Podcasts about Peniel

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart conclude their three-part series, Faith in the Dark Hours, with Jacob's all-night struggle at Peniel in Genesis 32:24–31. Alone, exhausted, and facing his greatest fear, Jacob discovered that the darkest night of his life became the place of his greatest transformation. This lesson reveals why God sometimes wrestles with His people before He blesses them, why true spiritual victory comes through surrender rather than self-reliance, and why Jacob prevailed not by overpowering God, but by refusing to let go. If you are walking through a long night of testing, this study offers a powerful reminder that those who cling to God in the darkness will find both the blessing and the dawn. Lesson 155-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961 MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

by Jim Hetherington https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/05154947/August-2-Sermon.mp3 Genesis 32:22-32 Jacob Wrestles With God 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c] and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Transcript (Transcribed by TurboScribe) I was going to mess up for Alexander and put a name tag on it and say Mark this morning, but I thought that wouldn’t be fair to him, so I left that off. But I was thinking during the, as we were kind of going through worship and the sound was cutting out and different things, I was reminded of a time I was down in Nicaragua on a worship, on a mission trip, and we were at this place in the evening and it was storming and the power went out. So when you’re down in the middle of nowhere and the lights go out, the lights go out, like everything was out. It was complete darkness, there was no light coming anywhere, no microphone, no nothing. And so I did what any good preacher would do. I just started to breathe from the diaphragm and just projected even more and I continued to preach even in the darkness. And it was to my amazement when the lights came back on, everybody was in tears. So obviously it was in that moment that God just wanted me out of the way for a little while so he could do what he wanted to do and it was just a tremendous experience. So regardless of technology, regardless of everything that’s going on, we will get the message out. We will continue on. And so this morning I want to travel around a little bit. We’re going to check in on somebody on a road to Damascus. We’re going to check on someone at the edge of a river, forcing all his family to flee and get away. But I wanted to start with sharing a story that just happened to me recently. Just a couple weeks ago, I secured a contract with a company and got a deposit from them and took it and put it in as I usually do. Just put in the ATM and put the money in there and didn’t think anything of it, right? There’s no restrictions on my account for the amounts I put in and move around and all that stuff. So I didn’t think anything of it until the next day when I went to take those funds and get some materials and project stuff to get going on it. I didn’t have access to the money. And I thought, well, that’s odd. So this was Friday, of course, so I couldn’t get a hold of the bank. So I let it go for the weekend, figured I’ll touch base with them Monday or Tuesday and see what’s going on. I figured, you know, a human just needs to get the piece of paper out of the machine and process it. So I checked a couple days later and still no. I was told by the manager, as I was explaining my situation, that Jim with the bank, not just our bank, but the banks in general are moving away from paper checks. They want to go to e-transfers. They want everything electronically now. So it’s not like they’re punishing you, but they’re taking and holding any cash or checks. They’re holding it for five days and clearing. Even it could be cleared tomorrow, but they’re going to hold it for five days. I said, well, if I come down and take the check and get it certified, would that help speed up the process? Doesn’t matter. It could be a certified check or check written on a paper towel. It has the same weight with the banks now. And I thought, well, isn’t that interesting? You know, I’ve got all of this in my account, but I can’t access it. I can’t get to it. And I got thinking about how it is with our prayer lives, with our spiritual lives, right? We’ve got access to so much, but we don’t know how to get to it. Some of the stuff is on hold. Some of the stuff is being held back on, it seems, right? How many have ever had this dialogue in your brain? You think, well, that’s good for someone else, but it’s not good enough for me. Other people are successful in the Christian church, but not me. Other people get healings and get blessings, but you know, that’s not for me, right? So we hear those different things, and we don’t think we have access. But indeed, we do have access through Jesus. We have access to everything. But sometimes it just seems like everything is held back. And oftentimes we’ll see that through stories, through scripture, where blessings were held back for a time and a season until the person got through a situation, came to repentance, did something. There was something in their life that God was teaching them and taking them through. So I wanted to look at a couple of stories. One is Jacob. We’re going to read about him in Genesis 32. I don’t know, do we have screen now, or am I just reading it? Oh, we do have screen, right? That’s great. So it said this. It said, that night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 sons and crossed the ford at Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, let me go for his daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go until you bless me. The man asked him, what is your name? Jacob, he answered. Then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with humans and have overcome. Jacob said, please tell me your name. But he replied, why do you ask my name? Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called that place Peniel, saying, it was because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. Then the sun rose above him, and he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched with it. So we’re not going there with the hip sockets and with the displacement and stuff like that. But I wanted to go into the story of what brought Jacob there. You know, I think Jacob came to the end of his rope. Literally, I mean, it was the end of the land. There was only a river behind him. He was running from his brother Esau, whom he had cheated and manipulated and done all kinds of crazy things. And Jacob had done that through his entire life. He had manipulated and controlled and done all kinds of different things to accumulate his wealth, to accumulate the things that he had. And here he was at the edge with his brother in pursuit, with a few hundred men in pursuit of him, and he’s passing everything over the river to get them to safety. But he stayed there. Then it says that he wrestled with a man all night long. Now, tradition says that it could have been Esau’s guardian angel that was holding him back and wrestling with him throughout the night. Regardless of what it was, he was wrestling all night long. Now, I don’t know about you, but I did a little bit of wrestling in high school. And doing a five-minute match, that was enough. Like, I mean, you’ve got two opponents locked in, 100% energy, trying to hold them from going anywhere. So you’re trying to hold them and not allow them to get any position on you. They’re holding you and not trying to let you get any position, but you’re still trying to get a position and go on for a few minutes. That’s exhausting. After I’m done for five minutes, I’m quite happy to sit and watch someone else go through a match because it just takes so much energy. So here’s these guys that have wrestled through the entire evening. Now, it’s interesting that as daybreak was coming, the angel just touched his hip and it was over. He could have done that five minutes into it, but he let it wrestle through the entire situation. And how many times have we gone through things in life where we’re wrestling with things? We’re struggling with things. We got challenged. You know, there’s challenges coming left and right, and we don’t understand it. We continue to go through these different things, and it’s almost like we’re wrestling with God to stand our position, to make clear what we want to do or what we’re trying to do. And I really believe that what Jacob had to do was God was wrestling everything out of Jacob. He was wrestling Jacob out of Jacob. And sometimes we come to that place where you and I, we come to that end where we just have to sit and just say, I can’t fight God anymore. I’m tired of just trying to defend my position. I’m exhausted trying to keep up this prasad and trying to keep up this righteous attitude, these righteous positions. And sometimes God has to take us to the end of us before he can step in and do what he wants to do. Imagine what our lives would be like if we could access all that we could access, all that we have access to in the kingdom. Imagine what the kingdom would look like if God could wrestle out of us our stubbornness. I mean, I’m all for sticking to it, right? We all want to stick to it. We always want to see things through to the end, right? They say that failure is just a success that ran out of time. I mean, think about the diets we start, right? We start a diet. We’re doing really good. Time is going on. We’re resisting those potato chips. We’re just carrying on. And all of a sudden, somebody in the family opens up that bag of chips. We get a waft of that salty, greasy goodness. And we just say, oh, just this one time, I’ll take a couple of chips. And so that success becomes a failure because we’ve given in to the time. And we can think of that with financial goals. I’m going to put this away and I’m going to save up to buy this new Mercedes Benz. And we’re saving and saving and saving and we go, well, the Chevette will be okay because I’d really like to have that in-ground pool in the backyard. So we compromise and we end time. So failure is just a success that’s run out of time. But if we continue in time, we’ll continue to grow in successes. And Jacob was running out of time. His brother was closing in and he was running out of real estate. But he stayed there to defend his ground. And it was during that wrestling that he actually received the blessing of God. Because I think during that moment, he had that opportunity to reflect on the journey, reflect on his life. Anybody been in a room like that or been in a position like that where all of a sudden you’re reflecting going, well, yeah, I did this and that really caused this to happen. I made this choice and made this decision and that really caused this to happen. And then we reflect and all of a sudden now we’re not blaming God. We’re taking responsibility for it. Now God can move us forward into something brand new. Let’s have a look at Paul. In second Corinthians, we read this. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations. Remember that line. There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said, my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about the weaknesses so that Christ, Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I made strong. I love that, that first line where he says he kept me conceited from these surpassingly great revelations. I mean, just think about it. The Bible that we read and we study and we get sermons from, that we hear teachings on, that scholars have studied for centuries. Paul was writing that stuff. He was getting those revelations from God in that moment and, and scribing all those things down so that we would have it for future tense. So, so he was getting these amazing revelations. I remember in another mission trip, Oregon, I went down and my wife and I, we had taken about 15 or 16 trips into Central America over the years, always taking high school students, building teams, all kinds of stuff going on. One year we decided we just wanted to visit the missionaries and visit the area by ourselves. So, just the two of us went through the airport and it was, it was terrible withdrawals because as we were going through, we kept looking around waiting for everybody else to catch up with us because we had never gone through an airport without having a team following us. So, we went down there and I had a sign with my wife. If we were at a service, I would look at her and I would just kind of give her the nod and she would know to take out her notepad and start taking notes. This was before, you know, smartphones. And I did that because oftentimes we would get down into Nicaragua, we get down in these areas, we thought we were just going for a visit. We thought we were just going to hang out with the missionary couples and, you know, have coffee in the morning and sit around and relax. Oh no, they put us to work. So, I was preaching and teaching and then to put these, you know, these conferences together at the last minute where we had 30 or 40 pastors and now I’m teaching a and I had nothing prepared, I had nothing with me. So, everything was fresh and new and so that’s why I had to look at Mary and go and, you know, write that down because that’s a new one and that’s probably, you know, very similar to what Paul was experiencing. It was all these fresh revelations were coming in and he was capturing and writing them all down. But to keep him from getting conceited, to keep him from getting too puffed up, God gave him this thorn in the flesh. And there’s all kinds of stories of what it was and how it was and all that. That doesn’t matter. The point is that he had something that God reminded him that he was just human and it kept him humble. When I was younger, I got hired by the safari park just outside of town here and I went through the process through the training, the zoological keeper training. So, I went through that for the summer, got hired on and I stayed there for the season and the next year I was called back and then I was appointed a supervisor of the lion, tiger, cheetah section. And it was really quite an appointment. It was a real anointing time. We were gathered around a particular thing, the supervisor and a couple of other workers. The main head game warden came in and he looked at the supervisor and said, you’re