Podcasts about that god

Question: What do we pray for in the sixth petition? Answer: In the sixth petition, which is, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," we pray, That God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

Question: What do we pray for in the fifth petition? Answer: In the fifth petition, which is, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," we pray, That God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are able to be rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

Question: What do we pray for in the third petition? Answer: In the third petition, which is, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," we pray, That God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

What is the hope for the diverse people of God in the midst of suffering? In this passage we see the hope of the nations. That God will save His people, and that His church is a diverse body of all then nations that will praise Jesus forever. 1) God will seal his servants v.1-3 2) God will save the Nations v. 4-12 3) God will comfort his people v. 13-17

Question: What do we pray for in the first petition? Answer: In the first petition, which is, "Hallowed be thy name," we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

A sermon preached by Rev. Wanda Bynum-Duckett with Foundry UMC January 18, 2026. “Piece Us Together” series.   Isaiah 61: 1-8 [a]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,     because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,     to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives,     release to the prisoners, 2 To announce a year of favor from the Lord     and a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn; 3     to place on those who mourn in Zion     a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,     a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of justice,     the planting of the Lord to show his glory. 4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,     the former wastes they shall raise up And restore the desolate cities,     devastations of generation upon generation. 5 Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks,     foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers. 6 [b]You yourselves shall be called “Priests of the Lord,”     “Ministers of our God” you shall be called. You shall eat the wealth of the nations     and in their riches you will boast. 7 Because their shame was twofold[c]     and disgrace was proclaimed their portion, They will possess twofold in their own land;     everlasting joy shall be theirs.   As your pastor has been leading you in the brilliance of a sermon series entitled  Piece Us Together, I've been wrestling with the notion that life is to a great extent a series of choices…pieces, deposits, decisions made by us (and others connected to us) that when congruent, consistent and courageously aligned with God's Spirit, can not only be called good choices, but can bear the designation of GOD CHOICES. We know those moments when the Spirit speaks and we actually listen, and we do or resist doing or saying a thing, moving in a certain direction or keeping still, and we know in our knower that it wasn't us, it was GOD. Some choices we know we can't take credit for. We didn't have enough information or wisdom or fortitude on our own and yet sometimes you just know: that was God's leading - even ordaining - a particular path or decision. So my wrestling isn't about whether those kinds of choices are possible, it's more about how we might more intentionally posture ourselves to make them. What are the foundational pieces, the underlying preparation for making God choices? In some situations, seasons, and circumstances, it can be difficult to know what good is, let alone where GOD is. Especially when it seems like everyone is screaming and streaming their rightness, even assigning to it the name and the will of GOD, how do we individually and collectively choose rightly, even GODLY.    I picked up this little knick-knack at a thrift store in Greenville, North Carolina – my mother's hometown – and it simply says, “Make good choices.” So I chose to buy it for a whopping 99 cents. I believe that purchase was a God choice because ever since, this statement, this mantra that has become so popular, has had me wrestling. It sounds good, but it also raises a challenge: how do we know? Hindsight can sometimes be 20/20, sometimes we can look back with satisfaction and say that was a good choice, or we can look back with regret and say this or that was a bad move, but how do we really know the ultimate goodness of a choice, with our limited retroactive vision, and with a future yet unfolding before us?  Sometimes options are so plentiful that the gift of choice (God's free will) feels like a burden. And yet for some, life is such that options are few and choices become a luxury. Sometimes the choice is between what we might call two evils, and the struggle is to discern which is less so. Like a choice of whether to steal or starve, or a choice of whether to go to work and risk being kidnapped from a parking lot or staying home and facing the certainty of no income at all. And every morning when my daughter sends my seven-year-old grandson and my 13-year-old granddaughter to school with lunch, and a kiss, and a prayer that no shooter, no bully, no weapon formed against them will prosper, she also sends them off with these words: Make good choices. And so it is from pre-K to reWirement…how do we know which is which? Some decisions are negligible like sushi or soul food, and God bless you if you have access to both. Some choices are weightier and defining of the trajectory of not only our own lives, but the lives of others… like ballot choices. Anybody rethinking these days how much every vote matters? Consider choices like whether to respond to the sign our unhoused sibling is holding at the traffic light, or to roll up our car windows when we dare to drive through that neighborhood…that is if we even dare choose to drive through that neighborhood. After all, that's what beltways are for, right? To avoid the discourse and dilemmas of Samaria? The bible gives us some help, doesn't it? Choose ye this day who you will serve. (Joshua 24:15) Spoiler alert, choose GOD! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and God's righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) The bible helps us to know that, God's word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our pathway (Psalm 119:105), and meanwhile there are some people who believe - or at least say - that they are following a path illumined by God's word even as they CHOOSE to be, or to follow a path that looks more like darkness than light.  The bible is helpful in many ways, even as it lets us know that there is a way that seems right to a man, or a woman or a human, but its end is not life, but death. (Proverbs 14:12) To put it more simply, just because we place a cross on a path, a way, or a choice, does not mean it's a GOD choice, because our nation's history tells us that some have carried their crosses and others have burned them.  The bible helps us with our discernment, but it does not take away the need for that discernment. The scriptures give us examples of heroes and sheroes and they-roes whose choices are stamped with God's approval. Conversely, but equally as helpful, the bible also offers us examples of choices that we can see from our pews were not God choices. Choices like: Barrabas over Jesus, to wash our hands amidst the bloodshed in our communities, and to entertain the conversation of a snake. Yet in the moment, in the mission field, on our jobs - if we are so blessed in this administration to have and keep a job - and even in the church, we have struggled (often with the best of intentions) to make the good choice, the GOD choice. Good people are also capable of bad choices. So how do we know, and even when we know, how do we move in the direction of what we know is good and what is GOD? This Human Relations Sunday, on the eve of a day when we honor the life, work, and ministry of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, JR, it's a good time to have this conversation. Because the pieces, the choices, the decisions, the moves that Dr. King made, we can look at now and say that they were good, and even that they were GOD, but can we also agree that were hard, and they did not reflect the usual metrics of success. They were not financial choices that led to wealth. They were not safe choices that led to longevity. They were not choices that led to comfort for him or his family. As a young scholar and theologian out of Boston University, the world was Dr. King's oyster. He spoke well, he married well, he could have lived well by most standards even for the time, with the cushion of education, and perhaps some ability to escape the ravages and brutality of life as a black man in the Jim Crow south, or – if he chose - the more liberal and more subtly racist north. But like so many other freedom fighters, peacemakers, and GOD-choosers, King chose differently. He used his gifts and his anointing, not to live a successful life but, to live and ultimately give a life that was good. How and why did he choose as he chose, live as he lived, and die as he died. With four fatherless children, a weeping widow, bomb threats from his enemies, and the voices of his friends saying wait for justice to arrive slowly, when the scripture calls for it to roll down like mighty waters.  What's the framework for such a life? Where's the groundwork and the foundation for making those kinds of God choices? And, considering where we are now, some might even argue what's the point? Because the task of evil is to overwhelm us, and numb us so that we give up and give in. But we are those who understand that only light confounds darkness and only love drives out hate. (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1957 sermon entitled Loving Your Enemies) We are those who must keep the work of Dr. King and other GOD-choosers from unraveling, because it's becoming quite clear that the very fabric of our nation is really more loosely stitched together than we realized, and the fuller we get of ourselves, the more likely we are to come apart at the very (s.e.e.m.s.).  Well, this morning I want to offer a few ideas for your consideration as we seek to piece together our choices, our contributions to a tapestry of goodness and God-ness. These ideas do not form a magic bullet, or fast-working formula, but offer a bit of profiling of two prophetic God choosers: Dr. King and the Prophet Isaiah. In our scripture reading, Isaiah is making a profound declaration that I would imagine sounded a bit grandiose, perhaps even arrogant or delusional for Isaiah to declare, “the Spirit of the LORD is upon ME.” But Friends, this is not mere self-confidence. Isaiah is not pontificating his own opinions or positioning himself for re-election. He is not operating under the advisement of any renegade dictator, partisan pundit, or complacent church. This is not ego, or hubris. This is clarity of call. Isaiah is clear from whom his call comes, and he is clear about those to whom he is called. We have all perhaps witnessed the reduction of the work of prophecy to fortune telling, and sometimes misguided proclamations wrapped in boldness of the flesh. But the real work of prophecy lies in the clearly motivated execution of a call that comes from God to speak and act with truth and justice. Isaiah has seen the Lord high and lifted up. (Isaiah 6:1) He has heard the Lord's call and answered, Here I Am, send me. (Isaiah 6:8) And out of this connection and experience with God comes clarity! It's the kind of clarity that Dr. King testified to, declaring, “I've been to the mountaintop…I just want to do God's will.” (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, JR.'s 1968 speech, I've Been to the Mountaintop) And the good news for us is that clarity of call and the capacity to see GOD is not limited to a pulpit, or an appointment, or a title. It is the God-given opportunity for all of us who purport to be God's people to discover, discern and be deployed for the mission from whom and to whom we are called. You want to see Jesus? Look in the eyes of your neighbor. You want to see the Lord? Recognize that we are all made in God's image. You want to have a mountaintop experience? Spend some time in the valley with those who are hurting and get some clarity! Maybe that's what my little plaque is trying to say. Maybe choices become a whole lot easier and godlier when we have clarity about who is calling us and why.  We may feel inadequate, like Isaiah did when he was first called. We may face opposition from our peers and elders as Dr. King did. But clarity will help us show up anyhow, even if its stammering like Moses, running like Jonah, wrestling like Jacob, weeping at a tomb like Mary or Coretta, staying seated like Rosa, speaking out like Father Oscar Romero, running for office like Kamala, speaking truth to power like Jasmine, singing like Mahalia and our choir today, speaking on NPR like Ginger, and marching like Martin. Afraid? Yes, sometimes. Called? Absolutely! God is compelling us to offer our piece to the work for such a time as this, whether our call is to teach, or speak, or organize, or march or pray or sing or write, or cook a meal, or wipe a tear, or serve in the church and in the community. Know that separation of church and state does not require us to be isolated or silenced or detached from the world. The church is a place of worship and equipping; the church is no place to hide. And the good news is that the anointing - the clear call to make God choices - is not only for those we call Reverend, or Doctor, or prophet, or priest, but the book of Joel helps us to know that GOD pours out God's spirit on ALL FLESH! (Joel 2:28), to dream like Martin, and to proclaim like Isaiah a new and hopeful reality of rebuilt ruins, restored cities and everlasting joy. The powerful thing about clarity of call is that it grounds us with the ability to make GOD choices. It is the foundational YES that makes everything else clearer.  Listen to the clarity of Isaiah's call. He's not anointed just to be anointed, but it is to bring good news in bad times, to bind up the wounds of the hurting, to comfort those who mourn. Praise God that the call is a call of hope, of captives set free and chains broken. The audacity, the unmitigated gall and the amazing and dangerous opportunity for GOD-choosers like Isaiah, like Martin, like all of us to participate in a holy exchange of beauty for ashes, oil for tears, and the bible says a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.  Secondly, foundational to the capacity to make God choices is consciousness of context: knowing what the people and the times call for, with the bible in one hand, media device in the other. Isaiah was well aware of the self-indulgence and wickedness of the powerful, and the turning away of Judah's collective heart from God. Dr. King may have been studying in Boston, but he was preparing for Selma, Birmingham, Memphis and Washington. He was well-versed in the dehumanization of Jim Crow, the economic echoes of chattel slavery, and the need for change. There was an urgency that called him to a movement and a moment. Our call - and the choices that flow from that call- likewise connect to our time and context in pivotal moments where our choices matter in ways that lead to life or death, both literally and figuratively.  These are Kairos moments, not mere hours on a clock or dates on a calendar, but these are times for decisions and God-inspired choices when we need to know the difference between being disrespectful, and having one's life disrespected and taken too soon. These are times when we need to call out the difference between feigned self-defense and excessive and homicidal force. These are times when our immigrant siblings are experiencing the similarly motivated and equally evil kidnapping that once populated the slave trade around the globe. These are times and moments when hard-fought liberties are being dismantled, when fear rules the day, and politics plague the culture. These are the times that ought to try our souls and inform and inspire our choices…like whether to speak up or opt out of the conversation, to step up or to stand by as we take steps back to parts of our history of which we ought to be ashamed. This is the context in which we must choose to love our neighbors, all of them…locally, globally, radically and unapologetically. Not me first, but Humanity first. Love first. Justice First. Peace first. This is not merely a time to reminisce about Isaiah's call, or to romanticize about Martin's dream. This is not Isaiah's Judah or Martin's south. Although the parallels with the past are present, and the pieces are connected for sure, this is our time, and these choices are on US! And finally, to make GOD choices, not only would we do well to be grounded by clarity of call, and consciousness of context, but we also need courage beyond consequences. Every choice comes with some consequence. Even, and especially GOD choices. Sometimes those consequences look like discouragement, isolation, ridicule, black-listing, or even danger. Neither the clarity of our call, nor the consciousness of our context, exempt us from the need for courage. Isaiah's courage called him to speak truth to fou kings over his lifetime, and we know that even the subtlest of pleas for justice and mercy to leadership that is not so inclined can have major consequences. Martin advocated and demonstrated for peace - not violence - as the way to bring about change and it earned him a Nobel Peace Prize. But he didn't live to see his children pick up the mantle for justice, or his birthday become a national holiday, or a black man become President of the United States. Are we not tired of Good dying young? But death does not have the final say, nor does hatred, nor does violence, and - the sacred text reminds us - nor do kings or kingdoms. (Daniel 2:44) I heard a song that I believe says, Every storm runs out of rain. Every lie runs out of gas. There is a GOD who chose us, who chose love, who chose the cup of Calvary so that we might choose to be clear, and conscious, and courageous as well. That God has the final say. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, chose to weep, walk, heal and speak truth in perilous times. And one Sabbath day he stood in the synagogue to teach, and he found the words of the prophet Isaiah and said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon ME! Because GOD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant (the word is now in our hands), and the people stared at him. The audacity, the unmitigated gall! Isn't this just Joseph's son. Didn't they know that God uses and chooses those others deem unlikely and even unworthy? Our Jesus declared, TODAY…. this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” My friends TODAY is the time to live and to choose in alignment with the fulfilment of the gospel of peace. TODAY is not just to reminisce, or to recite the speeches and choices of the prophets of old, but TODAY is the time for making GOD choices of our own, to answer the call God has on our lives, to do and bring our piece to the work. And we too shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God, and everlasting joy will be our witness, because God is not just good. God is GOD! God bless you.

Session: 1 Date of First Use: March 1, 2026 Title: God Is Holy The Point: God is set apart from everything else and deserves our worship. Life Connection: Every culture has some religious element, but each culture makes God in its own image. That god tends not to be too different from the people who worship it; there is nothing unique about their god. We desperately need a God who is beyond us and beyond our ability to fully explain or understand. That God has revealed Himself. He is holy—completely separate from His creation—yet He calls us to know Him and walk with Him.  Session Passage: Psalm 99:1-9 

2/15/2026 Exodus 12:23-27 What A Mighty God We Serve Intro: The Exodus is the story of Israel leaving Egyptian captivity through the birth of Moses who is a type of Christ as the deliverer of His people. God used the Exodus to teach the Godless Egyptians a great truth. Don't mess with God's people. He also introduced through the Exodus…. the Passover. The blood covenant, which later became the new covenant. That God would save His people from their sins through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. It is a long story that we will read briefly how we got there.

That God is faithful is a common theme throughout the Bible There is a great contrast between God's perfect faithfulness and human inconsistency, showing that while people often fail—through weakness, forgetfulness, or lack of love—God never fails. He keeps His promises, gives counsel, forgives sin, shows mercy, protects His people, and never forsakes them. Faithfulness is more than occasional good deeds or keeping rules out of duty. True faithfulness flows from love. God is faithful because He is love, and if we truly love Him, we will respond with steady, wholehearted faithfulness in return. God has never failed us, so how can we ever justify being unfaithful to Him?

We take a look at Matthew 6:13, a portion of The Lord's Prayer. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."  However, we read in James 1:13 "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;" So are these two verses contracting each other? Or are we misunderstanding something. So let's look at the original words used in this Scripture.      1.    Peirazō - verb meaning to test/try or tempt - two very different meanings     2.     Peirasmos - noun meaning testing/trail or temptation - again, two very different meanings How can I know the difference? Identity: who is doing the test or the tempt. The devil tempts us into going against God's word and will. God tests us - will we follow Him and do His will? Motive: who is doing the testing or tempting. The devil's motive in tempting us is to destroy us.  God tests us to strengthen, guide and uphold us. When we are facing Peirazō (temptation or test) we can look at that experience in two ways.      1.    The devil tempting us to go against what we believe, what Jesus desires, what the Scriptures teach and what the Holy Spirit reveals OR     2.    That God is using a temptation to test us, to strengthen us, to cause us to rely on Him more and more, to look to Him and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Testing and temptation go together in the Bible - they are the same word, but the identity of who is Peirazō"ing" us is the key.  Are we going to listen to the one who wants to destroy us - the devil - or will we listen to the One who has saved us and desires to help and save us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." In God is strength, and even when we fall and fail we are assured of finding and receiving His forgiveness through our faith in Christ and will be given the power to start over again.  "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" - what we are praying is - "Lord, let us not fall into the devil's temptations but deliver us from the evil one and help us find our strength in you. Deliver us from what is evil and from the evil one. Deliver us from the power of the devil and help us to hold onto Your strength and power so that when we face trials we can face them with confidence because our eyes are on You!" Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class For more check out the series, "What's the Answer"  https://www.awakeusnow.com/whats-the-answer Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

That God in all things might be glorified

We'll learn that God is good through an amazing miracle Jesus performed when He fed thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. This true story from the Bible shows that Jesus has God's power, cares deeply for people, and meets our greatest need—to be saved from sin.

