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Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer
Gospel Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." Then he summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Reflection We've been focusing all week on the healing power of Jesus. Encountering someone who needs a gift from God. But we have to be careful, because the work of being a follower of Jesus is to create small kingdoms of individuals like minded, trusting in one of their believing in this power of the spirit within them to create a life giving environment. The healing that God has promised to us enables community to thrive. Individuals to get past their own egos and to be caring most about those around them. It's a beautiful image of the Kingdom of God. That's what we're here for, and that's what's happening now. Closing Prayer Father, life can become a distraction or can become something that is a kind of workshop for everything that God is asking us to become. Help us to see it as a place where we can learn how to develop a community of life giving friends. That's the goal. That's the work. The Kingdom of God is near, it is at hand, it is already here. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251206dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the LORD'S temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” Isaiah 2:1-3 Come to the House of God Does everyone in your community know where your church is and what it believes and stands for? Do the members of your congregation pour out from Sunday worship and Bible study just looking for people to tell about God? Do you? Do your neighbors know that you are a follower of Jesus? When Jesus, the Son of God, died on that cross to pay for the sins of every person in the whole world, and rose again to prove he was the victorious King of kings, the prophecy of Isaiah in our Bible reading for today was fulfilled. The “mountain of the Lord’s temple was established as chief among the mountains.” Now Jesus rules over all things, and the kingdom of God will prevail for all eternity. The One who rules the universe has claimed you as his very own. You are part of the greatest, strongest, tallest, mountainous, most powerful organization in history. And it will last forever! Jesus is the greatest, most powerful, most victorious ruler of the world. There is nothing more important or valuable than being a member of his kingdom. That’s good news for you and something you will want to share. Testify to the greatness of Jesus by the way you live. Invite the people you know to “come to the house of God,” where God will teach them the way of salvation! Prayer: Dear Lord, remind me of the amazing blessings I have through forgiveness in Jesus. Lead me to walk in the light of your path and draw others to your Word so that they may also believe and share these blessings with me. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Chapter 5 of Heroes in the Bible: Jesus with Dr. Tony Evans is inspired by the Gospels. The Outcasts - Jesus' teaching goes viral, and he begins ministering to the broken, sick, and the outcasts. This episode showcases the slow-build of Jesus' popularity, as well as his willingness to use the broken and imperfect to spread the kingdom of God. Today's opening prayer is inspired by John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app. Sign up for Heroes in the Bible devotionals at https://www.heroesinthebible.com/ Learn more about Dr. Tony Evans at https://tonyevans.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
In this theologically rich episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Jesse and Tony delve into the Parable of the Lost Coin from Luke 15:8-10. They explore how this parable reveals God's passionate pursuit of His elect and the divine joy that erupts when they are found. Building on their previous discussion of the Lost Sheep, the brothers examine how Jesus uses this second parable to further emphasize God's sovereign grace in salvation. The conversation highlights the theological implications of God's ownership of His people even before their redemption, the diligent efforts He undertakes to find them, and the heavenly celebration that follows. This episode offers profound insights into God's relentless love and the true nature of divine joy in redemption. Key Takeaways The Parable of the Lost Coin emphasizes that God actively and diligently searches for those who belong to Him, sparing no effort to recover what is rightfully His. Jesus uses three sequential parables in Luke 15 to progressively reveal different aspects of God's heart toward sinners, with escalating emphasis on divine joy. The coin represents something of significant value that already belonged to the woman, illustrating that God's elect belong to Him even before their redemption. Unlike finding something new, the joy depicted is specifically about recovering something that was already yours but had been lost, highlighting God's eternal claim on His people. The spiritual inability of the sinner is represented by the coin's passivity - it cannot find its own way back and must be sought out by its owner. Angels rejoice over salvation not independently but because they share in God's delight at the effectiveness of His saving power. The parable challenges believers to recover their joy in salvation and to share it with others, much like the woman who called her neighbors to celebrate with her. Expanded Insights God's Determined Pursuit of What Already Belongs to Him The Parable of the Lost Coin reveals a profound theological truth about God's relationship to His elect. As Tony and Jesse discuss, this isn't a story about finding something new, but recovering something that already belongs to the owner. The woman in the parable doesn't rejoice because she discovered unexpected treasure; she rejoices because she recovered what was already hers. This illustrates the Reformed understanding that God's people have eternally belonged to Him. While justification occurs in time, there's a real sense in which God has been considering us as His people in eternity past. The parable therefore supports the doctrines of election and particular redemption - God is not creating conditions people can move into or out of, but is zealously reclaiming a specific people who are already His in His eternal decree. The searching, sweeping, and diligent pursuit represent not a general call, but an effectual calling that accomplishes its purpose. The Divine Joy in Recovering Sinners One of the most striking aspects of this parable is the overwhelming joy that accompanies finding the lost coin. The brothers highlight that this joy isn't reluctant or begrudging, but enthusiastic and overflowing. The woman calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate with her - a seemingly excessive response to finding a coin, unless we understand the theological significance. This reveals that God takes genuine delight in the redemption of sinners, to the extent that Jesus describes it as causing joy "in the presence of the angels of God." As Jesse and Tony note, this challenges our perception that God might save us begrudgingly. Instead, the parable teaches us that God's "alien work" is wrath, while His delight is in mercy. This should profoundly impact how believers view their own salvation and should inspire a contagious joy that spreads to others - a joy that many Christians, by Tony's own admission, need to recover in their daily walk. Memorable Quotes "Christ love is an act of love and it's always being acted upon the sinner, the one who has to be redeemed, his child whom he goes after. So in the same way, we have Christ showing the self-denying love." - Jesse Schwamb "The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace... The reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased, is because God has this real pleasure to pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire." - Jesse Schwamb "These parables are calling us to rejoice, right? Christ is using these parables to shame the Pharisees and the scribes who refuse to rejoice over the salvation of sinners. How often do we not rejoice over our own salvation sufficiently?" - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript [00:00:08] Jesse Schwamb: There still is like the sovereign grace of God who's initiating the salvation and there is a kind of effect of calling that God doesn't merely invite, he finds, he goes after he affects the very thing. Yeah, and I think we're seeing that here. The sinner, spiritual inability. There's an utter passivity until found. The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace. It's all there for us. And the reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased is because God has this real pleasure. To pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire. Welcome to episode 472 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. [00:00:57] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. [00:01:01] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. [00:01:02] Jesus and the Parable of the Lost Coin [00:01:02] Jesse Schwamb: So there was this time, maybe actually more than one time, but at least this one time that we've been looking at where Jesus is hanging out and the religious incumbents, the Pharisees, they come to him and they say, you are a friend of sinners, and. Instead of taking offense to this, Jesus turns this all around. Uses this as a label, appropriates it for himself and his glorious character. And we know this because he gives us this thrice repeated sense of what it means to see his heart, his volition, his passion, his love, his going after his people, and he does it. Three little parables and we looked at one last time and we're coming up to round two of the same and similar, but also different and interesting. And so today we're looking at the parable of the lost coin or the Lost dma, or I suppose, whatever kind of currency you wanna insert in there. But once again, something's lost and we're gonna see how our savior comes to find it by way of explaining it. In metaphor. So there's more things that are lost and more things to be found on this episode. That's how we do it. It's true. It's true. So that's how Jesus does it. So [00:02:12] Tony Arsenal: yeah. So it should be how we do it. [00:02:14] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Yeah, exactly. I cut to like Montel Jordan now is the only thing going through my head. Tell Jordan. Yeah. Isn't he the one that's like, this is how we do it, that song, this is [00:02:28] Tony Arsenal: how we do it. I, I don't know who sings it. Apparently it's me right now. That was actually really good. That was fantastic. [00:02:36] Jesse Schwamb: Hopefully never auto tuned. Not even once. I'm sure that'll make an appearance now and the rest, somebody [00:02:42] Tony Arsenal: should take that and auto tune it for me. [00:02:44] Jesse Schwamb: That would be fantastic. Listen, it doesn't need it. That was perfect. That was right off the cuff, right off the top. It was beautiful. It was ous. [00:02:50] Tony Arsenal: Yes. Yes. [00:02:51] Affirmations and Denials [00:02:51] Jesse Schwamb: I'm hoping that appearance, [00:02:53] Tony Arsenal: before we jump into our, our favorite segment here in affirmations of Denials, I just wanted to take a second to, uh, thank all of our listeners. Uh, we have the best listeners in the world. That's true, and we've also got a really great place to get together and chat about things. That's also true. Uh, we have a little telegram chat, which is just a little chat, um, program that run on your phone or in a browser. Really any device you have, you can go to t Me slash Reform Brotherhood and join that, uh, little chat group. And there's lots of stuff going on there. We don't need to get into all the details, but it's a friendly little place. Lots of good people, lots of good conversation. And just lots of good digital fellowship, if that's even a thing. I think it is. So please do join us there. It's a great place to discuss, uh, the episodes or what you're learning or what you'd like to learn. There's all sorts of, uh, little nooks and crannies and things to do in there. [00:03:43] Jesse Schwamb: So if you're looking for a little df and you know that you are coming out, we won't get into details, but you definitely should. Take Tony's advice, please. You, you will not be disappointed. It, it's a fun, fun time together. True. Just like you're about to have with us chatting it up and going through a little affirmations and denials. So, as usual, Tony, what are you, are you affirming with something or are you denying again, something? I'm, I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm ready. [00:04:06] Tony Arsenal: Okay. Uh, it is, I thought that was going somewhere else. Uh, I'm, I'm affirming something. [00:04:13] AI and Problem Solving [00:04:13] Tony Arsenal: People are gonna get so sick of me doing like AI affirmations, but I, it's like I learned a new thing to do with AI every couple of weeks. I ran across an article the other day, uh, that I don't remember where the article was. I didn't save it, but I did read it. And one of the things that pointed out is that a lot of times you're not getting the most out of AI because you don't really know how to ask the questions. True. One of the things it was was getting through is a lot of people will ask, they'll have a problem that they're encountering and they'll just ask AI like, how do I fix this problem? And a lot of times what that yields is like very superficial, basic, uh, generic advice or generic kind of, uh, directions for resolving a problem. And the, I don't remember the exact phrasing, 'cause it was a little while ago since I read it, but it basically said something like, I'm encountering X problem. And despite all efforts to the contrary, I have not been able to resolve it. And by using sort of these extra phrases. What it does is it sort of like pushes the AI to ask you questions about what you've already tried to do, and so it's gonna tailor its advice or its directions to your specific situation a little bit more. So, for example, I was doing this today. We, um, we just had the time change, right? Stupidest thing in the world doesn't make any sense and my kids don't understand that the time has changed and we're now like three or four weeks past the, the time change and their, their schedule still have not adjusted. So my son Augie, who is uh, like three and three quarters, uh, I don't know how many months it is. When do you stop? I don't even know. When you stop counting in months. He's three and a quarter, three quarters. And he will regularly wake up between four 30 and five 30. And when we really, what we really want is for him to be sleeping, uh, from uh, until like six or six 30 at the latest. So he's like a full hour, sometimes two hours ahead of time, which then he wakes up, it's a small house. He's noisy 'cause he's a three and a half year old. So he wakes up the baby. The baby wakes up. My wife, and then we're all awake and then we're cranky and it's miserable. So I, I put that little prompt into, um, into Google Gemini, which is right now is my, um, AI of choice, but works very similar. If you use something like chat, GPT or CLO or whatever, you know, grok, whatever AI tool you have access to, put that little prompt in. You know, something like since the time change, my son has been waking up at four 30 in the morning, despite all efforts to the contrary, I have not been able to, uh, adjust his schedule. And so it started asking me questions like, how much light is in the room? What time does he go to bed? How much does he nap? And it, so it's, it's pulling from the internet. This is why I like Google Geminis. It's actually pulling from the internet to identify like common, common. Related issues. And so it starts to probe and ask questions. And by the time it was done, what it came out with was like a step-by-step two week plan. Basically like, do this tonight, do this tomorrow morning. Um, and it was able to identify what it believes is the problem. We'll see if it actually is, but the beauty now is now that I've got a plan that I've got in this ai, I can start, you know, tomorrow morning I'm gonna try to do what it said and I can tell. The ai, how things went, and it can now adjust the plan based on whether or not, you know, this worked or didn't work. So it's a good way to sort of, um, push an ai, uh, chat bot to probe your situation a little bit more. So you could do this really for anything, right. You could do something like I'm having, I'm having trouble losing weight despite all efforts to the contrary. Um, can you help me identify what the, you know, root problem is? So think about different ways that you can use this. It's a pretty cool way to sort of like, push the, the AI to get a little deeper into the specifics without like a lot of extra heavy lifting. I'm sure there's probably other ways you could drive it to do this, but this was just one clever way that I, that this article pointed out to accomplish this. [00:08:07] Jesse Schwamb: It's a great exercise to have AI optimize itself. Yeah. By you turning your prompts around and asking it to ask you a number of questions, sufficient number, until it can provide an optimize answer for you. So lots, almost every bot has some kind of, you can have it analyze your prompts essentially, but some like copilot actually have a prompt agent, which will help you construct the prompt in an optimal way. Yeah, and that again, is kind of question and answer. So I'm with you. I will often turn it around and say. Here's my goal. Ask me sufficient number of questions so that you can provide the right insight to accomplish said goal. Or like you're saying, if you can create this like, massive conversation that keeps all this history. So I, I've heard of people using this for their exercise or running plans. Famously, somebody a, a, um, journalist, the Wall Street Journal, use it, train for a marathon. You can almost have it do anything for you. Of course, you want to test all of that and interact with it reasonably and ably, right? At the same time, what it does best is respond to like natural language interaction. And so by turning it around and basically saying, help me help you do the best job possible, providing the information, it's like the weirdest way of querying stuff because we're so used to providing explicit direction ourselves, right? So to turn it around, it's kind of a new experience, but it's super fun, really interesting, really effective. [00:09:22] Tony Arsenal: And it because you are allowing, in a certain sense, you're sort of asking the AI to drive the conversation. This, this particular prompt, I know the article I read went into details about why this prompt is powerful and the reason this prompt is powerful is not because of anything the AI's doing necessarily, right. It's because you're basically telling the AI. To find what you've missed. And so it's asking you questions. Like if I was to sit down and go like, all right, what are all the things that's wrong, that's causing my son to be awake? Like obviously I didn't figure it out on my own, so it's asking me what I've already tried and what it found out. And then of course when it tells me what it is, it's like the most obvious thing when it figures out what it is. It's identifying something that I already haven't identified because I've told it. I've already tried everything I can think of, and so it's prompting me to try to figure out what it is that I haven't thought of. So those are, like I said, there's lots of ways to sort of get the ais to do that exercise. Um, it's not, it's not just about prompt engineering, although that there's a lot of science now and a lot of like. Specifics on how you do prompt engineering, um, you know, like building a persona for the ai. Like there's all sorts of things you can do and you can add that, like, I could have said something like, um. Uh, you are a pediatric sleep expert, right? And when you tell it that what it's gonna do is it's gonna start to use more technical language, it's gonna, it's gonna speak to you back as though it's a, and this, this is where AI can get a little bit dangerous and really downright scary in some instances. But with that particular prompt, it's gonna start to speak back to you as though it was a clinician of some sort, diagnosing a medical situation, which again. That is definitely not something I would ever endorse. Like, don't let an AI be your doctor. That's just not, like WebMD was already scary enough when you were just telling you what your symptoms were and it was just cross checking it. Um, but you could do something like, and I use these kinds of prompts for our show notes where I'm like, you're an expert at SEO, like at um, podcast show notes. Utilizing SEO search terms, like that's part of the prompt that I use when I use, um, in, in this case, I use notion to generate most of our show notes. Um, it, it starts to change the way that it looks at things and the way that it, I, it responds to you based on different prompts. So I think it, it's a little bit scary, uh, AI. Can be a strange, strange place. And there's some, they're doing some research that is a little bit frightening. They did a study and actually, like, they, they basically like unlocked an AI and gave it access to a pretend company with emails and stuff and said that a particular employee was gonna shut out, was gonna delete the ai. And the first thing it did was try to like blackmail the employee with like a risk, like a scandalous email. It had. Then after that they, they engineered a scenario where the AI actually had the ability to kill the employee. And despite like explicit instructions not to do anything illegal, it still tried to kill the employee. So there's some scary things that are coming up if we're not, you know, if, if the science is not able to get that under control. But right now it's just a lot of fun. Like it's, we're, we're probably not at the point where it's dangerous yet and hopefully. Hopefully it won't get to that point, but we'll see. We'll see. That got dark real fast, fast, fast. Jesse, you gotta get this. And that was an affirmation. I guess I'm affirming killer murder ais that are gonna kill us all, but uh, we're gonna have fun with it until they do at least. [00:12:52] Jesse Schwamb: Thanks for not making that deny against. 'cause I can only imagine the direction that one to taken. [00:12:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. At least when the AI hears this, it's gonna know that I'm on its side, so, oh, for sure. I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords. So as do Iye. [00:13:05] Christmas Hymns and Music Recommendations [00:13:05] Tony Arsenal: But Jesse, what are you affirming or denying today to get me out of this pit here? [00:13:09] Jesse Schwamb: So, lemme start with a question. Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn? And if so, what is it? [00:13:16] Tony Arsenal: Ooh, that's a tough one. Um, I think I've always been really partial to Oh, holy Night. But, uh, there's, there's not anything that really jumps to mind my, as I've become older and crankier and more Scottish in spirit, I just, Christmas hymns just aren't as. If they're not as prominent in my mind, but oh, holy night or come coming, Emanuel is probably a really good one too. [00:13:38] Jesse Schwamb: Wow. Those are the, those are like the top in the top three for me. Yeah. So I think [00:13:42] Tony Arsenal: I know where you're going based on the question. [00:13:44] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, we're very much the same. So, well maybe, so I am affirming with, but it's that time of year and people you, you know and love and maybe yourself, you're gonna listen to Christian music and. That's okay. I put no shade on that, especially because we're talking about the incarnation, celebrate the incarnation. But of course, I think the best version of that is some of these really lovely hymns because they could be sung and worshiped through all year round. We just choose them because they fit in with the calendar particularly well here, and sometimes they're included, their lyrics included in Hallmark cards and, and your local. Cool. Coles. So while that's happening, why not embrace it? But here's my information is why not go with some different versions. I love the hymn as you just said. Oh, come will come Emmanuel. And so I'm gonna give people three versions of it to listen to Now to make my list of this kind of repertoire. The song's gotta maintain that traditional melody. I think to a strong degree, it's gotta be rich and deep and dark, especially Ko Emmanuel. But it's gotta have something in it that's a little bit nuanced. Different creative arrangements, musicality. So let me give two brand new ones that you may not have heard versions and one old one. So the old one is by, these are all Ko Emanuel. So if at some point during this you're like, what song is he talking about? It's Ko. Emmanuel. It's just three times. Th we're keeping it th Rice tonight. So the first is by band called for today. That's gonna be a, a little bit harder if you want something that, uh, gets you kind of pumped up in the midst of this redemption. That's gonna be the version. And then there are two brand new ones. One is by skillet, which is just been making music forever, but the piano melody they bring into this and they do a little something nuanced with the chorus that doesn't pull away too much. From the original, but just gives it a little extra like Tastiness. Yeah. Skill. Great version. And then another one that just came out yesterday. My yesterday, not your yesterday. So actually it doesn't even matter at this point. It's already out is by descriptor. And this would be like the most chill version that is a hardcore band by, I would say tradition, but in this case, their version is very chill. All of them I find are just deeply worshipful. Yeah. And these, the music is very full of impact, but of course the lyrics are glorious. I really love this, this crying out to God for the Savior. This. You know, just, it's really the, the plea that we should have now, which is, you know, maranatha like Lord Jesus, come. And so in some ways we're, we're celebrating that initial plea and cry for redemption as it has been applied onto us by the Holy Spirit. And we're also saying, you know, come and fulfill your kingdom, Lord, come and bring the full promise, which is here, but not yet. So I like all three of these. So for today. Skillet descriptor, which sounds like we're playing like a weird word game when you put those all together. It does, but they're all great bands and their versions I think are, are worthy. So the larger affirmation, I suppose, is like, go out this season and find different versions, like mix it up a little bit. Because it's good to hear this music somewhat afresh, and so I think by coming to it with different versions of it, you'll get a little bit of that sense. It'll make maybe what is, maybe if it's felt rote or mundane or just trivial, like you're saying, kind of revive some of these pieces in our hearts so we can, we, we can really worship through them. We're redeeming them even as they're meant to be expressions of the ultimate redemption. [00:16:55] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, um, I heard the skillet version and, uh, you know, you know me like I'm not a huge fan of harder music. Yeah. But that, that song Slaps man, it's, yes, [00:17:07] Jesse Schwamb: it does. It's [00:17:07] Tony Arsenal: good. And Al I mean, it, it also ignited this weird firestorm of craziness online. I don't know if you heard anything about this, but Yes, it was, it was, there was like the people who absolutely love it and will. Fight you if you don't. Yes. And then there was like the people who think it's straight from the devil because of somehow demonic rhythms, whatever that means. Um, but yeah, I mean, I'm not a big fan of the heavier music, but there is something about that sort of, uh. I don't know. Is skill, would that be considered like metal at all? [00:17:38] Jesse Schwamb: Oh, that's a loaded question. Probably. [00:17:39] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. So like I found, uh, this is, we're gonna go down to Rabbit Trail here. Let's do it. Here we go. I found a version of Africa by Toto that was labeled as metal on YouTube. So I don't know whether it actually is, and this, this version of skill, it strikes me as very similar, where it's, ah, uh, it, it's like, um. The harmonies are slightly different in terms of like how they resonate than Okay. Other harmonies. Like I get [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: that [00:18:06] Tony Arsenal: there's a certain, you know, like when you think about like Western music, there's certain right, there's certain harmonies when, you know, think about like piano chords are framed and my understanding at least this could be way off, and I'm sure you're gonna correct me if I'm wrong, is that um, metal music, heavy metal music uses slightly different. Chord formations that it almost leaves you feeling a little unresolved. Yes, but not quite unresolved. Like it's just, it's, it's more the harmonics are different, so that's fair. Skillet. This skillet song is so good, and I think you're right. It, it retains the sort of like. The same basic melody, the same, the same basic harmonies, actually. Right. And it's, it's almost like the harmonies are just close enough to being put into a different key with the harmonies. Yes, [00:18:52] Jesse Schwamb: that's true [00:18:53] Tony Arsenal: than then. Uh, but not quite actually going into another key. So like, sometimes you'll see online, you'll find YouTube videos where they play like pop songs, but they've changed the, the. Chords a little bit. So now it's in a minor key. It's almost like it's there. It's like one more little note shift and it would be there. Um, and then there's some interesting, uh, like repetition and almost some like anal singing going on, that it's very good. Even if you don't like heavier music. Like, like I don't, um, go listen to it and I think you'll find yourself like hitting repeat a couple times. It was very, very good. [00:19:25] Jesse Schwamb: That's a good way of saying it. A lot of times that style is a little bit dissonant, if that's what you mean in the court. Yeah. Formation. So it gives you this unsettledness, this almost unresolvedness, and that's in there. Yeah. And just so everybody knows, actually, if you listen to that version from Skillet, you'll probably listen to most of it. You'll get about two thirds of the way through it and probably be saying, what are those guys talking about? It's the breakdown. Where it amps up. But before that, I think anybody could listen to it and just enjoy it. It's a really beautiful, almost haunting piano melody. They bring into the intro in that, in the interlude. It's very lovely. So it gives you that sense. Again, I love this kind of music because there's almost something, there is something in this song that's longing for something that is wanting and yet left, unresolved and unfulfilled until the savior comes. There's almost a lament in it, so to speak, especially with like the way it's orchestrated. So I love that this hymn is like deep and rich in that way. It's, that's fine. Like if you want to sing deck the Holes, that's totally fine. This is just, I think, better and rich and deeper and more interesting because it does speak to this life of looking for and waiting for anticipating the advent of the savior. So to get me get put back in that place by music, I think is like a net gain this time of year. It's good to have that perspective. I'm, I'm glad you've heard it. We should just open that debate up whether or not we come hang out in the telegram chat. We'll put it in that debate. Is skillet hardcore or metal? We'll just leave it there 'cause I have my opinions, but I'm, well, I'm sure everybody else does. [00:20:48] Tony Arsenal: I don't even know what those words mean, Jesse. Everything is hardcore in metal compared to what I normally listen to. I don't even listen to music anymore usually, so I, I mean, I'm like mostly all podcasts all the time. Anytime I have time, I don't have a ton of time to listen to. Um, audio stuff, but [00:21:06] Jesse Schwamb: that's totally fair. Well now everybody now join us though. [00:21:08] Tony Arsenal: Educate me [00:21:09] Jesse Schwamb: now. Everybody can properly use, IM prompt whatever AI of their choice, and they can listen to at least three different versions of al comical manual. And then they can tell us which one do you like the best? Or maybe you have your own version. That's what she was saying. What's your favorite Christmas in? [00:21:23] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And [00:21:24] Jesse Schwamb: what version of it do you like? I mean, it'll be like. [00:21:28] Tony Arsenal: It'll be like, despite my best efforts, I've been un unable to understand what hardcore and medical is. Please help me understand. [00:21:37] Jesse Schwamb: Oh, we're gonna have some, some fun with this at some point. We'll have to get into the whole debate, though. I know you and I have talked about it before. We'll put it before the brothers and sisters about a Christmas Carol and what version everybody else likes. That's also seems like, aside from the, the whole eternal debate, which I'm not sure is really serious about whether or not diehard is a Christmas movie, this idea of like, which version of the Christmas Carol do you subscribe to? Yeah. Which one would you watch if you can only watch one? Which one will you watch? That's, we'll have to save that for another time. [00:22:06] Tony Arsenal: We'll save it for another time. And we get a little closer to midwinter. No reason we just can't [00:22:10] Jesse Schwamb: do it right now because we gotta get to Luke 15. [00:22:12] Discussion on the Parable of the Lost Coin [00:22:12] Tony Arsenal: We do. [00:22:13] Jesse Schwamb: We, we've already been in this place of looking at Jesus' response to the Pharisees when they say to him, listen, this man receives sinners and eats with them. And Jesus is basically like, yeah, that's right. And let me tell you three times what the heart of God is like and what my mission in serving him is like, and what I desire to come to do for my children. And so we spoke in the last conversation about the parable lost sheep. Go check that out. Some are saying, I mean, I'm not saying this, but some are saying in the internet, it's the definitive. Congratulation of that parable. I'm, I'm happy to take that if that's true. Um, but we wanna go on to this parable of the lost coin. So let me read, it's just a couple of verses and you're gonna hear in the text that you're going to understand right away. This is being linked because it starts with or, so this is Jesus speaking and this is Luke 15, chapter 15, starting in verse eight. Jesus says, or a what woman? She has 10 D drachmas and loses. One drachma does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls together her friend and her neighbors saying, rejoice with me for I found the D Drachma, which I lost in the same way I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. [00:23:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. On one level, this is, uh, again, it's not all that complicated of a scenario, right? And we have to kind of go back and relo through some of the stuff we talked about last week because this is a continuation of, you know, when we first talked about the Matthew 13 parables, we commented on like. Christ was coming back to the same themes, right? And in some ways, repeating the parable. This is even stronger than that. It's not just that Christ is teaching the same thing across multiple parables. The sense here, at least the sense I get when I read this parable, the lost sheep, and then the prodigal, um, sun parable or, or the next parable here, um, is actually that Christ is just sort of like hammering home the one point he's making to the tax collectors and or to the tax collectors or to the scribes who are complaining about the fact that Christ was eating with sinners. He's just hammering this point home, right? So it's not, it's not to try to add. A lot of nuance to the point. It's not to try to add a, a shade of meaning. Um. You know, we talked a lot about how parables, um, Christ tells parables in part to condemn the listeners who will not receive him, right? That's right. This is one of those situations where it's not, it's not hiding the meaning of the parable from them. The meaning is so obvious that you couldn't miss it, and he, he appeals, we talked about in the first, in the first part of this, he actually appeals to like what the ordinary response would be. Right? What man of you having a hundred sheep if he loses one, does not. Go and leave the 99. Like it's a scenario that anyone who goes, well, like, I wouldn't do that is, looks like an idiot. Like, that's, that's the point of the why. He phrases it. And so then you're right when he, when he begins with this, he says, or what woman having 10 silver coins if she loses one, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until he, till she finds it. And of course, the, the, the emphasis again is like no one in their right mind would not do this. And I think like we think about a coin and like that's the smallest denomination of money that we have. Like, I wouldn't, like if I lost a, if I had 10 silver coin, 10 coins and I lost one of them, the most that that could be is what? 50 cents? Like the, like if I had a 50 cent piece or a silver dollar, I guess, like I could lose a dollar. We're not really talking about coins the way we think of coins, right? We're talking about, um. Um, you know, like denominations of money that are substantial in that timeframe. Like it, there was, there were small coins, but a silver coin would be a substantial amount of money to lose. So we are not talking about a situation where this is, uh, a trivial kind of thing. She's not looking for, you know, I've, I've heard this parable sort of like unpacked where like, it's almost like a miserly seeking for like this lost coin. Interesting. It's not about, it's not about like. Penny pinching here, right? She's not trying to find a tiny penny that isn't worth anything that's built into the parable, right? It's a silver coin. It's not just any coin. It's a silver coin. So she's, she's looking for this coin, um, because it is a significant amount of money and because she's lost it, she's lost something of her, of her overall wealth. Like there's a real loss. Two, this that needs to be felt before he can really move on with the parable. It's not just like some small piece of property, like there's a [00:26:57] Jesse Schwamb: right. I [00:26:57] Tony Arsenal: don't know if you've ever lost a large amount of money, but I remember one time I was in, um, a. I was like, almost outta high school, and I had taken some money out of, um, out of the bank, some cash to make a purchase. I think I was purchasing a laptop and I don't know why I, I don't, maybe I didn't have a credit card or I didn't have a debit card, but I was purchasing a laptop with cash. Right. And back then, like laptops, like this was not a super expensive laptop, but. It was a substantial amount of cash and I misplaced it and it was like, oh no, like, where is it? And like, I went crazy trying to find it. This is the situation. She's lost a substantial amount of money. Um, this parable, unlike the last one, doesn't give you a relative amount of how many she has. Otherwise. She's just lost a significant amount of money. So she takes all these different steps to try to find it. [00:27:44] Understanding the Parable's Context [00:27:44] Tony Arsenal: We have to feel that loss before we really can grasp what the parable is trying to teach us. [00:27:49] Jesse Schwamb: I like that, so I'm glad you brought that up because I ended up going down a rabbit hole with this whole coined situation. [00:27:56] Tony Arsenal: Well, we're about to, Matt Whitman some of this, aren't we? [00:27:58] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, I think so. But mainly because, and this is not really my own ideas here, there's, there's a lot I was able to kind of just read and kind. Throw, throw something around this because I think you're absolutely right that Jesus is bringing an ES escalation here and it's almost like a little bit easier for us to understand the whole sheep thing. I think the context of the lost coin, like you're already saying, is a little bit less familiar to us, and so I got into this. Rabbit hole over the question, why would this woman have 10 silver coins? I really got stuck on like, so why does she have these? And Jesus specific about that he's giving a particular context. Presumably those within his hearing in earshot understood this context far better than I did. So what I was surprised to see is that a lot of commentators you probably run into this, have stated or I guess promulgated this idea that the woman is young and unmarried and the 10 silver coins could. Could represent a dowry. So in some way here too, like it's not just a lot of money, it's possible that this was her saving up and it was a witness to her availability for marriage. [00:28:57] The Significance of the Lost Coin [00:28:57] Jesse Schwamb: So e either way, if that's true or not, Jesus is really emphasizing to us there's significant and severe loss here. And so just like you said, it would be a fool who would just like say, oh, well that's too bad. The coin is probably in here somewhere, but eh, I'm just gonna go about my normal business. Yeah. And forsake it. Like, let's, let's not worry about it. So. The emphasis then on this one is not so much like the leaving behind presumably can keep the remaining nine coins somewhere safe if you had them. But this effort and this diligence to, to go after and find this lost one. So again, we know it's all about finding what was lost, but this kind of momentum that Jesus is bringing to this, like the severity of this by saying there was this woman, and of course like here we find that part of this parable isn't just in the, the kingdom of God's like this, like we were talking about before. It's more than that because there's this expression of, again, the situation combined with these active verbs. I think we talked about last time that Christ love is an act of love and it's always being acted upon the sinner, the one who has to be redeemed, his child whom he goes after. So in the same way, we have Christ showing the self-denying love. Like in the first case, the shepherd brought his sheep home on his shoulders rather than leave it in the wilderness. And then here. The woman does like everything. She lights the candle, she sweeps the house. She basically turns the thing, the place upside down, searching diligently and spared no pains with this until she found her lost money. And before we get into the whole rejoicing thing, it just strikes me that, you know, in the same way, I think what we have here is Christ affirming that he didn't spare himself. He's not gonna spare himself. When he undertakes to save sinners, he does all the things. He endures the cross scor in shame. He lays down his life for his friends. There's no greater love than that. It cannot be shown, and so Christ's love is deep and mighty. It's like this woman doing all the things, tearing the place apart to ensure that that which she knew she had misplaced comes back to her. That the full value of everything that she knows is hers. Is safe and secure in her possession and so does the Lord Jesus rejoice the safe sinners in the same way. And that's where this is incredibly powerful. It's not just, Hey, let me just say it to you one more time. There is a reemphasis here, but I like where you're going, this re-escalation. I think the first question is, why do the woman have this money? What purpose is it serving? And I think if we can at least try to appreciate some of that, then we see again how Jesus is going after that, which is that he, he wants to save the sinner. He wants to save the soul. And all of the pleasure, then all of the rejoicing comes because, and, and as a result of that context. [00:31:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. [00:31:23] Theological Implications of God's People [00:31:23] Tony Arsenal: The other thing, um, maybe, and, and I hope I'm not overreading again, we've, we've talked about the dangers of overreading, the parables, but I think there's a, and we'll, we'll come to this too when we get into the, um, prodigal son. Um, there is this sense, I think in some theological traditions that. God is sort of like claiming a people who were not his own. Right. And one of the things that I love about the reform tradition, and, and I love it because this is the picture the Bible teaches, is the emphasis on the fact that God's people have been God's people. As long as God has been pondering and con like contemplating them. So like we deny eternal justification, right? Justification happens in time and there's a real change in our status, in in time when, when the spirit applies, the benefits that Christ has purchased for us in redemption, right? But there's also a very real sense that God has been looking and considering us as his people in eternity past. Like that's always. That's the nature of the Pactum salutes, the, you know, covenant of redemption election. The idea that like God is not saving a nameless, faceless people. He's not creating conditions that people can either move themselves into or take themselves out of. He has a concrete people. Who he is saving, who he has chosen. He, he, you know, prior to our birth, he will redeem us. He now, he has redeemed us and he will preserve us in all of these parables, whether it's the sheep, the coin, or as we'll get to the prodigal sun next week or, or whenever. Um. It's not that God is discovering something new that he didn't have, or it's not that the woman is discovering a coin, right? There's nothing more, uh, I think nothing more like sort of, uh, spontaneously delightful than like when you like buy a, like a jacket at the thrift store. Like you go to Salvation Army and you buy a jacket, you get home, you reach in the pocket and there's like a $10 bill and you're like, oh man, that's so, so great. Or like, you find a, you find a. A $10 bill on the ground, or you find a quarter on the ground, right? Yeah. Or you find your own money. Well, and that that's, there's a different kind of joy, right? That's the point, is like, there's a delight that comes with finding something. And again, like we have to be careful about like, like not stealing, right? But there's a different kind of joy that comes with like finding something that was not yours that now becomes yours. We talked about that with parables a couple weeks ago, right? There's a guy who finds it, he's, he's searching for pearls. He finds a pearl, and so he goes after he sells everything he has and he claims that pearl, but that wasn't his before the delight was in sort of finding something new. These parables. The delight is in reclaiming and refining something that was yours that was once lost. Right? That's a different thing. And it paints a picture, a different picture of God than the other parables where, you know, the man kind of stumbles on treasure in a field or he finds a pearl that he was searching for, but it wasn't his pearl. This is different. This is teaching us that God is, is zealous and jealous to reclaim that which was his, which was lost. Yes. Right. So, you know, we can get, we can, maybe we will next week, maybe we will dig into like super laps area versus infra laps. AIRism probably not, I don't necessarily wanna have that conversation. But there is a reality in the Bible where God has a chosen people and they are his people, even before he redeems them. [00:34:52] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. [00:34:53] God's Relentless Pursuit of Sinners [00:34:53] Tony Arsenal: These parables all emphasize that in a different way and part of what he's, part of what he's ribbing at with the Pharisees and the, and the scribes, and this is common across all of Christ's teaching in his interactions and we get into true Israel with, with Paul, I mean this is the consistent testimony of the New Testament, is that the people who thought they were God's people. The, the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the, the sort of elites of, uh, first century Jewish believers, they really were convinced that they were God's people. And those dirty gentiles out there, they, they're not, and even in certain sense, like even the Jewish people out in the country who don't even, you know, they don't know the scriptures that like, even those people were maybe barely God's people. Christ is coming in here and he is going, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like you're asking me. You're surprised that I receive sinners and e with them. Well, I'm coming to claim that which is mine, which was lost, and the right response to that is not to turn your nose up at it. The right response is to rejoice with me that I have found my sheep that was lost, that I have reclaimed my coin that was lost. And as we'll see later on, like he really needles them at the end of the, the, uh, parable of the prodigal son. This is something I, I have to be like intentional in my own life because I think sometimes we hear conversion stories and we have this sort of, I, I guess like, we'll call it like the, the Jonah I heresy, I dunno, we