out. And he looked at me and said, you’re in. And that was my appointment. That was my appointment as supervisor. He’s out, you’re in. And I became supervisor in that moment. And then the next year I was appointed the assistant head game warden. So, when my boss was off for his two days, I took his responsibility for the entire park. With that came this really nice truck, the coveted truck of the park. And I was just so proud of myself driving that truck around. It roared, it soared, it looked so cool. And I remember parking it and there was something broken at the side of one of the pathways. So, I got out of the truck and went over and I picked it up and I looked back at that truck and I went, oh, that truck is so cool. It’s so amazing. It’s so coveted. Everybody wants to be in this truck. And as I went to step into the truck, I stepped up a little bit too high, cracked my head across the roof of the truck as I was going in. I remember sitting there seeing stars and I was wise enough in my young, early Christian walk to go, I better pay attention to that, not get too conceited, not get too puffed up. God was just knocking some sense into me as it were. And I’ve needed that from time to time. I don’t know if anybody else here, I’m sure none of you have needed that be hit over the head with a two by four anytime at all in your journey. But, you know, occasionally I need to be knocked over the head. And that’s what was happening with Paul here. That was what’s happening with Jacob. He was at the end of his rope. He came to the end of himself. And Paul, as much as he pleaded with God to take this thorn from him, he said, no, my grace is sufficient. I need to keep you under control. I need to keep something in line so that you don’t get too puffed up and too crazy because what you’re handling is so big and it’s so amazing. It’s so powerful. It’s going to affect generations and centuries to come. So what you’re writing is too valuable for me to let you go along with your conceited attitude. And he kept it in check. Sometimes we go through experiences and we just say, I can get through this. I can handle this. You dig in a little bit deeper. It could be stubborn nature, could be pride. I think there’s a difference between being proud and being prideful, right? Being proud of our achievements or accomplishments and things that we’ve done. I think that is a good thing. Being proud of our children, our grandchildren, being proud of our partners. I think that’s a good thing. But the prideful thing, that becomes an arrogance thing, doesn’t it? That becomes a look at me, like me hopping into that truck, getting cracked on the head. That becomes a look at me. And what God is wanting is the attention, the glory, the honour. And how often do we try to rob that in our Christian life, saying, look at me, or rob them in our professional lives, going, look at me, or rob them in our personal lives, going, look at me, rather than giving him the glory in all the situations. So oftentimes we hit the end of those roads. And I think it’s God wanting to wrestle us out of us so that we come to a new place of humility, a new place of just honouring him for who he is. I’m reading a good book right now. The guy’s name is Jeff Henderson, I think. Sorry, I wrote his name down. I always forget his name. And I wrote it down here somewhere, and now I can’t find it. Yes, Jeff Henderson. And he’s written this book called Know What You’re For, F-O-R. And this guy’s had the opportunity to work with some amazing organisations over the years, like Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta Braves, and most notably, he’s worked with North Point Church in the U.S. And they’ve got about 50,000 members and about 150 locations, satellite locations, across the world. So they’re doing okay as a church. How many would say a 50K membership, that’s not a bad deal, right? So he was able to work with them. But he’s challenged them with two questions. And he challenges every organisation, every individual, every church, with two questions. What do you want to be known for? That’s the first question. And it’s something that we can ask ourselves. What do we want to be known for? What do you want to be known for? What does Central want to be known for? The companies that we create, or maybe we operate, we founded, what do we want that company to be known for? And the second question is the opposite. It’s what are you known for? So one is your vision, your purpose, your mission, your goals. What is it you want to be known for? The other is what are other people saying about you? When you leave the room, what are they saying when you’ve left the room? Do they miss you? Are they glad you’re gone? What are they saying about your company? Would they deal with you again, or are they glad the contract’s done? What are they saying about your church? Are they glad to be here, or are they glad to leave? I jokingly said that when I first stepped out of leadership, Mary and I, we had to step out of the church that we served at, because every time we showed up, they tried to put us to work. I mean, they forgot, they didn’t get the memo that we no longer served in leadership. And they every time we’d show up, we could show up four months later, and they would try to put us to work. It’s like, wait a second, I don’t work and serve here anymore. So we ended up leaving, looking around, and we started going to a number of churches in the region. And I’m not going to name any names, and I drop any of those things, but we jokingly said we were going to start a secret church shopping network. We were going to start a company called Secret Church Shoppers. We went to some horrendous churches. You think they’re all welcoming and goosebumpy like this place? No. There were some churches we were happy to leave. I hate to say it, but we were just as excited to, we were more excited to leave than we were to go. So the questions are really important to look at. Because even as individuals, we have a brand. A brand isn’t what you say about yourself. A brand is what others say about you. So what is your brand? What are people saying about you when you’re not in the room? When they’re on the telephone talking about you, what are they saying? And you say, well, Jim, it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care what other people think. Well, you should. Paul again encourages us to live such good lives among the pagans, among the non-believers, that on the day of judgement, they’ve got no excuse. They can’t look and say, well, Nancy was just such a hypocrite. I was just never showing the truth. I was never exposed to the truth. It’s all Nancy’s fault. No, you need to live such good lives among the pagans that when they stand before God, they can’t say it was Alexander’s fault. It was central church’s fault. They’ve got no excuse. So I want to encourage us to look at the circumstances and the experiences that we’re going through right now and ask ourselves, is there too much of me that I’m carrying in this situation? Is there something in this situation that I need to let go of so that I can allow God to rise up? It’s all about the humbling, the submissive thing. And I know we don’t like that word, submissive. We don’t like to use that word because it has such a negative feeling to it. If I’m submissive to somebody, it means I’m under their thumb. I’m under their control. It’s actually the opposite. When we submit to someone, what we’re doing is we’re pushing them up. We’re elevating them up so that they become the very best version of who they are. We respect and we honour them for who they are. And as they become their very best, guess what? We become our very best, because as we follow in them, we grow in greater successes. And as we honour God and lift him up, now we can begin to follow him. And as scripture says, success will follow us all the days of our lives. As we begin to walk in what he has for us, rather than creating something and saying, God, I’m going to do this, this, and this, and I want you to bless me. That’s why I entitled today’s thing, titled today’s sermon, are we directing or are we praying? Because oftentimes we get in our prayer closets and we’re just directing God. Well, God, you’re going to do this. God, you’re going to bless this. God, I need you to provide this. I need you to give me this. Rather than coming to the end of ourselves and saying, God, what it is that you want? I would suggest as individuals, we need to come to that place. And certainly as a church, we need to come to that place. As we look to hire on new leadership, we need to ask ourselves and be clear on what do we want to be known for? And we need to be honest and look around the neighbourhood and say, what are they saying about us? Because when we can align what we are for and align that with the person that we’re going to bring in and leadership, then the church will go to that next level. I had an experience in a church that we used to attend when I was younger. Mary and I, when we first got married, attended the church and we had a great pastor. He was a wonderful man. And a couple of years into going to that church, he felt called to move off into some other place a little bit further north. And so he was moving away. So the church started looking for a new pastor. And they thought, well, you know, this guy laid some good foundational stuff here. So we’re ready to go to that next level. So we want a really scholarly person. We want someone with some real deep education that can take us in and teach us the deeper things of God. So they hired someone that could do that. I built a relationship with this pastor over the years when he served there. And he was telling me that when he first served there, the first few weeks, he realised that what he was teaching was way up here. Their comprehension was way down here. It was nowhere near what they thought it was. So he brought it down a level. Only to discover a few weeks later that that wasn’t far enough. He had to bring it down a little bit further. So they thought they were ready for meat rather than milk, but they weren’t ready for the meat. And so he had to adjust it. And there was great tension between that leadership because their visions didn’t align. What they were for didn’t align. And so I want to encourage us to to come to a place, and I’m hoping that, you know, as leadership is here or maybe watching this on recording afterwards, that they would consider to look at what you were for. What do we want to be known for? Because then we can align with what it is that God is doing rather than trying to make up a wish list and saying, God, you fill this, you do this, you get this, and everything will be peachy. You know, Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing. How many of us could pray without ceasing? I know after 10-15 minutes, I’m running out of stuff. I’m really stretching. You know, we start the same prayers. Oh, thank you for today. Thank you for the food. Thank you for the blessings. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for our church. Thank you for all these things. After a few minutes, like the wrestling of Jacob, we run out of things. But as we go deeper and begin to rely on the Holy Spirit to feed us with ideas and feed us with things to pray, then we come in alignment with what God is wanting to do and is doing. And what a difference that would make as we come into that vision. In Proverbs 3, 5-6, it says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight. Wouldn’t that be a great way to live? In all our ways submit to him. Does that mean that he doesn’t want us to go back to school and get that degree? Probably not. Maybe not. Does it mean that he doesn’t want us to have this relationship with this particular person? Who knows? But as we submit things to God, as we surrender to him, we’re just saying now, okay, God, this is where I am. Where do you want me to go? And that’s a whole different trajectory. Now we’re not being like Jacob, feeling that we’ve got people in hot pursuit because we’re always creating sticky messes everywhere we’re going. We’re not trying to push through something, maybe physical, maybe mental, maybe relational, that we need to just lay down and just look at honestly and just allow God’s truth to wash in there. So I want us to encourage us with that. And I’m going to end a little bit earlier just because it’s so warm in here. I just want to be aware of that. So let’s pray. Father, we come before you this morning and Lord, if there’s a little bit of a Jacob in us, we ask your forgiveness. We just want to confess. If there’s deals we’ve made, if there’s things that we’ve created, if there’s ways that we’ve pursued that aren’t of you, that aren’t of your highest, we ask that you would reveal them to us this morning. Even now, Lord, as we pray, I ask that you would put your finger on one or two of those things that maybe we’re walking to. Maybe it’s a relationship thing. Maybe it’s a financial thing. Maybe it’s a relationship thing with you. Maybe it’s a church thing. Whatever it is, Father, we just want to lay it down before you. And we ask that you would speak into that. For those that are wrestling with physical challenges right now, we ask that you would speak into those. Sometimes physical things can be your way of getting our attention so that we will spend time with you. Whatever it is, Father, we ask that you would bring your Holy Spirit, allow your Holy Spirit to just speak to those things in our hearts, in our lives. And we confess them to you. We ask your forgiveness for relying on our own strength, relying on our own knowledge, our own understanding, thinking that our way is far better than yours. Father, we ask your forgiveness for being like a lump of clay, but laying in front of you, dictating what you’re going to create, what you’re going to mould, what you’re going to shape. We just want to give you permission today to mould us, to shape us, and to use us. And we surrender. We choose to get out of the way and allow you to work. And for those of us here today that have never surrendered completely to you, Lord Jesus, we want to take a moment and just pray. We’re going to pray and confess our sin to you, confess that we have been trying to earn our way into your kingdom. We ask your forgiveness. And we turn to you, Lord Jesus, and we accept you and receive you, and we choose to make you Lord of our lives. We ask that you would rule and reign in our hearts.  

