Podcasts about gentiles

The crowds continue to seek after Jesus as His miraculous healings and exorcisms gain notoriety across the land. It's clear that His power and authority over nature, over sickness, and over demons are a surprising and puzzling sight for those encounter these miracles. They incite fear in those who understand the gravity of His power and they spark hope in those who see His compassion. His teaching comes across as strange, yet authoritative, and His wisdom is unparalleled. The religious leaders grow increasingly angry with Jesus, as he continues to rebuke them openly. Jesus directed his ministry and teachings to the Jews first, then the Gentiles, but when a Gentile mother displays both faith and humility, Jesus commends her and heals her daughter.Mark 5 – 1:11 . Mark 6 – 7:54 . Mark 7 – 17:16 . Psalm 18 – 23:33 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

5 Hours and 37 MinutesPG-13This is the complete audio of Pete reading and commenting on Maurice Samuel's 1924 book "You Gentiles."You Gentiles by Maurice SamuelPromo code peteq for 5% offPete and Thomas777 'At the Movies'Support Pete on His WebsitePete's PatreonPete's Substack Pete's SubscribestarPete's GUMROADPete's VenmoPete's Buy Me a CoffeePete on FacebookPete on TwitterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-pete-quinones-show--6071361/support.

Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts and Brad East talk with Dr. Jason Staples about his book 'Paul and the Resurrection of Israel.' The discussion explores the themes of restoration eschatology, the role of Gentiles in Paul's theology, and the nature of Israel's restoration. Staples argues that Paul's understanding of Israel is broader than just ethnic Jews, emphasizing the inclusion of Gentiles in the restoration narrative. The conversation also touches on the concept of infectious holiness and the church's role as the assembly of Israel, highlighting the theological implications of these ideas for contemporary Christianity. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership Get 40% of the Baker Book of the Month, Reading The Psalms As Scripture by James Hamilton and Matthew Damico, by using the promo code MEREFIDELITY at checkout. Get the book here: https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781683597766_reading-the-psalms-as-scripture — 00:00 Introduction to the Conversation   01:30 Not All Israelites Are Jews   09:47 Restoration Eschatology Explained   18:00 They're ALL Coming Back   26:08 Infectious Holiness   30:28 Reassimilation of the Other Tribes   40:15 Symphonic Gospels   47:27 The Transformation of Jews and Gentiles   01:02:51 Cut Off and Grafted In   01:09:13 Nations Qua Nations  

Galatians 1:11-13, 15-24 - For I would have you know, brothers, that the Gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. … But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

The Word of the Day with Rene' Holaday for Wednesday, 1-21-26: Romans 10: 1-21(71625) "Israel Needs the Gospel!"  No kidding!  We are approaching the time of the fullness of the Gentiles, therefore, Israel needs the gospel in full force ASAP! Come and join me for a review of this chapter from July 16th, 2025!

Every day, you make decisions about whether you will stand for Christ or not. In how we live our lives, the choices we make, the attitudes we portray, and the words we say, we are telling others that we stand for Christ, or we are communicating that we do not stand with him.Main Points:1. Jesus knew we would face a strong temptation to hide our light. When we are open and public about our testimony for Christ, it draws attention to us. We face potential rejection, scorn, and persecution. No one wants to experience such things. It's so much easier to keep our faith and our testimony hidden. After all, isn't faith in God supposed to be a personal, private matter?2. Unfortunately, this is a lie we have come to believe. Satan wants your voice to be silenced. If you can be intimated to keep your witness for Christ quiet, then that is the temptation you will face. 3. Today you'll have an opportunity to stand for God. In a conversation, at your office, with your family, or on social media, there will be a moment of decision. Choose to speak up. Choose to be identified with Christ. Don't hide your witness. You can stand for Christ, but do it in a way that is gentle and respectful.Today's Scripture Verses:Isaiah 7:9 - “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”Matthew 5:15 - “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”Romans 1:16 - “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”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

Share a commentStart with the claim many never hear in church: Christianity does not ask you to turn off your brain. We walk through Luke's opening lines to show how a Gentile physician set out to build certainty, not wishful thinking—an orderly account anchored in eyewitness testimony, historical markers, and the patient rigor of a doctor who performs an “autopsy” on the facts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.From there, we drop into the harsh days of Herod the Great, where politics are brutal and religion is corrupt. In that setting, a country priest named Zechariah receives a once-in-a-lifetime assignment and, at the altar of incense, meets the angel Gabriel. After 400 years of prophetic silence, the message lands with mercy and precision: your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, long past the age of childbearing, will conceive a son—John—whose calling will prepare the way for the Messiah. Personal longing and national hope converge in one promise kept.We talk through doubt and discipline, the difference between asking how in faith and demanding a sign in unbelief, and why Gabriel's answer—I stand in the presence of God—reframes every impossible situation. Along the way, we spotlight Luke's unique voice: the beloved physician who loves details, prizes verification, and uses words like rejoice and praising God more than any other New Testament writer. The takeaway is clear and hard-won: God remains in control when culture sidelines him, God is aware when he seems absent, and God is able when life feels impossible. If this encourages you or challenges your assumptions, share it with a friend, subscribe for future deep dives, and leave a review to help others find the show.Get our magazine and daily devotional: https://www.wisdomonline.org/lp/magazineSupport the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Was salvation through Jesus alone enough, or did Gentile believers need to adopt Jewish customs and Torah observance to be saved? Join Rabbi Schneider as he dives into the pivotal debate of the Jerusalem Council and how it shaped early Christianity.

Share a commentStart with the claim many never hear in church: Christianity does not ask you to turn off your brain. We walk through Luke's opening lines to show how a Gentile physician set out to build certainty, not wishful thinking—an orderly account anchored in eyewitness testimony, historical markers, and the patient rigor of a doctor who performs an “autopsy” on the facts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.From there, we drop into the harsh days of Herod the Great, where politics are brutal and religion is corrupt. In that setting, a country priest named Zechariah receives a once-in-a-lifetime assignment and, at the altar of incense, meets the angel Gabriel. After 400 years of prophetic silence, the message lands with mercy and precision: your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, long past the age of childbearing, will conceive a son—John—whose calling will prepare the way for the Messiah. Personal longing and national hope converge in one promise kept.We talk through doubt and discipline, the difference between asking how in faith and demanding a sign in unbelief, and why Gabriel's answer—I stand in the presence of God—reframes every impossible situation. Along the way, we spotlight Luke's unique voice: the beloved physician who loves details, prizes verification, and uses words like rejoice and praising God more than any other New Testament writer. The takeaway is clear and hard-won: God remains in control when culture sidelines him, God is aware when he seems absent, and God is able when life feels impossible. If this encourages you or challenges your assumptions, share it with a friend, subscribe for future deep dives, and leave a review to help others find the show.Get our magazine and daily devotional: https://www.wisdomonline.org/lp/magazineSupport the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Jesus calls his first disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Dr. Chris Croghan and Lars Olson explain how Matthew's version is unique compared to Mark's version and Luke's version as well as the importance of realizing when Jesus says, “Repent!” and “Follow me!” they're imperatives, they're not optional. Jesus is not waiting for you to answer the call. He's claiming you as His own. 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. 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: Care of Souls - AddictionCOURSES Do you like what you learn in the conversations on Scripture First? Luther House of Study has numerous interactive courses available for free on subjects ranging from the Lutheran Catechism to core Christian beliefs. Visit lutherhouseofstudy.org to see their available courses, create an account to track your progress, and dive deeper into your learning. SING 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. 

Aliens Among Us. The language of “aliens” recurs many, many times through the Torah – compiled and written during the time of Israel's exile to Babylon, many generations after the escape from Egypt. While the imperially conquered Judaism of Jesus's day tended to keep Jewish identity front and center (so that Jesus himself never once ate with a Gentile!), there is a strong minority report in the text about God's care and concern for non-Israelite persons. What does this mean for our own reception of non-citizen immigrants? How does the contemporary church “love the alien as ourselves”? To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Pastor Marshall Ochs | January 18, 2026In this message, Pastor Marshall teaches from Romans 3. In this chapter, Paul explains that both Jews and Gentiles are equally guilty before God: the law reveals sin but cannot save, leaving everyone in need of God's intervention. God resolves this dilemma by sending Jesus to perfectly meet the righteous standard and credit His righteousness to those who believe, making Him both just and the justifier. The passage calls believers to humility and continual dependence on Christ, recognizing our ongoing need for Him not only for salvation but for daily life.