won't call it heresy, but like the, the, the like Jonah impulse that we all have to be really thankful for God's mercy in our life. But sort of question whether God is. Merciful or even be a little bit upset when it seems that God is being merciful to those sinners over there. We have to really like, use these parables in our own lives to pound that out of our system because it's, it's ungodly and it's not what God is, is calling us. And these parables really speak against that [00:36:52] Jesse Schwamb: and all of us speak in. In that lost state, but that doesn't, I think like you're saying, mean that we are not God's already. That if he has established that from a trinity past, then we'd expect what others have said about God as the hound of heaven to be true. And that is he comes and he chases down his own. What's interesting to me is exactly what you've said. We often recognize when we do this in reverse and we look at the parable of the lost son, all of these elements, how the father comes after him, how there's a cha singer coming to himself. There's this grand act of repentance. I would argue all of that is in all of these parables. Not, not to a lesser extent, just to a different extent, but it's all there. So in terms of like couching this, and I think what we might use is like traditionally reformed language. And I, I don't want to say I'm overeating this, I hope I'm not at that same risk, but we see some of this like toll depravity and like the sinner is lost, unable to move forward, right? There still is like the sovereign grace of God who's initiating the salvation and there is a kind of effect of calling that God doesn't merely invite, he finds, he goes after he affects the very thing. Yeah, and I think we're seeing that here. There is. The sinner, spiritual inability. There's an utter passivity until found. The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace. It's all there for us. Yeah, it's in a slightly different way, but I think that's what we're meant to like take away from this. We're meant to lean into that a bit. [00:38:12] Rejoicing in Salvation [00:38:12] Jesse Schwamb: And the reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased is because God has this real pleasure. Jesus has this real pleasure. The Holy Spirit has this real pleasure. To pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire. You know, it was Jesus, literally his food and drink like not to be too trite, but like his jam went upon the earth to finish the work, which he came to do. And there are many times when he says he ammi of being constrained in the spirit until this was accomplished. And it's still his delight to show mercy like you're saying He is. And even Jonah recognizes that, right. He said like, I knew you were going to be a merciful God. And so he's far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved. But that is the gospel level voice, isn't it? Because we can come kicking and screaming, but in God's great mercy, not because of works and unrighteousness, but because of his great mercy, he comes and he tears everything apart to rescue and to save those whom he's called to himself. [00:39:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I love that old, um, Puritan phrase that wrath is God's alien work. And we, you know, like you gotta be careful when you start to talk that way. And the Puritans were definitely careful about everything. I mean, they were very specific when they spoke, but. When we talk about God's alien work and wrath being God's alien work, what we're saying is not, not that like somehow wrath is external to God. Like that's not what we're getting at of Right. But when you look at scripture and, and here's something that I think, um. I, I don't know how I wanna say this. Like, I think we read that the road is narrow and the the, um, you know, few are those who find it. I think we read that and we somehow think like, yeah, God, God, like, really loves that. Not a lot of people are saved. And I, I actually think that like, when we look at it, um, and, and again, like we have to be careful 'cause God, God. God decreed that which he is delighted by, and also that which glorifies him the most. Right? Right. But the picture that we get in scripture, and we have to take this seriously with all of the caveats that it's accommodated, it's anthropopathism that, you know, all of, all of the stuff we've talked about. We did a whole series on systematic theology. We did like six episodes on Divine Simplicity and immutability. Like we we're, we're right in line with the historic tradition on that. All of those caveats, uh, all of those caveats in place, the Bible pic paints a picture of God such that he grieves over. Those who are lost. Right? Right. He takes no delight in the death of the wicked. That's right. He, he, he seeks after the lost and he rejoices when he finds them. Right. He's, his, his Holy Spirit is grieved when we disobey him, his, his anger is kindled even towards his people in a paternal sense. Right. He disciplines us the way an angry father who loves us, would discipline us when we disobey him. That is a real, that's a real thing. What exactly that means, how we can apply that to God is a very complicated conversation. And maybe sometimes it's more complicated than we, like, we make it more complicated than it needs to be for sure. Um, we wanna be careful to preserve God's changeness, his immutability, his simplicity, all of those things. But at the end of the day, at. God grieves over lost sinners, and he rejoices when they come back. He rejoices when they return to him. Just as the shepherd who finds his lost sheep puts that sheep on his shoulders, right? That's not just because that's an easy way to carry a sheep, right? It's also like this picture of this loving. Intimate situation where God pulls us onto himself and he, he wraps literally like wraps us around himself. Like there are times when, um. You know, I have a toddler and there are times where I have to carry that toddler, and it's, it's a fight, right? And I don't really enjoy doing it. He's squirming, he's fighting. Then there are times where he needs me to hold him tight, and he, he snuggles in. When he falls down and hurts his leg, the first thing he does is he runs and he jumps on me, and he wants to be held tight, and there's a f there's a fatherly embrace there that not only brings comfort to my son. But it brings great joy to me to be able to comfort him that that dynamic in a, uh, a infinitely greater sense is at play here in the lost sheep. And then there's this rejoicing. It's not just rejoicing that God is rejoicing, it's the angels that are rejoicing. [00:42:43] The Joy of Redemption [00:42:43] Tony Arsenal: It's the, it's other Christians. It's the great cloud of witnesses that are rejoicing when Aah sinner is returned to God. All of God's kingdom and everything that that includes, all of that is involved in this rejoicing. That's why I think like in the first parable, in the parable of the lost sheep, it's joy in heaven. Right? It's sort of general joy in heaven. It's not specific. Then this one is even more specific. It's not just general joy in heaven. It's the angels of God. That's right. That are rejoicing. And then I think what we're gonna find, and we'll we'll tease this out when we get to the next par, well the figure in the prodigal son that is rejoicing. The one that is leading the rejoicing, the chief rejoice is the one who's the standin for God in that parable. [00:43:26] Jesse Schwamb: Right, exactly right. So, [00:43:27] Tony Arsenal: so we have to, we have to both recognize that there's a true grief. A true sorrow that is appropriate to speak of God, um, as having when a sinner is lost. And there's also an equally appropriate way to speak about God rejoicing and being pleased and delighted when a sinner returns to him. [00:43:53] Jesse Schwamb: That's the real payoff of this whole parable. I think, uh, maybe all three of them altogether, is that it is shocking how good the gospel is, which we're always saying, yeah, but I'm really always being moved, especially these last couple weeks with what Jesus is saying about how good, how truly unbelievable the gospel is. And again, it draws us to the. Old Testament scriptures when even the Israel saying, who is like this? Who is like our God? So what's remarkable about this is that there's an infinite willingness on God's part to receive sinners. [00:44:23] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:44:23] Jesse Schwamb: And however wicked a man may have been, and the day that he really turns from his wickedness and comes to God by Christ, God is well pleased and all of heaven with him, and God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, like you said, but God has pleasure and true repentance. If all of that's true, then like day to day, here's what I, I think this means for us. [00:44:41] Applying the Parable to Our Lives [00:44:41] Jesse Schwamb: Is when we come to Christ for mercy and love and help and whatever anguish and perplexity and simpleness that we all have, and we all have it, we are going with the flow. If his own deepest wishes, we're not going against them. And so this means that God has for us when we partake in the toning work of Christ, coming to Christ for forgiveness, communing with him despite our sinfulness, that we are laying hold of Christ's own deepest longing and joy. [00:45:10] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And [00:45:10] Jesse Schwamb: Jesus is comforted when we draw near the riches of his atoning work because as his body, even his own body in a way is being healed in this process. And so we, along with it, that I think is the payoff here. That's what's just so remarkable is that not only, like you're saying, is all heaven kind of paying attention to this. Like they're cognizant of it. It's something worthy of their attention and their energies and their rejoicing. But again, it's showing that God is doing all of this work and so he keeps calling us and calling us and calling us over and over again and just like you said, the elect sinner, those estr belongs to God and his eternal purpose. Even that by itself, we could just say full stop. Shut it down end the podcast. Yeah. That's just worthy to, to rejoice and, and ponder. But this is how strong I think we see like per election in particular, redemption in these passages. Christ died for his chief specifically crisis going after the lost coin, which already belongs to him. So like you were saying, Tony, when you know, or maybe you don't know, but you've misplaced some kind of money and you put your hand in that pocket of that winter coat for the first time that season and out comes the piece of paper, that's whatever, 20 or whatever, you rejoice in that, right. Right. It's like this was mine. I knew it was somewhere, it belonged to me, except that what's even better here is this woman tears her whole place apart to go after this one coin that she knows is hers and yet has been lost. I don't know what more it is to be said. I just cannot under emphasize. Or overemphasize how great God's love is in this like amazing condescension, so that when Jesus describes himself as being gentle and lowly or gentle and humble or gentle and humiliated, that I, I think as we understand the biblical text, it's not necessarily just that he's saying, well, I'm, I'm displaying. Meekness power under control. When he says he's humble, he means put in this incredibly lowly state. Yeah. That the rescue mission, like you're saying, involves not just like, Hey, she lemme call you back. Hey, come over here, says uh. He goes and he picks it up. It's the ultimate rescue, picks it up and takes it back by his own volition, sacrificing everything or to do that and so does this woman in this particular instance, and it should lead us. I think back to there's this virtuous cycle of seeing this, experiencing this. Being compelled by the law of Christ, as Paul says, by the power of the Holy Spirit and being regenerated and then worshiping, and then repenting, and then worshiping, and then repenting, and then worshiping. Because in the midst of that repentance and that beautifulness recognizing, as Isaiah says, all of these idols that we set up, that we run to, the one thing they cannot do for us is they cannot deal with sin. They cannot bring cleanliness and righteousness through confession of sin. They cannot do that. So Christ is saying, come to the one you who are needy, you who have no money. To use another metaphor in the Bible, come and buy. And in doing so, we're saying, Christ, Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. And when he says, come, come, I, I've, I have already run. After you come and be restored, come and be renewed. That which was lost my child. You have been found and I have rescued you. [00:48:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And these, these are so, um, these two parables are so. Comfortable. Like, right, like they are there, there are certain passages of scripture that you can just like put on like a big fuzzy warm bathrobe on like sn a cold morning, a snuggy. Yeah. I don't know if I want to go that far, but spirits are snuggy and, and these two are like that, right? Like, I know there are times where I feel like Christ redeemed me sort of begrudgingly, right? Mm-hmm. I think we have, we have this, um, concept in our mind of. Sort of the suffering servant, you know, like he's kind of like, ah, if I have to do it, I will. Right, right. And, and like, I think we, we would, if, if we were the ones who were, were being tasked to redeem something, we might do it. You know, we might do it and we. We might feel a certain sense of satisfaction about it, but I can tell you that if I had a hundred sheep and I had lost one, I would not lay it on my shoulder rejoicing. I would lay it on my shoulder. Frustrated and glad that I finally found it, but like. Right. Right. That's not what Christ did. That's right. Christ lays us on his shoulders rejoicing. Right. I know. Like when you lose something, it's frustrating and it's not just the loss of it that's frustrating. It's the time you have to take to find it. And sometimes like, yeah, you're happy that you found it, but you're like, man, it would've just been nice if I hadn't lost this in [00:49:36] Jesse Schwamb: the That's right. [00:49:37] Tony Arsenal: This woman, there's none of that. There's no, um, there's no regret. There's no. Uh, there's no begrudging this to it. There's nothing. It's just rejoicing. She's so happy. And it's funny, I can imagine, uh, maybe, maybe this is my own, uh, lack of sanctification here. I can imagine being that friend that's like, I gotta come over 'cause you found your coin, right? Like, I can be, I could imagine me that person, but Right. But honestly, like. This is a, this is a situation where she's so overcome with joy. She just has to tell people about it. Yeah. She has to share it with people. It, it reminds me, and I've seen this, I've seen this, um, connection made in the past certainly isn't new to me. I don't, I don't have any specific sorts to say, but like the woman at the well, right. She gets this amazing redemption. She gets this, this Messiah right in front of her. She leaves her buckets at the well, and she goes into a town of people who probably hate her, who think she's just the worst scum of society and she doesn't care. She goes into town to tell everybody about the fact that the Messiah has come, right? And they're so like stunned by the fact that she's doing it. Like they come to see what it is like that's what we need to be like. So there's. There's an element here of not only the rejoicing of God, and again, like, I guess I'm surprised because I've, I've, I've never sort of really read this. Part, I've never read this into it too much or I've never like really pulled this out, but it, now that I'm gonna say it, it just seems logical, like not only is God rejoicing in this, but again, it should be calling us to rejoice, right? Christ is. Christ is using these parables to shame the Pharisees and the scribes who refuse to rejoice over the salvation of sinners. How often do we not rejoice over our own salvation sufficiently? Like when's the last time? And I, I don't want to, this is, this can be a lot of loss. So again, like. God is not calling every single person to stand up on their lunch table at work, or, I don't know if God's calling anybody to stand up on the lunch table at work. Right. To like, like scream about how happy they are that they're sick, happy, happy. But like, when's the last time you were so overcome with joy that in the right opportunity, it just over, like it just overcame you and you had to share it. I don't rem. Putting myself bare here, like I don't remember the last time that happened. I share my faith with people, like my coworkers know that I'm a Christian and, um, my, they know that like, there are gonna be times where like I will bring biblical ethics and biblical concepts into my work. Like I regularly use bible examples to illustrate a principle I'm trying to teach my employees or, or I will regularly sort of. In a meeting where there's some question about what the right, not just like the correct thing to do, but the right thing to do. I will regularly bring biblical morality into those conversations. Nobody is surprised by that. Nobody's really offended by it. 'cause I just do it regularly. But I don't remember the last time where I was so overcome with joy because of my salvation that I just had to tell somebody. Right. And that's a, that's a, that's an indictment on me. That's not an indictment on God. That's not an indictment on anyone else. That's an indictment on me. This parable is calling me to be more joyful about. My salvation. [00:52:52] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. One of the, I think the best and easiest verses from Psalms to memorize is let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Yes. Like, say something, speak up. There's, there's a great truth in what you're saying. Of course. And I think we mentioned this last time. There's a communal delight of redemption. And here we see that played out maybe a little bit more explicitly because the text says that the joy is before the angels, meaning that still God is the source of the joy. In other words, the angels share in God's delight night, vice versa, and not even just in salvation itself, but the fact that God is delighted in this great salvation, that it shows the effectiveness of his saving power. All that he has designed will come to pass because he super intends his will over all things that all things, again are subservient to our salvation. And here, why would that not bring him great joy? Because that's exactly what he intends and is able to do. And the angels rejoice along with him because his glory is revealed in his mighty power. So I'm, I'm with you. I mean, this reminds me. Of what the author of Hebrew says. This is chapter 12, just the first couple of verses. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses in this communal kind of redemption of joy surrounding us. Laying aside every weight and the sin,
Today, on Karl and Crew, we continued our weekly theme of ‘Prosperity’ with the passage Mark 4:26-29. This passage focuses on the kingdom of God's function: spreading the gospel. This function is illustrated by comparing the growth and nourishment of seeds that eventually become grain for the harvest. We also replayed an interview with Ben Fuller, where he shared his freedom story and how God changed his heart after years of drug and alcohol abuse. Ben Fuller is a contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter who uses his testimony in his songs. He has a passion and mission to share his story with the world and all who are ready to listen. We also turned to the phone lines to ask listeners to tell us about a time that they were in church but not in Christ. We then asked them to share how the Lord opened their eyes to see that they weren’t walking with Him. You can hear the highlights of today's program on the Karl and Crew Showcast. If you're looking to listen to a particular segment from the show, look at the following time stamps: Ben Fuller Interview [14:00 ] Call Segment [57:15] Karl and Crew airs live weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. Central Time. Click this link for ways to listen in your area! https://www.moodyradio.org/ways-to-listen/Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As a Jesus Follower, Go to God in Your Fear and Anxiety Because Jesus Says: “do not be anxious about tomorrow” MESSAGE SUMMARY: Your problems are not too big for God; God is faithful. Your financial issues, your debt, your health issues, and your sins are not too big for God. God is faithful, and He is trustworthy. Why not take, to God, all those things in your life that are creating anxiety? In Psalms 9:9-10, the Psalmist encourages you to put your trust in God: “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.". Also, Jesus tells us, in Mathew. 6:33-34, that you can put our trust in Him and not be anxious about your problems: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”. Our God is a faithful God – reach out to God when fear and anxiety are taking a firm hold on your life. TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Heartlessness. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Kindness. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mathew. 6:25-34; Mathew. 10:19-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Psalms 48:1-14. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “A Day Is Coming – Part 1” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