Genesis 32:22-31 - Jacob Wrestles With God 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Is it okay to wrestle with God? To doubt, to question, to demand a blessing before you let go?In this sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, The Rev. Craig Swan turns to Jacob's night at the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22–31) — the moment his past finally catches up with him, and he is left alone to wrestle with a stranger until daybreak. Fr. Craig traces this as both a physical struggle and a spiritual one: will Jacob run from the consequences of his choices, or step into the role he schemed his way into? He connects Jacob's limp — carried away "injured but secure" — to Paul's own hard-won faith in 2 Timothy, arguing that the "victor's crown" was never about accomplishment, but about never letting go of trust through doubt and darkness.The sermon closes with an invitation: growing into a mature faith means moving past childhood certainty and owning a faith tested by our own struggle — just like Jacob at Peniel.Scripture ReadingsGenesis 32:22–31 — Jacob wrestles with God at the JabbokPsalm 17:1–7, 15 — "Show me your marvelous, loving-kindness, O Savior"Romans 9:1–5 — Paul's anguish for his own peopleMatthew 14:13–21 — Feeding of the five thousandSt. Peter's by-the-Sea is an Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island.Sunday worship rooted in Anglican liturgy, scripture, and thoughtful preaching.Plan a visit: https://www.stpetersbythesea.com

Title: How to Wrestle with GodScripture Reading: Genesis 32:22-32Series: Bizarre BibleDo you find yourself constantly scheming your way through life's challenges? Jacob, a lifelong schemer, finds himself in a mysterious all-night wrestling match in Genesis 32. This encounter becomes an enacted metaphor for his life, forcing him to move from wrestling by scheming to wrestling by trusting God. Ultimately, Jacob surrenders his self-reliance, foreshadowing the ultimate surrender of our Savior, Jesus, in Gethsemane. Choose to wrestle with life's difficulties by surrendering and trusting in God's power, rather than relying on your own schemes.

A sermon for Pentecost 10 (August 2, 2026) Genesis 32:22-31 The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Jacob has spent much of his life running from the consequences of his choices and grasping for the future he wants. On the night before he must face Esau, Jacob is left alone beside the Jabbok River, where he wrestles with God until daybreak. Jacob cannot overpower or outmaneuver God. Wounded and unable to rely upon his old strength, he can only remain in the struggle and hold on. There, God asks Jacob to name himself honestly and then gives him a new name before reconciliation is complete. Jacob leaves Peniel without an explanation, but with a blessing, a limp, and the assurance that his past does not determine who he is becoming. This sermon reflects on the courage to stop running, remain with God through uncertainty, and take the next faithful step before we feel fully ready. Like Jacob, we may not be able to control what waits on the other side of the river, but we can trust that God's grace has already met us in the night.