Title: “A Pure and Honorable Vessel” Part 1 Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 FCF: We often struggle with sexual temptation and sin. Prop: Because God's will for His children is for them to be holy, we must abstain from all sexual sin by controlling our bodies. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. In a moment we will begin reading from the Legacy Standard bible starting in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. We are at the beginning of a chapter yet again which means we need to review where we have been so far. In chapter 1, Paul expresses his thankfulness to God for the Thessalonian church because he knows they are elect of God, because the gospel came to them in the power of the Spirit and because he has observed how the Thessalonian church has become imitators of Christ amid affliction. In chapter 2, Paul zooms in to affirm that their visit among them was profitable. Probably to counter claims of unbelieving Thessalonians, Paul insists that it was a profitable visit because God gave them boldness to speak, they became a spiritual family, and because it produced the same results they had seen in previous outpourings of the gospel. Paul concludes chapter 2 assuring them that he greatly wished to visit them but had been hindered by Satan. But he assures them that they are his hope, joy, and glory in that they stand firm in their faith. In chapter 3, Paul reveals that he sent Timothy to them because he was overwhelmed with godly concern for their faith. He also reveals his joy at the report from Timothy that they stood fast in their faith but that he hopes to see them again soon and complete what is lacking in their faith. He ends chapter 3 with a benediction, good and comforting words, praying to God to bring them into fellowship again, to cause their love to abound and their holiness to be perfected for the Lord's return. The benediction ends the apologetic section of the letter, where Paul is defending their visit and the gospel they preached by the impact it had on the Thessalonians. He now begins a new portion of the letter, where he will seek to complete their faith by instructing them in things that he was not able to fully teach on while the evangelists were with them. With that please stand with me to focus on and give honor to the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Holy God, You are pure and distinct. There is none like You. You are Alpha and Omega. You are the beginning and the end. You are neither tempted to do evil, nor do you tempt anyone with evil. You are morally pure in all Your ways and You are always good in character and in action. Teach us today from Your Holy Word, by impressing Your Son's example on our lives, and by imparting Your Spirit's power and passion to know how to please You with our bodies. You have given these bodies to us to reflect Your character. You have saved us to be light in a world of darkness. May we be holy as You have willed us to be. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] While I will not be intentionally explicit or irreverent, we will discuss quite plainly and openly the will of God for sexual ethics among His people. As such, there will be plenty of concepts and principles relayed today that could generate lots of questions among young listeners. I recommend that any who are preteens, who normally sit in the service continue to do so and listen intently. But I also recommend that parents be ready to answer those questions and have those discussions and if they feel their child is not ready, that they should be excused from the service. Never had to give a parental advisory for a sermon before

Welcome back to Gnostic Insights. Today is part three of my book report on David Bentley Hart's book called That All Shall Be Saved, Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. The past two weeks we covered the beginning of his book, the Introduction. I'm going to begin this section by reading out of his final remarks, because he does a good job of simplifying his arguments here at the end of the book. So we'll start with that. Hart says on page 201, It may offend against our egalitarian principles today, but it was commonly assumed among the very educated of the early church that the better part of humanity was something of a hapless rabble who could be made to behave responsibly only by the most terrifying coercions of their imaginations. Belief in universal salvation may have been far more widespread in the first four or five centuries of Christian history than it was in all the centuries that followed, but it was never, as a rule, encouraged in any general way by those in authority in the church. Maybe there are great many among us who can be convinced to be good only through the threat of endless torture at the hands of an indefatigably vindictive god. Even so much as hint that the purifying flames of the age to come will at last be extinguished, and perhaps a good number of us will begin to think like the mafioso who refuses to turn state's evidence because he is sure he can do the time. Bravado is, after all, the chief virtue of the incorrigibly stupid. He goes on to say, I have never had much respect for the notion of the blind leap of faith, even when that leap is made in the direction of something beautiful and ennobling. I certainly cannot respect it when it is made in the direction of something intrinsically loathsome and degrading. And I believe that this is precisely what the Infernalist position, no matter what form it takes, necessarily involves. And to remind you, if you didn't hear the past two episodes, Infernalist refers to the notion that there is an unending hell of pain and torture for the unregenerate or the unrepentant. Further down page 202, Hart says, I honestly, perhaps guilelessly, believe that the doctrine of eternal hell is prima facie nonsensical for the simple reason that it cannot even be stated in Christian theological terms without a descent into equivocity, which is equivocation, so precipitous and total that nothing but edifying gibberish remains. To say that, on the one hand, God is infinitely good, perfectly just, and inexhaustibly loving, and that, on the other, he has created a world under such terms as oblige him either to impose or to permit the imposition of eternal misery on finite rational beings is simply to embrace a complete contradiction. All becomes mystery, but only in the sense that it requires a very mysterious ability to believe impossible things. [Jumping down the page, he says,] Can we imagine logically, I mean not merely intuitively, that someone still in torment after a trillion ages, or then a trillion trillion, or then a trillion vigintillion, is in any meaningful sense the same agent who contracted some measurable quantity of personal guilt in that tiny, ever more vanishingly insubstantial gleam of an instant that constituted his or her terrestrial life? And can we do this even while realizing that, at that point, his or her sufferings have, in a sense, only just begun, and, in fact, will always have only just begun? What extraordinary violence we must do both to our reason and to our moral intelligence, not to mention simple good taste, to make this horrid notion seem palatable to ourselves. And all because we have somehow, foolishly, allowed ourselves to be convinced that this is what we must believe. Really, could we truly believe it all apart from either profound personal fear or profound personal cruelty? Which is why, again, I do not believe that most Christians truly believe what they believe they believe. So, what he's saying here, what I've been talking to you about, is the idea that God, the God Above All Gods, what we call the Father in Gnosticism, would condemn people to everlasting torment, everlasting torment, with no other goal than to punish, because they're never going to get out of it. That's what everlasting means. And so it's just punishment for the sake of punishment, and that that great, unlimitable God would impose this punishment on little, limited, finite beings who only lived a brief millisecond of time in the great span of time of God. That God would create these people for the purpose, basically, of condemning them to everlasting torment. You see, that is not even rational. It doesn't make any sense. Not if you believe God is good. It's impossible. Now, if you think that God is evil, well, then that's not God, is it? By definition, if you believe that God is cruel and vindictive and unreasonable, well, that's not the God Above All Gods. And this should come as relief to those of you who think you can't believe in God, because God is so cruel and vindictive. Perhaps you were raised in an extremely cruel household with extremely vindictive parents, or schoolteachers, or somebody got to you and, in the name of God, inflicted cruelty upon you. Then you have come to accidentally transpose their human cruelty onto God, because they told you to. But that's not God, by definition, you see? And when I say, by definition, that means, like, cold is not hot, by definition. Cold is cold. And if you're going to start arguing, oh no, cold is hot, well, then you're not talking about cold, you're talking about hot. Do you see what I mean? And if you have been rejecting God, the God Above All Gods, because you have this view of God as merciless and vindictive, cruel, illogical, unfair, unjust, take comfort, because that's not God you're talking about. Now, it may be the small g god of this world. It could be the guy whose best friend is Satan, because remember, that is a small g god of confusion. And its main job is to cause you to forget that you come from transcendent goodness, that you come from above, from the God Above All Gods, and that you do have freedom. You do have free will. You are meant to inherit joy. You are to do good works, and to be happy, and to be in love, and to love everybody else. Don't let some evil archon, or evil Demiurge, or evil human, redefine God in such a way that you reject God, because that's the mistake. That's a categorical error. And that's why I say, take comfort, have joy, receive the love that was meant for you. Throwing out the baby with the bath water means to reject the Good because you can't sort it out from the bad. Refusing to accept God or Christ because you reject the flawed Christian Church is an example of throwing out the baby with the bath water. Okay, back to the book. On page 205, Hart says, It was not always thus. Let me at least shamelessly idealize the distant past for a moment. In its dawn, the gospel was a proclamation principally of a divine victory that had been won over death and sin, and over the spiritual powers of rebellion against the big G God that dwells on high, and here below, and under the earth. It announced itself truly as the good tidings of a campaign of divine rescue on the part of a loving God, who by the sending of his Son into the world, and even into the kingdom of death, had liberated his creatures from slavery to a false and merciless master, and had opened a way into the kingdom of heaven, in which all of creation would be glorified by the direct presence of big G God, [or the Father, as we call him in Gnosticism]. And by the way, this paragraph that I just read about early Christianity, is entirely consistent with this Valentinian Christianity that I share with you here. That is the entire purpose of we second-order creatures being sent down here below, to bring the good tidings of life and love and liberty to the fallen Demiurge, and now subsequently to all of the people who have been hoodwinked by the Demiurge and Satan into believing in the false god that does not incorporate love. Hart goes on to say, It was above all a joyous proclamation and a call to a lost people to find their true home at last, in their father's house. It did not initially make its appeal to human hearts by forcing them to revert to some childish or bestial cruelty latent in their natures. Rather, it sought to awaken them to a new form of life, one whose premise was charity. Nor was it a religion offering only a psychological salve for individual anxieties regarding personal salvation. It was a summons to a new and corporate way of life, salvation by entry into a community of love. Nothing as yet was fixed except the certainty that Jesus was now Lord over all things and would ultimately yield all things up to the Father, so that God might be all in all. Now we're going to go back into the earlier part of the book to explain some of these concepts in more depth. Hart has broken his book into four meditations, or four subjects we could call it. The first meditation is, who is God? The second meditation is, what is judgment? The third meditation is, what is a person? And the fourth meditation is, what is freedom? A reflection on the rational will. So in the first meditation, who is God? Hart explains to us that, The moral destiny of creation and the moral nature of God are absolutely inseparable. As the transcendent good beyond all things, God is also the transcendental end that makes every single action of any rational nature possible. Moreover, the end toward which He acts must be His own goodness, for He is Himself the beginning and end of all things. This is not to deny that, in addition to the primary causality of God's act of creation, there are innumerable forms of secondary causality operative within the creative order. But none of these can exceed or escape the one end toward which the first cause directs all things. And so what he is saying here is that the first causality is the expression of God's goodness, the purity of God reaching out through the Son and into the Fullness of God—emanating. That is the principal causality. That is the prime mover of all things, what we call the base state of consciousness, the matrix. But then there is a secondary causality that takes place subsequent to that. And I guess the first act of secondary causality was probably the fall, in that it was the first act of will prompted by ego that apparently deviated from God's original plan, although the Tripartite Tractate does say we shouldn't blame Logos because the fall was the cause of the cosmos which was destined to come about. But whereas the Father is the prime mover and remains shielded in purity and fullness and goodness—you see, all the love emanates from the Father, evil doesn't swim back upstream. It's all emanating from the Father, and it's all good. But we do have secondary causality down here in the created cosmos, primarily due to the actions of the Demiurge and the never-ending war that runs amuck down here. Hart says, page 70, First, as God's act of creation is free, constrained by neither necessity nor ignorance, all contingent ends are intentionally enfolded within his decision. And second, precisely because God in himself is absolute, absolved, that is, of every pathos of the contingent, every affect of the sort that a finite substance has the power to visit upon another, his moral venture in creating is infinite. One way or another, after all, all causes are logically reducible to their first cause. This is no more than a logical truism. In either case, all consequence are, either as actualities or merely possibilities, contingent upon the primordial antecedent, apart from which they could not exist. In other words, all the things that happen down here in the cosmos couldn't have happened without God giving it the first start, without the Father giving it the initial emanation. He goes on to say, And naturally, the rationale of a first cause, its definition, in the most etymologically exact meaning of that term, is the final cause that prompts it, the end toward which it acts. If, then, that first cause is an infinitely free act emerging from infinite wisdom, all those consequence are intentionally entailed, again, either as actualities or as possibilities within that first act. And so the final end to that act tends is its whole moral truth. The traditional definition of evil as a privation of the good, lacking any essence of its own, in other words, what we would call in Gnosticism, evil is the shadow of the good. Evil is the shadow of Logos. It's not a thing in itself. It's the absence of the love and the light of the Father. It is also an assertion that when we say God is good, we are speaking of Him not only relative to his creation, but as he is in himself. All comes from God, and so evil cannot be a thing that comes from anywhere. Evil is, in every case, merely the defect whereby a substantial good is lost, belied, or resisted. For in every sense, being is act, and God, in his simplicity and infinite freedom, is what he does. He could not be the creator of anything substantially evil without evil also being part of the definition of who he essentially is, for he alone is the wellspring of all that exists. Jumping down the page on 71, Hart says, “God goes forth in all beings, and in all beings returns to himself.” That's how I describe as we all carry the Fullness of God within our being, and within every cell of our being. And since we are carrying the Fullness of God within us, we will have to return to the Fullness of God ultimately. We can't be lost in everlasting torment, because we are the Fullness of God, and God cannot torment itself. Hart says, God has no need of the world. He creates it not because he is dependent upon it, but because its dependency on him is a fitting expression of the bounty of his goodness. Doesn't that remind you of, in the beginning, the Father was alone, and he admired his goodness and beauty and love. He was full of love and beauty, and gave birth, so to speak—He emanated the Son. And the Son and the Father gave glory to one another. And in that giving of glory to one another, then the Son emanated the Fullness. And then in giving glory to one another in the Fullness and to the Son, the Fullness emanates us, the second order of powers. And it's all because you can't love without having an object to love, even if it's only in your own mind. Love requires an object of devotion, and giving glory is the reciprocal of love. We give glory because we were first loved. It's a fitting expression of the bounty of goodness, as Hart puts it. Then he goes on to say, This, however, also means that within the story of creation, viewed from its final cause, there can be no residue of the pardonably tragic, no irrecuperable or irreconcilable remainder left behind at the end of the tale. For if there were, this irreconcilable excess would also be something God has directly caused. Now, in our Gnostic gospel, there is a remnant “left behind at the end of the tale.” And that is the shadowy archons that were never a part of the original creation because they did not come from the “first cause” discussed earlier. The shadows of the Demiurge did not come from the Fullness or the fallen Aeon, but are only the absence of the qualities of that Aeon, this is why they are referred to as shadows. They are figments that do not have a reality outside of the Deficiency. Therefore, they have no home to return to in the Fullness of God. They are not from the Fullness. And he talks a bit about Hegel's system and dismisses it, and I'm not going to go into it. Hart says, The story Christians tell is of creation as God's sovereign act of love, neither adding to nor qualifying His eternal nature. And so it is also a story that leaves no room for an ultimate distinction between the universal truth of reason and the moral meaning of the particular, or for any distinction between the moral meaning of the particular and the moral nature of God. Only by insisting upon the universality of God's mercy could Paul, in Romans 11.32, liberate himself from the fear that the particularity of that mercy would prove to be an ultimate injustice, and that in judging His creatures, God would reveal Himself not as the good God of faithfulness and love, but as an inconstant God who can shatter His own covenants at will. Hart reminds us that down through the centuries, Christians have again and again subscribed to formulations of their faith that clearly reduce a host of cardinal Christian theological usages, most especially moral predicates like good, merciful, just, benevolent, loving, to utter equivocity, and that by association, reduce their entire grammar of Christian belief to meaninglessness. [On the next page, 75, he says], consider, to begin with the mildest of moral difficulties, how many Christians down the centuries have had to reconcile their consciences to the repellent notion that all humans are at conception already guilty of a transgression that condemns them justly to eternal separation from God and eternal suffering, and that in this doctrine's extreme form, every newborn infant belongs to a massa damnata, hateful in God's eyes from the first moment of existence. Hart loves to throw in Latin. Massa damnata obviously means that the masses would be damned. The very notion of an inherited guilt is a logical absurdity, rather on the order of a square circle. All that the doctrine can truly be taken to assert, speaking logically, is that God willfully imputes to innocent creatures a guilt they can never have really contracted out of what, from any sane perspective, can only be called malice. But this is just the beginning of the problem. For one broad, venerable stream of tradition, God, on the basis of this imputation, consigns the vast majority of the race to perpetual torment, including infants who die unbaptized. And may I point out that in Gnostic Christianity there is no inherited guilt at all because the Fall was not caused by the first humans, Adam and Eve, but occurred at the Aeonic level. Christianity carries a remnant of that understanding forward when it refers to “fallen angels,” but it does not connect the dots to realize their culpability in original sin. And then the theology of grace grows grimmer, for according to the great Augustinian tradition, since we are somehow born meriting not only death but eternal torment, we are enjoined to see and praise a laudable generosity in God's narrow choice to elect a small remnant for salvation, before and apart from any consideration of their concrete merits or demerits, and this further choice either to predestine or infallibly to surrender the vast remainder to everlasting misery. So it is that, for many Christians down the years, the rationale of evangelization has been a desperate race to save as many souls as possible from God. The time has really gotten away from us, and we've only touched the first meditation, so I hope you are enjoying this theology. It's theology, and I know that's difficult slog, but I'm sharing with you these thoughts because they comprise basically the sum total of Christian theology for the past 2,000 years, and it has gone through changes here and there. David Bentley Hart is a scholar of Eastern Orthodoxy and a scholar of religion and philosopher and so forth, and I think that he has very clear sight. So we'll pick this up one more time next week, and I promise we'll wrap it up. Onward and upward! God bless us all! This book gathers the essential insights of gnosis into a clear, approachable form. Gnosis can be as simple or as intricate as you choose to make it, but its heart is always accessible. A Simple Explanation guides you through the often tangled vocabulary and shifting landscapes of Gnostic thought, offering a path that is both illuminating and easy to follow. The glossary alone is a treasure—an indispensable reference for anyone exploring ancient Christian mysticism, the Nag Hammadi texts, or the deeper layers of spiritual philosophy. Now available in paperback, hardback, Kindle, and audiobook editions through amazon and your local booksellers.