How are church work students formed at Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP)? The Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich (President of Concordia University, St. Paul) and Breana Winnes (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions for Concordia University, St. Paul) join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve series to talk about what they love about what they get to do, an overview of the church work programs at CSP, why these programs are important to CSP, what makes these programs unique among the Concordias, what campus life is like at CSP, and how prospective students can learn more and visit campus. Learn more about Concordia St. Paul at csp.edu. Christ's church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers. Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations. Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS: 1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers. 2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers. 3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation. To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Shelly has served the body of Christ as a Pastor for over 35 years. He is a bible teacher and conference speaker on the subjects of The Kingdom of God, The Mystery of Israel & The Church and for God’s people to be prepared in their hearts for the end of this age. https://shellyandjunevolk.com/Support the show: https://shellyandjunevolk.com/product/partner-with-us-psalm-127-fund/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today, on Karl and Crew, we continued our weekly theme of ‘Prosperity’ with the passage Mark 4:26-29. This passage focuses on the kingdom of God's function: spreading the gospel. This function is illustrated by comparing the growth and nourishment of seeds that eventually become grain for the harvest. We also replayed an interview with Ben Fuller, where he shared his freedom story and how God changed his heart after years of drug and alcohol abuse. Ben Fuller is a contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter who uses his testimony in his songs. He has a passion and mission to share his story with the world and all who are ready to listen. We also turned to the phone lines to ask listeners to tell us about a time that they were in church but not in Christ. We then asked them to share how the Lord opened their eyes to see that they weren’t walking with Him. You can hear the highlights of today's program on the Karl and Crew Showcast. If you're looking to listen to a particular segment from the show, look at the following time stamps: Ben Fuller Interview [14:00 ] Call Segment [57:15] Karl and Crew airs live weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. Central Time. Click this link for ways to listen in your area! https://www.moodyradio.org/ways-to-listen/Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kurt Francom, the executive director of Leading Saints, shares his thoughts on the challenges and responsibilities of leading a nonprofit organization within the Latter-day Saint community. He reflects on the need for support, the complexities of church culture, and the importance of individual leadership in building the Kingdom of God. Watch the video and share your thoughts in the Zion Lab community Links “I'm Not the Gatekeeper, I'm the Welcoming Committee” | An Interview with Kurt Brown Being an Advocate for Those You Lead | An Interview with Robert Ferrell Rallying the Ward Around Sacrament Meeting | A How I Lead Interview with Ryan Webb Getting the Youth to Do Hard Things | A How I Lead Interview with Tanner Pursley Young Men Can Do Hard Things | A How I Lead Interview with Skylar Haws Zion Lab: LeadingSaints.org/Zion Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community Highlights Funding Challenges: Kurt discusses the difficulties of securing funding for Leading Saints, emphasizing the need for both small and large donations to sustain the organization's mission. Cultural Issues in the Church: He highlights the complexities of church culture, including the struggles of church leaders and members with faith crises, LGBT issues, and the need for a supportive community. The Role of Individual Leadership: Kurt stresses that effective leadership is crucial for fostering a positive church culture, which can help individuals navigate their faith journeys and challenges. Transformational Experiences: He believes that rather than providing formal training, Leading Saints focuses on creating transformational experiences that empower individuals to lead and make a difference in their communities. Call to Action: Kurt invites listeners to engage with Leading Saints through initiatives like Zion Lab and becoming Zion Builders, emphasizing the collective effort needed to build Zion. Leadership Applications Encouraging Community Support: Latter-day Saint leaders can foster a culture of support by actively seeking and encouraging contributions from their communities, similar to how fans rally around a sports team. Promoting Individual Initiative: Leaders should empower members to take initiative in their callings and personal faith journeys, recognizing that everyone can contribute to building the Kingdom of God, regardless of their formal position. Creating Transformational Opportunities: Leaders can focus on providing experiences that inspire and uplift their congregations, rather than relying solely on traditional training methods, to cultivate a more engaged and resilient community. 00:01:08 – The Journey of Leading Saints 00:02:25 – The Role of an Executive Director 00:04:14 – The Need for Funding 00:05:57 – Articulating the Problem in Church Leadership 00:07:34 – The Complexity of Church Culture 00:09:11 – The Importance of Individual Action 00:10:51 – The Law of Consecration 00:12:19 – Building Zion and Community 00:14:10 – Connection to BYU Football 00:16:20 – Community Support for Leaders 00:17:01 – The Call for Support and Funding 00:19:14 – The Role of Leading Saints in Cultural Issues 00:21:23 – Transformational Experiences and Leadership 00:23:12 – Call to Action: Join the Zion Lab 00:25:00 – Becoming a Zion Builder 00:26:25 – Sponsoring Others and Seeking Larger Donors 00:29:11 – The Impact of Positive Culture in the Church The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints’ mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Find Leadership Tools, Courses, and Community for Latter-day Saint leaders in the Zion Lab community. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Benjamin Hardy, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Kirby Heyborne, Taysom Hill, Coaches Jennifer Rockwood and Brandon Doman, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 800 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.
Chapter 4 of Heroes in the Bible: Jesus with Dr. Tony Evans is inspired by the Gospels. This is My Son - The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry. This story is the beginning of Christ's ministry here on earth. This story begins with the heavens splitting open to showcase Jesus as the beloved son of God, and it ends with a battle of mind and emotions between Jesus and Satan. Today's opening prayer is inspired by Mark 1:15, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app. Sign up for Heroes in the Bible devotionals at https://www.heroesinthebible.com/ Learn more about Dr. Tony Evans at https://tonyevans.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we discuss D&C Section 137 and the lessons found in D&C 137:5-7, specifically the faith shown by Joseph Smith regarding the eternal status of his brother Alvin. 5 I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept; 6 And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins. 7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Kristy's KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): the whole episode Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2027: https://standardoftruth.com/tours Our 2026 tours are sold out, but if you would like to join us in the future here is a link to our 2027 tours: Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer
Gospel Matthew 7:21, 24-27 Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” Reflection Jesus is talking about alignment. Aligning your heart with God's heart. Aligning your mind with the truth that God has revealed to us. There's no way to enter the kingdom of God, a place of fullness and peace, without basing everything that you are making decisions on, basing it in the truth. Truth of who you are. Truth of who God is and the dynamic that he longs to establish between us. All of that has got to become real. Not just an idea, not just a thought, but something you're experiencing in. When you experience God, you are on a rock foundation because nothing will separate you from him once you've found him. Closing Prayer Father, it is clear that we cannot understand you or begin to feel your presence transforming us until we accept you exactly as you are and accept ourselves as we are. We are far from you in some ways, and very close in other ways, but keep us always aware of that connection. You are in us. We are in you. And it's in this union that we will find life. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to Grace Community Church on demand, the weekly podcast from the Sunday services at Grace Community Church in Rupert, Idaho. At Grace we believe in building the Kingdom of God one person at a time. We are passionate about loving God, loving people, and following Jesus. Visit www.graceid.org to get involved. Join us on Facebook live Sundays @ 845am MST and 1045am MST and Wednesdays @ 630pm MST at www.facebook.com/gracechurchidaho
Today as we worship around our Lord's table, as we celebrate with our family their bold declaration, as we honor our King, remember His sacrifice, remember His crucifixion is so much more than our passage to Heaven. Days like today acknowledge that we are “born again” new creations in Christ! John 3:3, 5-6 (NKJV) “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” v.5-6, Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Overcomer Covenant Church exists to advance the Kingdom of God, locally and globally, by preaching the Gospel, partnering with other ministries, and planting churches. To support Overcomer and help us continue to reach people all around the world, click here: https://overcomercc.org/give If you've just made a decision for Christ, click the link today - https://overcomercc.org/saved If this is your first time joining us, click the link today - https://overcomercc.org/newhere —— Stay Connected! Website: https://overcomercc.org YouTube: https://youtube.com/@overcomercc Instagram: https://instagram.com/overcomercc Facebook: https://facebook.com/overcomercc
The kingdom of God is a reality of existence that has always been present. At first, the kingdom of God existed in perfection. But it didn't take long for the kingdom to be fractured. Today, we have experienced a partial return of the kingdom of God, but still wait and look for the complete return of God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Show #2552 Show Notes: Check out LAN’s Marketplace: https://thelibertyactionnetwork.com/marketplace/ Christian Denominations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_denomination How Many Christian Denominations: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+christian+denominations Coach’s Weekly Word: https://coachdavelive.com/articles/is-religion-destroying-christianity 30 Verses about the Kingdom of God within You: https://biblestudyforyou.com/bible-verses-about-the-kingdom-of-god-within-you/
Shelly has served the body of Christ as a Pastor for over 35 years. He is a bible teacher and conference speaker on the subjects of The Kingdom of God, The Mystery of Israel & The Church and for God’s people to be prepared in their hearts for the end of this age. https://shellyandjunevolk.com/Support the show: https://shellyandjunevolk.com/product/partner-with-us-psalm-127-fund/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Philippians: "Thanks for Generosity" By Bobby Wallace 11/30/2025. This week Bobby talks about generosity in the kingdom of God.
Hello future humans with self-agency inspiring human potential!Become a paid subscriber to access practical exercises that use mindset, mindfulness & mindsight to grow confidence, handle change with good stress, raise your frequency & inner stillness & ground yourself in VVS: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maria-florio/subscribeInspiring Human Potential spotlights higher-self mindset lifestyle POVs, stories, ideas & practices.Maria Florio inspires human potential by sharing the keys to inner growth & following your heart. She brings together human, spiritual, & spirituality elements to explore human evolution, consciousness, & being yourself. She looks at how sciences & spirituality together reveal the way to access infinite higher human consciousness potential when pursuing self-help, personal development, spiritual growth, & mental & emotional mastery. She also talks about how mindset & lifestyle, mindfulness, secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodiment lead to higher intelligence & fulfillment. She uses perspectives & stories from her self-empowered, enlightening, mystic, spiritual, & mindful life. From the age of eight, Maria decided she was going to help people when she grew up. A vague statement that meant to her, & still means, to help people live a good life as themselves.5D mystic POV stories on mindfulness, educational podcasts & being yourselfA securely attached self-led mystic, spiritual & mindful person knows inconsistencies for what they are: fear, fear of intimacy, emotional vulnerability & being yourself in connection.Be you, mindful & flawed with integrity.Love is supporting each other to fly. Love lifts you up when you're down & it soars the skies with you when you're up. Love is always there."The kingdom of God is within you." - JesusLove, Maria5D Mystic Spiritual Self-Help Mindful Mentor Podcast Spiritual & Science Human VoiceBringing Together Human, Spiritual & Spirituality Elements to Explore Human Evolution & ConsciousnessEmail floriomaria80@gmail.com for 1-to-1 Mentorship or Masterclass & Spiritual Workshops & Retreats info."It is the ability to bring out the best in others that makes you a leader." - Sadhguru"Mindfulness can help integrate the mind, body, & relationships, which can lead to well-being." - Dan Siegel, MD"A non traumatized person with a secure attachment has the capacity to regulate independently of relationships." - Pat Ogden, PhDSecurely attached self-led people are strong, brave & bring change for the better because we embody intelligence, expand consciousness & self.Be Yourself In Connection In Life & Love - 5D Mystic Functional Adult POVs & StoriesSubscribe on Spotify, YouTube: @inspiringhumanpotential, another favorite podcast platform you use, or Fanbase.5D Mystic Enlightenment Functional Adult Relationships New Stories To Heal Trauma Together & Bring Forth Your Humanity"If you are a piece of creation, the Creator is definitely embedded within you. You just have to turn inward to know." - SadhguruYou'll know the piece of creation you are once you're living life as a securely attached restorative embodied self-aware, accountable & regulating person.Love, Maria5D Mystic Woo-Woo Pseudoscience Self-Help Mindful Mentor & Podcast HostMaria brings together sciences & spirituality to support human evolution & consciousness, to shed light on love & you being able to be you, the authentic you - an inner child adult who has secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodied self-aware life potential with your personal motivation to do self-help & personal development that get your self-awareness to put into practice accountability & regulation skills with the mental, emotional, & physical mastery at play as you apply & use the inner growth mindset & lifestyle approach.Inspiring Human Potential Inner Growth 5D Self-Empowered Enlightened Expanding Consciousness Voices, Stories & Perspectives
Hello future humans with self-agency inspiring human potential!Become a paid subscriber to access practical exercises that use mindset, mindfulness & mindsight to grow confidence, handle change with good stress, raise your frequency & inner stillness & ground yourself in VVS: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maria-florio/subscribeInspiring Human Potential spotlights higher-self mindset lifestyle POVs, stories, ideas & practices.Maria Florio inspires human potential by sharing the keys to inner growth & following your heart. She brings together human, spiritual, & spirituality elements to explore human evolution, consciousness, & being yourself. She looks at how sciences & spirituality together reveal the way to access infinite higher human consciousness potential when pursuing self-help, personal development, spiritual growth, & mental & emotional mastery. She also talks about how mindset & lifestyle, mindfulness, secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodiment lead to higher intelligence & fulfillment. She uses perspectives & stories from her self-empowered, enlightening, mystic, spiritual, & mindful life. From the age of eight, Maria decided she was going to help people when she grew up. A vague statement that meant to her, & still means, to help people live a good life as themselves.5D mystic POV stories on mindfulness, educational podcasts & being yourselfA securely attached self-led mystic, spiritual & mindful person knows inconsistencies for what they are: fear, fear of intimacy, emotional vulnerability & being yourself in connection.Be you, mindful & flawed with integrity.Love is supporting each other to fly. Love lifts you up when you're down & it soars the skies with you when you're up. Love is always there."The kingdom of God is within you." - JesusLove, Maria5D Mystic Spiritual Self-Help Mindful Mentor Podcast Spiritual & Science Human VoiceBringing Together Human, Spiritual & Spirituality Elements to Explore Human Evolution & ConsciousnessEmail floriomaria80@gmail.com for 1-to-1 Mentorship or Masterclass & Spiritual Workshops & Retreats info."It is the ability to bring out the best in others that makes you a leader." - Sadhguru"Mindfulness can help integrate the mind, body, & relationships, which can lead to well-being." - Dan Siegel, MD"A non traumatized person with a secure attachment has the capacity to regulate independently of relationships." - Pat Ogden, PhDSecurely attached self-led people are strong, brave & bring change for the better because we embody intelligence, expand consciousness & self.Be Yourself In Connection In Life & Love - 5D Mystic Functional Adult POVs & StoriesSubscribe on Spotify, YouTube: @inspiringhumanpotential, another favorite podcast platform you use, or Fanbase.5D Mystic Enlightenment Functional Adult Relationships New Stories To Heal Trauma Together & Bring Forth Your Humanity"If you are a piece of creation, the Creator is definitely embedded within you. You just have to turn inward to know." - SadhguruYou'll know the piece of creation you are once you're living life as a securely attached restorative embodied self-aware, accountable & regulating person.Love, Maria5D Mystic Woo-Woo Pseudoscience Self-Help Mindful Mentor & Podcast HostMaria brings together sciences & spirituality to support human evolution & consciousness, to shed light on love & you being able to be you, the authentic you - an inner child adult who has secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodied self-aware life potential with your personal motivation to do self-help & personal development that get your self-awareness to put into practice accountability & regulation skills with the mental, emotional, & physical mastery at play as you apply & use the inner growth mindset & lifestyle approach.Inspiring Human Potential Inner Growth 5D Self-Empowered Enlightened Expanding Consciousness Voices, Stories & Perspectives
Imagine seeing your brother, who died before being baptized, standing as an heir of the celestial kingdom. This profound experience, recorded in D&C 137, opens the door to understanding God's infinite mercy. Decades later, another prophet received a vision (D&C 138) that dramatically expanded our knowledge of the work for the dead. D&C 137: The Desire of the Heart In January 1836, Joseph Smith beheld the celestial kingdom. He "marveled" to see his deceased brother, Alvin, there. The Lord revealed the magnificent principle that "all who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God". God judges all men according to their "works, according to the desire of their hearts". This section also confirms that "all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven". D&C 138: The Redemption of the Dead In 1918, during a time when death was on everyone's mind , Joseph F. Smith was "pondering over the scriptures". This act of study and reflection was crucial; he found that as he "wondered," his "eyes of my understanding were opened". Christ's Ministry: The prophet saw Christ's sojourn in the spirit world. Christ "went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient". The Mission Organization: Instead, He spent His time "instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets" who had testified of Him. He "organized his forces and appointed messengers" —Spirit World Missionaries—to "carry the message of redemption unto all the dead". The Eternal Work: This revelation clarifies that the faithful elders of this dispensation "continue their labors" after death. The great and mighty ones, including our latter-day prophets, were "chosen in the beginning" and received their "first lessons" in the world of spirits. This work of redemption and temple ordinances is truly a "continuation of the seeds"—a vast family effort. Call-to-Action: Which person—living or dead—can you extend the "great and wonderful love" of Christ to this week? Share your thoughts on "the desire of their hearts" in the comments! If this message helped clarify God's plan of mercy, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay "Unshaken" in your faith. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 4:41 A Vision of Heaven 13:05 Heirs of the Celestial Kingdom 28:08 Pondering the Word 44:55 No Paradise, Only Prison 59:57 The Fate of the Unevangelized 1:12:00 Spirit World Missionaries 1:23:04 Preschool 1:32:07 One-Liners
In this first episode of our Advent series, “Think Christianly About Advent,” Nate Wright, Dr. Joe Boot, and Dr. Michael Thiessen explore what it truly means to think Christianly about Christ as we enter the Christmas season. Starting from family and church traditions, they move into the deeper significance of the incarnation as the moment when the eternal God steps into history, confronting both ancient pagan hopes and modern political idols. Drawing on Joe’s chapter “Think Christianly About Christ” and his article "The New Political Community", they unpack the profoundly political nature of Advent—the coming of the true Priest-King whose kingdom challenges every rival rule. This episode sets the stage for the series by reminding us that Christmas is not just about nostalgia, but about the Kingdom of God breaking into the world. Get Dr. Boot's latest book, Think Christianly: https://ezrapress.ca/products/think-christianly-developing-an-undivided-mind Learn more about our soon-to-be-released small group curriculum, Foundations: https://ezramedia.tv/foundations/ Stay up to date with Ezra Event: https://www.ezrainstitute.com/events/ Read Joe's article mentioned in the episode here: https://www.ezrainstitute.com/the-new-political-community/
Are you feeling like you may be taking God's grace for granted – continuing to sin because you know He's going to forgive you? Is this causing you to walk in shame? Let's chat about how to overcome this in today's episode.Send us a text! We would love to hear from you! Uncover your God-given gifts, declare His truth over your life, defeat imposter syndrome, and grow the Kingdom of God as you walk confidently in your calling.These workbooks include daily Scripture, guided reflection prompts, & journaling space to help you hear from God and apply His Word in every area of your life.Grab your Workbooks HERE.Or you can DM us "Workbook" on Instagram! Support the showOur new Instagram name is @WithinHerSoulMinistries if you want to connect with us! Check out all our Spiritual Growth Resources at withinhersoul.org Resources for New Christians: - Study Bible to help you understand the Word - Find a Church near you
"Hear, O Israel, The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Deuteronomy 6:4 Submit a Podcast Listener Question HERE! Podcasts by Series Level One Book Study Level Two Book Study As we begin our Advent journey—a time of waiting with the children—we hear the message of the prophets, calling us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus and for the fulfillment of the history of the Kingdom of God at the Parousia. Today, Donna Turner helps us ponder the great richness of the prophets and their prophecies for both us and the child. Donna Turner is a Level III catechist and Formation Leader. She is the Co-Director of the Good Shepherd Center-Memphis, TN, and the volunteer coordinator of CGS at St. Philip Episcopal Church-Memphis. Donna serves CGSUSA as a member of the Formation Advisory Council and the Episcopal Committee. She lives in Germantown, TN. History of the Kingdom of God Part 1: Creation to Parouisa Thank you to all our members and our donors who have given to the 2025-26 Annual Appeal and Tina Lillig Memorial Fund. Your donations make it possible for CGSUSA to expand formation opportunities, give mission courses, invest in technology, create catechist and parent resources and publications, and offer many wonderful events that build our catechist community. All of these initiatives help us serve children with love and generosity. The revenue generated from membership fees covers about 55 percent of the cost of the benefits of membership, so philanthropy is essential to delivering excellent support to catechists, ministry leaders, families, and children. To find out more or make a gift, please visit www.cgsusa.org/donate. Thank you! Podcast Episodes you might be interested in: Episode 27 – The Mystery of the Incarnation Episode 53 – The Birth and Infancy of Jesus Episode 104 – Incarnation and the Annunciation Episode 105 – Welcoming the Christ Child as a Sacred Act Episode 128 – CGS Advent in the Home Episode 129 – The Family in Advent Episode 132 – The Depth of the Christmas Season The Religious Potential of the Child CGSUSA Store BECOME A CGSUSA MEMBER AUDIOBOOK: Audiobook – Now Available on Audible CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz! The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child's spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook. Find out more about CGS: Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Follow us on Social Media- Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd” Instagram- cgsusa Twitter- @cgsusa Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd
The Kingdom of God and the Gospel Why does Jesus say that he preaches the gospel of the kingdom of God? The way the gospel is talked about by Christians today usually has little if anything to do with the kingdom of God. Usually Christians describe the gospel as being about Jesus' death and resurrection and how people can be saved. So what exactly is the gospel and how does it relate to the kingdom of God? Note: this episode comes about in answer to a question sent in by a faithful listener. Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible: https://www.johnwhittaker.net Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/ The Listener's Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself: https://www.listenerscommentary.com Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, X, via email.