This Sunday marks a shift in the Gospel. The parables arc that ran through the last three Sundays gives way to a return to Jesus in action. Matthew 14 gives us the feeding of the five thousand — one of the most famous miracles in Christian memory, and the only miracle told in all four Gospels. After weeks of listening to Jesus tell stories about the kingdom, we now watch him embody the kingdom — with a hungry crowd, a deserted place, and five loaves.Photo by nilufar nattaq on UnsplashThe Old Testament tracks lead toward the Gospel in different ways. Track One brings us one of the most famous scenes in Genesis — Jacob's night at the river Jabbok, wrestling with a stranger who turns out to be more than a stranger. Track Two gives us Isaiah's great invitation to the thirsty and hungry to come and eat without money and without price. Both pair naturally with the Gospel's feeding.The Epistle turns a corner as well. Romans 8 has been running under the Sundays since Proper 9, and it culminated last week in the great crescendo: nothing can separate us from the love of God. Today Paul opens Romans 9 in a completely different key — anguish, unceasing sorrow, grief for his own people, Israel. It is a difficult passage and easy to preach badly. The guide handles it with care.For preachers continuing a series: the parables arc has closed. The next several weeks return to Matthew's narrative — the feeding this week, walking on water next week, the Canaanite woman the week after. Jesus is on the move again, and Matthew's pen is following him.The ReadingsGenesis 32:22–31First Reading (Track One) — Jacob at PenielSummaryJacob is returning to face his brother Esau after twenty years away. He has sent his family and possessions across the Jabbok in the night and been left alone. There, in the darkness, a man wrestles with him until daybreak. Neither prevails; the stranger strikes Jacob's hip, and Jacob's hip is put out of joint. As morning is coming, the man asks to be released. Jacob refuses without a blessing. He receives one: a new name — Israel, “one who has striven with God and prevailed.” Jacob names the place Peniel, “the face of God,” because, he says, he has seen God face to face and lived. He limps away into the sunrise.Key Ideas for Preaching* Jacob is at the darkest point of the story so far. He has cheated his brother, been cheated by his uncle, and now must face the brother he wronged. The wrestling comes at exactly this moment. Where in your congregation are people in the darkest stretch of their story, and what might it mean for them to hear that this is exactly where God has been known to show up?* The wrestling is not tidy. Jacob is not blessed for pious cooperation. He is blessed because he held on through a struggle he did not choose. What might it mean for your people that a faithful life includes wrestling — with God, with the questions we cannot resolve, with our own patterns — and not only calm assent?* Jacob asks for a blessing and receives a limp. The blessing is real, and so is the wound. He walks away permanently changed. Where in your congregation have people received both a blessing and a mark from their encounter with God, and how might this text help them make peace with the mark?* The new name — Israel, “one who has striven with God” — becomes the name of a whole people. The identity of God's people is not “one who has agreed with God” but “one who has striven with God.” What does it look like to preach faithful striving, not just faithful agreement?Significant Cautions* Do not romanticize the wrestling into an image of triumphant persistence. Jacob does not defeat God. He simply refuses to let go, and he is wounded in the encounter.* “I have seen God face to face” is Jacob's claim in awe, not a doctrine. Do not build a theological system on the specific language of the encounter.* The wound to the hip is not a moral punishment. It is what encounter with the holy sometimes costs. Preach it gently.Psalm 17:1–7, 15The Psalm (Track One) — I Shall Behold Your FaceSummaryA prayer for help from someone under real pressure. The psalmist asks God to hear his cry, to test his heart, to keep him under God's wing. He is being pursued by enemies who want to bring him down. The closing verse turns to hope: “I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied.”Key Ideas for Preaching* The psalmist is honest about the pressure he is under. He is not pretending to be calm. Where in your congregation are people under real pressure who need permission to name it in prayer without dressing it up?* Paired with Jacob's wrestling, the psalm's closing hope — “I shall behold your face” — takes on unexpected weight. Both texts imagine a face-to-face meeting with God as the goal, however costly the road there. What does it mean to preach a faith where seeing God face to face is worth the wrestle?Significant Cautions* The psalmist's claim of innocence can sound self-righteous. Read in context, it is a plea for a fair hearing, not a boast about moral perfection.Isaiah 55:1–5First Reading (Track Two) — Come to the WatersSummaryOne of the great invitations in the prophets. Everyone who thirsts is called to come to the waters. Everyone without money is called to come, buy, and eat — without money and without price. The prophet asks why we spend our money on what is not bread, our labor on what does not satisfy. God's covenant is renewed as an everlasting one, in the pattern of God's steadfast love for David.Key Ideas for Preaching* The invitation is remarkable. Come, buy, and eat — without money and without price. God's economy runs on a different currency than the market's. Where in your congregation has the culture of transaction crept into people's sense of what they can receive from God?* “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” That is a question worth reading slowly in a culture built on selling us things that will not satisfy. What might your sermon do with that question, alongside the Gospel's picture of a crowd fed for free?* Paired with today's Gospel, the connection is direct. Both texts describe God feeding people freely. What does it mean for your congregation that the free feeding of the multitude is not a departure from the God of Israel but an expression of exactly who this God has been all along?Significant Cautions* The invitation to “come, buy, and eat without money” is easy to spiritualize in ways that let the church off the hook for the actual hungry. Do not use this text to sanitize scarcity in the world.Psalm 145:8–9, 14–21The Psalm (Track Two) — You Open Your HandSummaryAnother section of the great hymn to God's compassion. God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, good to all. God upholds the falling, feeds every living thing in its season, and is near to all who call. The closing verses affirm that God fulfills the desires of those who fear him and preserves those who love him.Key Ideas for Preaching* “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.” This is divine hospitality on a cosmic scale. How might your sermon place today's feeding of the five thousand inside this larger picture — God's steady, ongoing feeding of everything alive?* “The Lord is near to all who call on him.” Not near to some. Not near to the deserving. Near to all. Where has your congregation quietly assumed nearness was on a shorter list?Significant Cautions* “The Lord watches over all who love him, but the wicked he will destroy” appears in this section of the psalm. Handle it carefully. Do not use it to license human judgment against people we have decided are wicked.Romans 9:1–5The Epistle — Paul's Grief for His PeopleSummaryThe tone in Romans changes sharply. After the crescendo of chapter 8, Paul opens chapter 9 in grief. He has, he says, unceasing sorrow in his heart. He would wish himself cut off from Christ if it would somehow bring his own people, the Israelites, into what he has come to know in Jesus. The passage names what belongs to Israel: the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and — according to the flesh — the Messiah himself.Key Ideas for Preaching* Paul is anguished about his own people. He is not writing them off. He is not preaching against them. He is grieving because he loves them and because he has come to believe something that separates them from him. What does it look like to preach on grief for people we love who see the world differently — not with contempt, but with the ache Paul is describing?* The list Paul gives — adoption, glory, covenants, law, worship, promises, patriarchs, and the Messiah — is a list of gifts to Israel. Paul is not disparaging his own tradition; he is celebrating it, even in his grief. How might your sermon guard against the anti-Jewish readings that have plagued this passage in Christian history?* Paul's willingness to wish himself cut off from Christ, if it would help his people, is one of the most striking lines in the letter. He is not being noble; he is naming the depth of his love for people he cannot make see what he sees. Where in your congregation has love for someone across a divide taken people to that kind of place?Significant Cautions* This passage has been used to argue that Christianity has replaced Judaism, or that Jewish people have been cut off from God. Paul does not say this. He says the opposite — the covenants, the promises, the patriarchs, and even the Messiah belong to Israel. Preach against the anti-Jewish uses of this passage plainly.* “According to the flesh comes the Christ” should not be pressed into subtle anti-Jewish readings. Paul's point is that the Messiah is Jewish — a claim he is making with pride, not with distance.* Paul's grief for people he loves who do not yet share his faith should not be turned into a permission slip for aggressive evangelism. His posture is anguished, not strategic.Matthew 14:13–21The Gospel — The Feeding of the Five ThousandSummaryJesus has just heard the news of John the Baptist's execution. He withdraws to a deserted place by himself, but the crowds follow him on foot from the towns. When he sees them, he has compassion for them and cures their sick. Evening comes. The disciples want him to send the crowd away so they can buy food in the villages. Jesus tells them: “You give them something to eat.” They protest that they have only five loaves and two fish. He orders the crowds to sit down on the grass. Then he takes the loaves and the fish, looks up to heaven, blesses, breaks, and gives them to the disciples, who give them to the crowd. All eat and are filled. Twelve baskets of leftovers are gathered. Five thousand men were there, besides women and children.Key Ideas for Preaching* Jesus does this in grief. He has just lost John the Baptist — his cousin, his herald, the one who baptized him. He withdrew, we are told, to a deserted place by himself. The crowd follows him anyway. And he has compassion for them. What does it look like for your congregation to hear that the compassion of Christ comes even from within his own grief — not after it, not despite it, but from within it?* “You give them something to eat.” That is what Jesus says to the disciples' request that the crowd be sent away. The disciples want the problem to become someone else's. Jesus places it in their hands. Where has your congregation quietly asked God to send the hungry away, and how might Jesus' instruction reset that?* The math is off. Five loaves, two fish, five thousand men plus women and children. The disciples are not wrong that the numbers do not work. Jesus is not asking them to make the numbers work; he is asking them to bring what they have. What does it look like for your congregation to bring what they have without pretending it will be enough?* Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives. Those four verbs are eucharistic language. Matthew wants us to hear this feeding and the Last Supper together — one continuous action of Christ receiving and blessing and breaking and giving what has been placed in his hands. How might your sermon let your people feel that the meal they celebrate at this table participates in the meal on the grass?* Twelve baskets of leftovers — one for each disciple. The abundance is not only for the crowd; it is also, quite specifically, for the ones who thought there would not be enough. What does it look like to preach the specific reassurance of the leftovers for the ones who serve, who fear running out?Significant Cautions* Two common readings of the miracle circulate. One is that Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves. The other is that Jesus shamed people out of their hoarded food and everyone shared. Both readings have their defenders. Do not be dogmatic about which is right. Both are ways of taking the story seriously.* “You give them something to eat” has been used to bless a heroic view of Christian service that leaves people burned out. Jesus takes what the disciples bring and multiplies it; he does not ask them to solve the problem alone.* The crowd is not fed as a reward for good behavior. They are fed because they are hungry. Do not preach this text in a way that suggests God's feeding is conditional on our faithfulness.* Do not moralize the miracle into a lesson primarily about our attitudes. The story is fundamentally about what Christ does with what is placed in his hands.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day and one of the most famous scenes in Christian memory. The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle story that appears in all four Gospels. Matthew tells it here with particular attention to Jesus' grief, the disciples' anxiety about scarcity, and the four eucharistic verbs — take, bless, break, give.On Track One, Jacob's night at the Jabbok pairs with the Gospel in a way that is more thematic than direct. Both scenes describe an encounter with God that changes something. Jacob is renamed and limps away. The disciples are handed a task that seems impossible and end up with twelve baskets of leftovers. Both stories insist that God works through what feels like the wrong scale.On Track Two, the connection to the Gospel is direct. Isaiah's invitation to come to the waters and buy food without money, and Psalm 145's picture of God feeding every living thing in its season, both flow into the Gospel's picture of a crowd being fed on the grass. The God of the Old Testament tracks is the God of the Gospel feeding. This is one story about one God.Romans 9 sits inside the day as its most difficult companion. Paul's grief for his people who do not yet see what he sees is a heavy word to preach, and preachers should handle it with care to avoid the anti-Jewish readings that have plagued this passage. Read alongside the Gospel, one connection is worth noticing: Paul, like Jesus in Matthew 14, is grieving. He is not withdrawn from the world's pain; he is inside it. His anguish is the anguish of a person who loves someone he cannot fix.For preachers continuing the series: the parables arc has closed. Matthew 14 returns us to Jesus in action, with the feeding this week, walking on water next week, and the Canaanite woman the following week. The Matthew narrative is picking back up — and it is picking back up in a scene of extravagant, embodied grace. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