Welcome back to Gnostic Insights. Today is part three of my book report on David Bentley Hart's book called That All Shall Be Saved, Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. The past two weeks we covered the beginning of his book, the Introduction. I'm going to begin this section by reading out of his final remarks, because he does a good job of simplifying his arguments here at the end of the book. So we'll start with that. Hart says on page 201, It may offend against our egalitarian principles today, but it was commonly assumed among the very educated of the early church that the better part of humanity was something of a hapless rabble who could be made to behave responsibly only by the most terrifying coercions of their imaginations. Belief in universal salvation may have been far more widespread in the first four or five centuries of Christian history than it was in all the centuries that followed, but it was never, as a rule, encouraged in any general way by those in authority in the church. Maybe there are great many among us who can be convinced to be good only through the threat of endless torture at the hands of an indefatigably vindictive god. Even so much as hint that the purifying flames of the age to come will at last be extinguished, and perhaps a good number of us will begin to think like the mafioso who refuses to turn state's evidence because he is sure he can do the time. Bravado is, after all, the chief virtue of the incorrigibly stupid. He goes on to say, I have never had much respect for the notion of the blind leap of faith, even when that leap is made in the direction of something beautiful and ennobling. I certainly cannot respect it when it is made in the direction of something intrinsically loathsome and degrading. And I believe that this is precisely what the Infernalist position, no matter what form it takes, necessarily involves. And to remind you, if you didn't hear the past two episodes, Infernalist refers to the notion that there is an unending hell of pain and torture for the unregenerate or the unrepentant. Further down page 202, Hart says, I honestly, perhaps guilelessly, believe that the doctrine of eternal hell is prima facie nonsensical for the simple reason that it cannot even be stated in Christian theological terms without a descent into equivocity, which is equivocation, so precipitous and total that nothing but edifying gibberish remains. To say that, on the one hand, God is infinitely good, perfectly just, and inexhaustibly loving, and that, on the other, he has created a world under such terms as oblige him either to impose or to permit the imposition of eternal misery on finite rational beings is simply to embrace a complete contradiction. All becomes mystery, but only in the sense that it requires a very mysterious ability to believe impossible things. [Jumping down the page, he says,] Can we imagine logically, I mean not merely intuitively, that someone still in torment after a trillion ages, or then a trillion trillion, or then a trillion vigintillion, is in any meaningful sense the same agent who contracted some measurable quantity of personal guilt in that tiny, ever more vanishingly insubstantial gleam of an instant that constituted his or her terrestrial life? And can we do this even while realizing that, at that point, his or her sufferings have, in a sense, only just begun, and, in fact, will always have only just begun? What extraordinary violence we must do both to our reason and to our moral intelligence, not to mention simple good taste, to make this horrid notion seem palatable to ourselves. And all because we have somehow, foolishly, allowed ourselves to be convinced that this is what we must believe. Really, could we truly believe it all apart from either profound personal fear or profound personal cruelty? Which is why, again, I do not believe that most Christians truly believe what they believe they believe. So, what he's saying here, what I've been talking to you about, is the idea that God, the God Above All Gods, what we call the Father in Gnosticism, would condemn people to everlasting torment, everlasting torment, with no other goal than to punish, because they're never going to get out of it. That's what everlasting means. And so it's just punishment for the sake of punishment, and that that great, unlimitable God would impose this punishment on little, limited, finite beings who only lived a brief millisecond of time in the great span of time of God. That God would create these people for the purpose, basically, of condemning them to everlasting torment. You see, that is not even rational. It doesn't make any sense. Not if you believe God is good. It's impossible. Now, if you think that God is evil, well, then that's not God, is it? By definition, if you believe that God is cruel and vindictive and unreasonable, well, that's not the God Above All Gods. And this should come as relief to those of you who think you can't believe in God, because God is so cruel and vindictive. Perhaps you were raised in an extremely cruel household with extremely vindictive parents, or schoolteachers, or somebody got to you and, in the name of God, inflicted cruelty upon you. Then you have come to accidentally transpose their human cruelty onto God, because they told you to. But that's not God, by definition, you see? And when I say, by definition, that means, like, cold is not hot, by definition. Cold is cold. And if you're going to start arguing, oh no, cold is hot, well, then you're not talking about cold, you're talking about hot. Do you see what I mean? And if you have been rejecting God, the God Above All Gods, because you have this view of God as merciless and vindictive, cruel, illogical, unfair, unjust, take comfort, because that's not God you're talking about. Now, it may be the small g god of this world. It could be the guy whose best friend is Satan, because remember, that is a small g god of confusion. And its main job is to cause you to forget that you come from transcendent goodness, that you come from above, from the God Above All Gods, and that you do have freedom. You do have free will. You are meant to inherit joy. You are to do good works, and to be happy, and to be in love, and to love everybody else. Don't let some evil archon, or evil Demiurge, or evil human, redefine God in such a way that you reject God, because that's the mistake. That's a categorical error. And that's why I say, take comfort, have joy, receive the love that was meant for you. Throwing out the baby with the bath water means to reject the Good because you can't sort it out from the bad. Refusing to accept God or Christ because you reject the flawed Christian Church is an example of throwing out the baby with the bath water. Okay, back to the book. On page 205, Hart says, It was not always thus. Let me at least shamelessly idealize the distant past for a moment. In its dawn, the gospel was a proclamation principally of a divine victory that had been won over death and sin, and over the spiritual powers of rebellion against the big G God that dwells on high, and here below, and under the earth. It announced itself truly as the good tidings of a campaign of divine rescue on the part of a loving God, who by the sending of his Son into the world, and even into the kingdom of death, had liberated his creatures from slavery to a false and merciless master, and had opened a way into the kingdom of heaven, in which all of creation would be glorified by the direct presence of big G God, [or the Father, as we call him in Gnosticism]. And by the way, this paragraph that I just read about early Christianity, is entirely consistent with this Valentinian Christianity that I share with you here. That is the entire purpose of we second-order creatures being sent down here below, to bring the good tidings of life and love and liberty to the fallen Demiurge, and now subsequently to all of the people who have been hoodwinked by the Demiurge and Satan into believing in the false god that does not incorporate love. Hart goes on to say, It was above all a joyous proclamation and a call to a lost people to find their true home at last, in their father's house. It did not initially make its appeal to human hearts by forcing them to revert to some childish or bestial cruelty latent in their natures. Rather, it sought to awaken them to a new form of life, one whose premise was charity. Nor was it a religion offering only a psychological salve for individual anxieties regarding personal salvation. It was a summons to a new and corporate way of life, salvation by entry into a community of love. Nothing as yet was fixed except the certainty that Jesus was now Lord over all things and would ultimately yield all things up to the Father, so that God might be all in all. Now we're going to go back into the earlier part of the book to explain some of these concepts in more depth. Hart has broken his book into four meditations, or four subjects we could call it. The first meditation is, who is God? The second meditation is, what is judgment? The third meditation is, what is a person? And the fourth meditation is, what is freedom? A reflection on the rational will. So in the first meditation, who is God? Hart explains to us that, The moral destiny of creation and the moral nature of God are absolutely inseparable. As the transcendent good beyond all things, God is also the transcendental end that makes every single action of any rational nature possible. Moreover, the end toward which He acts must be His own goodness, for He is Himself the beginning and end of all things. This is not to deny that, in addition to the primary causality of God's act of creation, there are innumerable forms of secondary causality operative within the creative order. But none of these can exceed or escape the one end toward which the first cause directs all things. And so what he is saying here is that the first causality is the expression of God's goodness, the purity of God reaching out through the Son and into the Fullness of God—emanating. That is the principal causality. That is the prime mover of all things, what we call the base state of consciousness, the matrix. But then there is a secondary causality that takes place subsequent to that. And I guess the first act of secondary causality was probably the fall, in that it was the first act of will prompted by ego that apparently deviated from God's original plan, although the Tripartite Tractate does say we shouldn't blame Logos because the fall was the cause of the cosmos which was destined to come about. But whereas the Father is the prime mover and remains shielded in purity and fullness and goodness—you see, all the love emanates from the Father, evil doesn't swim back upstream. It's all emanating from the Father, and it's all good. But we do have secondary causality down here in the created cosmos, primarily due to the actions of the Demiurge and the never-ending war that runs amuck down here. Hart says, page 70, First, as God's act of creation is free, constrained by neither necessity nor ignorance, all contingent ends are intentionally enfolded within his decision. And second, precisely because God in himself is absolute, absolved, that is, of every pathos of the contingent, every affect of the sort that a finite substance has the power to visit upon another, his moral venture in creating is infinite. One way or another, after all, all causes are logically reducible to their first cause. This is no more than a logical truism. In either case, all consequence are, either as actualities or merely possibilities, contingent upon the primordial antecedent, apart from which they could not exist. In other words, all the things that happen down here in the cosmos couldn't have happened without God giving it the first start, without the Father giving it the initial emanation. He goes on to say, And naturally, the rationale of a first cause, its definition, in the most etymologically exact meaning of that term, is the final cause that prompts it, the end toward which it acts. If, then, that first cause is an infinitely free act emerging from infinite wisdom, all those consequence are intentionally entailed, again, either as actualities or as possibilities within that first act. And so the final end to that act tends is its whole moral truth. The traditional definition of evil as a privation of the good, lacking any essence of its own, in other words, what we would call in Gnosticism, evil is the shadow of the good. Evil is the shadow of Logos. It's not a thing in itself. It's the absence of the love and the light of the Father. It is also an assertion that when we say God is good, we are speaking of Him not only relative to his creation, but as he is in himself. All comes from God, and so evil cannot be a thing that comes from anywhere. Evil is, in every case, merely the defect whereby a substantial good is lost, belied, or resisted. For in every sense, being is act, and God, in his simplicity and infinite freedom, is what he does. He could not be the creator of anything substantially evil without evil also being part of the definition of who he essentially is, for he alone is the wellspring of all that exists. Jumping down the page on 71, Hart says, “God goes forth in all beings, and in all beings returns to himself.” That's how I describe as we all carry the Fullness of God within our being, and within every cell of our being. And since we are carrying the Fullness of God within us, we will have to return to the Fullness of God ultimately. We can't be lost in everlasting torment, because we are the Fullness of God, and God cannot torment itself. Hart says, God has no need of the world. He creates it not because he is dependent upon it, but because its dependency on him is a fitting expression of the bounty of his goodness. Doesn't that remind you of, in the beginning, the Father was alone, and he admired his goodness and beauty and love. He was full of love and beauty, and gave birth, so to speak—He emanated the Son. And the Son and the Father gave glory to one another. And in that giving of glory to one another, then the Son emanated the Fullness. And then in giving glory to one another in the Fullness and to the Son, the Fullness emanates us, the second order of powers. And it's all because you can't love without having an object to love, even if it's only in your own mind. Love requires an object of devotion, and giving glory is the reciprocal of love. We give glory because we were first loved. It's a fitting expression of the bounty of goodness, as Hart puts it. Then he goes on to say, This, however, also means that within the story of creation, viewed from its final cause, there can be no residue of the pardonably tragic, no irrecuperable or irreconcilable remainder left behind at the end of the tale. For if there were, this irreconcilable excess would also be something God has directly caused. Now, in our Gnostic gospel, there is a remnant “left behind at the end of the tale.” And that is the shadowy archons that were never a part of the original creation because they did not come from the “first cause” discussed earlier. The shadows of the Demiurge did not come from the Fullness or the fallen Aeon, but are only the absence of the qualities of that Aeon, this is why they are referred to as shadows. They are figments that do not have a reality outside of the Deficiency. Therefore, they have no home to return to in the Fullness of God. They are not from the Fullness. And he talks a bit about Hegel's system and dismisses it, and I'm not going to go into it. Hart says, The story Christians tell is of creation as God's sovereign act of love, neither adding to nor qualifying His eternal nature. And so it is also a story that leaves no room for an ultimate distinction between the universal truth of reason and the moral meaning of the particular, or for any distinction between the moral meaning of the particular and the moral nature of God. Only by insisting upon the universality of God's mercy could Paul, in Romans 11.32, liberate himself from the fear that the particularity of that mercy would prove to be an ultimate injustice, and that in judging His creatures, God would reveal Himself not as the good God of faithfulness and love, but as an inconstant God who can shatter His own covenants at will. Hart reminds us that down through the centuries, Christians have again and again subscribed to formulations of their faith that clearly reduce a host of cardinal Christian theological usages, most especially moral predicates like good, merciful, just, benevolent, loving, to utter equivocity, and that by association, reduce their entire grammar of Christian belief to meaninglessness. [On the next page, 75, he says], consider, to begin with the mildest of moral difficulties, how many Christians down the centuries have had to reconcile their consciences to the repellent notion that all humans are at conception already guilty of a transgression that condemns them justly to eternal separation from God and eternal suffering, and that in this doctrine's extreme form, every newborn infant belongs to a massa damnata, hateful in God's eyes from the first moment of existence. Hart loves to throw in Latin. Massa damnata obviously means that the masses would be damned. The very notion of an inherited guilt is a logical absurdity, rather on the order of a square circle. All that the doctrine can truly be taken to assert, speaking logically, is that God willfully imputes to innocent creatures a guilt they can never have really contracted out of what, from any sane perspective, can only be called malice. But this is just the beginning of the problem. For one broad, venerable stream of tradition, God, on the basis of this imputation, consigns the vast majority of the race to perpetual torment, including infants who die unbaptized. And may I point out that in Gnostic Christianity there is no inherited guilt at all because the Fall was not caused by the first humans, Adam and Eve, but occurred at the Aeonic level. Christianity carries a remnant of that understanding forward when it refers to “fallen angels,” but it does not connect the dots to realize their culpability in original sin. And then the theology of grace grows grimmer, for according to the great Augustinian tradition, since we are somehow born meriting not only death but eternal torment, we are enjoined to see and praise a laudable generosity in God's narrow choice to elect a small remnant for salvation, before and apart from any consideration of their concrete merits or demerits, and this further choice either to predestine or infallibly to surrender the vast remainder to everlasting misery. So it is that, for many Christians down the years, the rationale of evangelization has been a desperate race to save as many souls as possible from God. The time has really gotten away from us, and we've only touched the first meditation, so I hope you are enjoying this theology. It's theology, and I know that's difficult slog, but I'm sharing with you these thoughts because they comprise basically the sum total of Christian theology for the past 2,000 years, and it has gone through changes here and there. David Bentley Hart is a scholar of Eastern Orthodoxy and a scholar of religion and philosopher and so forth, and I think that he has very clear sight. So we'll pick this up one more time next week, and I promise we'll wrap it up. Onward and upward! God bless us all! This book gathers the essential insights of gnosis into a clear, approachable form. Gnosis can be as simple or as intricate as you choose to make it, but its heart is always accessible. A Simple Explanation guides you through the often tangled vocabulary and shifting landscapes of Gnostic thought, offering a path that is both illuminating and easy to follow. The glossary alone is a treasure—an indispensable reference for anyone exploring ancient Christian mysticism, the Nag Hammadi texts, or the deeper layers of spiritual philosophy. Now available in paperback, hardback, Kindle, and audiobook editions through amazon and your local booksellers.

In this episode, we reflect on the tender and often misunderstood topic of forgiveness, what it is, what it isn't, and why it's central to finding freedom in Christ. We talk honestly about how resentment and unforgiveness can quietly build in the heart, often as an attempt to protect ourselves from further pain. We also acknowledge how difficult forgiveness can be, what to do with the cry of our hearts when we have been wounded, and how to entrust it to God when we don't yet feel capable of forgiving. Friends, forgiveness does not strip us of our identity, it affirms who we are in Christ. Even in the deepest places of hurt, we find hope because of the loving presence of a God who never abandons us in our pain.   Heather's One Thing - Greatness of the Lord by Brooke Ligertwood Heather's Other One Thing - The Franciscan University Community  Sister Miriam's One Thing - Heather's Battle Cry Playlist Michelle's One Thing - Congratulations to Indiana University for winning the championship! Michelle's Other One Thing - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans   Other Resources Mentioned:  Forgiving as Unity with Christ: A Journey for Healing Resentment and Relationships by Dr. Robert Enright   Announcement: Our 2026 Lenten book study will be "The Way of Trust and Love" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Scepter Publishers has offered 15% off with the code ABIDE15. They also offer an ebook version as well. We will announce more information about the study in the coming weeks!   Journal Questions: What are the unhealed places of your heart? Are you angry, sad, or frustrated at the wrong you've endured? How have I experienced shame about the wrongs I've endured or my own unforgiveness? How has this affected my health, wellbeing, or energy? How do I replay or obsess over the conflict I experienced?  How have I given into constant comparison in my unforgiveness? What major changes have occurred in my life because of the injustice I've experienced and how have they affected me? Has this experience led to a more negative worldview? How has my sense of self changed? Am I seeing myself as worthless?   Discussion Questions: How have you been sweeping things under the rug and calling it forgiveness? What deeper feelings lie beneath your resentment? Where in your life do you need to repent and take personal responsibility? Who has modeled repentance and forgiveness well in your life? How does your heart react to conflict and wrongdoing in relationships?   Quotes to Ponder: "Ultimately, we can really forgive people only because Christ rose from the dead; his Resurrection is the guarantee that God can cure every wrong and every hurt." (Fr. Jacques Philippe, Interior Freedom) Resentment attacks our vital forces and does us much harm. When someone has made us suffer, our tendency is to keep the memory of the wrong alive in our minds, like a "bill" we will produce in due time to demand settlement. Those accumulated bills end up poisoning our lives. It is wiser to cancel every debt, as the Gospel invites us to. In return, we will be forgiven everything, and our hearts will be set free, whereas nurturing resentment toward others closes us to the positive things they could contribute to us." (Fr. Jacques Philippe, Interior Freedom) Scripture for Lectio: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!"" (Matthew 18:21-22)   Sponsor - Blessed is She: "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus didn't ask this because He was uncertain of His identity. He asked because we often are. The disciples had walked with Him. They had seen the miracles. They had heard the teaching. And still, when the question was asked, many hesitated. Because proximity to Jesus does not automatically mean intimacy.  So often, our understanding of God is shaped by what we've absorbed over time—what we were taught, what we experienced, what others modeled for us. And without noticing, we begin to believe stories that aren't true.That God is distant. That He is easily disappointed. That love must be earned. That holiness requires perfection. But Jesus does not leave us guessing. He tells us who He is: I am the Light of the World. I am the Bread of Life. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life... Join Blessed is She this Lent to journey with Jesus to Jerusalem in Who Do You Say That I Am? by Debra Herbeck.  This Lenten devotional walks through the "I AM" statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John and is written to lead you out of assumptions and into encounter.  This Lent, let Jesus speak for Himself. And let that truth reshape the way you live. Whether you've been walking with Jesus for years or you just met Him, drink even more deeply of the truths of who Jesus says He is in Who Do You Say That I Am? Get your women's and kid's devotionals at blessedisshe.net/lent. Blessed is She is a Catholic women's community for any woman who wants to radically follow Jesus through a vibrantly Catholic life every single day.  We create beautiful and accessible resources (like this year's Lent devotional), products, and experiences to deepen prayer and foster community, both online and in person. We invite you into this community, no matter where you are on your walk with Christ. You belong here. Subscribe to our *free* daily emails to pray with the daily Mass readings and women all over the world at blessedisshe.net/subscribe and order the brand new Blessed is She Catholic journaling Bible at blessedisshe.net/shop.   Timestamps: 00:00 Blessed is She 01:30 Intro 02:16 Welcome 03:25 Scripture Verse and Quotes to Ponder 06:13 Repentance Leads to Freedom 07:53 Forgiveness is Hard 09:41 How Do I Forgive When I Don't Have the Capacity? 13:27 Modeling Repentance in Our Lives 17:35 Being Honest with Ourselves Can Be Painful 24:28 Sitting in the Pain and Setting Boundaries 29:34 Reflection Questions on Forgiveness 38:03 One Things

Today, Pastor Jack teaches that David, through Jonathan's help and guidance is not just thinking of his own survival. That God's covenant still stands for David as future king of Israel, and to live beyond his current circumstances with a sense of purpose.