In this engaging conversation, the hosts explore a variety of themes centered around faith, personal journeys, and the interpretation of biblical texts. They discuss the importance of understanding historical context, language, and etymology in scripture, as well as the impact of human actions on the environment. The conversation also delves into the nature of deception, the illusion of scarcity, and the significance of faith in navigating life's challenges. Through personal anecdotes and insights, the hosts encourage listeners to seek truth and understanding in their spiritual journeys. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the complexities of faith, suffering, and the historical narratives that shape our understanding of spirituality. They discuss the reality of suffering in the lives of believers, the implications of biblical promises, and the controversial prosperity gospel. The discussion transitions into the mud flood theory, exploring its potential as a global catastrophe that aligns with biblical events. The speakers also examine ancient architecture and its implications for historical timelines, as well as the nature of the Kingdom of God and the concept of New Jerusalem. Finally, they address the modern narrative of alien invasions as a possible deception, emphasizing the importance of open-mindedness in exploring these profound topics.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jt-s-mix-tape--6579902/support.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS Shirts: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/WOMEN'S SHIRTS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/womens-shirts/
In this episode, I am sitting down with my friend and former life group leader, Rebecca, for an open conversation about what it truly means to be a vessel for the Kingdom of God. Together, we unpack how our gifts and talents are meant to serve God both inside and outside of the church, and how discovering our calling often begins with simple obedience. We talk about identifying our gifts, stewarding them well, and learning to trust God with the process of purpose. Rebecca shares her experience growing up in church, navigating church hurt, and finding her flow again as God continues to use her in ministry and in everyday life. We also explore the parable of the talents, the power of community, and how genuine relationships can challenge us to grow and mature in our faith. If you've ever wondered how your gifts connect to God's purpose for your life, this conversation will encourage you to lean in, listen, and allow God to lead. If this episode speaks to you, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more conversations that inspire faith, hope, and healing.
Send The Parable Podcast a TextIs it hard for you to take a next step of faith when you don't know whats ahead?Joining me today author of Choosing the Opposite and Teaching Pastor Tammy Melchein who shares about relational healing and embarking on a faith filled adventure of next steps.Tammy is passionate about helping people take next steps with Jesus. She has served on the staff at Community Christian Church for over 20 years, most recently as the leader of the Teaching Team. Community is a church with multiple online and in-person expressions based in the Chicago area, and Tammy regularly teaches at both Community's online expression and at its various campus locations. Her new book showcases how the Sermon on the Mount guides believers in today's culture, giving a blueprint for meaningful change. Plus, confront today's culture wars and controversies head-on as you embrace true discipleship. Make the hard but rewarding choice to live as Jesus did―bringing hope, love, and reconciliation wherever you go.Takeaways:We often mirror the division and polarization of the world. As followers of Jesus, we should strive to look different.Our interactions should reflect the teachings of Jesus.Fear and anger can wear us down and hinder our mission.We need to bring more of the kingdom of God to earth.Assumptions and instincts can cloud our judgment in relationships.Effective relationships require intentionality and reflection.Connect with TammyWebsite | InstagramChoosing the Opposite: How the Sermon on the Mount Helps Us Rethink Our Assumptions, Recalibrate Our Instincts, and Rediscover the Way of JesusReflection Questions1. Why do you think people say mean things to others, is there a specific time that comes up for you where you can reflect back now with perspective?2. Is there a certain friend or family member that came to mind today during the episode. If there is strain over that relationship pray right now for healing and the ability to choose the opposite with them?Keywords: faith, division, polarization, Jesus, relationships, kingdom of God, assumptions, instincts, Choosing the Opposite, new bookSupport the showWays to Support The Parable Podcast #1 Subscribe or Follow the podcast to ensure you catch every episode of The Parable Podcast on your preferred podcast platform (such as iTunes, Spotify). #2 Recommend this podcast to a friend, providing a great chance to begin your own Parable Conversation. #3 Looking for a speaker for your Church, Women's Group, or event? Contact Danielle to learn more.
Our teacher is pastor Lloyd Pulley, who is currently taking us verse by verse through the book of Acts. We begin today's' broadcast with the apostle Paul encouraging young Timothy that now is not the time to take it easy - but to press forward for the Kingdom of God.
Shelly has served the body of Christ as a Pastor for over 35 years. He is a bible teacher and conference speaker on the subjects of The Kingdom of God, The Mystery of Israel & The Church and for God’s people to be prepared in their hearts for the end of this age. https://shellyandjunevolk.com/Support the show: https://shellyandjunevolk.com/product/partner-with-us-psalm-127-fund/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this first episode of our Advent series, “Think Christianly About Advent,” Nate Wright, Dr. Joe Boot, and Dr. Michael Thiessen explore what it truly means to think Christianly about Christ as we enter the Christmas season. Starting from family and church traditions, they move into the deeper significance of the incarnation as the moment when the eternal God steps into history, confronting both ancient pagan hopes and modern political idols. Drawing on Joe’s chapter “Think Christianly About Christ” and his article "The New Political Community", they unpack the profoundly political nature of Advent—the coming of the true Priest-King whose kingdom challenges every rival rule. This episode sets the stage for the series by reminding us that Christmas is not just about nostalgia, but about the Kingdom of God breaking into the world. Get Dr. Boot's latest book, Think Christianly: https://ezrapress.ca/products/think-christianly-developing-an-undivided-mind Learn more about our soon-to-be-released small group curriculum, Foundations: https://ezramedia.tv/foundations/ Stay up to date with Ezra Event: https://www.ezrainstitute.com/events/ Read Joe's article mentioned in the episode here: https://www.ezrainstitute.com/the-new-political-community/
The Jewish Gospel of Matthew presents Yeshua as a Powerful Servant that came to operate in authority. While others sought titles and positions, Yeshua brought the Kingdom of God with power and simplicity. In the historic scene of expectation for the Messiah, the Jewish people waited for a political liberator, but God sent a spiritual King that would set the human heart free before setting the nation free. Join us as we dive deeper into the three fundamentals of Messiah's ministry from Mark 1:14-28 with our special speaker - Pastor Ossimar.
Great Restoration and Revival (1) (audio) David Eells 10/8/25 Tommy Hicks – 7/25/1961 (David's notes in red) (This is a powerful vision given to American preacher Tommy Hicks, who was a major figure in the 1954 Argentina Revival.) A vision of the Body of Christ in the End-time ministries. (My message begins July 25, about 2:30 in the morning at Winnipeg, Canada. I had hardly fallen asleep when the vision and the revelation that God gave me came before me. The vision came three times, exactly in detail, the morning of July 25, 1961. I was so stirred and so moved by the revelation that this has changed my complete outlook upon the body of Christ, and upon the end-time ministries. The greatest thing that the church of Jesus Christ has ever been given lies straight ahead. It is so hard to help men and women to realize and understand the thing that God is trying to give his people in the end times. I received a letter several weeks ago from one of our native evangelists down in Africa, down in Nairobi. This man and his wife were on their way to Tanganyika. They could neither read nor could they write, but we had been supporting them for over two years. As they entered into the territory of Tanganyika, they came across a small village. The entire village was evacuating because of a plague that had hit the village. He came across natives who were weeping, and he asked them what was wrong. They told him of their mother and father who had suddenly died, and they had been dead for three days. They had to leave. They were afraid to go in; they were leaving them in the cottage. He turned and asked them where they were. They pointed to the hut and he asked them to go with him, but they refused. They were afraid to go. The native and his wife went to this little cottage and entered where the man and woman had been dead for three days. He simply stretched forth his hand in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and spoke the man's name and the woman's name and said, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command life to come back to your bodies.” Instantaneously, these two heathen people who had never known Jesus Christ as their Savior sat up and immediately began to praise God. The spirit and the power of God came into the life of those people. To us that may seem strange and a phenomenon, but that is the beginning of these end-time ministries. (I talked to a sister 3-6-25 whose husband had been dead for 81/2 months when I called him back in the name of Jesus and by the grace of God he came to her in her kitchen. In another case a husband, wife and children had been killed by Satanists as witnessed by Eve and my angel and I called them back and all immediately returned by God's grace. God can use a donkey. Back to Tommy's message.) God is going to take the do-nothings, the nobodies, the unheard-of, the no-accounts. He is going to take every man and every woman and he is going to give them this outpouring of the Spirit of God. In the Book of Acts, we read that “In the last days,” God said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” I wonder if we realized what God meant when He said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” I do not think I fully realized nor could I understand the fullness of it, and then I read from the Book of Joel: “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain…” (Joel 2:23). …He is going to give to his people in these last days a double portion of the power of God!) As the vision appeared to me after I was asleep, I suddenly found myself in a great high distance. Where I was, I do not know. But I was looking down upon the earth. Suddenly the whole earth came into my view. Every nation, every kindred, every tongue came before my sight from the east and the west, the north and the south. I recognized every country and many cities that I had been in, and I was almost in fear and trembling as I beheld the great sight before me: and at that moment when the world came into view, it began to lightning and thunder. As the lightning flashed over the face of the earth, my eyes went downward and I was facing the north. Suddenly I beheld what looked like a great giant, and as I stared and looked at it, I was almost bewildered by the sight. It was so gigantic and so great. His feet seemed to reach to the north pole and his head to the south. Its arms were stretched from sea to sea. (Meaning: A great corporate body of saints.) I could not even begin to understand whether this was a mountain or a giant, but as I watched, I suddenly beheld a great giant. I could see his head was struggling for life. He wanted to live, but his body was covered with debris from head to foot (Sin and false doctrines), and at times this great giant would move his body and act as though it would even raise up at times. And when it did, thousands of little creatures seemed to run away. (Demons) Hideous creatures would run away from this giant, and when he would become calm, they would come back. All of a sudden this great giant lifted his hand towards heaven, and then it lifted its other hand (Praising the Lord!), and when it did, these creatures by the thousands seemed to flee away from this giant and go into the darkness of the night. Slowly this great giant began to rise and as he did, his head and hands went into the clouds. As he rose to his feet he seemed to have cleansed himself from the debris and filth that was upon him, and he began to raise his hands into the heavens as though praising the Lord, and as he raised his hands, they went even unto the clouds. Suddenly, every cloud became silver, the most beautiful silver (purified through heavenly fire) I have ever known. As I watched this phenomenon, it was so great, I could not even begin to understand what it all meant. I was so stirred as I watched it, and I cried unto the Lord and I said, “Oh Lord, what is the meaning of this?” and I felt as if I was actually in the Spirit and I could feel the presence of the Lord even as I was asleep. And from those clouds suddenly there came great drops of liquid light raining down upon this mighty giant (light is truth), and slowly, slowly, this giant began to melt, began to sink itself in the very earth itself, and as he melted (bearing their cross), his whole form seemed to have melted upon the face of the earth, and this great rain began to come down. Liquid drops of light began to flood the very earth itself, and as I watched this giant that seemed to melt, suddenly it became millions of people over the face of the earth. As I beheld the sight before me, people stood up all over the world! They were lifting their hands and they were praising the Lord. At that very moment, there came a great thunder that seemed to roar from the heavens. I turned my eyes toward the heavens and suddenly I saw a figure in white, in glistening white; the most glorious thing that I have ever seen in my entire life. I did not see the face, but somehow I knew it was the Lord Jesus Christ, and he stretched forth his hand, and as he did, he would stretch it forth to one, and to another, and to another. And as he stretched forth his hand upon the nations and the people of the world, men and women, as he pointed toward them, this liquid light seemed to flow from his hands into them, and a mighty anointing of God came upon them (The latter rain), and those people began to go forth in the name of the Lord. I do not know how long I watched it. It seemed it went into days and weeks and months. And I beheld this Christ as he continued to stretch forth his hand, but there was a tragedy. There were many people, as he stretched forth his hand, who refused the anointing of God and the call of God. I saw men and women that I knew. People that I felt would certainly receive the call of God. But as he stretched forth his hand toward this one and toward that one, they simply bowed their head and began to back away. And each of those that seemed to bow down and back away seemed to go into darkness. Blackness seemed to swallow them everywhere. (Faction and falling away) I was bewildered as I watched it, but these people that he had anointed, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, in Africa, England, Russia, China, America, all over the world, the anointing of God was upon these people as they went forward in the name of the Lord. I saw these men and women as they went forth. They were ditch diggers, they were washerwomen, they were rich men, they were poor men. I saw people who were bound with paralysis and sickness and blindness and deafness. As the Lord stretched forth to give them this anointing, they became well, they became healed, and they went forth exactly as the Lord did. And this is the miracle of it - this is the glorious miracle of it. It seemed as if there was this same liquid fire in their hands - those people would stretch forth their hands and say, “According to my word, be thou made whole.” These people continued in this mighty end-time ministry. I did not fully realize what it was, and I looked to the Lord and said, “What is the meaning of this?” And he said, “This is that which I will do in the last days. I will restore all that the cankerworm, the palmerworm, the caterpillar - I will restore all that they have destroyed. This, my people, in the end times will go forth. As a mighty army shall they sweep over the face of the earth.” As I was at this great height, I could behold the whole world. I watched these people as they were going to and fro over the face of the earth. Suddenly there was a man in Africa and in a moment he was transported by the Spirit of God, and perhaps he was in Russia, or China or America or some other place, and vice versa. All over the world these people went, and they came through fire, and through pestilence, and through famine. Neither fire nor persecution, nothing seemed to stop them. Angry mobs came to them with swords and with guns. And like Jesus, they passed through the multitudes and they could not find them, but they went forth in the name of the Lord, and everywhere they stretched forth their hands, the sick were healed, the blind eyes were opened. There was not a long prayer. And after I had reviewed the vision many times in my mind, and I thought about it many times, I realized that I never saw a church, and I never saw or heard a denomination, but these people were going in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Hallelujah! As they marched forth in everything they did, as the ministry of Christ in the end times, these people were ministering to the multitudes over the face of the earth. Tens of thousands, even millions, seemed to come to the Lord Jesus Christ as these people stood forth and gave the message of the kingdom, of the coming kingdom, in this last hour. It was so glorious, but it seems as though there were those who rebelled, and they would become angry and they tried to attack those workers who were giving the message. (As in Jesus' day so it is in ours) God is going to give the world a demonstration in this last hour that the world has never known. These men and women are of all walks of life; degrees will mean nothing. I saw these workers as they were going over the face of the earth. When one would stumble and fall, another would come and pick him up. There were no “big I's” and “little you's,” but every mountain was brought low and every valley was exalted, and they seemed to have one thing in common - there was a divine love, a divine love that seemed to flow forth from these people as they worked together, and as they lived together. It was the most glorious sight that I have ever known. Jesus Christ was the theme of their life. They continued and it seemed days went by as I stood and beheld this sight. I could only cry, and sometimes I laughed. It was so wonderful as these people went throughout the face of the whole earth, bringing forth in this last end time. As I watched from the very heaven itself, there were times when great deluges of this liquid light seemed to fall upon great congregations, and they would lift up their hands and seemingly praise God for hours and even days as the Spirit of God came upon them. God said, “I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh,” and that is exactly this thing. And to every man and woman that received this power and anointing of God, the miracles were without end. (We have talked about miracles. We have talked about signs and wonders, but I could not help but weep as I read again this morning, at 4 o'clock the letter from our native workers. This is only the evidence of the beginning for one man, a “do-nothing, an unheard-of,” who would go and stretch forth his hand and say, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command life to flow into your body.” I dropped to my knees and began to pray again, and I said, “Lord, I know that this time is coming soon!”) And then again, as these people were going about the face of the earth, a great persecution seemed to come from every angle. Suddenly, there was another great clap of thunder that seemed to resound around the world, and I heard again the voice that seemed to speak, “Now this is my people. This is my beloved bride.” (In Revelation, we see the Bride in her “lampros,” liquid light garment who has been doing miracles all over the world. Rev.19:7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright (Lampros) and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. John the Baptist saw Jesus' first fruits disciples and called them the Bride for he said, “He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom.” This Bride went forth to do miracles in the gospels and in Acts and to pass this anointing on to the rest of the church. Then in Revelation we see the rest of the church in a white or “leukos” garment who are invited to the marriage. Rev.19:14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white (Leukos) and pure. And below we will see in Tommy's revelation the dead in Christ rising to be joined with them at the end of the seven-year tribulation.) And when the voice spoke, I looked upon the earth and I could see the lakes and the mountains. The graves were opened, and people from all over the world, the saints of all ages, seemed to be rising. (The dead in Christ will rise first.) And as they rose from the grave, suddenly all these people came from every direction. From the East and the West, from the North and the South, and they seemed to be forming again this gigantic body. As the dead in Christ seemed to be rising first I could hardly comprehend it. It was so marvelous. It was so far beyond anything I could ever dream or think of. But as this body suddenly began to form and take shape again, it was in the form of this mighty giant, but this time it was different. It was arrayed in the most beautiful, gorgeous white. (In Rev.19:14 this is the white or “leukos” garments of the church.) Its garments were without spot or wrinkle as its body began to form, and the people of all ages seemed to be gathered into this body, and slowly, slowly, as it began to form up into the very heavens, suddenly from the heavens above, the Lord Jesus came, and became the head. (Now, Jesus is the head of the Bride, John said was Jerusalem, just as David, as a type of the Man-child reformers, was head of the Bride, Jerusalem. In this way Jesus and David were also the head of the rest of the Body of Israel; a type of the Church. We see this same relationship of Esther as the Bride head of the body of Israel and the Shulammite in Song of Solomon as the Bride head of Israel.) I heard another clap of thunder that said, “This is my beloved bride for whom I have waited. She will come