:24:17] Jesse Schwamb: incredible.  [00:24:18] Tony Arsenal: I mean, peacocks fan out their tail feathers. Young Christian guys fan out. All of the table chairs, chairs they can carry. It's uh, it's a real phenomena. So I feel like if you watch after a men's gathering, everybody is like carrying one chair at a time because they don't wanna hurt their backs and their arms. Oh, that's  [00:24:36] Jesse Schwamb: true. That's  [00:24:37] Tony Arsenal: what I do. Yeah. But it's when the women are around, that's when you see guys carrying like 19 chairs. Yeah. Putting themselves in the hospital.  [00:24:42] Jesse Schwamb: That's what I, listen, it comes for all of us. Like I, you know, I'm certainly not young anymore by almost any definition, but even when I'm in the mix, I'm like, oh, I see you guys. You wanna play this game? Mm-hmm. Let's do this. And then, you know, I'm stacking chairs until I hurt myself. So it's great. That's, that is what we do for each other. It's  [00:25:01] Tony Arsenal: just, I hurt my neck getting outta bed the other day. So it happens. It's real.  [00:25:05] Jesse Schwamb: The struggle. Yeah, the struggle is real.  [00:25:07] The Parable of the Lost Son [00:25:07] Jesse Schwamb: Speaking of struggle, speaking of family issues, speaking of all kinds of drama, let's get into Luke 15 and let me read just, I would say the first part of this parable, which as we've agreed to talk about, if we can even get this far, it's just the younger son. [00:25:24] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:25:25] Jesse Schwamb: And again, don't worry, we're gonna get to all of it, but let me read beginning in, uh, verse 11 here. This is Luke chapter 15. Come follow along as you will accept if you're operating heavy machinery. And Jesus said, A man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country. And there he squandered his estate living recklessly. Now, when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country and it began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. So he went and as he was desiring to be fed with the pods that the swine were eating because no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger. I'll rise up and go to my father, and I'll say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. So he rose up, came to his father, but while he was still a long way off. His father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him. And the son said to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fat in calf and slaughter it and let us celebrate. For the son of mine was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and he has been found and they began to celebrate.  [00:27:09] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. This is such a, um, such a, I don't know, like pivotal seminal parable in the Ministry of Christ. Um, it's one of those parables and we, we mentioned this briefly last week that even most. It, it hasn't passed out of the cultural zeitgeist yet. A lot of biblical teaching has, I mean, a lot, I think a lot of things that used to be common knowledge where, where you could make a reference to something in the Bible and people would just get it. Um, even if they weren't Christian or weren't believers, they would still know what you were talking about. There's a lot of things in the Bible that have passed out of that cultural memory. The, the parable of the prodigal son, lost son, however you wanna phrase it, um, that's not one of them. Right. So I think it's really important for us, um, and especially since it is such a beautiful picture of the gospel and it has so many different theological touch points, it's really incumbent on us to spend time thinking about this because I would be willing to bet that if you weave. Elements of this parable into your conversations with nonbelievers that you are praying for and, and, you know, witnessing to and sharing the gospel with, if you weave this in there, you're gonna help like plant some seeds that when it comes time to try to harvest, are gonna pay dividends. Right. So I think it's a really, it's a really great thing that we're gonna be able to spend, you know, a couple weeks really just digging into this. [00:28:40] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, and to define the beginning, maybe from the end, just slightly here, I like what you said about this cultural acknowledgement of this. I think one of the correctives we can provide, which is clear in the story, is in the general cultural sense. We speak of this prodigal as something that just returns comes back, was lost, but now is found. And often maybe there is this component of, in the familial relationship, it's as if they've been restored. Here we're gonna of course find that this coming to one senses is in fact the work of God. That there is, again, a little bit of denial that has to bring forward the affirmation here that is the return. And so again, from the beginning here, we're just talking about the younger son. We have more than youthful ambition.  [00:29:19] The Essence of Idolatry and Sin [00:29:19] Jesse Schwamb: This heart of, give me the stuff now, like so many have said before, is really to say. Give me the gifts and not you, which is, I think, a common fault of all Christians. We think, for instance of heaven, and we think of all the blessings that come with it, but not necessarily of the joy of just being with our savior, being with Christ. And I think there's something here right from the beginning, there's a little bit of this betrayal in showing idolatry, the ugliness of treating God's gifts as if there's something owed. And then this idea that of course. He receives these things and imme more or less immediately sometime after he goes and takes these things and squanderers them. And sin and idolatry, I think tends to accelerate in this way. The distance from the father becomes distance from wisdom. We are pulled away from that, which is good. The father here being in his presence and being under his care and his wisdom and in his fear of influence and concern, desiring then to say, I don't want you just give me the gifts that you allegedly owe me. And then you see how quickly like sin does everything you, we always say like, sin always costs more than you want to pay. And it always takes you further than you want to go. And that's exactly what we see here. Like encapsulated in an actual story of relationship and distance.  [00:30:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, I think, um. It's interesting to me.  [00:30:39] The Greek Words for Property [00:30:39] Tony Arsenal: You know, I, I, I'm a big fan of saying you don't need to study Greek to understand your Bible, but I'm also a big fan of saying understanding a little bit of Greek is really helpful. And one of the things that I think is really intriguing, and I haven't quite parsed out exactly what I think this means, but the word property in this parable, it actually is two different Greek words that is translated as property, at least in the ESV. And neither one of them really fit. What our normal understanding of property would be. And there are Greek words that refer to like all of your material possessions, but it says, father, give me the share of property. And he uses the word usia, which those of us who have heard anything about the trinity, which is all of us, um, know that that word means something about existence. It's the core essence of a person. So it says, father, give me the share of usia that is coming to me. And then it says, and he divided his bias, his, his life between them. Then it says, not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had took a journey into the far country. There he squandered his usia again. So this, this parable, Christ is not using the ordinary words to refer to material, uh, material accumulation and property like. I think probably, you know, Christ isn't like randomly using these words. So there probably is an element that these were somehow figuratively used of one's life possessions. But the fact that he's using them in these particular ways, I think is significant. [00:32:10] The Prodigal Son's Misconception [00:32:10] Tony Arsenal: And so the, the, the younger son here, and I don't even like calling this the prodigal sun parable because the word prodigal doesn't like the equivalent word in Greek doesn't appear in this passage. And prodigal doesn't mean like the lost in returned, like prodigal is a word that means like the one who spends lavishly, right? So we call him the prodigal son because he went and he squandered all of his stuff and he spent all of his money. So it doesn't even really describe the main feature or the main point of why this, this parable is here. It's just sort of like a random adjective that gets attached to it. But all of that aside, um. This parable starts off not just about wasting our property, like wasting our things, but it's a parable that even within the very embedded language of the parable itself is talking about squandering our very life, our very essence, our very existence is squandered and wasted as we depart from the Father. Right? And this is so like, um, it's almost so on the head, on the on the nose that it's almost a little like, really Jesus. Like this is, this is so like, slap you in the face kind of stuff. This is right outta like Romans, uh, Romans one, like they did not give thanks to God. They did not show gratitude to God or acknowledge him as God. This is what's happening in this parable. The son doesn't go to his father and say, father, I love you. I'm so happy to stay with you. I'm so happy to be here. He, he basically says like. Give me your very life essence, and I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go spend it on prostitutes. I'm gonna go waste your life, father, I'm gonna waste your life, your existence, your bias. I'm gonna go take that and I'm gonna squander it on reckless living. And I guess we don't know for sure. He, it doesn't say he spends it on prostitutes. That's something his brother says later and assumes he did. So I, I don't know that we do that. But either way, I'm gonna take what's yours, your very life, your very essence. And also that my life, my essence, the gift you've given me as my father, you've given me my life. In addition now to your life or a portion of your life. And I'm gonna go squander that on reckless living, right? Like, how much of a picture of sin is that, that we, we take what we've been given by God, our very life, our very essence, we owe him everything, and we squander that on sinful, reckless living. That that's just a slap in the face in the best way right out of the gate here.  [00:34:28] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, that, that's a great point because it's, it would be one thing to rebel over disobedience, another thing to use the very life essence that you've been given for destructive, self-destructive purposes. And then to use that very energy, which is not yours to begin with, but has been imbued in yours, external, all of these things. And then to use that very thing as the force of your rebellion. So it's double insult all the way around. I'm with you in the use of Greek there. Thank you. Locus Bio software. Not a sponsor of the podcast, but could be. And I think that's why sometimes in translations you get the word like a state because it's like the closest thing we can have to understanding that it's property earned through someone's life more or less. Yeah. And then is passed down, but as representative, not just of like, here's like 20 bucks of cash, but something that I spent all of me trying to earn and. And to your point, also emphasizing in the same way that this son felt it was owed him. So it's like really bad all around and I think we would really be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't think that there's like a little bit of Paul washer saying in this, like I'm talking about you though. So like just be like, look at how disrespectful the sun is. Yeah. Haven't we all done this? To God and bringing up the idea of prodigal being, so that, that is like the amazing juxtaposition, isn't it? Like Prodigal is, is spent recklessly, parsimonious would be like to, to save recklessly, so to speak. And then you have the love the father demonstrates coming against all of that in the same way with like a totally different kind of force. So.  [00:36:02] The Famine and Realization [00:36:02] Jesse Schwamb: What I find interesting, and I think this is like set up in exactly what you said, is that when you get to verse 14 and this famine comes, it's showing us, I think that like providence exposes what Sin conceals.  [00:36:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:36:16] Jesse Schwamb: And want arrives. Not just because like the money ran out, but because again, like these idols, what he's replaced the father with, they don't satisfy. And repentance then often begins when God shows the emptiness of light apart life apart from him. That's like the affirmation being born out of the denial. And so I think that this also is evolving for us, this idea that God is going to use hardship, not as mere punishment, but as mercy that wakes us up and that the son here is being woken up, but not, of course, it's not as if he goes into the land, like you said, starts to spend, is like, whoa, hold on a second. This seems like a bad idea. It's not until all of that sin ever, like the worship of false things collapses under its own weight before it, which is like the precursor of the antecedent, I think, to this grand repentance or this waking up.  [00:37:05] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I also think it's, um.  [00:37:08] The Depths of Desperation [00:37:08] Tony Arsenal: A feature of this that I haven't reflected on too deeply, but is, is worth thinking about is the famine that's described here only occurs in this far country that he's in. [00:37:17] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:37:17] Tony Arsenal: Right. So even that's right. And this is like a multitude of foolish decisions. This is compounding foolish decisions that don't, don't make any sense. Like they don't really actually make any sense. Um. There's not a logic to this, this lost son's decision making. He takes the property. Okay. I guess maybe like you could be anxious to get your inheritance, but then like he takes it to a far country. Like there's no reason for him to do that. If at any point through this sort of insane process he had stopped short, he would not have been in the situation he was in. Yes. And that, I love that phrase, that providence, you know, reveals, I don't know exactly how you said it, but like providence reveals what our sin can bring to us. Like he first see sins against his father by sort of like demanding, demanding his inheritance early. Then he takes it and he leaves his country for no reason. He goes to this far country, then he spends everything and then the famine arises. Right? And the famine arises in this other country.  [00:38:13] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:38:13] Tony Arsenal: And that's, I think that is still again, like a picture of sin. Like we. We don't just, we don't just take what the father has and, and like spend it like that would be bad enough if we weren't grateful for what we have and what we've been given, and we just waste it. But on top of that, now we also have taken ourselves to a far country. Like we've gone away from the good, the good land of the Lord, as those who are not regenerate. We've gone away from the, the Lord into this far country. And it's not until we start to have this famine that we recognize what we've done. And again, this is, this is where I think we get a picture. There's so many theological, like points in this parable particular that it almost feels a little bit like a, like a. Parable that's intended to teach some systematic theology about for sure, the oral salus, which I think there's probably a lot of like biblical theology people that are ready to just crawl through the screen and strangle me for saying that. But this is such a glorious picture of, of regeneration too. [00:39:16] The Journey Back to the Father [00:39:16] Tony Arsenal: Like he comes to himself, there's nothing, there's nothing in the story that's like, oh, and the servant that he was, the other servant he was talking to mentioned that the famine, like there's nothing here that should prompt him to want to go back to his home, to think that his father could or would do anything about it, except that he comes to himself. He just comes to the realization that his father is a good man and is wise and has resources, and has takes care of his, of his servants on top of how he takes care of his sons. That is a picture of regeneration. There's no, yeah. Logical, like I'm thinking my way into it, he just one day realizes how much, how many of my father's servants have more than enough bread. Right. But I'm perishing here in this, this foolish other country with nothing. Right. I can't even, and the, the pods that the pigs ate, we can even, we can get into the pods a little bit here, but like. He wants to eat the pods. The pods that he's giving the pigs are not something that's even edible to humans. He's that destitute, that he's willing to eat these pods that are like, this is the leftover stuff that you throw to the pigs because no, no, nobody and nothing else can actually eat it. And that's the state he's in at the very bottom, in the very end of himself where he realizes my father is good and he loves me, and even if I can never be his son again, surely he'll take care of me. I mentioned it last week, like he wasn't going back thinking that this was gonna be a failing proposition. He went back because he knew or he, he was confident that his father was going to be able to take care of him and would accept him back. Right. Otherwise, what would be the point of going back? It wasn't like a, it wasn't like a, um, a mission he expected to fail at. He expected there to be a positive outcome or he wouldn't have done it. Like, it wouldn't make any sense to try that if there wasn't the hope of some sort of realistic option.  [00:41:09] Jesse Schwamb: And I think his confidence in that option, as you were saying, is in this way where he's constructed a transaction. Yeah. That he's gonna go back and say, if you'll just take me out as a slave, I know you have slaves, I will work for you. Right. Therefore, I feel confident that you'll accept me under those terms because I'll humble myself. And why would you not want to remunerate? Me for the work that I put forward. So you're right, like it's, it's strange that he basically comes to this, I think, sense that slavery exists in his life and who would he rather be the slave of,  [00:41:38] Tony Arsenal: right? [00:41:39] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. And so he says, listen, I'm gonna come to the father and give him this offer. And I'm very confident that given that offer and his behavior, what I know about how he treats his other slaves, that he will hire me back because there's work to do. And therefore, as a result of the work I put forward, he will take care of me. How much of like contemporary theology is being preached in that very way right now?  [00:41:58] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:41:59] Jesse Schwamb: And that's really like why the minimum wages of sin is all of this stuff. It's death. It's the consequences that we're speaking about here. By the way, the idea about famine is really interesting. I hadn't thought about that. It is interesting, again, that sin casts him out into this foreign place where the famine occurs. And that famine is the beginning of his realization of the true destruction, really how far he's devolved and degraded in his person and in his relationships and in his current states. And then of course, the Bible is replete with references and God moving through famine. And whereas in Genesis, we have a local famine, essentially casting Joseph brothers into a foreign land to be freed and to be saved.  [00:42:39] Tony Arsenal: Right.  [00:42:40] Jesse Schwamb: We have the exact opposite, which is really kind of interesting. Yeah. So we probably should talk about, you know, verse 15 and the, and the pig stuff. I mean, I think the obvious statement here is that. It would be scandalous, like a Jewish hero would certainly feel the shame of the pigs. They represent UNC cleanliness and social humiliation. I'm interested again, in, in this idea, like you've started us on that the freedom that this younger brother sought for becomes slavery. It's kind of bondage of the wills style. Yeah. Stuff. There's like an, an attentiveness in the story to the degrading reversal in his condition. And it is interesting that we get there finally, like the bottom of the pit maybe, or the barrel is like you said, the pods, which it's a bit like looking at Tide pods and being like, these are delicious. I wish I could just eat these. So I, I think your point isn't lost. Like it's not just that like he looked at something gross and was so his stomach was grumbling so much that he might find something in there that he would find palatable. It, it's more than that. It's like this is just total nonsense. It, this is Romans one. [00:43:45] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And these pods, like, these aren't, um, you know, I guess I, I don't know exactly what these are. I'm sure somebody has done all of the historical linguistic studies, but the Greek word is related to the, the word for keratin. So like the, the same, the same root word. And we have to be careful not to define a Greek word based on how we use it. That's a reverse etymology fallacy. Like dunamis doesn't mean dynamite, it's the other direction. But the Greek word is used in other places, in Greek literature to describe like the horns of rhinoc, like,  [00:44:21] Jesse Schwamb: right,  [00:44:21] Tony Arsenal: this, these aren't like. These aren't pea pods. I've heard this described like these are like little vegetable pods. No, this is like they're throwing pieces of bone to the pigs.  [00:44:31] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:44:31] Tony Arsenal: And the pigs, the pigs can manage it. And this is what this also like, reinforces how destitute and how deep the famine is. Like this isn't as though, like this is the normal food you give to pigs. Like usually you feed pigs, like you feed pigs, like the extra scraps from your table and like other kinds of like agricultural waste. These are, these are like chunks of bony keratin that are being fed to the pigs. So that's how terrible the famine is that not even the pigs are able to get food.  [00:45:00] Jesse Schwamb: Right?  [00:45:00] Tony Arsenal: They're given things that are basically inedible, but the pigs can manage it. And this, this kid is so hungry, he's so destitute that he says, man, I wish I could chew on those bony, those bony pods that I'm feeding them because that's how hungry and starved I am. You get the picture that this, um. This lost son is actually probably not just metaphorically on the brink of death, but he's in real risk of starvation, real risk of death that he, he can't even steal. He can't even steal from the pigs what they're eating, right? Like he can't even, he can't even glean off of what the pigs are eating just to stay alive. He, he's literally in a position where he has no hope of actually rescuing himself. The only thing that he can do, and this is the realization he has, the only thing he can do is throw himself back on the mercy of his father.  [00:45:50] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:45:50] Tony Arsenal: right. And, and hope, again, I think hope with confidence, but hope that his father will show mercy on him and his, his conception. I wanna be careful in this parable not to, I, I think there's something to what you're getting at or kinda what you're hinting at, that like his conception of mercy is. Not the full picture of the gospel. Yes. His conception of mercy is that he's going to be able to go and work and be rewarded for his laborers in a way that he can survive. And the gospel is so much broader and so much bigger than that. But at the same time, I think it's, it's actually also a confident hope, a faith-filled hope that his father's mercy is going to rescue him, is going to save him. So it is this picture of what we do. And, and I think, I think sometimes, um, I want to be careful how we say this 'cause I don't wanna, I don't want to get a bunch of angry emails and letters, but I think sometimes we, um, we make salvation too much of a theology test. And there's probably people that are like, Tony, did you really just say that? I think there are people who trust in the Lord Jesus thinking that that means something akin to what. This lost son thinks  [00:47:03] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:03] Tony Arsenal: Exactly. They trust. They trust that Jesus is merciful and, and I'm not necessarily thinking of Roman Catholics. I'm not thinking of Roman Catholic theology for sure. I do think there are a fair number of Roman Catholic individuals that fall into this category where they trust Jesus to save them. Right. They just don't fully understand exactly what Jesus means, what that means for them to be saved. They think that Christ is a savior who will provide a way for them to be saved by His grace that requires them to contribute something to it. Arminians fall into that category. Right. I actually think, and I, I think there's gonna be if, if there's, if the one Lutheran who listens to our show hears this is gonna be mad, but I actually think Lutheran theology kind of falls into this in a sort of negative fashion in that you have to not resist grace in order to be saved. So I think. That is something we should grapple with is that there are people who fit into that category, but this is still a faith-filled, hope-filled confidence in the mercy of the father in this parable that he's even willing to make the journey back. Right? This isn't like right, he walks from his house down the street or from the other side of town. He's wandering back from a far country. He, he went into a far country. He has to come back from a far country. And yes, the father greets him from afar and sees him from afar. But we're not talking about like from a far country. Like he sees him coming down the road, it, he has to travel to him, and this is a picture of. The hope and the faith that we have to have to return to God, to throw ourselves on the mercy of Christ, trusting that he has our best interest in mind, that he has died for us, and that it is for us. Right? There's the, the knowledge of what Christ has done, and then there's the ascent to the truth of it. And then the final part of faith is the confidence or the, the faith in trust in the fact that, that is for me as well, right? This, this is a picture of that right here. I, I don't know why we thought we were gonna get through the whole thing in one week, Jesse. We're gonna spend at least two weeks on this lost son, or at least part of the second week here. But he, this is, this is also like a picture of faith. This is why I say this as like a systematic theology lesson on soteriology all packed into here. Because not only do we have, like what is repentance and or what does regeneration look like? It's coming to himself. What does repentance look like? Yes. Turning from your sins and coming back. What is, what is the orde solis? Well, there's a whole, there's a whole thing in here. What is the definition of faith? Well, he knows that his father is good. That he has more than enough food for his servants. He, uh, is willing to acknowledge the truth of that, and he's willing to trust in that, in that he's willing to walk back from a far country in order to lay claim to that or to try to lay claim to it. That's a picture of faith right there, just in all three parts. Right. It's, it's really quite amazing how, how in depth this parable goes on this stuff,  [00:49:54] Jesse Schwamb: right? Yeah. It's wild to note that as he comes to himself, he's still working. Yeah, in that far off country. So this shows again that sin is this cruel master. He hits the bottom, he wants the animal food, but he's still unfed. And this is all the while again, he has some kind of arrangement where he is trying to work his way out of that and he sees the desperation. And so I'm with you, you know, before coming to Christ, A person really, I think must come to themselves and that really is like to say they need to have a sober self-knowledge under God, right? Yeah. Which is, as we said before, like all this talk about, well Jesus is the answer. We better be sure what the question is. And that question is who am I before God? And this is why, of course, you have to have the law and gospel, or you have to have the the bad news before you can have the good news. And really, there's all of this bad news that's delivered here and this repentance, like you've been saying, it's not just mere regret, we know this. It's a turning, it's a reorientation back to the father. He says, I will arise and go to my father. So yeah, also it demonstrates to me. When we do come to ourselves when there's a sober self-knowledge under God, there is a true working out of salvation that necessarily requires and results in some kind of action, right? And that is the mortification of sin that is moving toward God again, under his power and direction of the Holy Spirit. But still there is some kind of movement on our part. And so that I think is what leads then in verse 19, as you're saying, the son and I do love this 'cause I think this goes right back to like the true hope that he has, even though it might be slightly corrupted or slightly wa