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptMy name is Spencer, I'm one of the pastors here. We are in week three of a four week series on New Testament prayers. So we are looking at some prayers that are in the New Testament and trying to capture some of the truth that is bound up in them so that it might encourage us in our prayers but also help us grow in the discipline of prayer which is vital for the life of the Christian. So we'll finish this, we have one next week and then we'll jump back into Second Samuel. So we're gonna be in Ephesians chapter three today, verses 14 through 21. It's on page 568 in the blue Bibles. If you don't have a Bible at home, please take that blue Bible. That's a, that's a gift we want. You have a Bible that you can read, but you can follow along with us. The text will also be on the screen.There are some things in life that you learn kind of on your own through reasoning and all types of things. And then there are things that happen to you that just change you. Some external forces that just absolutely change your life. So this can happen in a variety of ways. One of the clear ones that happened for me was when we had our first child. So, you know, heard for years that we have a child, it'll change you. Have a child, it will change you. And kind of do that at some experiential level. That was going to happen before we had a kid. We had a, we had a dog. So we got a little bit of a jump start on taking care of some type of creature. And we loved that dog. I didn't like that dog. You've been here long enough, you've heard enough stories about that dog. That dog was the worst. But we loved it, took care of it. And then like lady and the Tramp, that story that plays out over and over again, we had a child and that child, like when you first hold your child in the hospital or if you adopt a child and the agency places that child with you either, and you're in the room with that child for the first time, like there's just something that happens within you. External force just comes in and it just, you, you thought you, you, you knew this category of love and that just gets deepened in ways that are just so profound and wonderful. And when I held my daughter for the first time, it was just powerful. Then went home and I saw that dog and I was like, I hate you. Like, I love, I love this child so much. With the Love that I had this child. I just is a disdain by comparison. But there's just something happens. There's external forces that work in you. That's not just limited to children. Sometimes experiences happen to you and it changes you. And none of those hold, hold a. Hold a flame to. When the Lord determines to work in our lives in powerful ways, the external force of who our Lord is is working in our hearts. It changes us in ways that are profound. And that's what this prayer is today. It's capturing that. It's a prayer for God to. To work powerfully within us. So we're going to see this prayer and see the encouragement that comes with a prayer like this and then also see the fruit that comes from these types of prayers. So let me pray for us and then we'll walk through this piece by piece.Heavenly Father, I thank you that you do work in mighty ways. And I pray that this would be a morning in which you do that you would work in our inner being, in our hearts, in profound ways that help us not just hear your word, but do it. But that comes not from ourselves. It comes from you. And we ask that you do that in Jesus name. Amen.All right, so this prayer begins in the middle of. Towards the end of chapter three with for this reason. Okay, we're going to stop there. So this happens in Ephesians. You see this phrase for this reason over and over again. And what's happening is that Paul is drawing to mind what he said previously. He's building on truth that he's already established for this reason. And we saw this a little bit in week one. Chet, in week one of this series went to a prayer in Ephesians chapter one. And that was built upon the truth that came before that, which is the first few verses of Ephesians is this. This declaration of how God plans to redeem his people, that he chooses us and he redeems his people. And then Chet walked us through this prayer of wanting to know God and experience his glory in profound ways. Then when you get to chapter two, those first 10 verses one through 10 and chapter two are some of the most, I would argue, one of the most important passages in all the Scriptures. It is a beautiful summary of the gospel. That we were once dead in sin. We were sons of disobedience, children of disobedience, that we were wayward and that God, in his mercy, he saves us by grace through faith, not of our own doing. So if you're looking to grow in some scripture memory this year, and you have no place to start. I can't think of a better place to start than that passage right there. Builds upon that talks about how Jews and Gentiles are both a part of the same household of God, of how God dwells in his church. So really, for this reason, builds upon the gospel that he's articulated with such beauty and specificity. And those first three chapters, because the gospel is good news.> For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,> from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,> that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,> so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,> may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,> and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.> Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,> to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. Stop there. As I bow my knees, which just for a moment, we should consider our posture when we pray. Now, I'm not being dogmatic on this. I'm not saying that every time you pray you have to bow on your faith, bow on your knees, that every time you pray you need to be on your face before the Lord. I think you can drive and pray. I think you can sit in a chair and pray. But if the only posture by which we pray is a comfortable posture, I think we're missing something. In prayer, there's something about the physical body and how God has made us in the position of bowing before the Father, laying prostrate on your face before the Father. And if that's not an aspect of your prayer life, it should be because it brings humility within us. There's a physical humility displayed when we bow before the Father in prayer. That's what he's doing here. I bow before the Father, which also should be noted. This prayer is very trinitarian in its language, very explicitly. So going to see Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this prayer. And as most prayer in the New Testament that we see, all the prayers that we see written, some of the teachings that we see on prayer, normative patterns of prayer are to the Father, but we also think of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So this begins with I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named. Throughout every family, every creature comes from, from his creation that we're named, that God's sovereignty and all of this is implied here.And then we have verses 16 through 19, which is very dense, very rich, and it is a lot. So we got to kind of take it component by component. Because Paul's breaking down one kind of overarching truth for us piece by piece. My wife and I, we were trying to teach our kids some life skills and try to teach them to make a sandwich. You could just say, get on in there and make it. Make yourself a PB and J. It's like, no, it's like, this is how it works. Step one, get the bread out. Step two, get the jar of peanut butter. Put the knife in the jar, get the peanut butter out, smear it over this one piece, then take the a paper towel and wipe that peanut butter off. Because only psychopaths put that straight in the jelly. You know who you are. Leaving peanut butter remnants in the jelly like a. And then get the jelly smear in the bread, and then we piece it together and then you've got the sandwich. Right? So Paul's component by component here, there's one overarching sandwich, one big truth he's trying to give us, but he's got to break this down. So we're going to have to take this piece by piece to see what he's getting at here.In this prayer, he says that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being. Okay, sit there. That first part, according to the riches of his glory, Chet helped us see in week one of this. He was quoting Herman Babnik, a theologian from a century ago, and describing glory and defining it. He said, the glory of God is the infinite, indescribable perfection and beauty of all the other attributes that all the good and wonderful attributes of God, his goodness, his faithfulness, his power, his might, and on and on, shine brightly in a way that displays glory. And he says, according to the riches of that glory, this indescribable, infinite, marvelous glory says, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with the power through his spirit in your inner being, to be strengthened with the power of spirit through his spirit, the Holy Spirit in your inner being. Okay, let's pause there for a moment.There is an American lie that is told repeatedly over and over again that if you look inside yourself, inherit to who you are, you'll discover power, you'll discover greatness. And that greatness will help you win and overcome and be great. And y', all, that story is told over and over again, from Moana looking inside herself to, I mean, most recently, Stranger Things, the stories that we tell over and over again. There's something inherent inside of you that you just got to tap into. To overcome, to do great gets told over and over and over again. And that sometimes actually even funnels into some American churches, not even the majority, but some of them, certainly some with big platforms, and there are even some pastors, at least those who claim to be, that will parrot that lie. Over and over again. There's something you just gotta tap into. The power that's deep, that's wonderful within you. But that's not what the gospel teaches at all. It's not what the gospel teaches. The gospel teaches that if you look deep inside yourself, what you will discover is frailty, weakness, sin, brokenness, depravity. That's what's inherent in each of us. And that's what makes the gospel such good news. That's why that's wonderful that it's not in ourselves to arrive at greatness. It's on ourselves to overcome that. It comes from God working within us, the external power of God coming to work inside of us in powerful ways. May he strengthen by the power through his spirit in your inner being. This power comes from God.In verse 17, he says, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through. Through faith. That Jesus Christ and faith in him brings the power of God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, to dwell richly in his people. And then he continues. That you, being rooted and grounded in love. Here we go. May have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and. And height and depth. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God, goodness. When I was a kid, we got to go to the Grand Canyon. My stepdad and I, we went. And I remember getting out of the car, walking through this clearing and seeing the Grand Canyon and having a very normal experience that many people have when they see the Grand Canyon. You just feel small. Now, the reasons that you feel small, because the Grand Canyon is massive. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long. It is 4 to 18 miles wide. various points. It is over a mile deep. Totals at 1,904 square miles. You could take the entire state of Rhode island and put it in the Grand Canyon. I want to help you picture this for a moment. You may not find this helpful. I found this helpful and I'm talking. So theoretically, if you filled up the Grand Canyon with water, okay, it would take 4.17 quadrillion liters of water to fill the Grand Canyon. Now, if you're like me and you failed math as a kid, you might ask, what's a quadrillion? Had that same question. Quadrillion is 1 million billions, right? Take a billion. Now you have a million of those billions. And now you have a quadrillion four of them. That's how many liters of water it takes to fill the Grand Canyon. Now stay with Me further, the average adult human being, the capacity and the adult human being is about 42 liters. So if you were to take a human and fill it up with water. 42 liters. Okay. I in the eighth grade, well after my second eighth grade because I failed math. Stay with me. After my second eighth grade when I was there witnessing how big the Grand Canyon was, I was very small, very had not broken £100 yet. So half an adult human being. So think 20 liters capacity human being beholding 4.17 quadrillion capacity Grand Canyon. That's why I felt small. That's why anyone feels small. You might be. That's the most crazy confusing way to explain how to behold the Grand Canyon. I could keep going. I could tell you that if you took all the people in the world and put them in the Grand Canyon you wouldn't come close to filling it up. But it takes 60 to 70 trillion trillion human beings to fill up the Grand Canyon. I could do this with all kinds of things. With AI, I can do jello, I can do VW beetles, I can go all day pounds of sand. And every time I try to explain to you how big the Grand Canyon is by our understanding, you still can't grasp it because you can't understand 4.17 quadrillion liters of Wallers. Even if I switch it to gallons, which would be more helpful, I couldn't understand that. 67 trillion people. There's no quite way we could possibly picture and understand how big the Grand Canyon is. And when we in ourselves try to understand the bigness of the God who made that Grand Canyon, who holds that in the palm of his hand like it's nothing, the scale of comparison doesn't work. To try to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth of and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. It's not an 8th grade kid trying to stack up against the Grand Canyon. We don't have categories for that. The discrepancy between us and the size and the majesty and the wonder and the glory and the weight of glory of who our God is, is infinite. Yet God and his graciousness, this is what he does. Knowing that we and ourselves have no ability to begin to comprehend how great and how wide and how wonderful the love of his love of God. Him understanding this, He Himself dwells in us. He goes to work in our inner being to strengthen us, to empower us so that we can begin to understand the infinite capacity of love. That God has for us. That's. I mean, that's more than having your first child and having this love grow and understanding of what really love is, it's much, much, much, much, much bigger than that. When God goes to work in us to give us eyes to see and understand just the beginning of how great his love is. That's why, y'. All. I don't. When people who don't believe in Jesus and are skeptical when they take shots at the character of God. Your God is loving. Let me tell you how your God's not loving. Your God is not righteous. Not just. Let me tell you why your God isn't just. This is why. I don't. I don't get all offended. I'm not. Of course you would not begin to. How possibly could you begin to understand the depths and the riches of the love of God if He's not working in you to help you understand that in the first place? You have no capacity to understand how great he is. You have capacity to understand his great love. You have no capacity to understand his justice. You have no capacity to understand the riches of his glory and his majesty and his wonder and his all. So of course you would not get this. But when the Spirit goes to work in us and begins to open up our eyes to see and we. We begin to. To start to grasp how. How grotesque our sin is and how wretched our rebellion is against God and how we just joyfully choose sin over him repeatedly, over and over and over and over and over and over again to the point of ad nauseam. When we begin to understand with new spiritual eyes to understand how much our sin is heinous against a holy and perfect God who made us. Once we start to understand that, we can begin to partially understand how rich his love is that he would not injustice bring down his full wrath upon us. But he would send His Son to be crushed for us. He would send His Son to be crucified for us. He would send His Son to take the place that we deserve in judgment. And the more you stare at the cross by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, you begin to see how deep his love is. You cannot discover God without Him first working in you. You cannot know him without him first working in you. You cannot understand his glory, his goodness, or any aspect. And especially you cannot understand his love without him first working in us. We need God to work in us. That's why Paul's praying this. That's why he's praying this over them, because they're not going to reason their way to this. They're not going to logic their way to this. No, they need God. He's praying. May God work in your inner being to see this and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.And here's the sandwich, y'. All. Here's where it all comes in. That you may be filled with all the fullness of God. It all leads into that. He's praying you don't have it in you, but may God work in you, strengthen you, work in your inner being, so you might understand the depths of. Of the love of God, that the fullness of God may dwell in you. He's praying the fullness of God may dwell in you. Which begs the question, what is that? What is the fullness of God? I can both tell you what that is and can also admit I don't fully understand what that means. I can tell you biblically what that means. Biblically, it means that God dwells in you and his glorious attributes begin to work through you in mighty wonderful ways that display who he is. That's what that means. But how to fully understand that? I don't know. I don't know how you pictured that. I mean, you can tap a 4.17 quadrillion liter water tank and take your eighth grader and say, get to drinking, but I don't. So how do. How do you understand the fullness of God? And as I thought through this, the best way that my finite mind could try to picture this is that if you have a light bulb on a dimmer switch that you can slowly turn up, which I do in my. In my dining room, I've got this dimmer switch and turn it on, and I still have the Edison bulbs that haven't got out of stock yet. And you can turn it up a little bit and then you'll see the. The inner components of the light begin to light up. Light bulb begin to light up. But if you have a powerful enough light switch and enough light source, the more that you turn up that switch, the less you're going to see of the components of that light bulb. And eventually, if you turn up a light bulb to its maximum capacity, that you're not going to be able to see anything but light itself, you're not going to be able to see the inner workings of this at all, that the only observable substance will be light. And the best I can picture of what the fullness of God is is that God and His glory and the perfection of his attributes dwell so richly in his people that the only observable reality is God himself. And that's a beautiful thing to pray for that when people see you, the only observable reality that shines through you is the fullness of God. And that is a glorious thing to pray for. As he prays this on behalf of this Ephesian church. And you can't reason your way to that reality. You can't discover that our only hope is praying for it is praying for God to work in us in mighty wonderful ways. That at the fullness of God, God and all of his glory and his bright shining love working in us would just be the only observable thing about you.So that reality makes this final part of the prayer that we're about to read so beautiful. Because that's true now.To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power at work within us to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen, man. The end of this prayer is an opportunity to dream, to dream a bit. Any all ever dream about winning the lottery? I know a Baptist would never do that. I think most of you have. I've dreamed about it and all the silly material things that you could purchase if I won the lottery. Now let's just disclaimer. I don't buy lottery tickets because I'm a Baptist. I really don't. Let's put that aside. If I won the lottery right now, there's no limit on money. There are some material things that my heart would go after. No doubt. Probably not the same as you, but I would try to find. There are some big land tracks between like Cayce Lexington. So if you took Cayce Lexington, Red Bank. There's an area right there where there's still some big old land tracks. It's getting developed, but not all. And I scoop up one of those land tracks, 100 acres. And then I put a giant fence, we're talking like 20 foot fence all the way around it. And then I'd stock it with as many deer as possible. Just load it up. It'd be a reserve. I wouldn't be selfish. I'd invite some of you. Some of you that don't shoot things you shouldn't shoot. You know who I'm talking about. Some of you know how I'm talking about. This isn't pointing anybody specifically. It just annoys me when people shoot smaller bucks. But that's not the point of this dream. If I I would. I would get this big land track and then I build pretty much the same size house I have now, a little nicer and there'd be a pond because my son has gotten into fishing. We stock it with fish and we just invite people to this to be. So we just have people coming over enjoying it. And I'm sure you've done some version of that, probably different. I don't think your lottery dreams are based in that area of town. But we've done this if we're honest, many of us. And what makes some of those dreams about things that do not matter at all, that have no really tangible, eternal significance, the reason you could do that is because money is the limit, right? That's the point of those lottery dreams, is that money is the limit. And if you didn't have money, here are the things you could really do. But it's all about things that don't matter. It's all about things that don't last. It's all about things that will be here and gone.When is the last time we took that type of creativity and dreaming about things that do matter, things that have eternal significance, that if there were no limits and God was at work in us in mighty wonderful ways, beginning to help us comprehend the limitless love of God and the fullness of him dwelling in us in rich and powerful ways. If that's true, then man, what are the things that we could be dreaming about that we could pray for now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think? And I want you to dream for a bit about things that actually have significance. If God and His infinite power is at work within us, what are the things that we should be praying for, things we should be dreaming about? I want to give you some categories. Last week we talked about holiness. We talked about. We read a prayer of sanctification, of us becoming more like Christ by repenting of sin and obeying him. And the hope is, is that you didn't just hear that, but you responded to be a doer of the word. And this week at group, you began to talk about sin and not in shallow ways, but in real ways. That's my hope. And if you haven't done it yet, please do. But what if in this past week you started to take sin really seriously and then leaving today, you started to pray big prayers of just like God, this area of my life that I so deeply want you to change, this sin that just keeps plaguing me, God, would you so remove its Influence in my life that a year from now, just walking with you and all of a sudden temptation comes and I'm like, neo from the Matrix, just. And you're just. No, it's just an annoyance. I'm just. Would you work so powerfully within me that I wouldn't feel the destructive influence of the sin? I just have so much fullness of you dwelling within me. That's a thing to pray for.Let's talk about reconciliation as a category. Some of you have relationships with people that have been marred by the effects of sin. And maybe you're not talking to them anymore. Maybe there is relational weirdness. And it just. Every time you see them, it just. You. Every time you see something online, you just. What if you started praying in a way to our limitless God that he would work in a mighty way in you and in them, so that when you saw them, all you felt was actually love, the love of God. That brightness just shines through you in a way. It's like I. I just love that person so much because he can. He can work in mighty ways.Give you a different category, personal evangelism. Some of y' all have that lost coworker or that friend that you've been building with for quite some time. What if you began to pray with dream and imagination? God? Would you. Would you use me to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to this person? Would you save them? And what if God, in a few months, orchestrated you and her? Or you and him standing right in front of me in a pool baptizing them, celebrating that Jesus saved them, and then you disciple them? You say, come, follow me as I follow Christ. Here's how you study the Word. Here's how you pray. Here's how you live in community. Follow me as I follow Christ. And then in a few years, they're actually a group leader. Because you prayed for boldness and zeal, the death of apathy and self interest, and God worked in you and you declared the gospel of Jesus Christ.Give you another category about planting a church. It's about time we did that. It's about time we planted a church. What if 50 of you weren't in this room a few years from now? What if you, because God, working in your inner being, gave you faith to take a step of obedience and go and take the gospel somewhere else? I'll give you one couple more categories. What if some of you considered the call to ministry, serving the local church? What if some of you prayed some dangerous prayers and God began to work in your inner being in wonderful, mighty ways. And you said, I, I'll make less money. I'll serve the church, I'll be obedient. And for, for the men in this room, some of you, that means considering the call to be a pastor and, and aspiring to the office of overseer and desiring that noble task 1 Timothy 3:1, in a way that you would give your life away to loving and shepherding and leading and preaching God's people. And I'll give you one last category to dream on. What if some of you became international missionaries, you began to pray those kind of dangerous prayers that when you think about it, you want to put it to the side because you don't want to go there. But God began to work in you and broke your heart for a people group that doesn't know the gospel, for a country that needs solid theological enrichment in the local churches. And you, in a few years packed up your bags and sold everything and you left. And you're obedient to the call to go, to make disciples of all the nations. Those are the things worth dreaming about and those are the things worth praying for.Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen, y'. All. He's able. He's able to do more than we could ever dream or imagine. Why aren't we praying? The type of dangerous, wonderful, glorious Christ exalting prayers that make us uncomfortable. We have access to limitless power to go to work in us, to do unimaginable work that he set apart for us. And the question is, is what are we waiting for? I think some of us are holding back. I think even as we think in those type of categories for a moment, there's already the counter that said, I just, I don't know, I'm not ready. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. That seems scary. What if I fail? What if it doesn't work? What if? What if? What if? What if? And I want to tell you, you let God be the limit on what he's going to do in you and through you and get out of the way. We pray and we dream like this because of where this ultimately ends. Because to him belongs all glory and the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. This ends in doxology. This ends in glorious praise to Him. Did we get to experience him in indescribable ways that we would get to be used by him to do unimaginable things to Him. Be the glory forever and ever. Amen.Brothers and sisters, God wants to strengthen us, to help us comprehend the depths of his love in profound, wonderful ways. And as we experience his love in infinite, wonderful ways, we'd be obedient to the things that he calls us to with no limit style Dreaming it's time for us to pray for the fullness of God to dwell in us. It's time to start praying bold, audacious, big dream prayers. And that's what we're going to do for the next few minutes. Daniel's going to come up here and he's just going to play and we're going to sit and we're going to pray and we're going to pray for two things. We're first going to pray for God and His fullness to dwell in us that would shine so brightly that when people see us, they see Christ. And the second thing we're going to pray for is going to pray for God to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. And we get to dream a little bit and we get to be dangerous a little bit. And we get to be silent for a little bit. And we get to let the Lord go to work in our hearts. So that's what we're going to do. For a few minutes we're going to sit in silence and then I will close this in prayer. But let me, let me make this clear. Some of you need to encounter, maybe for the first time, this power of God. Some of you. This won't make sense until God first begins a work in you, which means some of you need to place your full faith in Jesus that you've been putting faith in other things yourself. And now is the time for you to actually respond to the lordship of God so that he might begin to dwell in you fully. And I would encourage you to do that as well. But we're going to sit for a few minutes. Maybe you need to get a posture of prayer. Maybe you need to be open handed a little bit. Maybe you need to get on your knees. We don't have a traditional altar, but you might need to come up here, you might need to stand up and walk out, but prepare yourself to be in a posture of prayer. And for a few minutes we're going to sit in silence and we're going to pray for the fullness of God to dwell richly in us in mighty ways. And then we're going to pray for God to do far more abundantly than we could ever ask or think. Let's pray.Lord, we pray that we'd be filled with the fullness of you, God. May you work in our inner being that we might be begin to comprehend how profound and wonderful our love is and a world way that you would dwell so richly within us and shine so brightly through us. Oh lord, would you fill us, God, to you who are able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. God, would you remove the limits that we place on you in our lives? Would you make us uncomfortable? Would you give us faith? God, we ask for faith to pray like this. May you work mightily in us to do the things that you desire for us. To you be glory and your church and our Savior Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.We're going to stand, we're going to praise our glorious God and we're going to worship.

Study session scripture: Romans 3:1-8Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.Study session topics:The Unrighteousness of the Jews, concluded Paul now responds to some anticipated objections to the arguments he has been making regarding the unrighteousness of the Jews If the Jews are condemned by their sins just as the Gentiles are, and true Jews are Jews inwardly, what is the benefit of being an ethnic Jew? Paul immediately responds that there is much benefit to being an ethnic Jew, because they were given the very words of God The modern equivalent would be growing up in a Christian home and expecting to go to heaven on the basis of one's upbringing Simple possession of God's Word and external connection to a favored nation is not sufficient to save one's soul If God's covenant with Israel is unconditional, and many Jews live unfaithful lives and thus will not be saved, does this nullify God's promise to save Israel? Paul immediately rejects this question and states emphatically that God's faithfulness is inviolable even though man is unfaithful God's covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:7-21) This question takes the promises God made to Israel as a nation and erroneously attempts to apply them to individuals who have not laid hold of God's promises through salvation in Christ The modern equivalent would be expecting to be saved on the basis of regular church attendance and belonging to a congregation because God promised to save His church If our sins and faithlessness serve to emphasize God's righteousness and faithfulness, how can God judge us for making Him look good? If this objection had any merit, God could not judge the world. Paul completely rejects the premise of the question because God will judge the world, so this accusation can be dispensed withPaul's accusers charge him with teaching "cheap grace," i.e. if God's glory is further emphasized by my sin, and His mercy is further emphasized when He forgives me, then I should sin freely that God's grace may abound all the more The Gospel does not promise forgiveness for premeditated sin. if we do not repent of our sin, but rather act as though God is forced to forgive us when we ask and thus we have God in a corner and can live as we please, we mock God and trivialize His holiness by overemphasizing His mercy, and we will meet a rude awakening at our judgmentStudy session audio:

