Podcasts about groaning

Ajahn Brahm describes why he bows to Buddha statues (and sometimes Jesus' statues) with a series of stories about the qualities he admires in the Buddha: virtue, stillness, and kindness. He then answers audience questions about choosing a meaningful life and finding meaning in the life we have. This teaching was given during Ajahn Brahm's UK visit to Anukampa, at Thames Buddhist Vihara on the 17th of June 2025. Sutta reference: MN 27: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint (Cūḷahatthipadopama Sutta) https://suttacentral.net/mn27/en/bodh... Teaching retrieved from Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNtcbIPQBU&t=2s Ajahn Brahm is the Spiritual Adviser of Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project. Donations to Anukampa are welcome, please visit https://anukampaproject.org/donate/ Support us on https://ko-fi.com/thebuddhistsocietyofwa BSWA teachings are available from: BSWA Teachings BSWA Podcast Channel BSWA DeeperDhamma Podbean Channel BSWA YouTube  

In this sermon, we explore what it means to see the world “right side up” through the lens of the gospel, drawing deeply from Romans 8 and the wider sweep of Scripture.Using Dallas Willard's upside‑down fighter jet, J.I. Packer's imagery of inverted living, and Jesus' own shocking values in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12), we confront the reality that sin has distorted our vision so completely that what feels “normal” is actually life lived on our heads (Ephesians 2:1–3).Centering on Romans 8:1–39, this message unpacks:No Condemnation in ChristRomans 8:1–4; Romans 3:21–26; 2 Corinthians 5:21How the cross truly “worked”—God condemned sin in the flesh of His Son so there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.From Law to SpiritRomans 7:7–25; Romans 8:2–11; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:25–27Why the Law could expose sin but never transform the heart, and how the Holy Spirit now fulfills the righteous requirement of the Law in us.Flesh People vs. Spirit PeopleRomans 8:5–9; Galatians 5:16–25; Colossians 3:1–10The mindset of the flesh leads to death, but the mindset of the Spirit leads to life and peace—and how to know which you are.Adopted, Not AbandonedRomans 8:14–17; John 1:12–13; Galatians 4:4–7The Spirit of adoption teaches our hearts to cry “Abba, Father” and continually reminds us who we really are in Christ.Suffering, Groaning, and HopeRomans 8:18–27; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18; Revelation 21:1–5Creation groans, we groan, and even the Spirit groans—yet all our present sufferings are “not worth comparing” with the coming glory.More Than ConquerorsRomans 8:28–39; Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 15:54–58If God did not spare His own Son, how will He not also graciously give us all things? Nothing—not sin, not suffering, not death—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.This message invites you to:Trust that the cross has decisively dealt with your condemnation (Romans 8:1).Walk in the Spirit's power, even while you still feel the pull of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).Persevere in holiness and hope, knowing God will finish what He started in you (Philippians 1:6).Live with “rebellious joy,” awaiting the full redemption of your body and the renewal of all creation (Romans 8:23–25; Revelation 21:5).Scripture focus: Romans 8; Matthew 5:1–12; Romans 7; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:25–27; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 1:6; Revelation 21:1–5.

What's causing you to groan lately? This Sunday Pastor Rob taught on Romans 8:18-30 reminding us that God is working even when we don't see it or pray about it. The Holy Spirit helps us to live with eager hope! We are so glad you've joined New North Church for service today! If this is your first time with us, we are honored to have you and we want to get to know you more personally - please, fill out our digital connection card. http://bit.ly/nncconnect Do you have questions about life or need prayer? We would love to hear from you. Submit a request here: http://bit.ly/nncprayer New North is financially sustained through your partnership. Thank you for your generosity as you consider giving online. http://bit.ly/nncgiveJoin us in person on Sundays at 8:30am, 10am and 12pm in San Francisco! Plan your visit: https://www.newnorth.church/plan-your...STAY CONNECTED:Website: https://www.newnorth.churchInstagram: http://bit.ly/nncinstagramFacebook: http://bit.ly/nncfacebookSpotify: http://bit.ly/nncpodcast

God's glory is weightier than our suffering.

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Have you ever felt a burden so heavy that words weren't enough? Discover the mystery of "travailing prayer"—a deep, arduous labor that even creation itself participates in to bring about redemption. On today's podcast, America Pray Now prayer Partner, Cindy Little explores the topic of Travailing Prayer. ------America Pray Now publishes a magazine on prayer that is free of charge and can be delivered directly to your home. You can sign up for this magazine on our website at americapraynow.comIn addition to our weekly podcast, we meet in 17 different cities every month to pray in person. Most of our in-person prayer meetings are in Virginia, and we also have meetings in Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina and South Carolina. See our website for times and dates at americapraynow.comEnjoy the Podcast? Let us know! Email us at podcast@americapraynow.com

Ps Greg Mitchell

Worship Service

God Sovereignly Works In And Through Present Earthly Sufferings To Accomplish His Good, Glorious, And Eternal Purposes