God's Blessings Genesis 32:22-30 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!" But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." "What is your name?" the man asked. He replied, "Jacob." "Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won." "Please tell me your name," Jacob said. "Why do you want to know my name?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means "face of God"), for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared." It's Okay to Ask for God's Blessing 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 Genesis 32:26 Psalms 119:121-122 Ways to Receve God's Blessing Luke 11:28 James 1:25 Galatians 6:9 Psalms 67:5-7 Acts 20:35 Malachi 3:10-12 God Desires to Bless Us Numbers 6:22-27 Psalms 67:1, 7

Discernment is one of the most important spiritual abilities every believer must develop. Without discernment, it becomes easy to be misled by deception, poor decisions, and influences that are contrary to God's will.In this powerful and practical teaching, Apostle Vincent Loate explains the different categories of discernment found in Scripture and demonstrates how the Holy Spirit equips believers to recognize truth, make wise decisions, and walk confidently in God's purpose.Grounded in biblical principles, this sermon teaches that discernment is more than identifying right from wrong—it is the ability to recognize God's voice, understand spiritual realities, and make decisions that honour Christ.

Discernment is one of the most important spiritual abilities every believer must develop. Without discernment, it becomes easy to be misled by deception, poor decisions, and influences that are contrary to God's will.In this powerful and practical teaching, Apostle Vincent Loate explains the different categories of discernment found in Scripture and demonstrates how the Holy Spirit equips believers to recognize truth, make wise decisions, and walk confidently in God's purpose.Grounded in biblical principles, this sermon teaches that discernment is more than identifying right from wrong—it is the ability to recognize God's voice, understand spiritual realities, and make decisions that honour Christ.

It has come to an end!!Season 5 of GET REAL closes out with some games, prizes, and reflection from our favorite four hosts Ashley, BM, Peniel, and JUNNY.Thank you to all of YOU who join us to GET REAL

Génesis 33, 35:10, 32:13-23;Oseas 12:3-5;2 Cor 12:9, 5:17; Apocalipsis 2:17;Exo 33:20-24. Peniel,rostro de Dios; Jacob=Israel“Escrituras tomadas de la Nueva Biblia de las Américas (NBLA), Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation. Usadas con permiso; todos los derechos reservados." www.NuevaBiblia.com

In a world filled with deception, confusion, and false teachings, discernment is one of the greatest gifts God has given His people.In this powerful and life-changing sermon, Apostle Vincent Loate teaches why discernment is essential for every believer. Discover how the Holy Spirit helps Christians distinguish between truth and error, light and darkness, and the voice of God from the voice of the world.Drawing from Matthew 24:24, Philippians 1:9-10, Hebrews 5:14, Proverbs 2:11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Job 12:19-21, and 1 Corinthians 1:18 & 1:30, this message reveals how discernment protects believers from deception and develops spiritual maturity.

O Caixa de Música é exibido na TV Novo Tempo de segunda a quinta às 18h e, aos sábados, às 12h.Curta e siga o Caixa de Música nas redes sociais: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/caixademusica/⁠Facebook:⁠ https://www.facebook.com/CaixadeMusica/⁠X: ⁠https://x.com/caixademusic

Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Ben Cossette, Johnny V., Mike McHugh, and James Gowell Edited by: Tim NicholsonIn this episode of Thriving in the Word, we continue The Hall of Faith series and we stop at a man who spent most of his life running — from his brother, from his past, from himself — and still somehow ended up in the Hall of Faith, leaning on a staff at the end of his days, blessing the next generation.We walk through Genesis 25, 27, 28, and 32 and trace it all the way into Hebrews 11:21, where Jacob, by faith, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshiped as he leaned on top of his staff. The crew goes everywhere — from the "No Fear of God" mentality that marked Jacob's early years, to the night everything changed at Peniel, the wrestling match that left him with a limp and a new name, to the reminder God permanently built into his body that you don't walk away from an encounter with the Living God the same way you came in.Jacob is the deceiver who became Israel. He grabbed his brother's heel in the womb, stole a birthright over a bowl of soup, wore goat skins to trick a blind father, and spent twenty years getting played by his father-in-law. And yet — at the very end of his life, leaning on that staff, hip wrecked and days from death — he crossed his hands over two boys and spoke a blessing rooted not in what he could see, but in what God had promised generations before he was born.That's not clean faith. That's broken, limping, hard-won faith — and it still counted.We talk about what it looks like when God marks you, when the turning point in your life isn't a highlight reel but a dislocated hip and a new name you didn't earn. We talk about what it means to carry the blessing into the next room even when you're barely standing, and why Jacob's limp wasn't a punishment — it was a permanent reminder of who showed up when the fight was over.That leads us into some honest questions: What does the fear of God actually look like when it becomes real in your life — not religious, not routine, but real? What's your Bethel? What's your Peniel? And when you're at the end, will you still be reaching forward, speaking blessing over people who will outlive you?Topics include: Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11, Jacob, Genesis 25, Genesis 27, Genesis 28, Genesis 32, wrestling with God, Peniel, Bethel, Jacob and Esau, Jacob and Israel, name change in the Bible, no fear of God, fear of the Lord, Jacob's hip, faith and suffering, turning point faith, generational blessing, limping faith, broken people in the Bible, what is the fear of God, faith that costs you something, blessing the next generation, hard-won faith, covenant promise, stairway to heaven, God's faithfulness, Christian podcast, Bible teaching, Bible study on Jacob, Hall of Faith series, endurance in faith, wrestling with God in prayer, faith-based living, walking with God, Thriving in the Word.More Info: ⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠ Give: ⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠ Need prayer? ⁠⁠prayer@thrive.church⁠⁠ This is a presentation of Thrive.Church. © All Rights Reserved.