forth even tried by fire. This is she that I have loved from the beginning of time.” As I watched, my eyes suddenly turned to the far north, and I saw destruction of men and women in anguish and crying out, and buildings in destruction. Then I heard again, the fourth voice that said, “Now is My wrath being poured out upon the face of the earth.” (The Day of the Lord's wrath upon those who persecuted God's people.) From the ends of the whole world, the wrath of God seemed to be poured out and it seemed that there were great vials of God's wrath being poured out upon the face of the earth. (The seals and trumps of the tribulation were followed by the vials of wrath in the day of the Lord. There are seven years before the Bride and Church are caught up followed by the year of wrath on the wicked who persecuted them. Isa.34:8 For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.) I can remember it as though it happened a moment ago. I shook and trembled as I beheld the awful sight of seeing the cities and whole nations going down into destruction. I could hear the weeping and wailing. I could hear people crying. They seemed to cry as they went into caves, but the caves in the mountains opened up. They leaped into the water, but the water would not drown them. There was nothing that could destroy them. They were wanting to take their lives, but they could not. Then again I turned my eyes to this glorious sight, this body arrayed in beautiful white, shining garments. Slowly, slowly, it began to lift from the earth, and as it did, I awoke. (This is the catching up of the lampros Bride and white Church body at the end of the tribulation before the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.) What a sight I had beheld! I had seen the end-time ministries - the last hour. Again, on July 27, at 2:30 in the morning, the same revelation, the same vision came again exactly as it did before. My life has been changed as I realized that we are living in that end time, for all over the world God is anointing men and women with this ministry. It will not be doctrine. It will not be a churchianity. It is going to be Jesus Christ. They will give forth the word of the Lord. I heard it said so many times in the vision, “And according to my word it shall be done.” Joel's Restoration Begins Sandy Shaw - 3/30/12 (David's notes in red) In this dream we were in a place that looked like Tahlequah, Oklahoma but it was bigger and prettier. It was really beautiful. (In Cherokee, Tahlequah means, “just two or two is enough”. Just as Jesus sent out the disciples and the 70 two by two, so it will be in our day when Jesus in the Man-child ministers will send out the two witnesses in the Great Revival.) There were a lot of people from UBM there, not just local but from all over. The people there were like-minded. There were many ages, from babies all the way up to old men. There was singing, praying, eating, and all kinds of fellowship and the kids were playing. It was like in a big meadow with a lot of shade trees. There was just ‘a oneness' there; it was peaceful and really beautiful. The sun felt so good. Then it started to rain while the sun was still shining, and the rain lasted only a few seconds before it began to pour down like a waterfall. It was just a steady, flowing stream of water hitting everyone there, from the babies to the oldest. (A renewal of the former rain upon the saints and then the beginning of the latter rain upon the David reformer ministries before it's given to the saints, just as Joel spoke of and the Gospels show in type: (Joe.2:22) Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength. (23) Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first [month]. (Note: Hos.6:3… he (the Lord) will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. The Lord will come as the anointing of the Holy Spirit not in the air or in a rapture of the Church!!) Back to Joel (24) And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. (25) And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm (representing the curse on God's people), my great army which I sent among you. (26) And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame. (27) And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame. (28) And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: (29) and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. Everyone was feeling this water and it was filling us up. It was freshness and newness and it didn't feel like any other kind of anointing one has ever felt before. We knew that we knew, it was there to stay. Everyone had their faces up to the water, to the anointing, feeling the water. (I am not doing it justice in explaining how it felt; how it was filling us up and how we all felt; even to say, “Walking on a cloud” is not the right words but I don't know any other words.) I saw people walking on stones and stickers in the ground, and we were barefoot, and it didn't hurt us, like we didn't feel it. (Representing walking above the curses of this world with no hurt.) We knew that we knew, our entire body was anointed of God. We knew what we were doing was ordained of God and we were just doing it. There were no questions. (I just can't explain the oneness or the way our hands felt; like they were not our hands, but the Lord's hands. …Each step was ordained of the Lord. We knew that nothing could take away what God had given to us. We were being completely used by Him. It was like walking or moving on clouds.) ... When everyone was filled, ... that's when we heard God tell us, “Ok, get busy; we're going to work now”. (The beginning of the spread of the revival.) Revival Beginning at UBM Charlie Smith - 12/12/12 (David's notes in red) Notice the date of this dream: 12/12/12, the fullness of the elect. In the early hours of the morning, the Lord gave me this dream. In it, suddenly, I appeared in a large room where I saw brother David (representing the David Man-child reformers) and about 10 or 12 brethren standing around. (I asked the Lord if this was 12 and got a yes, which fits with Jesus and his 12 when revival began then.) I knew David, but his features had changed some. I mean, he really looked great. I could really see God in the man like I never had before. (David, here is a type of the Man-child reformers who will start this revival, just as Jesus, the Son of David, did in His time. The things that have been are the things that will be.) And I knew him, but the other brethren I did not recognize, although I really did know who they were. As I stood looking, a man came over to me and He was the Lord! The brethren were being taught how to minister to the needs of the people. Brother David walked across the room to pray for a man who came for healing. He stood before the man and said, “Be healed,” and the man was healed instantly. David turned and walked back to the other side of the room. (God's power is made perfect in man's weakness, so that no flesh can glory.) The brethren, as well as I, were amazed that the man was healed, and we started praising God and giving thanks. As we rejoiced, another man came forward for healing who was blind. One of the brethren came forth and laid hands on the man's head, saying, “Receive your sight”. And the man cried out, “I'm healed and I can see!” Other people in the room who were in need came forth immediately, some with missing or deformed limbs, twisted bodies, crippled, all such of humanity that was so pitiful; they came up and every one of them was healed instantly. I said, “Oh, God, how is it that everyone was healed instantly, so fast, so easily? Some had hands laid on them and others did not, but they were all healed”. The Lord smiled and said, “You could not see”. Then the Lord opened my spiritual eyes and said, “Now look”. And He showed me again the part where David said to the man, “Be healed”. This time I could see the words “Be healed” coming out of David's mouth, like a mist, and entering into the man. And as the word went into the man, he was instantly healed. I received a few scriptures that go with this dream: (Isa.55:11) So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please; and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Jer.1:12) I watch over my word to perform it. (Eze.12:25) For I am Jehovah and I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed. (Rom.10:8) The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart. And I was still wondering about the mist that I saw, and I got (Joh.6:63) The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. So I understood that, like Jesus spoke the Word, and it came to pass, so these brethren operated on that level. The scene changed and we were in a different, larger room. David and about 100 or more other brethren were gathered together. The brethren were being taught how to minister and were then sent forth. They went forth preaching the Word and healing the sick everywhere. The brethren covered much of this area and you couldn't go anywhere without seeing them. (Many Man-child ministers are coming here and they will send forth disciples as Jesus did.) And then the scene quickly changed again, and we were at another place outside. It was a large, grassy area with parking nearby, but I don't know where it was. Brother David and maybe as many as 500 brethren were gathered together and crowds of people were coming from everywhere. It looked like thousands or even hundreds of thousands were coming. The meetings ran day and night. One night, all the people saw a pillar of fire burning in our midst. They were being drawn by the Lord, and it was a holy move of God. So many saints were now coming together. Again, the scene quickly changed and I was lifted up, looking down on the earth, and I saw the saints running through all the earth, spreading the gospel and the light was shining all over the earth. I think what I saw was a revival to prepare the saints to manifest sons of God in the earth to do the will of the Father. I also believe that this is a revival for the Man-child because in every one of those scenes where David and the brethren were gathered, they were being taught how to minister the Word and heal the sick. And I noticed that everything was on a higher level than what we're used to now. They didn't spend a lot of time and use a lot of words when they prayed; they just commanded it and it was immediately done. And when they gave the Gospel, they didn't have to stand there for hours trying to nail a point down. It was just like the glory of the Lord fell. When these brethren got around people out here on the streets to witness, the glory of the Lord was so strong that they just automatically fell down and cried, “Save me!” This was definitely a sign to us all that God's getting ready to do something wonderful here. I'm just like my brothers and sisters here. I want to be a part of it because I know God's going to do a fantastic work here and it's going to spread worldwide because I saw the lights cover the whole earth. I don't know when this is going to happen, but I know it will. Amen. We are informed by the Lord in many more dreams and scriptures that there is coming a great revival here and across the country and world. It will be in the midst of darkness and turmoil and many will come out of darkness. (Isa.60:1) Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. (2) For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (3) And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. (4) Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. (5) Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. We have a part in this. The principalities and powers of darkness have been put under our feet, but we must fight the good fight of the faith and cast them down from over UBM, this area, the U.S, and many other countries. (Luk.10:18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. (19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. (20) Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Let us have fasting and prayer and praise meetings and confess our sins and cast down these powers. Let us decree freedom from bondage and darkness. I received this: (Job 22:28) Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; And light shall shine upon thy ways. (29) When they cast [thee] down, thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up; And the humble person he will save. (30) He will deliver [even] him that is not innocent: Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands. Prophet Phillip shared this vision with us: (Spearheading the Man-child) I have prayed for three days now for the Holy Father's will in this matter of sharing the vision I received during a meeting with David as the speaker (in Phoenix, a type of resurrection life). (I had never seen Phillip before this.) I am permitted to share the following: As I prayed with David at the start of the meeting, I saw the room change into a stadium filled with people and David was at the podium shouting through a microphone that was in the shape of a shofar. He wore a silver yarmulke that glowed as he spoke, and from above it came a white golden light pouring down from the sky as a beam of glory growing brighter with each outpouring. From David's clothing came the same glory lights pouring through the tzit-tzit on his garment, flowing like fingers through the people. They touched the forehead and were grabbed by the right hand of people who became pregnant (with Christ) and began shouting as they were covered in glory. This is the vision I had at the meeting. The Holy Father says that David would know its meaning, if not now, very soon. (All glory to God, He chooses the weak to show this. He can speak through a donkey.) Months after that meeting, we received this from Phillip: Holy Yahweh is forming this ministry into His Image to spearhead the Man-child Ministry Birthing and Delivery to the World! Amen! He has given this to me in a mighty vision that ran and continued for three nights along with some other things that I can't say just yet. In short, brethren, the “white golden light pouring down from the sky as a beam of glory” will flow through obedient servants in whom Christ is manifested through the latter rain and belief in the truth. It will flow first through the man-child and then through the witnesses to the Church at large. (This light is pouring down from the sky upon the giant body of Christ in Tommy Hick's revelation.) Great Restoration and Revival (2) (audio) David Eells – 12/3/25 I would like to encourage you today with some older revelations we have about the latter rain revival we are looking forward to! Judgment and Then Revival Marie Kelton - 10/09/2016 (David's notes in red) I had this vision at the prayer meeting this morning while we were praying. (One thing we prayed about was God bringing down the evil in our government.) When I closed my eyes, I saw a hurricane storm. I couldn't see anything but two trees and a lot of water and rain being blown against them by strong wind. The sky was a light grayish color. (Missy and I cast lots and asked if the storm was economic and received three heads. Then we asked if the two trees represent Obama and Hillary, and got three heads.) Below are the verses I received. (Since this vision was given, the storm against Obama and Hillary has picked up quite a bit with the Wikileaks emails and many scandals coming forth and the military coming out against what is going on and the UN accusing them of war crimes by supporting ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the like to overthrow governments and murder many, including Christians.) Zec.14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. The Lord will go forth to fight as He fought in the day of battle by turning the enemy against each other in our government and in turning other governments against them. As they have factioned the world governments, they will be factioned. The Trump administration is arresting many DSers and many are turning states evidence to get leniency. The threats against the true people of God will be taken down as Pharaoh at the Red Sea, Sennacherib at Jerusalem, Haman and his against the people of God, the armies against Jehoshaphat and Jerusalem. This will enable the people of God to go into the wilderness singing and rejoicing as they did on the far side of the Red Sea. This is not to say that because of the quakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, there won't be many in FEMA camps or under martial law. God will bring them guidance and deliverance even there. Deb just received this word after I wrote the above note: Jer.44:30 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra (meaning “a pharaoh” - Obama is often pictured as Pharaoh and is a leader of an attempted coupe, which is not going well.) king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies (spiritual and physical), and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah (the apostate leadership of God's people) king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon (Obama in another parable), who was his enemy, and sought his life. Act.2:38 And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. After the judgment on the wicked (DS) who would have attacked God's people in the first verse, an outpouring will come on the righteous, as in this text, just as it was in Joel chapter 2. The storm will be a judgment on the wicked and a blessing to the righteous, as the hurricane below. Gen.42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. The factious in Church and government are being judged because of what they did to Joseph the Man-child. They will reap the faction they sowed and the elect among them will repent in the revival, and the rest will be reprobated. Heb.10:11 And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins: 12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. The enemies will be judged, but God will forgive those who repent and believe in the sacrifice of Jesus. I asked this about the two trees and got Ezekiel 7:1 and here is the context: Eze.7:1 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land. A judgment that will encompass America and the world. This is probably the volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc,. 3 Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Many will repent and believe in the revival that comes because of the fierce judgment. The days of plenty will give way to tribulation. 5 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh. 6 An end is come, the end is come; it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh. 7 Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, upon the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my wrath upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways; and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, do smite. 10 Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Aaron's rod of the Man-child to have authority over the proud wicked but the fruit of revival will come of it. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them. This evil leadership is being taken down. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. Economic collapse. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive (judgment shall overshadow business): for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle (We have already had an undeclared World War between the DS and the Alliance, which is winning. There is nothing the jihadists, including those in the DS, would love more than for East and West to destroy each other, leaving them the undisputed rulers. But if God's people will pray, God will cast it down until the red horse rider of war in Revelation 6:3.); for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. And then comes the pale horse rider, sword, death, and famine spoken of in Revelation 6:7. 15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword: and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. 16 But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity. Many will come to repentance when they see the carnage. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. Many will come to repentance in these days, much due to the Man-child ministries. Watch for a Hurricane of Blessings and Abundance! Veronika West - 10/05/2016 (David's notes in red) A word to the righteous! Watch for a hurricane of blessings and abundance! (On the far side of the Red Sea.) Early hours of this morning, I was praying concerning Hurricane Matthew (A sign of things to come), which is now sweeping across the nations. As I cried out to the LORD, immediately I heard the Spirit say, “Daughter, come up higher.” As I pressed into the LORD, suddenly my spirit became illuminated and it was as if I was standing high above the earth, looking down at the hurricane which was moving violently upon the nations. I saw its fierce winds and its rising waters, but then suddenly, in an instant, the picture of devastation and death changed, and I saw the hand of God moving swiftly and mightily upon the earth. (Judgment turning to mercy.) Then I heard Him say, “Daughter, watch! As My hand of blessing and abundance now moves like a mighty hurricane upon my righteous in this hour and season, watch! For it will come suddenly, violently, and with great force. It will cause the plans and purposes of the enemy to be overtaken and overturned. (Judgment will overturn the enemy's plans like Pharaoh at the Red Sea. This could be the Global Currency Reset and the R&R being fulfilled now but this will not last for the world.) “My mighty hurricane of blessing (revival and outpouring) and abundance will be unstoppable, uncontainable, and unprecedented (meaning greater than in all of history). It will cause many in My Kingdom to be suddenly accelerated, activated and advanced (bringing the gospel to the world). It will happen in the twinkling of an eye. “Watch! As My Spirit winds begin to blow upon My people, to remove every encumbrance and every entanglement. (The Spirit will remove all bondage to the old man, like at the Red Sea.) My hurricane of blessing and abundance will create new pathways for the rivers of My glory, goodness, and grace to flow (much more opportunity for the gifts to spread). “The waters of My glory will rise, and the winds of My blessing will blow mightily upon many, causing them to become perfectly aligned and awakened to My Kingdom purposes in the nations”, says God. (Instead of being aligned with the worldly, false kingdoms of men and religion.) After hearing the LORD speak, I felt led to look up the meaning of the name Matthew, which means “gift of Yahweh”. Listen, friends, it is so important that we see with the eyes of the spirit in this hour. Get ready! Be expectant for His mighty hurricane of blessing and abundance that is coming suddenly, violently, and with great force; it will be unstoppable, uncontainable, and unprecedented! I declare: Satan's plans will not prosper. It takes the eyes of faith to see that God is always good and is always working all things for our good! Amen! Quantum faith, saints! Big Shaking, Intermission, then Crazing? Bill Steenland - 03/01/2015 (David's notes in red) We don't know much for sure here, but we offer it in obedience to the Word in hopes that some other member of the gifted body has a piece of the puzzle. I dreamed David Eells, M.G. and another guy, and I were walking in a big parking garage to find my car. We passed Michael Hare on our left and found my Volvo convertible. (I think this car, which is broken right now, that was working in the dream, speaks of restoration.) Only David and I got in the car. David got into the driver's seat, and I got into the passenger seat. I told David that I really wanted to drive, and I didn't like him driving my vehicle instead of me, but then I just kind of got over it. (Allowing Jesus in the David Man-child ministers “son of David” to take over and rest in their abilities and submit to their control.) We went home to our house. David sat down in a chair, and I was standing next to him, looking down at him. David had a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was thinking about a lot of stuff at once, wondering how everything was going to play out. He was bigger in the dream; he was about 200 pounds and looked very strong. (This speaks of spiritual strength of the Davids.) Then David said to me, “Bill, there is going to be a big shaking soon (or very soon -- can't remember which). Then there is going to be a calm and everything is going to be normal again for a little while. Then it's going to get crazy” (or nuts -- can't remember which). I believe this is speaking of a spiritual shaking to prepare the Man-child and Bride. There was an earthquake at the death and resurrection of Jesus as a type of the Man-child. However, this shaking could be spiritual, as a separation of some from the factious to return, just like there was a prophesied shaking in 2011 with a separation of them from us. This would bring a return to normality for a little while before the physical earthquakes come as a time of craziness. Pam said she saw a crazing pattern at the time of the earthquakes. Wikipedia: 'Crazing' looks like a network of fine cracks on the surface of a material, for example, in a glaze layer. Sandy Shaw, in her dreams of the New Madrid quake, saw cracks running everywhere. We also believe that a soon-coming New Madrid quake down the center of the country, which will cause disruption. A craziness. Here is the Word I got from the Lord on Friday. My finger came down on verse 9 (underlined). Isa.66:7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion (the Bride) travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? saith thy God. The Man-child's coming will be great news to the Bride who has suffered at the hands of the wicked. 