Privilege of Being in God’s House Gratitude for the freedom and presence of the Spirit of God. Many people would love to be in a place where the spirit of God is free. It is a privilege to be in God’s house. Romans Chapter 4 Reading of Romans 4:17-25 and verse 16. Focus on faith and grace. It is of faith that it might be by grace. The promise might be sure to all the seed. Not to that only which is of the law, but also which is of the faith of Abraham. Abraham: Father of Many Nations Abraham as the father of many nations, not just Israel. God told Abraham, “I’m going to make you a father of many nations.” All are children of Abraham through faith, not the law. Abraham pleased God through belief, not law-keeping. The law had yet to be given. Abraham came because he believed God. Abraham’s Faith God’s promise to Abraham to make him a father of many nations. Sarah was barren. Abraham didn’t have any children. Abraham believed God despite his age (100 years old) and Sarah’s age (90 years old). Abraham believed God. It was imputed to him for righteousness. Righteousness imputed to Abraham because of belief, not personal righteousness or worthiness. Not because Abraham was righteous. Not because Abraham deserved righteousness. Not because he was worthy of righteousness. But because he believed God. Importance of Faith Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God puts such a value on faith. When any soul will simply believe God in spite of all the circumstances, in spite of all the situations. God imputes righteousness to those who believe. Righteousness of Christ imputed at the moment of faith. We believed. Hope in a Hopeless World Hope is very important. The world has lost hope, even the lost. Wickedness abounds and it’s getting worse. Political changes have not brought righteousness. A lot of people thought when Trump got in office that somehow this country would turn around and get righteous. We’re no closer to God than we were two years ago. Evidence of lack of revival: no abandonment of sin, no church filling. If things were really getting right, brother, we’d see it in the church. It ain’t here. It’s growing more wicked every day. Encouragement to keep hope. Don’t let anything steal your hope. Advice to avoid negative influences: turn off TV and radio, open the Bible. Turn your TV off. Turn your radio off. And open up your Bible. Stop the influences of the devil. Hope as a Necessity Hope is absolutely necessary for the people of God. Despair and worry heard in voices of men at a gathering. There were some of them that were sharing before church, and some of them shared even after we had started. I could hear the despair in their voice. I could hear the worry and the concern. Concern is valid, but must be balanced with hope in God. Without a vision, you’ll perish. We cannot as the people of God in good faith talk about it without still having hope in God. Faith and hope are linked; faith precedes hope. If you’ve got faith hope’s right behind you. The more faith you have, the greater hope you’ll have as well. 1 Corinthians 13: faith, hope, and charity (love). Love is the greatest, but in good company with faith and hope. Now abideth these three. Faith, hope, and charity. But the greatest of these is charity. Need for hope in the church. We need to have hope in our heart tonight. We need to have a hope down in our soul. With God, anything can happen. When God’s involved, anything can happen. Believe God and let hope save each day. What we need to do is believe God and then let hope save us each and every day. Hope as Verb and Noun Hope is both an action (verb) and a thing (noun). Hope is both a verb and a noun. It is both an action and a thing. Like faith and love, hope is a real thing. Faith is an action, but faith is also a thing. Love is an action, but it is also a noun. It is a thing. Appreciation for people with hope who haven’t given up on God. I love to meet people that have got hope. I like to meet people that ain’t give up on God. They’ve not laid down on God. They’ve not quit believing in God. Hope leads to expecting God to move in unexpected ways. God’s going to do something that they ain’t expecting, that God’s going to move in a way they’ve never seen, that God’s going to come in and help them in a way that they can’t even understand or foresee. Hope should follow faith. If you’ve got faith, you ought to have some hope with you. Hope ought to follow your faith. Many Christians seem to lack hope. I see a lot of people that ain’t got much hope. I talk to Christian people, good Christian people. And when you talk to them, it seems like they don’t give up. They just throw it in the towel. Losing belief in God leads to hopelessness. When they quit believing in God, they quit believing God can do something. Focus on the present and the work to be done. I’m still breathing. I’ve still got a day ahead of me if God wakes me up and the sun shines again. We’ve got work to do. Need for hope to avoid emotional and spiritual backsliding. You’ll get so far down the ditch that you’ll end up backslidden emotionally and spiritually. You’ll get to the place where you sell out on faith and you sit down on God and suddenly, amen, everything that is wrong begins to come your way. Reaping hard things from sowing bad things. You’ll begin to reap hard things because you’ve sown bad things. Even without understanding God’s plan, hope is essential. Even though we cannot see what God is doing, we do not know what moment in time, what dispensation we’re in. What I can tell you is that we still need hope today. Abraham believed against hope. Abraham, who against hope, believed in hope. Hope is part of faith. Hope’s part of our faith. These three abideth, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is hope. Believing Against Hope Abraham believed against hope (Romans 4:18). Every earthly argument or sense was not supporting what God was telling Abraham. Everything that God told Abraham, the worldly argument, the worldly sense, the worldly rationality, The worldly experience would tell Abraham that’s not going to happen. Worldly rationality says it’s impossible, but God can do anything. It cannot be. It is impossible. There’s no need to believe in that because that is not reality. It is not something that can occur. Believing God despite circumstances allows hope to flourish. When everything says it cannot be. It still can be. Believing in God Believing in hope means believing in God (verse 17). Before him whom he believed even God. Believing in God overrides worldly rationale and human experience. If you’re believing in God today, all bets are off as far as the world’s rationale. All bets are off is on human experience. God can change situations even when doctors say nothing can be done. You may have been to a thousand doctors and every one of them tell you, Nope, there is nothing that can be done. But brother, when you put it in God’s hands, it can change. Question of who to believe: doctors, lawyers, personal experience, or God. Do you believe the doctors? Do you believe the lawyer? Do you believe that person? Do you believe your experience, your own rationale, your own common sense? God can do anything, including wondrous miracles. All of those things are nothing to my God. Because God can do anything. God acts when humans cannot. God did it because you couldn’t do it. God did it because nobody else could do it. God did it to show you He could do it. Believing in God despite terrible circumstances. There are circumstances in my life that are terrible, and I have no idea how this is going to turn out. Anything is possible with prayer and belief. If you’ll keep praying and you’ll keep believing, friend, anything is possible. God’s timing differs from human timing; patience is needed. God’s timing ain’t your timing. So just be patient. Human solutions to God problems don’t work. His wife said, I’ve come up with a human solution to a God problem. What you need is not a human solution, but you need the God solution. Trusting God with all your heart leads to directed steps. If I trust in Him with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledge Him that He will direct my steps. God fixes what humans cannot. You’re liable to find out He fixes what can’t be fixed by humans. God’s Abilities Believing in God who is able to do all things. Abraham believed in any help because he was believing, number one, in God who is able to do all things. Believing in God who can quicken the dead. He was believing that God was able to quicken the dead. This God had power to raise someone up from the dead. Believing in God who calls things that are not as though they were. When God talks about something that has not happened, he’s speaking to it as if it will happen because he will make it happen. God will speak it as if it has already happened. Need for More Faith Need for more faith. I need more faith. I need to believe God for more than what I’m believing. Trusting God for things that are impossible for humans. When you trust God and believe Him for things that you can’t fix, you can’t do. Daily choice to believe God or the world. Every day when you get up, you’re going to have to make a choice. Am I going to believe God today or am I going to believe the world? Believing God leads to the birth of hope. If you believe God, friend, hope is born again right in your soul. Abraham’s Strength in Faith Abraham was not weak in faith. Abraham was strong in the faith. Abraham believed God when asked to sacrifice Isaac. Take your only son Isaac up there and offer him up as a sacrifice unto me. Abraham believed God would provide a sacrifice. God will provide himself a lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. He believed in his heart that if God allowed him to take that boy, that he’d raise him from the dead. Overcoming Weakness in Faith Problem of weakness in faith. I think that’s part of our problem today. Faith can move mountains (Matthew 21:21). If we had faith we’d say to the mountain be you moved and cast into the sea and it would be. Abraham’s example of not considering his own body as dead. Being not weak in the faith, he considered not his own body, now need. Not letting the mind dictate faith. Abraham did not let his mind dictate what God was saying, whether it be possible or impossible. Not staggering at the promise of God through unbelief. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in the faith, giving glory to God. Being fully persuaded that God could perform what He promised. Being fully persuaded what he had promised, he was also able to perform. Value of Hope Faith, hope, and charity (love) are all important. These three things abide. Faith, hope, and charity. The greatest of these is charity. Need for hope. You need a lot of hope, by the way. Wake up with enough faith to produce hope for the day. You need to wake up in the morning with enough faith to produce more hope so that you have hope to do you all day long. Losing hope leads to stopping. The minute you run out of hope, the minute you sit down. The minute you quit working for God, the minute we quit living for God and serving God and reading and studying and seeking God, when you lose hope, you just stop. Hope is essential for survival, like for prisoners of war. The main thing that those prisoners of war in Vietnam needed, the main thing they needed was hope that they’d get out. Hope can lift one out of pits, depression, and hurt. It’ll lift you up out of that pit that you’re in, that depression that you’re in, that hurt that you’re feeling. Hope is powerful and can save. Hope will save you. It’s that powerful. Hope from the Scriptures Hope comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Increased faith leads to bold hope. As your faith is increased, brother, hope becomes bold within yourself. Need for hope at all times, not just in church. You don’t need it on Wednesday and Sunday. You need hope on Thursday morning. You need some good hope on Friday morning. The world should see hope in Christians. Reckon why they’d ever ask you about Christ if when they see or hear you, all they see is somebody that has no hope. The lost are the most hopeless. If there’s anybody hopeless, It’s the lost. Without hope in Christ, life is miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19). If I had hope in this life only in Christ, I’d be of all men most miserable. God of Hope The Word of God gives hope and sustains belief. The Word of God was meant to give us hope because it gives us faith. Hope keeps serving and fighting and helping and it’ll sustain you. God is the God of hope (Romans 15:13). Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace and believing. Prayer for God to fill with joy, peace, and belief. I pray that He fill you with all joy and peace and believing. Abounding in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. That ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Supercharged Hope The Holy Ghost supercharges hope. The Holy Ghost then gets into hope. It gets supercharged at that point. Hope begins to do unexpected things. Suddenly hope begins to do things you didn’t know hope could do. The power of the Holy Ghost brings action. When you get the power of the Holy Ghost into something, you better get out of its way. Because it’s fixing to do something. Hopelessness leads to despair. So many people have got their head down, which infers to me they’ve lost hope, which means they’re not believing God. Christians should never be hopeless. You’re never hopeless. Simple faith in Christ produces supercharged hope. That simple faith in Christ produces a supercharged hope that has power to lift you up out of depression, lift you up out of the pit, lift you up out of that hard place. God can do what no one else can do. God can do what no one else can do. Hope as an Anchor Hebrews 6:18-19: hope as a strong consolation. By two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. Lay hold upon the hope set before us. Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Hope is both an action and a thing. Hope is both a verb and a noun. Hope is an action and a thing. Hope is the answer and a supercharged power. Out there in front of you is hope. Out there in front of you is the answer, the hope that you need. You’ll experience hope as a thing. A supercharged. Holy Spirit-filled thing. A power unlike anything else on the earth. Hope changes perspective. Give somebody real hope. Their perspective changes on every circumstance. Loss of hope leads to despair and suicide. If you take their hope away, you know what they do these days? They try to kill themselves. Need to exercise faith to increase hope. You better keep working on hope. Hope will rescue and save. Hope’s going to rescue you. Hope’s going to save you. Hope as an anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19). Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Hope leads to Christ’s presence. Hope will lead you into His presence. Need to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. The one thing you need, more than anything else, is to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. Hope takes one to Christ. Your hope took you there. Hopelessness leads to quitting. You take a person that’s hopeless and you know what they want to do? They want to quit. Hope leads to seeking Jesus. Somebody that’s filled with hope is going to find themselves at the feet of Jesus one more time. Hope is supercharged by the Holy Ghost. Hope is supercharged of the Holy Ghost. Hope is brought by the Scriptures. It is brought to us by the Scriptures. Hope is a refuge and a sure anchor. God has said it before us that we might lay hold upon it as a refuge. It is a sure and steadfast anchor of our… Hope leads into the presence of Christ. It takes me into the presence of Christ. Creation’s Groaning and Hope’s Saving Power All creation groans (Romans 8:22). We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Everyone experiences problems. Every one of you have got problems. Choice to believe God and have hope or go farther down. They can either believe God. In that moment, they can either believe God and watch hope be born and supercharged powerfully enter into their life and lift them out of that circumstance or they will go farther down. Saved by hope (Romans 8:24). For we are saved by hope. Hope saves like a life preserver. Like a life preserver, when I’m going under it, Hope saves me. Hope lifts one up when feeling overwhelmed. When it feels like you’re just so far down that you ain’t going to come up again, and suddenly you feel like something grabbed a hold of you and just hit you right back down. That was hope. Hope replaces negative emotions with positive ones. A smile replaced the frame. And confidence the worry. And boldness the fear. Hope is always available in Christ. In Christ, there is always hope. Hope rescues and lifts up. Hope, it didn’t rescue you. It didn’t lift you up out of that where you said it didn’t pull you right back up to hope it saved you. Waiting with Patience Hope is born of faith. Hope is born of faith. When there is no faith, there is no hope. More faith leads to more hope. The more faith you have, the more hope is born. Hope lifts above the world’s troubles. Hope will save you. Hope will lift you above the waves of this world and the wretchedness we live in and the groaning and the pain. Hope is for things not seen (Romans 8:24-25). Hope that is seen is not hope. If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Patience is needed while waiting for God’s promise. If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Hope sustains while waiting. That hope will be what sustains you as you wait for it. Hope is an anchor of the soul. Hope will hold you. As an anchor of the soul. Hope leads closer to God. That hope is taking you right into him. Hope leads into the holiest of holies. It’s walking you closer and closer to him. Until it goes right inside, within the veil, behind the curtain, to the holies of holies. God does what no one else can do. God did something that nobody else could do. Patience allows hope to work until God fulfills His promise. With patience while hope did its work in sustaining and saving day after day moment after moment until finally God does what God said he’d do. Once the promise is seen, there is no more need for hope. Once you see it, you no longer have to hope for it no more. Faith, hope, and charity (love) are essential. Faith, hope, and charity. These three. Gratitude for hope. Thank God for Hope. Believing and carrying on despite uncertainty. You just keep carrying on. And you keep believing. Hope it keeps up. God’s plan is good. What a good plan He came up with, honey. Use faith, hope, and love. You’ve got them. Use them. Invitation to be filled with hope. I’d like to see you leave here filled with hope. Filled with hope. Let God save and help. Let him save you tonight. Let him help you.

