Podcasts about Holy Spirit

What if experiencing God's closeness wasn't rare, but constant? What if freedom from sin didn't come from trying harder, but from being so satisfied in Christ that sin simply lost its appeal? In this message from Pepperdine University, Francis Chan calls us beyond hype and emotional moments to a faith that truly abides - a life rooted in Jesus, shaped by His Word, and empowered by His Spirit. This is about a relationship that doesn't fade when the gathering ends, but grows deeper over time. This isn't behavior modification. It's transformation from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit fills a life, something real begins to change. Desires shift. Conviction deepens. Freedom becomes tangible. And what starts as a spark can become a fire that lasts for decades.

Guilt can creep in quietly. Sometimes it stems from clear mistakes—words spoken too quickly, decisions made without prayer, moments we wish we could redo. Other times, guilt grows from things beyond our control: physical limitations, unmet expectations, or the sense that we simply aren’t doing enough. Romans 8:1-2 speaks directly into those heavy places: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” That is not partial freedom. It is complete freedom. Through Jesus, we are released from the law of sin and death and invited into the life-giving grace of the Spirit. As believers, conviction from the Holy Spirit draws us toward repentance and restoration. But condemnation—the crushing, lingering voice that says you are defined by your failure—does not come from God. If you have surrendered your heart to Christ and asked for forgiveness, you are forgiven. Period. Guilt often tries to convince us that everything depends on us: that others’ well-being, outcomes, or perfection rest solely on our shoulders. But God is sovereign. He cares for you and for the people you love. He works even through what feels like weakness, missteps, or unfinished tasks. You are not loved because of flawless performance. You are loved because you belong to Christ. His grace is not fragile. His forgiveness is not temporary. His plan is not derailed by your imperfections. Today, you can release the weight you’ve been carrying. There is no condemnation. You are free. Main Takeaways Guilt can arise from both real mistakes and unrealistic expectations. Conviction leads to repentance; condemnation leads to shame. Romans 8:1 promises complete freedom from condemnation in Christ. God remains in control, even when we feel we’ve fallen short. Forgiveness through Jesus is full, final, and freeing. Today’s Bible Verse Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2) Your Daily Prayer Prayer excerpt for listeners: “Remind me that there is no condemnation in Christ, and help me walk in the freedom You have already given me.” Listen to the full prayer here. To view the prayer in written format, visit the links below. Want More? Relevant Links & Resources Continue growing in faith and encouragement: LifeAudio.com – Christian podcasts and devotionals Crosswalk.com – Daily prayers, articles, and Bible study resources Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ⇒ Join the MMM Prayer Team: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/PrayerTeam ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Peter 1:19–21 - And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [20] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (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.

#10MinuteswithJesus ** Put yourself in the presence of God. Try talking to Him. ** 10 minutes are 10 minutes. Even if you can get distracted, reach the end. ** Be constant. The Holy Spirit acts "on low heat" and requires perseverance. 10-Minute audio to help you pray. Daily sparks to ignite prayer: a passage from the gospel, an idea, an anecdote and a priest who speaks with you and the Lord, inviting you to share your intimacy with God. Find your moment, consider you are in His presence and click play.

If you've ever felt a sudden “voice” telling you to break up, and it came with guilt, fear, or shame, this episode is for you.In this conversation, we're responding to a message that deeply moved us. A man shared that after hearing a sermon, he felt what seemed like conviction telling him he was in the wrong relationship and needed to leave, even though he loves his girlfriend and wants to serve Christ with her.So how do you know if something is truly from God?In this episode, we talk about the difference between conviction and anxiety. We unpack how God actually leads His children. And we share why we do not believe He randomly asks someone to leave a relationship as a test of obedience or trust.If a thought feels urgent, condemning, and heavy, it may not be the Holy Spirit. God's voice brings clarity and peace, even when it challenges us. It does not trap you in shame or constant second-guessing.If you struggle with relationship anxiety or constantly question whether you should stay or go, this episode will help you slow down and discern what is really happening beneath the fear.Links-Podcast EXCLUSIVE 3-Masterclass Bundle:https://stan.store/joyrossignol/p/3masterclass-bundleIf you're ready to finally quiet the noise and feel grounded in your relationship again, now is the perfect time to join.Join Silence the Noise Course:https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/Te3uYz2J/checkoutWant to dive deeper? 1:1 Relationship Anxiety Intensive:https://stan.store/joyrossignol/p/11-relationship-anxiety-intensivePayment plan for 1:1 Intensive: https://stan.store/joyrossignol/p/11-relationship-anxiety-intensive-payment-planMost intimate way to work with me-1:1 Coaching Mentorship (3-months): https://gz43pjtl2nc.typeform.com/to/nRp3NRTyOther resources: https://stan.store/joyrossignol

Are you living as an effective and productive Christian? Today, Pastor JD outlines the progressive journey of spiritual maturity for believers. By practicing the qualities identified as the fruits of the Spirit, we grow in grace and knowledge of Christ, becoming more like Him through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 1 & 2 E2 — Psalm 2 presents a crisis perpetuated by a long line of corrupt empires in the ancient Near East. Every one of these empires makes a practice of conquering, murdering, raping, and pillaging across the known world, while ancient Israel is just one small nation conquered and occupied again and again. So how do Yahweh and his anointed king respond to this injustice? Surprisingly, a lot like how the evil imperial rulers do: with mocking laughter, hot anger, and by smashing them like pottery! But why? In this episode, Jon and Tim explore Psalm 2 as a minority report from an oppressed, ancient people group and an intentionally provocative portrait of God within the broader context of the Hebrew Bible.  FULL SHOW NOTES For chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode. CHAPTERS Why Do the Nations Rage? (0:00-22:47) Yahweh's Laughter and Decree (22:47-39:28) A Warning for the Kings (39:28-55:26) REFERENCED RESOURCES Check out Tim's extensive collection of recommended books here. SHOW MUSIC “Pivot” by Styles Davis & Venuz Beats “Hypha” by invention_ BibleProject theme song by TENTS  SHOW CREDITS Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today's episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we continue our Lenten book study on "The Way of Trust and Love" and focus on Chapter 1: A Completely New Way. We reflect on the "little way" of St. Thérèse, the invitation to become spiritual children before the Father, and how weakness becomes the very place where Christ comes to meet us. We also talk about the difference between being childish and childlike, why true maturity in faith begins with admitting our own poverty, and how small acts of courage open the door to deep healing. This week, we invite you to name the desires stirring in your heart and let the Holy Spirit awaken a new song within you.   Heather's One Thing - Franciscan's Campus-wide "Behold" Retreat Sister Miriam's One Thing - Healing Wounds by Bishop Erik Varden  Michelle's One Thing - The O' Grady's Beach House  Michelle's Other One Thing - Emily Lex Watercolor Workbooks    Journal Questions: How often do I accept the letter of God's adoption of me, and not the spirit of God's adoption? Where in my life do I need Mother Mary to smile upon me? How have I turned to self-reliance this Lent? Where is God inviting me to become more adult and free? What is the new song the Lord wants to put in my heart?   Discussion Questions: When do you notice orphanhood in your heart? What are you learning from St. Therese this Lent? When have you experienced the healing delight of a mother? Is it difficult for you to name your desires? What is one desire God has placed on your heart this Lent? What is the "yes" God is asking you to make today?   Quotes to Ponder: "You know, Mother, that I have always desired to be a saint, but alas, I have always realized, when I compared myself to the saints, that there is between them and me the same difference as exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the skies, and the obscure grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by. Instead of getting discouraged, I said to myself: "God could not" "inspire us with desires that were unrealizable, so despite my littleness I can aspire to holiness. It is impossible for me to grow up, I must put up with myself as I am, with all my imperfections; but I want to find how to get to Heaven by a little way that is quite straight, quite short: a completely new little way." (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)   "Each of us has an absolute need for an inner transformation that makes us "as little as a child." What that means and how to put it into practice are exactly what Thérèse teaches in a simple, luminous way. That is why she was proclaimed a Doctor—that is, a teacher—of the Church." (Father Jacques Philippe, The Way of Trust and Love, Page 6)   "The heart of Christian life is to receive and welcome God's tenderness and goodness, the revelation of his merciful love, and to let oneself be transformed interiorly by that love." (Father Jacques Philippe, The Way of Trust and Love, Page 7)   Scripture for Lectio: "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)   Sponsor - Healed and Restored: Healed and Restored is a non-profit organization located in the Charlotte, NC area that was created in 2020 to fill a void and respond to a need that has been long overlooked in our society. A program that is 100% dedicated to helping women heal in the aftermath of abuse, assault, and other traumatic experiences. According to the United Nations, one in three girls and women around the world has been subjected to sexual and/or physical abuse at least once in their lives. Studies show that women who have been through abuse (of all types) have higher levels of fear, are more isolated, and face greater mental health problems. In the aftermath of any of these traumatic events, women will sometimes resort to hurting themselves through cutting, eating disorders, and addictions. Without proper care and healing, these dark cycles can persist for years. We help women and girls realize that God desires to heal every single one of His beloved children. We teach them that the enemy is a master manipulator. As soon as a person gets hurt, the devil begins to plant all kinds of lies in our hurting souls. Some of these lies are: God doesn't love you, everything that happened is your fault, you should be forever ashamed, and you will never find healing and peace. The Mission The Healed and Restored mission is to help women and girls who are survivors of abuse, assault, domestic violence, trafficking, and all other forms of trauma find healing and restoration. Grounded in Catholic teachings and through a combination of counseling, life coaching, intimate workshops, practical tools, spiritual mentoring, and community support we help women and girls transform pain into purpose— empowering them to not only survive, but thrive. Since 2020, Healed and Restored has helped over 500 women and girls on their journey to process their unhealed wounds. Never could we have predicted how much God would bless our mission in such a short period of time. All of this has us convinced that there are times when God uses our deepest pain to propel us on the path to our greatest calling! If you or someone you know could use the assistance of our trained and compassionate Catholic Therapists/Counselors and money is an issue, please do not hesitate to reach out to us by emailing info@healedandrestored.org for more information and guidance. Or if you feel called to be part of this mission by volunteering your time, we would love to hear from you. Together and guided by the Holy Spirit, we can make a difference in the life of those around us who are suffering.   Timestamps:  00:00 Healed and Restored 01:31 Intro 02:17 Welcome 04:26 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder 05:35 Trusting in Our Creator 09:49 The Path of Spiritual Childhood 12:53 Healed by Delight 16:27 What is the "Little Way"? 19:36 Childlike vs Childish 24:05 The Role of Holy Scripture 30:10 One Things

Today, in the world, the Holy Spirit is holding back evil. When He is removed from that office, evil men will be permitted to have their day. Revelation 13 describes that day when the Beast makes war and God tells His saints not to fight back, not to receive his mark, and not to despair. The narrative is building; don't miss the glorious end!

Anna and Matt encourage parents to build one simple but powerful habit in their homes: regular Bible reading. Research shows that the single biggest predictor of long-term vibrant faith in kids is whether they regularly read the Bible while growing up—and the good news is, it doesn't have to be complicated. A recent Lifeway study found: Only 29% of kids in Christian households regularly read their Bible. The spiritual activity with the greatest long-term impact on faith was consistent Bible reading. Here are simple ways to build a Bible-reading rhythm in your home:

This is Episode 100… and baby, we made it two years. I recorded this right after church, lit in the Holy Spirit, reflecting on Pastor Darius Daniels' Prayerology series and the reminder that prayer isn't a fire extinguisher — it's intimacy with God. From rededicating LTTA back to God, to officially stepping into my full name Braelyn Simone Greenfield, to publicly apologizing for moments I bled on this mic from a broken place — this episode is raw, emotional, and honest.I talk about how I used to equate purpose with platform, followers, and validation — and how God tore that idea down. Purpose isn't arenas or accolades. It's obedience in the “minuscule” moments. It's smiling at someone on the BeltLine. It's having 12 women fly in for a live taping and realizing impact isn't about numbers — it's about alignment. I also share the financial ups and downs, the fear of leadership, and how favor follows obedience — not ego.This episode is about identity, surrender, community, and trying this again… but this time with Jesus.Please leave a review , if this episode spoke to you! For exclusive bonus content, behind-the-scenes vlogs, a place connect with the LTTA FAM plus more join the LTTA app community at LTTA.app and unlock your invite today! Audio Fam, since you listen to the audio every Monday , don't forget to go watch the YouTube on Tuesday! Go comment “Audio Fam

What if you believed that your healing has already been paid for? In this powerful episode with Kate Hamilton, we talk about supernatural healing and what it means to stop striving and start living from the finished work of Jesus. We unpack how control and performance keep us stuck, why our belief systems matter, and the practical ways we can steward our health with the Holy Spirit. If you're longing for breakthrough in your body or soul, this conversation will challenge you to anchor your beliefs in God's Word and trust that His heart is for you to be well and whole. Kate Hamilton is the visionary founder of Gold Health Concierge and Aletheia, where she is transforming the way individuals, churches, and organizations engage with wellness through the conviction that God's design is life abundant. With a background in hospital and healthcare systems, she bridges the gap between faith and functional medicine, bringing expertise in business development, systems thinking, and complex health case management. Through Gold Health Concierge, Kate leads programs that help clients move beyond chronic health challenges into true healing and wholeness. As a speaker, she boldly addresses the brokenness of the American healthcare system while calling people to reclaim their health both personally and corporately, weaving together Biblical truth and practical wellness strategies in a way that is engaging, faith-filled, and deeply rooted in God's Word. Visit Our Website for Show Notes: ACupFullofHopePodcast.com Follow A Cup Full of Hope on Facebook and Instagram: Instagram • Facebook Follow Caroline on Facebook and Instagram: Instagram • Facebook

God's Guidance Is Leading You—Big Choices, Small Steps | Blessed Morning Prayer To Start Your DaySUBSCRIBE to catch all the latest prayers uploaded to the Daily Effective Prayer Podcast!For more powerful daily prayers and to connect with the ministry visit:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org© Copyright DailyEffectivePrayer.com  SUPPORT THE MINISTRY: (We are listener-supported)https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/donate/ DO YOU NEED PRAYER? Send us a prayer request right now:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/prayer-request-online/ CONNECT WITH US:https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/connectYouTube (1M+ SUBSCRIBERS)X / TwitterInstagram ThreadsInstagramFacebook Daily Effective Prayer™

#10MinuteswithJesus ** Put yourself in the presence of God. Try talking to Him. ** 10 minutes are 10 minutes. Even if you can get distracted, reach the end. ** Be constant. The Holy Spirit acts "on low heat" and requires perseverance. 10-Minute audio to help you pray. Daily sparks to ignite prayer: a passage from the gospel, an idea, an anecdote and a priest who speaks with you and the Lord, inviting you to share your intimacy with God. Find your moment, consider you are in His presence and click play.