(1:48) Bible Study: Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 (6:56) Why is today a day special to St Joseph? (13:53) Ground Hog Day and Candlemas connection? Letters: Why was Jesus chastised for our sins? What is the Traditional Latin Mas and the Mass that is in English? Father answers these and other question send him a letter at simon@relevantradio.com (24:00) Break 1 (25:16) Word of the Day - "Blessed: Phones: (35:34) Joseph - Could you explain Chakras and what is wrong with them? (40:20) Regina - are the first and last Beatitude are in the present tense and the rest are in the future? (44:25) Fr. Simon sings and plays the song "Ground Hog"

Father teaches us that because Jesus became man we all have a great dignity.

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, the focus turns to John 6:38–39, where Jesus раскрыs the harmony between the Father's saving purpose and the believer's response of faith. Christ declares that He came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father—who gives, draws, and secures all who come to the Son. This passage holds together God's sovereign plan to save through Christ and the human call to believe, showing that none who truly come are lost. Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore how the Father's intent to save is accomplished in the Son, how belief is the means of entering that salvation, and why Christ's promise to lose none brings deep assurance to every genuine believer. Lesson 20-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, the focus turns to John 6:38–39, where Jesus раскрыs the harmony between the Father's saving purpose and the believer's response of faith. Christ declares that He came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father—who gives, draws, and secures all who come to the Son. This passage holds together God's sovereign plan to save through Christ and the human call to believe, showing that none who truly come are lost. Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore how the Father's intent to save is accomplished in the Son, how belief is the means of entering that salvation, and why Christ's promise to lose none brings deep assurance to every genuine believer. Lesson 20-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Today I share a new perspective on a familiar Christian anthem — Carrie Underwood's “Jesus Take the Wheel” — this is a fresh, Kingdom-centered perspective that may surprise you.“Jesus taking the wheel” isn't actually how God relates to us. God doesn't want to hijack our lives or override our free will — He invites partnership, not passivity.Imagine your life as a car journey:God is not interested in forcefully kicking you out of the driver's seat.He is a gentle, loving Father who waits to be invited into the car.Once invited, He becomes the wisest, most trustworthy co-pilot — speaking, guiding, and directing your path.As Proverbs 3:6 (EASY) reminds us:“Whatever you are doing, remember that the Lord is with you. Then he will show you the right way to go.”This is the posture of a yielded life — not a surrendered steering wheel, but an open heart that listens, responds, and obeys.Sis, connect with God's guidance to a GPS system:When we make a wrong turn, the GPS doesn't shame us or shut down.It simply reroutes us.In the same way, God doesn't condemn — He gently, calmly, and lovingly redirects.Isaiah 55 reminds us that God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours — which is why we need His voice to help us navigate life's roads.God gave you free will on purpose.He wants you to choose Him, not be forced.His goal isn't control — it's companionship and guidance.Learning to hear His voice clearly is the key to staying on the path He has marked out for you.God is not harsh or pushy — He is a gentle Father enjoying the ride with His beloved daughter.God is not as a demanding taskmaster, but a loving Daddy on a peaceful Sunday drive — present, attentive, and delighting in you.If you want to grow in your ability to hear God's voice more clearly, yield to His loving direction, and truly enjoy the ride of your life with Him in the passenger seat — DM me on Instagram for information about coaching opportunities. Click hereThe 40 day journey begins next week and I would love to sojourn with you! I'm here to help you grow in wisdom and flow in the power of the Holy Spirit so you can live an abundant life and prosper in every way.

Father Christopher Mahar earned a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy from Providence College in 2000 and subsequently completed his Bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2003. He was ordained a deacon in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 2003 and a priest in the Diocese of Providence in 2004. He currently serves as Pastor at St. Augustine Church in Providence, Rhode Island.  In Today's Show: Father Mahar's debut! What's the role of work in our salvation as Catholics? What is a spiritual director? What is the point of the final judgment? If someone is infertile, can they still get married? ​​Are the blessings in the Book of Blessing used by the priest in the Ordinary Form effective? What is the point of a flying novena? What is sacrificed during Holy Mass? Should Catholics be reading books written by Protestants? ​​Is there any way to affirm the Filioque biblically? Are there any mortal sins that are unknown to most? And more. Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Matthew - The King has Come "The Chosen Servant: Gentle Grace & Global Glory" (Matthew 12:15-21) In this episode of the McGregor Podcast, Russell Howard unpacks Matthew 12:15-21, exploring Jesus as the Chosen Servant who embodies gentle grace and brings global glory. Discover how Jesus navigated conflict, extended compassion to the hurting, and sought to fulfill the Father's will above all. Russell Howard challenges listeners to reflect Christ's patience, faithfulness, and gentleness in their own lives. Tune in for practical applications and encouragement to trust God's sovereign and gracious purposes, even in the midst of life's trials. Sermon Notes February 1, 2026 Russell Howard • Lead Pastor   Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026 Visit Our Website at McGregorPodcast.com

ACOFAE Podcast Presents: Bitten: “Never date a guy who's like your father.” ACOFAE realized that it's National Werewolf Day this week and figured, why not?! Why not throw it back to one of Laura Marie's very first werewolf books, very first thrifted book, and first book where everyone is 30+. That's right, everyone here in Kelly Armstrong's Bitten is over 30 and loves being a werewolf. Elena had to come around to it, but she also loves being a werewolf. It's the pack, and her ex fiancé, that are the issue. Instincts are hard to fight though and Elena is finding life away from the pack to be stifling, so when a series of crimes calls her back to her old life how can she resist? Join ACOFAE as they delight in supernatural creatures actually liking themselves while trying to solve a mystery, and cackle at Elena forgetting to call her current boyfriend. Priorities. The call of the wild and all that. Beg. TW / CW: discussions surrounding sexual assault For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/ Spoilers: Bitten by Kelly Armstrong Mentions: Am Obvious Enchantment, Blood and Chocolate, Heated Rivalry, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Doctor Who, The Magicians, The Pitt, From Blood and Ash, Arrow of Fortune *Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks! TikTok: ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie ( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura) ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica) Instagram: @ACOFAEpodcast https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/ @ACOFAELaura https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