10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. How awesome we know the truth and the truth will set us free. What a great example a pregnant woman is. The child is coming; it's as sure as a pregnant woman. Wow! It reminds me of John 6, where Peter's response is so encouraging: Joh.6:68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God. Come, Lord Jesus! He Will Come As the Latter Rain Eve Brast - 09/15/2014 (David's notes in red) Dream #1: I dreamed I was in a storybook setting. I was a girl playing and observing inside this setting. I was happy and carefree. I was running around and playing inside a large white castle. The castle was two stories high with large support pillars and black and white checkered tile on the ground floor and a large grand staircase that led from the central entry area up to the top floor. (Eve here represents the Bride as the wife of the last Adam, Jesus Christ. Compared to the anointing that is coming to her, her ability and power to do the work of God and live in the castle of the King is as a child.) There had been a massive volume of water, a wave of some sort, that had come into the castle from the upper floor windows and had washed through the entire upper floor and then had headed down the grand staircase. (The upper room Christians in Acts received the former rain, as did many, and it did continue on down through history for a ways. But due to apostasy there was a falling away. Apostate preachers have spoken against the baptism of the Holy Spirit and are guilty of the blood of the saints who would have been greatly strengthened by this anointing.) The wave had all frozen solid by the time it reached the black and white tiled floor at the base of the stairway. It had been frozen in time like this for many, many years. (Father withdrew His anointing, as apostates counted His gift unclean.) Job.37:9 Out of the chamber of the south cometh the storm, And cold out of the north. 10 By the breath of God ice is given; And the breadth of the waters is straitened. ... Job.38:28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? 29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen. (I believe the former rain became mostly frozen in time, so to speak, for the last 2000 years that the Church has fallen away from the true Gospel that they heard from the beginning. Act 2:38 And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (As to the black and white lower floor: The overwhelming majority of lower-level, sometimes white and sometimes black, lukewarm Christianity, have never received the great wave of the former rain. Even for those who have received a portion of the former rain, it seems the anointing is small. As I have said so often, “If we do what they did, we will get what they got and if we get what they got, we will do what they did”.) Hos.5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. 6:1 Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. We are now at the third thousand-year day since the coming of Christ. 3 And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. Notice the King is coming as the latter rain and His power and holiness will be manifested. Returning to the Lord is not black and white; it is white with the Holy Spirit. WooHoo! - Come, Lord Jesus!) As a little girl in this dream, I was sliding down the frozen waves on the grand staircase and then climbing back up to the top floor to do it again. (With child-like faith, we can rise above the curse, being carefree and enjoying His abundant life as we rest in Christ.) Mar.10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. (As a child, the Bride sometimes fluctuates between the top floor and the black and white floor below, but that is temporary for them, for they will receive of the Spirit refreshing and rest of the Holy Spirit which has been frozen in time for many. Isa.28:11 Nay, but by [men of] strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people; 12 to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. As we can see, many have not heard, and some will not hear this great news.) Suddenly, the water waves began to melt as I observed a regal prince dressed in royal robes come riding into the storybook setting on his white horse. (Notice: “he will come unto us as the rain”. This thawing wave will be released on the lower floor so that they may also live the Kingdom life with power. Act.1:8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.) (The regal “King” Jesus will return manifested in the Prince, the first fruits Man-child ministry. [He comes as the white horse rider of the first seal of Revelation to melt the long-frozen water of the former and the latter rain of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the King of kings, but this is the Prince, the son of the King in whom His life's blood flows.]) He rode up over the melting ice wave and up the grand staircase toward the right side of the upper floor, where a lady dressed in royal gowns was standing with her hands clasped together, waiting for him. (Notice the Bride has grown up and is living on the top floor now.) He then dismounted his horse and took her hand in his and kissed it and told her to come with him; it was time for their marriage. Rev.6:2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. Isa.61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels. Rev.21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. Then I woke up. When I fell back to sleep, I was given dream #2 as a continuation of the first dream above, with the addition that the false accusers are silenced. I turned and walked toward my right out of the upper room of the castle. At this point, I was a woman, and I walked out onto a freshly laid parking lot, which seemed to be an extension of the upper floor of the castle. (Maturity and rest lives on the top floor.) I saw a very large, white, hand-sewn quilt, larger than king-size, spread out on the parking lot. (A spread is for rest and a parking lot is a place where mobile vessels, which we are, are at rest.) Pro.31:22 She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. (One translation says “quilts”.) King Solomon was sitting on it, dressed in his finest royal robes. There were luxurious pillows all around him on the quilt for reclining. I went and sat down next to him, at his right hand. Psa.45:9 Kings daughters are among thy honorable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir. My son Elijah was a grown man and was a defense lawyer in King Solomon's court. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and suit pants with highly polished dress shoes and was standing in front of the king. (Elijah, the Man-child born of the Bride, was being here in Greek a Parakletos, translated “comforter” or “advocate,” meaning a defense lawyer who pleads our case before the judge. Jesus and Moses, as Man-children, also did this. Moses quite successfully pleaded Israel's case a few times. Jesus was saying He was a defense lawyer when He told the disciples He would go, but the Father would send “another Comforter” or Parakletos. So Jesus was a defence lawyer. Joh.14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Parakletos), that he may be with you for ever... 1Jn.2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate (Parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So Jesus, as Man-child, was a defense lawyer for the Bride when He was with the disciples and afterward when He was glorified.) In front of me, there was a female Australian Shepherd dog pacing back and forth with hatred in her eyes. It had long white fur with big black spots all over it. (We are told to “hate the garment spotted by the flesh” or sin. Aussies have also been called “pastor dogs”. They are not as tall [mature] as many shepherds. They are very competitive and territorial. Why is the pastor dog shown as female? Because they should be receiving the seed and bearing the fruit instead of their lust to sow, which they are not equipped to do.) This dog could talk and it was constantly accusing me to the king of things that were not true about me. (This represents the hatred and lies of the factious leaders. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and these dogs work for him.) Elijah said to the king, “This dog makes false accusations against my mother, O King!” (The Man-child intercedes for the Bride before the Judge.) The king did nothing at first (testing and crucifying the Bride), as we all suffered this lying dog to pace back and forth in front of me, speaking lie after lie against me. (Isa 56:11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. Psa.31:20 In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man: Thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. (At this time, the faction that crucified the Bride and Man-child and separated those who are not part of these bodies. The dogs are no longer needed because of the maturity and rest they have entered into through this crucifixion.) After a little while, the king nodded at me (giving His authority to the Bride over the accusers) and I got up from the quilt and went over to the dog and picked it up, subduing it under my left arm. I then grabbed its snout with my right hand and shut its mouth. (The righteous have the authority to bind and loose with the King's nod of approval.) It could no longer accuse me after this. It was temporarily able to break its mouth loose from my grip once, trying to open its mouth to bite my thumb, but the power of God kept its mouth shut supernaturally, and it was powerless to do me any harm. (Charlie had a revelation that the Lord was telling him that everything is about to change and that He was able to save us and scatter the enemy.) Psa.63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God: Every one that sweareth by him shall glory; For the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Then I woke up. The testing is almost over, and the murmurers are dying in the wilderness, disqualified to live in the Promised Land. Last Days World Revival Debra Klein - 07/30/2014 (David's notes in red) In a dream, I woke up in the Middle East among sandy dunes. All I could see in all of the atmosphere from heaven to earth and 360 degrees around me was the Aurora Borealis. It was shockingly beautiful. (I believe this represented the glory of God.) (Certainly, the many colors are attributes of the light which God is.) I turned to see a crowd of people from all over the world. They were somewhat scared and didn't know what was happening. I turned to the right and saw a pitched tent, and in front of it was a simple wooden podium. With my Bible, I went to the podium and turned to Matthew 24 (judgments of the end times, which will help bring revivals). I began to tell the people that this is what the Lord said would happen. I began to preach the Gospel to them. The words came out of my mouth as a roar that shook the earth. (I believe that Debra here spiritually represents the Bride, as she has in other dreams. (In the natural women aren't allowed to teach men.1Tim.2:12) As in the Gospels, these will be sent forth by the Man-child ministry to preach. Among them were the disciples of Jesus, the 12 and the 70 and multitudes of other discipled by them as a type for our time.) In the crowd closest to me was a man who was dressed as an Arab prince. Upon hearing what was said, he threw back his head, exclaiming loudly with joy, “Jesus is alive!” The people began to rejoice. They were being saved. There was joy among them. I woke up sweating. The Lord said to me, “This is the last days world revival”. (Since the observers were people from all nations, I suggest that a great move of revival will spread from the Middle East to the world. I believe the Jeremiah 25 wars will bring many Muslim people to misery to call out to God, Who will answer them and reveal Himself to them. Revival will spread from the people who have hated and killed Christians, kind of like it did with Paul.) The School of Revival Anonymous - 1/13/22 (David's notes in red) I had a dream that I went to the elementary school that I went to as a child, and all the people I went to school with were still there. They were all gathered together. I went up to them all and just started sharing my testimonies of Christ, and I was speaking the Word and Truth in Spirit. I felt such a strong amplified love and energy for Christ in spirit. It was like 100x amplified beyond anything I have felt when awake. Just a strong desire for Christ and strong exercise of speaking Truth and the Word with nothing hindering me. I didn't have to struggle with carnal worries of offending anyone or being embarrassed. Nothing was hindering me or fighting me from proclaiming Jesus. And it was all out of holy love and not out of obligation, and I felt love for everyone, even those who had hurt me so much or hated me in the past. I had such strong pure love for all of them, not in a carnal way but spiritually. It was a real witness as they knew how evil I was as a child, more than most. But they now saw Jesus had transformed my life, they could see the Light of Christ, and so many of them repented and turned to Christ in spirit and truth. A big revival throughout the school broke out, starting with repentance. I walked around to different areas talking about Jesus to everyone. Many others repented and were awakened to the truth and began telling others. The fire of God spread so quickly throughout the school, and most came to repentance and love for Jesus, and a few that didn't repent were surrounded by those who did, and either they started desiring Christ, or they had to run away from the school and not come back. To stay in the school, they would have to be in Christ. The Spirit was contagious, and it was so beautiful seeing true repentance in spirit and truth and love for Christ came so quickly. I went into a classroom and there were students sitting down, and a woman teacher was teaching. I went over to the teacher and said that what they are doing is meaningless and a waste of time. (Meaning time is run out. Its now time to know of the Word.) I then turned to the class and started singing Be Thou My Vision, praising God, and all the students started singing also. After the song, I prayed in front of everyone, and I asked God in faith that every person who has ever been to this school in all of time would all have the gift of repentance and faith before leaving earth, and that they will all be in the Kingdom for eternity. I then heard that I will remember this moment asking God for this because it will and has been answered. Then I woke up. A Sudden Move of God Debbie Fenske - 1/16/23 (David's notes in red) During our morning Zoom meeting, the Lord allowed me to see in the Spirit those whom we would call the lowliest of people, and those addicted to every kind of sin. I could see the Spirit of the Lord suddenly coming upon them, moving in their spirits. I could discern their intense desire for God. These were dry, needy, and homeless people on the streets. (These represent spiritually homeless people.) I could see them dropping to their knees and raising their hands to heaven with a sudden, but awesome desire for Jesus, to truly want to know Him. Then I heard Him say: “I am doing this. I am doing the work. But even My people, who know My truths and are walking in My ways, will see and wonder if such persons could be touched in such a way. But I say to you, ‘What a remnant I am bringing forth!' So, I warn you, I warn My people to be prepared. Be ready to receive My gift to minister to those whom I will allow you to run into as you go about your business of the day. And I say, do not let their appearance stop you from being moved by My Spirit, to minister by My Spirit as I bring you face-to-face with them. Be alert and do the work of God. Even those affluent ones who have sat before Bible teachers hearing My Word preached, and receiving it with joy, and walking in My ways to the best of their knowledge, now will suddenly receive revelation from My Spirit that they are yet so empty, and needy of the deeper truths of My Word. They are going to suddenly desire more of Me, and they will seek Me with all their hearts, praying with earnest out of a sudden yearning desire which I will suddenly impart to them. (In revivals in the past, sinners and self-righteous people suddenly, for no apparent reason, have been overcome with grief for their sins and cried out to God.) And many will find you and will truly find Me through the ministry and revelation truths you have received in Me through My Word and are so freely giving out. Be ready, My People. For I will suddenly do a quick work. Have you not heard? The harvest is read
Part 5 - This Same Offering: Let the Stones SpeakThey say Breaking News - I say… let the stones finish with words released in Light.If a wildfire uncovers a mosaic, and the world rushes to declare what it means… what might we find if we pause long enough to listen instead?In this presence-rooted episode, April takes a deeper look at the mosaic uncovered after seven seasons of excavation at El-Araj on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a site believed to be Bethsaida. The mosaic is claimed to be honoring Peter as the “Key-bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven.”Rather than echoing headlines, this exploration invites a quiet unpacking of the Greek inscription itself from the 4th and 5th century of language taken into consideration, the spiritual legacy between Peter and Philip, and the meaning of “this same offering” as found within the stones... yet with no media light found to rightfully and fully attest to the Light found within the words intentionally inscribed in stone.With an emphasis on divine authorship over man's interpretation, the episode considers honor, mantle-bearing, Kingdom entrustment, and the witness of lives dedicated and reverently flowing as Light in Light Himself across generations. This is not a monument. It is a moment. A mantle. A message quite literally etched in stone for those willing to see and those willing to hear in stillness, presence-first. Keywords: Bethsaida mosaic, key-bearer Greek word, Peter and Philip legacy, this same offering, spiritual inheritance, presence-first archaeology, discovery, mantle and legacy, Luke 17, Kingdom of God, divine entrustment, Matthew 16:18, Psalm 46:10, Matthew 6:33, know God, be still, ancient witness, wild fire, Sea of Galilee, El-Ajar, study of history, words matter, Light, let there be Light, keys of the kingdom, God is Light
In Episode 221 we cover 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, and discuss the behaviors which Paul says will cause people to not inherit the kingdom of God. Rate/Review our Spotify Channel - Reclaiming the Faith Apple Podcasts Channel - Reclaiming the Faith Phil's Website – https://philsbaker.com Patreon Page - patreon.com/philsbaker The Faithful Podcast with Stephanie Baker Contact me – philsbaker@protonmail.com The Ante-Nicene Writings - https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/ante-nicene/
All Shall Be Well: Conversations with Women in the Academy and Beyond
“If at all possible, resist the dehumanizing forces that are at work in grad school and in the early days of your academic employment.” — Emily Hunter McGowin Theologian and professor Emily Hunter McGowin joins us on the podcast to discuss the nature of family in the context of God's kingdom. How can we live as faithful followers of Jesus within our complex family narratives? Author and theologian Emily Hunter McGowin joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God. Emily helps us to interrogate the cultural assumptions we bring into the work of family life and to consider them in light of the words of Scripture. She asserts that the Bible is far from prescriptive about the details of household life and that Scripture makes space for a variety of shapes and structures that support family connectedness. Emily challenges her readers to think carefully about the integration of community needs with personal flourishing, and she offers simple suggestions for integrating nourishing habits into the complex fabric of family life. In addition — I'm pleased to tell you that InterVarsity Press is offering a discount on Households of Faith for listeners of this podcast. Just use the code IVPWSAP25 for 25% off and free shipping when you purchase the book at ivpress.com. You can find a link to the book and the discount code in the show notes. And if you listen to the end of the credits you'll hear an excerpt from our conversation where Emily offers her thoughts on centering lovingkindness at Christmas. So jump right in! We're so glad you're here. — Ann Boyd For show notes or more information please visit our article at The Well. If you'd like to support the work of InterVarsity's Women Scholars and Professionals, including future podcasts such as this episode, you can do so at givetoiv.org/wsap. Thank you for listening!