1 Timothy 4:8 NIV “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”   *Transcription Below*   Brian Smith, author of The Christian Athlete: Glorifying God in Sports, is a staff member with Athletes in Action and a cross-country coach at Lowell High School. A former collegiate runner at Wake Forest University, he earned a BA in Communications and Journalism before completing his MA in Theology and Sports Studies at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. Brian lives in Lowell, MI with his wife and three children. You can find him on Twitter @BrianSmithAIA.   Ed Uszynski is an author, speaker, and sports minister with over three decades' experience discipling college and professional athletes. With a heart for reconciliation and justice, he also works as a racial literacy consultant and marriage conference speaker, blending Biblical wisdom with practical living in the midst of complex cultural realities. He has two theological degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. He and his wife Amy have four children and live in Xenia, Ohio.   The Christian Athlete Website   Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Sam Leman Eureka   Questions and Topics We Cover: What is one of kids' greatest game day complaints?  Is it true that young athletic success is a predictor of adult athletic success? What are a few tips for instilling a heart of gratitude in our young athlete, rather than entitlement?   Related Savvy Sauce Episode: 230 Intentional Parenting in All The Stages with Dr. Rob Rienow   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:11)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:51) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka.   Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com.   Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski are my guests for today.   They are co-authors of this recent amazing book entitled, A Way Game, A Christian Parents Guide to Navigating Youth Sports. And from the very beginning, I was captivated, even with one of the endorsements from Matt Martens, who's the president and CEO of Awana, and he summed it up this way, A Way Game provides a much needed perspective shift on one of the most sacred idols in our culture, youth sports. So, Brian and Ed are all for youth sports, and yet you're going to hear there's a different way to approach it than what we've been trained in culture.   And they're going to share some wonderful and very practical insights. I can't wait to share this with you. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Ed and Brian.   Ed Uszynski & Brian Smith: (1:51 - 1:54) Thanks for having us, Laura. Yeah, good to be here, Laura.   Laura Dugger: (1:54 - 2:04) So, excited about this chat. And will the two of you just start us off by sharing your family's stage of life and your involvement in sports?   Brian Smith: (2:05 - 3:29) Yeah, there could be a lot on the back end of that question. I'll start with sports, then get into family. I've been involved in sports my entire life, played every sport imaginable growing up, got cut from just about every single sport my freshman year of high school, ended up running track and cross country because it was the only sports that you could not get cut from at my high school.   And I ended up being pretty good at it by the time I was a senior, won some state championships, ended up getting a scholarship to run at Wake Forest University. So, I did that for four years right out of college. I coached a little bit collegiately.   Soon after that, I joined staff with a sports ministry called Athletes in Action that Ed and I have a combined 50 years with Athletes in Action. And really, that's been my life ever since. I've been ministering to college and pro athletes, discipling them, helping them figure out what does that actually look like to integrate faith in sport.   Even today, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I coach high school cross country while I'm still on staff with Athletes in Action. I have a middle school Bible study that I run on Wednesday mornings.   Been married to my wife, who I actually met in high school. She was a distance runner too, and she ran at Wisconsin. So, we've been married for 20 years.   We have three kids, a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary schooler who are all involved in sport at some level, some way, shape, or form.   Laura Dugger: (3:30 - 3:34) Wow, that's incredible. Thank you, Brian. And Ed, what about you?   Ed Uszynski: (3:34 - 5:04) Well, my story is very parallel to Brian's, just different sports and some different numbers. Just tack on 15 years. Yeah, I was a basketball player.   Grew up on the west side of Cleveland with a high school football coach. My dad was, but I was a basketball player. I played at high levels all the way through my 20s, got to play overseas.   I mean, this was a long time ago, but I got everything I could out of that sport. And as soon as I graduated from college, though, I started to work with that Athletes in Action ministry that Brian mentioned. So, I've been working with college and professional athletes for 34 years now.   And same, coached at different levels, have four kids. Amy and I have been married for 26 years. We have four kids, three are in college, and one's in ninth grade, who has a game this afternoon, actually.   So, we've just been going to games and have been involved in going to sports stuff for the last 20 years with our kids. And really what happened with Brian, and I is that we looked up a decade ago and realized this youth sports thing was a fast train that was moving in directions that we weren't used to ourselves, even though we've been around sports our whole life. It's like, there's something different happening now.   And then thinking about it as Christians, like, how do we do this well as Christ followers? We don't want to separate from it. We don't want to just go for the ride. How do we do this as Christian people? And that's what got us talking about it and eventually led to this book.   Laura Dugger: (5:05 - 5:23) Well, the book was easy to read and incredible. And I'd like to start there where you begin, even where you go back before going forward. So, when you're looking back, what are the factors at play that changed youth sports over time?   Ed Uszynski: (5:26 - 6:17) Well, I'll say this and then Brian, maybe you jump in and throw a couple of them out there. I mean, youth sports is a $40 billion industry today, which is wild to think about. It's four times how much money gets spent on the NFL, which is just staggering.   I can't even hardly believe that that's true, but it is. And it's really just in the last 20 years that that's happened. I mean, 50 years ago, you couldn't have had the youth sport industrial complex, as we refer to it.   You couldn't have had it. There were a bunch of things that had to happen culturally, as is true with any new movement or any paradigm shift that happens in culture. You've got to have certain things be true all at the same time that make it possible.   So, Brian, what were a couple of those? Again, I'll throw it over to you. There's six of them that we talk about in the book. And I think it's really fascinating because I'm a history guy.   Brian Smith: (6:18 - 8:40) Yeah. And we can obviously double click on any of these, Laura, that you want to, but we talk about how the college admissions process became an avenue where youth sports parents saw, man, if we can get our kids involved in some extracurriculars and kind of tag on high level athlete to their resume, it actually helps with the college admissions process. And so even the idea of college scholarships became an opportunity for youth sports parents to get their kids involved.   And then, yeah, maybe sports can actually get them into college. We talk about the economic shifts that happen, the rise of safetyism and helicopter parenting. ESPN was a massive one in 1979.   This thing called ESPN starts, and we get 24-7 coverage of sports, which they started exploring even early on. What does it look like to give coverage to something like Little League World Series and saw that it didn't really matter how young the sport was, it's going to draw a national audience. And so, we've almost been discipled by ESPN really over the last 50 years with this consistent coverage.   We talk about the rise of the sports complex. This one to me is like the most fascinating out of all of them. In 1997, Disney decided to try to get more people to come to their parks.   They built a sports complex, just a massive sports complex. The idea was, are the older kids getting sick of the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Disney princesses? So, let's build a sports complex and maybe it'll be something else that will draw this older crowd too.   And what happened was, I mean, a lot of people started coming to it, but kind of the stake in the ground game changer was when 9-11 hit. In the months and years after that, they saw a lot less people go to their parks, but population actually doubled going to the sports complex, which is wild to think that people were afraid to go to theme parks for a vacation, but they were willing to travel across state lines to play sports at the Disney complex. So other cities and municipalities took notice of that.   Today, there's over 30,000 sports complexes like Disney's, which again, this is all adding to the system of the youth sports industrial complex. Did I miss any, Ed?   Ed Uszynski: (8:41 - 10:47) Well, no, and that's good. And the reason why we even put all that on the table, again, everybody kind of intuitively knows if you're involved, you know, something's not right. But I think it's important to say this is not normal what's happening.   It's a new normal that's been manufactured by a bunch of cultural trends, by a bunch of entrepreneurs that are doing what entrepreneurs do, and they're taking advantage of the moment, and they are generating lots of money around it. So, it should be encouraging. If it's not normal, that means actually there's a counter way of going about this.   There really can be reformation. But when all this money gets involved, the two biggest consequences that come out of that is our kids start getting treated like commodities, which they are, and we could talk the whole time even just about what that means. But maybe even more importantly, or what comes out of that is that beyond their physical development, most coaches and clubs are not paying any attention to their emotional development, their psychological development, their spiritual development, all the different aspects of what it means to be human that, frankly, used to be paid quite a bit more attention to in youth leagues when I was growing up.   I'm 58 now, so I was playing in the 70s and the 80s. And it used to be expected, at least at some level, even among non-Christian people, that you would take those aspects of a kid's life seriously. And now those just aren't prioritized.   And so, what do we do about that? Again, that's kind of our whole point is, well, as Christian people, we're really supposed to be our kid's first discipler anyways. And part of that role and part of taking on that identity is that we would be asking, what is God trying to do in the wholeness of their life, the entirety of their life, even in the context of sports?   So again, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but that's why we're trying to poke into that to say, oh, we could actually make change. We may not change the whole system. In fact, we won't. Most of us won't be expected to do that, but we can make significant change in our corner of the bleachers and what happens with our kids.   Laura Dugger: (10:48 - 11:05) That's good. And just like you said, to double-click on a few places, first of all, real quick, the 30,000 number, I remember that shocking me in the book, but I'm forgetting now, is that worldwide, the amount of sports complexes or is that just in America?   Brian Smith: (11:05 - 11:06) That's domestically in the US.   Laura Dugger: (11:07 - 11:52) Yeah. That is staggering. And then one other piece, all of this history was new to me as you brought it all together, but it was also fascinated.   This is from page 32. I'll just read your quote. The American youth sports ball began rolling when a British movement fusing spiritual development with physical activity made its way across the Atlantic Ocean at the turn of the last century.   And Ed, that's kind of what you were touching on, that they were mixing, I'm sure, spiritual, psychological discipleship, physical. Can you elaborate more on what was happening and where it originated? Because we've come very far from our origins.   Ed Uszynski: (11:53 - 13:18) Yeah. And there's been a bunch of really great books written about this topic called muscular Christianity. This idea, like you just said, Laura, of wedding physical activity through sports with our spiritual development and expecting and anticipating that somebody that was taking care of their body and that was engaging in sport activity, that was the closest thing to godliness.   That opened up the door for you to also be developing spiritually. And there was an expectation that both of those are going on at the same time. A bunch of criticism about that movement, but it was taken seriously.   The YMCA is actually a huge byproduct of the muscular Christianity movement. The Young Men's Christian Association created space for sports and for athletic activity to take place under the banner of you're also going to grow spiritually as you're doing this. So again, that was a hundred years ago.   And that's not really what AAU stands for today. The different clubs and leagues that we get involved in just don't talk that way anymore. Of course, culture just in general has shifted away from sort of a Judeo-Christian ethic guiding a North Star for us.   Even if we're not Christian people, that used to be more of a North Star. That's gone now. And so, it really is not expected in sports anymore.   Brian Smith: (13:18 - 13:55) And what we're saying is we cannot expect organizations to own that process for our kids. We can't outsource the discipleship of our kids to the youth sports industrial complex or the YMCA or the AAU. It really does start with us as Christian parents to be the primary discipler of our kids.   And there is a way to take what's happening on the field or the court or the pool and turn it into really amazing discipleship opportunities. But it means, and Ed is starting to tease this out, it means we need to change our perspective as parents when we sit in the bleachers or on the sidelines of what we're looking for and even the conversations we have with our kids on the back end.   Laura Dugger: (13:57 - 15:29) And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago.   If you visit their dealership today though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle.   This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different.   I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them on 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Laura Dugger: (15:30 - 15:31) And I want to continue getting into more of those practicals. Do you want to give us just a taste or an example or story of what that might look like?   Brian Smith: (15:32 - 16:54) We keep saying, we keep talking about the importance of the car ride home that it's tempting for us and not us broadly in the U.S., tempting for us, Ed and I, as people who have done this for 50 plus years and who should know better, it's tempting for us as discipled by an ESPN over analyzing everything culture and want to talk about sports to get in the car ride home with our kids and all we want to talk about is how game went, what they did right, what they did wrong, what they could fix next time.   Maybe instead of passing to Tim, they should take the shot next time because they're wide open. They just hit three in a row. So, and what our kids need from us in those moments is less coaching, less criticizing, less critiquing, and they just need us to connect with them.   The stats on kids quitting youth sports is crazy right now. Its 70 percent are quitting before the age of 13, in large part because it's not fun, and a lot of kids are attaching this idea of it not being fun to the car ride home with their parents who, let's say this too, most of us are well-intentioned parents. We're not trying to screw our kids up.   We want what's best for our kids, but the data and the research and the lived experience continues to tell us what our kids need from us is just to take a deep breath, connect with them, less coaching. Ed keeps saying less coaching, more slurpees.   Laura Dugger: (16:55 - 17:07) I like that. And that ties in. Is it called the peak-end principle that you discovered why kids are resisting that critique on the way home?   Brian Smith: (17:07 - 18:17) Yeah, absolutely. The peak-end rule in psychology is known as this: we, just as humans in general, not just kids, we largely remember things in our lives based on the peak moment of that event, but also how the event ends. And so, the peak moment in sport can be anything from something that goes really well, like they scored a goal or made a basket or something that did not go well, just like a massive event that took place that they're going to remember.   But then it's also married to how that event ends. So, if you think for kids, how does every youth sport experience end? It ends with the car ride home.   So, if they're experiencing the car ride home as I did not live up to mom and dad's standards, or there's fear getting into the car because they don't know what their parents are going to say, how are they remembering the totality of their youth sport experience? It is, I didn't, I didn't measure up. I wasn't enough.   It felt like sports was a place that I needed to perform for my parents or my coach. And I always feel a little bit short. We want to help parents see like there's a different path forward that can be more joyful for you, but hopefully more joyful for your kid as well.   Ed Uszynski: (18:17 - 21:37) Well, and, and I'll just, let me keep going with that, Brian. I thought you really articulated all that so well. I can just imagine a parent maybe thinking, was there never a time to correct?   Is there never a time to give input? And we would say, well, of course there, there is, they need far less of it from us than we think they need when it comes to their sport. And again, we can talk about that.   They need far less of that from us. They need us to be their parents, not to be their coaches. Even if we are their coach, they need us to be more their parents.   But there is a time to do it. We're just saying the car ride home is the worst time to do it. And that's usually the time that most of us, you know, we've got two hours of stuff to download with them.   And that's just, it's not a good time. But the other thing that Brian and I keep talking about is how about, what if we had some different metrics that we were even trying to measure? So, most of the time our metrics have to do with their performance.   Like what, what are we grading them on? Again, depending on what the sport is, there's these different things that we're looking for to say, how you did today is based on whether you did this or you didn't do that and whatnot. And we're saying as parents, and again, starting with us, we needed some other metrics that were actually more concerned about what was going on in their soul.   So again, I'm sure we'll talk more about this, but the virtues, how did love show up in the way they competed today? Where that usually is tied to them noticing somebody else. Do I, am I even asking them any questions about that?   Are they experiencing peace in the midst of all this chaos and anxiety that shows up at every game? How do we teach them to experience peace? How do they become other-centered instead of just self-centered all the time in a culture, a sport culture that's teaching them to always be the center of attention and try to be?   So, we just have needed to exchange some of what we had on that performance list, like tamper that down a little bit and maybe expand the list of categories that we're looking for that actually will matter when they're 25. And we keep saying this, our goal is that they'd come home for Thanksgiving when they're 25. And so, we need to stay relationally connected to them and how we act on the car ride home day after day after day after day, year after year is doing something to our relationship.   But we also are recognizing that it's really not going to matter whether Trey finishes with his left hand at the game today when he's 25, it's not going to matter. It's not going to matter probably a year from now, but how he goes through the handshake line after the game and the way he addresses other people, and whether or not he's learning to submit to authority, whether or not he's learning to embrace other people's humanity. Yes, even in the context of sports, that's really going to matter when he's 25.   It's going to matter when he's married. Those are the things that will matter. And we say that as people who are older and have been involved in ministry and have worked with college athletes and see what happens in their lives even after they're finished, and they have no idea who they are anymore.   And this thing that's dominated their life has not actually prepared them well to do life. And that's a problem that we say, let's start changing that when they're six and not hope they're figuring it out when they're 22.   Laura Dugger: (21:38 - 22:11) I love that because that's such a theme throughout those virtues that you talked about, but discipleship and sports are a tool or a way that we can disciple our kids. I also love that you give various questions throughout the book and even quick phrases. So to close that conversation on the car ride home, if we say, okay, that's what I've been coaching the whole way home, what is a question we could ask our child afterwards and a statement we could say and leave it at that and do it a better way?   Brian Smith: (22:12 - 23:56) The question I have consistently asked my kids after learning that I've been doing this the wrong way for a long time, I tweet my question to they get in the car and I say, is there anything that happened today from the game that you want to talk about? And it's frustrating to me because 99% of the time they say, no, can we listen to the radio? And we listen to the radio, or they play a on my phone, but I'm respecting their desire that they're done with what just happened and they're ready to move on to the next thing, even though I really want to talk about what just happened.   And then the statement that I want to make sure that I'm consistently saying that they're hearing is I love you and I'm proud of you. So, game didn't go well. Yeah, you did play well today.   That's okay. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you. Game went well today.   Awesome. Great job. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you.   So I want that to be the consistent theme that they're hearing for me, which is hopefully going to help them better understand the gospel later in life, that as they get older and older, hopefully they'll begin to realize it seemed like the way that my mom and dad interacted with me when I was performing in sport, but their love was not attached to my performance. That seems really similar to what I'm learning more and more that Jesus does for me, that I'm trying to do all these things that are good. But from what I'm understanding about the gospel, it seems like Jesus loves me in spite of what I do.   He loves me just because He's connected to me, that God loves me because I'm a son or daughter, not because I'm performing as a son or a daughter. So, in a very real way, I really am hoping that I'm giving a good teaser for my kids now for when they fully experience the gospel as they go through the life.   Ed Uszynski: (23:56 - 24:47) Another really good connecting question. I love how you said all that, Brian, is if they don't want to talk about the game, is it okay, did you have fun today? And they can only go in one of two directions.   No. Well, tell me about that. Why not?   And it opens up the door to talk about, well, because I didn't get to play or because something bad happened. And again, tell me more about that. Tell me more about that.   Or they say, yes, great. What happened that was fun? And it creates a very different conversation in the car.   And it opens up, again, relational possibilities that go way beyond, why do you keep passing it when you should be shooting it? Wow. And just all the different ways that that comes out of us, depending on sport, depending on their age.   But those are great questions. Go ahead, Brian.   Brian Smith: (24:47 - 25:41) I just asked my son this morning. He's a freshman. His wrestling season is almost done.   And I just asked, like, what has been most fun for you in wrestling this year? And his first thing was, I feel like I'm learning a lot. And that's really fun for me, which he's on a really good team.   He's had a lot of success. He's made a lot of good friends. But even that gave me a window into his characters.   My son enjoys and I knew this is true about him. But my son enjoys learning, which means he enjoys the process of getting better and better and better, which can happen in school, it can happen doing stuff in the yard, it can it can also happen in sport. But for me to remember moving forward, yeah, he he's probably going to have a different metric for what's fun in sport than I often do for him.   Yeah, like I wanted to learn. I want him to win though, too. He's happy with learning right now.   So, I need to be happy with that for him.   Ed Uszynski: (25:41 - 26:34) If I can say this, too, again, I don't want to be vulnerable on your behalf. But then knowing this, he's lost a lot this year to really good kids. Yeah.   And so much of the learning has been in the context of losing. So, you as a dad, actually, you could be crushing him because of those losses and what he needs to do to fix that and what he needs to do so that that doesn't happen again. And it's like he's already committed to learning.   How do you just how do you celebrate the loss? Like he took the risk to try something new in this movie. He tried to survive an extra period.   That's a process when and it's we just need to get better at that. Like you genuinely can celebrate that. That's not just a that's not like a participation trophy.   It's acknowledging now, do you're taking you're taking the right steps that are actually making you a winner, even if you don't have more points at the end of the game right now.   Laura Dugger: (26:34 - 26:54) Yeah. Yeah. And that long term win that you're talking about, even with character and you've talked about fun and asking them about fun.   Is it true that that's the main reason kids are dropping out of sports at such a rapid rate before age 13 is that it's just not fun anymore?   Ed Uszynski: (26:55 - 28:58) Yeah. Yeah. And why is it not fun?   And again, this is where Brian and I are always getting in each other's business. And we know that this conversation gets in all of our business as adults. But why is it not fun?   It's not fun because of the coaches and it's not fun because of the parents. We are creating stress. We are creating again collectively because we're all in different places on the on the spectrum on this in terms of what we're actually doing when we show up at games.   But if you even just go to any soccer game and you be quiet and just listen to what's happening and everybody's shouting and screaming things and there's contradictory messages being sent and there's angst at every turn and there's an incredible celebration because this eight year old was able to get the ball to go across the line for another goal. And what that's doing inside the kids is it is creating a not fun atmosphere. Let's just say it like that.   That's a not fun atmosphere when you're eight, when you're 10, when you're trying to figure out how to make your body work. You're trying to learn the game that you're unfamiliar with and you're trying to do what this coach is telling you to do. And you're also trying to do what all the parents are telling you what to do.   And if it's a team sport, you're trying to interact and play with other kids who are all in that same state of disarray, which is very stressful and frustrating. And we're just adding to it. So instead of removing it, instead of playing a role that says, we're going to keep diffusing that stress.   And again, I'll speak for myself. Too often, I have been the one that's actually adding to it. And so, kids are just like, why would I do this?   Why would I want to get in that car again with you? It's not fun. This is a game.   And so, there's a million other things that I can do with my time where I don't have everybody yelling at me and I don't have to listen to you correct me for two hours.   Laura Dugger: (29:00 - 29:21) Well, and one other thing that surprised me, maybe why kids are dropping out, you share on page 47, a quote that research reveals a strange correlation. The more we spend, the less our kids actually enjoy their sport. So, did you have any more insight into that?   Brian Smith: (29:21 - 30:50) Yeah, this was a real study that was done at Utah State. Researchers found that the more money parents are spending, again, let's say well-intentioned parents, the more we're spending in sports, the less our kids are enjoying. And the more they have dug into it, they're finding, and intuitively it makes sense.   If you buy your kid a $600 baseball bat, what's the expectation that they're supposed to do with this really expensive bat? When they swing, they better hit the ball, and they better get on base. If we're going to buy you this expensive of a bat, you can't just have process goals with it.   You better swing and hit it. And that's causing stress for kids. If you travel across state lines and you go to Disney to play at their sports complex, you're not there for vacation.   You're there to perform. So even if parents are saying we're trying to have fun, kids know when you're traveling and you're getting all this good equipment and you're on the elite team and you're receiving the best of the best stuff, they know it comes with some sort of an expectation. College athletes can barely handle that type of pressure and expectations, but we've placed this professional on youth sports from fifth five-year-olds to 15-year-olds, and it's just crushing them.   It's crushing them. Again, college athletes and professional athletes can barely handle it. They need mental health coaches for sports, but we're expecting that our five-year-olds can handle it, and they can't.   Ed Uszynski: (30:51 - 31:19) And they may not even be able to articulate it. So that's the other thing. They may not be able to identify what's actually going on inside and put it into words.   So again, that's why we're trying to sound the alarm for ourselves and for others who are listening, because we can do it different. Again, just to even keep spinning it back in an encouraging direction, we can do this different. We can change this this week in our corner of the bleachers.   We can start over again.   Laura Dugger: (31:21 - 31:48) Absolutely and make a difference. And before we talk about even more of the pros with sports, I think it's also necessary to reflect and maybe even grieve a few things. So, what would you say are some things families are missing out on when they choose youth sports to overfill their calendar, that that's all that they make time for?   What do you think they're missing out on?   Brian Smith: (31:51 - 33:16) Yeah, I think a couple that come to mind are family dinners are a big one. That's big for us in the Smith house, is just having the ability after a long day to sit at the dinner table together, to eat food together, and to process the day and be with one another. But when my kids' practice goes late, it means we're either eating almost towards bedtime or we're eating in different shifts.   And so that's something that we grieve. I think for me, when my schedule is full, I'm tempted to adopt the mindset that what's happening on the wrestling mat or on the track matters more than it actually does. And it robs me of the ability to just take a deep breath and smile and enjoy watching my kids play sports.   That without an intervention or a pregame devotional in the car for myself, I risk sitting in the stands or being on the sidelines, being stressed out and putting pressure on myself and pressure on my kids and gossiping about why the coach didn't put this kid into the people next to me, instead of just enjoying the gift that is sports and watching my kid try and succeed and try and fail. That is a gift available to me as a dad to watch my kid do that. But the busyness often robs me of that perspective.   Ed Uszynski: (33:17 - 36:06) Well, and the busyness robs, again, if you're married, that busyness eventually wears away at your relationship. And it's not just sports. I mean, busyness, we can fill our schedule, overfill our schedules with any number of things.   We can overfill our schedules with church stuff to a point where it becomes detrimental to our relationship. If we don't set boundaries so that we're making sure we're doing what we need to do to be face-to-face and to be going to areas beneath the surface with each other in our relationship and being able to do that with our kids as well, eventually there's negative consequences to that. It may not happen right away, but I've definitely experienced that.   We've experienced that in our home where it's easy to maybe chase one kid around for a while, but what happens when you add three into the mix and you haven't really done a time budget or paid attention to the fact that when we sign up for all these things, you get a month into it and you realize, oh, we have to be in different places at the same time. So, we're not even watching stuff together anymore. We're just running.   I can endure anything for a season, but what youth sports wants now in every sport from the youngest ages is that it becomes a year-round commitment. So, you're not even signing up to play a season anymore. You're signing up for a year in most cases because after the games, then they're going to have training.   They're going to have this other thing going on. And so again, can we say, well, we'll play the actual season, but then we're not going to do the additional training over these next three months. Again, we want to give parents' permission that you can say no to that.   Well, we paid for it. Well, it's okay. If you want your kid to be on that team and you like this club or whatever, then you pay the money and you just say, we're going to sit those three months out and we're going to use those three months actually to have people over our house for dinner.   Again, whatever's on the list, Laura, that you said about being more holistic and not letting sport operate like an idol in our life where it's taken on, it's washed out everything else in our life. We can get back in control of that by just saying no a little bit. You can go to church on Sunday.   Even if there's tournament games going on on Sunday, you can go to the coach early and say, hey, we just, in our family, we just don't want to be available before 12. Are you okay with that? And most of the time coaches will be.   The kid might have to sit extra maybe for not being, whatever. Okay. That's not going to be the end of the world that they had to sit out an extra game or had to sit out a half because they weren't available on Sunday morning.   It might actually make a huge difference that they weren't at church for two and a half years in the most formative time of their life.   Laura Dugger: (36:07 - 37:36) And a lot of times the way of wisdom includes reflection, getting alone with the Lord and asking, have we overstuffed our schedule this conversation today? Let's talk specifically with youth sports. Is that trumping everything else?   Because what if we're putting it in a place it was never intended to be as an idol where we sacrifice hospitality or discipleship or community or even just a more biblical way of life? I think we have to bring wisdom into the conversation for what you've mentioned. Whether it's worth it, if they're even enjoying it, how much we're spending on it, and do we have the budget to allocate our finances that way and evaluating the time just to see and make sure that it's rightly ordered.   Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips, and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper, whether that's in parenting or on date nights? Make sure you access all of this at thesavvysauce.com by clicking the button that says join our email list so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy!   But if we flip that to if youth sports are rightly ordered, then what are some things that we can celebrate or reasons that you would want families to give this a try?   Brian Smith: (37:37 - 40:09) The massive positive that we keep coming back to is we have a front row seat to see our kids go through every possible emotion in sport, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And then if we have the right perspective, we are armed with awesome opportunities and awesome information that we're seeing. We get to see what our kids are really good at.   We get to see their character gaps. And then we get to be the ones who, again, who are their primary response, primary disciplers. It really goes back to like, are we trusting youth sports for too little in our kids' lives?   Like many of us are trusting that our investment is going to get them a spot on a team, or maybe they get an opportunity in high school, maybe in college. And what we're saying is, yeah, that maybe. And that's not a bad end goal.   But if that's everything that you're investing into youth sports, it's not enough. Like what you have available to you every single day is to ask your kid if they showed somebody else's dignity on the field. You don't know if your kid's going to hit a home run today.   That may not be available to them their entire life. What's available to them every single day is to ask a question to their teammate, to see somebody and show dignity to them. And that's really, it's like, it's almost the opportunity of a lifetime for us as parents who, when our kids get home from school, we really don't know what happened most of the day.   We asked them how it went and we get the one-word answer. In sports, we don't have to guess. We get to see everything that happens.   And again, if we are actually trusting youth sports for discipleship investment, that's a good ROI. That's a good return on our investment. But we need a consistent intervention almost daily to say, no, this is why they're in sports.   Yes, I want to see them get better. I want to see them have fun, but Holy Spirit, would you help me see things today that I normally don't see? Holy Spirit, would you put them in circumstances and relationships today and in the season that's going to help them look more and more like Jesus by the time the season's done?   Holy Spirit, would you convict me in the moment when I am being a little too mouthy and saying things that I shouldn't? Would you help me to repent? And God, in those moments where I'm actually doing wrong on behalf of my kid, would you help me to humble myself and apologize to them?   And God, would you repair our relationship that way? So again, all of these options are available just because our kid's shooting a ball or they're on the field with somebody else tackling other people. We're trusting youth sports for too little.   Ed Uszynski: (40:10 - 41:10) That's all big boy and big girl stuff. It just is. I don't normally naturally do any of that.   I have to be coached into that. I have to be discipled myself. I have to work through my own issues, my own baggage, my own fears about the future, my own idolatrous holding onto this imagined future that I have for my kid, irrespective of what God may or may not want.   I've got my own resentment. I've got my own regrets from the past. I wish things had gone differently for me, so I'm going to make sure they go different for you when it comes to sports.   And it's hard to look in the mirror and admit that I have anger issues. I mean, youth sports create a great opportunity for me to get up all my pent-up frustration from the day. We've given ourselves permission to do that, in most cases, to just yell and yell at refs and gripe about coaches and yell at kids.   Brian Smith: (41:10 - 41:31) Because that's what we do at the TV, right? When our favorite team is playing, we've conditioned ourselves to say, awful call, that was terrible. Then we get on social media and we complain about it.   We are discipling ourselves to this is how it's normative to respond within the context of sports. Then we carry all that baggage to our six-year-old soccer game.   Laura Dugger: (41:33 - 42:02) Well, I love how you keep pointing it back toward character and discipleship. You clearly state throughout the book, sports don't develop character, people do. But could you maybe elaborate on that a little bit more and share more now that we've listed pros and cons, you still list a completely different way that we can meaningfully participate while also pushing back?   Brian Smith: (42:04 - 43:49) I'll start with the first part, and then you can answer the second. We use the handshake line as a great example of why character needs to be taught to our kids. If you just watch a normal handshake line left without coaching, the kids are going through it, especially the ones who lose with their head down, they have limp hands, there's no eye contact, and they're mumbling good game, good game.   Sometimes they don't even say it, they'll say GG stands for good game. They don't just learn character by going through the handshake line. If anything, that's going through it like that without any sort of intervention or coaching, that's malforming their character.   That's teaching them when things don't go well, that it's okay for them not to be a big boy or a big girl and look somebody in the eye and congratulate them. What needs to happen? An adult needs to step in and say, hey, as we go through the handshake line, whether you win or lose, here's how we do it with class.   We shake somebody's hand, we look them in the eye, and we say good game. Even if in those moments we don't actually mean it, we still show them dignity and honor. And then when we're done going through the handshake line, guess what we're going to do?   We're going to run down the refs who are trying to get in their car and get out of here, and we're going to give them a high five and say, thank you so much for reffing today. That stuff needs to be taught. Our kids don't just come out of the womb knowing how to do that.   We have to teach them how to do it. Sometimes good coaches will do that, but the more and more we get sucked up into the sports industrial complex, we're getting well-intentioned coaches, but we're getting coaches who care more about the big W, the win, than the character formation stuff that happens.   Ed Uszynski: (43:49 - 45:27) They need to keep hearing it over and over again. I have a ninth grade Bible study in my house the other day with athletes and a whole bunch of my son's basketball team. Exactly what Brian just said, I actually was like, wow, I've got them here.   There was a big blow up at a game the other day, and we wound up talking about it. I said, I'm going to take this opportunity actually to say what Brian just said. When you go through a handshake line, this is how you go through it.   I watched what happened in the game a couple days later. Basically, they did the exact opposite of what I told them to do, and they lost. It was just what Brian said.   They went through limp handed. They didn't look anybody in the face, and they weren't even saying anything. I just chuckled to myself, and you know how this is as a parent.   They may or may not do it. Of course, those aren't my kids. I have more stewardship over my child, who actually, he is doing what I've asked him to do because I've re-emphasized it across time now.   It's not a failure because they didn't do what I said. Again, the pouty side of me wants to be like, forget it. I'm just not even going to try anymore.   It's like, no, they're kids. That was the first time they've heard that. They're going to do what their patterns have, the muscle memory that's been created by their patterns, just like we do as adults.   The next time I have a chance to bring that up again, I'm not going to shame them. I'm just going to go over it again with them. Here's how we do it.   It's super hard to do this, guys, when you just want to be violent with people or you want to cry. You got to pull yourself together. That's what big men do.   That's what big women do in life. They pull themselves together in those moments and do the right thing.   Brian Smith: (45:28 - 46:01) You don't know whether the fifth time you say it is going to stick or the 50th time. Your responsibility as the Christ-following parent is to do it the sixth time and the seventh time and the seventh time and trust that God is going to take those moments and do what he does. We're ultimately not responsible for our kids' behavior.   We're responsible for pointing them in the right direction, and then hopefully, yeah, the Holy Spirit steps in and transforms and changes and convicts in those moments, but it might take some time.   Ed Uszynski: (46:02 - 47:47) Tom Bilyeu So that's how you push back, Laura. You were asking that. How do we push back without being just completely involved in it or going for the same ride that everybody else is going for?   There's just little moments like that scattered throughout. Literally, every day that my kids are involved in youth sports, the car ride over, what happens on the way home, how we talk about it, what happens during the game and what we wind up talking about out of that, the side conversations that happen that just get brought up apart from games of how we interact with people and so-and-so looks like they're struggling. What do you know about that?   That's how we push back, that in our corner of the bleachers, oh, how we interact with other parents. We haven't even talked about that yet, that I can take an interest in more than just my own kid in the bleachers and spend way more energy actually in cheering for other kids and just trying to give them confidence and spend way less time trying to direct that at my own child who knows that I'm there. In fact, my side kid has said he doesn't want to hear my voice during the game.   It distracts him. He's like, I'd much rather that you cheer for other people. It's like, okay.   Having questions ready for other parents during timeouts and as you sit there for hours together, what do you talk about? Well, I could be the one that actually initiates substantive conversations over time with them and asks them about what's going on in different parts of their life. And in having done that, people want to talk.   They want a safe place actually to share what's going on in their So let me be the sports minister. Let me take on that identity and actually care about other people.   Laura Dugger: (47:49 - 49:47) I love that. Even that practical idea of just coming to each game, maybe with a different question, ready to open up those conversations. And I'll share a quick story as well.   Our two oldest daughters recently just gave cheerleading a try at a local Christian school that allows homeschool kids to participate. And this is an overt way that somebody chooses the different way. So, it's the coach of the basketball team.   His name is Cole. And at the end of every game, we saw him consistently throughout this season when it was a home game, whether their team won or lost, he would ask them, okay, shut off the scoreboard. It's all blank.   He gathers both teams. As soon as the game is over teams, cheerleaders, the stands stay filled with all the parents. And he says, this is not our identity.   The world and Satan, our enemy, who's very real. He wants us to put our identity here, but it's not here. You made us better tonight by the way that you played and you were able to shine Jesus.   And we're going to go a step further and we're going to do what we call attaways. So, he's like, all right, boys, you open it up. And his team is trained.   They say to the other team, Hey, number 23, what's your name? I loved how you pushed me so much harder tonight and says, my name's Ben. And so, their Attaway is, Hey, Ben.   And everybody goes, Hey, Ben. Yeah, Ben. Yeah, Ben Attaway.   And everybody just erupts in clapping. And the other team is always blown away and they are just grinning, whether they just lost. So, the boys go through that for a while and then they open it up to the other team and they start sharing Attaways.   And then they open it up to the crowd and the parents are able to say, I see the way you modeled Jesus by being selfless with the ball or whatever it is. So, Cole said that his college coach did that many years ago and he's passed that on. And I love that's one way to redeem the game.   Ed Uszynski: (49:47 - 51:39) Wow. Beautiful. Beautiful.   Yeah. That's amazing. And, you know, I, so Brian and I talk about this too.   And I coached at a Christian school. So, we, we think that it's really important if you're going to play sports and you're going to be a Christian coach that you actually take the game seriously. And that we actually are here to compete and we are here to try to win.   There's nothing wrong with that. And we're going to pursue excellence when we show up with our bodies, and we train for this sport and we're going to try to win. Cause I think sometimes we end up kind of going all or nothing, especially within our Christian circles.   We're uncomfortable with that. And it's like, yes, do that. And on the backside of that to do what that coach did is amazing.   It's that, that is, that is exactly what we're saying. We're also going to try to form our souls in the midst of this. We're going to try to win on the scoreboard.   Okay. The game's over, we lost, we won, whatever. There's more going on here than just that. And can we access that together? And again, that's so rare. Probably everybody listening has never even heard of anything like what you just said.   It would be amazing if a bunch of people did, but that's what we're saying. Let's do more of that. Let's find ways to have more of those conversations in our sphere of influence.   Maybe we're not the coach, but we can do that in our car. We can do that when we're at dinners with the other, with other players and other team, you know, we, we can do that. We can take that kind of initiative.   If we have those categories in our mind, instead of just being frustrated that my kid didn't get to play as much tonight. And I'm that bugs me. It's like, okay, it can bug you.   And now I gotta, I gotta be a big boy and get more out of this than just being frustrated that he or she didn't get to play as much. It's hard.   Laura Dugger: (51:40 - 52:11) Absolutely. Well, and like you guys are doing having Bible studies outside of the, the team that you can instill values in that way and share scripture that they're memorizing to go out there with excellence for the Lord. So, I love all of that.   And I've got just a few quick questions, just kind of for perspective. I want to draw out something from the book. Is it true that young athletic success predicts adult athletic success?   Brian Smith: (52:13 - 53:51) It is not true. This is, this is not a hot take. This is researched back more and more research they're doing on this.   And they're finding that there's not a direct correlation between a young elite athlete and them continuing that up into the right trajectory and being an elite athlete later in life in large part, because when puberty hits, like everything is a game changer. So, this is, I found this fascinating and this is probably going to be new to you too. This just came out today.   At the time we're doing this podcast, the winter Olympics is going on in Norway. It's just like, they're killing it. Nor Norway's youth sports system.   This is wild. They give participation trophies for all the kids. They don't keep score until 13 years old.   They don't do any national travel competitions, no posting youth sports results online. So, there's no online presence of youth sport results. And their country motto is joy of sport for all.   And they're, they're killing it right now in the Olympics. So, like, that's not to say, like you got to follow their model and then you're going to win all these gold medals, but it is, there is something to just let the kids have fun. And the longer they play sport, because it's fun, the better opportunity you're actually going to have to see them blossom and develop some of these God-given gifts that they might have.   Don't expect it to come out before they're 13. Even if it does, there's no guarantee that it's going to continue on until they're 23. Just let them have fun.   Ed Uszynski: (53:52 - 55:55) Brian, we, Brian and I got to speak at a church the other day about this topic. And there was a couple that came up afterwards and they asked the question of what, so when do you think we should let our kids play organized sports or structured sports? And so again, Brian and I are careful.   Like I, there's no, there's no one size fits all answer to that. We would suggest as late as possible, wait as long as possible. Because once you start doing structured sport where there's a coach and you have to be at practices and the games are structured and there's reps, it just cuts away all the possibility they have to just play and just to go up to the YMCA and just play for three hours at whatever it is that they like to do.   And they said, well, it's encouraging to hear that they said, because we, we actually are way more into just developing their bodies physically. And so, we do dance with them, and we do rock climbing and they were kind of outdoorsy people, and they just started listing off all these things they do because we want them to become strong in their bodies, and learn to love activity like that. And I just thought, again, that's, that probably would cause a lot of people to freak out to hear that, that they have eight, nine-year-olds that aren't on teams yet.   They're just, they're training their bodies to appreciate physicality and to become coordinated and to, you know, to get better at movement. And it's like, what sport is that not going to be super helpful in five years from now, even when they're 12, 13 years old. And now they really do want to play one sport, and they do want to be on a team.   They're going to be way ahead of the kids actually that just sat on benches or stood in the outfield, you know, day after day after day at practices. Again, that's maybe hard to hear, but maybe there's some adjustments that need to be made again; to give ourselves permission to say, we don't have to get on that train right now. You don't have to, your kid's not going to be behind.   They actually could be ahead. If you do the kinds of things we just talked about.   Laura Dugger: (55:56 - 56:11) I love that. And even that example with what it looks like played out with Norway and also, do you have any other quick tips just for instilling and cultivating a heart of gratitude and youth sports rather than entitlement?   Brian Smith: (56:13 - 57:33) I'm a high school cross country and track coach, and I have kids on my team who want to get faster at running, but instead of running, they want to lift weights and they want to do plier metrics. So, there's, yes, there's a spot for that. But the way you get better at running is to run.   You got to run more miles and more miles. And I think gratitude is similar. That gratitude, part of it is a, it's a feeling, but it's also a muscle that we can flex even if we don't feel it.   And so, I would encourage parents who are trying to instill gratitude into their kids to give them practical things like, hey, after practice, just go shake your coach's hand or give them a fist bump and tell them, thanks for practice today, coach. That that's a disciplined way to practice gratitude that will hopefully build the muscle where they're, they're using it later in life. After a game, I taught my kids this when they were young and they still do it today.   Go shake a ref's hand. I mentioned this earlier, just a really, really practical way to show thankfulness and gratitude to somebody who really doesn't get a whole lot of gratitude pointed at them during a game or after a game. If anything, they have people chasing them through the parking lot for other reasons.   I want my kids to be chasing them down to give them a fist bump or a high five. And so, gratitude is something that we can just practice practically. And hopefully the discipline practice will lead to a delight and actually doing it.   Ed Uszynski: (57:34 - 59:39) And how do we cultivate an inner posture? Cause I tend to be a cup half empty type person. I'm a, I'm a whiner by nature and a continuous improvement.   There's always something wrong. And I'm, it's easy for me to find those things just as a person. I'm not even saying that as a dad or a coach or anything.   And it's been super helpful to me in the last decade, even to just like, I can choose to shift that. There, there is, there's a list of things that are broke, but there is always a list of things that are good. There's always something good here to be found.   And even as I've tried to like, again, tip the scales more in that direction, I can keep pushing that out of my kids. So, so this, you know, my ninth-grade son tends to just like, he doesn't like a whole bunch of what's going on in basketball right now. So, I keep asking him if he's having fun.   He says, no, like, why not? Or like, who did, why did you not have fun today? So, it's just the same thing every day.   I'm like, okay, who did you enjoy even being with today? Nobody. And I'm like, dude, I don't believe that actually.   I just, I don't believe that. There was somebody that you had some moment with today that you enjoyed, or you wouldn't want to keep going back up there because, and he does. So, give me a name.   Okay. Lenny. What happened with Lenny that was fun? And I make him name it. Like I'm, I'm, I'm trying to coach him through it. And sure enough, he does have some sentences of what was fun today.   And it's like, good, let's, let's at least hold onto that in the midst of all the other stuff that's not right. Let's choose to see the thing that was good and that you enjoyed and that we could be thankful for. Not everybody got to have that today.   Again, I have to have my, I have to be the parent. I have to be the discipler. I have to be in, you know, in charge of my own soul that wants to be negative all the time and say, nope, we're going to, we're going to choose gratitude today because the Bible tells us to do that.   There's something about that posture that opens the door for the gospel to be expressed through us. So, let's practice.   Laura Dugger: (59:40 - 59:50) Well said, and there's so much we could continue learning from both of you. Where can we go after this chat to learn more from each one of you?   Brian Smith: (59:52 - 1:00:14) Yeah, we do a lot of our writing online at thechristianathlete.com. And so, if you go there, you can see articles that are specifically written for parents, for coaches, for athletes, all around this idea of what does it look like to integrate faith and sport together? So, the