St. Isaac the Syrian is not offering speculation about the afterlife. He is unveiling the inner logic of existence itself, now and forever. He begins, characteristically, not with heaven, but with humility—because for him humility is not a moral ornament but the measure of reality. You do not know humility, he says, by what you think of yourself when you are alone. You know it only when your self-image is wounded. If accusation disturbs you, if injustice burns you inwardly, then humility has not yet reached the marrow. This is not condemnation but diagnosis. Humility, for Isaac, is not self-accusation performed in safety; it is the quiet endurance of being diminished without revolt. Only such a heart can bear God. From this point, Isaac lifts the veil on Christ's words about the “many mansions” of the Father's house. He dismantles our spatial and competitive imagination. Heaven is not a collection of separate dwellings, not a hierarchy of visible comparisons. There is one dwelling, one place, one vision, one light. God is not divided. Beatitude is not parceled out. The diversity lies not in God's gift but in our capacity to receive it. Isaac reaches for images of profound simplicity. The sun shines equally upon all, yet each person receives its light according to the health of his eyes. A single lamp illumines an entire house, yet its light is experienced differently depending on where one stands. The source is undivided. The radiance is simple. What differs is the vessel. Heaven, then, is not the multiplication of rewards but the full revelation of what the soul has become capable of receiving. This is where Isaac's teaching becomes both consoling and terrifying. Consoling, because there is no envy in the Kingdom. No one with a lesser measure will see the greater measure of another. There will be no sorrow born of comparison, no awareness of loss, no inner accusation that another has been given more. Each soul will delight fully in what it has been made able to contain. God will not be experienced as deprivation by anyone who is in Him. But it is terrifying because Isaac makes clear that this capacity is not arbitrary. It is formed. It is disciplined. It is shaped through humility, suffering, obedience, and purification of the heart. The same divine light that gives joy to one will reveal limitation to another. The difference is not external but interior. Heaven does not change us at the threshold; it unveils us. Isaac goes further. He insists that the world to come will not operate by a different logic than this one. The structure of reality is already set. Knowledge beyond sense, perception beyond images, understanding beyond words—these already exist in seed form. Ignorance remains for a time, but it is not eternal. There is an appointed moment when ignorance is abolished and the mysteries that are now guarded by silence are revealed. Silence, here, is not absence but reverence. God is not fully disclosed to the undisciplined mind. Finally, Isaac draws a stark boundary. There is no middle realm. A person belongs either wholly to the realm above or wholly to the realm below. Yet even within each realm, there are degrees. This is not contradiction but coherence. Union or separation is absolute; experience within each state is varied. One is either turned toward God or away from Him, but the depth of that turning—or that refusal—determines the quality of one's existence. What Isaac is pressing upon us is this: life is the slow formation of our capacity for God. Salvation is not merely forgiveness; it is vision. Judgment is not an external sentence; it is the unveiling of what the soul can bear. Humility is not preparation for heaven—it is already participation in its light. And the tragedy of sin is not punishment imposed from without, but the shrinking of the heart's ability to receive the One who gives Himself entirely. In St. Isaac's vision, God remains eternally simple, undivided, and radiant. The question that decides everything is not how much God gives, but how much we have allowed ourselves to be healed, emptied, and enlarged to receive Him. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:04:59 susan: Hi I'm trying to transition from liturgy or hours on the phone to the 4 volume books.  Can anone tell me what week we are currently in?  tx 00:05:20 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Humility Real? - how heart reacts when another wounds us Is our understanding of the Kingdom and its light childish or rooted in mature faith Do we desire the kingdom or look for an in-between state Do we teach others before we are healed? Enemy is subtle - vainglorious to focus on sin or temptation. Should focus on virtue. Resolve and labor tied together Virtue must be practiced otherwise we are like a fledgling without feathers Humility, fervor, tears can be lost through negligence Affliction should ultimately give way to hope. Should not seek ways to avoid the cross Begin with courage.  Don't divide the soul but trust God absolutely 00:17:12 David Swiderski, WI: https://www.usccb.org/resources/2026cal.pdf 00:18:49 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 172, # 11, first paragraph 00:40:28 Ben: Anna; It seems to me that since Charity isn't something that we lose in heaven, that the glory of each soul will somehow communicate it's self to each other soul in such a way that we will each delight in the glory of the other. 00:41:40 Elizabeth Richards: It is so hard to invest and trust fully when our experience human relationships always disappoint (for me). It was easier when I was younger! 00:42:40 Elizabeth Richards: It I can be hard not to be protective in my relationship with God 00:44:05 Elizabeth Richards: The paradox is that I need Christ's strength & grace to have a vulnerable relationship with Him! 00:47:26 David Swiderski, WI: Youth is a struggle of acquiring- knowledge, career, house, family and growing older sometimes is a struggle of learning to let go until there is nothing of us to cling to but God.. (A saying from my Grandfather)  He also said more concisely we come into this world and leave the same way no teeth, bald and in diapers. 00:50:26 Nypaver Clan: Father, Do you have a good, detailed examination of conscience from the Desert Fathers? 00:50:33 Sr Barbara Jean Mihalchick: Replying to "Youth is a struggle ..." Do any of the Saints approach the circuitous routes of  the spiritual life and vocation with a holy sense of humor??? 00:50:58 Maureen Cunningham: Sometimes it feels like That God is treating me the same as my adversary s 01:01:20 Angela Bellamy: Is the joy simultaneous with the sorrow entangled forever? or will the joy win? 01:01:59 Art: Going back to paragraph 12 where Isaac speaks of “each according to the clarity of his eyesight” this reminds me of something from the margin of the Roman missal.  It says, “They will receive grace [at Mass] in the measure of their faith and devotion, visible to God alone.”  So it's as if at mass we are already experiencing this part of heaven.  There we are all in the same place, one abode, one place, one dwelling, yet each seeing “each according to the clarity of his eyesight” and absent any feelings of envy toward any other. 01:04:43 David Swiderski, WI: https://saintnicholas-oca.org/files/catechetical-resources/Self-Examination-before-Confession-From-Way-of-a-Pilgrim.pdf 01:19:47 Nypaver Clan: Father, you're awesome!

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:Genesis 27-28; Psalm 4 and Luke 11 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast! In today's episode, dated January 11th, Hunter, your Bible Reading Coach and brother, guides us through a rich journey in Scripture, diving into Genesis chapters 27 and 28, Psalm 4, and Luke chapter 11. As always, Hunter invites us to keep things simple: spending time in God's Word, letting it shape and transform us, with the ultimate goal of experiencing the love of Jesus. This episode traces the dramatic story of Jacob and Esau, the struggle for blessing and birthright, and God's faithfulness in Jacob's life—even as he journeys away from home. We hear David's cry for help in Psalm 4, and receive Jesus' wisdom in Luke, including His teaching on prayer, the goodness of God as our Father, warnings against religious hypocrisy, and encouragement to seek God persistently. Through heartfelt reflections, Hunter challenges the lies of separation and legalism, pointing us to a God who is close, present, and loving—not distant or angry. The episode closes with prayer, practical encouragement, and an invitation to deeper engagement with Scripture every day. So, whether you're new or a longtime listener, settle in and let today's Scriptures and reflections draw you closer to Jesus—the One who offers unconditional love and the gift of Himself, the Holy Spirit. Let's walk together, step by step, in this daily journey of faith! TODAY'S DEVOTION: He's angry. These teachers are a bunch of fakes. He's angry because these teachers of His Word ought to be offering people something real, something true. He's angry because they're a bunch of religious, self-righteous, self-serving hypocrites, and Jesus is none too happy about it. They're telling lies about God, and the main one is a lie of separation. God is separate, he's distant, and he's angry. He's angry until you perform the right religious duties, until you wash your hands the right way, until you wash your cup in just the right way, until you give the right amount of everything that you own in just the right way. Even the herbs in your garden and a thousand other things like this were all used as a way of ensuring that you knew that God was separate from you, that he was angry with you. And this message of separation served these guys well. They leveraged it for coercion and control, for power, prestige, and money. They used this lie to become important in the eyes of those with power. They liked to walk around with their flowing robes in the marketplaces. They liked when important people, powerful people, recognized them and honored them. All the while the people suffer. Jesus looked at this and declared it hogwash. He called them hypocrites, snakes, vipers. In effect, Jesus says, you say that you speak for God, but you don't know God. If you knew God, you would know his justice, not yours, which is so rarely just. You would know his love—his love which declares that God is not separate. Rather, God is here. He is with us, and God is for all people. He is wanting his people and his priests who use his name to tell the truth, to demonstrate the love and justice of God, to live in the reality of the God who is with us, the God who is their present king, because it's true and the world so desperately needs it. If you read the Bible and you're left with a God who is separate, distant, petty, and angry, more concerned with how much turmeric you tithe than he is about you loving your neighbor and knowing that you are loved, then you've been sold a lie and you have completely missed the point of who he is. Because the point of his word is to show us that God is for us, not against us. That God is good. That God is not petty, but abounding in grace and mercy. That God is present and he is full of love. This was the message of all the prophets. God. God is with you, people. Wake up. Wake up to the God who is with you. He's angry that religion has become a way to crush people's spirits with unbearable religious demands rather than something that sets them free and makes them new. Jesus begins this reading in Luke by telling us that God is something completely different than what the Pharisees are selling. Jesus says God's not like that. God is good. When you ask him for good things, he doesn't give you scorpions and snakes. He's a good father. Don't let circumstances and the seeming delay in God's response to your need dissuade you from the truth of his kindness. Like the man who's knocking and seeking and asking for bread, God comes through. So keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking. God's not angry with you. Don't let others or the circumstances prevent you from knowing the kind of father that you really have. Your Father knows what it's like to give his children good gifts. Earthly fathers know what it's like to do that. How much more will our good Father give good gifts if we ask for them? Jesus is angry at the evil in this world that keeps people from knowing and experiencing his loving kindness. God's not angry with you. What's the gift the good Father is giving? He's giving himself. He's giving the Holy Spirit. How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? He is offering himself to be with us and in us. Pray that God will renew your mind so that you will no longer see your Father as separate from you and angry with you, but rather as good and kind. He wants to give you everything. May your soul, may my soul, may we know this well today. That's my prayer. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

The foundational belief is that God exists and everything that is made and can be made is made by him and through him. This means·      This world belongs to God and we are it's stewards·      Our lives are created by God and we all are accountable to him.·      That all people no matter who they worship are actually made by our God.·      That God then is the ultimate source and reliable one of all creation, time, matter, identity, etc.

Main Point: Evidence of God's work in others should provoke our prayers.Outline: How should we pray?(1) Praise to God for evidences of grace (1:3–10)A. Faith that is growing (v. 3a)B. Love that is increasing (v. 3b)C. Faith that is enduring (v. 4)D. Distinctions God is revealing (vv. 5–10)(2) Petition to God for ongoing fruit (1:11)A. That God would make them worthy of his callingB. That God would fulfill every resolve for goodC. That God would fulfill every work of faith by his power(3) Priority of this prayer (1:12)A. That Christ may be glorified in themB. That God's grace would be on display

Today we start with a bit of China/Venezuela news, followed by my conversation with Luke, the Podcast Ninja (see notes below), and lastly a few minutes on how to pray for China this week (esp. Yugan)! Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city/county to pray for every day. Send any questions/comments to chinacompass@privacyport.com. Everything else can be easily found at PrayGiveGo.us! Also, I’m now on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/chinacompass), which not only allows for donations, but also conveniently lets me sort podcast episodes into various collections. Now Available on Amazon (+ free PDF): The Millionaire Missionary (BordenofYale.com) Venezuelan Oil & China: Four Things to Know https://asia.nikkei.com/business/energy/venezuelan-oil-and-china-4-things-to-know How to Pray for Venezuela (via Mr. Marquez) For churches and pastors to be used by God and bring words of encouragement to the lives of believers, as many are fearful and unsure of what to do during these times of tension. For peace, and a peaceful transition in Venezuela, without innocent victims. For believers to trust not in man, but in Jesus Christ, and remember that His kingdom is above any human kingdom. That God may protect His church, the evangelists, pastors, and those who visit the sick in Venezuela, as armed groups are intimidating citizens 24 hrs a day in many parts of the country. Conversation with the Podcast Ninja I met with the Podcast Ninja again the other day to catch up on our respective hunting seasons, basketball teams, and Indiana’s best-in-the-country college football team. We took some time to discuss the blessings (and possible pitfalls) of praying for the persecuted. After our conversation which was recorded in the middle of the week, I came back and updated everyone on a couple of things that were discussed… The hunt was fun, but no meat! The Podcast Ninja informed me that he did talk to his kids about Hebrews 13:3 at dinner Indiana University rolls over Oregon (gave me a chance to watch Thunder comeback) Now let's take a look at this coming week's Pray for China (PrayforChina.us) cities… https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-jan-12-18-2026 Thank you for listening! Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! Well, I've finally set up Patreon for those who are interested. There’s also a Paypal link at PrayforChina.us if you’d like to give to our China ministry. Last but not least, for (almost) everything else we’re doing visit PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, vs 2: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord for more. Talk again soon!

Today we start with a bit of China/Venezuela news, followed by my conversation with Luke, the Podcast Ninja (see notes below), and lastly a few minutes on how to pray for China this week (esp. Yugan)! Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city/county to pray for every day. Send any questions/comments to chinacompass@privacyport.com. Everything else can be easily found at PrayGiveGo.us! Also, I’m now on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/chinacompass), which not only allows for donations, but also conveniently lets me sort podcast episodes into various collections. Now Available on Amazon (+ free PDF): The Millionaire Missionary (BordenofYale.com) Venezuelan Oil & China: Four Things to Know https://asia.nikkei.com/business/energy/venezuelan-oil-and-china-4-things-to-know How to Pray for Venezuela (via Mr. Marquez) For churches and pastors to be used by God and bring words of encouragement to the lives of believers, as many are fearful and unsure of what to do during these times of tension. For peace, and a peaceful transition in Venezuela, without innocent victims. For believers to trust not in man, but in Jesus Christ, and remember that His kingdom is above any human kingdom. That God may protect His church, the evangelists, pastors, and those who visit the sick in Venezuela, as armed groups are intimidating citizens 24 hrs a day in many parts of the country. Conversation with the Podcast Ninja I met with the Podcast Ninja again the other day to catch up on our respective hunting seasons, basketball teams, and Indiana’s best-in-the-country college football team. We took some time to discuss the blessings (and possible pitfalls) of praying for the persecuted. After our conversation which was recorded in the middle of the week, I came back and updated everyone on a couple of things that were discussed… The hunt was fun, but no meat! The Podcast Ninja informed me that he did talk to his kids about Hebrews 13:3 at dinner Indiana University rolls over Oregon (gave me a chance to watch Thunder comeback) Now let's take a look at this coming week's Pray for China (PrayforChina.us) cities… https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-jan-12-18-2026 Thank you for listening! Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! Well, I've finally set up Patreon for those who are interested. There’s also a Paypal link at PrayforChina.us if you’d like to give to our China ministry. Last but not least, for (almost) everything else we’re doing visit PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, vs 2: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord for more. Talk again soon!

(God's Wrath or Righteous Judgment for Sin and Sinners must be distinguished from Persecution and disciplining that God permits to transform His people and restore them.)1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, note especially verse 9Paul says unequivocally in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 “That God did not appoint us to suffer [His] wrath or (righteous judgment) but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This righteous judgment must be distinguished from certain types of discipline that God directs toward us to correct and restore us (see 1 Peter 1:6-9).Even persecutions are permitted in the middle of our witnessing efforts as the devil's resistance to the spread of the gospel: for example, Jesus words to Saul at his radical conversion “Saul, by persecuting my people you are persecuting me.” (Acts 9:1-6)In fact, in many cases, the church has grown more in times of persecution than in more peaceful environments. Therefore, discipline and persecution that God permits, is meant to restore and prosper while God's righteous judgments (or wrath) has as its purpose to fairly punish God's opponents. Therefore, Paul's admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 helps to distinguish these difficult experiences. Christians never experience God's wrath because of the Atoning Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ; Therefore, what is meant by the term “tribulation(s),” especially when used in context of the last days (promised especially in Daniel 9:24-27?)Some Christians believe in a literal 7-year tribulation period in the last days: they divide it into 2 parts of 3-½ years. The second part is referred to “the great tribulation.” This is a time of great persecution in which the Antichrist and his minions persecute God's people, especially in Jerusalem. This persecution will be interrupted by the Risen Christ, the ultimate dispenser of God's righteous judgment. Christians will be protected from this, how?The Christian church is divided on this answer.Some believe that Christ will return to do Holy War at the beginning of the 7-year tribulation period by The Rapture of the Church: both the dead in Christ first, then those Christians alive, that are transformed (1 Thessalonians 4:5-17). Others believe that this will occur mid-tribulation. Still others see the Rapturing of the Church and the Second Coming as One Event combining 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 with Revelation 19. It gets really complicated!There is unity in the belief that the tribulations that Christians are allowed to go through in life are persecutions, tests, and trials to benefit His children, but divine righteous judgment of God have a whole different purpose: They don't restore, they mete out just punishments, while “tests and trials,” aim to restore and redeem. (Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4)The difference is important according to Paul in 1Thessalonians 5:9. We will always remain in God's hove, even though He might discipline us. Even in the last days and its tribulations, Christ will make sure that His believers are raptured or protected somehow from His righteous judgment. Paul is adamant concerning this point, here (verse 9) and at other passages: e.g., Romans 5:9-11 (read)

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Genesis 15-17; Luke 6 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In today's episode, we mark the sixth day of our journey through the Scriptures together—a journey designed not just to read the Bible, but to let it shape our hearts and point us toward Jesus. Hunter warmly welcomes both newcomers and longtime listeners, reminding us this is a space to keep things simple and consistent, joining sisters and brothers around the globe to be transformed by the God who is love. In this episode, we dive into Genesis 15 through 17, exploring God's promises to Abram and the unfolding story of faith, doubt, and amazing grace. We hear about the covenant God makes, the struggles Abram and Sarai face, and the birth of Ishmael. Then, we turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, where Jesus challenges us with radical teachings—inviting His followers to love their enemies, act compassionately, and build their lives on the solid foundation of His words. Through prayer, reflection, and encouragement, Hunter reminds us that God is far better than we can imagine, and that as we discover this truth, we're invited to be people marked by love, generosity, and compassion. Join us as we continue building habits that nourish the soul, deepen our faith, and help us live as instruments of God's peace in the world. Let's journey together into the heart of God! TODAY'S DEVOTION: He is so much better than we think. God comes to Abraham and promises him things that are almost too good to be true: to make him the father of many nations, to bless all the people of the world through him, to give him the land of Canaan. And yet, to Abraham, this promise seems too much, almost unbelievable. So Abraham and Sarai come up with their own version, trying to make God's promise more "possible" by taking matters into their own hands with a surrogate son. Isn't that what we do? We often limit what we think God can do; we imagine a version of God and his goodness that fits into our own expectations and fears. We settle for what we believe is reasonable, what seems achievable, rather than trusting in the immense, extravagant goodness of God. But God is so much better than we dare to think. Jesus is the proof of that. As Hunter points out, Jesus describes a way of life that is greater than what most would even dare to attempt: loving your enemies, doing good to those who hate you, blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who hurt you. These are not humanly reasonable reactions—these are divine ways of living, God's ways, the way of the kingdom. If you do these things, Jesus says, you are truly acting as children of God. Why? Because God himself is kind to the unthankful and even to the wicked. He is compassionate. That is who he is. And yet, how often do we scale that version of God down? We put limitations on his love, his kindness, his grace, as if he can only be good to those who perform, behave, or believe just right. But Jesus pushes us to imagine God as better than anything we have dared to believe. The God Jesus reveals is bigger, better, and more loving than our imaginations, anxieties, or fears have allowed. When we let this truth soak in at the beginning of this year, when we dare to believe that God is as good as Jesus shows us, something happens: we begin to live differently. We begin to love our enemies. We begin to do good to others, even when it doesn't benefit us. We begin to live as children of the Most High, reflecting his character into the world. That's a prayer that Hunter has for his own soul, for his family, and for you too: that we would begin to imagine, trust, and live into the extraordinary goodness of God. That God is more than we've hoped, and his love is more than enough for us. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Genesis 9-11; Luke 4 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible, where we journey through scripture together, drawing closer to the heart of God. In today's episode, host Hunter invites us into the fourth day of the new year's reading plan, reminding us that the pages of the Bible point us to the living Word—Jesus, who brings life and abundance. We dive into Genesis chapters 9 through 11, exploring God's covenant with Noah, the beginnings of nations after the flood, and the story of the Tower of Babel. Our reading continues in Luke 4, where Jesus, filled with the Spirit, faces temptation in the wilderness and launches His ministry with a message of hope for everyone—inside and outside the expected boundaries. As Hunter reflects on these scriptures, we are challenged to open our hearts wider, recognizing that God's love and grace reach beyond the borders we set. Today is an invitation to see God's favor poured out on the unexpected, to pray for all people, and to participate in the healing, freedom, and joy that Jesus proclaims. Let's step forward together, grounded in the assurance that we are deeply loved—no doubt about it. TODAY'S DEVOTION: He's outside the bounds and borders of where we expect him to be. He is present with those that we think are disqualified from his care, his healing and his love. They're from places like Zarephath in Sidon, or from the land of Syria, gentile lands, borderlands among people that are our enemies, people that we think are enemies of God, people we think are headed for destruction. And yet here's Jesus preaching His first sermon in a church service and proclaiming that God is with them too. That God's favor, His healing, his mercy, his grace is with those people too. This made no sense to his listeners. It offended their religious sensibilities to the core. So much so that Luke tells us that they tried to kill him afterwards. But Jesus will not be stopped. He will not be silenced, and his message will continue to be proclaimed. Jesus comes to show us that God is not a tribal deity. No, he is the God of all tribes. He is the God of all the earth. And his love for the world and its people is reaching into places that our religious minds and our offended minds say are outside the bounds of God's grace. So let's beware of drawing borders around God's love and his grace. Let's look carefully at how Jesus begins His ministry here in his very first sermon. And let us understand well what the Spirit of God is saying to his people. The good News is for the poor. Captives are released, the blind are seeing, the oppressed are set free. And the time of the Lord's favor has come. And Jesus says that that favor has come to everyone, inside and outside of whatever borders we have constructed. And that is good news for all of us. And the prayer of my own heart today is that I will participate with him in seeing and proclaiming and experiencing the favor and love of God in my own life and in the lives of all people. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so.   TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

The foundational belief is that God exists and everything that is made and can be made is made by him and through him. This means·      This world belongs to God and we are it's stewards·      Our lives are created by God and we all are accountable to him.·      That all people no matter who they worship are actually made by our God.·      That God then is the ultimate source and reliable one of all creation, time, matter, identity, etc.