A new MP3 sermon from Truth For Life - Alistair Begg is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Groaning and Glory Subtitle: Messages from Truth For Life Speaker: Alistair Begg Broadcaster: Truth For Life - Alistair Begg Event: Conference Date: 11/17/2025 Bible: Romans 8:18-30 Length: 39 min.

Singer-songwriter Jon Guerra joins Mark Labberton to explore devotional songwriting, public faith, and the tension between the kingdom of Jesus and American cultural power. Through music and reflection, Guerra considers how art can hold grief, courage, and hope together in turbulent times. "Love has a million disguises, but winning is simply not one." In this episode with Mark Labberton, Guerra reflects on songwriting as prayer, the call to love enemies, and artistic courage in moments of cultural crisis. Together they discuss devotional music, George Herbert's influence, the Beatitudes and American culture, citizenship and immigration imagery, increasing polarization, suffering and grace, and the vocation of Christian artists. Episode Highlights "Love has a million disguises, but winning is simply not one." "When Jesus says to love your enemies… he is giving us a means of survival." "This is not sentimentality… the only way to resist becoming what one hates." "My songwriting… would be a means of coming into contact with the invisible God." "Beauty puts us in contact with invisible things." About Jon Guerra Jon Guerra is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas, known for devotional music that blends poetry, theology, and contemporary cultural reflection. His albums include Little Songs (2015), Keeper of Days (2020), Ordinary Ways (2023), and American Gospel. Guerra has also composed music for film, including Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (2019). The son of immigrants from Cuba and Argentina, his work often explores themes of citizenship, prayer, justice, and the teachings of Jesus. His songwriting draws inspiration from figures like George Herbert and Howard Thurman, and seeks to connect spiritual devotion with public life. Helpful Links and Resources Jon Guerra website: https://www.jonguerramusic.com/ American Gospel album: https://jonguerra.bandcamp.com A Hidden Life film: https://www.searchlightpictures.com/ahiddenlife Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman: https://www.beacon.org/Jesus-and-the-Disinherited-P1781.aspx The Porter's Gate: https://www.portersgateworship.com/ Show Notes Devotional songwriting George Herbert influence on the pursuit of prayerful craft "Music for attending to the soul." Monday morning prayer music framing devotional practice Beauty and invisible realities in artistic experience American Gospel song introduction and cultural critique Beatitudes inversion in American culture "How do I give Christ a say in this conversation?" Love Your Enemies composition and album Jesus Howard Thurman's influence on enemy-love theology (Jesus and the Disinherited) Emotional formation through news, anger, and public life Death of ego and kingdom discipleship Kierkegaard and faith beyond ideology Worship as reordering power Kingdom of Jesus song and Pilate encounter Allegiance to a greater kingdom beyond nationalism Citizenship as foreignness imagery Immigrant family background shaping songwriting Citizens song written after 2017 inauguration "Come to you because I'm confused." Five-four musical structure expressing disorientation Groaning beauty and Romans 8 resonance Artists as "holy fools" naming reality Moltmann and theology near the cross Simone Weil: gravity and grace reflection "Love has a million disguises, but winning is simply not one." Hashtags #JonGuerra #DevotionalMusic #LoveYourEnemies #ChristianArt #AmericanGospel #PublicFaith #Jesus #Gospel #SpiritualFormation Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment Magazine and Fuller Seminary.  