What kind of mom puts her baby in a river? A faithful one. In this episode of the Gather Moms Podcast, we continue our Bible Moms series with the powerful story of Jochebed — Moses' mother — and what her courage teaches us about doing what we can… and trusting God with the rest. Her story (Exodus 1:22–2:10) unfolds under a terrifying decree: every Hebrew baby boy is to be thrown into the Nile. Jochebed hides her son for three months. When she can't hide him any longer, she builds a waterproof basket, places him strategically among the reeds, and stations her daughter nearby to watch. This isn't reckless surrender. It's intentional faith. And here's the detail you may have never noticed: the word used for “basket” is the same word used for Noah's ark. Moses is placed into a mini-ark — another story of God rescuing someone through water in the midst of evil. Hebrews 11 tells us she acted by faith. She did not fear the king's edict. She feared God more. And though she gets her son back for a season, she eventually has to release him again — raising him only to let him go. Her story holds both grief and joy in the same hand.This episode is for moms learning to surrender outcomes they can't control. You may not determine the ending — but you can build the basket. In this episode, we talk about: The second step of Bible study: interpretation — what does it mean? Why the Holy Spirit is our greatest guide when reading Scripture The powerful “mini-ark” connection between Moses and Noah The difference between being a strategic mom and a steamroller mom How to hold grief and joy at the same time Where you may need to “shore up protection” in your child's life What it means to trust God more than cultural pressure Scripture referenced: Exodus 1:22–2:10; Hebrews 11:23–24; 1 Corinthians 2:11 Next steps:Join us on Gather Moms Patreon as we continue our “Luke for Lent” series. It's not too late to jump in! This simple, doable reading plan is designed especially for busy moms who want to grow in their understanding of God's Word. Download the Patreon app and search Gather Moms to join us — we would love to walk through this season with you. We're also so excited to partner with Sky Ranch Camps in Van, Texas. If you're looking for an unforgettable overnight camp experience for your child (ages 6–16), Sky Ranch offers screen-free fun, lifelong friendships, and incredible godly mentors. Get $200 off your child's first week of overnight summer camp with code GATHERMOMS at skyranch.org. Come see the difference where camp is crazy fun with a powerful purpose. Gather Moms: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook Kate Henderson: Instagram | Facebook Rebecca Bradford: Instagram | Facebook