En el Holocausto, cuando una persona bajaba del tren, lo primero que hacían era ponerle un número en el brazo. Ese número determinaba dónde vivías, qué comías, qué trabajo tenías — y cuántos días ibas a vivir.  ¿Cuántas marcas llevas tú hoy que están determinando lo mismo? En esta poderosa Noche de Pentecostés, el Pastor Otoniel Font nos lleva a través de la primera marca registrada en la Biblia — la de Caín — y la marca que cambió para siempre la vida de Jacob en Peniel, para mostrarnos algo que transforma todo: hay una marca más poderosa que cualquier número que el mundo te haya puesto. La marca del Espíritu Santo.  También en este servicio, el Pastor comparte por primera vez el testimonio personal de su milagro de fertilidad en Guatemala — la historia que dio origen a su hija Jenny Bell — como evidencia viva de que los prodigios de Dios son reales. Descubrirás: ✔ La diferencia entre señales, milagros y prodigios — y cómo los tres deben operar en tu vida ✔ Por qué todos sobrevivimos algo pero no todo de nosotros sobrevive  ✔ Qué significa caminar cojo como Jacob — pero caminar derecho por primera vez ✔ Cómo la marca del Espíritu Santo reemplaza cada número que el mundo te puso

April 25, 2026 - Equipped 2026 - Day 3 - 3:30 PM Session This episode is a sermon-style exposition of Genesis 32–36 that traces how God transforms Jacob into Israel. Featuring speaker Carl, the message opens with prayer and moves through Jacob's fear, prayer, night-long wrestling with God at Peniel, the physical limp he receives, and the subsequent reconciliation with Esau. The speaker examines the personal and domestic consequences of true spiritual change and emphasizes that God not only forgives but reshapes us. Topics covered include the necessity of facing your past, honest prayer rooted in God's promises, the breaking of self-reliance, the significance of Jacob's limp as a reminder of dependence, and how humility produces reconciliation. The sermon also addresses spiritual leadership in the home, the need to identify and bury idols, perseverance through grief (including the losses and sins recorded in Genesis 35), and the contrast between outward success and covenant blessing as illustrated by Esau and Jacob's lineages. Key points and takeaways: growth begins when we confront what we've avoided; honesty with God starts real change; God's refining often strips our control so His power is shown in our weakness; true conversion is visible in humility toward others and concrete steps to remove idols; spiritual maturity requires leadership, endurance, and faithful worship amid sorrow; and the promise of God matters more than immediate worldly success. The speaker issues direct challenges—confess sins, pursue reconciliation, bury idols, and cling to God until He makes you new. Listeners can expect a careful biblical walk-through, practical application for personal and family life, reflective questions for self-examination, and pastoral encouragement to let God complete the work of transformation in their hearts and homes.   Duration 29:02

“The Fire of Pentecost | Apostle Vincent Loate | Encounter the Power of the Holy Spirit”Pentecost was not just an event — it was the release of divine power.In this powerful and spirit-filled message, Apostle Vincent Loate teaches on the significance of Pentecost and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. This sermon reveals how the fire of God empowers, renews, and equips believers to live boldly and fulfill their divine assignment.

“First Fruits: Honoring God First | Apostle Vincent Loate | The Key to Blessing & Increase”What you give first reveals who you honor most.In this powerful and eye-opening message, Apostle Vincent Loate teaches the true meaning of First Fruits — a principle of putting God first in your life, your resources, and your decisions. First fruits is not just giving — it is a spiritual act of honor, faith, and covenant.

“Jesus: The Author of Resurrection | Apostle Vincent Loate | From Death to Life”Jesus is not just the Savior — He is the Author of resurrection life.In this powerful and life-transforming message, Apostle Vincent Loate reveals how Jesus Christ brings life where there was death, hope where there was despair, and victory where there was defeat. Through Him, we are raised into a new reality of power, purpose, and eternal life.

“Awakening Your Spirit | Apostle Vincent Loate | A Call to Deeper Faith & Revival”There comes a moment when God calls you deeper — beyond routine, beyond comfort, into true spiritual awakening.In this powerful and stirring message, Apostle Vincent Loate calls believers to rise into a deeper level of faith, intimacy, and spiritual awareness. This is a call to revival — where hearts are ignited, lives are transformed, and God's presence becomes a daily reality.

Are you exhausted from the constant hustle for approval? Most of us spend our lives "striving"—wrestling for success, relationships, or validation to finally feel like "enough." We live as if it's all on us, but what if the blessing you're fighting for is one you already possess?In this message, we look at the life of Jacob—a man defined by "the grasp." From his birth to his adulthood, Jacob used schemes and control to secure his future. But in a midnight wrestling match with God at Peniel, Jacob discovered a life-changing truth: We win with God by finally losing.Why Listen?Identify Your Struggle: Recognize where you are striving for what only God can give.Find Your New Name: See how God moves us from "deceiver" to "chosen."Experience True Rest: Learn to live from a place of victory in Christ rather than fighting to earn one.Stop trying to con your way into an identity. Whether you're limping through a hard season or locked in a match with your circumstances, discover how to drop the act and receive the blessing already secured for you at the Cross.Big Idea: We don't have to spend our lives wrestling for the blessing that we already possess in Christ!Discussion Questions:1. What's the one thing you keep striving for that you believe will finally make you feel like enough?2. Jacob prayed sincerely and then immediately went back to scheming. Where in your life do you find yourself doing the same thing?3. Jacob stopped performing and just told the truth about himself. What would it look like for you to drop the act and come to God exactly as you are?4. "You don't behave your way to a new name. You receive it." What old name are you still living under that Jesus has already replaced?5. If every spiritual blessing is already yours in Christ, what would change about the way you live this week if you actually believed that?Keywords: Jesus in Genesis, Jacob wrestling God, Genesis 32, spiritual rest, identity in Christ, Christian podcast, sermon on Jacob.+ + + + +Hey, while you're here, please help Generation by clicking the 'Subscribe' button, then click on the BELL

In the final chapter of Genesis, Joseph stands before the brothers who sold him into slavery and speaks the sentence the entire book has been building toward: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." The Hebrew word for "meant" is chashav - to weave, to design, to architect with intentionality. Joseph uses it twice in the same breath: his brothers wove evil, but God was weaving good through every moment of it. This was true when God clothed Adam after his rebellion, when He hung a rainbow over Noah's devastated world, when He counted Abraham's wavering faith as righteousness, when He blessed Jacob at Peniel, and when He raised Joseph from a pit to a palace. And when Joseph dies and is placed in a coffin - an aron, the same word later used for the Ark of the Covenant - Genesis ends not with death but with a promise in transit. That aron would be carried through the wilderness for four hundred years, preaching to every generation: God keeps His word. And the ultimate aron - the tomb of Jesus Christ - was emptied three days after the greatest act of human evil in history, proving once and for all that no amount of ra can outlast the chashav of God. The call to every reader is the same call Joseph issued to his brothers: do not fear. The God of Promise provides - and every sin we commit is simply the moment we stop believing that and reach for something else instead.

Is your family tree a bit... messy? If you feel like your life is full of sibling rivalry, deception, or "unanswered" prayers, you are in good company. From the tents of Isaac and Rebekah to the wrestling match at Peniel, the story of Jacob proves that God doesn't call perfect people—He transforms people who are willing to hold on until they receive a blessing. Summary: In this massive study of Genesis 24–36, we follow the Covenant through three generations of trials, travels, and transformations. We look past the "Sunday School" versions of these stories to see the grit and grace required to stay on the Covenant Path. Finding Rebekah: We analyze the decisiveness of Rebekah in Genesis 24—a woman who was willing to leave everything she knew for a promise she hadn't seen yet. The Birthright Conflict: We dive into the controversial "deception" of Isaac. Was it a trick, or was Rebekah ensuring God's will was done? We explore the heavy price of prioritizing the temporal over the eternal. Jacob's Ladder: We break down the symbolism of the "stairway to heaven" at Bethel and how Jacob turned a cold stone pillow into a temple-like encounter with the Divine. Leah and Rachel: We discuss the years of labor and the "comparative" heartbreak of Leah and Rachel, seeing how God remembers those who feel unloved. Wrestling with God: We finish with the most pivotal moment in Jacob's life—his night-long wrestle. We learn that "Israel" means "Let God Prevail" and discover how we can also prevail through our trials. Call-to-Action: Jacob had to return to "Bethel" to find his way again. Where is your "Bethel"? Where do you go when you need to remember your covenants? Let's discuss in the comments! To keep your faith "Unshaken" while you wrestle with your own challenges, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:44 A Last Look at Lot 5:12 Salting the Earth 7:25 Creating Covenant Couples 12:38 Honoring Agency in Marriage 18:50 Holding the High Ground 22:41 Seeking a Covenant Companion 32:14 Remarkable Rebekah 45:17 Entwining Family Trees 52:42 The Right Place at the Right Time 58:01 Giving a Faithful Narraive 1:04:19 Speaking Kindly & Truly 1:09:03 Failed Hopes or False Conclusions 1:15:05 Urgency & Decisiveness 1:23:27 The Passing of Parents 1:28:50 Barrenness and Birth 1:38:01 Personalities of Esau & Jacob 1:46:52 Degrees of (Social) Glory 1:52:41 The Mess of Pottage 2:01:42 Renewing the Covenant 2:07:41 Isaac & Abimelech 2:25:05 "Stealing" the Blessing 2:41:07 Judging Jacob 2:46:10 Esau's Remorse 2:58:30 Covenant Continuation 3:08:00 Sharing Spiritual Experiences 3:12:48 Covenant Marriage 3:26:33 The Vertical Straight and Narrow 3:34:06 Renewing the Abrahamic Covenant 3:36:41 God with Us 3:50:44 Wells of Living Water 3:53:58 Meeting Rachel 4:02:54 Rachel & Leah 4:10:07 Jacob's and Rachel's Love 4:16:17 Leah or Rachel 4:23:09 Compensatory Blessings 4:27:49 All in a Name 4:33:30 Familial Arms Race 4:50:15 Remembered by God 4:56:16 Jacob's Flocks 5:04:21 Tangible Supports to Intangible Faith 5:09:58 Parting Ways 5:26:16 Letting them Leave 5:50:38 Returning to the Promised Land 5:59:59 Wrestling the Angel 6:11:29 The Prodigal Son 6:18:56 Reunion with our Elder Broher 6:30:38 The Rape of Dinah 6:38:35 Misusing the Covenant 6:49:52 Back to Bethel

