Podcasts about o god

SCRIPTURE- Matthew 5:8-9"Blessed are the clean of heart for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."REFLECTION- JacksonMUSIC- "Contándote Todo" by Daniela Romo- "Bubbles" by Holly Jones- "Be Thou My Vision" by Audrey AssadBe Thou my vision, O Lord of my heartNaught be all else to me, save that Thou artThou my best thought, by day or by nightWaking or sleeping, Thy presence my lightBe Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true wordI ever with Thee and Thou with me, LordThou my great Father, and I Thy true sonThou in me dwelling and I with Thee oneRiches I heed not, nor vain, empty praiseThou mine inheritance, now and alwaysThou and Thou only first in my heartHigh King of heaven, my treasure Thou artHigh King of heaven, my victory wonMay I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sunHeart of my own heart, whatever befallStill be my vision, O ruler of allHeart of my own heart, whatever befallStill be my vision, O ruler of allNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

SCRIPTURE- Philippians 4:13"I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me."REFLECTION- Sr. KaraMUSIC- Sundiver by Chasing Reverbs- near by Kahmir MusicNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

SCRIPTURE- Psalm 71:5-6"For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you."REFLECTION- UmbertoMUSIC- "Rejoice, O Church" (St. John the Baptist Hymn)- "Our God is Greater" by Chris TomlinNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.” That promise from James 1:5 is a powerful reminder that wisdom is not something we have to manufacture on our own. It is a gift from God, and He invites us to ask for it. When we think about financial decisions, we often turn first to budgets, spreadsheets, calculators, or professional advice. Those tools can be helpful, and wise counsel has an important place in biblical stewardship. But for followers of Christ, wisdom begins with prayer. Sharon Epps, President of Kingdom Advisors, FaithFi's parent organization, joined the show today to talk about inviting God into our financial lives and seeking His guidance with trust and humility. Prayer Reminds Us Whose Money It Is When people think about managing money, prayer may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But Sharon says it should be central to the way believers make financial decisions because we are not ultimately managing our own resources. We are managing God's. She offered a simple illustration: imagine being asked to care for someone else's home while they were away on an extended trip. Would you let them leave without asking for specific instructions about how they wanted things handled? Of course not. In the same way, because everything we have belongs to God, we should want His instruction for how to steward it. Prayer reminds us that we do not have to carry financial decisions alone or rely only on our own understanding. It helps us approach money with dependence, trust, and humility. Prayer also shifts our posture. Instead of trying to control every outcome, we begin to ask what faithfulness looks like with what God has entrusted to us. The Most Powerful Question We Can Ask So what does this look like in everyday life? Sharon says it starts by bringing financial decisions to the Lord before we act. Whether we are deciding how to spend, save, give, invest, or pursue work, prayer gives us the opportunity to seek God's wisdom first. Our friend and mentor Ron Blue has often said that one of the most powerful questions we can ask is: God, what would You have me do with Your money? That question changes everything. It reminds us that money is not merely a tool for personal comfort or security. It is a resource entrusted to us by God for His purposes. Sharon shared a personal example from when she and her husband were praying about their oldest daughter's college tuition. They had not saved enough to pay for her education in full, and they were committed to avoiding debt. As they prayed, God brought something to mind: He had already provided what they needed, but they had mentally set those funds aside for another purpose. Once Sharon and her husband sat down and talked it through, they realized God had shown them an option they had never considered. Prayer did not simply give them peace; it gave them perspective. That is one of the gifts of prayer. Over time, it shapes our desires, priorities, and motives. It trains us to seek God first rather than simply react in the moment. Learning What Is Enough One of the great financial questions every believer must wrestle with is, “How much is enough?” Our culture constantly pushes us to want more. More income. More comfort. More security. More possessions. But Scripture points us toward contentment. Paul writes in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” That word learned is important. Contentment does not come naturally. It is formed in us as we walk with Christ and learn to trust Him more deeply. Prayer helps us bring our desires honestly before the Lord. It gives us space to ask whether our financial choices are being driven by needs, wants, fear, comparison, or trust. Sharon pointed to David's prayer in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” That is a fitting prayer for our financial lives as well. We can ask the Lord to search our hearts, reveal our motives, and lead us toward a healthier understanding of what enough really is. And when we become more content with God's provision, we are often freed to become more generous. When the Next Step Is Unclear Many people face financial decisions that feel overwhelming. A career change. A major purchase. A giving decision. A medical bill. A retirement question. A move. A season of uncertainty. When the path is not clear, Sharon's counsel is simple: turn to prayer before you turn to spreadsheets. That does not mean spreadsheets are unimportant. It means they should not be our first refuge. Before we run the numbers, we should ask God for wisdom. We should also seek wise counsel from trusted believers who share our commitment to biblical stewardship. God often guides us through His Word, His Spirit, and His people. And even when the way forward is not perfectly clear, we can trust that God is faithful to guide His people as they seek Him. Financial Decisions as Acts of Trust Prayer turns financial decisions into opportunities to trust God more deeply. It reminds us that God owns it all. It invites Him into the details of our daily lives. It exposes our motives and reshapes our desires. It helps us move from fear to faithfulness, from control to stewardship, and from self-reliance to dependence on the Lord. The next time you face a financial decision, begin with this simple prayer: God, what would You have me do with Your money? And then listen with humility, seek wise counsel, and trust that your generous God delights to give wisdom to those who ask. By the way, finding an advisor who shares your faith and values does not have to be difficult. Visit FindaCKA.com, answer a few questions about what you're looking for, and you'll receive a list of Certified Kingdom Advisors® in your area who can help you take the next step on your stewardship journey. On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions: We sold our old house after buying a new one, so we now have a lump sum in savings. We planned to use most of it to recast the new mortgage and lower our payment, but we're wondering whether we should keep some in savings or invest part of it. How can we steward this money wisely? My 23-year-old granddaughter struggles to manage money. Can you recommend a budgeting plan, tool, or app that could help her? I'm 70 and have heard you talk about Qualified Charitable Distributions. What exactly is a QCD, and can I use it for my tithes? My husband and I are nearing 65. In retirement, we expect $5,000–$6,000 a month in income, a paid-off home, about $80,000 in emergency cash, and another $100,000–$200,000 to invest, plus around $50,000 already in Nasdaq and S&P 500 stocks. What conservative investment options should we consider so we can draw from that money monthly if needed, especially from a Christian perspective? Resources Mentioned: Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner) Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob West Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA) FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SCRIPTURE- Leviticus 11:44"For I, the LORD, am your God. You shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy."REFLECTION- Sr. M. KarolynMUSIC- The Weight of it All by Chasing ReverbsNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Is there anything good about a housefly as it's buzzing around a picnic table or stealing bits of watermelon? Discover the fascinating secret lives of houseflies and how they showcase God's wisdom and creativity.Here's our trail map:Where Do Flies Come From?How Do Flies Dodge Fly Swatters?Why Do Flies Rub Their Hands Together?How Can We Keep Our Heart Clean?Download this lesson's free coloring sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/why-do-flies-rub-their-hands-together/Related Lessons to listen to next:Why Did God Make Mosquitoes? Lesson 129: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/f5ee174c-95fa-42ea-a703-f47dcf3ffffd/Eryn's Books:Where Wonder Leads: An Adventure in God's Wild and Wonderful World: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/wonderMade to Marvel: 52 Family Devotions Exploring the Wild Wonders of God's Creation: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/marvelThe Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782Episode Links:Try CTCMath for FREE and save half off: https://payments.ctcmath.com/purchase/homeschool-discount?tr_id=NPTNat Theo Club Bonus Video: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/memberGet full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/clubFree Housefly Coloring Sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/why-do-flies-rub-their-hands-together/Ask your nature question: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/askScriptures Referenced in This Episode:“But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.” 1 John 1:9 (NCV)“You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you.” John 15:3 (NCV)“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (ESV) Terms Learned in This Episode:Spontaneous Generation: A past idea in science that living things appeared from nonliving things.Maggot: The larvae or baby stage of a fly.Diptera: The order (category) of true flies including house flies, horse flies, fruit flies, gnats, crane flies, and mosquitoes. Characterized by one set of two wings.Haltere: A tiny knob-shaped organ behind a fly's wings that helps it balance in flight.Campaniform Sensilla: Tiny sensors in a fly's haltere that can feel bending or pressure and send flight information to the fly's nervous system.Pulvilli: Two fatty pads on a fly's foot that are covered in tiny hairs (setae) that make a sticky glue-like substance.Chemoreceptors: Tiny sensors on some insect's feet that help them detect chemicals such as smell and taste.This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

We All Are Filled with Something. The Jesus Follower is Filled with the Holy Spirit! MESSAGE SUMMARY: If you believe that Christianity is just a bunch of rules and laws for you (all of which you cannot keep!), then you really do not know what Christianity is all about. Jesus Followers are filled with the Holy Spirit. All of us are filled with something. With what are you filled? The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 4:5-6, admonishes you to be faithful to the Gospel and to live in the Spirit like God: “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.". Some people are filled with the world or the devil or alcohol or drugs or materialism or their jobs or just themselves. You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As you walk with the Holy Spirit, Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:15-17 to make wise use of our limited time on earth and to seek God's will through the Holy Spirit: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.". Come Holy Spirit; fill us with your presence and power. Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? If not, why not?   TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, I confess that when difficulties and trials come into my life, large or small, I mostly grumble and complain. I realize the trials James talks about are not necessarily “walls,” but they are difficult to bear, nonetheless. Fill me with such a vision of a transformed life, O God, that I might actually consider it “pure joy” when you bring trials my way. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. In Jesus' name, amen.         Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 94). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Compulsions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Patience. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ephesians 5:15-21; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Peter 4:1-6; Psalms 34a: 1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Be Strong & Courageous”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

SCRIPTURE- John 6:51"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."REFLECTION- Fr. JimMUSIC- "Good Morning" by Alexei Surovykh- "Verses" by Ólafur Arnalds & Alice Sara OttNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Understanding the Imprecatory PsalmsAppoint someone evil to oppose my enemy. Let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him be found guilty...May his days be few... May his children be wandering beggars... - Psalm 109Those words are in the Bible. For many Christians, reading Psalm 109 for the first time is shocking. It sounds more like a cry of vengeance than a prayer of faith. How can these words exist alongside Jesus' command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)?These prayers have a name: imprecatory prayers.Imprecatory prayers are prayers that call upon God to judge evil, stop the wicked, and bring justice. They are not rare exceptions hidden in obscure parts of Scripture. The Psalms contain many of them, including Psalms 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 69, 70, 79, 83, and 109.But what are we supposed to do with them? Here are a few things to consider.They Are Inspired ScriptureOne temptation is to dismiss these psalms as emotional outbursts. Perhaps David lost his temper. Maybe the psalmists were simply expressing raw human emotion. But Scripture itself will not allow us to take that approach. The Psalms are inspired by God and accepted as such by both Jews and Christians. Even more significantly, Jesus treated them as authoritative Scripture. The New Testament quotes from imprecatory psalms without apology or correction. Jesus referenced them, and both Peter and Paul drew from them in their teaching.What About "Love Your Enemies"?The greatest tension comes when we compare these psalms with Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.Jesus said:Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. - Matthew 5:44How do we reconcile that command with prayers asking God to bring judgment?Context matters.The imprecatory psalms are often written from a kingdom context. David was not merely a private individual nursing personal grudges. He was God's appointed king, responsible for protecting a nation from those who sought its destruction. Jesus, however, was addressing personal relationships. He taught His followers how to respond when insulted, mistreated, or persecuted in everyday life. Turning the other cheek addresses personal retaliation, pride, and revenge. It does not erase the reality that evil exists and sometimes threatens innocent lives. The two teachings are simply addressing different situations.These Prayers Are Not About Personal RevengeThe imprecatory psalms should never become weapons for settling personal scores. They are not prayers against the coworker who gossiped about you nor tools for getting even with someone who hurt your feelings.God says:It is mine to avenge; I will repay. - Deuteronomy 32:35Personal vengeance belongs to God. Imprecatory prayers are not invitations to hatred. They are acts of surrender that place justice in God's hands rather than our own.A Cry for Evil to Be StoppedAt their heart, these prayers express a longing for evil to end. They arise in moments when wickedness seems unchecked, when innocent people suffer, and when injustice appears to triumph. For believers living in times of war, this reality becomes painfully clear. When missiles fall and innocent lives are threatened, the immediate prayer is often not, "Lord, help me feel more forgiving." Instead, it is, "Lord, stop this evil. Protect the innocent. Do whatever is necessary to bring this violence to an end." Imprecatory prayers remind us that longing for justice is not unspiritual. It reflects God's own hatred of evil.God's Glory Is the GoalThese psalms are ultimately God-centered.Psalm 79:9 says:Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for your name's sake.The deepest concern of these prayers is not personal comfort but God's honor. They ask: Will evil have the final word? Will the wicked appear victorious forever? Or will the world see that God is righteous, just, and worthy of glory?The imprecatory psalms cry out for God to vindicate His name.What Can We Learn?The imprecatory psalms teach us that:Evil is real and should never be minimized.Justice matters because God is just.Personal revenge belongs to God alone.There are times when it is right to ask God to stop evil.God's glory, not our bitterness, must remain at the center of our prayers.Most of us will not pray prayers like Psalm 109 every day.But perhaps our discomfort with these passages reveals something important. We often prefer a version of God that is loving but not judging, merciful but not holy. Yet the Bible presents a God who is both. He is patient and compassionate, but He also hates evil and promises that injustice will not endure forever.