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Belonging to the church will always increase our obligations and decrease our independence. And this is good.”~Megan Hill in A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church  “There in heaven this fountain of love, this eternal three in one, is set open without any obstacle to hinder access to it. There this glorious God is manifested and shines forth in full glory, in beams of love; there the fountain overflows in streams and rivers of love and delight, enough for all to drink at, and to swim in, yea, so as to overflow the world as it were with a deluge of love.” “Love dwells and reigns in every heart in heaven. The heart of God is the original source of divine love, existing inherently, like light in the sun. From God, love flows necessarily towards all inhabitants of heaven.” “That which was in the heart on earth as but a grain of mustard-seed, shall be as a great tree in heaven. The soul that in this world had only a little spark of divine love in it, in heaven shall be, as it were, turned into a bright and ardent flame, like the sun in its fullest brightness, when it has no spot upon it.” “In heaven all shall be united together in very near and dear relations... In heaven all shall have property and ownership in each other.” “[In heaven people] will have no doubt of the love of each other. They shall have no fear that the declarations…of love are hypocritical; but shall be perfectly satisfied of the sincerity and strength of each other's affection, as much as if there were a window in every breast, so that everything in the heart could be seen. There shall be no such thing as flattery…in heaven, but there perfect sincerity shall reign through all and in all. Everyone will be just what he seems to be, and will really have all the love that he seems to have.”~Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in “Heaven Is a World of Love” “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), civil rights activist and Baptist minister “If a person doesn't love the church, they don't love Jesus.”~Voddie Baucham (1969-2025), former Dean of Theology at African Christian University (Zambia) “To dwell in love with saints above— Oh that will be glory! But to dwell below with saints we know— Ah! That's a different story!”~Christopher J.H. Wright, Anglican clergyman and authorSERMON PASSAGE Ephesians 2:1-3:13 (ESV)Ephesians 2 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached the peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 3 1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Happy 2026! I apologize that it's been a while. You already know the story. Health, a full December and January, etc. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. And for those of you experience sadness during the holidays, my prayers are with you.We are grieving the passing of my father-in-law. He is now resting in Jesus. He was a man of faith and will be missed.Tonight we are reading about the Good News! Salvation for ALL. Whether Jew or Gentile. Through a vision, God explains that all men are equal and have access to His beautiful free gift. If you have not already asked Jesus and the Holy Spirit into your heart, it only takes a quick, small prayer. "Lord, I accept your free gift of salvation. Please come into my heart and rule over my life. Amen." He is waiting to hear from you.We are reading Acts 9:32 through 11.If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like toshow your support with a $1 donation, please go to paypal.me/hcharltoncrespin. For Venmo, please use @Heather-C-Crespin. 10% of any donations I receive goes tothe church. Don't forget to Like and Subscribe on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@BedtimeBibleStoriesforAdults 15% off ClevrBlends Sleeptime Latte and other coffee: https://www.clevrblends.com/discount/BLONDE15?rfsn=6713548.9b6046f Cozy Earth Bamboo Pajamas and Loungewear 20% off! Use code: HEATHERChttps://cozyearth.com/heatherc