It's Monday, March 2, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus United States and Israel bombed Iran The long-simmering threat of conflict between Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran erupted Saturday morning as the United States and Israel launched sweeping airstrikes against Iran, reports NBC News. The launch of “Operation Epic Fury” followed months of heated rhetoric and repeated warnings from President Trump about military intervention in Iran. U.S. and partner forces struck multiple targets, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. Not only was Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed, but so was his top security adviser, his chief military secretary, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, the Defense Minister, the Head of Iranian military intelligence, and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reports Axios and Israel National News. Trump: We will destroy Iran's “wicked, radical dictatorship” In an 8-minute address to America, President Donald Trump explained why he believed the attack on Iran was necessary. TRUMP: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America' and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops, and the innocent people in many, many countries.” The president laid out the litany of Iranian attacks from the 1979 U.S. Embassy Hostage Crisis in which dozens of Americans were taken hostage for 444 days and the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 soldiers to the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2000, the killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and the Iranian-funded attack on Israel through Hamas on October 7, 2023. TRUMP: “For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally obliterated. We're going to annihilate their navy. We're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world.” Isaiah 10:1-2 says, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” President Trump expressed concern for the safety of U.S. soldiers. TRUMP: “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans, and our children, will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm's way. And we trust that with His help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail.” Sadly, three U.S. service members have been killed in action, as part of the Trump administration's “Operation Epic Fury,” reports NewsNation.com. Iranians celebrating in the streets Anti-regime protesters in southern Iran tore down a statue of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in celebration of his death on Saturday, reports The Telegraph. In Tehran, loud cheers echoed from rooftops and through the streets.   Listen. (audio of Iranians celebrating) Celebratory music played, car horns honked and fireworks were set off in parts of the capital at around 11pm local time. They were joined by Iranians across the world who celebrated the Supreme Leader's downfall after he was killed in a barrage of US and Israeli missile strikes early on Saturday morning. Senator Ted Cruz: Bombing Iran is “single most important decision of [Trump's] presidency” Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas applauded President Trump's decision to bomb Iran. CRUZ: “President Trump's decision to launch this decisive action against Iran is the single most important decision of his presidency. He is taking this action because the government of Iran is a profound and malign influence. “They have been the leading state sponsor of terrorism for 47 years. They have, over that time, killed nearly 1,000 Americans. They provide more than 90% of the funding for Hamas. They provide more than 90% of the funding for Hezbollah, the Iranian Ayatollah, was, until yesterday, actively trying to murder the President of the United States, Donald J Trump.” Senator Lindsey Graham: “The mothership of terrorism is about to go down!” Appearing on Fox & Friends, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was grateful the American people re-elected President Trump in 2024. GRAHAM: “My feeling today is that I'm very glad that President Trump won and Kamala Harris lost. Unfortunately, the modern Democratic Party is pathetic in the face of evil. “The difference between Donald Trump and our Democratic colleagues, he's common sense. He understands the world. He's of the mindset that the Ayatollah is Hitler in a robe, wearing a turban; that he's not capable of changing his ways. “Donald Trump does not get us entangled in forever wars, but he sure stands up to the bad guys, and he makes us safer. This is the most consequential decision any President has made since 1979.” Senator Graham predicted a major re-set in the Middle East because of “Operation Epic Fury.” GRAHAM: “If the regime falls, I think Saudi Arabia, the keeper of the holy mosque and Mecca and Medina, the center of Islam, will go back to the table to try to do peace with Israel. We were close before, before October the seventh. October the seventh was designed to stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. “I think when this regime collapses, we'll be back at the table of normalization. If Saudi Arabia recognizes Israel it will be the biggest change in 1,000 years in the history of the MidEast. If this regime falls -- Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis terrorist network supported by Iran -- will collapse, slowly but surely. “The mothership of terrorism is about to go down. There's a new dawn coming in the Mideast.” Mass shooting in Austin leaves 3 dead and 14 wounded Three people are dead and 14 have been injured after a mass shooting at a popular bar along West Sixth Street in downtown Austin, Texas during the early morning hours of Sunday, March 1, reports the San Antonio Express-News. The shooting took place at Buford's, a popular bar along the West Sixth Street entertainment strip. Anniversary of John Wesley's death And finally, John Wesley, the English evangelist, who was a principal leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism, died at the age of 87 on this day, March 2nd in 1791. Wesley placed his faith in Christ on May 24, 1738. Referring to our Savior Jesus Christ, Luke wrote in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” In his early ministry years, Wesley was barred from preaching in many parish churches and the Methodists were persecuted. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the abolition of slavery. He became known for the Wesley Covenant Prayer. It says, “I am no longer my own, but Thine. Put me to what Thou wilt, rank me with whom Thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee, exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Thou art mine, and I am Thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on Earth, let it be ratified in Heaven. Amen.” Wesley wrote hymns including “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing.” “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace! My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread thro' all the Earth abroad the honors of Thy name.” John Wesley became widely respected, and by the end of his life, was described as "the best-loved man in England.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Monday, March 2nd, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:16-22 — Can Christians lose their salvation? There are few more contested and more important theological questions in Christianity. Many believers are plagued by doubts because they fear that they may fail to work out their own salvation and be eternally lost in hell. In this sermon on Romans 11:16–22 titled “Final Perseverance,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones offers solace to any fearful Christians. He says that the Bible never teaches that true believers can lose salvation. This is for the simple reason that it is God through His Son Jesus Christ who saves. Christians are not even saved by faith, first and foremost, but ultimately by Christ who grants them their faith. Jesus loves His people and He is both able and willing to guard them from ever falling away. What about those passages that speak of the need to persevere? The Holy Spirit uses many means to build up Christians in faith and joy and these passages that warn Christians not to fall away are one of these means that God uses to preserve those He loves. What about people who say they are Christians and stop believing? There are many who are self-deceived and think that they are saved, but their life shows that this is not a true work of God. The glorious truth of the gospel is that Jesus saves all those that He loves and He will lose no one. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29?v=20251111