Todaywe begin a new section in Philippians chapter 3. In the previous verses, Paulhas been sharing the great passion of his heart when he said, "That I mayknow Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of Hissufferings." Now, as we come to Philippians 3:12, Paul begins to describehis pursuit of Christ. He writes: "Not as though I had alreadyattained, either were already perfect..." Paul gives us one of themost important secrets of spiritual growth, and it is surprisingly simple. Thesecret is this: never become satisfied with where you are spiritually. Nowthink about who is making this statement. This is not a new convert. This isnot a believer who has only been walking with Christ for a few months. This isthe Apostle Paul. By the time he writes Philippians, Paul has walked withChrist for nearly thirty years. And yet, Paul says: "Not as though Ihad already attained, either were already perfect." The word"perfect" here does not mean sinless perfection. It means complete,finished, mature, or having fully arrived at the goal. Paulis saying, "I have not crossed the finish line yet. God's work in my lifeis not complete." What humility! The very man we would probably considerone of the greatest Christians who ever lived looked at himself and said,"I still have room to grow." One of the surest marks of spiritualmaturity is realizing how much more maturity is needed. The closer we get toJesus, the more clearly we see areas in our lives that need His transforminggrace. Have you ever noticed that when you first clean a window, it lookspretty good? But when the sunlight shines through it, suddenly you noticestreaks and smudges you never saw before.  1John 1:7 says: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we havefellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses usfrom all sin.”  The closer we walkwith Christ, the brighter His light shines on our hearts. We begin to seeattitudes, motives, habits, and weaknesses that need to change. That does notdiscourage a growing Christian. Instead, it motivates him. Paul had what wemight call a holy dissatisfaction. He was satisfied with Christ, but he was notsatisfied with his own spiritual progress. There is a tremendous differencebetween those two things. Paul had found complete satisfaction in Jesus Christ,but he still longed to know Him more deeply, love Him more fully, and serve Himmore faithfully. Sadly,one of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is spiritual complacency. Thechurch at Laodicea is a perfect example. In Revelation 3:17 they said: "Iam rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing."ButJesus saw them differently. He said they were: "Wretched, miserable, poor,blind, and naked."  They thoughtthey had arrived when in reality they were far from where they needed to be.That danger still exists today.  Sometimeswe compare ourselves with other Christians instead of comparing ourselves withChrist. Paul never compared himself to other believers.He compared himself to Jesus Christ. And when you compare yourself to Jesus,there is always room to grow. Psalm42:1-2 gives us a beautiful picture of holy dissatisfaction: "As thedeer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soulthirsts for God, for the living God." The psalmist was not contentwith yesterday's fellowship. He longed for more of God today. That was Paul'sattitude. That should be our attitude as well. A satisfied Christian is often astagnant Christian. The Christian race is not over until we see Jesus face toface. There are still lessons to learn, victories to win, prayers to pray,people to reach, and ways to become more like Christ. So let us embrace whatPaul embraced—a holy dissatisfaction that keeps us pursuing Christ every day ofour lives. 

"The Folly of the Jews" John 6:22-48 Dan Jaussen Download Sermons Archive RSS John 6:22-48 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' ”32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven'?”43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecutionRomans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God,And renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.Mark 1:14-15 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Sermon Discussion Questions:What were the intentions of the crowd following JesusWhat does it mean to eat and drink of Christ?What does Jesus mean by "The one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out"?What reason did Jesus give for the unbelieve of the Jews?What do the great truths discussed today mean for us?

TODAY'S TREASURESearch me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!Psalm 139:23-24Send us a comment!Support the show

After a year of hiding his sin, King David finally broke — and out of that brokenness came Psalm 51, the most honest prayer in the Bible. At its center is the boldest request anyone can make: "Create in me a clean heart, O God," asking God to do the one thing no person can do for himself. Come and see what God can make clean.

SCRIPTURE- 1 Corinthians 2:9"But as it is written: 'What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,'”REFLECTION- LaurenMUSIC- NOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!" Psalm 61:1-4  

SCRIPTURE- Luke 14:13-14"Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."REFLECTION- Sr. CharleneMUSIC- Their Message Goes to all the World - Gratitude by Instrumental WorshipNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

An honored Roman commander in Tripoli of Phoenicia, he was described as being 'of great physical stature, powerful, strong and bold in battle'. When it was learned that he was a Christian and had given grain to the poor from the imperial storehouse, the governor Hadrian, a great persecutor of Christians, sent Hypatius, a military commander, and Theodoulus, a soldier, along with some others to arrest him. On the way Hypatius fell gravely ill with a fever, and the company had to delay its mission. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to Hypatius and said, 'If you desire to be healed, you and your soldiers must cry to heaven three times: "O God of Leontius, help me!"'. Hypatius told his comrades of his vision, and when they all cried out as instructed Hypatius was instantly healed. Hypatius and Theodoulos then went on ahead of the other soldiers and found Leontius. Leontius received them hospitably and offered them refreshment. As they rested in his house, he proclaimed his faith in Christ and their hearts began to burn within them. While Leontius was still speaking, a bright cloud descended upon the two soldiers and shed dew on them while Leontius said 'In the name of the All-holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.' Thus were they baptized by the Holy Spirit Himself.

Psalm 132Canticle: Revelation 11Reading: 1 Peter 3Intercessions: Hear us, O God our refuge.St. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Your donations may be tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

SCRIPTURE- 1 Samuel 16:7"But the LORD said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart."REFLECTION- CherylMUSIC- "All Creatures of Our God and King" by Randy Melick- "Psalm 100 - We Are His People" by Songs in His Presence- "All That We Have" InstrumentalNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

It's Wednesday, June 17th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark European Christians faced 37 hate crimes in 11 countries Attacks against Christians in Europe surged last month. A report from the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe documented the incidents.  Christians faced 37 verified hate crimes in May across 11 European countries. These incidents included arson, vandalism, physical violence, theft, and disruption of worship services. Arson attacks against Christian properties were the highest on record this year. Germany saw the most anti-Christian hate crimes followed by Italy, France, Poland, and Ireland.  More Spanish Catholics leaving  the church A report from the Spanish government found the number of Catholics in the country is falling. Over 55 percent of the Spanish population identifies as Roman Catholic, down from 90 percent in the 1980s. Meanwhile, secularism is gaining in the historically Catholic country. Forty percent of the population identifies with no religion. Catholicism did see gains among young people. Forty-seven percent of people under 25 say they are Catholic, up from 31 percent in 2023. Oil prices dropped since Trump announced peace deal with Iran Oil prices fell to the lowest levels since March on Monday. This came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal with Iran to end the war between the two countries.  Prices for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell nearly four percent on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices, the benchmark for North America, fell by over five percent.  Listen to comments from President Trump. TRUMP: “I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now. And very importantly, the oil is plummeting down, and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today, like record kind of numbers. “The oil has taken its biggest plunge. And we're into the low numbers, not quite back yet, but we're getting close to the numbers we were before it all started. And the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. They fully agree to that.” 60 U.S. abortion mills closed since January 2025 Nearly 60 American abortion mills shut down since last January. The Trump administration withheld federal grant payments from 144 Planned Parenthood locations in 20 states last year. A report from the pro-abortion Kaiser Family Foundation found that 57 Planned Parenthood locations shut down over the last 18 months.  Churchgoing kids twice as likely to attend church as adults The Institute for Family Studies released a report entitled, “Passing The Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations.” The study found that children from churchgoing families were twice as likely to attend church as adults compared to children from non-churchgoing families.  Healthy marriages also contributed to children practicing faith in adulthood.   Psalm 71:17-18 says, “O God, from my youth You have taught me, and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds. So, even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come.” 58 percent approve of out-of-wedlock baby today vs. 70 percent in 2022 A new survey from Gallup found that Americans are becoming more conservative on certain social issues.  Eighty-three percent of U.S. adults believe birth control is morally acceptable. But that's down from a high of 92 percent in 2022. Fifty-eight percent believe having a baby outside of marriage is acceptable, down from 70 percent in 2022. And 49 percent support abortion, down from a high of 54 percent in 2024. German and Curaçao World Cup soccer players prayed together And finally, a recent World Cup game ended with players praying together on the pitch.  Over the weekend, the German national football team faced off against the team from Curaçao. The island nation in the Caribbean is the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup.  Germany won handily with a score of seven to one. But that didn't stop players from both teams huddling together to pray after the game.  German midfielder Felix Nmecha said, “In the game we are opponents, but after the match we are all Christians and brothers. We simply said a little prayer together because we are all very grateful.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, June 17th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

SCRIPTURE- Matthew 5:43-45"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."REFLECTION- JavierMUSIC- "Imagining" by Brian Crain- "They'll Know We Are Christians" by Kaleb BraseeNOTES- Blog: A Spiritual Perspective on the Theology of Woundedness by Terri Edgington PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

John 16:5 "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' Most of the time when we talk of Jesus' return, we are thinking of His return to earth. In this verse we know Jesus was referring to His return to His Father in heaven. He was sent by the Father to be the way, the truth, and the life and to be the only way for fallen, sinful human beings to be reconciled to God. He was sent to make atonement for sins and to return to His Father with the only acceptable sacrifice—His life in this world. The point here is He came to do the Father's will. Hebrews 10:7 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.'" And the disciples knew this because they did not ask were He was going. Our salvation was willed and designed by our Father because He is love: the sustained direction of His will toward our highest, no matter what the cost. To Him be the glory. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

Staying Consistent When You Feel Spiritually DryScripture: Psalm 42:1 —As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. Accept Jesus today. https://youtube.com/shorts/bIwAUlz7Kg4?si=BNOhv44iLWIR4eVJIf you would like to accept Jesus into your heart today, pray this simple prayer:****God, I have sinned against You. I believe that Jesus is Your Son, who died and rose for my sake. I ask you to forgive me for my sin. I place my trust in You for salvation. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, I am forgiven! Amen!****Congratulations! You are now a child of the Most High. John 1:12 says, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."****If you just prayed this prayer to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, I welcome you to the family of God. Subscribe to my channel and type in the comments right now, “I just prayed that prayer.”****Click here for FREE eBook download: https://tinyurl.com/ISAIDTHEPRAYERShow your love and support the channel:*PayPal: PayPal.me/malachimitchellministry*Cash App: https://cash.app/$MalachiMitchNote Journals and Puzzles:https://tinyurl.com/WalkinFaithPublishingAuthored Books: https://tinyurl.com/PastorMalachiBooksHNO Crypto Coin Investing Opportunity: https://tinyurl.com/HNOCoin-ReferralFREE Ways to Support Me:

SCRIPTURE- Psalm 8:2-3"O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! I will sing of your majesty above the heavens with the mouths of babes and infants."REFLECTION- Sr. KathleenMUSIC- Ave Regina Caelorum by VOCES8NOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Have you ever found yourself reacting in a way that surprised you and wondered, Why did I do that? Maybe you snapped at your ex during a co-parenting exchange. Maybe you became defensive with your kids. Maybe criticism hit harder than it should have, or seeing your ex move on reopened wounds you thought had already healed. What if the problem isn't your reaction? What if the real issue is the wound underneath it? In this week's episode, Jenn explores the powerful concept of healing the trigger, not just the reaction. Divorce has a way of exposing deeper hurts such as rejection, abandonment, shame, fear, insecurity, and the belief that we're somehow "not enough." When those wounds get touched, we react. But instead of responding with shame, what if those moments are actually invitations from God to heal? Jenn shares a personal experience that transformed the way she views repentance, agency, and emotional healing. Together, we'll explore why true repentance isn't just behavior modification. It's heart transformation. It's partnering with God to heal the deeper wounds that keep showing up in our relationships and reactions. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why your triggers are not proof that you're broken • How divorce exposes wounds that may have existed long before the divorce • The difference between changing behavior and healing the heart • Why repentance is one of God's greatest gifts • How curiosity creates healing while shame keeps us stuck • Practical questions to ask when you feel emotionally triggered • How to invite God into the healing process Psalm 51:10 reminds us, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." A clean heart isn't a perfect heart. It's a healed heart. If you've ever wondered why you keep reacting the same way, this episode may help you uncover the deeper healing God is inviting you into. You are not ruined by your divorce. You are being refined through it. For additional support and resources, visit: https://www.findthejoywithjenn.com Until next time, keep seeking joy. • Join my exclusive Life Coaching and Divorce Mentoring Program, Faith Filled Divorce, HERE: httpshttps:https://www.findthejoywithjenn.com/program-details • Get your FREE Podcast Atlas at: https://www.findthejoywithjenn.com/joy-in-the-journey-podcast • Make sure you are part of the Find the Joy With Jenn Fam! Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/findthejoywithjenn/ • Join my FREE Facebook Community: www.facebook.com/groups/findthejoywithjenn • Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'm honored and excited to be on this journey to healing and personal growth with you. If you enjoyed the podcast, I'd love to ask you to take 2 minutes to leave me a 5-star review on your podcast app; that way, we can help even more men and women find joy in their divorce journeys. You can win a $100 AMAZON GIFT when you do! Just send a screenshot of your review to jenn@jennzingmark.com. Make sure you put "Podcast Review" in the subject line. XO- Jenn

ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੩ ॥ ਪੜਣਾ ਗੁੜਣਾ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਕੀ ਕਾਰ ਹੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਨਾ ਵਿਕਾਰੁ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਭਿ ਪੜਿ ਥਕੇ ਦੂਜੈ ਭਾਇ ਖੁਆਰੁ ॥ ਅਰਥ: ਪੜ੍ਹਨਾ ਤੇ ਵਿਚਾਰਨਾ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਦਾ ਕੰਮ (ਹੀ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ) ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ, ਹੋਰ ਵਿਹਾਰਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਇਹ ਭੀ ਇਕ ਵਿਹਾਰ ਹੀ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ, ਪਰ) ਹਿਰਦੇ ਵਿਚ ਤ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨਾ ਤੇ ਵਿਕਾਰ (ਟਿਕੇ ਹੀ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ) ਹਨ; ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਵਿਚ ਸਾਰੇ (ਪੰਡਿਤ) ਪੜ੍ਹ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਥੱਕ ਗਏ ਹਨ, ਮਾਇਆ ਦੇ ਮੋਹ ਵਿਚ ਖ਼ੁਆਰ ਹੀ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ।ਸੋ ਪੜਿਆ ਸੋ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਬੀਨਾ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਕਰੇ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਅੰਦਰੁ ਖੋਜੈ ਤਤੁ ਲਹੈ ਪਾਏ ਮੋਖ ਦੁਆਰੁ ॥ ਗੁਣ ਨਿਧਾਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਇਆ ਸਹਜਿ ਕਰੇ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਧੰਨੁ ਵਾਪਾਰੀ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਜਿਸੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਧਾਰੁ ॥੧॥ ਅਰਥ: ਉਹ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਪੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਤੇ ਸਿਆਣਾ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ, ਉਸ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਨੂੰ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਸਮਝੋ) , ਜੋ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਵਿਚ ਵਿਚਾਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਆਪਣੇ ਮਨ ਨੂੰ ਖੋਜਦਾ ਹੈ (ਅੰਦਰੋਂ) ਹਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਲੱਭ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ (ਤ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨਾ ਤੋਂ) ਬਚਣ ਲਈ ਰਸਤਾ ਲਭ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਦੇ ਖ਼ਜ਼ਾਨੇ ਹਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਆਤਮਕ ਅਡੋਲਤਾ ਵਿਚ ਟਿਕ ਕੇ ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਦੇ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਜੋੜੀ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ। ਹੇ ਨਾਨਕ! ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸਨਮੁਖ ਹੋਏ ਜਿਸ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਨੂੰ 'ਨਾਮ' ਆਸਰਾ (ਰੂਪ) ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਨਾਮ ਦਾ ਵਾਪਾਰੀ ਮੁਬਾਰਿਕ ਹੈ।੧।ਮਃ ੩ ॥ ਵਿਣੁ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਰੇ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸਿਝਈ ਵੇਖਹੁ ਕੋ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਇ ॥ ਭੇਖਧਾਰੀ ਤੀਰਥੀ ਭਵਿ ਥਕੇ ਨਾ ਏਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਰਿਆ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਅਰਥ: ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕੋਈ ਭੀ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਬ੍ਰਿਤੀ ਜੋੜ ਕੇ ਵੇਖ ਲਵੋ, ਮਨ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਬੂ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਕੋਈ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਿੱਝਿਆ (ਭਾਵ, ਕਿਸੇ ਦੀ ਘਾਲਿ ਥਾਇ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਈ) ; ਭੇਖ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ (ਸਾਧੂ ਭੀ) ਤੀਰਥਾਂ ਦੀ ਯਾਤ੍ਰਾ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਰਹਿ ਗਏ ਹਨ, (ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ) ਇਹ ਮਨ ਮਾਰਿਆ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਂਦਾ।ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਏਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਜੀਵਤੁ ਮਰੈ ਸਚਿ ਰਹੈ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਇ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਸੁ ਮਨ ਕੀ ਮਲੁ ਇਉ ਉਤਰੈ ਹਉਮੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਜਲਾਇ ॥੨॥ ਅਰਥ: ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸਨਮੁਖ ਹੋਇਆਂ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਸੱਚੇ ਹਰੀ ਵਿਚ ਬ੍ਰਿਤੀ ਜੋੜੀ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ (ਇਸ ਕਰਕੇ) ਉਸ ਦਾ ਮਨ ਜੀਊਂਦਾ ਹੀ ਮੋਇਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ, ਮਾਇਆ ਵਿਚ ਵਰਤਦਿਆਂ ਭੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਤੋਂ ਉਦਾਸ ਹੈ) । ਹੇ ਨਾਨਕ! ਇਸ ਮਨ ਦੀ ਮੈਲ ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਤਰਦੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ (ਮਨ ਦੀ) ਹਉਮੈ (ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ) ਸ਼ਬਦ ਨਾਲ ਸਾੜੀ ਜਾਏ।੨।ਪਉੜੀ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਸੰਤ ਮਿਲਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਭਾਈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਦ੍ਰਿੜਾਵਹੁ ਇਕ ਕਿਨਕਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਸੀਗਾਰੁ ਬਨਾਵਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਹਰਿ ਕਾਪੜੁ ਪਹਿਰਹੁ ਖਿਮ ਕਾ ॥ ਐਸਾ ਸੀਗਾਰੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਹਰਿ ਲਾਗੈ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਿਮ ਕਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਬੋਲਹੁ ਦਿਨੁ ਰਾਤੀ ਸਭਿ ਕਿਲਬਿਖ ਕਾਟੈ ਇਕ ਪਲਕਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਦਇਆਲੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਉਪਰਿ ਸੋ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਪਿ ਜਿਣਕਾ ॥੨੧॥ਅਰਥ: ਹੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਭਾਈ ਸੰਤ ਜਨੋਂ! ਇਕ ਕਿਣਕਾ ਮਾਤ੍ਰ (ਮੈਨੂੰ ਭੀ) ਹਰੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਜਪਾਵੋ। ਹੇ ਹਰੀ ਜਨੋਂ! ਹਰੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਦਾ ਸਿੰਗਾਰ ਬਣਾਵੋ, ਤੇ ਖਿਮਾ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਾਕ ਪਹਿਨੋ, ਇਹੋ ਜਿਹਾ ਸ਼ਿੰਗਾਰ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਹਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਚੰਗਾ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ, ਹਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਦਾ ਸ਼ਿੰਗਾਰ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ। ਦਿਨ ਰਾਤ ਹਰੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਸਿਮਰੋ, ਇਕ ਪਲਕ ਵਿਚ ਸਾਰੇ ਪਾਪ ਕੱਟ ਦੇਵੇਗਾ। ਜਿਸ ਗੁਰਮੁਖ ਉਤੇ ਹਰੀ ਦਇਆਲ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਹਰੀ ਦਾ ਸਿਮਰਨ ਕਰ ਕੇ (ਸੰਸਾਰ ਤੋਂ) ਜਿੱਤ (ਕੇ) ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।੨੧।Reading and contemplation is the work of the world (has been done) (meaning, like other practices it has also become a practice, but) in the Hirda there are Trishna and Vikar (remain); In Ahankaar all (Pandits) are tired of reading, in love with Maya there are only holes.That human being is an educated and wise Pandit (meaning, consider that human being a Pandit), who meditates on the Shabad of SatGuru, who searches his mind (from within) finds God and finds a way to escape (from Trishna). One who obtains the treasure of virtues from God and keeps Surat paired with the virtues of God by remaining in spiritual tranquility. O Nanak! Blessed is the merchant of that Naam who has the support (form) of 'Naam' in the presence of SatGuru.You look at any human being with concentrated attention, no one understands without controlling the mind (ie, no one's work is done); The beggars (even the saints) are left after making pilgrimages, (thus) this mind is not killed.The human being who is in the presence of SatGuru keeps his mind attached to the True God (because of this) his mind is dead while he is alive (ie, he is saddened by Maya even while working in Maya). O Nanak! The filth of this mind descends in such a way that (the ego of the mind) is burnt with (SatGuru's) word.O my holy brother! Just a little (me too) chant God's Name. O God! Make the adornment of God's name, and wear the garment of forgiveness, such adornment is pleasing to dear God, adornment of love is pleasing to God. Day and night remember God's Name, in an instant all sins will be cut off. The Gurmukh on whom God has mercy, he (from the world) wins (by) meditating on God

06/14/2026 Rev. Jacob Kim Psalm 55 Cast Your Burden on the Lord To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David. 55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,     and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! 2 Attend to me, and answer me;     I am restless in my complaint and I moan, 3 because of the noise of the enemy,     because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me,     and in anger they bear a grudge against me. 4 My heart is in anguish within me;     the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me,     and horror overwhelms me. 6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!     I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away;     I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah 8 I would hurry to find a shelter     from the raging wind and tempest.” 9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;     for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it     on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; 11     ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud     do not depart from its marketplace. 12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—     then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—     then I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man, my equal,     my companion, my familiar friend. 14 We used to take sweet counsel together;     within God's house we walked in the throng. 15 Let death steal over them;     let them go down to Sheol alive;     for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. 16 But I call to God,     and the Lord will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon     I utter my complaint and moan,     and he hears my voice. 18 He redeems my soul in safety     from the battle that I wage,     for many are arrayed against me. 19 God will give ear and humble them,     he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change     and do not fear God. 20 My companion[b] stretched out his hand against his friends;     he violated his covenant. 21 His speech was smooth as butter,     yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil,     yet they were drawn swords. 22 Cast your burden on the Lord,     and he will sustain you; he will never permit     the righteous to be moved. 23 But you, O God, will cast them down     into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery     shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

New Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville Strong Christians Have Close Relationships Introduction: In our men's weekend with Jacob Hudgins, he asked a very important question about Samson. The question was this: “Who were Samson's close friends?” It was a question that most, if not all of us had never considered. Samson not only did not have close friends, there is no evidence that he had anyone that could be considered a friend. Samson doesn't believe he needs anyone. He is a one man wrecking crew. From the very first, “Get her for me, she pleases me well,” to “…strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes,” Samson lived life his way.  Does that sound familiar? Do we really need anyone else to be very close to us? Oh sure, we can use some help from time to time, but we just take care of our responsibilities. Let's be honest, most of us have a very independent nature and can easily live independent lives. But that is far from what God has asked of us. When we read the book of Acts, we should suddenly be struck with three major messages, the growth of the kingdom of God, the persecution of Christians in the midst of a dark and idolatrous world, and the fact that everywhere the gospel is preached a church came into being—a group of Christians dedicated to working together and helping each other attain an eternal goal. And they weren't just a “group” holding “services” together, they were deeply interconnected.  In fact, when we consider the 27 writings of the NT, every single letter stresses the love and concern that is to be evident among brethren in each church. The letter that says it more than any other is 1 John. John's letter will be our primary text. Overall Context At the end of the first century, Christians were dealing with individuals in the churches that had turned aside from the teachings of the apostles and instead believed they received inspired messages from spiritual beings. Their claim of super knowledge led them to exalt themselves above other Christians, cause divisions by establishing new churches, and cause doubt among Christians who had not received these same “revelations.”  John defeated these teachings with the emphasis on three primary truths: Those who truly know God keep his commandments by following the teaching of the apostles.  Practicing sin is not living righteously, and one who practices sin is not of God. Those who exalted themselves above the brethren and “went out from us” based on their own teachings, do not love the brethren, nor do they love God.  Our concern will be the emphasis John puts on this last point. We might look at these three messages of John and give our attention more to “keeping the commandments of God” and refusing to “practice sin” than we do to “loving the brethren.” But you may be surprised that is not how John presents his message.  Before we read these verses, a reminder: You may be thinking, “We all know that we are to love each other, and we do love each other. Why this sermon?” Two reasons: We all have difficulty thinking of love much beyond how we feel about each other and our ability to be friendly with each other. What we are missing is that the slightest offense instantly destroys those kind, friendly feelings. That is obviously not the kind of love the Lord is talking about. Because we struggle to obtain and maintain the love defined by John in his letter, we easily retain a suspicion about each other: “Can I really trust you to be gentle, kind, and patient, and that my welfare is a top priority for you?” If you are honest, you know you cannot say that about just anyone, even those you say you love!  Highlighting John's Message of Love (1 John) 2:6-11 An old commandment that has now become new. 3:9-23  9-10: Loving one another is on the same plane as “practicing righteousness.” 14: “We have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” 16: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” Jesus defined love by lying down his life, which defines for us whether or not we are loving one another.  18-19: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him…” Our assurance of salvation has to do with whether or love goes beyond “word and talk.”  21-23: “Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing to him. And this is the commandment that…we love one another…”  4:7-8 Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  4:10-12 God's love is perfected in us when we love one another. It is the way the God who has not been seen, can now be seen.  4:17 “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for he day of judgment…” 4:20-21 “…he who does not love is brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”  5:1-2 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”  Throughout these texts we have seen time and again the absolute necessity of loving one another in the same way Jesus has love us if we expect to be saved. Serious historical problem among churches: stressing doctrinal correctness to the point that how we behave and whether we love each other as John has defined does not even enter the picture of our own salvation. That is a perfect description of the Pharisees!  Beyond “Feeling” Love: Deepening Our Connections We mentioned at the beginning of the lesson that a good test of love between one another is when suspicion is removed and trust is the foundation of the relationship. Consider Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Therefore, instead of asking, “Do you love the brethren,” ask, “Who do you know that will love at all times regardless of the challenges and difficulties? Who do you trust that will always “be there?”  Here's another challenge: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). Who could you confess your sins to? It is a matter of love and trust, isn't it? Hebrews 3:12-13 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Exhorting one another every day is the key to avoiding the deceitfulness of sin and an evil heart.  Hebrews 10:24-26 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately…” Our assembling together is a matter of loving and protecting each other from slipping and falling in our faith. If we do not have love that trusts and lacks suspicion, we cannot obey this command.  The critical use of time to build trusting love: (Story of the El Cajon men who met once on Wednesday night after class) The love God expects of us that sacrifices self, protects and encourages, stirs up to more love and good works, is not attained simply by potlucks. There must be intentionality and purpose in the togetherness.  Examples: One couple together with another couple discussing marital and spiritual challenges in marriage and raising a family. A group of men discussing how we can enhance our love for our wives and our children. Mixed groups of singles and married discussing the spiritual needs of each and how we can help one another and make deeper connections. How can this happen? What are possible objections? “No one invites me.” — Do you respond to the invitations give to the whole church? Take advantage to what is already in place so that you are more visible and accepting. Create your own connection. Invite others.  Start small with a “safe” small group, or even just one person. Add to that and build on it. Step up to the plate as a shepherd/leader. All of us can find people we can mentor, show concern for, and be vulnerable with. Conclusion: The goal is deepening our love for someone else and their love for us. We need to be more than a family, we need to be God's family. You will be surprised that within a short time you can establish and trusting love with your brother and sister in Christ. Don't be a “Samson!” That's victory over the devil! Berry Kercheville The post 1 John: Strong Christians Have Close Relationships appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Evening lessons: Psalms 109; Ezekiel 34; Acts 15:22-35.  Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise, for the mouth of the ungodly, the mouth of the deceitful is opened upon me.