And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.Acts 15:3–6 KJ2000

Saturday, 17 January 2026   And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. Matthew 15:39   Note: You can listen to today's commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)   You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).   “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala” (CG).   In the previous verse, it was noted that there were four thousand men, besides women and children, who comprised the multitudes Jesus fed. With that portion of the narrative complete, and to close out the chapter, Matthew next notes, “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat.”   They have been on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. With this cycle of attending to a Gentile woman in the allotments of Tyre and Sidon noted, followed by a time in the Gentile-led eastern regions near the Decapolis completed, He got into a boat, “and He came to the borders of Magdala.”   This is a location not named this way anywhere else in Scripture. Some manuscripts note the location as Magadan, meaning Megiddo, but that is incorrect based on Matthew 16:5, which notes they are still in the region of the lake. Rather, the town Magdala in Hebrew is Migdal-el, Tower of God, a city of Naphtali recorded in Joshua 19:38.   This is also known as Al-Majdal (Mejdel) on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. Mark 8:10 notes that when they got in the boat, they came to the allotments of Dalmanutha. Saying it this way, there is no contradiction to be found. Just as Jesus went to the “allotments” of Tyre and Sidon, meaning the surrounding areas, in Matthew 15:21, so they went to Magdala in the allotments, meaning the surrounding areas, of Dalmanutha.   Life application: Chapter 15 of Matthew gives a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture. The verses, though literally occurring at the time of Jesus, point to truths after the completion of Jesus' ministry. The New Covenant is now what God is doing in the world. Israel as a whole, however, rejected that.   Though they no longer observe the Law of Moses, they remain bound to it. During this dispensation, they are spiritually led by rabbis, both in their writings in the Talmud as well as in their cultural and religious life.   These are reflected by the scribes and Pharisees who came from Jerusalem (verse 1) to challenge Jesus. Paul explains in Galatians 4:21-31 that the earthly Jerusalem reflects them and their teaching. The main point for now says –   “But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:23-26   In verses 2-9, Jesus explains the state of Israel at this time, living by the laws of men rather than by the law of God. After the introduction of the New Covenant, the law of God is not the Law of Moses. Rather, that is fulfilled.   At this time, religious Israel draws near to the Lord with their lips, but their hearts, because of their rejection of Jesus, are far away from Him.   In verse 11, Jesus stated that what goes into the mouth does not defile. Rather, what comes out of it does. Though that was a truth concerning the traditions of these elders, it is a truth that is spiritually seen in Israel to this day. They refuse to proclaim Jesus.   This is their defilement. But what does Paul say concerning this? In Romans 10, he says –   “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13   The only thing that can cleanse a person from sin is Jesus. Anything else, meaning any other proclamation, defiles that person. As such, Jesus says in verse 14 to let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind, and both will fall into a pit.   In verse 15, Jesus reexplained to dull Peter (later, the Apostle to the Jews) the matter of the heart and what it is that causes defilement. While Israel remains in their state of defilement because of their oral proclamations, something else takes place. This is seen in verse 21, where Jesus “went out from there,” meaning from the Jewish people to the allotments of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile area.   Tyre (Hebrew: Tsor) signifies Rock. While Israel abandoned their Rock, the Gentiles received Him. That this is speaking of Christ is seen, for example, in Deuteronomy 32:32, where it says, “For their rock is not like our Rock.” There are those who are confident in their rock (tsur), and yet their rock is not the Lord who is the Rock (tsur).   Sidon (Hebrew: Tsidon) signifies Fishery. It is a place for catching fish. Everyone is like a fish. When Jesus said to Simon and Andrew that they would be fishers of men, He meant that men are like fish to be caught.   While in this area (verse 22), a Canaanite woman came to Jesus and begged for compassion for her demon-possessed daughter. Canaan signifies Humbled, Humiliated, or even Subdued. She pictures those of faith who have humbled themselves before the word of Christ.   The issue is the daughter. In Scripture, a son or a daughter is representative of the state of something. A “son of death,” for example, is a person deserving of death. That is his state. A daughter, in this case, is the state of a group of people, such as “daughter of Jerusalem,” “daughter of Tarshish,” etc. What is the state of the Daughter of the Humbled who are also Gentiles?   Jesus said in verse 24 that He had come “if not to the sheep, the ‘having been lost' – House Israel.” Despite there being a New Covenant, with whom was that covenant made? The answer is found in both Jeremiah and Hebrews –   “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 31:31   The early church did not understand that the word was to go to the Gentiles. That is a major subject found in Acts. It is representative of the disciples' comments found previously in verse 23 when they told Jesus to dismiss her.   It literally took an act of God to get them to see that the New Covenant included Gentiles, first with the Ethiopian eunuch and then the house of Cornelius. Jesus' calling, though, to redeem the House of Judah and Israel, is inclusive of the Gentiles of faith, as seen in this account. It is something prophesied in Isaiah 49:6, but which is revealed in typology here.   The woman was told that it wasn't “good to take the children's bread and cast to the puppies.” In the Bible, dogs represent Gentiles. That is seen in the Caleb series of sermons. Caleb, kalev, is from kelev, dog. It is also seen in the account of Gideon and his men, who lapped like dogs, a typological picture dealing with the Gentiles.   The woman didn't argue Jesus' point. Instead, she noted that “even the puppies – he eats from the crumbs, the ‘falling from their master's table.” Jesus thus remarked concerning her great faith, something evidenced in the Gentile world. At that time, it noted the child was cured. Salvation, in fact, is also directed to the Gentiles. They are brought into the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12).   From there, verse 29 said of Jesus that “He went near the Sea of the Galilee, and having ascended to the mountain, He sat there.” The Galilee has previously been explained as “the Liberty.” It is a picture of freedom from sin. As sin stems from a violation of law, it ultimately signifies freedom from law.   A mountain in the Bible represents a lot of something gathered. In typology, it is synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. Though it is only stated in Mark, the last area noted was the Decapolis, a Gentile controlled area.   Thus, this is typologically referring to a large but centralized group (meaning under Jesus) of Gentile people. The Canaanite woman already established that, but this is an extension of the thought, explaining the result of the dispensation of the Gentiles. In other words, “What will happen in the world once it is established that Gentiles are to be included in the New Covenant?”   In verses 30 and 31, multitudes came to Jesus for healing, so many that they were strewn about Him. It is reflective of the broken Gentile world coming to Christ for healing and salvation. As many came, He healed them so that “they glorified the God of Israel.”   As noted at that time, the term is unique in the New Testament. It suggested the presence of Gentiles on the mountain, but it typologically asserts this fact. Paul's ministry literally shouts out the parallel to this thought in Matthew –   “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” Acts 19:11, 12   Was the God of Israel glorified through this? The answer is found in Romans –   “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.'” Romans 15:8, 9   And...   “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Romans 15:18, 19   In verses 32-38, the feeding of the four thousand is recorded. Jesus said they had been with Him three days. In Scripture, three “stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. ... Hence the number three points us to what is real, essential, perfect, substantial, complete, and Divine.” Bullinger   The time these people have been with Jesus speaks of a divine fullness, something reflected in Romans 11:25, “that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” It goes right back to the state of Israel, noted in Matthew 15:14, where the blind are leading the blind.   While Israel is blinded, the blind of the Gentiles (Matthew 15:31) are brought to sight. The miracle of the bread (think of Jesus, the Bread of Life) and fish (a word which signifies “increase” in Hebrew) speaks of the immense harvest. There were seven loaves, the number of spiritual perfection, and a few tiddlers. However, they were enough to feed the multitude of four thousand. The number is a product of four and tens.   Four is the number of material creation, the world number. It speaks of the entirety of the world hearing the gospel, just as Jesus said it would. Ten is the number where nothing is wanting, and the whole cycle is complete. The entire world of the Gentiles will be evangelized before the end comes.   To demonstrate the immense harvest that will be realized in the church age, the baskets of fragments were collected, totaling seven large baskets. Notice the difference from the feeding of the five thousand –   “And they ate all, and they gorged, and they lifted the superabounding pieces – twelve handbaskets full. 21And those eating, they were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”   “And they ate all, and they gorged, and the superabounding of the fragments they lifted – seven hampers full. 38And those eating, they were four thousand men, besides women and children.”   Whereas a remnant of the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the twelve small handbaskets (Greek: kophinos) was collected, there will be an immense harvest of the seven churches (as defined in Revelation 2 & 3), represented by the seven large hampers (Greek: spuris).   The chapter ended with a location only mentioned here in Scripture, saying of Jesus, “And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala.”   The town Magdala in Hebrew is Migdal-el, Tower of God, a city of Naphtali recorded in Joshua 19:38. Migdal El is contrasted to the tower of man, meaning Babel and all that accompanies her. Thus, this is implicitly a picture of the ending of the church age, where believers are delivered from the Babylon of the end times recorded in Revelation.   To understand why these conclusions have been made, one should refer to the descriptions of these locations found in the Old Testament sermons given by the Superior Word. Each location, number, or other reference has been drawn from the information already recorded there. Thus, the typology is not new. It has already been seen and has been reused without change, confirming that this analysis of Matthew 15 is sound.   Lord God, Your word is beyond amazing. It is a lifeline for the soul caught in despair. It is a treasure for the seeker of riches. It is a guide for the path of our lives. And Lord, it is so much more. It is so glorious to enter into its pages and find rest for our souls in the Person of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Thank You for this precious word. Amen. Matthew 15   15 Then they came to Jesus from Jerusalem, scribes and Pharisees, saying, 2“Through what – Your disciples, they sidestep the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they may eat bread.”   3And answering, He said, to them, “Through what – also you, you sidestep the ‘God's commandment' through your tradition? 4For God, He enjoined, saying, ‘You honor your father and your mother,' and the ‘disparaging father or mother,' death – he expires!' 5And you, you say, ‘Whoever, he should say to father or mother, “Gift – whatever if from me you should benefit.”' 6And no, not he should honor his father or his mother. And you invalidated God's commandment through your tradition. 7Hypocrites! Well, Isaiah, he prophesied concerning you, saying,   8‘He neared Me, this people – the mouth, And the lips – he honors Me, And their heart, it distances far from Me. 9And vainly they revere Me,  Teaching instructions – men's injunctions.'”   10And having summoned the crowd, He said to them, “You hear and comprehend! 11Not the ‘entering into the mouth' it profanes the man, but the ‘proceeding from the mouth,' this, it profanes the man.”   12Then His disciples, having come near, they said to Him, “You have known that the Pharisees, having heard the saying, they stumbled!” 13And having answered, He said, “Every planting that not He planted, My heavenly Father, it will be uprooted. 14You leave them! They are blind, blind-conductors. And blind, if they should conduct, both – they will fall into a pit.”   15And Peter, having answered, he said to Him, “You expound to us this parable.”   16And Jesus, He said, “And yet, you, you are unintelligent! 17Not yet you grasp that all, the ‘entering into the mouth,' into the stomach it contains, and into the john it ejects? 18And those proceeding from the mouth, it comes from the heart, and those, it commonizes the man. 19For from the heart, they come: evil meanderings, murders, adulteries, harlotries, thefts, false-witnessings, blasphemies. 20These, they are, the ‘defiling the man,' but to eat with unwashed hands, not it defiles the man.”   21And having departed thence, Jesus, He withdrew to the allotments – Tyre and Sidon. 22And you behold! A Canaanite woman from those same borders, having come, she cried to Him, saying, “You compassionate me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter, she is demon possessed-badly.”   23And He answered not a word.   And having approached, His disciples, they entreated Him, saying, “You dismiss her! For she cries after us.”   24And answering, He said, “Not, I was sent, if not to the sheep, the ‘having been lost' – House Israel.”   25And having come, she worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, You rush-relieve me!”   26And answering, He said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and cast to the puppies.”   27And she said, “Yes, Lord. And even the puppies – he eats from the crumbs, the ‘falling from their master's table.'”   28Then, Jesus answering, He said to her, “O! Woman, your faith is great! It become to you as you determine.” And she's cured, her daughter, from that hour.   29And having departed thence, Jesus, He went near the Sea of the Galilee, and having ascended to the mountain, He sat there. 30And they came to Him, great crowds, having with them lame, cripples, blind, mutes, and others – many, and they strewed them near Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31So too, the crowds marveled, seeing mutes speaking, cripples healthy, lame walking, and blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.   32And Jesus, having summoned His disciples, He said, “I gut-wrench upon the crowd because already three days they bivouac with Me, and naught they have that they may eat. And I wish not to dismiss them unfed, not lest they should collapse in the way.”   33And the disciples, they say to Him, “Whence to us in solitude – loaves so many as to gorge a crowd so vast?”   34And He says to them, Jesus, “How many loaves do you have?”   And they said, “Seven, and a few tiddlers.”   35And He ordered the crowds to sit upon the ground. 36And having taken the seven loaves and the fish, and having thanked, He broke, and He gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. 37And they ate, all, and they gorged, and the superabounding of the fragments they lifted – seven hampers full. 38And those eating, they were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39And having dismissed the crowds, He in-stepped into the boat, and He came to the borders of Magdala.

Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 15 and Ezra For BibleInTen.com - By DH, 17th January 2026 Welcome back to Bible in Ten!     Today, we have another bonus episode as our daily commentary from the Superior Word closes out Matthew Chapter 15. Matthew's Gospel contains 28 chapters, and remarkably, it mirrors the first 28 books of the Old Testament as arranged in the Christian Bible. So in this episode, having concluded our walk through Matthew 15, we'll now look at its fascinating counterpart: Book 15 of the Old Testament-Ezra. Please do check the last episode to see how Chapter 15 of Matthew gives a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture. The verses, though literally occurring at the time of Jesus, point to truths after the completion of Jesus' ministry. Authority from Jerusalem  Matthew 15 opens with scribes and Pharisees coming from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. Jerusalem represents authority still bound to Sinai. Ezra came from Babylon to Jerusalem as a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses. That was necessary then. But Matthew 15 shows what happens after the Law has been fulfilled. The authority remains -  but the life is gone. Paul explains this tension in Galatians: “Jerusalem which now is… is in bondage with her children.” The challenge to Jesus does not come from pagans -   but from Law-bound religion. 2. Tradition Replacing God's Word  In verses 2 through 9,  Jesus exposes the condition of Israel. They honor God with lips, but their hearts are far away. Ezra saw the same problem. Israel had returned from exile. The Temple was rebuilt. But the heart problem remained. Ezra tore his garments and confessed: “After all that has come upon us… should we again break Your commandments?” External obedience never cured internal rebellion. Matthew 15 shows that the problem has hardened. 3. Where Defilement Truly Comes From  Jesus says: “What goes into the mouth does not defile a man, but what comes out of it.” This is more than food. It is proclamation. Israel refuses to confess Jesus. Paul later explains: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart… you will be saved.” Defilement is not ritual failure. It is rejecting the Rock. Ezra spoke of a land defiled by peoples and practices. Jesus reveals the deeper truth - defilement flows from the heart outward. 4. Blind Leaders and Separation  Jesus then says something severe: “Let them alone.” Blind leaders. Blind followers. Ezra enforced physical separation. Jesus declares spiritual separation. Same judgment. Different stage of history. The Law has reached its limit. 5. A Turn Toward the Gentiles  Verse 21 is pivotal. Jesus goes out from there to Tyre and Sidon. Ezra's restoration preserved Israel. Jesus now expands the promise. Tyre means Rock. Sidon means Fishery and fish relates to increase. Israel abandoned their Rock. The nations who receive Him will increase. A Canaanite woman approaches - humbled, persistent, faithful. Ezra allowed Gentiles who separated from uncleanness to join Israel. Jesus reveals the heart of that principle. Faith, not bloodline, is the door. 6. Bread, Crumbs, and Faith Jesus speaks of children's bread. The woman doesn't argue. She trusts. “Even the crumbs are enough.” This is not rebellion against Israel. It is trust in Israel's Messiah. Ezra guarded the holy vessels carefully. Jesus shows that grace is not diminished by sharing. Faith gathers what Law could only preserve. 7. The Mountain and the Multitudes  Jesus ascends a mountain near the Sea of Galilee - Liberty. A great gathering forms. Ezra gathered Israel to restore covenant order. Jesus gathers the nations under Himself. Broken people come. They are healed. And Matthew records something unique: “They glorified the God of Israel.” The Gentiles now do what Israel was called to do. Paul later says: “That the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.” 8. Bread, Fulness, and Preservation  The feeding of the four thousand follows. Three days. Divine fullness. Seven loaves. Spiritual completeness. Four thousand - the world number. Ezra preserved what was holy by careful accounting. Jesus preserves what is holy by abundance. Seven large baskets remain. Nothing is lost. The fullness of the Gentiles comes in while Israel remains partially blinded. 9. Toward the Tower of God The chapter ends with a quiet note. Jesus goes to Magdala - Migdal-El, the Tower of God. Not Babel. Not the tower of man. Ezra ended with restored order. Matthew 15 points toward final deliverance. Ezra shows us what faithfulness under the Law looked like. Matthew 15 shows us what happens when grace takes the field. The Rock rejected by Israel becomes the foundation of the nations. CONCLUSION Ezra supports the typological interpretation of Matthew 15 because it provides the historical “control text” that shows Matthew follows an existing biblical pattern.    The reason Ezra confirms the typological reading of Matthew 15 is that Ezra provides the final Old Covenant pattern.   Matthew typologically provides the New Covenant pattern. In Ezra, Israel is restored to the land, the Law is fully reinstated, scribal authority is established, separation is enforced, and a remnant is preserved - yet the heart problem remains unresolved. Matthew 15 follows that same sequence in order: authority from Jerusalem, Law elevated through tradition, defilement exposed, separation declared, a preserved remnant, and then a movement beyond Israel to the Gentiles. The difference is that what Ezra preserves under the Law, Jesus resolves through Himself. Because Matthew follows Ezra's structure rather than inventing a new one, the typology is not imaginative - it is controlled, historical, and intentional. Matthew 15 is not merely a series of confrontations, healings, and feedings, nor is it simply a lesson about religious hypocrisy or personal faith, as it is often reduced to in casual teaching. Rather, it is also a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture. What Ezra records historically - Israel restored under the Law, preserved through separation, yet still bound by the limitations of Sinai - Jesus reveals prophetically. Matthew 15 walks through that same reality step by step: Jerusalem-based authority bound to tradition, a people near in speech but distant in heart, blindness leading blindness, separation declared, and then a decisive movement outward to the nations. Ezra preserves a remnant under the Law. Jesus gathers a people by grace. Ezra safeguards holiness through consolidation and exclusion. Jesus reveals holiness through mercy, healing, and abundance. Seen together, these chapters show that Matthew 15 is not simply about what happened on a particular day in Galilee, but about what God has been doing in redemptive history from the close of the Old Covenant to the fullness of the New. It is the Law reaching its limit and Christ stepping into that space - not to abolish what came before, but to fulfill it. Matthew 15, read through Ezra, becomes a sweeping retelling of Israel's restoration, its partial blindness, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and the preservation of God's people - all centered on the person of Jesus Christ, the true Rock, the Bread of Life, and the Lord of the harvest. Lord God, we thank You for Your word - holy, faithful, and true. We confess that it is easy to handle Scripture carelessly, to bend it toward our own ideas, or to use it as a tool rather than receive it as a gift. Guard our hearts from pride. Guard us from turning truth into tradition and obedience into self-righteousness. Teach us to read Your word with reverence, to see Christ where You have revealed Him, and to submit ourselves to what You have spoken. May Your grace reach deeper than our habits, deeper than our defenses, and deeper than our fears. And may our lives reflect not just knowledge of Your law, but the transforming mercy found in Jesus Christ our Lord. To Your glory alone. Amen.   Before we close this episode, we want to share something very simple and very personal. The following song was made up and sung by our Gracie when she could barely speak. She created the words herself and sang it from her heart. It's hard to understand in places, and it's certainly not theologically precise - but that's actually part of why it feels so fitting here. In Matthew 15, Jesus reminds us that what truly matters is not polished words, tradition, or perfect expression, but the heart. This little song isn't about getting everything right; it's about love, trust, and a heart turned toward Jesus. So we'll let it stand just as it is - imperfect, sincere, and honest - a small reminder that faith begins in the heart even before it can be explained. >>>> Grace sings “I love you Jesus” >>>> 

We have a temptation to think that if we are living in God's will that we won't suffer, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes, God, in His sovereignty, allows us to go through hardship as a part of his greater purpose. Main Points:1. Sometimes hardship is part of the growth and development of our faith and spiritual growth. Other times hardship is a part of the testimony and ministry God wants to give us.2. God calls us to endure difficulties for his name's sake, knowing that His grace is sufficient and that he will be with us and sustain us through it all.3. Ask God for the strength to endure whatever hardship you are facing so that your testimony for Christ will be evident to others.Today's Scripture Verses:2 Corinthians 11:23-28 - “have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, and I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”2 Timothy 2:3 - “You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”Hebrews 12:2 - “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”2 Timothy 2:10 - “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”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