Join us as Pastor Chuck takes us through part 4 of our Holy Spirit series!

Baptism is considered THE entrance to Christian faith -- but Christians vary widely in practice and belief on what baptism does, who it is for, and why we do it. So for part 10 of 12 on “What is the Nicene Creed?” we unpack this lines:"We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."So we wade into the muddy waters of the River Jordan to ask: what is sin, what does it mean to be forgiven, and how does this apply when some people are literally infants when they are baptized? What does God do when we are baptized? And why is this significant that it only happens once? +++Like what you hear? We are an entirely crowd-sourced, you-funded project. SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/AndAlsoWithYouPodcastThere's all kinds of perks including un-aired live episodes, Zoom retreats, and mailbag episodes for our Patreons!+++Our Website: https://andalsowithyoupod.comOur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andalsowithyoupodcast/++++MERCH: https://www.bonfire.com/store/and-also-with-you-the-podcast/++++More about Father Lizzie:BOOK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/762683/god-didnt-make-us-to-hate-us-by-rev-lizzie-mcmanus-dail/RevLizzie.comhttps://www.instagram.com/rev.lizzie/https://www.tiktok.com/@rev.lizzieJubilee Episcopal Church in Austin, TX - JubileeATX.org ++++More about Mother Laura:https://www.instagram.com/laura.peaches/https://www.tiktok.com/@mother_peachesSt. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA++++Theme music:"On Our Own Again" by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).New episodes drop Mondays at 7am EST/6am CST! 

Jeff Latture serves as Executive Vice President at Barnhart Crane and Rigging and as chairman of Strategic Resource Group, but his journey into collaborative generosity began long before boardrooms and grant strategies. Growing up in Arkansas, he watched his parents come to genuine faith, yet it was later in Dallas through a vibrant church community and a pivotal sermon from Bill Bright, that his faith became personal. A simple conversation with his future wife about missions planted an early vision: if they could not go, perhaps they could send. God reshaped that vision when He closed the door to starting their own business and instead led Jeff to Barnhart, a company committed to investing its profits in the Great Commission. Over three decades, Jeff has helped cultivate GROVE, Barnhart's internal collaborative giving team, and advance a mutual fund model of ministry through the Strategic Resource Group. He has learned that wise generosity requires shared mission, deep relationships, patient trust, and a willingness to surrender control. Collaborative structures, clear strategy, and long-term partnerships have multiplied Kingdom impact across frontier regions. This conversation offers a thoughtful vision for pursuing obedience, discernment, and deeper partnership in your own stewardship journey. Major Topics Include: Give collaboratively, not independently Build trust through long-term relationships Shifting from transactions to partnerships Organize giving around focused teams Leveraging business wisdom for Kingdom impact Investing in ministry capacity and health How to balance metrics with Spirit-led discernment Surrendering control in stewardship QUOTES TO REMEMBER “What I really wanted in starting a business was to be in control. And God wasn't going to let me have that.” “He said, I'll let you serve the ones in control, but I'm not going to let you be the ultimate steward.” “We would never have thought ever that we would have the viewpoint that we have for what God's doing around the world. But it just started one relationship and one gift at a time.” “Giving together is way better than trying to do it on your own.” “You just learn faster in a group than you can by yourself.” “It's our secret sauce is doing things together and getting the thinking of many people pointing the same direction.” “A good collaborative will cost you something. You have to give up some rights for a collaborative to work.” “Knowing the heart of the leader is the most important thing.” “It's very relational. We like to measure things. We're a bunch of engineers. But it's really the relationships that drive us.” “If we'll go to God first and really lean in to listening to what Scripture says and what the Holy Spirit is saying before we make those funding decisions, somehow it comes out with a better result.” “My personal experience over 30 years, He will do far more than you can ever imagine with the things that He's given you.” LINKS FROM THE SHOW Alan Barnhart (see our past interview here) When Helping Hurts (see our interview with coauthor Brian Fikkert) Mission Increase Strategic Resource Group The India Alliance IllumiNations Bible Translation Alliance (see our interview with Todd Peterson or John Chesnut) MacLellan Foundation (see our interview with Director of Generosity, John Cortines) Mergon Doug Cobb, Founder of The Finishing Fund (see our past interview here) Achieve Alliance BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW Matthew 28:19–20 | The Great Commission “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Esther 4:14 | For Such a Time as This “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” TAKE A STEP DEEPER On the Finish Line podcast, we are all about stories, seeing how God draws us into generosity over a lifetime.  But sometimes these stories can leave us thinking, “What's that next step look like for me?” That's exactly why we've launched a whole new podcast called Applied Generosity which explores the full landscape of the generous life across 7 different dimensions of generosity.  Applied Generosity helps make sense of the hundreds of stories we've shared on the Finish Line Podcast to help you find that best next step. If you've been inspired by these stories and want to take things to the next level, check out Applied Generosity anywhere you listen to podcasts or at appliedgenerosity.com.

Friends of the Rosary,Mercy comes before love. It perfects love.Christ the Lord, through his disciples, is telling in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 6:36-38) today:"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”God is love (1 John 4:8), but we encounter Him first as mercy.St. Thomas Aquinas explains that mercy is love responding to suffering and weakness (Summa Theologiae II-II, q.30).God acted first. "While we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)."He forgave, pursued, and redeemed us. This is mercy preceding love.With mercy, the heart softens, gratitude awakens, and then love grows.Consider the sinful woman in Luke 7:“Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.”Mercy and forgiveness ignited love.St. Faustina recorded Jesus saying:“The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy.”If someone feels distant from God, it is often because they think they must love perfectly before approaching Him.The Gospel says the opposite: Come in your weakness, receive mercy, and love will grow.Like the Prodigal Son, we are embraced before we can fully express our love.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠March 2, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

In this “Here We Go” episode of Tent Talk, recorded from the Leonardo Hotel at London Heathrow, Nancy reflects on completing the full 28-day launch of Oxford across the nations and shares a piercing revelation that has gripped her heart: if the majority of the Church still believes they are sinners, then the majority remains under the delusional power of sin. Drawing deeply from Romans, Galatians, and 2 Corinthians, she exposes sin not merely as bad behavior (a verb), but as a ruling power (a noun) that seeks dominion through deception, self-effort, and religious performance. With clarity and urgency, Nancy calls for the full, present power of the cross to be released—awakening believers from mixture, law, and behavior management into the finished work of Christ. This episode is both personal and prophetic. As she prepares to return home and continue the unfolding work of Oxford, Nancy declares that the Church cannot remain under the subtle domination of sin disguised as striving, moralism, or self-improvement. The answer is not trying harder, but awakening to identity, agreeing with the Father, and living in abiding dependence upon Holy Spirit. The call is clear: awaken, choose to believe who you are by His doing, and arise to live as sons—so that the world may know we love the Father. Thanks for Listening! Nancy McCready Ministries is committed to building cultures of personal and corporate discipleship so that believers can walk in maturity and their destiny with the Father. We hope this conversation today has helped you along your journey. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Every journey begins with a conversation, so we would like to invite you to join us on social media to get started! Facebook: www.facebook.com/nbmccready Instagram: www.instagram.com/nbmccready/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@nancymccreadyministries LINKS Want to host or attend Cross Encounter? Click here: nancymccready.com/crossencounter/ Shop to Support NMM: nancymccready.com/shop/

God intends for us to mature as believers. Although many of us are called to teach and make disciples, our spiritual growth is often hindered. Today, Pastor JD urges us to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit rather than remain immature in our faith. Through the Holy Spirit, God has provided all we need to become more like Him.

By one Spirit- Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit exclusively synonymous with being born again? Should believers expect subsequent "refills" of the Holy Spirit after salvation? What does the bible have to say on this much debated topic?