Join us for the final episode of 2025!In this special on-location conversation from Managua, Nicaragua, I sit down with my dear friend Bishop Carlos Garcia. Together we dive into the heartbeat of the Kingdom of God—what it looks like in real communities, how family shapes formation, the gift of spiritual fathering, and so much more.This episode carries the warmth, wisdom, and fire of our time in Nicaragua. Get ready to receive!Hester MinistriesPresent Truth Academy The Rorschach God
Christmas is meant to be wonder-full — but for many of us, the wonder has faded. Today we explore how God steps into the ordinary and transforms it into something extraordinary. Through the story of Jesus' birth, and the incredible power of traditions, we learn how to recapture the beauty, joy, and awe of the Christmas season. Whether Christmas feels routine, overwhelming, or even painful, this message will help you see how God meets us in everyday moments. Discover practical ways to restore your sense of wonder, embrace traditions that anchor your faith, and notice the small surprises that reflect God's goodness. ▶️ In this message, you'll learn: • Why the birth of Jesus transformed an ordinary day into the most extraordinary moment in history • How God uses traditions to shape our lives with meaning and anticipation • How to find God's presence in the ordinary rhythms of your life • Practical steps to make this Christmas wonder-full again
Shelly has served the body of Christ as a Pastor for over 35 years. He is a bible teacher and conference speaker on the subjects of The Kingdom of God, The Mystery of Israel & The Church and for God’s people to be prepared in their hearts for the end of this age. https://shellyandjunevolk.com/Support the show: https://shellyandjunevolk.com/product/partner-with-us-psalm-127-fund/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello future humans with self-agency inspiring human potential!Become a paid subscriber to access practical exercises that use mindset, mindfulness & mindsight to grow confidence, handle change with good stress, raise your frequency & inner stillness & ground yourself in VVS: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maria-florio/subscribeInspiring Human Potential spotlights higher-self mindset lifestyle POVs, stories, ideas & practices.Maria Florio inspires human potential by sharing the keys to inner growth & following your heart. She brings together human, spiritual, & spirituality elements to explore human evolution, consciousness, & being yourself. She looks at how sciences & spirituality together reveal the way to access infinite higher human consciousness potential when pursuing self-help, personal development, spiritual growth, & mental & emotional mastery. She also talks about how mindset & lifestyle, mindfulness, secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodiment lead to higher intelligence & fulfillment. She uses perspectives & stories from her self-empowered, enlightening, mystic, spiritual, & mindful life. From the age of eight, Maria decided she was going to help people when she grew up. A vague statement that meant to her, & still means, to help people live a good life as themselves.5D mystic POV stories on mindfulness, educational podcasts & being yourselfA securely attached self-led mystic, spiritual & mindful person knows inconsistencies for what they are: fear, fear of intimacy, emotional vulnerability & being yourself in connection.Be you, mindful & flawed with integrity.Love is supporting each other to fly. Love lifts you up when you're down & it soars the skies with you when you're up. Love is always there."The kingdom of God is within you." - JesusLove, Maria5D Mystic Spiritual Self-Help Mindful Mentor Podcast Spiritual & Science Human VoiceBringing Together Human, Spiritual & Spirituality Elements to Explore Human Evolution & ConsciousnessEmail floriomaria80@gmail.com for 1-to-1 Mentorship or Masterclass & Spiritual Workshops & Retreats info."It is the ability to bring out the best in others that makes you a leader." - Sadhguru"Mindfulness can help integrate the mind, body, & relationships, which can lead to well-being." - Dan Siegel, MD"A non traumatized person with a secure attachment has the capacity to regulate independently of relationships." - Pat Ogden, PhDSecurely attached self-led people are strong, brave & bring change for the better because we embody intelligence, expand consciousness & self.Be Yourself In Connection In Life & Love - 5D Mystic Functional Adult POVs & StoriesSubscribe on Spotify, YouTube: @inspiringhumanpotential, another favorite podcast platform you use, or Fanbase.5D Mystic Enlightenment Functional Adult Relationships New Stories To Heal Trauma Together & Bring Forth Your Humanity"If you are a piece of creation, the Creator is definitely embedded within you. You just have to turn inward to know." - SadhguruYou'll know the piece of creation you are once you're living life as a securely attached restorative embodied self-aware, accountable & regulating person.Love, Maria5D Mystic Woo-Woo Pseudoscience Self-Help Mindful Mentor & Podcast HostMaria brings together sciences & spirituality to support human evolution & consciousness, to shed light on love & you being able to be you, the authentic you - an inner child adult who has secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodied self-aware life potential with your personal motivation to do self-help & personal development that get your self-awareness to put into practice accountability & regulation skills with the mental, emotional, & physical mastery at play as you apply & use the inner growth mindset & lifestyle approach.Inspiring Human Potential Inner Growth 5D Self-Empowered Enlightened Expanding Consciousness Voices, Stories & Perspectives
When you make the Kingdom of God your primary pursuit, worry loses its power and God's provision takes over. Watch this message to learn how to shift your focus from worldly wealth to spiritual treasure.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
What does the Kingdom of God look like? Jesus said it looks like giving a cup of cold water in His name. In this message recorded at Charity: Water's Experience Lab in Franklin, Tennessee, Pastor Levi sits down with founder Scott Harrison to discuss one of the most tangible expressions of the Gospel—bringing clean water to people who don't have it. Since 2018, Fresh Life has partnered to bring water to 17 communities (and counting)!This conversation will inspire you to see how the Kingdom breaks in through the simplest acts of love.GIVE YOUR YEAR-END OFFERING:Be a part of building the Kingdom: https://freshlife.church/give/NEXT STEPS:Ask for prayer or connect with a pastor: https://freshlife.church/contactRegister your decision to follow Jesus and receive free resources: https://freshlife.church/know-godGive a financial gift to support what God is doing as we take steps forward to see the Gospel reach far and wide: https://freshlife.church/giveSUBSCRIBE:Sign up to receive encouragement straight to your inbox, and to stay up to date with announcements, events, and more: https://church.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6ea4d82b2567db3e86b7767cd&id=451f2fe63eDon't miss a video! Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/freshlifechurch?sub_confirmation=1CONNECT ON SOCIALS:Website: https://freshlife.churchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshlifeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshlifechurchTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/freshlifeYoutube: https://youtube.com/c/freshlifechurch/Fresh Life Church was pioneered by Pastors Levi and Jennie Lusko in 2007. We exist to see those stranded in sin find life and liberty in Jesus Christ. Today Fresh Life's ministry impacts people with the radical, life-changing message of Jesus' grace, spilling across Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho… and beyond.
In this message, “Pressure in the Blessing,” Pastor Bobby explains why every blessing from God comes with weight, responsibility, and purpose. Using the story of Abraham and the parable of the talents, you'll learn why God doesn't give blessings randomly—and why fear often causes us to bury what God is calling us to build.If you've ever felt overwhelmed by what God placed in your hands, this sermon will help you trust Him, steward well, and step into the purpose behind the blessing.Join us Sunday's 8:15 | 10:00 | 11:45 Authentic Church2416 N Center St Hickory, NC 28601 (Beside Planet Fitness) GIVINGTo support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: https://authenticchurch.com/give GET CONNECTEDReady to check out Authentic Church in person? We can't wait to meet you in person. Simply fill out the form below and we'll make sure to give you the VIP treatment upon your first visit. https://authenticchurch.com/plan-a-visit ABOUT AUTHENTIC CHURCHAuthentic Church exists so that people will have an authentic encounter with God, be set free, and grow in Christ. Our mission is to help each person at Authentic believe in Jesus, belong to family, inspire true worship, walk in God's Spirit, and build the kingdom of God.
Today, on Karl and Crew, we kicked off our weekly theme of “Prosperity” with discussions about seeking God’s kingdom before worldly possessions. As followers of Christ, we are to serve God first and remove any idols or false gods that take precedence in our lives. We also turned to the phone lines to ask our listeners to share how God redirected their affection from money and its providence to seeking the kingdom of God first. We then had Dr. Samuel Naaman join us to discuss Call of Hope, a ministry that reaches Muslims for Christ, and their initiative to gift children in Africa with a goat and the gospel. Dr. Naaman is a Professor of Intercultural Studies at the Moody Bible Institute. He is also the Vice President of Call of Hope. Then we heard from our listeners as they told us about their most unique gift from someone and how God used it. We then had Dr. Winfred Neely join us to discuss trusting in God’s promise of prosperity and abstaining from worry. Dr. Winfred Neely is the newly retired Vice President and Academic Dean of Moody Theological Seminary. He will stay on as Adjunct Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Old Testament, and Biblical Preaching at Moody Bible Institute. You can hear the highlights of today's program on the Karl and Crew Showcast. If you're looking to listen to a particular segment from the show, look at the following time stamps: Dr. Samuel Naaman Interview [02:45] Caller Segment 1 [18:33 ] Dr. Winfred Neely Interview [27:13] Caller Segment 2 [41:18 ] Karl and Crew airs live weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. Central Time. Click this link for ways to listen in your area! https://www.moodyradio.org/ways-to-listen/Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"Childlike, Not Childish"Mathew 18:1-4Guest Pastor Casey SteenNovember 30, 2025Pastor Casey's previous message at Oasis: https://youtu.be/HeB-D4F-lysHave you heard the news about the FUTURE of Oasis Church?https://www.oasischurch.online/futureWhy we tithe: https://youtu.be/GEBQV8j2e7UHow should Christians respond to wickedness in the world? https://youtu.be/2OJUIM9YRwAHow to VOTE BIBLICALLY - highlighting Virginia's proposed Constitutional amendments on Abortion & Marriage https://youtu.be/Y8z8xTFsOn8Should Christians pay attention to POLITICS? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak82aD16r04SERMON NOTES:- Mark 12:30- Childlike, Not Childish- Hebrews 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God.”- Mathew 18:1-4- Luke 18:17- The kingdom of God is not built on achievement—it's received through astonishment.- 1. ChildLIKE Faith is full of Wonder and Awe, it's not unresponsive and apathetic. - Exodus 15:11- Hebrews 12:28-29- Psalm 139:14- Self Reflection: Have I lost my sense of Wonder and Awe?- 2. ChildLIKE Faith is full of Faith and Trust, not disbelief and suspicion.- Hebrews 11:1- Hebrews 11:6- Currency of heaven - Matthew 9:29- Matthew 15:28- Mark 11:22-24- Matthew 9:22- “…because the more you understand of the character of God, the more utterly inconsistent with rational thought it would be that God would ever deceive you, because His track record is perfectly consistent.” —R.C. Sproul- Self Reflection: Where can I trust God more and have greater faith?- 3: ChildLIKE Faith is full of Humility and Gratitude, not selfishness and entitlement.- “When we have conquered ourselves, we have conquered all” —Charles Spurgeon- Because self-love turns everything inward. But biblical love is outward.- 1 Corinthians 13:5- Luke 18:9–14- James 4:6- Matthew 23:12- Proverbs 16:18- Childlike faith is not childish faith. Being ChildLIKE resonates with and embraces the neediness, dependency, and smallness of those who understand their place in the kingdom of God. ChildISH simply put, is one who refuses to grow up and thinks everything is about THEM.- Self Reflection: What areas of my life have I become selfish and entitled? Oasis Church exists to Worship God, Equip the believers, and Reach the lost.We are led by Pastor Nate Clarke and are located in Richmond, VA.Stay Connected:Website: https://oasischurch.online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oasischurchva/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OasisChurchRVA/
Pastor Seth Troutt kicks off the new sermon series, "Jesus Stories," with an insightful exploration of the parables from the Gospel of Luke.In this first installment, Pastor Seth shares his personal story of experiencing unexpected generosity, drawing parallels with the parable of the great banquet, where Jesus illustrates the kingdom of God as a feast open to all.Through this message, viewers are invited to reflect on the profound generosity of God and our role in extending hospitality to others.Join us as we delve into the transformative stories Jesus told and discover how they invite us to live out radical generosity and grace in our daily lives.00:00 - Introduction05:00 - Big Idea: Jesus wants his house full of all kinds of people.10:50 - Hospitality doesn't expect short-term returns.15:54 - Humans are “good excuse” factories.22:16 - Jesus doesn't ask us to do what he hasn't already done himself.27:34 - You must say “Yes” to the invitation to taste the feast.32:18 - Christmas at Ironwood**HOW TO FIND US*** SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YouTube CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@IronwoodChurchAZFACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/ironwoodchurchaz/ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/ironwood.church/WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/
The Pastoral Letters #5: “Women in Ministry” THIS EPISODE What's the proper role of Women in Church Leadership? Is 1 Timothy just SUPER CLEAR about it? How might dogmatic patriarchal systems affect the women who serve the church? In this episode, Rob and Vinnie chat with Somer Ransom. Somer has a lifetime of experience serving in ministry, specifically in a complementarian context. She shares her experiences and insights….and is also Vinnie's only other friend (other than Rob). FOLLOW THE PODCAST Subscribe to be notified of our new episodes (each Monday). Want to help us expand the Gospel of the Kingdom? Leave a review, “like” the podcast, or share it with others. CONNECT WITH DETERMINETRUTH MINISTRIES The Determinetruth Podcast is a ministry of Determinetruth Ministries. We offer free resources to equip pastors, leaders, and the body of Christ in the US and worldwide for service in the kingdom of God. You can visit us online at https://www.determinetruth.com SUPPORT DETERMINETRUTH MINISTRIES Determinetruth is a non-profit 501(c)(3), and relies completely on the financial support of our partners around the world. Please consider partnering with us and making a tax-deductible donation https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/3648601 Want a FREE CHAPTER from Rob's latest book? Sign up for email updates from Determinetruth. –https://mailchi.mp/5672d33f2b95/dt-podcast Music: “Love is Against the Grain” (Dime Store Prophets) #BiblePodcast #TheologyPodcast #ChristianPodcast #BibleStudyPodcast #BiblicalTruth #FaithPodcast #EndTimes #BibleProphecy #ProphecyPodcast #LastDays #RevelationStudy #SecondComing #Eschatology #Hell #Annihilationism #politics #ChristianNationalism #Rapture #suffering #thechurch #paul #timothy #ecclesiology #Fellowship #Mutual encouragement #Service #Corporateworship #Teaching #theWord #Communion #india #pastors #missions #women #complementarian #egalitarian