Your Uncertainty and Fear Lead to Anxiety; About What Are You Anxious, and Have You “let your requests be made known to God”? MESSAGE SUMMARY:  From Philippians 6, Paul tells us: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”. What are you anxious about? If you are in Christ, Jesus tells us to present our request to the Lord. In Matthew 6:6-8, Jesus instructs His followers how to come to God in prayer: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.". If you are in Christ, you can talk to God and present your issues and requests to Him as if He knows nothing about your situation. You must ask God through your regular prayer life and your personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe. What are you anxious about? In Matthew 6:34, Jesus assures His followers that “anxiety” is counterproductive: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, after his loss, you gave Job prosperity, blessing him with twice as much as he had before, but that has not always felt like my experience. Grant me patience. Help me to trust and wait on you, especially in those areas of my life where I have no idea what you are doing, when my hardship will end, or where you are taking me. In Jesus' name, amen.                   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 115). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Evil Ways. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Goodness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 6:31-34; Philippians 4:5-7; Matthew 6:6-8; Psalms 35b:15-28. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “It's About Time: Part 1 – Rebuilding Emotional Reserves” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Welcome to the Podcast of Southwest Bible Fellowship in Tempe, Arizona. WHO ARE WE? • We are a group of people who are committed to living the grace life as set forth by the apostle of the Gentiles, the Apostle Paul. • We come together to study our Bibles, and yes, we believe we have God's perfect Word in the King James Bible. It and it alone is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice! • We do not come together and study our Bibles for the intent of being smarter than others. We understand that knowledge for the sake of knowledge is purely vain and serves no Godly purpose. • We do come together and study our Bibles for the intent of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. (Philippians 3:10) • We do come together and study our Bibles to understand that we have been crucified with Christ; nevertheless we live; yet not us, but Christ liveth in us: and the life which we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. (Galatians 2:20) • We do come together and study our Bibles to understand that because Jesus Christ shed His blood for us and we should not live for ourselves but for Him, who died for us and rose again. (2 Cor. 5:15) • We do not claim to have attained to these lofty goals, but we press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) You can donate to this ministry through www.butnow.org and the PayPal button on the homepage.

In this episode of "Gentiles Only" Orthodox Rabbi Elijah Pinchas introduces his book "The Restoration of All Things: A Gentiles Guide to Geulah." This episode covers an introduction and a larger discussion on Chapter One - Messiah in the Shell Rabbi Elijah Pinchas as the author at Eye to Zion and the Executive Director of Facing Each Other. He is joined on this episode by Altarnate Media President and Cofounder Brad Vazquez, Vice President and Cofounder Seamus McGowan, and Producer and Staff Writer Jeremy Williams. https://www.facingeachother.com/ https://i2zion.com/ https://www.altarnatemedia.com/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKV759RP?binding=paperback&qid=1734385736&sr=8-4&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G26N28JC?binding=hardcover&qid=1768182827&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_thcv https://altarnate-media-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/gentiles-only  

by Elder Chris McCool, Pastor (preached on December 14, 2025) As we began to see yesterday, God turned from the Jews to the Gentiles by grace, and not because of some inherent superiority of the Gentiles. In the same way the Jews were not better than the Gentiles, neither were the Gentiles better than the...

Today,we're starting a new chapter in Ephesians 5 which is about Walking Jesus! Remember,when I started this series in Ephesians, I mentioned that years ago I gave eachof the chapters a subject headline. Ephesians 1 was Knowing Christ. Ifwe're going to live for Christ we must know Christ. We must know Him as ourpersonal Savior. We must know Him also as our Lord and the one who fills uswith His Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2 was Living Christ. If we know Christ,then we should live Christ. Ephesians 3 was Loving Christ. What He wantsmore than anything else is that our sacrifice and service for Him is out oflove.  Ephesians4 that we've been looking at was Talking Christ. We are not to talk andwalk and live as the Gentiles live, but we walk in purity. And that means thatwe talk Christ. Our speech should always be seasoned with grace and seasonedwith salt. We are not to speak and let corrupt words come out of our mouths,but we're to speak that which is good and edifying and building up.  Now,Ephesians 5 is Walking Christ. In this chapter, it is interesting tonote that we see at least three walks we are suppose have. In verses 1-2, weread, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, asChrist also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrificeto God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”  We walk in love. In verse 8, we read, “Foryou were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children oflight.” We are to walk in the light. It speaks of this also because aswe noticed in verse 1, we are dear children of the Lord, we should walk inlight. Then in verses 15-16, we read, “See then that you walk circumspectly,not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Weare also to walk “circumspectly. Which means that we walk carefully. In otherwords, we are walk with wisdom.  Theseare three walks we see in the first part of this chapter. We'll be talkingabout them the next several days. It's so important that we do have a walk thatmatches our talk. If our talk is such that we are saying we're Christians, andtelling others that we're followers of Jesus Christ, then our daily walk, ourpractical walk ought to be there. The first aspect of that walk that Paulmentions is that we walk in love because we're imitators of God as His dearchildren. In these first two verses, Paul then gives us several reasons why weshould walk in this love. This is a walk because Christ loved us and gaveHimself for us. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love”. Since He is love, andwe are His children, we're to walk in that love. Therefore,as we've already read in the previous chapters, because we're in Christ, we arenot to be as the Gentiles, living lewd and wicked and evil lives. We're to bedifferent in our daily walk and life. We also now should walk in love as Christloved us. This is Walking Jesus! We'll get into more detail aboutthat in the next couple days.  Thankyou for your prayers. Pray for the team on their way to India today for safetravels and God's blessings to be upon them. Continue to pray for us. And Ipray you also have a wonderful, wonderful day. God bless!

1 Peter 3:8-17 (ESV)Andrew, Isack, and Edwin discuss Peter's final comments and general instructions for all Christians to live honorably before the Gentiles. These are Peter's instructions for how to wage the "culture war."Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=24043The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who rare turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. [1 hour 2 minutes]

by Elder Chris McCool, Pastor (preached on December 14, 2025) In the last sermon we posted, we dealt with the Jews and jealousy. Today, we turn to the Gentiles and grace. We saw that, because of their unbelief, God turned from the Jews to the Gentiles in His primary dealings under the gospel age. However,...