Writing to the Christians of first-century Rome, the apostle Paul acknowledged that creation, believers, and even the Spirit Himself groan in hopeful anticipation of final renewal. Present suffering is real, Scripture affirms—but it is eclipsed by the promised glory to come. Alistair Begg traces the inseparable link between suffering and glory in God's redemptive purpose, reminding us that the Spirit sustains believers in weakness and that God is at work in all things for our ultimate good.

Psalm 5 shows us the increasing weight of evil bending David's back. We, too, can feel the weight of injustice, selfishness and destruction in the world around us. But we also feel it in our own souls. What is God's answer to evil in the world, and in ourselves? Find out as we dwell on Psalm 5 together

From Groaning to Glory (Romans 8:18-29)

Jerod asks John to back up his take on the Judgment Seat of Christ. What is it? Who is it for? And perhaps most interesting: when is it? Scriptures referenced include 2nd Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:10, and a whole host of others. John also gives some of his back story on coming to understand Philippians 3:11 and Jerod tries to pick up a little latin.Program: Biblically SpeakingAired: November 15, 2014

Elf on a Shelf: Part 3 It's hard to punish a girl as good as Honey, but he'll try. Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. In the second week of February, Honey Lane sat on a tall stool in the corner next to Zach's kitchen counter, sulking as she watched him walk slowly around the table at which sat a girl and two boys between the ages of 7 and 10. The dour silence of the spacious industrial loft suggested more that the children were completing a college entrance exam with a severe proctor, rather than completing Valentines to be distributed in class the following Monday. Honey crossed her long legs and sighed again, earning a piercing glare from Zach. She had been looking forward to helping Zach's niece and nephews with their Valentines for a couple weeks, Until she received a call from the Health Department, advising her to take precautions due to a Covid outbreak in her dumpy apartment complex. and now she was only allowed to observe the kids from five feet away. She crossed her arms and sighed again. This was the worst punishment ever. Zach continued circling the table, trying not to notice how Honey's folded arms pushed her tits together, the neckline of her fuzzy sweater dipping between them. Beneath the soft woven folds, the silken white skin of her tits probably still bore the red marks of his passion, his teeth and lips remembering the feel of her shuddering with pleasure under them only moments before his sister dropped her kids off for the afternoon. Jesus Christ; she just uncrossed and crossed her legs again, totally oblivious to the way she flashed him an upskirt every goddamn time she did it. Unless she wasn't oblivious to it; with Honey, it was hard to tell. Zach could tell that Honey was just dying to hop down from the stool, scamper over and huddle with Amarie, Fallon and Logan, as they wrote their names on the stupid little perforated papers and stuck a pencil through the pre-punched holes for a stupid commercial holiday that was supposed to celebrate love. Honey would ask them questions about their classmates, help them choose the right stupid Valentine message for the right classmate, put stickers and shit on the cards, and generally sprinkle that fairy dust that she seemed to bring to anything she did. She was a born nurturer and would make this whole thing magical for the kids, but it couldn't be helped. Honey had scared the shit out of him and she needed to learn a lesson. It would be hard, but he just had to be strong. She would not be getting out of this. Not this time. "Done!" Fallon yelled, slamming his pencil down on the table. Logan looked up from where he was working on his third personalized Valentine message, apparently trying to sign each of them in rudimentary calligraphy, and frowned, "You just put 'F' on all of them," he said in disgust, "It looks like you're giving them a bad grade; he said, shaking his head and returning to his careful scrivening. "I am. Everyone in my class is a jerk. What are these things supposed to mean, anyway? All these cards sound stupid. Like you'd really walk up to someone you like and say 'Let's swing!' I haven't asked a girl to swing in years. I'm too old for swinging," Fallon griped, looking at his Spiderman sticker cards. A snort of suppressed laughter came out of the corner of the room, followed by the sound of a body collapsing to the floor in a fit of coughing. "Fourth Fucking Place! On Your Face, Maggot!" Zach roared. In the corner, hidden among the gym equipment, Zach's friend and loyal wingman Terry promptly scrambled up into pushup position again without a word. "Thirty-two," the children said in unison, prompting Zach to put another dollar into a large money-stuffed jar labeled "Language Arts Scholarship" in the middle of the table. Amarie sighed and looked longingly over at Honey, who smiled ruefully and gave her a little wave from her stool. "Why is Miss Honey on the naughty stool, Uncle Zach?" she asked. "Cards," Zach ordered, walking over to block Amarie's view of Honey with his massive body. Amarie resignedly turned back to signing her pink and purple mermaid cards that came with scented tattoos. Zach knew Amarie would be a problem. She adored Honey, and there was very little that Amarie's big brown eyes and reddish curls couldn't talk him into. She had a tender heart that couldn't believe anyone deserved to be punished; especially not someone as soft and sweet as his Honey. Goddammit. Honey leaned forward and pressed her cheek against the tightly muscled wall of Zach's back, then reached her hand up under his t-shirt and began gently scratching him. She could feel the warmth of his skin seep through the tight cotton, and smiled as she snuggled into him, still grazing her fingernails across the skin of his back. Zach's mind flashed back to this morning when her nails were not so gentle as he pounded into her tight, wet pussy, her nails digging deep, scoring his flesh in her ecstasy. A noise of pleasure escaped him before Zach disguised it as a barking cough, and quickly stepped away until he was a safer distance away from the irresistible vixen sitting, most deservedly, on the naughty stool. Shaking his head to clear it, Zach tucked his t-shirt back into his jeans and folded his arms. "Miss Honey is on the naughty stool. I ll tell you why. The other day when I got back from the race in California where I had to drag Terry's ass across the finish line in Fourth Place Behind The Fucking Bubbleheads," Zach ranted, before pausing to collect himself and continuing. "I go over to get Miss Honey at her apartment and find her giving a fucking haircut to a naked guy in her fucking living room!" "You cheated, Miss Honey?" Fallon gasped in disbelief, at the same time Logan called out "Thirty-six!" Zach fished a five-dollar bill out of his wallet and put it into the jar, taking a one out for change. A foot stomped on the floor and he glanced up to see Honey with her hand raised in the air, outrage written on her face. He raised his hand, blocking his view of her face and the heart-melting effect it had on him, and looked away dismissively. "He was not naked! Cade had a towel on!" Honey yelled in protest. Zach strode over to her, took her chin in his hand, trying to think of something harsh and authoritative to say, but got distracted by her plump lower lip instead, remembering how it felt to suck it between his own and have her open her mouth, hungry to accept his tongue. He could smell the faint strawberry scent of her lip balm and closed his eyes, clenching his jaw in an effort not to kiss her. "No talking on the naughty stool," he murmured, his eyes dipping down to let his gaze rove over her soft tits, loosely wrapped in her fuzzy sweater. Honey smirked and kissed his palm. "Miss Honey would never cheat," Amarie said with resolute confidence. Honey nodded in agreement and thanks to the young girl, tossed her long hair over her shoulder and grinned up at Zach. "Towel or no towel, I still saw Cade's nuts when she was goin' after him with the Flowbee," Zach explained, turning from Honey as Logan opened his mouth with a look of question, "And no, 'nuts' doesn't count as a swear," Zach finished, pointing at Logan. Zach resumed his rounds of the table, continuing his story. "So, of course, I reacted like anybody else who saw another guy's nuts in his girlfriend's living room, and she has the balls to tell me not to yell because it's not good for Cade." "I think 'nuts' should be fifty-cents; 'balls' too," Logan said, thoughtfully. "They might not be swears, but they are; indelicate." Zach turned to Honey and silently mouthed the word "indelicate?" to her, a discomfited look on his face. Honey bit her lips, and another snort of laughter erupted from the corner where Terry was still