For the last few weeks, we have been in our series The Way of Jesus. Throughout this series, we've explored what it truly means to be a disciple—a follower of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that we are “truly His disciples if we hold to His teachings,” and together we have been examining what those teachings are. What does it mean to develop a life that follows after Him? What rhythms and practices must I put in place to help me become a better disciple to my Savior? This episode, as we close out our series, Pastor Lydia Miller takes us back to the very beginning. Because often, when we lean into disciplines, practices, and rhythms of the Christian life, it can be easy to fall back into the idea that these disciplines and practices contribute something to the salvation we receive from our Father. This week, we are going to study the final phrase of the scripture we have looked at each week: "... and the truth will set you free." Together, we will discover how we lean into the true freedom we have in the sacrifice of Jesus and the grace of God.--WebsiteFacebookInstagramSunday SetlistSunnybrook App (ios)Sunnybrook App (Google)Connect with us!How can we prayer for you? Let us know.

Erik Larson, President and CEO of New Covenant Missions, joins the conversation to share how God invited him to leave a stable, successful career in the restaurant industry for a life shaped by obedience and global missions. Raised in a Christian home, Erik experienced seasons of both closeness and distance from Christ before God used disruption, restlessness, and a growing burden for the unreached to redirect his life. What began as contentment in business-as-mission work became a holy invitation to trust God beyond security, leading Erik and his family into indigenous missions across Africa. Through New Covenant Missions, Erik now works to equip and support local church planters who are best positioned to reach their own communities with the gospel. He explains why empowering indigenous leaders, adapting to local cultures, and prioritizing disciple-making are central to sustainable Kingdom impact. The conversation highlights God's work in some of the most difficult and overlooked places, along with the patience, humility, and discernment required to steward resources wisely and faithfully. Listen to this episode to reflect on how God may be inviting you to say yes, trust Him deeply, and join His work beyond your comfort. Major Topics Include: Invitation versus obligation in God's calling A unique approach for each culture Contrasting discipleship-making and Church-planting movements Working with “Pauls” and “Timothys” Opening hearts through physical needs The balance of missions and charity The blessing and challenge of a communal mindset Emerging strategies in missions Partnering for Global Impact Getting ready for the Holy Spirit's move QUOTES TO REMEMBER “God radically disturbed my life.” “The biggest injustice in the world is that there are still people living out there who have no access to Jesus, and we've got to change that.” “I felt God say, ‘We're going to raise up multitudes of indigenous leaders to reach the nations.'” “The people best positioned to reach their communities are the people who already live there.” “What we really want to do is find the people that already have the heart and the passion for the Great Commission and then be the gasoline to their fire.” “We're not there to build something for them. We're there to empower what God is already doing through them.” “I like to say they're born pregnant. As soon as they become believers, we're training them to make disciples.” “Mission is making disciples who make disciples, not just doing good things in the name of Christ.” “I believe at the route we're going now that by 2050, we could see a church in every village of the world and no unreached people left.” “When the Holy Spirit decides to move, it can be the hardest place in the world, and suddenly everything changes.” “God is doing all the work anyway. We just get invited to join Him.” “Just say yes, and God does the rest.” LINKS FROM THE SHOW New Covenant Missions Every Home for Christ Joshua Project (see our interview with Director, Dan Scribner) Jesus Film Project (see our interview with Executive Director Josh Newell) Finishing the Task (see our interview with FTT Global Church Planting Strategist Dan Hitzhusen) ACHIEVE Alliance BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW Acts 16:9 | Macedonian Call   And a vision appeared to Paul in the night, a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.'   Matthew 28:19–20 | The Great Commission   Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.   Acts 16:31–33 | Household Faith   Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.   John 17:21 | Unity in Mission   That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. TAKE A STEP DEEPER On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime.  But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What's that next step look like for me?” That's exactly why we've launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.  Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we've shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step. If you've been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? In today's conversation, Sarah Stenson tells us, “If you want to preach the gospel and help people, you must be sharp and rub salt into their wounds.” This leads to a discussion about the importance of not shying away from naming sin as sin. You need both the Law's accusation and the Gospel's promise to deliver forgiveness. To top it off, it's not up to you as the preacher to deliver the Law and the Gospel. The same word can function on the hearer in both ways. It's up to the Holy Spirit to land that word in your ear and in your heart. CARE OF SOULS - ADDICTIONIn Care of Souls, a special mini-series podcast from Luther House of Study, Lutheran pastors and theologians come together to explore the deeply personal and pastoral task of preaching to and caring for those struggling with life's challenging situations: addiction, death, family disharmony, and more. Rooted in the theology of the cross and the Lutheran tradition of radical grace, this series offers both theological depth and practical guidance for pastors, church workers, and lay leaders.With conversations, real-life stories, and reflections from the front lines of ministry, Care of Souls equips listeners to enter the broken places of addiction not with easy answers, but with the crucified and risen Christ.Because in the end, it's not about fixing people—it's about preaching the Gospel.Listen to Care of Souls wherever you listen to podcasts or on the Luther House website: Care of Souls - AddictionSING TO THE LORD Martin Luther said, "Next to the word of God, the art of music is the greatest treasure in the world." To understand the importance of hymnody in the Lutheran church, Lars Olson and Mason Van Essen sit down with Zachary Brockhoff to discuss the lectionary's hymns, their meaning and history, and how the music preaches the Gospel. 

In this sobering and timely episode of Tent Talk, Nancy shares a prophetic word anchored in Isaiah 4:1–6—revealing what it means for God's presence to cover His house like a canopy of fire, love, and protection. Drawing from personal encounters, decades of walking with Him, and the current stirring in His people, Nancy unpacks the urgency of coming out of defiled independence and into true oneness with Christ. This is not a call to tidy up ministry platforms, but to return to the bullseye: God Himself. As the tent of His presence descends, so does the fire that burns away all self-righteousness, and the divine love that marks His sons. You won't leave this episode the same. Thanks for Listening! I hope that after listening to The Tent Talk Podcast, you'll want to start discussions with your team or small group. These resources can help guide your discipleship journey to maturity and destiny with the Father: Episode Notes & Conversation Guide DOWNLOAD HERE https://nancymccready.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/EPISODE-1027-House-In-Order-3.0.pdf LINKS The Devotional Podcast with Nancy McCready https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2hHjwQ_3Qrp1rhbR9nu68wnBtQY0IHzc The Producer's Way School theproducersway.com Nancy's book, From Trauma to Trust www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZML6R3/ JOIN THE CONVERSATION Every journey begins with a conversation, join us on social media to get started! Facebook: www.facebook.com/nbmccready Instagram: www.instagram.com/nbmccready/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@nancymccreadyministries SUBSCRIBE Like what you hear? Subscribe to Tent Talk with Nancy McCready so you don't miss an episode! nancymccready.com/podcast/ ABOUT NANCY MCCREADY Nancy McCready is redefining discipleship across nations, cultures, and denominations. Through Nancy McCready Ministries, she partners with leaders to build deep, transformative discipleship cultures that provoke people to walk in freedom and live as mature sons of the Father. Her powerful message comes from her journey of overcoming abuse, addiction, and self-destruction to walk in true freedom. She now dedicates her life to helping others grow in intimacy with the Father and live unto Him. ABOUT TENT TALK PODCAST Tent Talk with Nancy McCready is a listener-funded podcast dedicated to helping Christians along their journey of a deeper walk with Christ. With the support of donors like you, we are able to help our listeners gain a deeper spiritual understanding and connection with the Father. Thank you for your support of the Tent Talk Podcast! nancymccready.com/giving/ Brought to you by Nancy McCready Ministries nancymccready.com/