Galatians 3:26-2926 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Our Election in Christ (3) (audio) David Eells, 1/14/26 I'm going to continue to speak on our election in Christ and how God has chosen Israel, and who Israel is in the New Testament. In (1Co.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Everybody who abides in Christ is going to be made alive, so it's important for us to know what it means to be “in Christ.” Does it mean, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior”? It could be, but it might not be. Some people truly want Jesus to be their Savior. They are truly repenting and believing, while other people are merely parroting words. Did you know that the Bible says salvation and eternal life were not given to you? (Gal.3:16) Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The promise that God gave to Abraham was only to Abraham and Christ. And the promise of eternal life was given to Christ; it was not given to us. The gift of eternal life is in Christ. God didn't give the gift of eternal life into your hand outside of Christ. He gave that gift in Christ and only if you are abiding in Christ do you have that gift. The “once saved, always saved” believers think that they have been given a gift of eternal life which is outside of Christ, but that's not Biblical. (1Jn.5:11) And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The eternal life that God gave us is in Jesus. The only way you can have it is to be in Jesus because the promise wasn't to you, it was to the seed of Abraham, “as of one.” That seed is Christ. (12) He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. Let's face it, some only have religion. Jesus said, (Joh.15:1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. No man is going to pluck you out of Jesus' hand; the Father is the Husbandman and He is the One Who is going to pluck up the plant. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away.... There are people whom we have considered to be Christians who are not Christians. They may have started out with Christ, but they have not come to Him. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch.... He is “cast forth” from where? He is “cast forth” from being in Christ. He said, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away.” If you are bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22,23; Ephesians 5:8-10), you are in Christ and have nothing to worry about. If you are not bearing fruit, it's because you are not abiding in Him. “To abide” means “to endure,” “to persist,” “to continue,” “to remain,” “to be steadfast.” To abide in Christ is to abide in His Word. It is to have ears to hear His Word (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9; Romans 11:8; etc.) (Joh.15:6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and [so] shall ye be my disciples. It's in bearing fruit that you are proven to be a disciple. You can come into Christ, but you won't stay there if you don't bear fruit. (2Jn.9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. The “once saved, always saved” crowd believes that after you step over the line, that's it, but Jesus said that if you don't bear fruit, you are not My disciple and you are going to be cast forth as a branch. The word translated “elect” and the word translated “chosen” are the exact same word. The Greek word eklektos is translated sometimes as “chosen” and sometimes as “elect.” It's many who are called but few who are chosen. Jesus speaks about the man who made it into the marriage feast, but didn't have on the wedding garment. (Mat.22:11) But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: (In Rev 19:8 the wedding garment was “the righteous acts of the saints”, which also represents our fruit.) (12) and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. (13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. Those who are abiding in the Kingdom are the ones who are bearing fruit and are chosen, or eklektos, or “elect.” The elect are all called and once they are saved, they are always going to be saved, but “many are called.” Among the called, there are those who don't bear fruit and there are those who bear fruit. Those who bear fruit are chosen. God said in (Hos.11:1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. You say, “He was talking about Jesus.” No, He was primarily talking about the children of Israel and then it was used of Jesus. He called them out of Egypt and into the wilderness, and then He tried or tested them. Some bore fruit and went into the Promised Land, and those were the elect. Those who died in the wilderness, in type, had been called, but they were not the elect; they were not chosen. (Num.32:11) Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: (12) save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the Lord. Joshua and Caleb bore fruit and were chosen. Here's a good example of this: (Rom.11:26) And so all Israel shall be saved.... Is that all of natural Israel? No, because (Rom.9:27) … If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved. So, who is “all Israel” who is going to be saved? (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. The “branches” that were broken off are the natural Jews who would not believe. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Paul is talking about the Gentiles who are standing in the vine by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. So, where is unconditional eternal security?? (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (23) And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. In the New Testament, “all Israel” is those natural Jews who believe and those Gentiles who are grafted into the vine by their faith. All the people who were broken off for unbelief were not Israel, but all of true spiritual Israel is going to be saved. Look what Paul said about the end of the Jewish Covenant: (Rom.11:5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant (This is speaking of a remnant of Jews.) according to the election of grace. (6) But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. (7) What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. He said a remnant of natural Israel was elect, but Israel as a whole did not obtain grace. The called who were not the elect were hardened and the elect obtained grace because they believed. This was at the end of the Jewish Covenant. Now we are coming to the end of the mostly Gentile Covenant, and today “Israel” is the Gentile church and the few Jews; I.e., all who are “circumcised in heart.” (Rom.11:7) What then? that which the “Israel of God”(As a type of this Church) seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. Is that Scriptural? Yes, because the Bible plainly says that the lukewarm are going to be spewed out of the body (Revelation 3:16) and there will be a great falling away (Revelation 12:4). Pagans can't fall away. Those people who fall away have to have been believers first, or they could not have fallen away, and the Lord is not coming until the falling away comes to purify the Church. (2Th.2:2) To the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand; (3) let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who was reprobated. The same statement can be made of the Gentile era because the elect are going to obtain grace to bear fruit and the rest are going to be hardened. The rest are going to fall away, exactly as Jesus showed in the Parable of the Sower. This should really give you the fear of the Lord. By the faith that God has given us, we are responsible to take God's grace and put it to work in our lives. We are responsible for obeying what we see in the New Testament, not in “Church.” Everybody who abides in the vine, which is Jesus, whether it's the remnant of natural Israel or whether it's the remnant of the Gentiles, is true Israel. And “all Israel” shall be saved because all true Israel is the elect, regardless of race. At the end of the Jewish Covenant, Jesus came to prove who the elect remnant was among the Jews. Jesus said, (Joh.16:21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. (22) And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. Our personal man-child is born to us as the fruit of Christ being manifest through us to the world. All who exercise faith in the promises will bear His fruit, which looks like Him. In these days, the corporate Man-child body, in whom is the full manifestation of Jesus, is coming to prove who the first fruits elect remnant is in the Church, and the Man-child is going to use the same method that Jesus used to bring this nature to the Church. What was Jesus' method? (Mat.13:10) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? In other words, “Why are you saying things to them that are so hard to understand?” (11) And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given.... “Whosoever hath” what? Well, if we go back three verses, we'll find the answer: (9) He that hath ears, let him hear. It's like when something makes perfect sense to you, but when you try to explain it to other people, somehow they just can't understand what you're saying unless they have the gift of faith. You see, Jesus' method for separating the elect from the non-elect was to preach the Word and when He preached the Word, the elect understood because they had ears. (Mat.13:12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given (If you have ears, it's going to be given to you. Sometimes we do not hear the word of the Lord with the respect that we should have. God is speaking.), and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. People who don't have ears to hear are going to lose what understanding they do have. Remember what happened to the servant who was given the one talent? (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants (The Greek word there is doulous and it actually means “bondslaves.”), and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey… (24) And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; (25) and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. (26) But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; (This servant had no ears; his knowledge was false. His Lord did scatter it, to him. He didn't realize that all was given to him by grace. It did not come by their works. Many think they own what they have.) (27) thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest (or fruit). The servant with the one talent didn't bring forth any fruit from what was given to him. The Lord took away the one talent from him and gave it to the servant who had the 10 talents. (Mat.25:28) Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. (29) For unto every one that hath (ears) shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. Again, a person who doesn't bear fruit is not “harkening,” which means “to hear and obey,” unto the voice of the Lord, and even what they do have is going to be taken away from them. Jesus told us, (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. That “sword” separated the righteous from the wicked, and the wicked from their demons. That was a good thing because a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21; 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). (Jer.48:10) Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Now, there are a lot of preachers who are not going to cut anyone with the Word; it's too easy to lose tithes that way and so they aren't going to step on anyone's feet. Your sword is supposed to separate. The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and it divides. (Heb.4:12) For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word divides the carnal from the spiritual. Jesus wasn't trying to explain things to people who didn't have ears to hear. Even if He had given it to them, as we've seen, they could not have kept it. (Luk.13:23) And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, (24) Strive to enter in by the narrow door (Many pass up the narrow door of grace until it is too late.): for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. (25) When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; (26) then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; (27) and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. Well, they were walking with Jesus, but they had not come to Him, just as Judas walked with Him and did miracles and signs but was an unrepentant thief until he couldn't turn back. Jesus warned us (Mat.7:21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. How could they do these miracles if He didn't “know” them? It's because Jesus gave them authority to do those works (Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 9:1). You see, “knowing about” someone is not the same as “knowing” someone. “Knowing you” is like the relationship Adam had with Eve. He knew Eve. This is a personal relationship with the Lord, like a husband knows his wife. “I never knew you” is what Jesus will say about a person who was doing the work of God, but was not giving good ground to the seed. Some people think they surely must be acceptable to God because they are doing the work of God. No, you can do the work of God and yet totally fail in your personal relationship with God. Personally, someone can be a total failure in their life of obedience to God, but they can still go cast out demons and do many mighty works. It's not gifts that open the door to the Kingdom, folks, it's fruit. He said that many are going to seek to enter in, but they will not be able. When the five foolish virgins came to the marriage feast after the door was shut, they called out, (Mat.25:11) … Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Were they Christians? Yes, they were Christians and they did start out and seek to enter in, but they did not bear fruit. In a way, at the end of the Jewish Dispensation, the Lord was getting up to close the door, and Jesus was a part of God closing that door. Though all of those Jews, according to the Old Testament, were Covenant people, all but a remnant were rejected at that time, and God closed the door. Here we are at the end of the Gentile Covenant and the exact same thing is getting ready to happen again, which lets us know that we have to bear fruit. What's the difference between the called who don't bear fruit and the called who do bear fruit? The called who do bear fruit are the elect among the called because they abide in Christ by their faith, and therefore they receive more grace. Those who don't abide in Christ eventually lose even what grace they have. Hopefully, they will return when they receive the greater knowledge that is coming. Grace comes by faith. The only difference between those who bear fruit and those who don't bear fruit is that some walk by faith in the truth and some do not. There's no use in worrying, “Am I the elect or am I not the elect?” The only way you are going to prove that you are the elect is to walk by faith. You have that choice; everyone who is among the called has the choice to walk by faith or not to walk by faith. Why did Jesus rebuke His disciples for their unbelief? Did Jesus rebuke them because they couldn't walk by faith? Did He rebuke them because they weren't the elect? No, He rebuked them because they could walk by faith, but they were not walking by faith at that moment. He does the same with us sometimes when we are not walking by faith. But notice that they repented and He didn't remember their sins against them. (Joh.17:6) I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word. He said that they were obedient disciples. Jesus doesn't remember our sins against us, either, but He wants us to repent and walk by faith. So don't get caught up in, “Am I just called and not elect?” All you have to do is walk by faith because, if you walk by faith, you will bear fruit and you will be the elect. We are here in this wilderness to walk by faith and to prove that we are ‘Joshua and Caleb'. The Jews who convert to Christianity have no problem with predestination, calling and election because that's what they have been taught all of their lives. It's the Gentiles who have a problem with it because it's so foreign to their thinking. (Deu.7:6) For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. (7) The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples: (8) but because the Lord loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. There are answers here to some theological problems if you believe that history repeats. As Jesus said, (Mat.5:18) … Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. And Paul told us, (1Co.10:11) Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. One theological problem is all the prophecies we've heard about the coming great revivals because people feel that God has failed unless He converts a large number of humanity. We can see here, if God has failed in the New Testament, He certainly did fail the Old Testament, but God wasn't going after large numbers. In fact, He picked the fewest of all peoples to be His people. He was after quality and not quantity. Some people think that God is out to convert the people of the world, yet Jesus prophesied, (Mat.7:13) Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. (14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Even though Jesus will “compel” many to come in, He didn't prophesy that great masses of humanity would be running into the Kingdom of Heaven over the course of time. Another theological problem for people is the classic question, “What about the heathens in deepest, darkest Africa? What is God going to do about them?” Well, we just saw that back in the days when God chose Israel and even all through the Old Testament, they were a small group of people compared to the rest of the world. If you had asked one of them that question, they would have replied, “What are you talking about? Don't you understand that God has chosen Israel?” And if you repeated your question, “Yes, but what about the heathens in the deepest, darkest Africa who have never heard about God?” They would have replied again, “Don't you understand? God has chosen Israel.” The Jews understood this. If you give people this answer today, they don't understand, but the Jews did understand because they were raised with the predestination doctrine. Now, I do have a couple of answers for this problem: one is election and the other is conscience. Let me point out that God said He was going to judge people according to their conscience, but first, I'd like to clarify something here. He's talking in this Scripture about Christians coming to God, as opposed to the Jews who were with God under the Law. And so He says, (Rom.2:15) In that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing [them]; (16) in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ. A person's conscience is either going to accuse or excuse them. We know this text is talking about Christians because they are the only ones “who show the work of the Law written in their hearts.” But the rest of the world is going to be judged according to conscience, too, and conscience won't put any of us in Heaven. Jesus said, (Mat.24:37) And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. If God did the same thing He did in the days of Noah, some would find grace and the rest would find justice. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). He was elect; he found grace and the rest found justice. God did no wrong for the rest had defiled their conscience they were born with. Remember what Jesus spoke in the Parable of the Husbandman, who went out at different hours and hired people to work in his vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). The people who were hired last worked for only one hour, while the rest of them worked through the heat of the day. When it came time to pay the people, the husbandman called the last first and paid them a shilling and then He paid everyone else a shilling. But those who were hired first were unhappy. (Mat.20:11) And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, (12) saying, These last have spent [but] one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. (13) But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling? (14) Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee. (15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good? That's the Lord's reasoning. God is never going to do less than justice, and in fact, God is almost always merciful. He doesn't have to be merciful, but at the least, He's always going to do justice. We've received God's grace, but we don't deserve it; it's a gift of God. When God judges, the world will receive righteous judgment (Acts 17:31), but true Christians will receive grace. Praise the Lord! So the answer to “What about the heathen in deepest, darkest Africa?” is that the heathen in Africa are going to be judged according to their conscience. Their conscience will either condemn them or excuse them. Everyone in the world has a conscience, but for some, their conscience has condemned them until it became quiet and just gave up condemning them. Their conscience finally became hardened, you see, because they rebelled against it. God has chosen the few and He's always chosen the weak among men in the next two verses. (1Co.1:25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: So we see that God is clearly speaking of calling weak men. Then the translators, who probably didn't consider themselves weak and foolish, added things in the text over and over in the next three verses, which they italicized, showing it was not in the original text. Clearly, God is not speaking of things but MEN. So when we read them without things but with minor corrections from the Numeric Pattern, the text fits together and makes sense. (27) But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things strong; (28) and the base things of the world, and the things despised, did God choose, [yea] and them things that are not, that he might bring to nought those things that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God. Clearly, He chose weak and the base men so no one can brag. He wants to prove His power to save. He has always chosen small and weak Israel. Even in the New Testament, spiritual Israel, those who are after the same faith as Abraham, is still the only one who is chosen. (Psa.147:19) He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel. (20) He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. Not showing the nations His ordinances and statutes in the Old Testament is the equivalent of not giving someone “ears to hear” the Gospel in the New Testament. Jesus told the Jews in (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him... And (37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. God is not wrong by giving mercy to some and reaching out with the good news to bring them into the ark, no more than He was wrong when He brought those few into the ark in Noah's day. God is not wrong. And in many cases, God does not open the ears of people and He hardens hearts, and He hides things from “the wise and capable.” (Isa.45:15) Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. You may ask, “What's His method of hiding things?” Well, the devil is one. (2Co.4:3) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: (4) in whom the god of this world (The devil is the god of this world because the world copies and thus worships him.) hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]. The devil has permission to do this. Also, (Mat.11:25) At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding (This is speaking of the Pharisees, Sadducees and their students.), and didst reveal them unto babes: (26) yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. (27) All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal [him]. So it pleased the Father to hide some things, and in this text, He talks about hiding them even from religious people. There truly is a supernatural blindness on people. You've probably seen it when you try very simply to share the Gospel or a revelation from God with people, but somehow they just can't see it. And you look upon them almost in awe, wondering, “Why can't they see it? It's so simple.” Of course, it's simple to you because you have a gift they don't have. You have the gift of hearing.