Ron and Nick talk about Nick's dream, worry and vulnerability, how unique selves "hear" the Spirit and continue their bible study through Acts.Join Us EVERY DAYDaily 7A The Movement Launch Meeting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Launch Code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (click here to join zoom meeting)5 minutes to light the fuseHear from GodRemember who we areReceive blessingGo change the worldAW Tozer How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

In a break from our 'Live the Revolution' series, and at the conclusion our most recent Alpha Course, we dedicate our Sunday Service to the subject of the Holy Spirit: Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? The Christian life is not just about faith in Jesus - who He is and what He has done. Putting our faith in Jesus is the vital first step. But the Holy Spirit is the one in whose dimension of life we go on to experience God throughout the rest of our lives. So  without Him we have nothing. But with the power of the Spirit in our lives, we can live the fruitful, meaningful, joy-filled, empowered lives we were made for. By Ed Flint

On today's episode of The Last Days Podcast Pastor Todd continues our series here at The River Tri-Cities Church, The Leading of the Holy Spirit. God is always speaking and has a plan for every single day of our lives, especially our relationships!He has given us His Spirit to not only live on the inside of us, but to lead us into ALL truth. Throughout these teachings Pastor Todd is going to share on how we can be lead by the Holy Spirit, hear His voice clearly, and know that God is with us and empowering us to do His will here on Earth! Make sure you are subscribed and keep up with us on social media.NEW EPISODES every Monday & Friday @ Noon.https://www.facebook.com/TheRiverOfTriCities/https://www.youtube.com/@TheRiverofTriCitiesChurchhttps://www.instagram.com/rivertcchurch/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/thelastdayspodcast/?hl=en

In this episode, we cover:The Call to Boston: An urgent invitation for the entire region to consecrate itself for the "10 Days of Prayer" in September, preparing for the great things God is about to do. The "Joshua Generation": Recognizing the apostolic mantle of Lion of Judah as a vanguard for spiritual awakening.The Anatomy of Exhaustion: Identifying the "best" (burden) that keeps believers from moving forward and the difference between external strength and internal fortitude. The Secret of Moses: Why "Show me Your glory" is the most daring prayer in the Bible and why the presence of God is more valuable than any promised land. 5 Practical Steps for Strengthening: 1. Recognizing your weakness. 2. Trusting in His power. 3. Praying without ceasing. 4. Meditating on the Word. 5. Living a life led by the Holy Spirit. The 21-Day Challenge: A practical look at a "complaint-free" life and the power of changing our internal dialogue to reflect God's character. Key Moments:[00:00] Prophetic Introduction: Preparing for the September "10 Days of Prayer." [12:15] The Mirror of Isaiah: Why exhaustion doesn't change the nature of an infinite, unwearied God. [28:40] Heart Surgery: God's interest in healing the hidden wounds of resentment, anger, and depression. [45:10] The Practice of the Presence: Methods to cultivate a constant awareness of God in daily activities. [01:05:00] Final Victory: Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3 for being filled with the fullness of God. Key Scriptures:Isaiah 40:28-31: The promise of renewed strength for those who wait on the Lord. Ephesians 3:14-21: Paul's prayer for the "inner man" to be strengthened with power through the Spirit. Psalm 139: The impossibility of hiding from God's pervasive and loving presence. Exodus 33:11-18: Moses' refusal to move forward without the presence of God. Connect with us:English Website: http://LeondeJuda.orgInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cljofficial/#Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/congregacionleondejudaYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeondeJudaBoston

Introduction: Introduction: Three Advantages of Being Single: (1 Corinthians 7:25-40) You're Saved from CERTAIN TROUBLES. (1 Cor 7:26-28) You're Saved from DISTRACTION. (1 Cor 7:29-38) Matthew 22:30 – For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Colossians 3:2 – Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. You're Saved from OBLIGATION. (1 Cor 7:39-40) Matthew 19:10 – The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! AUDIO TRANSCRIPT 00:37-00:41Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians and chapter 7.00:44-00:49And while we do, I'm just going to ask that you would just pause with me here.00:49-00:58You pray for me, that I will communicate God's word as I should, clearly and accurately and straightforwardly.00:58-01:03I will pray for you, that your heart would be open to receive what God wants to teach us today.01:03-01:06All right, so let's just take a moment and pray.01:10-01:19Father, be glorified through the proclamation of Your Word, through receiving Your Word and being doers of Your Word.01:20-01:23Be glorified in all things, we pray in Jesus' name.01:24-01:41And all of God's people said, "Amen." Several years ago, a friend of mine told me about this single friend that he has who was sitting home one day and got a phone call.01:42-02:10The phone rang, he picked it up, and he's like, "Hello?" And the voice on the other end said, "Hi, would you be interested in meeting a lot of exciting available singles in your area?" And the man said, "I got enough problems." It's funny, but that's really the heart of this passage that we're looking at today.02:14-02:23See, in 1 Corinthians 7, we've seen that marriage is a gift, and God has given married people a wedding present that they are to use appropriately.02:25-02:29And we've seen that for some people, being single is a gift.02:32-02:37But each one brings their own set of issues.02:38-02:47And the Corinthians were writing to Paul, asking for counsel, and Paul was writing this letter back to them, giving them counsel.02:48-02:50Look at verse 25.02:52-03:15Paul says, "Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy." You see, he says, "Now concerning." We saw that again back in chapter 7 verse 1.03:15-03:20It seems that Paul was going through a list of things that they brought up.03:20-03:21He goes, "Okay, let me tell you about this.03:22-03:32Okay, now let me tell you about this issue you brought up." It's kind of a Q&A format, and he says the next subject here is the betrothed.03:32-03:35Some translations say virgins.03:35-03:38He's talking to the singles.03:41-03:42All the single ladies.03:44-04:08that song? Get your hand up. I studied that dance this week and I was going to do it for you, but I looked at myself in the mirror and I do not dance like Beyonce. So maybe Maybe some other time.04:12-04:17But last week we saw Pastor Taylor talked about commitment.04:17-04:19That was in the previous passage, commitment.04:20-04:22Trust God where He has you, right?04:22-04:24Bloom where you are planted.04:27-04:30And I was thinking about that through the context of the whole passage.04:31-05:08Paul's talking about marriage and sexuality and singles issues, and then he talks about contentment, and then in this passage he's addressing the singles. Like why that flow? Why did he insert contentment right in the middle of that? And I think it's because there are certain aspects of being single that make it hard to be content. And here's what I mean by that. I think especially in the church there difficulties in being single.05:09-05:13Because I mean, think about it, in church, marriage is exalted.05:15-05:19In church, you see many godly marriages.05:20-05:28You sit and you watch infant dedications, and I think for singles there's a real sense of FOMO, right?05:30-05:35So this passage we're looking at today, mostly, is for the single people.05:37-05:53And if you're tempted to be like, "Oh, this ain't for me, I'm tuning out." I would say, "You are forbidden to tune out of this message." We expect our single people to sit through series on marriage, series on parenting.05:54-06:00We're like, "You need to listen to this, you need to listen to this, you know married people, so you should listen to this." You know single people, all right?06:01-06:05And maybe the Lord will open a door for you to be able to encourage them with some things in here.06:05-06:06All right?06:07-06:09So if I see you tuning out, I'm gonna throw a Bible at you.06:12-06:12All right?06:12-06:18So Paul says here, don't worry, it'll be a soft cover, not like a MacArthur study Bible or anything.06:19-06:28But Paul says here, I have no command for the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.06:28-06:29We talked about this before.06:30-06:38All Paul is saying here is the Lord, Jesus Christ, did not specifically address these singles issues during His earthly ministry.06:38-06:41It wasn't...being single is not a moral issue.06:42-06:45Jesus didn't really go into depth in addressing this.06:46-06:46Right?06:48-07:03He says, "I don't have a quote for you from Jesus." When it comes to divorce, Paul said, "I got quotes for you from Jesus about divorce." Jesus was crystal on that, but I don't have a quote from Jesus really about these aspects of being single.07:03-07:08But Paul's like, "Hey, you can trust me." Right?07:09-07:24And he goes on in this passage to say, "It's good to be single." Actually, he says it's in many ways better to be single.07:24-07:27It's wiser to be single.07:29-07:37Right now the singles among us might have heard that last statement and thought, "What's so great about being single?07:39-07:40What's so great about it?07:42-07:44What is it, the loneliness?07:46-07:47Is that what's so great about it?07:49-07:54Is it the stigma that people put on you, like, "Oh, you're single.07:54-07:58What's wrong with you?" Is that the great part of being single, Pastor Jeff?08:00-08:05Is it going to the soda shop, Pastor Jeff, and eating the wet walnut sundae by yourself?08:12-08:14Is it all the people that try to play Cupid?08:15-08:16Is that the great part?08:17-08:21You know, I got this co-worker, it'd be great for you.08:22-08:24Both of his teeth are really clean," and whatever.08:28-08:30I can't wait to meet him.08:32-08:33Is that the great part, Pastor Jeff?08:34-08:35Is it the FOMO, Pastor Jeff?08:36-08:36Is it?08:36-08:38What's the great part, Pastor Jeff?08:39-08:40What's the great part?08:41-08:46Well, this is what the Lord said, okay?08:46-08:49This isn't Jeff's opinion, this is God's opinion.08:49-08:52So on your outline, I want you to jot some things down.08:53-08:55Here's three advantages of being single.08:55-08:57All right, three advantages of being single.09:01-09:03Oh, right, sorry.09:10-09:11I beg your pardon.09:12-09:13I have a disclaimer.09:17-09:20I have been happily married since 2002.09:27-09:32Despite what Paul says about singleness, I am very thankful for my beautiful, talented, and intelligent wife.09:33-09:35I acknowledge that I married up.09:36-09:40Her presence daily enhances my life in every way.09:41-09:46And then it says at the bottom, you better read this and sound convincing, love Aaron.09:47-09:48(congregation laughing)09:57-09:58I am thankful to be married.10:01-10:05That was what God had for me, but God might not have that for you.10:06-10:07All right, he gives different gifts to different people.10:08-10:11So if you're single, here's three advantages of being single.10:11-10:15Number one, write this down, you're saved from certain troubles.10:16-10:19You're saved from certain troubles.10:22-10:25And here's the point, I'm gonna give you the heads up and we're gonna see it in the text.10:25-10:34What Paul's saying here is there are troubles married people have that single people do not have, okay?10:34-10:36That's why the word certain is in there.10:37-10:40Not, save from all troubles, everybody's got troubles, okay?10:40-10:41Everybody's got troubles.10:41-10:47But there are certain troubles that married people have that single people have the luxury of not having, all right?10:48-10:53And he gives them in two categories, and the first one is present distress.10:53-10:57You can write that down on your outline underneath number one, distress.10:57-10:58Look at verse 26.11:00-11:13Paul says, "I think that in view of the present distress, It is good for a person to remain as he is, obviously, or as she is.11:14-11:15Okay, what's the distress?11:15-11:16What's the distress?11:16-11:21Well, some translations translate that violence.11:22-11:23Violence.11:24-11:28It's just simply hardships of living in a violent world.11:29-11:37And Paul's like, "Hey, hey, the world's a violent place, so it's probably better, single that you're not married for that reason.11:38-11:49See for the Corinthians, about 15 years after they would have received this letter, they endured horrible persecution that lasted for 200 years.11:51-11:52And I think Paul knew that.11:53-11:55Like, the world's a violent place.11:58-12:00But see, this principle isn't just for them.12:01-12:05I mean, isn't the world a violent and evil place today?12:06-12:08I mean, do I really have to sell you on that?12:09-12:14I mean, look at all the school shootings and sex trafficking, all the wars.12:15-12:20I wrote this before the events of yesterday, the events of yesterday happened.12:21-12:21The wars.12:23-12:33The war for your kids, all the gay and transgender stuff pushed in schools, the persecution for simply believing the Bible, Charlie Kirk, remember him?12:36-12:44So I would ask you, church, when Paul talks about violence to the Corinthians in our day, are we getting better or are we getting worse?12:45-12:46Which is it?12:48-12:54Can you really turn on the news and be like, oh yeah, there was violence back in that day, but I think things are pretty safe now, right?12:54-12:55Could you say that?12:56-12:57Of course not.12:59-13:01And I was thinking about this a lot this past week.13:02-13:05What era of human history was perfectly safe?13:06-13:07To have a wife and kids.13:08-13:09Is there any?13:09-13:27Can you point to an era and be like, "Yeah, this was the sweet spot right here in human history that it was…everything was safe." You see, such violence has extra implications if you have a spouse.13:28-13:32If you have a spouse, many times you also eventually have children.13:35-13:38Such violence has implications for spouse and kids, right?13:39-13:43What I mean is, look, I'm not afraid of being attacked personally.13:43-13:43I'm not.13:44-13:44Like, whatever.13:46-13:52I mean, somebody doesn't like the sermon and they slip past security and come up and shoot me or whatever.13:52-13:53Okay, whatever.13:53-13:54See you in heaven.13:56-14:03But I've got a wife and kids, and the thought of them being in danger is terrifying to me.14:04-14:08To think that they're in danger and I can't protect them and I can't be there.14:11-14:12That's what Paul's talking about here.14:13-14:20You see, if I suffer, whatever, but if they suffer, that is way more painful than any suffering that I can endure.14:22-14:30That's why Paul says there in verse 26, he says, "Remain as he is." That's better.14:30-14:32"Remain as he is." He clarifies that though.14:32-14:33Look, he clarifies.14:33-14:34Look at verse 27.14:36-14:39He says, "Are you bound to a wife?14:40-14:41Do not seek to be free.14:41-14:42Are you free from a wife?14:44-14:50Do not seek a wife." He says, "Married, stay married.14:50-14:51Single stay single.14:52-14:53Did you get a divorce?14:53-14:55Stay as you are.14:58-15:06He's saying singles might be wise to pump the brakes on getting married in view of just how violent the world is.15:08-15:08You see that?15:09-15:11There's a second category of trouble.15:11-15:12We saw the presence of stress.15:13-15:14The next one is that worldly troubles.15:15-15:16Look at verse 28.15:16-15:17This is a little different though.15:18-15:26Verse 28, he says, "But if you do marry, you have not sinned.15:27-15:31And if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned.15:32-15:39Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that." Stop there.15:40-15:41There's worldly troubles.15:42-15:53I mean, he says, "A marriage isn't sin, obviously." He goes, "But it brings trouble." There's conflict within marriage, right?15:54-16:00He already addressed there's conflict that comes from outside, but there's also conflict that comes from the inside.16:01-16:07What I mean is, you know, I have to deal with my own sin issues.16:08-16:09I am incredibly selfish.16:15-16:21I can be incredibly prideful, and I can be horribly irritable.16:25-16:27I got those issues going on.16:28-16:36Now, I get married and I got to deal with my wife's sin issues.16:36-16:38I mean, not my wife.16:38-16:43I mean, but you see the point.16:45-16:47You got your sin issues, whoever you marry is going to have sin issues.16:48-16:52The potential for misery in marriage is worse than for singles.16:53-16:58Like yeah, singles are going to deal with their own sin, married people, the amount of sin just doubled in the home.17:03-17:07people get married thinking it's going to fix everything, right?17:08-17:22People get married thinking, you know, "I have these physical urges, and if I just get married, all those urges are going to be fixed." It's not always true, right?17:23-17:25Or people are like, "I'm incredibly lonely.17:26-17:32I'm just so lonely, and if I get married, I won't be lonely." That's not always true either.17:37-17:40Sometimes these things just get worse, right?17:41-17:48Desire for intimacy gets worse when you have a spouse you want to be with but is unresponsive.17:50-17:53Loneliness gets worse when you live with someone who resents you.17:57-18:02So if you're single and you're on the fence, "Should I get married?18:03-18:05Maybe I'll wait till the end of the sermon to decide.18:05-18:11What should I do?" If you're single, "Oh, I wish I had a string.18:11-18:43My previous church, I had a string of marriage counseling sessions I was going through, and I so wish, single people, that I could take you into these marriage counseling sessions and have you sit in the corner and just watch." That would make up your mind for you because you would walk out of there going, "I am so thankful that I don't got to deal with that." Potential for misery in marriage is worse than the potential for misery in singles.18:43-18:44That's what Paul's saying.18:46-18:53I mean even if conflict isn't the big issue, I mean there's plenty of other worldly troubles, right?18:56-18:58like sickness, for example.19:00-19:04I mean, I remember back when I was single, and that was a difficult season in my life.19:06-19:08But do you know what's harder than being single?19:10-19:12You know what's harder is watching a sick wife suffer.19:13-19:13That's harder.19:14-19:20You know what's harder than being single is watching a sick child that you've prayed for for decades not get better.19:21-19:22That's harder than being single.19:24-19:26Now this is Paul's whole point here.19:26-19:27Look, life is hard.19:27-19:28Life is hard for everyone.19:29-19:31I mean, the Bible is crystal on that.19:31-19:38Life is hard for everyone, but getting married invites other elements of trouble.19:40-19:42The world is violent, my wife is violent.19:42-19:45Single people are saved from that.19:47-19:49I guess that's number one.19:49-19:53Number two, three advantages of being single, you're safe from certain troubles.19:53-19:55Number two, you're safe from distraction.19:57-19:58You're safe from distraction.20:01-20:07Marriage brings distraction, and he gives two ways that it does.20:07-20:15First of all, you lose your perspective on priorities, and second of all, you get distracted by the duty of taking care of a family, right?20:15-20:16So let's talk about these.20:17-20:17Let's break them down.20:19-20:21One distraction, losing perspective on priorities.20:21-20:25Look at verse 29, he says, "This is what I mean, brothers.20:27-20:29The appointed time has grown very short.20:30-20:41From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none." You've got to read it in its context.20:42-20:47If you pull that verse out of its context, you're thinking it says something way different than it does, okay?20:48-20:50So you've got to listen to the rest of us.20:50-21:00He is not saying…He is not saying…everybody say, "Not saying." He is not saying, "Detach from your wife." He's not saying that at all.21:00-21:02The context makes it clear what He is saying.21:02-21:20Look, verse 30, He goes, "And those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.21:21-21:28For the present form of this world is passing away." See, what's he saying?21:28-21:29Look at the context.21:30-21:37Mourning, rejoicing, stuff, doing business, that's all earth stuff.21:39-21:39Right?21:39-21:43That is all stuff for here and now.21:45-21:57Paul's saying, "Don't live as if this is all there is." You realize so many people live as if they are going to be here forever, and you're not.21:58-21:59None of us are.22:03-22:05That's what Paul's talking about here.22:05-22:09You're mourning, you're going through a hard time, it's temporary.22:10-22:12You're not going to be mourning in heaven over that.22:12-22:14Oh, and you're rejoicing, you had the greatest day of your life?22:14-22:17Okay, that's not going to mean anything in heaven.22:18-22:18Right?22:19-22:20Oh, you're worried about your stuff?22:20-22:21He ain't taking it with you.22:22-22:24Earthly dealings, you're not going to be doing that in heaven.22:26-22:27It's all earth stuff.22:30-22:43And then he says, "Life as we know it on earth, it's all passing away, including marriage." I mean, all of these things in his list, he's saying these things all look different in light of eternity.22:44-22:48And don't let these things distract you from the big picture.22:49-22:50Do you know what the big picture is?22:52-22:59The big picture is you were created by God to spend a certain amount of time on this earth.23:04-23:09But you were born with a sinful nature we inherited from the first man.23:12-23:15You were born with a nature to rebel against your Creator.23:17-23:20Not to do what He wants you to do, but to do whatever you want to do.23:20-23:23You're selfish too, just like me.23:25-23:28And someday you're going to stand before that God who created you.23:29-23:32That God that you've rebelled against, someday you're going to stand before Him.23:33-23:37He just sang about what kind of God He is.23:37-23:38Holy forever.23:39-23:46You rebellious sinner are going to stand before the holy God that you rebelled against.23:49-23:58You deserve the worst that He could give you, which is hell, eternal separation from Him.23:59-24:07But because He loves you so much, He sent His Son to die on the cross on your behalf, to take your sin penalty on Himself.24:08-24:16When Jesus was on the cross, God was pouring out His wrath on Jesus, the wrath that I deserve and the wrath that you deserve.24:17-24:21Then Jesus rose from the dead so that we too can have the promise of eternal life.24:22-24:23That is the big picture.24:25-24:28So whether you buy or sell, you had a great day, a horrible day.24:28-24:34you get married or not, you're going to stand before a God who is going to judge you.24:35-24:38But if you are in Christ, there is no condemnation.24:39-24:40You are not guilty.24:40-24:41You are forgiven.24:43-24:44No sin will ever be held against you.24:44-24:45That is the big picture.24:45-24:55And Paul is saying, "Do not let the stuff of the earth, including marriage, distract you from that." He's just simply putting things into perspective.24:58-24:58Right?24:59-25:02Even marriage is not eternal.25:02-25:05Jesus said this in Matthew 22.25:06-25:18He says, "For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." Marriage is a "for now on earth" thing.25:20-25:20Right?25:20-25:21not for heaven.25:23-25:24We have it for now on earth.25:25-25:25Why?25:25-25:27For partnership, right?25:28-25:31For pleasure, for procreation.25:34-25:39All the purposes that marriage fulfill, those purposes aren't going to exist in heaven.25:40-25:44We're not going to need them fulfilled the way that they're fulfilled on earth.25:46-25:52I was thinking about this this week and I thought back to my days in elementary school.25:55-26:05I remember there were kids that would go skiing over the weekend and then they'd come to school on Monday.26:06-26:07Some of you remember this?26:07-26:09They'd come to school on Monday with their winter jacket on.26:09-26:11Remember what they still had hanging on their winter jacket?26:13-26:15Your lift pass, remember that?26:15-26:16They'd walk in.26:21-26:22(groans)26:27-26:29What'd you do over the weekend, Joey?26:33-26:35It was such a badge of honor.26:37-26:38You're like, why are you making fun of him?26:38-26:39Because I was so jealous.26:40-26:41That's why.26:43-26:46It was such a badge of honor, wasn't it, to walk into school.26:48-26:50You're not laughing because you were those kids, weren't you?26:52-26:54You were those ski lift tag kids.26:59-27:01I kind of laugh because you know what?27:02-27:05That lift tag was very useful for a time, wasn't it?27:06-27:09I mean, when you're skiing, that thing is super useful.27:09-27:11It has great purpose.27:11-27:16"Oh, you're skiing, it has great purpose." But then when you show up at school, what is it?27:16-27:18It's just a piece of garbage hanging from your coat.27:20-27:21It doesn't mean anything.27:22-27:24Like, dude, you don't need that.27:24-27:26You don't need to ride the lift to the cafeteria.27:29-27:31You don't need the ski tag.27:32-27:34And that's really, same thing with marriage.27:35-27:38Like, hey, married, I got a beautiful wife, she's awesome.27:38-27:45It's like, yes, but you're not going to need a wife in heaven, because every relationship is going to be perfect.27:50-27:53Paul's saying what he says in Colossians 3 too, right?27:53-27:57Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.27:59-28:02Don't let marriage distract you from your spiritual life.28:03-28:42Don't let marriage make you lose perspective on your priorities? Because it does. There are people, there are some people here that work more on their marriage than they do on their personal walk with Jesus Christ. That's a problem. That's backwards. If you worked more on your personal walk with Jesus Christ, things in your marriage would get a whole lot better. But marriage distracts us from focusing on eternity because marriage, as God's Word tells us, divides our interests.28:44-28:45Look at verse 32.28:49-28:52Paul says, "I want you to be free from anxieties.28:55-29:00The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord." How to please the Lord.29:01-29:06But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife.29:08-29:09And his interests are divided.29:11-29:20And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.29:20-29:27But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.29:29-29:36Any single people can serve Jesus undistracted because the single person only has one set of cares.29:37-29:39The married person is divided.29:40-29:41That's what he's saying.29:41-29:47The married person says, "I really do want to serve Christ.29:47-29:58I really do want to give everything to Jesus, but I also have this God-given responsibility to take care of my family.30:00-30:07My interests are divided." So, singles better.30:09-30:11You're like, "Man, that sounds legalistic." Look at verse 35.30:13-30:38Paul says, "I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord." See that's exactly what Paul is saying here, he says, "I'm not being legalistic." He says, "This is for your benefit." But don't think that married people are second-class citizens.30:41-30:41Right?30:42-30:55Verse 36, he says, "If anyone thinks he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes.30:55-30:57Let them marry, it is no sin.30:58-32:31But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity, but having his desires under control and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better." You're like, "What is he talking about here?" This would have made way more sense to the original audience of this letter. Understand here, Paul is talking specifically here to fathers of unmarried daughters. The fathers had decision-making power in the matter of marriage for their daughters. Like, well that sounds very weird. Not really. Even today, I mean, isn't there the custom of when you want to get married to a woman, don't you go to her father and ask for her hand in marriage? Where do you think that comes from. Right? Same principle. But understand, Paul's just, once again, even in that, he's laying out the same thing he's been saying through this whole chapter, specifically through this whole passage. He goes, "If they get married, great. And if they remain single," He's like, "That's even better.32:32-32:39It's even better." Paul says here in this section that when it comes to serving Jesus, single people have an advantage.32:42-32:54Now, understand, single people, single people understand before you go out and get your ski tag, understand he's not saying single people are more spiritual than married people.32:54-32:55He is not saying that.32:56-33:02Single people are not automatically more devoted to Jesus than married people.33:02-33:04He is not saying that.33:04-33:11You're like, "Well, what is he saying?" He's saying single people have the greater potential in their service to Jesus Christ.33:16-33:17All right?33:17-33:46people, consider how much of your resources goes to just taking care of your family, right? How much time does your family require? How much money do you spend on your family? How much energy does your family get? And the answer is Because they get all of all the above, right?33:49-34:04And Paul here is simply saying, "Single people, you have tremendous opportunity, capacity, and potential to serve Christ because you're saved from the distractions that come from having to take care of a family." Right?34:04-34:05Single people?34:07-34:07Single people?34:08-34:12You want to spend extra time in prayer and the Word today?34:13-34:30You can do that without a bunch of little people running up to you going...and you're like, "I fed you yesterday." Well, you've got to feed them today too.34:31-34:33Single people don't got to worry about that.34:34-34:36Single people, you want to go on a mission trip?34:37-34:42You know what, this Vision Appalachia thing, I'm about that, I'm gone.34:42-34:44I'm going to talk to Bob Brown, I'm gone.34:44-34:46Single people can do that, like at the drop of a hat.34:47-34:51Or hey, next trip to Thailand, I am there.34:52-34:53No problem.34:53-35:00Single people can do that because you don't have to factor in the schedules of several other people.35:02-35:02Right?35:04-35:17Single people, you're like, "Oh, it's a prayer service tonight at church." You don't have to worry if you're going to miss it because your spouse is working late or Joey has yet another lacrosse tournament.35:20-35:21That's like the fifth one today.35:24-35:26Single people don't got to worry about that.35:26-35:27That's all Paul's saying here.35:29-35:35Oh, and P.S., history is full of single people that God has used mightily.35:37-35:39I read about a whole bunch of them this past week.35:40-35:44I don't have time to get into all of them, but I will mention one.35:44-35:47How about Paul, right?35:48-36:12Paul himself being single allowed Paul the opportunity to evangelize the Roman world and write holy Spirit-inspired letters that guide, encourage, and bless the churches even until today." So I guess Paul being single adds quite a bit of credibility to this Spirit-inspired truth that he wrote.36:12-36:14He says, "Hey, are you single?36:15-36:21You're saved from a lot of distractions." All right, three advantages of being single.36:21-36:22You're saved from certain troubles.36:23-36:24You're safe from distraction.36:24-36:26Number three, you're safe from obligation.36:28-36:31One more, you're safe from obligation.36:33-36:36Paul says a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives.36:38-36:46But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.36:48-36:52Yet in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is.36:55-36:57And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.36:59-37:00I love that last statement.37:01-37:16Paul's like, 'cause you know that people are gonna be reading this and hearing this like, "Oh, come on, Paul, that's just your opinion." And he's like, "Yeah, I think I have the Holy Spirit too." So you're saved from obligation.37:16-37:22Paul says, "If your spouse dies, You can marry another believer.37:24-37:38Paul says, "Yet you'll be happier to stay single." But, Paul says, "Once you marry, you are bound as long as your spouse lives." He's talking about the obligation to the marriage.37:41-37:57The most important choice you will ever make for however long you have on the earth, the The most important choice is whether or not you are going to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.37:57-37:59That is the most important choice you will ever make.38:00-38:03Do you know what the second most important choice is that you will ever make?38:04-38:06Is the person that you decide to marry.38:11-38:12Because there's no going back.38:14-38:15At least not in God's eyes.38:16-38:17There's no going back.38:18-38:20It's more important than choosing a college major.38:20-38:23It's more important than choosing a career.38:24-38:26It's more important than choosing a tattoo.38:29-38:33More important than all these, who you marry, because it's a covenant before God.38:33-38:36It's a sacred thing in the eyes of God.38:36-38:47In the eyes of God, you're bound for life, and Paul's reminding, hey, when you're bound to a spouse, there is no more liberty that comes with being single.38:51-38:58You know, in Matthew chapter 19, Jesus was talking about marriage and divorce and adultery.38:58-39:03He was being challenged, and we've talked about that passage even very recently.39:04-39:12And Jesus gave his teaching on what it means to be married and defining divorce and adultery and all of that.39:12-39:18Well, the disciples heard all this, and this was their response to Jesus.39:18-39:24After hearing the Lord teach about marriage, this is what the disciples said in response to Jesus.39:25-39:41The disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it's better not to marry." Go back and read that whole passage, and you'll see they got it.39:42-39:44They were not rebuked for this statement.39:45-40:03Jesus is like, "Yeah, but not everybody can receive that, but yeah, they got it." Marriage is not for everyone, but there is a special wisdom and dedication that single people are gifted, right?40:04-40:06Our worship team would make their way back up front.40:13-40:22Single people, do you have the gift of being single?40:23-40:24Do you have that gift?40:28-40:32You're like, "You know, I really think this might be God's gift for me, being single." Is that you?40:32-40:34Well, I want to say something to you.40:34-40:38On the authority of the Word of God, it is not inferior to being married.40:39-40:46In fact, God says very clearly, in a lot of ways, it is better.40:49-40:55But for those of you who are single and you're struggling to know, "Do I have the gift?40:55-40:57I'm not sure if I have the gift.40:57-41:12What does God have for me?" Today I just want you to consider the benefits that the Word of God laid out, that there are troubles, distractions, and obligations that you're going to be saved from.41:13-41:14Let's pray.41:15-41:48in heaven, we thank you for your Word. And I know this can be a touchy and emotional subject, but I thank you. I thank you for the tone in which you inspired Paul to communicate this, that it wasn't some hard-nosed, snarky, legalistic thing at all, but just an objective look at reality.41:51-41:52God, You give gifts.41:52-41:53Your Word is so clear.41:53-42:10You give gifts to each one of us, and for some, Father, You've given the gift of singleness, and I pray a special blessing on those that You have so set aside for specific types of ministry that married people are unable to do.42:11-42:28Father, for the single people here maybe who are struggling, not sure if it's their gift, I just ask, Father, that you would maybe use this message to give them direction on what it is exactly you do have for them.42:30-42:47For the rest of us, Father, show us how we can love and encourage our single brothers and sisters without making them feel like they're on a second tier path because according to your word, it's kind of the opposite.42:49-42:53Give us wisdom, Father, in all these things we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 7:25-40What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Give some examples of “troubles” that come in marriage (internal and external) that single people are spared.How exactly are single people able to serve Jesus without “divided interests” (1 Cor 7:33)?What are some ways the church can reach single people for discipleship (without allowing it to become just a “match-making ministry”)?BreakoutPray for one another.