in starting push-up position. "Fourth Place, Maggot! You Got Nothing To Laugh About Except The Size Of Your;" Zach roared, before pausing and breathing deeply and continuing in a calmer voice. "Anyway. Turns out, this guy Cade just got back from a tour and was dealing with some PTSD when he saw another guy's balls in his living room, too, only his girl wasn't exactly giving the other guy a haircut. So, after a bit of trouble, he was living on the streets. No job. No money. Nothing. Then, a few days ago, Honey sees him eating some of the food she left out for a stray cat," Zach said, his voice constricting as his throat tightened. He turned away from the kids to hide his face for a moment, only to meet Honey's deep blue eyes and a whole new set of problems; like not remembering anything he was talking about before. She reached up and stroked his cheek, and then he felt all the blood in his brain drain down below his belt. Fucking hell. "Miss Honey helped him, though, didn't she?" Amarie said expectantly, more as a statement than a question. "What? Yeah. Of course, she did," Zach said with exasperation, looking down into Honey's face, and trying not to laugh at her stubbornly set jaw. "Miss Honey never fucking heard of "stranger danger," or met a wreck of a person she couldn't care about. So, she takes this 'Cade' in, feeds him, gets him washed up, takes him shopping at the Salvation Army, and then takes his ass to the library to write up his fucking resume and apply for jobs, for cryin' out loud," Zach said, putting another two dollars into the jar before Logan could remind him. "When I got there, Cade was there in her living room with his nuts showing under the towel, getting a vacuum cleaner haircut, because he'd gotten a job interview with a moving company." "Yeah, but if she wasn't cheating, I don't see what she did wrong," Fallon said, applying a scented mermaid tattoo to the back of his hand. "Is this what mermaids smell like?" he wondered. "Yeah, well, just as I was cooling down, this 'Cade' starts in on me for letting Honey stay in that piece of crap apartment of hers and taking in homeless guys. Even had the nerve to ask me what woulda happened if he'd been some addict, or worse, if someone that got to thinking that she was his girlfriend?" Zach said, folding his arms and looking down at Honey, who looked quite unrepentant. "What? So, Miss Honey can't be nice because they might have problems or fall in love with her?" Amarie asked. "That's not fair! You wouldn't even like her if she wasn't happy and nice all the time because she was always worried about what would happen if the boys fall in love!" "Ugh. Love ruins everything. Maybe that's why these Valentines are all so stupid, so nobody actually falls in love; Fallon said, with an air of realization. "Yeah; and then girls can take the pencil from the card and jab anybody that wants to kiss them, too." "If the burden was placed on women to be preemptively hostile to avoid rejecting unwanted affections, it might explain the decline of romance in the modern era; and 'crap' is an excremental swear," Logan added offhandedly, not looking up from his fourth Valentine message. Zach's eyes grew wide, his jaw going slack as he looked at his oldest nephew with unnerved awe and added another dollar to the jar without argument. "They should really make these things with nunchucks; Fallon added, looking down at his Valentines, "Nobody can kiss you if you have nunchucks." "The point is, even a freaked out homeless guy knew that Miss Honey did something dangerous that nobody should ever do! You don't just grab strangers off the street and take them into your homes because there's a lot of crazies out there that will mess you up for no reason at all!" Zach ranted at the kids. A stomp from the corner made Zach turn back to where Honey waved her hand insistently in the air, her sweater pulling up and exposing a narrow bit of skin at her waist. The skin was pale and beautiful, like the rest of her, except where there was a slight bruise where his fingers had gripped her tightly as he pounded into her from behind in a haze of animalistic lust, only a few hours ago. "Yes?" he asked hoarsely, a dew of sweat breaking out over the back of his neck. Honey cleared her throat, "Okay; say someone threatened to kill you and then scared you to death for a whole year by following you around; and then one day you wake up at their house all beaten up and they tell you that they're going to keep you there and take care of you until you're better. Should you give them a chance, or just phone an Uber and get the heck out of there?" Honey asked, putting her hands on her hips. A peal of laughter rose out of the corner where Terry was, and Zach stomped his foot, ending it quickly. "I don't know. That person sounds scary, Miss Honey; Amarie said, her large eyes concerned. "That's just insane. That's like that movie where this crazy lady kidnapped this guy and makes him write books for her and then she smashed his legs with a sledgehammer when;" "Who the fuck is letting you watch 'Misery,' Fallon?" Zach roared. "YouTube," Fallon said, shrugging. "Jesus Fucking Christ; Zach said, waving down Logan's hand and stuffing more bills into the jar, then walked back to where Honey sat with a smirk on her face. Glaring down at her, he crossed his massive arms, and she crossed her legs again, squirming slightly on her stool. "Maggot, come watch the kids," he barked as Terry collapsed on the floor with a relieved sigh. "I wanna talk to you in the other room," he said, gripping Honey by the back of her neck and steering her up the stairs as she tried to control her giggles. "But there isn't another room; it's all just one big room. Even your bedroom is just a big shelf;" Honey began, until Zach steered her into the bathroom and locked the door. "Hey kids, what do you say we turn this into a dance party!" Terry yelled, and loud music quickly started blasting outside the bathroom door. "Did they just fucking compare me to Annie Bates?" Zach asked as Honey dropped to her knees, unzipped his jeans and took out his painfully excited erection. "Umm huh," Honey said, hungrily filling her mouth with his hard cock, as his hand gripped the back of her head. Zach's breath hitched as she began rubbing her tongue on the bottom of his mushroom head, clutching his flexing thighs. Groaning, he thrust back and forth slowly, watching his cock slide in and out of her wet lips. "Just for that, you're swallowing my load this time," Zach growled, gripping her hair tighter and thrusting deeper. Honey just wrinkled her nose and relaxed her throat, letting him plunge and withdraw, clenching his jaw, loving the noises he made as his excitement grew beyond his control. With a strangled moan, he thrust deep and watched her eyes widen when he swelled and throbbed down her throat, until he slowly pulled out and spilled the last hot pulses on her tongue. Honey's eyes glowed as she took him once more into her mouth and slowly slid back, cleaning him with her tongue, until the head of his cock slowly emerged from her wet lips and received a sweet kiss on the tip. He shook his head in amazement and lifted her up in his arms, overwhelmed again at the miracle of having her there with him, when there were so many ways that everything that had happened between them could have gone wrong. Still breathing raggedly, he bent down and kissed her, her eager and innocent passion for him touching him more deeply than he cared to admit. How in the hell had he managed to get this girl? Zach lifted her up and set her bottom on the bathroom countertop and stripped her sweater over her head, bending and going after her neck first. He loved the way she shivered when she felt his lips and teeth drag across the smooth skin, the way she completely lost herself to him. She was already panting those soft sighs against the top of his head when he freed her tits and took them in his mouth, and then he chuckled when she jumped at the sensation of it. God, he hoped she never changed. Diving in, he devoured her soft pale flesh, her rosy nipples tightening under his busy tongue. He reached down, pushed her skirt up, and moved the wet gusset of her panties aside. He laughed again, feeling the abundant slippery nectar between his fingers, leaving no doubt that she wanted him just as much as he did her. He wanted to taste her, to feel her hips rise up under his mouth, begging him for more, but he knew Honey could never stay quiet enough, even with Terry blasting a dance mix. Lifting his head from her tits, he returned to her mouth, her nose, her cheeks; God, he couldn't get enough of her. "Look at me," he said in a rough whisper, smiling when Honey's eyes opened obediently, seeking him through her haze of need. She bit her lips and whimpered when his fingers found her clit. "Don't you come until I say," he rasped, toggling her bud expertly. Honey moaned and wound her legs around him, pulling him closer, her back arching in restrained pleasure. "Umm; I can't do