In this clip, you’ll hear: That God has a plan, and He’s looking for faithful people to carry it out. God’s Vision for our church and His plan for your life are incredible. Our biblically sound teaching will inspire and challenge you to discover it all. You need sincere worship and a church community that loves God and that loves you. At Passion, you will find opportunities for growth through discipleship and personal development. Your children will also have fun and learn about God. At Passion Church, we believe in creating an environment where God's presence is felt, His Word is preached, and lives are transformed. We are a happy and fun church, but are also very committed to being biblically sound. We are led by the Holy Spirit and dedicated to sincere worship. Our mission is to build authentic relationships, disciple individuals, and passionately pursue God’s purpose for our lives. We also have a powerful Missions Program and a commitment to soul-winning. We invite you to join us at 983 Goodman Rd W, Horn Lake, MS 38637. Our Sunday services begin at 10:30 a.m.! You’ll love our Pastor Guy Sheffield, and you’ll find us all happy to see you! All we’re missing is YOU! Let’s grow together in God’s purpose and love. Don’t forget to subscribe and stay connected with Passion Church Desoto. Like us on Facebook & Subscribe to our YouTube page @ ‘Passion Church Desoto’. #Jesus #PassionChurch #GodsPresence #Worship #Discipleship #ChurchFamily #HornLakeMS #GuySheffield #SundayService #Preaching #Bible #encouragmentSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduction: Psalm 115:8 – Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. Ephesians 5:1 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Hebrews 10:28 - Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. John 8:1-11 I Want to Be Like God (John 1:14–18) Grace without TRUTH = Not like Jesus. Truth without GRACE = Not like Jesus. GRACE and TRUTH = Like Jesus. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead John 1:14-18What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Define “glory” (John 1:14). What did John actually see when he says “we have seen His glory”?Do you tend to lean more towards “grace” or “truth” when dealing with someone's sin? Why? What do you need to do to be “full of grace and truth” like Jesus?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 1.While you're turning there,just going to ask,we pause for a second and I would ask that you wouldplease pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's word.I will pray for you to have a heart open to receivewhat it is God is telling us here tonight in this passage.All right? Let's pray.Father, we thank you for your word.It's easy tonight to get so caught up in,I guess the decorations and the sentimentality and all of that.But God, this is really no different to what we normally do.We come to worship you, come to know you,come to hear from your word.I just ask Father that your spirit be at work with your word today.In a profound way,make us into the people that you've called us to be.We pray in Jesus' name.And all of God's people said,"Amen, you become like that which you worship."It's a true statement."You become like that which you worship."You know, it's really obvious in children.I mean, just looking back at my life,if you would have found me in the late 70s, early 80s,I would have been walking around with torn pantsand a torn shirt because I was the Incredible Hulk.Remember that show, "Lufa Rigno"?That was me."Aah!"Oh, then you go forward just a couple of yearsand I would have been running around the housewith a sword fighting Skeletor.By the power of Grayskull, I was he-man.Right?And then you go forward a few more years,early 90s, grunge.Ironically, I once again had ripped pants onand the flannel shirt, the mop hair.And you can laugh and make fun of me all you want,but I know some of you got hammered pants in your closet.Some of you ladies back then had a Debbie Gibson haircutbecause you become like that which you worship.It wasn't even my idea, actually.The Bible says this.Psalm 115 verse 8 says, "Regarding idols,it says those who make them become like them.So to all who trust in them,you become like that which you worship."And then we come to church.We come to church and the truth is still the samebecause Ephesians 5:1 says, "Therefore,we imitators of God as beloved children."Like, well, how do we imitate God?By worshiping Him.That's how.It starts with worshiping Him.You're like, "Okay, all right, but how in the world,even worshiping Him, how can I imitate God?"And you know, I think that's one of the most awesome thingsabout the incarnation of Jesus Christ.What we're celebrating at Christmas, God became a man.And I think that's one of the most awesome things.One of the most glorious things is that we get to seewhat God's holiness and love looks like in a humanon this planet interacting with other humans.It's not conceptual. We've seen it.Yeah, the Christmas story. It's a familiar story, right?You know, you've got the manger and the shepherds and the light.But that's Matthew and Luke's version.Matthew and Luke in your Bible give the historical version.But we're looking at John this year.And John gives the theological version.That God became something He's never been without ceasing to bewhat He's always been.It's the miracle of Christmas.God entered the world through childbirth,becoming a real human being while remaining God.So, what do you want for Christmas?When we started this series, we said, "I want to know God."The only way you can know God is through Jesus.Jesus is the revelation of God.He is the living Word of God, right?Then on Sunday, Pastor Taylor gave a message,"I want to belong to God."The only way you belong to God also is through Jesus Christ.It's through Jesus, through His death and His resurrection,that our sins can be forgiven,that we can have the promise of eternal life,that we can be adopted children of God.Tonight, I want to be like God.What do you want for Christmas?Really, all I want is to be like God.This section we're looking at talks about the glory of Jesus Christ.Those who received Him get to know how glorious our God is.And when we worship Him, we do become like Him.Look at verse 14 in John chapter 1.It says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,and we have seen His glory,glory as of the only Son from the Father,full of grace and truth."Mark that.Grace and truth.Full of grace and truth.Verse 15."John bore witness about Him and cried out,'This was He of whom I said,'He who comes after Me ranks before Me,because He was before Me.'"And from His fullness,we have all received grace upon grace.I love that last phrase, "Grace upon grace."It's just waves and waves and waves of grace.That's Jesus.He's not stingy with His grace.And He tells us in verse 16 thatwe've received from His fullness.We've received from the fullness of grace.You know what that means?We're always in,if you belong to Jesus,you're always in the waves and waves of His grace.Meaning, I can't say,"Well, I came to Christ in 1995.Boy, you should have seen me back then.I really needed His grace back then.I need His grace just as much todayas I did then.And if I live tomorrow,I'm going to need His grace just as much tomorrowas I do today and as I did then."But that's the good news.He says, "Grace upon grace upon grace,that if you're in Christ,you're always in it."He just keeps on giving it to us."On your best day, you're in His grace.On your worst day, you're in His grace."Look at verse 17.He says, "For the law was given through Moses.Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."There it is again.Grace and truth.Grace and truth.The law though, he mentions the law.The law came through Moses.There was no grace in the law.Like you read your Old Testaments.There's only judgment.You break the law.You're guilty.In fact, the New Testament talks about thatin Hebrews chapter 10.Anyone who has set aside the law of Mosesdies without mercy in the evidenceof two or three witnesses.There's no mercy.Just guilt.That's what the law does.The law kills.The law only shows you that you are a sinner.Yet, through Jesus comes...Did you see it again?Grace and truth.What's showing us is that there's a stark contrastto the law with what came in Jesus Christ.Verse 18 kind of sums up the whole passage.It really sums up everythingthat we're celebrating at Christmas.Here it is.No one has ever seen God.The only God who is at the Father's side,He has made Him known.God the Son has made God known.One is saying, "We saw everything that is God.We saw that in Jesus Christ."So what's He like?What has God shown usof His character in Jesus Christ?I mean, what's He like?Well, you notice in this passage,He said it in verse 14,and He said it in verse 17.If you were to say,"Describe God in two words."He does.He says, "Here's what God is like."Two words.Grace and truth.Those two words exemplifiedwho Jesus Christ is,who is the perfect expressionof who God is.Grace and truth.I want to talk about grace and truthfor a few minutes.What is grace?Well, grace is compassion.It's mercy.Grace is kindness and patience.Grace is forgiveness.Read your Bibles.Jesus always manifestsjust a tender, loving grace.So He's full of grace,but it also says He's full of truth.Truth.Jesus always spoke the truth.Read your Bibles.Jesus always upheld the authorityof God's Word.Jesus never told half truths.Jesus never minimized the truth.Jesus never downplayed Scripture,contradicted the Old Testament.Jesus never sugar-coated it.He never watered it down.And He never, not once, ever did Heapologize for what the Bible says.I want to be like God.And when we look at this character of Jesus,it is astounding, full of grace and truth,simultaneously, full.And we could have this temptationto just kind of step backand admire that like, "Wow, isn't that awesome?Isn't that an awesome representation of God?"But you know, and we should do that, yes.But the Bible doesn't tell usthat we should just admire the character of Jesus.The Bible tells us that Jesus' characterisn't something just to impress us.The Bible says that we should imitate His character.I mean, so many times, right,we are called to imitate Jesus.Matthew 11, Jesus says, "Learn from Me."John 13, He was washing the disciples' grimy feet.And Jesus said, "I'm doing this to show you an examplethat you should do the same."Philippians 2, Paul says, "Have this mind,which is yours in Christ Jesus."1 Peter 2, 21 that Pastor Rich just read,says that Jesus is an example,and we should follow in His steps.And then we turn to John 1 here,and it says, verse 16, "From His fullnesswe have all receivedthat we don't worship a distant God.We worship a God according to thiswho is to be received."You see, I can stand up here,and I can talk for hours about Grace and Truth.Don't worry, I know it's Christmas, I'm not going to.But I could.But unless you've received Jesus Christ,this isn't going to matter.Because the Bible tells us that when we truly receive Him,God puts His Spirit in usso that we are able to imitate His character.So that we can truly be His image-bearers.That Jesus was full of Grace and Truth,perfectly full of both 100% Grace and 100% Truth.And this is the profound thing.Jesus was never one or the other.Never lopsided, never compromising one over the other,never wanted the expense of another.John makes it clear, he says,"This is what God is like, Jesus Christ."And if there are two words that sum upthe kind of God we worship, it's Grace and Truth.And we have to get that,because if we're to worship Godand therefore imitate God,if we're to represent God to the world,we have to imitate Grace and Truthas displayed by Jesus.So you know what our problem is.Our problem is we are not perfectly full of Grace and Truth.And the reality is each of us have a tendency to leanmore towards one than the other.Some of you are more Grace people.And some of you are more Truth people.And I just want to show you tonight thatyou can't be content to lean in one direction or the other,because that's not like Jesus at all.Like, well, can you give me an example?Yeah, there is an example I want to show you.Look at John 8.He just turned over in your Bibles a few pages.I want you to see.We're just going to read this and reference this.But if there's one story from Jesus' lifethat demonstrates this full of Grace and full of Truthat the same time, character,if there's one story that would show that, it's this one.John 8 says,"They want each to his own house,but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.Early in the morning, he came again to the temple.All the people came to him and he sat down and taught them,the scribes and the Pharisees brought a womanwho had been caught in adultery.And placing her in the midst, they said to him,'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.'Now, in the law, Moses commanded usto stone such women.What do you say?'This they said to test himthat they might have some charge to bring against him.Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground.And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them,'Let him who is without sin among yoube the first to throw a stone at her.'And once more He bent down and wrote on the ground.But when they heard it, they went away one by one,beginning with the older ones,and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him.Jesus stood up and said to her,'Woman, where are they?Has no one condemned you?'She said, 'No, Lord.'And Jesus said,Look at this.Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you.''Go, and from now on sin no more.'So if you have an outline,and you're taking notes which we always encourage you to do,I want you to jot a couple of things down here.I want to be like God.Number one, grace without truth is not like Jesus.Grace without truth?That's not like Jesus.Grace without truth is weak enabling.Never holding people accountable.You ignore the transformation power of the Holy Spirit.You disregard the truth that God says in His Wordthat we are called to righteousness and holy living.People who lean more towards gracecare more about being liked than they care about what's right and wrong.But I want you to see in this account in John 8,Jesus wasn't just grace.He didn't say to the woman,'I affirm you.You do you, ma'am.'And look, don't worry about what the Bible says.I mean, they're quoting the Law of Moses.That was a long time ago.That's not really for us.'I affirm you, ma'am.'He didn't say that.He wasn't just grace.You see, Jesus brought truth into it.Jesus says, 'Go, and from now on sin no more.'What Jesus said was,'Adultry dishonors God.'Hey, stop living like that.Okay?Stop living like that.And church, when we are content to overlook sin,when we're content to avoid the hard conversations,when we're ready to affirm people in their sin,that's not like Jesus.And now the truth people are like,'Yeah, give it to Him.Give it to the grace people.Hang on, truth people,because truth without grace is not like Jesus either.'Now look, I know the truth people.We've been around some truth people, haven't we, Aaron?Right now the truth people are like,'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.'How in the world could it be?Like, I thought Harvest Bible Chapter,I thought Bible was your middle name.Like truth is all that matters, right?Truth.It's truth that matters.How in the world could you have truth without grace?We realize in John 1.17 he told us.He told us again, John 1.17,'For the law was given through Moses.'Do you know what that is?Do you know what the law is?It's truth without grace.So let me ask you, was the law truth?This is a shouted out verbal reply question.Was the law truth?Yes, it was.It is.No, it was, it is.The law is truth.100% every letter of God's law in the Old Testament is truth.But there was no grace in the law.We referenced this earlier.This is how the law works.Oh, you broke the law.You're guilty.Now it's time for your punishment.Next, that's how the law worked.And truth without grace leads to cold, detached transactions with other people.That's truth without grace.You messed up.You're done.You're done.It leads to harsh judgment.Truth without grace leaves no room for mistakes.There's no second chances.There's no invitation to repent.There's no encouragement to turn it around.Listen, people who lean more towards truth than grace usually care more about their convictionsthan they care about actual people.And that is a problem.But you see in this John 8 account with the woman caught in adultery, do you notice Jesuswasn't just truth with her?Do you notice that?I mean Jesus didn't say to the woman, they bring the woman before Him, Jesus didn't say,"Hey lady, you know what the law says.You're guilty.There's nothing to discuss."He showed her grace when He says, "Neither do I condemn you."No good lived differently.That's grace.In church when we condemn people, when we are one striking you out, when we refuse toallow people the opportunity to change, that's not like Jesus.So we imperfect people tend to fall on one side or the other.So now that you've heard, I just want to ask you just for fun, which way do you lean?Show of hands.Many of you would say that you're more grace people.Put your hands up if you're more of a grace person.All right?Now raise your hand if you're more of a truth person.I have a note written from the first service.When I asked you the truth people were, they were a lot more bold to put their hands upthan the grace people.I think there's something to that.That'll be a sermon for Easter.Anyways, grace people, look, I love you, but you typically care more about the relationshipthan any sin issue.And that's not good.And truth people, you care more about upholding God's Word than loving someone in the relationship.And that's not complete either.And you know, I've been thinking about this a lot the last couple of weeks.While you do what you do at work, this is what I do at work, I was thinking so much,like what is it that causes people to lean one way or the other?And I was thinking about that, like whether you sit down with a grace person or you sitdown with a truth person, either way.But I was just thinking, like, if you set them down and said, what makes you lean inthe direction that you lean, what would they say?And then it hit me.Do you know what it is?And I'm sure of this.They think they're being loving.I mean, think about it.You sit down with the grace person.Why do you lean more towards grace?Because it's love.I'm loving.That's why my heart is so full of love.I'm so full of love.That's why, and you can't just discard the relationship just because of something theBible says, I'm just so full of love deep in my heart of heart of hearts.I'm so full of love.That's why I'm more of a grace person.But then, you know, if you sat down with the truth person and said, why do you lean moretowards the truth?Do you know what they'd say?It's love.Because what is more loving than giving people the word of our Lord?I mean, come on, Pastor Jeff, you're a pastor.You know this.The most loving thing you can do is tell somebody the truth, right?So that's what I do.I don't mince words.I tell them the truth.That's how I show love.That's how I love them.That's nothing more loving than that.I'm more true because that's the loving thing to do.There's a huge mistake in that line of thinking, isn't there?It's a mistake to think that grace is love because it's not.And it's a mistake to think that truth is love because it's not.You know what is love?God is love.And as a man, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, showed true love by being full of grace andtruth both.Well, that's number three.What do you want for Christmas?I want to be like God.Well, grace and truth is like Jesus.And see, that's the point of the story of the woman caught in adultery.Jesus showed her grace and truth at the same time.Grace, he forgave her.He says, "Neither do I condemn you."That's grace.Truth at the same time.Jesus said, "Your lifestyle is wrong.Go and sin no more."Jesus gave both.He says, "I forgive you.Now let's do better."In church, we need to learn this.We need to be people who represent Jesus accurately, full of grace and truth.Not a group of people that enable in the name of love, not a group of people who condemnin the name of upholding the Word.We need to be a people who demonstrate acceptance and accountability at the same time.Whereas John Piper put it, people who say, "I love you, but this is wrong."Parents, you're going to get that with your kids.Some of you parents need to sit down with your kids and say, "Look, I love you.I accept you, and nothing will ever change that.But this habit you have is wrong, and you need to stop this, and I'm going to help you stopthis because I love you."Do you see that?That's grace and truth both.Some of you have family or friends that are stuck in a sinful lifestyle.Maybe it's an addiction.Maybe they're in an unbiblical relationship regarding marriage and sexuality.You need to sit down and say, "Look, I care about you, but what you're doing is dishonoringthe Lord.Come on, let's get on a better path here.Let's get on track."For some of you, maybe it's even in church.Maybe it's in your small group.Maybe flagrantly in sin, and you're like, "I don't know what to do here.I don't know how to handle them.Here's how you handle them."You pull them aside, and you sit down with them, and you say, "Look, what you're doingis wrong, but I'm going to do everything that I can to help you get on track because I careabout you so much."You see, it's grace that refuses to beat people down, but it's truth that refuses to overlooksin.But what do you want for Christmas?I want to imitate God.The only way to imitate God, to demonstrate a love for God's Word and a love for God'speople is being like Jesus.And according to the Bible, it's full of grace and truth.Our worship team would make their way back up, and our candlelighters would come forward.We're going to close our service by singing to candlelight.Why on Christmas Eve do we sing by candlelight?Because it's pretty, right?It's so pretty.And it's a tradition, but this year, there's another reason that we're doing this.This year, thank you, Ashley, this year, it's also an illustration.In anticipation of this service, you know, I was looking at the order of service andthinking about this moment actually right now.And I was thinking about this flame.I thought, you know what is that flame?But two things perfectly.The flame is light and heat.Right?You can see the light.You'll just have to trust me on the heat.You can try it out if you like, but it's hot.But you see that flame?It's not one or the other.It's light and heat.It can't be one or the other.If you're going to have the flame, you're going to have light and heat both.You could say it is full of both aspects, light and heat.And as we sing, I just want you to look down at that flame and recognize how perfectlyfull it is of both light and heat.Then as you sing, I want you to think about grace and truth.It's like the flame imitating Jesus.You are to be full of both at the same time.We want to thank you for coming out and worshiping our Lord.And it is my prayer that your worship is genuine because then your imitation of Him will alsobe genuine.

December 20, 2025Today's Reading: Introit for Advent 4 - Psalm 19:1, 4-6; antiphon: Isaiah 45:8aDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:18-41:10; Revelation 8:1-13"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." (Psalm 19:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The heavens declare. The sky proclaims. The glory of God is spoken. The handiwork of God is revealed. Creation itself shows us who God is. Not fully; we have the Scriptures to tell us in detail who God is and of His great sacrifice on the cross on our behalf. However, Almighty God, as creator and sustainer of life, is not unknowable apart from His Word. God's creation reveals Him as Creator. The complex systems that are in place for sustaining our basic needs are all designed. And we can know whether or not we have sinned, because we do have a conscience within us. These are all the natural order of things. So all are without excuse when they stand before the Lord on the Last Day.That God is revealed in the natural order of things should drive us all the more to the place where He speaks about Himself. Yes, we can see God through His creation, but we know what He thinks of us by listening to His Word itself. We can see just how much our sin hurts ourselves and those around us when we listen to Him. And we can see just how much He cares for us by becoming a human being just like us. Standing in our place to take what we have earned by our sins. The heavens declare God's glory. But as amazing as the heavens are, it is the glory of Christ on His cross that gives us hope. God sacrificed Himself to save His creation, to save you and me. To make His advent here two thousand or so years ago. Be born, taking on our humanity to stand in our place and receive what we had earned. Then giving us His place, His righteousness, His life. And by that Gift, He gives us all others as well, including the beauty we see in His creation.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Savior rend the heavens wide; Come down, come down with mighty stride; Unlock the gates, the doors break down; Unbar the way to heaven's crown. (LSB 355:1)Author: Rev. Eli Davis, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.Work through the first ten chapters of Matthew and learn more about who Jesus is. As you move through this study, you'll ponder the theological, practical, and historical considerations of the text. With ample room for personal notes, this study will have you feeling confident in your understanding of Matthew's Gospel. Matthew 1:1-11:1 of the new Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series is available now.