Everything feels unstable. What are believers called to do? Touré Roberts reveals a powerful truth from Haggai 2:6-9: the shaking isn't your enemy — it's the administrator of glory. God has an appointed moment, and what shocks us doesn't surprise Him. The latter will be greater than the former, but glory requires alignment. God is shaking everything misaligned in your life to position you for His glory. When Adam hid, God asked "Where are you?" — not physically, but positionally. The shaking moves us from self-covering to God-covering, from toil to oil. Touré tells us that creation itself is waiting for aligned sons of God to be revealed. The Holy Spirit leads us to truth and alignment, but we must yield. There's an assignment only the aligned version of you can accomplish. The question isn't if God is shaking. He is, right before our eyes. The question is: Will you get in position? Message: Get In Position Scripture: Haggai 2:6-9 (NKJV) Speaker: Touré Roberts Date: March 1, 2026 ✨ Welcome to Your Moment of Transformation You don't have to walk this journey alone. Let Jesus guide your steps and fill your life with purpose and peace.

In this powerful message based on the life-giving river in Ezekiel 47, Charlotte Gambill urges believers to trade old wineskins for new ones, dive fully into the flow of the Holy Spirit rather than staying ankle-deep, and leave the swamps of resistance behind. It's time to get all in, lean in, trust Him completely, and let the river of living water bring resurrection, healing, and fresh life to every dry area of your world.Let us pray with you:⁠⁠https://jentezenfranklin.org/prayer⁠⁠See our outreach programs:⁠⁠https://jentezenfranklin.org/outreach⁠⁠Stay connected with Free Chapel:Instagram: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/freechapel⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠https://facebook.com/freechapel⁠⁠App: ⁠⁠https://freechapel.org/app⁠⁠Stay connected with Jentezen Franklin:YouTube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@jentezenfranklinmedia⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/jentezen⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/jentezen⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠https://facebook.com/JentezenFranklin⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jentezen-franklin-at-free-chapel/id506354054⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7o0QPCGh5T79jMptpJPTlo⁠⁠Donate to help us share the gospel around the world through Kingdom Connection broadcasts and other humanitarian outreaches:⁠⁠https://jentezenfranklin.org/donations/new?cid=sm-yt⁠

Everything feels unstable. What are believers called to do? Touré Roberts reveals a powerful truth from Haggai 2:6-9: the shaking isn't your enemy — it's the administrator of glory. God has an appointed moment, and what shocks us doesn't surprise Him. The latter will be greater than the former, but glory requires alignment. God is shaking everything misaligned in your life to position you for His glory. When Adam hid, God asked "Where are you?" — not physically, but positionally. The shaking moves us from self-covering to God-covering, from toil to oil. Touré tells us that creation itself is waiting for aligned sons of God to be revealed. The Holy Spirit leads us to truth and alignment, but we must yield. There's an assignment only the aligned version of you can accomplish. The question isn't if God is shaking. He is, right before our eyes. The question is: Will you get in position? Message: Get In Position Scripture: Haggai 2:6-9 (NKJV) Speaker: Touré Roberts Date: March 1, 2026 ✨ Welcome to Your Moment of Transformation You don't have to walk this journey alone. Let Jesus guide your steps and fill your life with purpose and peace.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: March 1: Numbers 7-8; Mark 8 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast for March 1st, 2026. On this special episode, Heather guides us through Day 60 of our journey in the scriptures. As we gather from all corners of the world, our focus is not just on the words themselves, but on how they point us to Jesus—the source of our life. Today's readings come from Numbers chapters 28 and 29, along with Mark 8. Heather begins by reminding us that the scriptures bear witness to Christ, and invites the Holy Spirit to illuminate God's Word so our hearts and minds may be transformed. We explore the detailed offerings and festivals described in Numbers, and witness Jesus' compassion and teachings in Mark, including the feeding of the 4,000, lessons on spiritual "yeast," and a powerful call to humility and gratitude. To wrap up, Heather leads us in prayers for guidance, unity, and thankfulness, encouraging us to be instruments of peace and to let the joy of the Lord be our strength as we go forward. If you want to join the newsletter or connect further, visit DailyRadioBible.com—and remember, you are loved! TODAY'S DEVOTION: Beware the yeast. There's something that can damage your hearing and your vision. It can even harden your arteries. Well, that might not be a clinical explanation of yeast in our lives, but it is a spiritual observation—an illustration that Jesus uses with his disciples. Watch out, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. They haven't a clue what he means. Jesus says, don't you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? You have eyes, can't you see? You have ears, can't you hear? Don't you remember anything at all? It seems that the yeast of the Pharisees could damage their hearing, their vision, their hearts, and even their memory. So Jesus wants them to be vigilant, to keep that yeast out of their houses and out of their lives. In Exodus, the children of Israel were told that before they could celebrate the Passover meal, they had to remove all yeast from their homes. Then they could sit down and enjoy the meal before them. It was a meal prepared from the hand of God, the result of his work and not their own. That's what getting rid of the yeast represented. The yeast represented the Pharisees' teaching of self-righteousness and self-justification. It represented their trying to make themselves right with God by their own piety, their attempted obedience to the law. Attempted obedience has never been our means of justification. No, we must rid ourselves of the yeast of self-righteousness in order to receive the righteous feast and life that is offered to us in Christ. That's why Jesus says, beware of the yeast. He calls us to rid ourselves of it so that we can see and hear clearly, to live well and hear well. He wants it gone so that we can enjoy the new heart he has given us, and enjoy the meal that comes from his hand. It is a meal that is abundant and feeds multitudes, with basketfuls left over. Let's be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees; it so easily spreads into everything we do. Instead, let's look to our Passover Lamb, prepared and offered to us out of the abundant and loving heart of our Father. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Jesus has taken it away, and he offers us the feast of his life even now, today. It cannot be earned. It simply must be received. Ours is just to say thank you. Let gratitude and thankfulness be the disposition of our heart. Jesus took the bread and the cup, and he looked up to heaven and he gave thanks. So let us look up to heaven today and give thanks for the living bread, for the life that is given to us in Christ. It is a life without deceitfulness, without self-righteousness, and without self-promotion. It is a life of humility, kindness, and grace. Let us receive from him all that he has for us today. Be on guard. Be aware, and be alive in him. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

#10MinuteswithJesus ** Put yourself in the presence of God. Try talking to Him. ** 10 minutes are 10 minutes. Even if you can get distracted, reach the end. ** Be constant. The Holy Spirit acts "on low heat" and requires perseverance. 10-Minute audio to help you pray. Daily sparks to ignite prayer: a passage from the gospel, an idea, an anecdote and a priest who speaks with you and the Lord, inviting you to share your intimacy with God. Find your moment, consider you are in His presence and click play.

What does it really mean to be led by the Spirit? In this message, Pastor Aaron reminds us that the Holy Spirit isn't just a source of power, He's a Person we're called to follow. He may not reveal every detail about your future, but He will always show you the next faithful step. And ultimately, His goal isn't to make much of us, it's to make much of Jesus. Thank you for enjoying this life changing message from Radiant Church. We pray this moves you closer to Christ and encourages you. For more life changing resources, visit us at www.weareradiant.com. Subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/weareradiantchurch To give online: https://weareradiant.com/give/ View the sermon notes for this message here: https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?page=rkipOGcubl Spanish translation messages are available on our Radiant Church Español YouTube channel. Visit https://weareradiant.com/espanol to watch and subscribe. Moving people towards Christ, Community and Calling. This is the vision of Radiant Church, led by Pastor Aaron Burke and based in Tampa Bay, FL. —— Stay Connected Website: https://weareradiant.com Radiant Church Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareradiant/ Radiant Church Instagram: http://instagram.com/weareradiant/

Week 10 - Genesis 24-33:  " we should begin and continue until the Holy Spirit guides us into the prayer we should be offering."

There is a joy that comes with knowing or being certain of things in our lives. In this intriguing message Ps. Michael explains how the Holy Spirit will help us find answers we seek, and lead us to the tables where the most important questions are answered.

As we come into our table series this message share the heart behind it and the why we want to host the presence -the Holy Spirit and People.

When you realize that everything you have belongs to God, it changes the way you live, give, and trust Him. In Pastor Phil Hopper's message, “Exchange Self for Sacrifice” from 1 Chronicles 29, we look at how King David led God's people to give willingly and joyfully because they understood the temple was for the Lord, not for man. Just like Israel was called to build a house for God's presence, the New Testament reminds us that we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, called to be a light to our neighbors and the nations. You'll discover why God is the owner of all your abilities, opportunities, and resources, and how seeing yourself as a steward—not an owner—frees you to live generously. Because when you let Jesus change your heart, you always get to “keep the change.”  Connect with us on Social Media↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels   Connect with Pastor Phil↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc Books & Resources: https://abundant-life.com/resources/books/   Listen to The Well Podcast⤵ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5wadnywAMEK7c0E1qatMoY?si=SjH6Ko7VR3OoHrRy1yYLlQ&nd=1&dlsi=395ae55d95ac4b11 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-well/id1233267223 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR50sV854C2hogfBmv7YogvCjiNYLz9a2   Find Your Next Step:https://alife.livingproof.co/ Watch More Sermons:https://abundant-life.com/sermons/   Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://abundant-life.com/ Listen to The Well Podcast ⤵Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5wadnywAMEK7c0E1qatMoY?si=SjH6Ko7VR3OoHrRy1yYLlQ&nd=1&dlsi=395ae55d95ac4b11Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-well/id1233267223YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR50sV854C2hogfBmv7YogvCjiNYLz9a2Find Your Next Step: http://alife.livingproof.co/ Watch more sermons: https://abundant-life.com/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://abundant-life.com/ Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://abundant-life.com/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://abundant-life.com/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://abundant-life.com/

Original Airdate: March 8, 2020 Genesis 12:1-4a | 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 | Matthew 17:1-9 Oh God, who commanded us to listen to your Beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything is Father filtered!

In Acts 6, Stephen is described as a man full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace, and power. Not a platform preacher. A table server. A volunteer. Yet when pressure came, what spilled out of him looked like Jesus.This week we ask a simple question: When your life is shaken, what comes out?Crisis does not create what is inside of us. It reveals it. And the Christian life is not about trying harder or mastering spiritual practices. It is about being filled again and again with the presence of the Holy Spirit.In this message, Pastor Darren walks through what it means to be full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, full of faith, full of grace, and full of power, and how real transformation happens not through self effort, but through surrender.

Friends of the Rosary,The Transfiguration of Christ is closely tied to the Passion, as it occurs just before Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and death. It acts as a preview of his resurrected, glorified body.In today's Gospel, the Second Sunday of Lent (Matthew 17:1-9), the transfigured Lord Jesus, accompanied by Moses and Elias — representing the Law and the Prophets — reveals His divine glory, foreshadowing His resurrection from the dead.Appearing in dazzling white on a mountain, Christ confirms his identity as the Son of God, connects his divine nature to the coming Passion, and reinforces the disciples Peter, James, and John's faith before his crucifixion.He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things, the Holy One of God who brings our own transfiguration as the goal to attain.The Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9), a solemnity celebrated on August 6, highlights Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament as the Divine Voice."This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!" proclaimed the voice of God.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠March 1, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

In the interval between the opening of the 6th and 7th seals, Revelation reminds us that not one word has failed of God's good promise. The Lord shows us that He has kept His promise to restore Israel to the kingdom, bring salvation to all nations, and answer the prayers of the saints. The questions of the previous seals about justice and salvation have been answered, and now 7 angels arise with trumpets to bring judgment upon the Earth. Have you been sealed by the Holy Spirit, having believed in the gospel of Jesus?

When Allison Byxbe's oldest son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, her vibrant faith went silent. What followed was a full decade of processing grief, letting go of the life she'd imagined, and learning to embrace a new reality. In her darkest season, she discovered that journaling wasn't just a way to record her pain, it became a lifeline back to God's presence. In this conversation, Allison shares how the simple act of putting pen to paper softened her heart, helped her to make sense of overwhelming experiences, and allowed her to hear the Holy Spirit's whisper. She explores how Scripture's metaphors, like new wineskins, gentle whispers, and living water, became bridges to understanding her journey. Whether you're walking through a storm or simply seeking deeper connection with God, Allison's story and practical guidance will inspire you to discover the transformative power of journaling as a spiritual practice.   WEBLINKS Allison Byxbe's Website Allison Byxbe on Instagram Journalling as a Spiritual Practice

Pastor Christy Cass Spiritual gifts are not mystical extras—they are activated expressions of the Holy Spirit working through believers for the common good. In this message, we focus on the gift of faith—a supernatural certainty that God will do what cannot be done naturally. TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:1; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; Hebrews 11:7; Matthew 8:8–10; John 6:9–11; Joshua 6:2–5 NOTES: BIG IDEA: Your gifts begin in seed form — and must be activated. WHAT DO SPIRITUAL GIFTS DO? They: Reveal something, Do something, Inspire or say something THE FAITH FRAMEWORK F — Free your spirit from fear and control A — Act before you see the outcome I — Invest in what He showed you T — Take God at His word H — Hold faith for others Stay Connected: Give: https://theecho.churchcenter.com/giving Online Service: Sundays 9 AM (YouTube & Facebook Live) Connect: https://theecho.churchcenter.com/people/forms/113001 Instagram: @wearetheechochurch #EchoChurch #ChristianSermon #FaithGrowth #BibleTeaching

Date March 1, 2026 Synopsis In our second week of the Reenchanted series, we talk about ditching the intellectual armor that keeps us isolated and stuck in "knowing" all the right answers. Stop trying to think your way to God, and start learning how to feel your way back to the wild, messy, embodied life you were meant to live. It's time to repent of certainty and let your finite, beautiful body be the place where divine grace actually meets you. References Scripture: John 3:1–17 About The Local Church For more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org. To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

Genesis 28:10-22Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran.     When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.     Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.     He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and          descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.     I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.    All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.    I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.Then Jacob made a vow, saying,     If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.