https://newsongpeople.com/messages/with-othersPrayer was central to the life of Jesus. He prayed at the most ordinary moments, and at the most critical ones. He prayed with Scripture, He prayed alone, He prayed with friends, He prayed for His enemies, and He surrendered Himself to the will of the Father in prayer.In this series, we're going to look at the prayer life of Jesus. We'll listen as He teaches us how to pray, and we'll follow His example in the way He prayed.As we pray like Jesus, we'll grow in our relationship with the Father, our dependence on the Spirit, and our alignment with His mission.

The woodpecker's tongue can stretch from three to five times its normal length in order to fish bugs out of trees. You would think that his tongue would have to be rooted in his tail to do that neat trick! This beautiful creation in which we live is not only filled with testimonies to the wisdom of God. It is also filled with special designs that deny the possibility that life in all its complexity developed entirely by chance.Consider the woodpecker. Incredibly, the woodpecker's tongue is rooted in his right nostril. Exiting the back of the nostril, his tongue spits into two parts, wrapping around his head between his skull and the skin, passing on either side of the neck bones, and then coming up through his lower jaw or beak. This gives the woodpecker a long enough tongue to stretch it out far enough to do an effective job of pest control on bug-infested trees!Now, how could this happen by blind evolutionary chance? Even evolutionists admit that it's silly to suggest that the woodpecker's tongue gradually got longer over thousands of year and began to grow under his skin. As one evolutionary scientist said about the woodpecker's tongue, "There are certain anatomical features which just cannot be explained by gradual mutations over millions of years. Just between you and me, I have to get God into the act too sometimes."Why wait to call on God as a last resort? Let's begin with our wonderful Creator!Deuteronomy 4:28"'And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hand, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.'"Prayer: Dear heavenly Father; through the instruction of Your Word and the guidance of Your Spirit, help me to be different from those around me who think that the creation itself made them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.REF.: Sunderland, Luther D. Miraculous design features in woodpecker. Bible Science Newsletter. Image: Woodpecker on tree, Envato. + Dendrocopos major skull, Jimfbleak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia Commons. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1232/29?v=20251111

Send us a text****Read the Bible in a Year with me in 2026 right here on the podcast!***Bible Verses of the Week: Isaiah 53:4-6Welcome to the podcast Move Forth With Grace!  We will be reading the entire Bible in a year.  This is such a perfect way to get into God's Word each day and to develop your own relationship with God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ. I am your host Angela and want to first of all say that I am not an expert in Theology or Church History or a Minister and I never will claim to be.  I am a  wife and mother who has been reborn and want to be of service to God in gratitude for calling me back home. Welcome to the Podcast! The Bible that I will be reading from is the McArthur Daily Bible.  It is a New American Standard Bible.Thank you for being here....thank you for becoming less like you and more like Jesus.May you Move Forth with Grace today!Love, Angela Connect with me on social media or send a prayer request to me on my website here:https://campsite.bio/moveforthBible Teachers that I recommend:Mike Winger on https://biblethinker.org/meet-mike/John McArthur on https://www.gty.orgDr. Chuck Missler on www.khouse.orgNancy Missler on www.kingshighway.orgDale Partridge on www.relearn.orgChuck Smith on http://www.pastorchuck.org/RC Sproul Eschatology Playlist:https://youtu.be/n22MRa0P6_I?si=Aw53nQLSteu6T3-ASupport the show

Christians are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” not the “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Catechism explains this distinction by introducing us to the “central mystery of Christian faith and life”: the Trinity. Fr. Mike slows us down to meditate on what God reveals to us concerning his inner life, the very thing that “many prophets and righteous people longed to see… [and] hear.” Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 232-237. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

What happens when the King of Kings gets publicly humiliated — and says nothing?In Matthew 27:27-30, Jesus is stripped, mocked, crowned with thorns, and beaten by Roman soldiers. It's brutal. It's degrading. And it's the scene most of us want to skip over.But this is where we see something we desperately need — the most powerful Being in the universe choosing silence over revenge. He could have destroyed every soldier in that room. He didn't. Not because He was weak. Because He trusted the Father's plan more than His own flesh wanted to fight back.In this episode, Alex and Lokelani walk through what Jesus' response in that moment teaches us about suffering, pride, and what it actually looks like to have real hope — not the kind the world sells you, but the kind that quiets your soul even when everything around you is falling apart.We also dig into Psalm 131 and 1 Peter 2:18-24 to unpack why staying in your lane isn't giving up — it's trusting God with the parts of life you can't control.If you've ever been mocked for your faith, overlooked for doing the right thing, or just felt like the good you're doing isn't being seen — this one is for you.

In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 2:42-47. This week Wes reads Acts 2:42-47 and encourages you to pray how the Spirit would lead you. We spend time praying for the church—that we would be people who reflect the heart of God the Father, have eagerness to fellowship with one another, and be sensitive to those around us in need. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer team, you can do so at https://www.watermark.org/prayerYou can also check out the Join The Journey Jr. Podcast: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/join-the-journey-junior/id1660089898Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6SG7aaE1ZjjFkgB34G8zp3?si=c960a63736904665Check out the Join The Journey Website for today's devotional and more resources!https://www.jointhejourney.com/Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Watermark-Community-Church/author/B0BRYP5MQK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1755623322&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8aeeec3b-6c1c-416d-87ae-5dfbbb6981df

What if following Jesus isn't about learning more—but about leaving what's comfortable? Jesus begins His public ministry not from a place of striving, but from the Father's approval—and then He immediately goes to work. In Matthew 4, we see Jesus fulfill ancient prophecy, bring light into darkness, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is here now, and call ordinary, unlikely people to join Him on a rescue mission for the world. This message challenges us to stop delaying the kingdom, to embody it by pushing back darkness with light, and to respond to Jesus' simple but costly invitation: “Follow Me.” From fishermen dropping their nets to crowds bringing their brokenness to Jesus, we're reminded that discipleship is not a spectator sport—it's a life of obedience, community, and mission. What might Jesus be asking you to lay down so you can take your next step of obedience?

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn't your past but the story you're telling yourself about it?In John 5, Jesus meets a man who's been stuck for 38 years and asks a question that feels almost offensive: “Do you want to get well?” This message digs into how labels, excuses, and a quiet victim mindset can keep us on the mat even when Jesus is standing right in front of us. It's honest about real pain while confronting the patterns that shrink our faith and limit what we believe is possible.This story isn't just about healing legs. It's about healing identity. Jesus doesn't shame the man, but He does challenge him to move. When we stop letting our wounds define us and start trusting what Jesus can do, agency returns, faith grows, and hope comes back online. The Father is still working, and that means you're not finished yet.