Morning lessons: Psalms 108, 110; Joshua 22; Luke 24:13-53.  O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is firmly fixed; I will sing and give praise with the best that I have.

SCRIPTURE- Matthew 11:29-30"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”REFLECTION- JustinMUSIC- "Fly With the Strings" by Prayer Pray- "What Wondrous Love is This" by Fernando Ortega- "Sacred Heart of Jesus" by Donna LeeSacred Heart of Jesus, may the whole world burn with love for you.Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore you. Sacred Heart of Jesus, may the whole world burn with love for you.Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore you. I love you, sweet Jesus. I offer you my poor heart. May I live in you and for you, Sacred Heart of Jesus. I love you, sweet Jesus, I offer you poor heart. May I live in you and for you, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love you, sweet Jesus. I offer you my poor heart. May I live in you and for you, may the whole world burn with love for you, Sacred Heart of Jesus. May I live in you and for you, may the whole world burn with love for you, Sacred Heart of Jesus. NOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

In Episode 496 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb open with a rich discussion on the theology of congregational singing — including the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, the Getty's Sing!, and why psalm-singing belongs at the heart of Christian worship. The main event, however, is the first installment of their study of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30). Tony and Jesse argue that this parable is widely misread as a lesson in personal productivity or spiritual gift deployment, when in fact its center of gravity is entirely eschatological and theological: the wicked servant's failure is not financial incompetence — it is a catastrophic misunderstanding of who the master is, and therefore, who he himself is as a servant of that master. Key Takeaways The parable is eschatological, not motivational. Situated in Matthew 25 as the second of three eschatological parables in the Olivet Discourse, the Parable of the Talents answers the disciples' question about the sign of Christ's coming — not a general lesson about using your abilities for God. "Talents" refers to an enormous monetary sum, not personal giftedness. A single talent represented roughly 20 years of a laborer's wages. Even the least-endowed servant received an immense, unearned gift — which makes the wicked servant's inaction all the more indefensible. The wicked servant's problem is theological, not financial. He doesn't bury the talent out of ignorance or fear alone — he actively mischaracterizes the master as exploitative and unjust. His failure is a failure of theology: he does not know who his master is. The commendation "Well done, good and faithful servant" is the basic reward of every believer, not a tiered prize for the most productive. The five-talent and two-talent servants receive identical commendations, suggesting the measure is proportional faithfulness, not absolute output. Faithful stewardship is active, not passive. Both faithful servants are marked by immediacy and energetic engagement. The parable does not explain how they doubled their talents because the mechanics are not the point — their disposition of active, risk-taking faithfulness is. The parable resists works-righteousness readings. Whether one is Augustine or an anonymous deathbed convert, every justified believer enters into the same joy of the master. The parable is not a theology of graduated heavenly rewards but a distinction between those who understand their master and those who do not. The talents represent the stewardship of the Gospel and the Kingdom itself. The master entrusting his servants with his property is a picture of Christ entrusting the church with the message of salvation — ownership remains with the master, the servants are stewards, not proprietors. Key Concepts The Wicked Servant's Problem Is Who He Thinks the Master Is The most common misreading of this parable locates the wicked servant's failure in laziness or timidity — he was simply too afraid to act. But Tony Arsenal argues compellingly that the servant's own words expose something far more serious. He says, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow." This is not a confession of fear; it is an accusation. The servant has constructed a theology of his master as an exploitative, unjust overseer who doesn't deserve a return. What he catastrophically misses is that the very possession of 20 years' worth of wages — an unearned, unimaginable gift — is the master sowing into him. His refusal to act is, at its root, a refusal to acknowledge the master's generosity and authority. This is the parable's most penetrating theological edge. "Well Done" Is for Every Believer, Not Just the Most Productive One of the episode's most pastorally significant observations is Tony's argument that the commendation "Well done, good and faithful servant — enter into the joy of your master" is not reserved for spiritual high-achievers. Because the five-talent and two-talent servants receive word-for-word identical commendations despite wildly different absolute returns, the logical entailment is that the one-talent servant, had he been faithful, would have received the same words. This means the commendation is not calibrated to productivity — it is the basic inheritance of every believer who enters glory. The soul-winner and the deathbed convert, Augustine and the unknown faithful, all hear the same welcome. The parable is therefore not teaching a graduated hierarchy of heavenly reward, but a binary distinction: those who know their master and act accordingly, and those who do not. The Parable Cannot Be Detached from Its Eschatological Context Jesse Schwamb is careful to anchor the parable in its literary and theological context: this is the second of three eschatological parables in Matthew 25, all part of the Olivet Discourse, all delivered in direct response to the disciples' question about the sign of Christ's return and the end of the age. Detaching the Parable of the Talents from that frame — and reading it instead as a general productivity principle or a theology of spiritual gifts — drains it of what Jesse calls its "gravity." The master going away and returning after a long time is a direct image of the ascended Christ and his parousia. The servants' task during the interval is not self-improvement or career stewardship — it is watchful, active discipleship in the time between the first and second comings. Everything in the parable, including the staggering sums of money, is calibrated to that eschatological frame. Memorable Quotes The real difference is that the former servants understood that their master had trusted them with a task and expected something of them, and the unfaithful, wicked, lazy servant had a total misunderstanding of who the master was — and therefore what his role as the master's servant was. That's the point of this parable. — Tony Arsenal Well done, good and faithful servant — that's not a special commendation that only the most amazing Christian servants get. That's the basic commendation that every Christian who enters into glory will receive. Whether you have been the most productive soul-winner in the world... you're going to receive the same commendation as the person who dies, and on their deathbed the last thing that they think is, 'I trust Jesus.' — Tony Arsenal God's measure of faithfulness is proportional, not absolute. The two-talent servant is not judged by the five-talent standard. He is judged by what he received. — Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:00:08] Tony Arsenal: that's not a special commendation that only the most amazing Christian servants get, right? That's the basic commendation that every Christian who enters into glory will receive. Whether you have been the most productive soul-winner in the world, whether you are the most, you know, the most sanctified Christian who's ever lived, whether you are, the most amazing person and millions of people have come to faith because of your ministry, you're going to receive the same commendation as the person who dies, and on their deathbed the last thing that they think is, I trust Jesus." Right. And they've produced no converts, no ministry, and maybe no one even knows that they were justified, because in their final moments before the lights went out, they trusted in Jesus, right? They hear the same well done, good and faithful servant when they enter into glory. Welcome to episode 496 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:19] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother.  [00:01:21] Parable Teaser [00:01:21] Jesse Schwamb: You know, the parables just keep coming for us, like we've said. And on this episode, to, just to tee it up, to whet everybody's appetites, we've got three servants, one absent master, an uncomfortable amount of money. What could go wrong? Yeah. As it turns out, quite a bit, especially if you're the kind of person who responds to divine generosity by finding the nearest shovel. So we're gonna get to all of that in this, what I call, this now sandwich of eschatological parables or teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25. So hopefully you're curious, hopefully you're stoked. But you can go put your thumb right in the scriptures there, because you're gonna meet us there very, very, very, very shortly. But first we got business. It's always the business we must do, the part of the podcast where we affirm with something or deny against something. And as always, I'm really curious what you have, and now I understand you have a list, or you're keeping a list. So- I do ... never again will there be something like that falls to the cutting room floor, brothers and sisters. Tony is always gonna have for us whatever was- ... what came to his brilliant mind as an affirmation or denial at any point, day or night.  [00:02:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. Do you, Jesse, do you ever have... I know the answer to this question is going to be yes- Yeah. That's good ... but I'm gonna ask it- All right ... mostly for rhetorical effect here. This is good podcasting.  [00:02:38] Psalm 67B Praise [00:02:38] Tony Arsenal: Do you have, do you have those situations where, like, the, the so- a song hits you, and it's just, like, the right combination of words, but also the right combination of, like, musicality?  [00:02:49] Jesse Schwamb: For sure.  [00:02:50] Tony Arsenal: Where it just, like, it just, it just feels- For sure like, right and good in every part of your being. So- All the time, yep ... I, I'm affirming, um, th- this is like the most Presbyterian thing ever. I'm affirming the, the arrangement in the Trinity, uh, psalter hymnal for Psalm 67B. Now, I'm not gonna try to sing it for you, but I wanna read the words, because obviously it's, it's a paraphrase of a psalm. So, like, that's the first thing. Like, people, like, calm down. Like, it's okay to sing paraphrases. It's okay to sing. No one is actually singing the Hebrew psalms. Right. Amen. So, like, just calm down a little bit. Amen. Uh, there is a place for us to dedicate specific focus to psalms and songs that are from the psalms, but that can be something like Better Is One Day. Like, that's a song from a psalm. Anyway, that's a whole different, that's a whole different thing. Yes, I'm affirming psalm singing. Uh, yes, I'm denying overly rigid understandings of what that is. But here's the words for Psalm 67, Setting B. That's important It's, "O God, show mercy to us and bless us with your grace and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face, so that the whole world over may truly know your way and so that your salvation all nations see displayed. O God, let peoples praise you. Let all the peoples praise. Let nations come rejoicing and songs of gladness rise, raise." Then, um, stanza two, "For you will judge the peoples with perfect equity. To nations of the whole Earth a governor you'll be. O God, let the peoples praise you. Let all the peoples praise. The Earth has brought its bounty throughout its harvest days.  [00:04:24] Why Sing Psalms [00:04:24] Tony Arsenal: Since God our God will bless us, yes, God will blessing send, that all the Earth may fear Him to its remotest end." Now, there are lots of really great, uh, theologically sound, edifying hymns and worship choruses, but there's just something about the Psalms, right? It's inspired- Um- ... it's perfect. Again, like I said, nobody is singing the actual Hebrew Psalms, or even, I shouldn't say nobody, most people are not singing, like, the Psalms from the ESV, right? These are almost all paraphrases. They're, they're translations. But there's just something about the Psalms that I have grown so much to appreciate since joining a Presbyterian church. That's not to say other traditions don't sing Psalms in their own right, and again, like, we would sing Better Is One Day and other songs that were based on Psalms. Um, even, like, real direct translations or real direct versions of Psalms, like Better Is One Day or Create In Me A Clean Heart, there's all sorts of them. But there's just something about singing the Psalms, and this particular musical setting, it's triumphant, but not in the, like, fanfare kind of triumphant. Do you know what I mean, Jesse? Like- Mm-hmm ... it's, it's a triumphant melody, and it has, like, really interesting rises and falls and... So I, I'm gonna probably try to put this at the end of the episode. So listen. Hopefully I'll get the whole thing. Let me just, let me just do this. Hold on a second. It's just gorgeous. It's just beautiful. So I, I, I don't know what it was this morning. Uh, it's, I wasn't, like, promo- particularly emotional. It didn't, like, make me cry. Yeah. But all of that's fine. Like, I've been brought to tears in worship before, and that's, that's all good and well. There was just something about it that resonated, and I was like, "This is just good." Like, this is just good music. It's good singing. Something about hearing, uh, the whole congregation singing together. Like, it was just beautiful. It was just a beautiful moment. So if you are not in a psalm-singing church, first of all, why aren't you in a psalm-singing church? Uh, no worship leader on Earth, no, no person who is worth... Uh, when I say worship leader, I mean the person who's responsible for leading musical worship. No one who's leading worshipful music, worshipful? Worship music, if you approach them and say, "I would like to sing more songs that are based on the Psalms," if they say, "We don't wanna sing Psalms here," then you just go somewhere else. Like, someone who tells you, like, "We don't wanna s- we don't wanna sing God's Word," that doesn't make any sense to me.  [00:06:56] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:06:56] Tony Arsenal: Um, now again, like, there's a way to do it. Sometimes musically they're challenging, especially if you're singing out of something like the hymnal. But again, there are plenty of really good modern style songs and hymn style songs that are either based on the Psalms or are paraphrases, very similar to what you get in the, in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. Or most, most people who are leading in musical worship are competent enough to just sort of take the sheet music and figure out how to do it on guitar or figure out how to play it on piano. Um, they're not that difficult. So you will be edified if you do this. Your church will be edified. There's probably a lot of people out there responsible for musical worship that actually would really like to do this, and they're kind of probably, like, just waiting for that nudge, so you may even be benefiting them. But yeah, this, this psalm is beautiful. It's just a gorgeous arrangement, and it's, it's perfect, inspired words. Really was a, just a, a balm to my soul this morning.  [00:07:51] Jesse Schwamb: I love it. And o- of course, a lot of that is still happening, which is such a glorious gift to the church. The couple of times that I've had the privilege of writing music for my own church has been right from the scriptures, and for me recently that was, like, Ephesians 1 and Psalm 16. And that's mainly because, like, as a lyricist, I'm not that creative, and I'd rather go direct to the source. And all those end up being a paraphrase, like you said, anyway. Es- especially if you wanna get turn of phrase or if you wanna have a little bit of rhyming, which is always a beautiful thing. I love the Psalter, and my, my hot take on that is I sometimes find that I like, I don't wanna call them, like, the alternate, but, like, the other secondary arrangements-  Yeah and  lyrics better. I don't know why. I don't think that's purposeful, of course. It's probably just my taste. But I always find them to be, like, super fire. I, I don't know why. The, the B and C versions always kinda grab me, especially if... And here's another thing that I appreciate about the Psalter, as you know, is sometimes those B or C versions will be written in an alternate key or a minor key. Yeah. And that's even more awesome, because there's not a lot of, let's say, like, cla- I don't wanna say classic. Classic slash contemporary, uh, Christian music or wors- quote-unquote worship music that's written in minor keys. But it's good to lament, as we've talked about before. So- Yeah ... you're gonna get that full breath and scope in the Psalter there. [00:09:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:09:07] Beyond Music Styles [00:09:07] Tony Arsenal: A- and, you know, maybe let me put in one more little plug here. Um- I am not one of those people that is gonna say that there's like a particular style of music that's more godly than another. I've heard people try to make arguments that there's like certain kinds of rhythms or certain kinds of like beats that are- Right either, either more godly or somehow demonic or less godly. Um, I think there might be an argument to be made that some styles of worship are not suited well for congregational singing, so they may not be appropriate for like a, a congregational worship service. Like, you're probably not gonna go in and do a lot of hip hop and have the congregation be able to like stick with you. Right. That doesn't mean that you can't worship God through that or that it somehow is less like intrinsically beautiful. But, um, there are a lot of Let me just put it this way. In modern contemporary Western Christianity, uh, there's a lot of songs that are basically just the same thing musically. You know, you'll find, um, if you go to, like, YouTube, and, and maybe, like, be careful, 'cause sometimes some of these are, they're funny but they're a little bit crass. But if you look up, like, a video about how, like, every song is Pachel Bell's Canon. Right. Right? Every song follows the same basic arrangement of chords, and this gets even more pronounced when you're talking about modern worship music or contemporary mu- worship music, because it's designed to be able to be very simple and very easily played. Um, a lot of times worship directors are not super classically trained. Um, you think of, like, the youth pastor with the guitar around the campfire. Like, those kinds of songs have to be easy, 'cause they're not, like, classically trained guitar players. They probably picked up a chord book and figured out how to play a couple easy songs like Jesus, Lover of My Soul and things like that. That's how I learned how to play guitar. That's the extent of my skills, so I'm not, I'm not banging on that person. Um, but there are a lot, there's a lot more to music. Um, there's a lot more to singing, and there's a lot more to choral music than, you know, GCDC kind of like worship courses. Uh, and singing something like the Psalter, or even just singing out of a good hymnal- Right will actually expand your musical horizons. And there's something to be said about the creativity of our God being reflected in the creativity of His people that I do think we miss out on when we are locked into really simplistic worship styles. Um, again, like, I interpret Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to mean, like, sing in the vernacular of the people. Um, and I, you know, that's a different episode. We can talk about that sometime. But th- that, that requires the songs to be singable, and I think sometimes, uh, sometimes some of the song- some of the Psalters, some of the songs in the Psalter hymnals, and sometimes hymnals in general, are very difficult to sing. And so I think a congregation, the people leading in music need to be thoughtful of that. But I think you would do well to, like, open your horizons a little bit to something a little bit more challenging and a little bit off the beaten path. Like, this melody, I don't know the chords behind it. It may not be anything crazy, but that, like, musicality and that, that sort of, like, melody is not a typical... And this might be why it resonated with me. It's not a typical kind of melody you're gonna find in contemporary music. Um, it's, it's very different. It's older. It's more classically styled. The, it's, it's meant to sort of bring you up to these crescendos in ways that modern music is not necessarily. So enough about that. I don't know a lot about music theory, so I might be totally wrong and, and- ... people might be rolling their eyes. But I, I do think that there's something to it. Like, a lot of the older hymns- utilize chord progressions and melodies and harmonies and things like that that we're just not used to. You're not gonna get that listening to, you know, even something like, like the more musical kind, uh, more technically proficient music like something like Bethel or Hillsong, which is at times musically very good. Uh, I don't know that I would recommend listening to it, but the music is actually, like, technically very good in some instances. Uh, even there you're not gonna find a lot of this stuff. So instead of going there for, like, really nice sounding musical worship, just go to something like the Trinity Psalter app. You know, for $10 on a- on your iPhone you can sing with it. Um, yeah, enough about that. I, I, I could talk about how great the Psalms are and how great psalm singing is for an entire episode. We should do that episode- We should ... when we're done with the parables, 'cause I know we've done a lot of episodes on, like, uh, on, on, like, the regulative principle and- Right I, I think we're still both in the same spot that, like- Right ... exclusive psalmody is probably not where we would land. Right. But I think I'm coming to the conviction that the psalms should have a much greater portion of our worship diet, uh- Hmm ... than they do in most churches. Um, and I really only came to that conviction when I was in a church where psalm singing was the norm. Uh, I know that we try to have at least one s- one canonical psalm for every single worship service. Usually there's multiple, but, um, even in a, a, a setting where we normally wouldn't be so focused on that, we still try to have at least one, and it's been a, a really huge edifying thing to my soul.  [00:14:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I absolutely love that. You'll find no complaint from me on that. I think that that's a good reminder for all of us.  [00:14:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:14:14] Book Sing Recommendation [00:14:14] Tony Arsenal: Jesse, what do you have?  [00:14:15] Jesse Schwamb: Well, it's, we're not gonna stop this conversation, just so you know. Because we don't sync up on these things ever, but it just so happens that I'm affirming with a book that it's a really simple primer on congregational singing-  There you go that has  long been on my list and overdue to read, and I am coming in hot with a recommendation for this, and that is the book entitled Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty. And really, it covers so many of the things that you already talked about. I, I think at the foremost, it's a reminder that God cares whether in what we sing, but he does not mind how well we sing. Yes. But it is, like, the, this... What's true is that our voices might not be of a professional standard, but they are of a confessional standard. Yeah. And so it is incumbent upon every Christian to sing. And if you need just, like, a little bit of inspiration, so to speak, or a reminder of why that's important, I highly commend this book to you. In fact, in the back they have what's called, like, these bonus tracks. It's like four or five separate chapters that they've written just to particular people in the church, pastors, laypeople, musicians, even the people that help produce the sound. I found that bit to be so lovely and pastoral. It, it's gentle, the tone is encouraging, but it is also strong, and I appreciate that. So a lot of it is some of the themes that we've just talked about, but my conviction grows all the time of just how important congregational singing is, and how everything you just said, the music, the liturgy that we bring forward- has to be of a deliberate kind to strengthen that exercise, to make it easy, so to speak. And that does come into practical things like if you look at the psalter, and I, I don't... I have it on my phone, but I don't know where my phone is, so I was gonna look at the one you were referencing. My guess is it's, it's in probably a key with a couple of sharps in it, because those are the ones that are easiest to sing. So even little things like that matter. What you hear on the radio often is, or radio? People still listen to the radio? What you hear, like, in, like, contemporary music, like, often is not necessarily for congregational singing just in its key, and, and that's okay. And so even in my own church, we transpose things to make it reasonable and approachable. But what I think was, like, the critical question put forward in this book that I absolutely loved as a great reminder was: how did the congregation sing? It's very interesting that they kind of bring forward this thesis that that's how you should be judging your music. How did the congregation sing? And I think if we started asking that, it might slightly tweak or maybe change altogether, to your point, the methods and the practices that we use when we undergo worship by way or through music. So this is really great. It's easily readable, and it's for everybody, and it, there's a chapter on family worship as well, how to bring singing into your home and music into your home all the time as an act of worship so that when you get to the Lord's Day, your kids are like, "Yeah, this is our jam." Uh, especially maybe even recognizing some of the pieces of music and be excited about that. So there was a lot that made me think about here. It's fantastic. And to your point, Tony, I would say the Gettys, especially in, like, "Christ Alone," some of the other things, this is probably the closest to what you're talking about, where they've taken and imported kind of the classical hymn structures-  [00:17:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah [00:17:27] Jesse Schwamb: but modernized a little bit just the language while without sacrificing any of the theological richness or the musicality that draws your ear to those beautiful rising and falling melodies, the swelling of the vocal there, without, like, distracting from anything that's going on there. It's not emotionalism- Yeah but it certainly is filled with the emotion of what it means to be a Christian and to sing in response as an act of praise to God.  [00:17:50] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:17:52] Family Worship Singing [00:17:52] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I can't underscore enough the importance of congregational singing. We, we've, we've actually talked about, about it in context of, like, how important it is for the men of the congregation to sing, which is something I, I really appreciate about my congregation, is, is the m- the men just go all out. Like, people are, like- Love it ... nobody is, nobody is ashamed of the fact that they squawk on a note that they're not used to or anything like that. And where this really pays out, um, at least in our congregation, but I'd, I'd be willing to bet if you go to any congregation where the, where the men particularly are passionate and active in musical worship, right? Um, I think where this plays out is you see the children very quickly picking up those songs and learning them and singing them. And the, the favorite part of my day, this is gon- any parent of toddlers is gonna be like, "What are you talking about?" Bedtime is one of my favorite times of day, not just because it means that, like, in a little while I'm gonna get a little peace and quiet. Like, that's part of it, too, but there are two songs that we sing almost every single night, and Augie leads them, which is really great. He always wants to start, and he always wants to sing, and it's the Doxology and the Gloria Patri. And these are songs that he has just picked up from being in the congregation, and, you know, I, I don't remember consciously teaching him any of these songs. And now, now Adeline, who is, uh, my two-year-old daughter, almost two, she's starting to pick those songs up, and she's starting to sing them, and she recognizes them, and she responds very differently to those songs than she does to other songs. Um, it's funny because I don't, I don't know where she got this. Neither my wife nor I are particularly, uh, charismatic, emotive people. Like, we don't raise our hands when we're singing, but she, she does. She, she, when we start singing- My girl ... the Gloria Patri or the Doxology, her hand is in the air, and she's looking at the sky, and she's waving her hands around. Yeah. And, um, she recognizes that those songs have a different place than a Miss Rachel song. She doesn't put her hands in the air and wave and look up at the ceiling when Miss Rachel comes on or when Baby Shark comes on. She knows those songs. She can sing those songs. Um, but she doesn't- Respond to those in the same way. And that is a direct result of the fact that congregational singing is an important thing in the life of our church and in the life of our family. And I think a book like Sing, I haven't read it, but I've heard very good things about it, and the, the Gettys are rock solid, like- Right ... theologically. Yes. Musically. They're, they're well within our Reformed tradition, at least broadly speaking. Um, and, and they have a, they have one of the strongest sort of theologies of praise music that you're gonna find. Mm-hmm. It's not quite like a liturgiology or something like that, but it's, it's, it's a theology of praise worship, praise and worship music. Right. Um, and that's not something that's super common, right? There's a lot of theology of liturgy. There's a lot of practical theology on liturgy. Um, the Gettys have developed a really unique kind of place in things in that they've really developed this idea that congregational singing has a specific theological import, and they've developed it in a way that's approachable. So yeah, I haven't read it and I sh- I probably should, but it, it sounds like a really great book. And, um, I c- just can't underscore it enough. And- Maybe this is my little plug. Like, uh, family worship is really tough, and it's not something I've mastered. Like, we don't, we, we don't have a regular rhythm. But what we do have is we have a consistent, uh, we consistently pray at night before bed, and we consistently sing one or both of those songs. And that by itself, like, the kids are learning and they are, they're absorbing that by osmosis. Um, they're picking up the phrasing, right? Augie can tell you who the three persons of the Trinity are, and that's partially 'cause we do catechism questions, but it's also partially, and I would actually argue probably more, because of the Trinitarian structure of those two songs. Right. He's picked up the language of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son from the Gloria Patri and from the doxology in ways that probably I wouldn't have been able to teach him otherwise. So yeah. Anyway, I, I just co-opted your affirmation. But, um, but yeah. I'm here for it. Congregational worship, family worship, singing, uh, to our Lord is commanded, and it's commanded for our good- Right and for his, his benefit and his blessing. Um, and so any book that is, is solid and will help you do that, I, I'm wholeheartedly behind.  [00:22:17] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. This is... All that is fire. This is fire.  [00:22:19] Reclaim Congregational Song [00:22:19] Jesse Schwamb: God designed our psyche for singing, and we're probably, uh, I would say contractually obligated since Reformed is in the name of the title of the podcast- to remind ourselves and everybody else that one of the things the Reformation did was reclaim the singing of God's word by his own people. Yes. Taking it out of that performatory space back into literally the voice boxes of the people who are sitting in worship together. So sometimes we might have to do that again. You know, there is a little bit, I think, of... There, there is in some places, not everywhere, this kind of tilting of that time of worship through music to be vouchsafed or relegated to those who are, uh, let's say, like, the most, like, talented in doing that, and somehow we participate merely by observing or by- Yeah just, uh, you know, being an audience spectator of that, and that's totally backwards. So I get it. The thing is- We're all singers. We may not all be very good singers, but we're all created to be singers nonetheless. This is what the Bible tells us. So we need to lean into that. We need to invest in that. Yeah. And so I, I like, of course, what you're doing with, uh, your kids because you're not only teaching them to sing, and this makes me so happy, but you're teaching them to love singing to the Lord. Yeah. And so that is, I think, what a lot of our congregations miss, is sometimes we do it, and I'm among them often, but grudgingly. And so to get to a place where we come excited that our reasonable response, our reasonable preparation on the Lord's day is to sing together, to hear that gospel message in melody in the ear of our... You know, the voice of our neighbor in our own ear is a wild thing. It's just, like, un- unheard of. And it's like, uh, we gotta stop, right? It's one of those things also that, like- ... we've, we've talked about how it's just kind of otherworldly. Not, not only in the sense that it gives us this really kind of foundational sense of God's, you know, kind of transcendence, of what it means to participate in the worship of someone who is transcendent because it is all these voices together, but also this is something that rarely happens in any other way, especially in the Western culture anymore. This coming together to express and to participate in something where we're all reading literally from the same sheet music is just an entirely different experience, increasingly relegated to this kind of experience. So we, we must protect it, not only because God says that we ought to, but also because, again, it is, it is our reasonable response. Yeah. And it is something, like you've just said, that brings Him glory and is certainly for our good. So, uh, this is the Singcast, so everybody- ... everybody get to it. You can make your own music. God has commanded us to sing. So the sooner we just understand, like, hey, it's, it's... You know. Uh, but... And the last thing I'll say is this is one of those things that's, like, practice too. A- and I get it. Like, you may say, like, "Listen, I can only hit two notes, and that's all I'm gonna hit no matter what the music is." Well, then belt the two notes, and also know that, like, the more you practice that kind of thing, honestly, the better that you'll get and the more comfortable that you'll become. The voice is an instrument like any other instrument that takes, like, a little bit of practice and a little bit of work. But even that can cause, I think, great benefits and build a little bit of confidence. But just the example of singing and doing it from a heart that is keen to worship God and that is filled with passion to respond to Him with gratitude and, you know, adoration is really the key thing. And so I, I'd rather have a entire group full of worshipers that are singing off-key but, like, with just resounding passion than to have this performance of just a handful of voices because they feel like they're the most capable to do it. Yeah. I think we'd, we'd rather have everybody else, and to hear the congregation mixed as one of those instruments. So sing. Yeah.  [00:26:05] Everyone Can Sing [00:26:05] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and y- you and I have made the point in the past, too, like- I, I don't think, uh, maybe I'm wrong. Uh, we are a top 50 healthcare podcast, so maybe some doctor- I'm sure you're correct ... is gonna... Right. Like, I don't think being tone deaf is actually a physical condition. Like- Mm. I, I mean, I, I mean, obviously, like, some people have hearing problems, and that means they have trouble singing. I hear what you're saying. But, like, the people who are like, "Well, I j- I just can't sing. I'm just not capable of that," uh, like, I think the, the physical conditions that would make you incapable of singing are not usually what people are talking about. Like- Right. Yeah ... you know, some people have, like, vocal fold disorders or they have hearing problems, and I guess maybe, like, if perfect pitch is a thing, which it, it is. Like, perfect pitch is a... I don't know what causes it, but some people are born with perfect pitch. I suppose in theory that means some people must be born with, like, the opposite of perfect pitch. But I think most people who say, like, "Well, I just, I'm just tone deaf. I can't carry a tone," that, that's probably not true. Like, it just means you need practice. Um, and some people's voices, like physically, their bodies are more, more designed by God to produce a pleasant sound than other people. But I, I think actually just about anybody with a little bit of practice, and mostly I think this is probably just the confidence to actually sing and a little bit of practice to learn how your body works, like how your voice works, um, could probably get to a point where singing is not only very relatively comfortable and easy, but it's something that is pleasant and is not overly challenging. This is actually something that I think we've lost in the church. We should... This, I mean, this is about to come the episode, but, um- ... something we've lost in the church when we have sort of changed from a true genuine congregational singing model, which was the norm- And I've heard people make arguments about the importance of hymnals, and I, I agree with those arguments, although I know some people have moved them into almost like a realm of, like, divine mandate- Right that you have to use hymnals because it trains people to teach. But we have lost something with both the sort of commercialization of worship music and the pro- like making it a professional thing, and we've lost congregational singing. The, the people in the church throughout history have learned to sing. Many of them have learned to read, learned the scriptures, learned theology, not in the seminary and not in the monastery, but in the pew as they sing God's word and as they sing- Right ... the great theological hymns of, of the church. There's so much you can learn through that process that I just think we've lost. And I think going back to something like a hymnal or the Trinity Psalter Hymnal or whatever, whatever standard music your church is gonna use, and I mean standard music. Like, whether this is a collection of worship choruses that has been curated for the church or it's a published hymnal or something like that, going back to something like that teaches the church how to sing. And I don't remember who wrote it, but the trellis and the vine, like the worship that we sing, I know Mike Horton makes this point. The worship that we sing is the tre- is the trellis that the vine of our wor- of our- Yes ... faith grows on, right? That's true. Like, what the, what the church lex credendi, lex orandi. Like, the church, what the church prays, the church believes. What the church sings, the church believes. So all of that to say, like, the, the importance of congregational singing can't be under-emphasized, and it's... I, I mean, I don't know that I would I don't know that most theologists say technically s- like, congregational singing is an element of worship, but praising the Lord through song certainly is. Yes. It's, it's evidence. Um, and, and so I think that's definitely something that the church has lost in general. Um, and I know there are churches... I- it's funny, when Ashley and I were between churches, uh, very briefly after, um, our previous church closed down, um, we went to a local sort of, like, high, high, uh, production, seeker-sensitive church, very Steven Furtick-esque, and we only lasted, like, 10 minutes in this, in this service. We went in and the production value was great, and the music sounded great, but we couldn't hear ourselves, we couldn't sing- Right ... and it was very performative, and we just left. We were only there for a few minutes, and we left. And I think that's something we've lost as we've sort of migrated worship to almost, like, a professional class. So yeah, bring it back to the pews. Bring it back to your- Bring it back ... bring it back to your house, bring it back to your kid's bedroom when you're tucking them in. Everywhere. Bring it back to the car on the way to work, in the bus. Right. Like, just let's everywhere we go, let's sing and worship the Lord. [00:30:30] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's right.  [00:30:31] Train Your Voice [00:30:31] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, so as a final thing, let me compound your hot take and say that I agree with you, that I... And I think professionals would as well, and I'm gonna stand on a resource that I'm gonna recommend to everybody here in a second, that in fact the Getty say, "If you can speak, you can sing." And there are a f- a few conditions that would prevent you from doing that, of course. And even there, they wanna explore opportunities for you, for instance, signing, for instance, to ensure that you can participate in worship. Uh, the hot take is I do think that because the instrument that God has given us in the vocal cords is exactly that, that it can be trained, and that actually most people can sing. And if you're serious about that, if you think, "You know what? I'd like to be able to do that. How can I explore that?" Here's a book for you. It's called Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love. The full title is How to Get the Singing or Speaking Voice You Want. Roger Love is, like, this amazing behind-the-scenes vocal coach. He has coached, like, a ton of really talented recording artists, and this is his very contention in the book, is that everybody can sing. It's really about how much or little work you wanna put into it. And in fact, this book comes with, like, these exercises that you can listen to and then record yourself. And then he, from a distance basically, can give you some pointers based on allowing you to kinda evaluate what you hear in your own recording back. So if you really are the kind of person that's like, "Listen, I, I dare you. I cannot sing," I would challenge you, I would double dog dare you to get this book, Set Your Voice Free, and if you're really serious about wanting to try and see if it can make a difference, I, I think it can. And I've, I myself have enjoyed this book, gone back to it many times, use it in my own work and practice because I found it to be helpful. So there you go. Sing, sing, and sing again.  [00:32:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:32:07] Singing Apps and Practice [00:32:07] Tony Arsenal: And if you're not a reader, first of all, why are you listening to the podcast? But second of all, if for some reason you're not a reader I'm, I'm joking. I'm sure there are people that are listening to the podcast who are not readers. That was, like, a super smug thing to say. How dare you. I'm sorry about that. How dare you. Um, if for some reason you don't wanna read that book or you're not a reader, um, y- you can do something as simple as looking up Yousician on your Yousician, Y-O-U- Yeah ... S-I, like the word musician, but U instead of, like, Y-O-U instead of, uh, musician. Um, there are plenty of apps out there. I just, I mention Yousician just because I've used that on, like, a free trial basis with some guitar teaching, and it's a reputable source. They also have a vocal module. So, like, if you wanna learn to sing, there are plenty of resources out there who can help you train your voice. A- and it- Again, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a vocal coach, I'm not a professional singer. I'm not even that great of a singer, and I, I probably could be a better singer if I wanted to devote the time to it. Um, it doesn't take much to, to be able- Right ... to become a competent singer. Um, I think most of us, you pick up one s- just like I learned guitar, you pick one or two songs that you really like and you wanna learn, and you learn to sing those songs, and then those skills will develop over time. So enough about that, Jesse. We've got, speaking of talents- ... we've got some talents to talk about. There it is. Boom, bazinga. Baza-bazom. I'm  [00:33:27] Jesse Schwamb: back. There it is. Yeah, so- I was excited  [00:33:31] Tony Arsenal: about that one ...  [00:33:32] Jesse Schwamb: that, that was really good. And, and we should just h- honor everyone. That's it.  [00:33:37] Tony Arsenal: That's it. Tip your waiters and waitresses, folks. It  [00:33:39] Jesse Schwamb: was so good. We're here all week.  [00:33:41] Parable Context Setup [00:33:41] Jesse Schwamb: So we're in Matthew 25, uh, verses 14 through 28, and this is at least gonna be a two-parter for us. This goes by the name you might be familiar of, which is The Parable of the Talents. But before we get to it, just a quick reminder that we've been speaking about this parable, not like in a special way, but hopefully in the more contextual sense. So this is the second of three eschatological parables in Matthew 25. So the first was The 10 Virgins, which we went through. We're in The Talents, and then we're coming up to everybody's favorite, The Sheep and the Goats. All three are part of this Olivet Discourse, which is, of course, Jesus' final teaching block before his Passion. And I think it h- behooves us so that we do not get distracted from, like, the center of gravity of this thing, that this is delivered in response to the disciples' question about the sign of his coming and the age to come. Because I've heard so many, like, little talks, maybe homilies is more the right word, on this particular parable that lack gravity. So little gravity that basically NASA could train their astronauts in it. So we wanna stay away from that and I think get into, like, the, the proper context. So Tony, do you have it in front of you by any chance? And would  [00:34:50] Tony Arsenal: you- I do. I do, yeah. Yeah. Read it for us? I'll read it here.  [00:34:52] Reading the Parable [00:34:52] Tony Arsenal: So this is, uh, starting in, uh, Matthew 25 verse 14, and I'm gonna read down through, uh, the end of verse 30 here. So it, it reads here, "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them, entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, "Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." He also who had received one talent came forward, saying, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours." But his master answered him, "You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him who gave it, who give it to him who has 10 talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. For, uh, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  [00:36:56] Watchfulness and Stewardship [00:36:56] Jesse Schwamb: So it starts with that amazing connective, which we really spoke about in the last episode, in verse four- 14, starting with four. So it's tying, like we said, this parable directly to verse 13, which we know is in the, the parable of the ten virgins. But it's this idea of watchfulness. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." So th- I think this is the point we really drove last time, that we really felt highly convicted about, that this parable is not like a detached economic lesson, but it's really like an expedition, exposition, not expedition- ... of what watchful discipleship actually looks like during the interval of the master's absence. Like, that's the whole setup here. So it's starting with this idea of like the master goes away, but here we have these slaves or these servants who are entrusted. And to me, again, that's like such a linchpin in this whole thing, 'cause it's, it's carrying the sense that of course, like, he's handing over stewardship. It's a deposit held on another's behal- I love this parable because it has some banking language in it. It's, it's a deposit held on another's behalf, and that's like the key covenant concept of the entire thing. Ownership remains with the master. The servants are stewards. They're not proprietors. And that language, I think, really anticipates, like, the entire New Testament theology of stewardship, which is developed by Paul. So like when Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." So like all of that, that's like just one verse for me. Like, that's an incredible setup.  [00:38:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:38:28] Common Misreadings [00:38:28] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and you know, I think it bears saying, too, um, I wanna be careful how I say this because I don't wanna impugn, uh, poor motives or anything like that on, on the, the people that I'm about to speak to. And I say this a little bit tongue in cheek, but also I say this as someone who used to be deeply involved in youth ministry. There's kind of like a, a youth ministry, um- international version of the Bible, I guess, if you wanna put it that way, where, like, there are certain, certain passages and parables that s- for some reason seem really prone to misapplication- Sure in, in some context. And I would say, like, youth ministry is the one I have in mind. Like, um, one of them is, like, in Matthew 18 where it's like, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Like, that's a, that's a statement about God's, God's presence in the judgment of the church and excommunicating an un- like, a, an unrepentant, uh, person who identifies with Christ. And, and ironically here, maybe not ironically, but, like, casting them into the outer darkness of excommunication, which is representative of casting them out into the actual inner darkness of damnation. Right. Like, th- there's a, there's a misapplication of that, that like, well, you know, like, if only a couple people came to youth group tonight, like, it's still worth meeting because where two or three are gathered, there I am in the midst of them. Um, this, this parable has a very similar kind of misapplication that is maybe a, a little bit less of a misapplication. Like, I think there is something to say in this parable about the fact that God entrusts us with abilities, talents, treasure, t- our time. Like, He's entrusted us with resources, and He does expect us to use those resources, uh, in a way that is honoring to Him and beneficial for the, for the gospel and for the kingdom. Um, that's true in a broad sense, but I don't think actually that this is what that... But, like, that's not what this passage- Mm ... is teaching. Right. I think I, I kinda joked last time, but, like, I've heard more than one sermon that draws the parallel between the word talent here and our talents in terms of, like, our spiritual gifts or our ability to play guitar or, like, to bounce a basketball and, like, thr- like, throw a free throw. Like, that's not the kinda talent we're talking about here. So I wanna, I wanna sorta, like, point that out just to sort of exclude that from the conversation. Yes, God gifts His people, and He expects His people to use those gifts for His glory and for their own benefit. Um, but that's not what this parable is talking about. This is a parable about the fact that God has entrusted the kingdom of heaven on Earth to His people.  [00:41:08] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:41:08] Tony Arsenal: And He expects His people to make use of that in a way that expands the kingdom and also in a way that does not... And this is, this is, I actually think, the main point of the parable. In a way that properly understands the nature of the king. The, the punchline or the main point of the parable here, it, just to sort of, like, I don't know, give away the ending or, like, unbury the lead, I don't know, whatever that is. The point of this parable- It's not that, like, it's a really good thing to double what God has resourced you with. The point of the parable, the reason that, just like the, um, just like it wasn't the virgins falling asleep in the last parable that was the problem because everybody fell asleep, in this instance, uh, the amount of money or the amount of return on investment that the servants produce is not the point of the parable. That's not the real difference between them. The real difference is that the former servants understood that their master had trusted them with a task and expected something of them, and the, the unfaithful, wicked, lazy servant had a total misunderstanding of who the master was- Right ... and therefore what his role as the master's servant was. That's the point of this parable, and I think, this is the last thing I'll say before I, I, I take a breath here. There's a lot of people that would look at this parable and might read some sort of works righteousness or, um, and this is more understandable and I think has a place within the Reformed tradition, although I don't necessarily hold this view. But would look at this as sort of like a theology which would, would argue that we receive some sort of enhanced rewards in heaven based on our faithfulness. There's plenty of good, faithful Reformed Bible teachers that would hold that position. I actually think whether or not that's true, this is still also not what this passage is getting at. [00:43:00] Jesse Schwamb: I, I totally agree with you there.  [00:43:02] Talents as Huge Wealth [00:43:02] Jesse Schwamb: I, I think one of the reasons that we know that is because we can look at some of these details and let the details speak to us about the magnitude in their representation, why they're given. So of course, whenever the scripture gives us detail, especially in a context like a parable, it can be helpful of cour- of course not to overanalyze them, but to respect their place in the context of the story, and that's why verse 15 I think is so important. So to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability, then he went away. Now, this, this varies slightly, but there's a lot of, I think, very common historicity here that points us to understanding, like, the talents as a unit of monetary weight, and there is some discrepancy about its exact weight. But what we can say for sure is this: that we're talking about, as I teased at the beginning, a huge sum of money. So in other words, like, this is a gift from God himself. It's a divine gift. Yeah. It's something that's not earned. It's something that's given and something that's entrusted. So in the first-century Roman world, a talent was roughly equivalent to, like, 6,000 denarii, depending on who you talk to, which would mean that a single talent represented approximately, like, 20 years on average of a laborer's wages. So the sums then here we're talking about are staggering even at the lowest one. So the five-talent servant is receiving essentially approximately equivalent of a century's wages, and the one-talent servant is receiving 20 years' worth. There's no such thing as a small gift in Christ's economy, I think is the point here, and even the least endowment is immense beyond our reckoning. Yeah. So the distribution also is deliberately unequal. It's five, one, two, and the text doesn't offer any apology for this inequality. The master distributes to each according to his ability, which as I say that, I realize that could probably be its own episode, that we could talk about what that even means. Yeah. But he is matching and entrusting to capacity, and that's not arbitrary. Of course, that's wise and personal, and even the Greek here for this idea of capacity or power suggests the master knows his servants intimately and calibrates the stewardship accordingly. But nonetheless, it proves the point you're making here, which is not just about, like, well, do you have some kind of innate ability that's above average that God has endowed you with here? That's not even what we're talking about. Again, the whole point of this is to answer the question eschatologically about what the end means and when the time is coming and what good discipleship looks like. And so in that way, we understand then these talents to be these divinely appointed and massively generous gifts of God, essentially, like you said, the stewarding of the gospel in the story of salvation itself unto his people, and then to make something of that, so to speak, by the power of the Holy Spirit that earns a return for the kingdom, that is all empowered by God, that is under the volition of the person, uh, the Christian who says, "As a disciple, it is my responsibility to steward these gifts." That is really what we're after. So we do kind of get in this place where when you take this and say, "Well, what are you doing with," let's say- your home, if you have a nice home, are you being hospitable enough? If you have, let's say, a good singing voice by talent, are you using that to make sure that you're on the, quote-unquote, "praise and worship team," is not, like, entirely wrong, but it's not right either- Yeah to use this passage- Yeah ... for that purpose. There's a bigger theme here. There is, there's a much stronger and widescale framework that God is drawing us to and examine, and it's about the stewardship of the church itself.  [00:46:30] Tony Arsenal: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.  [00:46:31] The Foolish Servant Exposed [00:46:31] Tony Arsenal: That's really key, and this is what struck me as, as you were speaking about that, is like we see in so many of the kinda like, uh, like the chump in the parable. Like, there's- Yeah ... a lot of these parables have like a chump- Right ... where like you're looking at and you're like, nothing about what you've decided to do makes any sense. We're talking about people who've been given, in the first case, 100 years worth of, worth of wages. Right. Right? Any one of these people, and again, we're talking about a timeframe where, like, you could just take that money and run and, like, nobody's gonna find you. There's no digital trail on any of this, right? If I stole, if I stole 100 years worth of labor from my manager or from my, my employer, they would find me, right? That's not the situation we're talking about. So even the chump who decided, "I'm not gonna do anything with this," he could've just take- taken off with the money and had 20 years worth of labor. Right. Just 20 years worth of wages. Right. This is a, this is a sum of money that makes all f- all three of these servants unimaginably wealthy instantly, right? The point of this is, in part, that the final servant has no idea the amazing blessing and responsibility that he's been given. And again, I come back to this. It's not because he is dumb or because he is, um, somehow less competent in a strict sense, right? It, it's so funny to me, like, we also gloss over the fact that, like, the guy who has five talents, he's got 100 years worth of money, 100 years worth of wages. Right. And he just goes and gets 100 more. Like- Right he just goes and trades and- Right ... comes up with 100 years worth of wages that he brings back. Like, that's, in itself is, like, phenomenally, amazingly outrageous. We ran into this too with the, um, the parable of the unmerciful servant, right? We've, we've got one guy who's got this unimaginable debt, like, like, thousands of years worth of, uh, worth of wages that he could never make up, and he thinks he's gonna somehow come up with it if you just give him enough time. It's kind of like the opposite here. This guy's got this unimaginable amount of instant wealth, and he just buries it in the ground. First of all, how much... We're also talking about an era where money was a physical, entirely physical.  [00:48:53] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:48:53] Tony Arsenal: There were no, there were no digital banks. Like- No zeros and ones most of our money exists as ones and zeros in a computer program right now. Right. Like, in reality, like- Right ... my money doesn't exist. We don't have, like, a physical gold standard anymore in America. Jesse could probably s- I'm probably making dumb things up right now. No, that's that's- Like, it used- Right on to be that, like, every dollar that the United States government printed had, like, a piece of gold sitting at Fort Knox- Yes ... uh, like backing it up, but we just don't have that anymore. Most of the money that exists in our system is entirely imaginary. It's an entirely, like, made-up digital currency way before, like, Bitcoin was a thing. That's not the case in this timeframe. This dude who buried 20 years worth of money in the ground, that's a significant amount of labor in and of itself- Right ... to even be able to do that. So we're not talking about, like... And I think this is the thing we miss when we, when we read the word talents, and one, when we obscure it and we, like, we misappropriate the word talent to mean, like, abilities, 'cause it, that's a convenient, like, illustration tool. We're talking about a huge sum of probably gold or silver that this dude just buries in the ground, and then, like, digs it up when the master comes back.  [00:50:01] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:50:01] Tony Arsenal: And I think, like- When we don't realize how much money this is, we miss the force of the master's like, "You stupid, dumb, wicked, slothful servant." Like, if you had even taken this money to the bank and done the least imaginable- Yes ... effort. Exactly. Like, if you had done anything at all, like how mu- how difficult, granted more difficult back in this age than it is now, but like if you had even done something as simple requiring as little labor as possible and just brought this to the bank and let them collect interest on it, we'd still be talking about a huge return. [00:50:35] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:50:36] Tony Arsenal: And he doesn't even do that, and that's, that's the point. There's the people who do, and they gloss over this. The parable totally glosses over the amazing effort and work that it must have taken to take 100 years worth of la- of wages and turn it into 200 years worth of wages. Right. Or to take 40 years worth of wages and turn it into 80 years worth of wages. That's an amazing, probably almost miraculous return on, on investment. Whatever they did is amazing, and the parable's like, "Yeah, they did that." They just took it to the traders and they brought back five more talents. Like, it's nothing. And then this idiot, and I say idiot in like the most like, like exegetically sound, idios, like, like foolish idiot person. [00:51:20] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:51:20] Tony Arsenal: This idiot just buries it in the ground and doesn't even bother to bring it to the bank where he's gonna get some return on it. This is the picture of the fool who does not make use of the means of salvation. This is the picture of the fool who refuses to receive Christ as savior, who refuses to make use of the benefit and blessing of salvation that is available to all who will trust in Christ and turn to him. This is the same picture as the idiot virgins who didn't buy enough oil and just fell asleep when they knew that the bridegroom was coming, right? Right. It's not that they fell asleep, it's that they didn't do the most obvious, simple,