Do you feel like you're just getting through the day? Like you're surviving instead of truly living? Maybe you feel stuck, exhausted, or quietly wondering if things will ever get better. If that's you, this episode is for you. Today, we're talking about wonder—and how rediscovering it can bring life, joy, and hope back into places that feel dark or stagnant.  As we move through the Christmas season and toward a new year, I felt God impress this word wonder on my heart. Wonder isn't just a feeling—it's a posture. It's the belief that there is more than what we see right now. That God is still working. That surprises, redemption, and beauty are still possible, even after long seasons of pain. In this episode, I unpack what wonder really is, why it matters so much, and how losing it slowly drains the life out of us. We talk about how a lack of wonder can leave us feeling flat, hopeless, and resigned—like this is “as good as it gets.” But that is not God's story for your life. I truly believe God wants to restore wonder in your heart—this Christmas season and beyond. You are not forgotten. You are not stuck forever. And even if it feels silent right now, God is still working behind the scenes. love, Brittany    Ready to become a peaceful wife and Mama? Sign Up for the Pain to Peace Academy HERE. Come say hi and join the Morning Mama Facebook Group! I would love to hear your story and know your name.    ALL THE LINKS FOR ALL THE THINGS! Morning Mama Website Pain to Peace Academy Morning Mama Facebook Group Follow Us on Instagram Find a Restoration Therapist Come say hi by emailing hello@morningmamapodcast.com

Introduction: John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 1:18 – No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. I Want to Know God (John 1:1–3): The REALITY: Jesus is GOD. Colossians 2:9 – For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. Zechariah 12:10 – And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced… Acts 20:28 – Pay careful attention to yourselves... to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Hebrews 1:2 – But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. The RESPONSE: FAITH in Jesus. Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. How Can I Grow in Knowing Jesus? CONFESS with your mouth. Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. HEAR the Word. Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. KEEP His commandments. John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead John 1:1-3What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why do you think the deity of Jesus is denied by so many cults? Why is that such a common point of contention?How would you explain the Trinity to a 7 year old?Define “faith”. Why do you think faith is the God-ordained way of knowing Him?What's your favorite dinosaur?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Stegosaurus.Nobody asks, so I'm just going to tell you.Game show host.And gray.Oh, oh, and what I want for Christmas.I just want to know God.Did you ever ask for something, like for Christmas or whatever, and somebody got you the genericversion?Has that ever happened to anybody else?Show of hands.You wanted something and you got the generic version?That happened to me when I was a kid.When I was a kid, they came out with this wacky thing.It was called a pogo ball.How many people show of hands remember the pogo balls?Okay, a few of you.One person in the first service did.Or about half of the first service's attendance.Remember what a pogo ball was?If you don't know, just imagine like a snowman with the head cut off.It was that kind of shape, right?And it had this hard plastic ring that went in between these two balls that were kindof fused together.And you were supposed to like stand on the plastic disc and squeeze your feet on thattop ball and then you would bounce on the pogo ball.And the pogo ball would let you jump almost as high as you could jump if you weren't ona pogo ball.But it was the hot item the one year.And I wanted a pogo ball.You know what my parents got me?The Saturn ball.Pogo balls, generic cousin.The Saturn ball.And not only was it actually not fun to use, but my family was making fun of me when Idid use it.So if I would jump on it, they'd be like, "Here we go on our Saturn ball, our Saturnball, our Saturn ball."And that really hurt my feelings.So the Saturn ball got thrown into a closet and it's probably still there until today.But look, I know we've had this conversation before.But there's just some things you can't go generic, right?Like ketchup.Altars.Oreos.The generic's not the same.Don't try to tell me that it is because you're just lying to yourself.But nothing has been made more generic than God.We live in a culture that is okay with the generic concept of God.But when you get specific, people get squirrely about that.You're like, when people say, "God bless America.""God bless America."You know, you can ask, "Well, which God?"Do you mean the God of the Bible, the one who created us, the one who judges sin, theone who commands us to repent and believe, the one who calls us to live our lives accordingto his wisdom?And it's like, oh no, not that God.But we're just okay with the generic concept.But you see, the problem with that line of thinking is God isn't a generic concept.In fact, God's not a concept at all.God is a person.God is a specific person.And as we enter into the Christmas season, you know, we know the Christmas story fromMatthew and from Luke, right?We know that version of the Christmas story well with the census, and Bethlehem and Maryand Joseph and angels and shepherds and manger and the star and the magi.Right?Well, Matthew and Luke sort of tell the story of the incarnation like looking over people'sshoulders, right?But we're going to be looking at the Gospel of John because his Christmas story is a littledifferent.In John's Christmas story, we are looking over God's shoulder.That's really the theme of the whole book of John.And we studied this some years back.But the theme of John is this, "The God of the universe has revealed himself by cominginto this world as a man to not just save you, but to have a relationship with you."That God wants you to know Him.In fact, this is what Jesus Christ was praying.John 17.3, Jesus said, "And this is eternal life that they may know you."The only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, eternal life.Nothing's more important than eternal life because you are either going to live foreverwith God or you're going to die forever apart from God.So what do you want for Christmas?The top of your list should be eternal life.And according to Jesus, that comes from knowing Him, from knowing God.And I do have to remind you that knowing about God is not the same as actually knowing God.You realize those are two completely different concepts.Knowing about God and knowing God.Not the same.Think of it this way.Imagine a young man comes to church, a single man.And he's been coming here for a while when all of a sudden one day he notices there isa beautiful young single woman.And he's like, "I don't think I met her, but who is that?"But he gets his friend.He's like, "He found out who that girl is."And his friend comes back with the information.And he says, "Oh, you asked about that girl.Here's what I know.She loves missions."She loves working with children.She enjoys traveling.And get this, she's a big Steelers fan.But she also loves rom-coms.Now if this friend goes back to the dude and gives this report on what this woman is like,do you think this man would be like, "All right, now that I have the information abouther, I am satisfied.Thank you.That is all."Is that the end of the story?No, you see, now that he knows about her, that makes him all the more want to know herpersonally.You see, that's how it is with God.That's how it is with Jesus Christ.The more you know about Him, the more you want to know Him personally.The fact should lead you to the relationship.How do I know God personally?Well John 1.18 tells us that no one has ever seen God, the only God who has at the Father'sside.He has made Him known.And folks, this is a fundamental truth.That the only way that we can know God is He has to make Himself known.And that's what we celebrate every Christmas that God has made Himself known because Hedid it in the most personal way possible.He showed up and introduced Himself.So look at John 1.Picking up in verse 1.We're just going to get the first three verses today.This might feel more like a Bible study than a sermon.But these are important truths that we're going to wrestle down here.John 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod.He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."Notice that John in introducing our Lord, He's using this word, "Word" a lot.Why does He use the word "Word"?Well He doesn't really explain that.But I promise you that the audience that He wrote to in the first century would have knownexactly what He was talking about.Because John primarily would have been writing to the Greeks and the Jews.The word "Word" in the Greek is "Logos."And to the Greeks, the Logos was like this impersonal force, this impersonal energy source.Because the Greek philosophers were like, "Look, all of this had to come from somewhere.The world didn't happen by accident.There has to be some force out there that's behind the structure of the earth.All logic and reason."They had this idea, it was an impersonal force, and they called it the Word, the Logos.So John is writing to the Greeks, and he goes, "Hey, you guys talk about the Logos, right?Did you know the Logos is a person?"It's not a thing, it's a person.It's a person that was with God.It's a person that was God, and it's a person according to John 1.14 that became fleshand dwelt among us.So that's how the Greeks would have heard this.Do you know how the Jews would have heard this?And we probably don't have to guess, right?When the Jews would have heard the Word Word, what would they have thought of?They immediately would have thought of the Law and the Prophets, what we call the OldTestament.You see, you go through the Old Testament over and over and over.The Word of the Lord came too.The Word of the Lord came too.The Word of the Lord came too.And all of the Law and the Prophets, it's known as the Word of God.So the Jews would have picked up on this concept immediately.You know what the purpose of words is?Words are to communicate something.Words are to be deliberately chosen and used to convey information to another person.That's what John's saying to the Jews.The Word became flesh.Jesus Christ is God's communication to man.A living, breathing Word.So God isn't some impersonal force.God's not a generic concept.According to God's Word, He is a person.And He has revealed who exactly He is in Jesus Christ.Let's just pause for a second and ask that you would pray for me as we do this littlestudy together that I would accurately represent God's Word.Let me pray for you to have a heart open to receive this absolutely essential truth thatGod is teaching us today.So let's pray.Father in heaven, we live in a culture that is fine to think of you in general terms.But to call you a person, a father, the sovereign of the universe, it's tough for some peopleto grasp.And I just pray Father today, especially over these next few minutes, that we would reallyhave our hearts and minds open to what it is that your Word wants to teach us aboutthe way that you've revealed yourself through your Son.It's in Jesus' name that we pray.Amen.So on your outline, I want you to write some things down.I want to know God.Here's where it starts.Number one, the reality.This is the reality.Jesus is God.Let's look at these verses here.Look at verse one again.He says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God."In the beginning.Is that something familiar at all?That phrase, "In the beginning."Where have we heard that?Genesis 1-1, right?That's how the whole Bible starts.And John is starting in the same place.John is saying, by saying in the beginning, John is saying, "Before anything was created,the Word existed."The Word.And notice he says two things about the Word.First of all, the Word was with God.And secondly, the Word was God.First of all, let's talk about the Word was God.This claim is nothing less than Jesus Christ is Almighty God.This is all through the New Testament.If we were to just do a Bible study today looking at the verses of the New Testamentto talk about Jesus being God, we would be here long after the snow melted.But the New Testament is so full of this truth.For example, Colossians 2-9 says, "For in Him, in Jesus, the whole fullness of Deitydwells bodily."Most concise statement of Jesus' Deity is probably right here in John 1-14.It says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, gloryas of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."The Word became flesh and dwelt.That Word dwelt in the Greek is the word tabernacled.The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.You heard the tabernacle?In the Old Testament, it was this portable structure that as Moses was leading the Israelitesout of Egypt, God told Moses to build this structure and it had this tent with the HolyPlace and the Holy of Holies.And this was the place where God's unique presence dwelt among His people.So when John says, "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us," you know, if youwere in the Old Testament times, if you lived with Old Testament Israel and somebody said,"Hey, can you point to the place where God's unique presence lives on the earth?"You would point to the building, the tabernacle.You would say, "Yeah, God's unique presence on earth is right there."Fast forward to 2025 right now.If I were to say, "Can you point to the place where God's unique presence dwells on earth?"Where would you point?It's right here, right?Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.The temple was just the permanent version of the tabernacle.This is where God lives.This is God's unique presence here.So what John is saying in John 1.14 is for about 33 years of earth's history, when youwould ask, "Where is God's unique presence on the earth?"You'd point to a man.That man's name is Jesus Christ.You would point to him and say, "Right there.That man is the unique presence of God on the earth.This is where he is."All right?Jesus is not an exalted angel.Jesus is not some special enlightened human.According to this verse, Jesus is the God.And every false religion denies this, by the way.And I can just tell you personally, you would be shocked at how many times I've had to havethis conversation with people over the course of my ministry, that people who actually say,Jesus never said He was God.You heard that argument?Jesus never said it.What the argument is this, that's something the church kind of came up with.We kind of, like some religions like us, we sort of hitched that idea onto Jesus.Did Jesus Himself, they say, "Oh, if you study the words of Jesus, He never said He was God."Well, do you remember back in Exodus chapter 3, God called Moses through the burning bush.You know, you're going to lead my people out of Egypt.You're going to lead them to the promised land.Do you remember Moses says to God, "Well, what if Israel asks who sent me?"What if Israel is like, "What is His name?"Do you remember in that moment, God told Moses what His name is?You remember?God told Moses His name is, "I am who I am."That's God's name.His name is, "I am."I love that.God didn't say to Moses, "My name is I was."Like Moses, like what's your name?And God's like, "Moses, I was.Oh Moses, you should have seen me back in high school.Oh Moses, I was so good looking and I was such a good athlete.Back in the day Moses, back in the day I was really something.No, he's not the I was.But nor did God tell Moses that he's the I will be."Right?Like Moses is like, "What's your name?"And God's like, "Well Moses, you tell the Israelites, I might not be nothing specialnow but I'm taking my vitamins and I'm drinking my milk and I'm doing my palates and I'm jumpingon my pogo ball and someday, someday I'm going to be something great.I will be."God's not the I was and he's not the I will be.God is, "He is I am."From eternity past, He is infinite, majestic holiness.He is the I am.And in eternity future, He will still be infinite, majestic holiness.He is the I am.You're like, "Well what does that have to do with Jesus?"Because Jesus repeatedly claimed that He is the I am.It's all through the gospel of John, what, like seven times.I am the bread of life.I am the light of the world.I am the way and the truth and the life.I am the good shepherd.I am the door.All through Jesus made this claim.John chapter 8, Jesus said before Abraham was, "I am."John chapter 10, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."And in that moment the Jews picked up stones, they were going to kill them for saying that.Jesus says, "I did a lot of good works for which of them are you going to stone me?"And they said, "Oh no, you're making yourself out to be God the way you're talking."And you see, they knew exactly what He was saying.They knew exactly what He meant when He said, "I and the Father are one."Oh, and by the way, not only does the Bible say that Jesus is God, did you know that the Bible also says that God is Jesus?Here's what I mean.Look at Zechariah 12/10.This is before the incarnation, the Christmas story.This is before the baby in the manger story.This is Old Testament.Look at what God says.God says, "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and please, for mercy, so that when they look on Me on Him whom they have pierced."Do you see how God identifies Himself?He identifies Himself as the one who was pierced and who was the one that was pierced.It's Jesus Christ on the cross.Do you see that?Do a little word study there.That's exactly what He's saying.They will look on the one whom they've stabbed.Right?It's also in the New Testament.God is Jesus.Look at Acts 20, for example.Paul says, "The Ephesians elders pay careful attention to yourselves to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood."Who bought the church with His blood?He says God.You're like, "I thought it was Jesus that shed His blood."Well, Paul's saying that as Jesus shed His blood, that was God obtaining the church with His own blood.So Jesus is God, yes, and the Bible also says that God is Jesus.The word was God, but the Bible also says here that the word was with God.The word was with God.And in case you missed it, in case you didn't quite catch it in verse 1, verse 2, he just says the exact same thing.He was in the beginning with God.So somehow, Jesus is God, but being with God, somehow He is distinct from the Father.Like if I said to you yesterday, I was with my buddy Nathaniel, and I was my buddy Nathaniel.You would say, "Were you and Nathaniel smoking something? Like what was going on there?"That doesn't make sense, does it?How can you be with somebody and be somebody at the same time?But that's exactly what the Bible says about Jesus and His relationship with God.He's not only God, but He's also with God.And people want that explained all the time.Pastor Taylor had a couple of weeks ago, the little children back there had a Q&A thing with him.And one of the questions they were asking about, the trinity.And look, do you want to know about the trinity? Here's the reality.Nobody can figure that out. That's the truth.You can't do it.Because from the moment you were born, you've only ever known two things in your life.Your whole life, you've only ever known two things.And that's time and space.You can't fathom an existence outside of time and space.This is where we are.And now we have a God who lives and exists in rules outside of time and space.God is not bound by time and space.And somehow we think that we're going to be able to explain everything about Him.Here's what I know.The Word was with God and the Word was God.The Bible says God exists.He's one God, but He exists as three persons.Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Jesus is eternal, but distinct.And you don't have to explain it to believe it.I can't explain to you how my car works, but I believe that it does when I get in and drive it.Look at verse 3.He says, "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."Okay, this is just theology 101. It's all through the Old Testament.God is Creator.And John here is saying Jesus is God, He's with God.And then John takes another step and says, "Jesus is Creator. He made all things."And somehow, again, the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all involved in creation at the same time.You're like, "Can you explain that?"I just told you I could not explain that.But somehow God, the Father created through God the Son, and the Genesis tells us that the Spirit of God hovered above the waters.All three members of the Trinity were involved.And somehow Jesus is the agent of creation.The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 2 that in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son,whom He appointed the heir of all things through whom also He created the world.Through whom He created the world.That's all John's saying here in verse 3."Every living thing gets life from something else.A tree, a dog, a woodpecker, you. You got life from something else.The only person who has never received life from someone else is God Himself."That's what John's saying, since Jesus already existed before creation,and because Jesus didn't get His life from something else, then He must be God.Those are the biblical facts about Jesus.And listen, even if you're sitting here today or listening to the podcast later or whatever,even if you don't agree with that, can we take an honest look at what the Bible says and stop trying to twist it?Oh, it doesn't really say that.The Bible overwhelmingly says that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.That's the truth that you have to reckon with.He is God.So if you want to know God, number two, the response.The response. You want to know God? The response is faith in Jesus.The reality is Jesus is God. The response is we have to have faith in Jesus.You see, God took the initiative.God did His part in revealing Himself as Jesus, so the question is, what's my part in knowing Him?It's faith.Faith is the only way to know God.Oh, and speaking of generic,not only do people use the name of God in a generic sense,but you'll find that people use the concept of faith in a generic sense.There is a true biblical sense and definition of faith,but we live in a culture that just throws that word faith around all the time and uses it in all kinds of ways.Here's what I mean.Some people use faith like it means a wishful thinking.Faith is just wishful thinking.Like, well, I just kind of have faith that everything's going to work out.Like, what does that even mean?For some people, they think faith is just the way of the ignorant.Like, well, you believe in science.Or you believe in faith, rather. I believe in science.And they're condescending. You're just some, you know, backwoods, redneck, you're ignorant.I believe in science, but you have your little fairy tale faith.And still other people look at faith as some kind of ambiguous spirituality.You hear people say, I'm a person of faith.Do you know who else is a person of faith?Literally everybody.Everybody believes in something.What is your faith in?Because you can have faith in the wrong thing.So listen, my friends, God is not a generic concept and neither is faith.Faith is a specific disposition towards a specific person.That's why Hebrews 11.6 says without faith,it is impossible to please Him for whoever would draw near to God.That's the knowing God piece.Whoever would draw near to God must believe that He existsand that He rewards those who seek Him.It starts with obviously an acknowledgement of His existence,but it doesn't stop there. You have to seek Him.You have a responsibility.God took the initiative. He revealed Himself in Jesus.What is my responsibility in this relationship?Or how can I grow in knowing Jesus?I want you to draw these three things down.How can I grow in knowing Jesus?Letter A, you have to confess with your mouth.Romans 10.9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lordand believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.And you are not going to grow in your relationship with Himif you don't have one to begin with."So have you made that confession?Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the crossto pay the penalty for your sins, that He rose from the deadto give you eternal life? Do you believe that?Because people have this idea that, well, we're all children of Godand a creative sense, yes, but not in the adoptive sense.Yes, we do all have a relationship with Jesus.The question is, do you have a good relationship with Himor a bad relationship with Him?You have to confess with your mouth.Ask to start there, letter B, you have to hear the Word.You have to hear the Word.Romans 10.17 says, "So faith comes from hearingand hearing through the Word of Christ."The only way your faith grows is through the Word of God.Because this is the only truly reliable source of informationabout Jesus, because this is the source of informationthat was given to us by God.You have to be in the Wordif you're going to know Jesus.Any relationship involves time and communication.And some people, they spend no time in His Word,no time praying His Word and reading and studying and meditating.And they spend no time at all in the Word.And then they wonder why they feel so distant.Relationships grow when time is spent together.You need to prioritize spending time and praying the Word of God.Finally, letter C, keep His commandments.Jesus says in John 15.10, "If you keep My commandments,you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father's commandmentsand abide in His love."That's how you abide. It's through obedience.Now listen, if you're a Christian and you're in sin,sin is not going to end your relationship with Jesus.But you're obviously going to feel distant from Godif you have unrepentant sin.Any area of disobedience in your life that you refuse to deal with,you're going to feel distant.And that's not on God. That's on you.God hasn't gone anywhere. You have.So what is it in your life right now that you're like,"I know that this is what God wants me to stop doing,or maybe something God wants you to start doing,but you know exactly what it is.You need to turn from that sin.You need to obey whatever Jesus is calling you to.And you're going to enjoy the freedomthat repentance brings in your walk with Christ."This is what keeps people from coming to Christin the first place, by the way.Jesus will take you just as you are,but He won't leave you that way.Jesus wants to transform you.He wants to change you.Some people just don't want to be changed.Keep His commandments.The Word became flesh.God became a man.Our worship team would come back up.You know, I came to Christ when I was 20.And it's an amazing thing to grow up in a churchas a kid.All those days, all those yearssitting in the church, how little I really understood.But when I was led to Christ, it was this whole newworld, right?And I remember I was trying to understand.And I had this Bible that my parents got me.You know, some Bibles have the little story inserts,little devotional things that kind of build into the Bible.Well, this Bible had this story in it.And the story goes something like this.There was this farmer and his wife, it was Chris Paseeb,and the farmer's wife was going to church.And she asked her husband if he wanted to go with her.He goes, "No, I don't get that church stuff.It doesn't, that makes no sense to me.You know, I'm not interested at all, but you go have fun."Well, she went to church.And while he was home, he saw that there were birds trying to getinto his barn.This really bad deep freeze came over, kind of like,"What happened here?"And these birds were trying to get into the barn,seeking shelter from the cold.The farmer says, "Well, I can help those birds."So he goes, "I'll just go out and open the doorand let them in the barn."And when he went out, you know what birds do, right?They just kind of scattered everywhere.The farmer's like, "Well, that sure didn't help anything."So he thought, "Well, maybe if I just leave breadcrumbs,I can like guide them in there somehow."Didn't work.No matter what the farmer did, he couldn't get the birdsinto the barn to get shelter.And as the story goes, I don't think it's a true story,but as the story goes, he stood and lookedout the kitchen window, and he saw the birds back flyingaround the outside of the barn not able to get in.And the farmer thought to himself,"Those birds are going to die."And as badly as I want to save them,I don't know how I can get them into the barn.But then the farmer had a thought.The farmer thought, "You know, if I could become a birdfor like five minutes, I could approach them,they wouldn't be scared of me, I could speak their language,and I could show them the way that they could be saved."And right when he had the thought, the story goes,"Off in the distance, he heard the church's bells ringing."And that's when it connected.It's a dumb story.Admittedly, what I'm going to tell you as a young Christian,when I read that, that's what made everything click for me.Yes, that's the purpose of the incarnation,that God became one of us to save us.So what do you want for Christmas?I want to know God, not the generic knockoff,but the real person.Because knowing God is eternal life.We're going to have our elders and members of our prayer teamup front here.And in just a moment, Ashley's going to sing a song over you.And we're going to have a good old-fashioned altar call.You can stay in your seat, you can pray right where you are.But I want you to know there's people that are up here that would love to pray with youand for you.So as Ashley sings over you, we're going to invite youto come. Maybe there's somebody herethat today you're like, "You know what? I don't really know God. I know about Him.But I don't really have a relationship with Him.Today's the day. Today's the day that you can go from knowing aboutGod to knowing God. So please come.Our Father in Heaven, we thank Youfor the way that You have demonstrated Your holiness and loveby taking on flesh and blood.Father, I pray against all of the distractions. It's that time of yearthat there's more to do than we have time to do.And there's so many things buying for our attention.Father, I pray that we would take a realclose examination at the person of Jesus Christ and examine our own hearts.Are we truly walking with Him? Do we trulyhave a relationship with Him that we're spending timetogether and knowing and growing?Or are we just churchgoers?Father, I thank You. You've revealed Your heart. You want us to know You.You've done everything and have just simply called us to receivewhat You have accomplished.Father, thank You. We praise You and ask that You would continue to manifestYour goodness and presence in us by the power of Your Spirit through the wisdomof Your Word. We praise You in the name of JesusChrist, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Matthew 11:2-11When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. “Don't get your hopes up; it sounds too good to be true.” Tp.hat's what Katelyn said to me as I waved the gift card in the air. It was March of 2020 and we had just bought our first home. We were overjoyed and broke. But then one day shortly after moving in, a very official looking piece of mail came from what sounded like a reputable company.Curious I opened it up and to my delight there, in the letter, was a $150 gift card. “Congratulations on your new home. Here is a small gift from us.” It didn't exactly cover our new mortgage but I was stressed about money and suddenly here was a small token of relief! The letter simply said to call this number to activate the card. So I pull out my phone, call the number, and someone actually picks up; not a machine! This is good I think. Then I hear what are either other call center workers or a TV in the background… That's odd, but, ever the optimist, I say, “I got your letter and I'm calling to activate the card.” The person on the other end said “Great! I just needed your social security number and”... Before she could finish the sentence I hung up; irate, and embarrassed. Katelyn turned to me and said those four words you hate to hear, “I told you so..” She was right. The gift card was indeed too good to be true. Yet, isn't that how scams, or just marketing in general, work? Preying on folk's needs, desires, and insecurities by promising something that fixes their problems. You've been there or felt that way. Stressed about money when suddenly you get an email saying you've won the sweepstakes. Struggling to do all that needs to get done in a day when you see an influencer taut a new device or appliance that promises to give you hours back. Or you're lonely, feeling like you've got no one there for you when you see an online ad that promises your loneliness will go away with this new app.We want to believe these things will work, that they'll do what they say, and offer relief, if even temporarily. I imagine John the Baptist was in search of some relief too as he sat in prison. He's in there because he told Herod not to marry his own brother's wife, that's against Jewish law. Herod did it anyway and then threw John in jail. We don't know how long John had been in prison. But if it were me, it wouldn't take long at all before I felt alone, afraid, and desperate to get out. So I can only assume John felt the same way.But then comes the news of all that Jesus was doing. Over the last few chapters in Matthew, Jesus was on the move, doing all sorts of miraculous deeds:Healing the sick, calming storms, casting out demons, giving sight to the blind, voice to the voiceless, and even raising a young girl from the dead. All of this spread through the towns, the countryside, even to the dark prison where John sat, growing more desperate with each passing day. I can't help but think John heard these reports and remembered Isaiah's promise — the blind seeing, the lame walking, the deaf hearing. John knows the world is full of false hopes and empty promises. People have claimed to be the messiah before — but could this one be real? Could this be the One who brings a new kingdom, who sets the captives free, who fulfills everything I've prayed, preached, and prophesied? Hope rises, but doubt remains. … so he sent some of his disciples to ask the question… “are you the one? Or are we supposed to wait for another”.Notice John says we, not I… meaning his concern isn't only about himself. Even though he's in a terrible situation, he worries about all the other people who are struggling too. It's as if John asks, “Are you too good to be true Jesus, I need to know not only for me but for everyone in need of relief from the darkness they endure.” Hopefully I'm not the only one who's asked that question — or wondered, especially in Advent, if it's all too good to be true.That God would leave heaven and become human, be born to poor, unwed parents, live under occupation, suffer betrayal, and willingly die a terrible death, all so that he could forgive you and me and all the world, and we could live with the assurance of his grace, a grace that we could never earn but is freely given, with no strings attached? That certainly sounds too good to be true.Jesus responds by saying: “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead raised, and good news brought to the poor”. It's not exactly a straight answer. It would have been so much easier for John, his disciples, and even for us, if Jesus gave a direct answer and said “yes, I am the one you've been waiting for. I am the Messiah”. But he didn't.And to complicate things further, John's disciples didn't only see miracles. Pain and suffering, oppression and death were all around them — just as they are in our own time. Look at what's happened in the last 24 hours…We never know if John received this answer from Jesus or if he was satisfied with it. But what about you? Does it satisfy you? We, like John, sit in our own prisons. They may not have bars, but they entrap us just the same: a quiet house filled with loneliness, a mind crowded with worry at 2 a.m., grief that quietly overwhelms, a world that feels too heavy to bear.From that darkness, we ask the same question, “Are you the one Jesus? Are you the one who's come to set all this right? To set me right? How can we know? Well this may come as a shock, but we can't know, at least not on our own.Luther puts it this way, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ” but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, leads me to faith, and keeps me in faith.” It is a gift, not something we come up with on our own, thanks be to God. And because of this gift, we can trust in the promises of Jesus.When we doubt, when we struggle, when we feel overcome by suffering in the world, the Holy Spirit helps us trust that God is at work in places we wouldn't expect! That's what Jesus tells John and his disciples. Jesus says to them, “If you want to come to believe that I am the One, look at the places where there is suffering, in your own life and in the world around you. That's where I am at work.”Jesus is the one — not because everything feels fixed, but because he is already at work in the darkness. Faith gives us not certainty, but trust in that promise.I love what Bonhoeffer wrote to Maria, his fiance, while sitting in his prison cell during Advent in 1943. He wrote: “Just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, succor in abandonment.”Christmas, the promises of Jesus, grace… it all sounds too good to be true. But the truth is, it's even better. Amen.