it; please; please; she begged, crying softly in loss when he slowed his ministrations, "No; she whimpered. "Don't you want to come on my cock, baby girl?" he said, finding his mark and sliding home into her warm welcome. "Now, come; he said, kissing her softly and pulling her hips to him as he thrust deep. "Ah;" Honey's cry was quickly contained by Zach's hand covering her mouth, his other hand holding her steady as he thrust into her and felt her shaking and squeezing around him as she came. If he hadn't just released in her mouth, there was no way he could resist filling her full of his cum again now. Instead, he just watched Honey's eyes roll back as she clung to him, letting her orgasm take her away until it left her weak and pliable in his arms. He held her against him, slowly moving inside her, waiting for her to recover. Always before, it had been a relentless push for the intense frenzied moment, almost blind to whatever person he was with, but with Honey that was all on its head. She was the experience, for him. Seeing her discover, taste, and feel was everything he wanted. He didn't want to feel a surge ripping through him if she wasn't there, too. It wasn't real; wasn't complete if she wasn't there with him. Fuck; he was gone for this girl. "There she is; he murmured when he saw her eyes clear and smiling into his again. Relieved, he thrust faster, joining their bodies together with more force, now that she was able to be present to it. "There's my girl; he said, smiling and kissing her again. "Zach; she said, smiling back at him for no reason other than thinking he was something wonderful. Looking at her, he started shaking his head, "God, Honey; I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, it scared the fuck out of me; thinking what could've happened to you; but Amarie's right. I couldn't stand it if you were any other way," Zach rasped, lifting her off the counter just to hold her closer to him. Honey wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him as he kissed her desperately, plunging into her again and again. "Promise me; promise me you'll never change; he panted, lifting her and pressing her against the wall as his need grew. "Oh Zach; it's coming; uh; uh; uh; uh;" Honey's squeals were again silenced, this time by Zach's lips. Thrusting with joyous abandon, Zach filled her again and again, pushing into her body, his release tearing through him, made complete only by her embrace, pouring into her his need, his heart, his everything; because she was the only one he wanted to have it. A short while later, Zach and Honey slunk out of the bathroom, carefully primped and looking like nothing at all had happened. They needn't have bothered, though, because the children were transfixed with a story Terry was telling, with his foot on the table and his pants leg pulled up to show a small wound on his ankle. "And I'm screaming bloody murder, of course, because when something in the desert bites you, in your head it's always a rattlesnake, right?" he asked, to the unanimous agreement of the three children. "Well, then your Uncle Zach doesn't even miss a beat and he just picks me up, throws me over his shoulder and continues on the race like nothing happened!" "Whoa! He's really strong! You're like 500 pounds or something!" Fallon exclaimed. "Why didn't he just call for help?" Logan asked, frowning. "No coverage. This race was the middle of nowhere; and Zach figured I'd get the anti-venom faster if he brought me with him, not to mention all the things that woulda crawled up to bite me all alone out there in the desert. So, like a hero, your uncle carried me more than three miles through the desert and dumped me down only after he'd crossed the finish line," Terry said, nodding. "And what's a 'bubblehead?'" Amarie asked. "Well, you see, sweetheart, a 'bubblehead' is;" "A bubblehead is someone who works on a submarine where there's nowhere good to practice running for a race; and who give you no end of shit when you fucking come in fourth place after them, carrying an idiot with a fucking kangaroo rat bite on his goddamn ankle! Back on your face, Maggot!" Zach roared, "Fallon, go sit on Uncle Terry's back, over there," Zach said, pointing to the corner where Terry was getting back into pushup position, and then he took out his wallet and dropped the entire thing into the Language Arts Scholarship jar. "All right, kids, I'm gonna tell you the story the right way, now; Released from the naughty stool, Honey happily buzzed around the apartment, making cupcakes with Amarie, giving pointers to Logan who had decided to fold each of his Valentines into a different origami animal, and bringing water to the profusely sweating Terry, over Zach's obscene objections. At the end of the day, after the kids and Terry had gone home, Honey and Zach had nearly fallen asleep on the sofa when a knock at the door jerked them back awake. Zach seemed to expect it, though, and winked at Honey before getting up and going to the door. "Where do you want it?" the visitor's familiar voice asked, though their face was obscured by a large cardboard box. "Yeah, put them in the storage area, through there; we'll go through it all later," Zach said, pointing out the way to a uniformed Cade. "Cade! You got the job! That's great!" Honey squealed. "Yeah, well it's just moving stuff around, but I can make something of it," Cade called to her over his shoulder as he carried the box to the area Zach had specified. "And what is all this? Are you letting him stay with you until he's got a place of his own?" Honey asked Zach, her eyes shining as she wrapped her arms around him. "Not exactly. Cade's staying at your place. Actually, it's his place, now. This is your place. That's your stuff he's moving in here," Zach explained. "Wait, what? You're moving me out of my apartment?" Honey asked, getting up and looking into the boxes Cade was moving in. "It's a shitty apartment. My foot went through the floor," Zach said in disgust, walking over and enjoying the view as Honey bent over and tried to pull something out of the bottom of one of the larger boxes. "That's because you stepped on one of the soft spots!" Honey's voice said, muffled by the cardboard. "If you stayed to the path I showed you, it wouldn't have; wait a minute, you just gave my apartment to Cade? What am I going to tell my landlord?" Honey said, dropping whatever it was she was trying to lift out of the box. "I don't think the guy who owns your building's gonna mind; Zach said, scratching his chin and looking around the room with a slight smile. "Of course, he's going to mind! He minds everything! Unless it has to do with a toilet that looks like it's sinking through the floor, he; wait a minute; Zach, did you just buy my apartment building?" Honey asked, pulling her head out of the box and frowning at him. "It was really cheap. Saved them the cost of condemning it, really," Zach said with a shrug, taking her hand and pulling her against him. "I'll have Terry and Cade fix it up, rent it out. Maybe find some more guys that need a break; Cade's got some contacts at the homeless vets place." "What, so Cade's one of your guys now, too? Like Terry? I was going to make Cade my Terry! You took my Terry?" Honey asked. "Well, it's not like you knew what to with him, anymore. I have Cade training with us for next year's race, too. I'll make him carry Terry when he gets a hangnail or some other damn thing," Zach said. "Took my apartment; actually my whole apartment building; and you took my Terry. Didn't even ask. I can't believe this," Honey grumbled. "Just so you know, one of these days, I'm gonna need you to marry me and have some babies, too. Good ones, okay? None of those 'well, maybe they'll grow out of it' babies," Zach said. Honey bit her lips like she was hiding a smile and crossed her arms, "That's not how you ask someone to marry you; she said, trying to sound more upset than she felt. "I wasn't asking. Now, was I?" Zach said, lifting her over his shoulder and giving her bottom a spank before carrying her back to the living room. "Do you remember that time I slapped you and called you an 'overbearing ass?' This; Honey said, gesturing to their entire situation, "This is what I was talking about." "Hmm," Zach said, putting her down on her feet, then stretching back on the sofa, making a space for her under his arm, as he turned on the TV. Honey huffed in disgust, but curled up against him anyway, taking the remote and turning it to a movie she liked, just to make a point. Zach only smiled, pulling her closer with his arm. "That apartment was mine; she mumbled, the warm rise and fall of his chest and the steady beat of his enormous heart already lulling her to sleep. Zach smiled down at Honey, stroking a lock of hair away from her face, grateful and relieved that she hadn't put up more of a fuss. Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head, "Yeah, well; so am I. Happy Valentine's." Based on a post by Lingering Afterthought, in 3 parts, for Literotica.