Welcome to your daily devotion for June 12, 2026. Today, Pastor Balla shares "Save Me, O God, for the Waters Have Come Up to My Neck" from Psalm 69:1–3. In this heartfelt Christian devotional and Bible study, we cry out with David when troubles overwhelm us—waters rising, miry depths, no firm footing. If you face grief, anxiety, sickness, or the weight of sin, this daily prayer teaches us to turn toward God, not away from Him. This psalm points directly to Jesus Christ, who entered the deepest waters of human misery, bore our sins on the cross, and conquered death forever. Through Baptism, we are joined to His death and resurrection. The waters may rise, but they cannot overcome Christ's love. Please like, share, and subscribe for more daily devotions. Support this ministry at https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalph or visit https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalph. Thank you for listening—God's Peace be with you.Hashtags:#Psalm69 #SaveMeOGod #DailyDevotion #PastorBalla #WatersUpToMyNeck

The hymn we are studying this week is an old one (sort of). The English hymn was written by John Neale, based (roughly) on a Greek hymn by St. Joseph the Hymnographer from the 800's. In essence it is a completely new hymn but is based on the idea of St. Joseph.  The hymn we are studying this weekend is 322 in The Lutheran Hymnal: "And Wilt Thou Pardon, Lord." It does a beautiful job of presenting the Law, the Gospel and Christian Sanctification which flows from the Gospel. The hymnwriter, like the Psalmists of the Old Testament wrestle with the reality of sin and what we deserve because of them. It almost shows the incredulity of one who has been brought to know the depravity of his or her nature, that God could possibly forgive us or cleanse us from our sin. And that attitude is proper. Peter says: "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:17-18). Knowing our sin, we turn to God and the work of Jesus for help. In Psalm 51 we confess with David: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin... Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9  Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." What joy is our when we know the salvation that is ours, and the confidence that His Spirit is at work in us! May the LORD bless your reflection on our depravity and His mercy to you this weekend.