Read OnlineWhen the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Luke 2:22–24The Presentation of the Lord reveals two beautiful paradoxes: the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the ritual redemption of Jesus, her firstborn Son. Both actions follow the Law of Moses, yet each unveils a deeper mystery about Christ and His Mother, offering us a mystery to enter and an example to follow.First, we ponder the Blessed Virgin Mary's purification. The Law stated that a woman who gave birth to a son needed ritual purification (cf. Leviticus 12). Yet Mary, being immaculately conceived and preserved entirely from all stain of sin, had no need for purification. Nevertheless, she fulfilled the Law, setting before us a model of perfect humility and obedience. Knowing her own interior purity, she could have objected, but she did not, because she valued obedience to God's law above her own justification. She teaches us that true holiness embraces humble submission over self-assertion. Humility, in its beauty and holiness, always conquers pride's selfishness and self-elevation. Our Blessed Mother knew and lived that.The second paradox is found in Jesus' presentation. The Law required every firstborn son to be presented to the Lord and redeemed in remembrance of the Passover (cf. Exodus 13; Numbers 3 and 18). Yet Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the true High Priest and Spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He needed no redemption, for He is God Himself. Still, Christ was presented in the Temple so that we might be presented with Him to the Father. In His humility, He united Himself to our human nature—without sin—so that we might be truly consecrated to God through Him. Again, virtue wins out, as Christ invites us to share in His humility.The Presentation also foreshadows the other ways Jesus would redeem us through His human life. In His Baptism, though sinless, He submits to a rite of repentance so we might be sanctified through baptism ourselves. In His Passion, though innocent, He suffers for us, paying our debt—a debt we must humbly admit that we cannot repay on our own. In His Resurrection, His humility is crowned with eternal glory, opening the way for us to share in His divine life—if we humble ourselves with Him.Like our Blessed Mother, we are called to submit obediently to God's will, rejecting the pride that tempts us to think we are above certain duties or sacrifices. True holiness embraces sacrifice freely out of love, rather than seeking exemption from it. Even undeserved hardships bear fruit when endured with Christ. True holiness also perceives the beauty of joyful obedience to God's will, rather than asserting our own.Like Jesus, we are called to offer ourselves completely to the Father. As Jesus was ritually offered in the Temple, we must see ourselves in that offering. He was offered for us. By uniting ourselves with Him in His humility, we are redeemed through His offering to the Father. We become children in the Son, received by the Father who accepted Christ's perfect offering. In Him, our offering becomes perfect, and we find our eternal home with the Father. Reflect today on the hidden ways God invites you to imitate these paradoxes. Are there areas where you resist humble obedience, preferring your own will over God's? Are there sacrifices you are tempted to avoid, forgetting that true love embraces the Cross? Offer yourself to the Father with Mary's obedience and Christ's perfect humility so that your life, like theirs, may become a pure offering of love. Most humble Lord, You were obedient to the Father's will in all things. From the mystery of Your Incarnation, to Your humble birth in a cave, Your ritual presentation and redemption in the Temple, and Your sacrificial Death and Resurrection, You acted with perfect holiness, humility, and obedience. Please draw me into Your life—into Your Presentation to the Father, Your Death, and Your Resurrection. Live within me, dear Lord, so that I may live in You, sharing in the glory You desire to bestow. Jesus, I trust in You.  Images via Adobe Stock - Main & FeaturedSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

840 The Cunning Serpent Opposes God, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:1-3 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation NIV Genesis 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" NKJV 3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Reflection on Scripture: I think sometimes when we talk about life we longingly consider how good life would be if Adam and Eve didn't mess everything up. I have heard some commentary on Genesis that says the fall of Adam is not what God intended. I find this a confusing take. God prepared his saving plan since before the formation of the world. Satan did not defeat God on the first real opportunity to do so. Satan is always trying to mess up God's plan but evil will lose. God is sovereign and all powerful. He is the one who placed the tree of Good and Evil in the garden to begin with. He did not place it a thousand miles away. He placed it in the garden. The Forbidden fruit was from the Tree of Good an evil. When Satan comes tempting you, trying to be crafty and derail your plan. Turn away and turn to God, the true source of eternal knowledge of good and evil. He is the one that makes it possible for our eyes to be opened. He opens the eyes of the blind. He takes us from our weakness and teaches us how to love Him. He teaches us how to overcome our sin. He shows us the way back to the Father and it is only through Him. When you are tempted it may seem as though God's plan is breaking down. This is not a failure of God's plan. It is a fulfillment of it. God prepared salvation for you since before your birth and before the creation of the world. God will not fail you. God's plan is never derailed by difficulty. God's plan is never derailed by our sin. God's plan will never fail. That plan includes offering salvation to those who will trust on the holy name of Jesus. Trust in the one who never fails.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod    

What happens when the King of Kings gets publicly humiliated — and says nothing?In Matthew 27:27-30, Jesus is stripped, mocked, crowned with thorns, and beaten by Roman soldiers. It's brutal. It's degrading. And it's the scene most of us want to skip over.But this is where we see something we desperately need — the most powerful Being in the universe choosing silence over revenge. He could have destroyed every soldier in that room. He didn't. Not because He was weak. Because He trusted the Father's plan more than His own flesh wanted to fight back.In this episode, Alex and Lokelani walk through what Jesus' response in that moment teaches us about suffering, pride, and what it actually looks like to have real hope — not the kind the world sells you, but the kind that quiets your soul even when everything around you is falling apart.We also dig into Psalm 131 and 1 Peter 2:18-24 to unpack why staying in your lane isn't giving up — it's trusting God with the parts of life you can't control.If you've ever been mocked for your faith, overlooked for doing the right thing, or just felt like the good you're doing isn't being seen — this one is for you.