Jesus promised Paul that he would preach to the Gentiles, testify to the Jews and give evidence before kings. He preached to Gentiles throughout Europe and Asia and to his fellow countrymen in Jerusalem and now the time was at hand for him to stand before kings for the Savior whom he served. Join Dr. James Boice next time, on the Bible Study Hour as he chronicles Paul's defense before Felix. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29?v=20251111

Darkness won't have the last word.Today's reflection centers on a simple, powerful word: light. Scripture tells us that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. That doesn't mean we deny the reality of suffering, grief, or burden. It means those things are not ultimate.Drawing from Scripture, everyday moments of joy, and insights from Dallas Willard, this episode invites us to see the world the way Jesus did—as a God-bathed, God-permeated reality. A world where light is always closer than we think. A world where God is “right upstairs,” friendly and near.This message is for anyone feeling weighed down by life, anxious about the future, or unsure how to live faithfully in a dark moment. Jesus' promise still stands: His burden is light. And His message—to both Israel and the Gentiles—was a message of light.Pay attention today. Look for joy. Look for goodness. The light has already come.

In this episode of The Leader's Notebook (Ep. 295) from our seven-part series, The Magnificent Seven, and the final message in this series, I turn our attention to Paul the Apostle and the decisive turning points God used to shape the most influential voice of the early church. We begin with his commissioning in Acts 13 and look back to his dramatic conversion, his unmistakable calling, and the costly obedience that followed. Saul of Tarsus emerges as a Roman citizen, an elite rabbinical scholar, and a relentless Pharisee who encountered the risen Christ and was forever changed. From that encounter, Paul became the great theologian of salvation by faith alone, clarifying what it means for Gentiles to be grafted into the body of Christ. His life reminds us that to touch the church is to touch Christ Himself, and that true Kingdom leadership is not formed by ease, reputation, or advantage, but by answering God's call wherever it leads. – Dr. Mark Rutland Chapters (00:00:03) - The Leaders Notebook(00:00:25) - Paul the Apostle(00:04:02) - Paul the Apostle(00:12:10) - Saul of Tarsus(00:20:22) - Paul the Apostle's life(00:21:30) - Why Do Certain People Change Their Names?(00:27:40) - Paul the Apostle: Suffering and Joy(00:35:58) - Simon Peter on the Book of Hebrews(00:43:17) - Gentiles and the Law

1 Peter 3:1-7Andrew, Isack, and Edwin discuss how husbands can conduct themselves honorably before the Gentiles.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=24033The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

Separation... isolation... estrangement. They're all part of the old kingdom! When the new King arrived, we found out quickly that He was not like other kings. Not like the fraudulent puppet Herod, certainly. Not like any monarch the world had ever seen. In the kingdom of Jesus, barriers between men and women, between Jews and Gentiles, and even between clean and unclean, would come down. Here's Jim, back in the Gospel of Mark. Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand. You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free. RS01132026_0.mp3Scripture References: Mark 1

Acts' first missionary journey begins with opposition as Paul and Barnabas take the gospel to Cyprus and confront a Jewish false prophet who resists the truth. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul exposes this deception and demonstrates that the spread of the gospel involves a spiritual conflict, not merely a clash of ideas. The episode establishes a pattern for the Gentile mission: God's power overcomes resistance and opens blind eyes.

by Elder Chris McCool, Pastor (preached on December 7, 2026) As we began to see yesterday, when the Jews as a nation rejected Christ as the Messiah, God “judicially blinded” them, and turned His focus on the Gentiles to spread the gospel message. This “judicial blindness” was not an arbitrary act based on some secret...