Speaking of Covenants (as we do this week), to get really in depth learning about the covenant, join Steven Harper and myself on a cruise where we discuss the New and Everlasting Covenant in a series of ten lectures/discussions/workshops. This will be fantastic! Plus we dock at Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, and more! Learn more at https://restorationtravels.com/nec-cruise/In this short episode from four years ago, Kerry delves into Jacob's experience at Bethel, and how it was a temple experience. He also talks about the temple setting of the wrestle with an angel at Peniel. We are grateful for our executive producers, P. Franzen, J. Parke, D. Watson, B. Van Blerkom, the Dawsons, M. Cannon, M. Rosema, B. Fisher, J. Beardall, D. Anderson, and H. Umphlett, and for all our generous and loyal donors. We are also very grateful for all our Patreon members. We are so thankful for Beehive Broadcast for producing the podcast and for Rich Nicholls, who composed and plays the music for the podcast.

Jacob reaches the edge of everything he has built through running, hiding, striving, and half-truths - a life that looks successful on the outside but is collapsing in the quiet as his past catches up to him and his fear of Esau closes in. Left alone at night by the Jabbok, he is confronted by a mysterious divine “man” and wrestles until daybreak, discovering that the One he cannot outmaneuver is also the One he cannot live without. With a single touch his hip is put out of joint, stripping him of the ability to run and forcing him to cling, desperate not for another scheme but for real blessing. The turning point comes when he is asked his name, and he finally says “Jacob” - not as a label but as confession, the uncovering of the false self that has chased blessing through manipulation. Instead of being destroyed by honesty, he is renamed Israel, marked forever as one who wrestles with God and is blessed in the encounter; he names the place Peniel because he has seen God face to face and lived, and he rises limping but changed, no longer hiding behind gifts and strategies, learning that true blessing is found not in control but in clinging to God with exposed, repentant faith

Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live February 22, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Brent Allgire.WrestlingWe are invited to wrestle with the almighty, but we may emerge with a limp.What might the wrestling symbolize in Jacob's life at this point?What does this passage reveal about God's character and His relationship with Jacob?In what ways do people “wrestle” with God today?Why do you think Jacob limps away rather than being healed immediately?What hope does this story offer to those who feel worn out from spiritual struggle?Genesis 32:24-3224 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

The sermon centers on Jacob's transformative encounter with God at Peniel, a pivotal moment in his life marked by divine wrestling, personal surrender, and spiritual renewal. Beginning with Jacob's history as a deceiver—defined by manipulation, deceit, and self-reliance—the narrative traces his journey from fleeing his past to returning to Bethel, the very place of his earlier dream and promise, as a deliberate act of consecration. In solitude, Jacob wrestles with a divine figure, symbolizing a profound confrontation with his sin, pride, and fear, ultimately leading to his surrender and a new identity as Israel, meaning 'one who struggles with God and prevails.' This encounter, marked by physical injury and lasting humility, signifies the cost of true transformation: the relinquishing of self-worth, cunning, and control in favor of dependence on God. The sermon emphasizes that genuine spiritual growth requires such painful yet necessary encounters—where conviction leads not to despair but to grace, where humility opens the door to divine blessing, and where reconciliation with others becomes possible only after reconciliation with God. The message culminates in a call to all believers to embrace this wrestling match, to stop relying on their own wisdom, and to pursue a life of consecration, where God's rule supersedes self-rule, and where the promise of restoration is found not in human effort, but in divine encounter.

The sermon centers on Jacob's transformative encounter with God at Peniel, a pivotal moment in his life marked by divine wrestling, personal surrender, and spiritual renewal. Beginning with Jacob's history as a deceiver—defined by manipulation, deceit, and self-reliance—the narrative traces his journey from fleeing his past to returning to Bethel, the very place of his earlier dream and promise, as a deliberate act of consecration. In solitude, Jacob wrestles with a divine figure, symbolizing a profound confrontation with his sin, pride, and fear, ultimately leading to his surrender and a new identity as Israel, meaning 'one who struggles with God and prevails.' This encounter, marked by physical injury and lasting humility, signifies the cost of true transformation: the relinquishing of self-worth, cunning, and control in favor of dependence on God. The sermon emphasizes that genuine spiritual growth requires such painful yet necessary encounters—where conviction leads not to despair but to grace, where humility opens the door to divine blessing, and where reconciliation with others becomes possible only after reconciliation with God. The message culminates in a call to all believers to embrace this wrestling match, to stop relying on their own wisdom, and to pursue a life of consecration, where God's rule supersedes self-rule, and where the promise of restoration is found not in human effort, but in divine encounter.

From Pauper to Prince: The Altars of Jacob

MARK TUAN JOINS GET REAL

Today's Scripture passages are Genesis 32 - 33:1-20 | Matthew 2.Read by Christina Edmondson. Get in The Word with Truth's Table is a production of InterVarsity Press. For 75 years, IVP has published and created thoughtful Christian books for the university, church, and the world. Our Bible reading plan is adapted from Bible Study Together, and the Bible version is the New English Translation, used by permission.SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of this podcast, use the code IVPWORD40 for 40% off and free shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode at ivpress.com.Additional Credits:Song production: Seaux ChillSong lyrics written by: Seaux Chill, Ekemini Uwan, and Christina EdmondsonPodcast art: Kate LillardPhotography: Shelly EveBible consultant: JM SmithSound engineering: Podastery StudiosCreative producers: Ekemini Uwan and Christina EdmondsonAssistant producer: Christine Pelliccio MeloExecutive producer: Helen LeeTo reach the IVP podcast team, please use this form.Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

“Your breakthrough begins the moment you refuse to stay who you've always been.” In this powerful message, Pastor David Grobler unpacks the night Jacob wrestled with God at Peniel—a turning point where God confronted the identity that had defined him since birth. Jacob wasn't fighting for money or survival; he was fighting to stop being Jacob the deceiver and finally become who God intended him to be. God meets Jacob in the struggle, wrestles through his fears, his patterns, and his old identity, and transforms him into Israel. This message reveals that God isn't intimidated by your history—He steps into it to change you from the inside out.

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, head Rabbi at Congregation Beth Tefillah in Scottsdale, and the host of the Rabbi Allouche podcast, joins Seth for the full hour to talk about this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach, thinking of making Heaven ‘full,’ where merit comes from, and who Jacob wrestled with at Peniel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode explores how our words of Torah, prayer, and intention become “messengers” that protect and guide us when we face our inner Esau, the parts of us that pull us off our path. Drawing on Siach Chayyim, we look at Jacob's strategy of splitting into “two camps” of awe and love as a model for spiritual resilience, and with Or HaMeir we dive into Peniel as the practice of seeing the Divine “face within the face” in every situation. Together, these teachings frame our daily work as lifting scattered sparks of presence and finding healing not by erasing our limp, but by carrying our wounds with conscious awareness.