This video provides teaching ideas, discussion prompts, and activities to support the Genesis 12-17, Abraham 1-2 lesson in the Come, Follow Me manual.It is designed to serve as a practical resource for teachers, parents, missionaries, and anyone preparing to teach this week's Come, Follow Me lesson.My hope is that these ideas will help simplify your preparation, increase student engagement, and strengthen your confidence as you teach. Lesson Resources and LinksLink to "Inviting Others to Come and Stay" Video:https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2019-04-0030-inviting-others-to-come-and-stay?lang=eng Link to purchase canopic jars: https://amzn.to/3NIT4c7 Link to "Deliverance of Abraham" Video: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0021-deliverance-of-abraham?lang=eng Link to "Book of Jasher" Abraham and his Father story: https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/11.htm Link to "Leave the Party" Video:   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2013-11-0005-leave-the-party?lang=eng Teaching with Power ResourcesFor links to videos, lesson plans, subscriptions, weekly lesson materials, go to www.teachingwithpower.comTo sign up for a Full Old Testament Subscription, go to:  https://www.teachingwithpower.com/product-page/2026-old-testament-bundle-subscription-all-slides-handouts-and-lesson-plansContact: teachingwithpower@gmail.com Credits & NotesMusic provided by the YouTube Audio Library — Dancing StarSome illustrations in this video were generated using Chat GPT AI.Additional Bible illustrations are provided by Sweet Publishing( http://sweetpublishing.com) under the Creative Commons 3.0 Share-Alike License.All other images are in the public domain. DisclaimerThe content of this video reflects my personal insights and teaching ideas. It does not represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This video provides teaching ideas, discussion prompts, and activities to support the Genesis 12-17, Abraham 1-2 lesson in the Come, Follow Me manual.It is designed to serve as a practical resource for teachers, parents, missionaries, and anyone preparing to teach this week's Come, Follow Me lesson.My hope is that these ideas will help simplify your preparation, increase student engagement, and strengthen your confidence as you teach. Lesson Resources and LinksLink to "Inviting Others to Come and Stay" Video:https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2019-04-0030-inviting-others-to-come-and-stay?lang=eng Link to purchase canopic jars: https://amzn.to/3NIT4c7 Link to "Deliverance of Abraham" Video: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0021-deliverance-of-abraham?lang=eng Link to "Book of Jasher" Abraham and his Father story: https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/11.htm Link to "Leave the Party" Video:   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2013-11-0005-leave-the-party?lang=eng Teaching with Power ResourcesFor links to videos, lesson plans, subscriptions, weekly lesson materials, go to www.teachingwithpower.comTo sign up for a Full Old Testament Subscription, go to:  https://www.teachingwithpower.com/product-page/2026-old-testament-bundle-subscription-all-slides-handouts-and-lesson-plansContact: teachingwithpower@gmail.com Credits & NotesMusic provided by the YouTube Audio Library — Dancing StarSome illustrations in this video were generated using Chat GPT AI.Additional Bible illustrations are provided by Sweet Publishing( http://sweetpublishing.com) under the Creative Commons 3.0 Share-Alike License.All other images are in the public domain. DisclaimerThe content of this video reflects my personal insights and teaching ideas. It does not represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Cold Murder of His Father: Do You Have Information? A Case That Still Haunts Los Angeles, California. More than a decade later, the killing of Joseph Gatto remains one of Los Angeles' most haunting unsolved crimes. The Home Invasion that took his life did not just devastate a Family, it reshaped the inner world of his son, former California lawmaker Mike Gatto, and pulled him into a dark, unresolved mystery that continues to demand answers. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. Joseph Gatto was 78 years old, strong, active, and deeply woven into the fabric of his community. Friends believed he would live to be 100. Instead, he died 22 years too soon. Check out his Podcast appearance, and content shared for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and most major podcast platforms. On November 12, 2013, Joseph Gatto was shot inside his Silver Lake Home, a neighborhood often described as one of the safest and most culturally vibrant areas of Los Angeles. The following day, his daughter, arrived for their weekly dinner and made a discovery no family should ever have to endure. After calling out his name, she found her father slumped over his desk on the third floor, dead from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Supporting articles about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin . Silver Lake, once described by Forbes as the “hippest” neighborhood in Los Angeles, is known for its art culture, creativity, and sense of community. Joseph loved it there. A retired art teacher, he had spent decades giving back, teaching high school and college students, selling concessions at Dodger Stadium at night, and creating art as a jewelry maker and author. In 1985, he helped found the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he led the visual arts department. The Cold Murder of His Father: Do You Have Information? A Case That Still Haunts Los Angeles, California. “He was prominent throughout the community and liked by everyone,” friends recalled. To many, the idea that he would be the victim of a violent crime was unthinkable. Yet investigators quickly determined Joseph Gatto had been killed during what appeared to be a Home Invasion robbery. There were no obvious signs of forced entry, but the house had been ransacked and a file cabinet breached. Police later said they were looking for a man seen breaking into cars in the area around the same time, suggesting the murder may have been linked to a local burglary spree. Available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and most major Podcast networks. Despite suspect sketches, extensive media coverage, and a $50,000 reward, the case stalled. Over time, it became what investigators now acknowledge as a cold case. The Cold Murder of His Father: Do You Have Information? “The murder of Joseph Gatto captivated Los Angeles,” said Robert Kovacik, anchor and reporter for NBC Los Angeles. “Many veteran journalists still wonder how and why it happened. The details of this horrible crime and those affected by it continue to fascinate.” At the time of the murder, Mike Gatto was an up-and-coming political figure, serving as a four-term member of the California Legislature representing Los Angeles. He chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, served as Assistant Speaker, and authored several pieces of landmark legislation. Publicly, he was immersed in the world of politics. Privately, his life had been shattered. Mike Gatto has said he believes his father's killer is still out there. Look for The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. That belief, and the frustration of unanswered questions, pulled him into what he describes as the world of noir: wild theories, unyielding detectives, missed connections, and unimaginable violence. Friends, neighbors, and family members wanted justice. Detectives repeatedly told the public the case would be solved. As the years passed, those assurances faded. The impact of the crime eventually found its way onto the page. The Cold Murder of His Father. In his book, "Noir by Necessity: How My Father's Unsolved Murder Took Me to Dark Places", Gatto chronicles the investigation and its toll with unflinching honesty. The book reads like a thriller, but it is rooted in real grief, real clues, and a real system that, in this case, failed to deliver answers. “This is a modern murder mystery,” Gatto has said, “and a candid look at how the dark underbelly of Los Angeles collided with the political world.” The book details every lead, every theory, and every haunting detail Gatto uncovered as he tried to make sense of his father's death. It also explores the psychological cost of living with an unsolved crime, how it reshapes memory, trust, and one's understanding of justice. Available for free on their website and streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and other podcast platforms. Today, the story continues to resonate far beyond Los Angeles. It is discussed across News platforms and shared on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Apple, and Spotify, where true crime audiences continue to ask the same question: Do You Have Information? That question is not rhetorical. Authorities have long maintained that someone knows something. Mike Gatto has continued to push for answers, keeping his father's case in the public eye and urging anyone with knowledge to come forward. The Family still waits for closure. The city still wonders how such a crime could happen in a place that felt so safe. The Cold Murder of His Father. A Case That Still Haunts Los Angeles, California. Joseph Gatto was more than a victim. He was a teacher, an artist, a founder, a father, and a fixture of his community. His death marked the violent intersection of crime, politics, and personal loss, one that forever altered the life of his son. The full interview is available Free on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and excerpts are being shared on Facebook and Instagram as part of a broader dialogue about incarceration, reentry, and personal responsibility. You can find the show on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn, as well as read companion articles and updates on Medium, Blogspot, YouTube, and even IMDB. More than a decade later, The Cold Murder of His Father remains unresolved. And until the truth comes Home, the mystery of Joseph Gatto's death continues to haunt Los Angeles. Mike Gatto's book, "Noir by Necessity: How My Father's Unsolved Murder Took Me to Dark Places", is available now. More information can be found at his website. Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band Dark Horse Flyer. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. The Cold Murder of His Father: Do You Have Information? A Case That Still Haunts Los Angeles, California. Attributions Amazon Project Cold Case Mike Gatto Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.