Special Guest Speaker, Pastor Dulce Lopez, brings this week's message, “From Groaning to Glory: Something Good is Coming." Key Verses: Luke 1:26–27, 31, 34–35, 38 ESV: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 2:6 ESV: “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.” Sermon Topics: Obedience, Endurance, Faith If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends on social media. For more information about PNEUMA Church, visit our website at mypneumachurch.org. Connect with Us: Instagram: https://instagram.com/mypneumachurch YouTube: https://youtube.com/mypneumachurch Facebook: https://facebook.com/mypneumachurch Time Stamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome 03:12 - Special Guest Speaker Pastor Dulce Lopez 10:24 - Luke 1:26–27, 31, 34–35, 38; Luke 2:6 12:40 - From Groaning to Glory: Something Good is Coming.

Dr. Darrin Wright,FBCW,FBC Wheeling,Romans Sermon, Romans, The Groaning of the Children of God,Romans 8,

Romans 8 invites us into a profound meditation on suffering, creation, and the hope of glory that awaits us. We discover that suffering isn't something God overlooks—it's actually a tool He uses to shape us into mature believers who reflect His image. Like a silversmith heating silver until he can see his reflection in it, God allows trials to remove the impurities in our lives. The passage reveals something remarkable: all of creation is groaning alongside us, waiting for redemption. From the moment sin entered the world in Genesis 3, the ground was cursed with thorns and thistles, and decay became part of our reality. But creation hasn't given up hope. The seas, rivers, trees, and mountains all long for Christ's return when everything will be made new. Even the darkness at Christ's crucifixion and the earthquake that split rocks testified to creation's recognition of its Creator. We're challenged to examine whether we share creation's eager longing for Christ's return, or whether we've become so comfortable with our earthly blessings that we've lost our heavenly focus. The promise is breathtaking: God will replace every thorn with a cypress, every briar with a myrtle. He's making all things new, and our suffering is producing an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison.**Sermon Notes:****Introduction:**- Passage: Romans 8:17-25.- Central theme: The role of suffering in Christian maturity and the hope of future glory.**Key Themes:**1. **Suffering and Growth:**  - Suffering is universal and disliked but essential for Christian growth.  - Suffering isn't elective; it's a part of spiritual maturation.  - Personal anecdote: Grandson's struggle during a hike symbolizes how suffering can lead to growth.2. **Comfort and Complacency:**  - Modern comfort can lead to spiritual complacency.  - Reference to Revelation 3:14 (Laodicean church): They are lukewarm due to self-sufficiency and lack of spiritual hunger.  - Importance of recognizing need for God amid comfort.3. **Creation's Groaning:**  - Creation itself suffers due to sin and longs for redemption.  - Examples of nature's subjugation: thorns, decay, and futility.  - Biblical references: Genesis 3 (curse of the ground), and Isaiah's prophecy of renewal.4. **God's Sovereignty Over Nature:**  - God controls and commands creation.  - Examples: Darkness at Jesus' crucifixion, God stopping time for Joshua.  - Nature worships God through its existence and awaits His return.5. **Hope of Redemption:**  - Believers are like creation, groaning for relief and renewal.  - Hope is anchored in God's promise of a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21).6. **Practical Implications:**  - Self-reflection on spiritual readiness and eagerness for Christ's return.  - Challenge to embrace suffering as a path to spiritual growth.**Practical Applications:**1. **Embrace Suffering:**  - View personal hardships as opportunities for spiritual growth.  - Reflect on how challenges can refine character and increase reliance on God.2. **Combat Complacency:**  - Evaluate areas of life where comfort may have led to spiritual stagnation.  - Foster a genuine hunger for God through scripture and prayer.3. **Focus on Eternal Hope:**  - Regularly meditate on the promises of a renewed creation and eternal life.  - Shift perspective from earthly concerns to heavenly expectations.**Discussion Questions:**1. How has a specific period of suffering or hardship contributed to your spiritual growth?2. In what areas might comfort be hindering your spiritual zeal or dependence on God?3. How do you maintain hope and patience while waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises?4. In what ways can you remind yourself and others that this world is not our ultimate home?5. How do you actively prepare your heart and mind for Christ's return amidst the distractions of everyday life?By focusing on these themes and applications, we strive to not only understand the biblical text but also integrate its teachings into our daily lives, reinforcing our hope in Christ's imminent return and the inherent growth found through life's challenges.

If we're going to be equipped for real life, we have to see how Christ actually prepares us to face the unavoidable brutalities of life. We've been looking at how faith in Christ concretely and profoundly changes us. And in Romans 8, we get to the subject of suffering. It's absolutely crucial if we're going to be equipped in any spiritual way for real life, to see how Christ helps us in our sufferings. This text gives us three things: 1) it gives us a warning about suffering, 2) it gives us three resources for suffering, and 3) it tells us how we can be sure those resources will work. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 10, 2006. Series: In Christ Jesus: How the Spirit Transforms Us. Scripture: Romans 8:13-27. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Carl Gallups is the senior pastor for Hickory Hammock Church down in Florida. He has authored 14 books, including his most recent ‘Golgotha’s Groaning.’ Carl Gallups online: http://carlgallups.com/ Golgotha’s Groaning: http://www.carlgallups.com/golgotha/ www.worldviewmatters.tv © FreedomProject 2025

In this episode, Nole and Kevin tackle a seemingly small but significant habit: subconscious groaning and complaining. Inspired by a clip from Jocko Willink's camp, the hosts realize that those small sounds—like groaning when you stand up or sighing when the tones drop—are forms of negative self-talk and a passive concession to "letting the old man in."The conversation digs into how this mindset affects your performance as a first responder and your daily life, the stoic philosophy of Sisu, and the eternal balance between adapting to age and outright surrender. Plus, they introduce their new, raw video live streams!Big thank you to My Epic and Facedown Records for the use of their song "Hail" in our podcast!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2RZThURTU&ab_channel=FacedownRecordsSend Nole an email: nolerltw@gmail.comJoin the Telegram group: https://t.me/+pSg4QvG4e681MzYxSign up for a class at The Fire Up Program!https://www.fireupprogram.com/programsMyZone facility code for The Fire You Carry: CALIFUS001Get $60 off a MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor!https://buy.myzone.org/?lang=enUS&voucher=CALIFUS001-60The Fire Up Progam video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__ErPW46Ec&t=12s&ab_channel=FireUpProgramThe Fire You Carry Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/thefireyoucarry/Donate to The Fire Up Program.https://www.fireupprogram.com/donateThe Fire Up Program Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/fireup_program/Kevin's Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/kevinpwelsh/?hl=enNole's Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/nolelilley/?hl=en

This message explores the important connection we have between groaning and hoping. In a world marked by so much groaning, we are called to enter into it, but to do so from a place of hope. If you find yourself groaning in some area of your life, this sermon will serve you well.