Join 3 of 7 as they recap a grueling, rain-soaked Proving Grounds mission with Troop 11, announce April registration, and thank Patreon supporters and partner Bear Performance Nutrition. The main discussion walks through Acts 9–10: Saul's conversion and growth in Damascus, his escape and brief visit to Jerusalem, Peter's healing miracles (Aeneas and Tabitha), and the pivotal vision that opens the gospel to Gentiles through Cornelius. Key themes include evidence of the Spirit, cultural barriers being broken, and the components of Peter's gospel message.   Check out Bare Performance Nutrition and use code "3of7" for 10% OFF! https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com   Check out 3 of 7 Project https://www.3of7project.com Apply for our courses at: https://www.3of7project.com/train Thank you for supporting Three of Seven Podcast on Patreon at: www.patreon.com/threeofseven Three of Seven Project Store: https://3of7project.myshopify.com/pages/shop Nuff Said.

In this sermon we explore the encounter between Jesus and Legion not merely as an act of personal deliverance, but as a moment of cosmic warfare and the reclaiming of sacred space. When Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee into the Decapolis, He deliberately steps into unclean, Gentile territory dominated by death, demons, and defilement. Tombs, pigs, and a legion of unclean spirits all signal hostile spiritual ground.   Legion represents organized spiritual occupation. Jesus confronts a stronghold tied to territory, not just an individual. With a word, He strips the powers of their claim, drives them out, and exposes their impotence. The demons beg, the pigs rush into the sea, and chaos collapses under divine authority.   This passage reveals Jesus as the rightful Lord over the unseen realm, fulfilling the promise that God would reclaim the nations from rebellious powers. What was once dominated by darkness becomes ground for testimony and proclamation. The delivered man becomes the first missionary to the Decapolis, showing that when Messiah reclaims dominion, restoration and witness follow.   This is not just about freedom from demons. It is about the Kingdom of God invading enemy territory and restoring sacred space under the rule of the true King.   Hashtags   #CosmicWarfare #ReclaimingDominion #SacredSpace #JesusAuthority #UnseenRealm #KingdomInvasion #SpiritualStrongholds #Decapolis #DeliveranceAndDominion #ChristVictorious

Episode Synopsis:About the time Paul began his second missionary journey, a serious famine swept through Palestine–greatly impacting the Jerusalem church.  Those who lived in the region knew how serious such things could be and so they prepared for it–stockpiling grain, spices, and animal feed, etc.  But as soon as a church was organized in Jerusalem–after Pentecost–Jewish Christians found themselves cut off from the synagogue and its well-established relief system.  Now on their own, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were apparently suffering horribly and were in desperate need of relief–specifically funds to buy food and supplies locally.Tensions between Jewish Christians and recent Gentile converts to Christianity were apparent from the moment the gospel spread into Gentile regions–as indicated during the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).  At that council, the church renounced the Judaizers and affirmed that God had blessed Paul's efforts to take the gospel into Gentile regions–which began in earnest after the Macedonian vision (Acts 16:9).  Paul planted churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth.  While these new churches aided and encouraged each other, Paul understood that if the Gentile churches–who had means–took an offering for the Jerusalem church, it would go a great way toward helping fellow Christians in genuine need.  It would also de-escalate the worry and anxiety that Jews felt toward Gentiles who were until quite recently godless pagans and often persecutors of the Jewish people.When Paul arrived in Macedonia, he tells us that there was some unspecified serious trouble and that he would strive to get things cleared up before he traveled south to Corinth.  Despite the troubles in the churches in Macedonia, they had taken up a surprisingly generous offering for the Jerusalem church–so much so that it was a major sacrifice, even beyond their means, which Paul describes as an act of grace.  Now he gets word from Titus that the Corinthians (who had been collecting a similar offering for a year) and had not followed through with their collection.  As a congregation they were far better off materially than the Macedonians, but were so distracted by divisions, the subterfuge of false apostles and other matters, the offering had not been finalized.  In chapters 8-9 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses this matter head-on.For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

1 Peter 3:1-6 (ESV)Andrew, Isack, and Edwin discuss how wives live honorably even when their husbands don't obey the Word.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=24024The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

Acts 21:37-22:21  As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?" 39 Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people." 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: 22 "Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you." 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 "As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' 17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"   Key Words: Defense, Persecute, Light, Lord, Sight, Witness, Righteous One, Baptize, Sins Keystone Verses: For you will be a witness for Him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name. (Acts 22:15-16) Download Bulletin

Luke 2  NIV 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,     you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,     and the glory of your people Israel."

In this sermon we explore the encounter between Jesus and Legion not merely as an act of personal deliverance, but as a moment of cosmic warfare and the reclaiming of sacred space. When Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee into the Decapolis, He deliberately steps into unclean, Gentile territory dominated by death, demons, and defilement. Tombs, pigs, and a legion of unclean spirits all signal hostile spiritual ground.   Legion represents organized spiritual occupation. Jesus confronts a stronghold tied to territory, not just an individual. With a word, He strips the powers of their claim, drives them out, and exposes their impotence. The demons beg, the pigs rush into the sea, and chaos collapses under divine authority.   This passage reveals Jesus as the rightful Lord over the unseen realm, fulfilling the promise that God would reclaim the nations from rebellious powers. What was once dominated by darkness becomes ground for testimony and proclamation. The delivered man becomes the first missionary to the Decapolis, showing that when Messiah reclaims dominion, restoration and witness follow.   This is not just about freedom from demons. It is about the Kingdom of God invading enemy territory and restoring sacred space under the rule of the true King.   Hashtags   #CosmicWarfare #ReclaimingDominion #SacredSpace #JesusAuthority #UnseenRealm #KingdomInvasion #SpiritualStrongholds #Decapolis #DeliveranceAndDominion #ChristVictorious

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ⇒Check out all of Carey's books - for adults and kids, fiction and nonfiction : https://CareyGreen.com/books ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:17–20 - Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. [18] They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. [19] They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. [20] But that is not the way you learned Christ!— (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish HINDI version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Hindi CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/ ***All NON-ENGLISH versions of the Morning Mindset are translated using A.I. Dubbing and Translation tools from DubFormer.ai ***All NON-ENGLISH text content (descriptions and titles) are translated using the A.I. functionality of Google Translate.

Morning Prayer for Saturday, January 10, 2026 (The Epiphany: The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles; William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1645).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 25Genesis 10:1-9, 15-22, 30-32John 5:25-47⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.

Morning Prayer for Friday, January 9, 2026 (The Epiphany: The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 22Genesis 9John 5:1-24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.

Mazel morons! It's 2026, the guys are officially TOPICAL, and Josh and Ben are BACK after the longest holiday limbo known to mankind. From surviving two weeks of nonstop childcare to debating whether beards are freeing or deeply unsettling, this episode is a full-tilt New Year catch-up. We're unpacking Christmas chaos, Florida house parties with valet and caviar bumps, questionable Santa encounters, Costco tuna revelations, and why Elf on the Shelf might actually be a government informant. Plus: caffeine interventions, supplement regret, failing big as a life goal, parenting breakthroughs, Tim Allen slander, and Ray Charles facts that will stop you in your tracks. What are ya nuts? Love ya! Leave us a voicemail here!Follow us on Instagram and TikTok! Sponsors:Pique - Secure 20% off your order and begin your intentional wellness journey today at Piquelife.com/goodguys.Hims- To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit Hims.com/GOODGUYS.Little Spoon - Get 30% off your first online order at littlespoon.com/GOODGUYS with code GOODGUYS at checkoutMomentous - Head to livemomentous.com, and use promo code goodguys for up to 35% off your first order.Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ⇒ TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THE MORNING MINDSET - Your personal recommendation can make an eternal difference in the lives of the people you know! STEP ONE: Go to http://YourMorningMindset.com STEP TWO: Share that page with someone you know! ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Acts 14:1–2 - Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. [2] But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish HINDI version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Hindi CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/ ***All NON-ENGLISH versions of the Morning Mindset are translated using A.I. Dubbing and Translation tools from DubFormer.ai ***All NON-ENGLISH text content (descriptions and titles) are translated using the A.I. functionality of Google Translate.