התוכן ביאור הצ"צ למה נאמר בשלישי דפ' וישלח תחילה "ויקרא יעקב שם המקום פניא-ל" ואח"ז "ויזרח לו השמש כאשר עבר את פנוא-ל" (כקושיית המפרשים): "פניא-ל" בכלל הוא ע"ד מ"ש "לך אמר לבי בקשו פני את פניך הוי' אבקש", שעבודת ה' צ"ל חדורה גם בפנימיות הלב‏ – ‏"בקשו פני", וכדי לבא לזה ה"ז ע"י "את פניך הוי' אבקש"‏ – ‏אינו מסתפק בחיצוניות דאלקות, ההתבוננות בגדלות ה' שבבריאת העולמות וכו', אלא מבקש את הפנימיות דאלקות, וזהו ראיית אלקים "פנים אל פנים"‏ – ‏פנימיות דאלקות ופנימיות הלב. וכדי שההתקשרות תהי' עם הפנימיות דלמע' ה"ז ע"י הביטול‏ – ‏נקודה, "יו"ד" ("פניא-ל"), אבל התכלית היא שזה יומשך גם בשש המדות (ו', "פנוא-ל") וכו'.‏משיחת אור לי' כסלו ה'תשמ"ה ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=02-12-2025 Synopsis The commentators note that the verse states (in shelishi of parashas Vayishlach) that, “Yaakov named the place Peniel,” and then says that “The sun rose for him as he passed Penuel.” The Tzemach Tzedek explains that “Peniel” relates to the verse, “For You my heart says, ‘Seek My presence.' Your presence, Hashem, I will seek”: A Jew's Divine service must permeate the inside of the heart, (“seek My presence”), which is accomplished when one does not suffice with finding the exterior of G-dliness, by contemplating Hashem's greatness as manifest in creation etc., but seeks the inner core of G‑dliness (“Your presence, Hashem, I will seek”). In this way, one sees Hashem “face to face” – the inner core of G‑dliness meeting the inside of the heart. The way to connect to the inner core of G-dliness is bitul, represented by the letter yud in Peniel (פניא-ל), but the ultimate purpose is to incorporate it into the six emotional attributes, represented by the letter vov in Penuel (פנוא-ל) etc.Excerpt from sichah of Monday night, 10 Kislev 5745 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=02-12-2025 לזכות שיינא מירל בת נחמה דינה תחי' ליום ההולדת שלה י"ב כסלו - לשנת ברכה והצלחה, ואריכות ימים ושנים טובות

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bible Readings Psalm 121 Luke 18:1-8 1 John 5:13–15 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Genesis 32:22-40 22 He got up that night and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and he also sent his possessions across. 24 Jacob was left alone, and he wrestled with a man there until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated as he wrestled. 26 The man said, “Let me go. It's daybreak.” Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 Then he said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won.” 29 Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He said, “Why do you ask what my name is?” Then he blessed him there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel, because he said, “I have seen God face-to-face, and my life has been spared.” 31 The sun rose as he crossed over at Peniel, and he was limping because of his thigh. 32 For that reason, to this day the people of Israel do not eat the tendon of the hip that is on the socket of the thigh, because God touched the socket of Jacob's thigh on the tendon of the hip. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today's message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Ninteenth Sunday after Pentecost Old Testament: Genesis 32:22-31 22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Psalm: Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *         from where is my help to come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, *         the maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved *         and he who watches over you will not fall asleep. 4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *         shall neither slumber nor sleep; 5 The Lord himself watches over you; *         the Lord is your shade at your right hand, 6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *         nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *         it is he who shall keep you safe. 8 The Lord shall watch over your going out and                           your coming in, *         from this time forth for evermore. Epistle: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. Gospel: Luke 18:1-8 1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.' 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

TODAY'S TREASUREThe sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.Genesis 32:31Send us a comment!Support the show

Genesis 32:22a, 23b, 24-30 - The same night he [Jacob] arose and took his [family] and sent them across the stream …. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

On September 14th, 2025 Kris shared a powerful message about Bethel Church as a prophetic community and house of encounters. God named us "Bethel" for a purpose, just as Jacob encountered God at Bethel (the house of God) and Peniel (face to face with God), we're called to be a place where heaven opens and identities are transformed. When you come to Bethel, you don't just receive a prophetic word, you have an encounter that changes you into the person you need to be to fulfill your divine destiny. Get “Just Stand” Now: https://www.krisvallotton.com/books Connect with Kris Vallotton: Website: https://www.krisvallotton.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kvministries/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kvministries/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kvministries Additional Resources by Kris Vallotton: https://shop.bethel.com/collections/k… About Kris Vallotton: Kris Vallotton is the Senior Associate Leader of Bethel Church, Redding, and is the Co-Founder of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) and Spiritual Intelligence Institute. He is also the Founder and President of Moral Revolution and a sought-after international conference speaker. Kris and his wife, Kathy, have trained, developed, and pastored prophetic teams and supernatural schools all over the world.

X-Space discussions; Why hate Charlie Kirk; "Judeo-Christian" ideas; Nicolaitans?; Baalam?; False accusations; What are Judeo values?; Christian values?; Doers of the word; Califates; Importance of context; Translation; "Abimelech"; vs "Melchizedek"; Sycamore tree?; Luke 19 parable; Zacchaeus; Taxation; Perils of electing rulers; Pure religion vs public religion; Jesus hailed as king - of peace; Firing moneychangers; Both king and high priest; Tithing; Freewill offerings; Abraham's altars; "Communities"; Tesserae?; "Logos" = "The Word" = Right reason; vs "Rhema"; Mt 4:10 Worship and serve; Dictates of the LORD thy God; Cloaking the bible in mindless rituals; Corban; Serving God from home; Blessing of Abraham; Understanding your bondage; Willingness to communicate/converse; Gen 32:1; mem-chet-nun-yod-mem (Mahanaim); Gen 28:12; mem-lamad-aleph-kof-yod Angels; Prov 16:11 (Messenger); Unjust weights; Righteousness; "Leaven" = oppression; Two ways to rule a nation; Gifting Esau?; hey+mem-lamad-aleph-kof-yod+mem messenger? "Host" of God?; Messengers, angels; Herod's recognizing messiah; Values of God; Laban's ways; Covering Abraham's wells; Symbolism; Freedom of choice; Altars of charity; Covetous practices = idolatry; Anti-Christ; Is Christ really your king?; Well of satisfaction; Augustus Caesar - son of God?; Welfare snares; Egyptians leaving Egypt; "Shem"ites; "Fear not!"; Is your church taking care of all the needy?; Making Christians "peculiar"; Seeking the fullness of the kingdom; Jacob's procession of gifts; Consistent Christianity; Jacob wrestled a man = mem-lamad-shin-kuf; Gen 32:28 "strive"; Prince having power; Listening to Holy Spirit; Need to pray; Setting others free; Consistency of living in faith, hope and charity; Trusting God; Respecters of persons; pey-nun-yod-aleph-lamad (Peniel); Becoming Israel; Face of God?; Walking with God; What was Esau doing differently?; What about Jacob's sons?; Making Jacob stink; Seek His kingdom and His righteousness.

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.”—Genesis 32:24 This week, on Doctrine for Life, Dr. Joel Beeke begins his exposition of one of the most mysterious passages in all of Scripture: Jacob wrestling with God. Listen as Dr. Beeke reminds us that the path to blessing goes through weakness. The Doctrine for Life Podcast presents weekly sermons from the preaching ministry of the Rev. Dr. Joel R. Beeke. Listen to these biblical, Christ-exalting broadcasts to experience the truth of God's Word for real life.

In this episode, Todd dives into a pivotal moment in Jacob's life from Genesis 32 - the night he wrestled with God at Peniel. At a crossroads between his past with Laban and the looming confrontation with his brother Esau, Jacob finds himself in a situation where his careful preparations and planning might not be enough. This episode explores those moments in life when even our best preparations leave us needing something more. Through Jacob's transformative experience of wrestling and refusing to let go until receiving God's blessing, listeners will discover profound insights for both their faith journey and preparedness mindset. Todd examines how this ancient story reveals timeless wisdom for those moments when our gear, plans, and preparations fall short. Resources Listen to the RYF Podcast Download the Blackout Checklist

1963 was a transformational year in American history—JFK's assassination, Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Birmingham Campaign, the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, and escalating Cold War tensions. It was a year that changed the soul of America.In this episode, Dr. Peniel Joseph, author and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, joins Ryan to discuss how 1963 ignited a decade of transformation. They discuss the pivotal events of the year, the contrasting strategies of Malcolm X and MLK Jr., and how this single year reshaped the course of future generations.Dr. Peniel E. Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values, founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and distinguished service leadership professor and professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author and editor of eight award-winning books on African American history, including The Third Reconstruction and The Sword and the Shield. 

It's not over yet! In part two with Jackson Wang, he gets real about GOT7's reunion and what it's like juggling solo and group life. As a surprise twist, Peniel and Ashley drop in for an unfiltered convo on K-pop idol stereotypes, how they first connected, and some behind-the-scenes trainee stories! Don't miss out on all your favorites in one video!