Groaning isn't something that needs to be taught. It can be heard from the nursery school to the nursing home! Find out how the groaning of Christians—and even God's creation—differs from worldly despair. Study along with Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Life in the Spirit' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts  you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

Groaning isn't something that needs to be taught. It can be heard from the nursery school to the nursing home! Find out how the groaning of Christians—and even God's creation—differs from worldly despair. Study along with Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/163/29

Bob Schwahn | Lead Pastor | November 2, 2025 Referenced Scripture: Romans 8:1, Romans 8:38-39, Romans 8:22-25, John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Matthew 6:9-10, John 14:12, Romans 8:29, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Acts 1:8, Matthew 13:31-33, John 14:4-5, John 18:36 Reflection Questions: 1. Read Romans 8:22-25 Paul describes that we along with the whole creation groan inwardly for the redemption of all things. How specifically have you experienced the groaning of this life? How have you experienced the longing for heaven and redemption of all things? How have you experienced times of the Kingdom of heaven breaking into your life? 2. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? In this current age we are the temples of the Holy Spirit and God's plan to bring heaven to earth.How do you see God using you to bring heaven to earth? What makes that challenging for you? What would you need to change in order to see God use you more? 3. John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. What did Jesus mean that we would do greater things than he had been doing? 4. Take some time to read briefly over the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5-7) This is Jesus teaching on what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. What are some things you observe as values of God's Kingdom? Where do you see places that God needs to change you to reflect these values? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing about this change in the life of a follower of Jesus? 5. What is one tangible way you can bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth in every area of your life? (Friends, Family, Work, Church, School, Neighborhood, etc.) What's your next step? * Connect: We'd love to connect with you! Fill out our Connect Card to receive more information, have us pray for you, or to ask us any questions: http://journeybozeman.com/connectcard * Connect: Get your children connected to our children's ministry, Base Camp: https://journeybozeman.com/children * Connect: Our Student Ministry is for High School and Middle School students: https://journeybozeman.com/students * Give: Want to worship through giving and support the ministry of Journey Church: https://journeybozeman.com/give * Gather: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JourneyChurchBozeman * Gather: Download our app: https://journeybozeman.com/app * Gather: Join our Facebook Group to stay connected throughout the week: https://facebook.com/groups/JourneyChurchBozeman  Chapters (00:00:00) - The tension between heaven and the world(00:05:14) - Romans 8: The Message(00:14:57) - The Greater Things of His Kingdom(00:21:28) - Bringing Heaven to Earth(00:29:23) - The kingdom of God vs the kingdom of this world(00:34:42) - Bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth(00:36:38) - Prayers for the Kingdom of Heaven

Romans 8:26-30

Romans 8:26-30

Pastor Aaron McRae invites us to step into the story of God's creation — not as distant observers, but as participants in His masterpiece.From “In the beginning…” to “It was very good,” Scripture reveals a God who brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and life out of nothing. Humanity, created in His image, is the crown of creation — made for relationship, purpose, and worship.But the story doesn't stop there. Through rebellion came brokenness… and through covenant came redemption. From Genesis to Jesus, we discover that our true identity and purpose are not achieved but received — found only in our Creator.The creation story invites us to discover our true identity and purpose by looking to our Creator, not ourselves, and seeking His will and not just our ways.

Suffering is a part of God's path to glory. But Christians rightfully long for the day when suffering will cease. We groan along with creation for Christ to return and restore all things. Discover with Pastor Chuck Swindoll more about the “groaning” found in Romans 8. Learn how the future and eternal glory awaiting the Christian far surpasses the agony of present suffering. Hope, wait, and pray with eager expectation. Trust in the Spirit's support in your suffering!

Romans 8:18-27 / October 3-6, 2025 Discover with Pastor Chuck Swindoll more about the “groaning” found in Romans 8. Learn how the future and eternal glory awaiting the Christian far surpasses the agony of present suffering. From the Series: Romans: The Christian's Constitution read more

Suffering is a part of God's path to glory. But Christians rightfully long for the day when suffering will cease. We groan along with creation for Christ to return and restore all things. Discover with Pastor Chuck Swindoll more about the “groaning” found in Romans 8. Learn how the future and eternal glory awaiting the Christian far surpasses the agony of present suffering. Hope, wait, and pray with eager expectation. Trust in the Spirit's support in your suffering!

Romans 8:18-27 / October 3-6, 2025 Discover with Pastor Chuck Swindoll more about the “groaning” found in Romans 8. Learn how the future and eternal glory awaiting the Christian far surpasses the agony of present suffering. From the Series: Romans: The Christian's Constitution read more

Creation is groaning, but the good news is that it won't always be like this. As Christians, we have hope that one day we will be a part of the Kingdom of God - the return and reign of Jesus to this earth, where we get new bodies that will last for all eternity!

Creation is groaning, but the good news is that it won't always be like this. As Christians, we have hope that one day we will be a part of the Kingdom of God - the return and reign of Jesus to this earth, where we get new bodies that will last for all eternity!

FOLLOW RICHARD Website: https://www.strangeplanet.ca YouTube: @strangeplanetradio Instagram: @richardsyrettstrangeplanet TikTok: @therealstrangeplanet EP. #1259 Golgotha's Forbidden Code: Why Bible Experts Blindly Miss the Crucifixion Screaming from Every Hebrew Letter Journey into biblical shadows on Strange Planet as pastor Carl Gallups unveils Golgotha's Groaning—his explosive claim that three crosses lurk encrypted in Hebrew Scripture, from Genesis' dawn to Revelation's roar. Why do scholars like Dennis Prager dissect the Torah for decades yet ignore its blatant Messiah blueprint? Probe Psalm 22's crucifixion blueprint, Isaiah 53's synagogue blackout, and creation's labor pains echoing Calvary's cry. Jesus as lamb, scapegoat, priest—fulfilling rituals in cosmic eruption. Satan blindsided, Judas ensnared: aftershocks rumble today. Timed for end times, this decoding ignites faith amid prophetic chaos. GUEST: Carl Gallups is a dynamic pastor, bestselling author, and prophetic teacher with over 30 years in global ministry. A frequent guest on major TV and radio platforms, he has preached worldwide, igniting audiences with bold biblical insights. Author of 14 acclaimed books—including The Yeshua Protocol, Gods of Ground Zero, and the groundbreaking Golgotha's Groaning—Gallups deciphers ancient codes and end-times prophecies, challenging conventional scholarship while affirming Scripture's divine precision. WEBSITE: http://carlgallups.com BOOK: Golgotha's Groaning: Stunningly Unique Biblical Disclosures from Genesis to Revelation That Are Shaking the End Times World SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! ⁠FABRIC BY GERBER LIFE⁠ Life insurance that's designed to be fast and affordable. You could get instant coverage with no medical exam for qualified applicants.   Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family.  Apply today in just minutes at ⁠meet fabric dot com slash STRANGE⁠ ⁠TESBROS⁠ We're a small business built by Tesla owners, for Tesla owners. Everything we do is about helping our customers customize, protect, and maintain their ride — whether it's through our products or YouTube how-tos and reviews.  Go to⁠ tesbros.com⁠ and use code POD15 for 15% off your first order. ⁠⁠BUTCHERBOX⁠⁠ ButcherBox delivers better meat and seafood straight to your door – including 100% grass-fed beef, free-range organic chicken, pork raised crate-free, and wild-caught seafood. Right now, ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ⁠⁠ButcherBox.com/strange⁠⁠ to get this limited time offer and free shipping always. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. HIMS - Making Healthy and Happy Easy to Achieve Sexual Health, Hair Loss, Mental Health, Weight Management START YOUR FREE ONLINE VISIT TODAY - ⁠HIMS dot com slash STRANGE⁠ ⁠https://www.HIMS.com/strange⁠ ⁠QUINCE BEDDING⁠ Cool, Relaxed Bedding. Woven from 100% European flax linen. Visit ⁠QUINCE BEDDING⁠ to get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.   ⁠BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!!⁠  ⁠https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm⁠  Three monthly subscriptions to choose from.  Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum.  Visit ⁠https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm⁠ Use the discount code "Planet" to receive $5 OFF  off any subscription.  We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/