SCRIPTURE- Psalm 34:19-20"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed. Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all."REFLECTION- Mary EllynMUSIC- "Luminous" by Two Lanes- "Dona Nobis Pacem" by Pianissimo BrothersNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

❖ Today's Bible reading is Psalm 139: www.ESV.org/Psalm139 ❖ To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional: www.crossway.org/books/in-the-lord-i-take-refuge-hcj/ ❖ Browse other resources from Dane Ortlund: www.crossway.org/authors/dane-c-ortlund/

God Is Focused a Jesus Follower's Heart, and He Changes Their Thinking and Attitude Through a Change in Their Heart MESSAGE SUMMARY: God makes you a new creation through your new heart created by an indwelling of the Holy Spirit in your life. God is interested in your heart, and He wants you to have a righteous heart– God changes your thinking and your attitude through a change in your heart. In Romans 8:26-27, Paul describes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Followers resulting in a new person, with a new heart, in Jesus: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.". As a Jesus Follower, you are salt and light, comes from your righteousness – not just in deed and appearance but, also, in your inner person -- your heart.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Unclutter my heart, O God, until I am quiet enough to hear you speak out of the silence. Help me in these few moments to stop, to listen, to wait, to be still, and to allow your presence to envelop me. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 23). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Lust. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Perfect Provision. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Proverbs 3:1-7; Romans 2:29; Romans 8:26-28; Psalms 18a:1-10. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Our Awesome God -- Part 3: Trinity; Jesus, the Christ” at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

SCRIPTURE- Luke 22:19-20"Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.'"- CLICK HERE for the full transcript of Fr. Carl's beautiful prayer reflectionMUSIC- What Wondrous Love is This sung by Fernando Ortega- I Speak Jesus by Piano PraisesNOTES- Blog: What Does It Mean to Live Your Baptism? A Guide to Our Foundational Sacrament by Sr. Kathleen Rooney, SSJPRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Wednesday, 10 June 2026   But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” Matthew 20:22   “Answering, also, Jesus, He said, ‘Not you have known what you ask! Are you able to drink the cup, the ‘I, I am about to drink,' or the immersion, the ‘I, I am immersed' to be immersed?' They say to Him, ‘We are able.'” (CG).   In the previous verse, the mother of Zebedee's sons asked Jesus to grant that her two sons could sit on His right and left sides in His kingdom. In response, Matthew records, “Answering, also, Jesus, He said, ‘Not you have known what you ask!'”   As noted in the previous verse, a question like this can cause real problems for the one being asked. His mind will have to consider every contingency that may arise in the future, something such a spur-of-the-moment question will not normally allow.   Because of this, a tension arises between granting and not granting the request. In the case of Jesus, no such tension would arise. He would know and understand all future possibilities, including the negatives such a question would entail.   In this case, one of the immediate negatives is that the asker, not the one being asked, really has no idea what they (the verb is plural) are truly asking for. In the case of this question, Ellicott correctly states, “That nearness to Him in His glory could be obtained only by an equal nearness in suffering.”   It isn't that they counted such a cost. Rather, they have no idea about such a cost. They think Jesus will be hailed by the people as the Messiah and Israel's King, but there is not an inkling in their mind what He will go through for that to come about.   As this is so, these two men have actually put themselves ahead of Jesus. They are asking for a position in Jesus' kingdom before He has gone through what is necessary to obtain that kingdom. It is true that their request is conditional on His securing the kingdom, but because of their ignorance of what that involves, it's like saying, “Whatever happens that causes You to be king, we want to be there on seats with You when it is over.”   This is a natural human way of looking at things, and it is just what Jonathan did with David when he was set to become the king –   “And he said to him, ‘Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.'” 1 Samuel 23:17   Jonathan assumed that the future was set by his words, but God's plans and purposes must come to pass according to His will. Jesus, knowing what lies ahead in His ministry, hints that it will not be what these two men think, asking, “Are you able to drink the cup, the ‘I, I am about to drink'?”   The cup signifies one's lot, good and bad. When one drinks from a cup of sweetness, the sweetness becomes a part of that person, invigorating him. When he drinks hemlock, it becomes a part of him, destroying his life. Jesus had come to deal with sin in humanity. Such a cup would mean God's wrath on sin would be poured out. Israel sinned, and they received God's cup of wrath –   “Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.” Isaiah 51:17   Jesus' cup would be sufficient to deal with all of the sins of humanity. Thus, it would be a terrifying cup of wrath and judgment. He continues, asking, “or the immersion, the ‘I, I am immersed' to be immersed?”   Immersion signifies a change in direction and even in nature. John's immersion was one of repentance, turning from sin and returning to the way of the Lord. Jesus' immersion is found in the cross. It is the instrument of His immersion, going from life with God in Christ to immersion in death and separation from God for man's sin.   These together, the cup and the immersion, were what Jesus was destined for. And they were not for His sake but for the world. Despite this, and having no clue what this meant, the brothers chimed in with words of confidence. Matthew records, “They say to Him, ‘We are able.'”   It is a noble and confident affirmation lacking any comprehension of what lay ahead for Jesus.   Life application: Imagine what God in Christ was willing to do to restore us to Himself. He was under no obligation to suffer the indignation, torture, and humility of the cross in order to restore us to Him. And yet, He willingly did it.   What value does God see in us? It is hard to figure but it is there. His infinite goodness meant setting aside His glory and taking on a frail, human form. And His humanity went through all the struggles and trials humans face. And then it went through more when He was judged for our sins.   If you feel you are lacking value, look to the cross of Christ. You have infinite value in God's eyes when you accept the gospel and follow Jesus in faith.   Lord God, it is beyond our comprehension when we try to consider what the cross of Jesus truly signifies. It is the highest point of our existence when we to look and accept what it means. Everything changes from that moment on. Thank You, O God, for Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You. Amen.  

SCRIPTURE- 1 Corinthians 10:16-17"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."REFLECTION- Mike RenickMUSIC- Sleepless by GjeiloNOTES- Blog: What Does It Mean to Live Your Baptism? A Guide to Our Foundational Sacrament by Sr. Kathleen Rooney, SSJ PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Jesus Followers Are to Pray Directly to God for “all people” Because God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” MESSAGE SUMMARY: Jesus taught us to pray to God for others and ourselves. We are told, in Hebrews 5:7-8, that Jesus, as a Human, prayed to God in both content and manner as: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications {submissive requests}, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.". In your personal relationship with God, you can come before God, as Jesus did, on behalf of yourself or others in Intercessory Prayer. You are given the privilege of following Moses' example for Intercessory Prayer because of what Jesus has done for you. Jesus has given you the privilege of entering the Throne Room of God to have access to God the Father – this access to God is through prayer.  In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we are told the importance if intercessory prayer: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.".   TODAY'S PRAYER: Unclutter my heart, O God, until I am quiet enough to hear you speak out of the silence. Help me in these few moments to stop, to listen, to wait, to be still, and to allow your presence to envelop me. In Jesus' name, amen.                 Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 23). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Despair. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Joy. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Exodus 33:11; Exodus 32:11; Hebrews 5:1-10; Psalms 73b:15-28. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Our Awesome God -- Part 3: Trinity; Jesus, the Christ”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

SCRIPTURE- John 6:34-35"So they said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.'"REFLECTION- GaryMUSIC- "Beautiful Savior" by The O'Neill Brothers Group- "Eat this Bread, Drink this Cup" by Sunday 7pm ChoirNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

This message on Psalm 51 traces the difference between image-management and real repentance by contrasting shallow, self-protective confession with the brokenhearted honesty God receives. David's psalm rises out of the confrontation in 2 Samuel 12 after his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, and the sermon shows how true confession refuses to minimize sin, appeals only to God's steadfast love and abundant mercy, and cries, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The message also explains that sin is ultimately against God, that conviction is a mercy meant to drive us to repentance, and that God desires not polished religious performance but "a broken spirit" and "a broken and contrite heart." From there, the sermon turns practical, urging believers to ask God for wisdom in the secret heart, to stop justifying themselves, and to learn how to confess clearly both to God and to other people. Finally, it shows that forgiveness produces restored joy, renewed worship, and evangelism, because once sinners are cleansed by God's mercy, they cannot help but tell others about the God who saves

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.Jeremiah 17:9 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.The impurity of our hearts can block the blessing of God in our lives.1. Examine your motivesPsalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.Have you examined the motives of your heart?Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.The motives of your heart must be filtered by the truth of God's word.2. Realign your desiresPsalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.The more time you spend with God, the more your desires begin to change.3. Devote your heartMatthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.Our hearts can only serve one master.Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.A pure heart isn't a perfect heart. It's a heart that is undivided.Psalm 51:9-11 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jun 7, 2026 ========== June 7 - Wisdom from the Word Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo June 7, 2026 Micah Cating How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84:1-4, NIV THE CHURCH IS GOD'S HOUSE THE CHURCH IS A HOME FOR US 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84:3-4, NIV THE CHURCH IS A HOME FOR US · The church should be a welcoming place for all people who will worship the Lord. · The church is a place for our families. PURSUING THE LORD IS WORTH THE STRUGGLE 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Psalm 84:5-9, NIV THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE TO BE THAN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD 10Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. Psalm 84:10-12 NIV Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

SCRIPTURE- Romans 8:10-11"But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you."REFLECTION- JenMUSIC- "Here Am I, Lord" Instrumental- "How Great Thou Art" by The O'Neill Brothers Group- "Polar" by Ola GjeiloNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

In this episode of Outlaw God, Dr. Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith continue their exploration of Psalm 51, examining how David's encounter with Nathan reveals the difference between God as a mere judge and God as the Justifier who forgives sinners through the gospel. They argue that the law can only expose sin, punish wrongdoing, and attempt reform, while only God's absolving word can truly remove sin and create a new heart. Through David's prayer, "Have mercy on me, O God," the episode presents justification as God's complete and decisive act of forgiveness, accomplished apart from the law through the promise fulfilled in Christ. More from 1517: Give to the June 1517 Podcast Network Fundraiser! Learn more about the 1517 Podcast Network Fundraiser 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education New Books from 1517 Publishing: By Water and the Word by Brian Thomas Being Family by Dr. Scott Keith A Reasoned Defense of the Faith by Adam Francisco Stretched: A Study for Lent and the Entire Christian Life by Dr. Christopher Richmann The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation More from the hosts: Caleb Keith Steven Paulson Follow 1517:  Instagram X/Twitter Facebook  

SCRIPTURE- 1 Corinthians 12:4-7"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit."REFLECTION- Fr. JasonMUSIC- Take Our Bread by Joe WiseNOTES-PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Imagine a life of faithful church attendance, Bible reading, and devoted service — only to one day discover that the works you built were consumed by fire, reduced to ash, because they were constructed on something other than a fully surrendered heart. In this sobering and Spirit-stirring episode, Keneesha Saunders Liddie calls us to do something most of us quietly avoid: look honestly in the mirror. Not just to see what's there, but to do something about it. Because self-examination without repentance and return is just self-awareness — and God calls us to so much more. Drawing from the grief-soaked book of Lamentations, Keneesha points to Jerusalem in ruins — a people whose neglect of God's goodness, whose murmuring and complaining, had left them exposed to judgment and devastation. The haunting question she raises for each of us is this: are we sitting in our comfortable filth longer than we should? The good news is that the same God who allowed Jerusalem's ruin also made a way for its restoration. He is calling us back — to examine our ways, to test our hearts, and to return to Him so He can restore, cleanse, and renew us. Today's Bible Verse "Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." — Lamentations 3:40, NIV Ponder Today Self-examination is not optional for the believer — it's a daily discipline. We are called not merely to reflect on our condition but to act on what we find, returning fully to the Lord from whatever is hindering us. Looking in the mirror means nothing if you walk away unchanged. James warns that hearing the Word without doing it is self-deception. The goal of honest self-examination is always repentance and return — not just recognition. Murmuring and complaining reveal a heart that has stopped noticing God's goodness. Jerusalem's downfall began with neglecting to reflect on what God had done. Gratitude is not just a spiritual discipline — it is a safeguard against spiritual drift. We often stand in the way of our own restoration. When we choose to sit in comfortable sin rather than return to God, we delay the very healing and renewal He is ready to bring. Don't stay in the ruins longer than you need to. God inhabits the praises of His people. Even in the middle of trials and difficulty, turning complaint into praise is not denial — it is an act of faith that invites God's presence into your circumstances. A Prayer for You Today Heavenly Father, I humbly bow before You, first thanking You for Your goodness toward me. Search me, O God — if there is any wicked way within me, restore me to You. Forgive me for everything I have done against You, and reveal the places in my life where my motives and intentions have been wrong. Draw me back to You. Help me to praise You when I feel like complaining, and give me the wisdom to turn my difficulties into worship. I want to live a life fully surrendered to You — examining myself often, so that my life may reflect holy consecration unto You. In Jesus' name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer stirred a desire for a deeper, more honest walk with God, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to keep your heart surrendered and your faith growing every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.