What can I learn from the story of Joseph? That God gives hope, wisdom, forgiveness, and family.The sermon today is titled "God Gives Family." This sermon is the fourth installment in the series "Joseph's Journey." The Scripture reading is from Genesis 46-50. Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on August 17, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under LEARN: Biblical Studies.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Walter Brueggeman, Genesis (Interpretation Commentary Series)I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

What can I learn from the story of Joseph? That God gives hope, wisdom, forgiveness, and family.The sermon today is titled "God Gives Forgiveness." This sermon is the third installment in the series "Joseph's Journey." The Scripture reading is from Genesis 42:6-44:34. Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on August 3, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under LEARN: Biblical Studies.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Walter Brueggeman, Genesis (Interpretation Commentary Series)I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Question: What are we specially taught by these words, "before me" in the First Commandment? Answer: These words "before me" in the First Commandment, teach us, That God who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

What can I learn from the story of Joseph? That God gives hope, wisdom, forgiveness, and family.The sermon today is titled "God Gives Wisdom." This sermon is the second installment in the series "Joseph's Journey." The Scripture reading is from Genesis 41:1-57. Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on July 27, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under LEARN: Biblical Studies.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Walter Brueggeman, Genesis (Interpretation Commentary Series)I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

What can I learn from the story of Joseph? That God gives hope, wisdom, forgiveness, and family.The sermon today is titled "God Gives Hope." This sermon is the first installment in the series "Joseph's Journey." The Scripture reading is from Genesis 39:20-40:23. Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on July 20, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under LEARN: Biblical Studies.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Walter Brueggeman, Genesis (Interpretation Commentary Series)I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Introduction: Humble Yourself: 4 Truths to Help You (1 Corinthians 4:1–13) Only GOD'S OPINION of me matters. (1 Cor 4:3–5) I've RECEIVED all that I HAVE. (1 Cor 4:6–8) God wants to SHOW everyone how I SUFFER. (1 Cor 4:9–13a) John 15:20 – Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you... 1 Peter 2:21–23 – For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. The WORLD thinks I'm SCUM. (1 Cor 4:13b) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 4:1-13What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Paul is once again admonishing them on their divisiveness over “who is the best minister”. Why do you think there is so much content on this subject in 1 Corinthians?How would you define humility? Why does the Bible say that you must “humble yourself”, i.e., that job is on you to do?In 1 Cor 4:6, Paul tells them not to “go beyond what is written”? What specifically does he mean by that? How does this principle apply to Bible study in general?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Good morning. My name is Jeff and let me tell you a little bit about myself.That's such an interesting thing, isn't it? Like, let me tell you a little bit about myself.Or when you ask somebody, "Hey, hey, tell me about yourself." It's an interesting thingbecause the first thing that comes out of their mouths is the thing that they want to be knownas, right? Or known for. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. Do you know where you see this a lot?Game shows, right? Let me tell you a little bit about myself. Or if you've ever watched Jeopardy,it's such a cringy moment. You know, they come back from commercial break and some of us remember AlexTrebek, who's the guy now? Ken Jennings, okay? Like, "All right, we're going to meet our contestantsand tell me a little bit about yourself." I'm always so fascinated with the way they identifythemselves, right? It's so fascinating because some are cool, but some are just really, reallyweird. And I'm like, "You're on TV and this is going to go to syndication and this is going to beseen by millions and this is what you came up with." You know what I'm talking about? Like, youknow, this is our challenger Bill. Tell us about yourself. And Bill's like, "Yeah, one time I showedup to work and I had my pants on backwards." "Oh, what'd you do?" "Well, I just kind of stepped intothe bathroom and turned him around." I was like, "Okay. All right, let's meet Glenda." And I'm like,"What was that? Let me tell you a little bit about myself. How do you want to be known?"Well, I was thinking about that a lot this past week as we get to 1 Corinthians chapter 4,because if the Apostle Paul was on Jeopardy and the host says, "All right, well, tell us a littlebit about yourself, Paul." I think we know exactly what he'd say, because it's here in 1 Corinthianschapter 4. Look at the first couple of verses. He says, "This is how one should regard usas servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is requiredof stewards that they be found trustworthy." Tell us a little bit about yourself, Paul. He goes,"Okay, I'm a slave of Jesus Christ." Actually, this word for servant in the Greek is "the lowest slave,"like bottom rank slave. And then he says, "Stewards, what's a steward?" Well, in those days,wealthy people would have someone who was like their house manager. They were in charge ofdistribution and spending and inventory. And you know who got that job? It was one of the slaves,still a slave. Why is he saying this? Well, we've seen throughout 1 Corinthians, the issue wasall of this exalting leaders, putting Paul and Apollo, Sisyphus up on pedestals and all thesefactions. And Paul here in 1 Corinthians is saying, "Look, look, look, you're regarding us as worldchangers. You're regarding us as these elite Christians. You're regarding us as celebritychurch planners." And Paul here is like, "Ah, here is how you should regard us."I'm a slave. That's it. I'm a slave.They had this terrible problem exalting the ministers, and it resulted in them exaltingthemselves. We've seen that. The pride with their alignment, like, "Yeah, I'm one of Paul's guys."Oh, yeah, that's nothing. I'm one of Apollo's guys. And they were proud of their alignment,and they had disdain towards others. Like, "Oh, you must be one of those Paul people."Paul here is saying, "Why are you making so much of us? We're just slaves. All we're trying to dois be trustworthy." That's it. We saw back in chapter, I'm sorry, verse 18, rather, in chapter 3,look back there. Paul says, "Let no one deceive himself."We are so self-deceived. And Paul's like, "Oh, Corinthians, you think you're so wise. You thinkyou have it all figured out. You think you're on the right team. You're so full of pride."Again, that's the issue. You looked down to verse 21 in chapter 3. Pastor Taylor covered this lastweek. He says, "So let no one boast in men." That shouldn't be happening. Not Paul, not Apollo's,not Jeff, not Taylor, not your favorite podcast or YouTube's preacher. We shouldn't be exalting anyone.And when we get to this section here in chapter 4, here's what we're going to see. Paul is giving atrue biblical assessment of himself. And he tells the Corinthians, "Look, you have to takean honest assessment of who we are, and, Corinthians, you have to take an honest assessment of yourselves."So here in this passage, Paul's going to be serving up some humble pie. All right? So,strap on your helmet. This isn't going to be a very comfortable message, because Paul's like, "Hey,stop with the pride. Stop exalting people. Stop exalting yourselves. Here's a reality check. Andharvest, we need a reality check." Because it's real easy for us to point to the Corinthians and belike, "Wow, look at all the pride they have. Look at all the problems they have." That's...Pride is in every one of us problem. You realize that. Every single human has a problem with pride,has a problem with self-exaltation. And it's real easy to do that in a church identity. It was forthe Corinthians, and it's easy for a harvest Bible chapel to begin to exalt ourselves.We can look at some of the nonsense that's happening around us in other churches ororganizations that call themselves churches. And it'd be real easy for us to say, "Well,we're the only ones that are faithful. We are more mature than the other Christians.I don't know what their problem is, but I follow this guy or I listen to this guy.That means I'm one of the smart ones. I'm one of the enlightened ones." Andit's real easy to get on the path of pride.That's what we're going to see in this passage of Bible telling us to humble ourselves.Like, "Hey, hey, knock it off. Stop thinking so much of yourself.You've got to humble yourself." You know, so much in God's Word, we see things that the Holy Spiritdoes in us and through us. Yes, but from what I've studied in God's Word, the command to humbleyourself, that's on you. And that'd be a whole other sermon series, but you and I are commanded.We are commanded to humble ourselves so we don't get carried away in our pride.Because humility is the number one characteristic that God's looking for in people. You're not goingto come to Jesus unless you're humble. You're not going to live a victorious Christian lifeunless you're humble. You're not going to have a fruitful ministry unless you're humble. If you'regoing to be humble, it's on you. So on your outline, I want you to jot some things down.Humble yourself. You're like, "Well, how do I do that?" Paul's like, "Well,here's four things that will help you do that." All right. So I hope you had a good Thanksgivingand I hope you're not too full because you're about to have four slices of humble pie.And I don't feel bad at all because I've had to eat this all week. All right.So pray for me and I'll pray for you. All right. Just pause for a second. Please pray for meas I pray for you. Father in heaven, as we come to your Word, let us not be deceiving ourselves.Every single one of us have this drive to put the spotlight on us, to make much of us,to think too much of ourselves. And Father, this passageis certainly going to give us the attitude that you've called us to have.Father, I pray through the wisdom of your Word, by the power of your Holy Spirit,that you would give us the faith to make the choices that we need to make, to humble ourselvesso we can see the greatness of Jesus Christ manifest in our lives.We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Humble yourself. Here's four truths that will help you.These are four statements that Paul made about himself and that we would commend to you tomake about yourself. Number one, only God's opinion of me matters. Only God's opinion of me matters.Look at verse 3. Paul says, "But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by youor by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself." Now, quick review when we talk aboutjudge, that's like everybody's favorite verse in the Bible. "Don't judge, don't judge." It'severybody's favorite because they don't understand it. Judging does not mean like, "Hey, don't callme out on sin or you're judging me." That's not what that means. Judging doesn't mean that like,"I can be a jerk and I can't care what other people think of me because of my jerking. Just don't callme out." That's not what judging means at all. Actually, this word for judge in the Greek couldbe translated cross-examined. He's talking about people, listen, he's talking about people judgingyour walk with Christ. That's what he's talking about. Judging your, as he mentioned in verse 2,judging your trustworthiness. Some Bibles say faithful or faithfulness. That's what he's talkingabout. People judging your faithfulness, your trustworthiness. And well, what does that mean toyou, Paul? He says, "Well, that's a very small thing." And in the Greek, do you know what thatmeans? That means the smallest. Your opinion of my spiritual walk does not matter for bad or for good.It doesn't. Here's what I mean. After service, if I was a guest receptionand you walk by and you're like, "Jeff, I think you're a bad pastor."Like, well, sorry, I feel that way, but your opinion doesn't matter. And right now, there's some ofyou that are like, "Yes, I can get on board with that." Your opinion doesn't matter.That's not really my main concern, though. You know what the bigger danger is?It's the guy that walks your guest reception and says, "Jeff, I think you're a great pastor."That's the bigger danger, because then that stuff can start going to your head.Right? You can start to think, "You know what? Yeah, they're right. I am pretty awesome.They nailed it. Come back. Tell me more."But the reality is for bad or for good, the opinion doesn't matter.And that's where there's a danger. I've been talking about this with our ministry team andour conference speakers of these conferences coming up.Yeah, people's opinion of your trustworthiness, your faithfulness, doesn't matter good or bad.But watch out for the compliments, because they're much harder to dismiss becausethey're much easier to go to my head. Look at verse 4. Paul says, "For I'm not aware of anythingagainst myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me."See, Paul says, "What other people think of me doesn't really matter.Neither does what I even think of myself." It doesn't matter either.Right? You need to have the funeral.I realize I'm probably not as great as my grandma thinks I am.And I'm probably not as horrible as my critics think I am.Either way, it doesn't matter. Because a slave only cares about one thing.That's pleasing his master. Look at verse 5. He goes on,"For therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comeswho will bring delight to things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of theheart, then each one will receive his commendation from God." Okay, here's what he's driving at.At the end of the day, there's only one opinion that matters. Who's is it?God's, right? That's it. All that matters is what God thinks of me. He's going to make the final judgments.On your heart. Listen, this verse should knock every single one of us down a peg.Because you see what God's word is telling us? God sees what you do. Yes, yes, he does. Butmuch deeper than that. God sees why you do what you do. Your motives, your thoughts, what no oneelse knows, everything that you do in the dark, God is going to drag it to the light. Understandit with God. There are no secrets. You might have secrets from your family, you might have secretsfrom your spouse, you might have secrets from your boss, you might have secrets from your parents,but you do not have any secrets from God. So are you pretending? Are you pretending in yourwalk with Christ? Well, you might fool me, but it doesn't matter. You're an open book to God,and he's going to judge. Are you sincere? Like, look, I'm not perfect, but I'm sincere. I amsincerely seeking to know and honor the Lord. Jeff, I really am seeking to know the Lord.That's great because the Bible says someday you're going to receive your commendation.As far as humbling yourself, my friends, you will never humble yourself until you get to the placewhere only God's opinion of you matters. You've got to get there.Number two, not only do I need to reckon with only God's opinion of me matters. Number two,write this one down. I've received all that I have. I've received all that I have.Verse six, he says, "I have applied all these things to myself and apollos for your benefit,brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written,that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another." There is a lot going on inthat verse. All right, let's break it down here because this is so crucial in so many ways. Firstof all, he says, "I've applied all these things to me and apollos for your benefit." You're like,"I've applied what things?" Everything so far that he's been saying about pride and humility,all of this stuff. He goes, "I'm applying all of this to apollos and I for you." In other words,look, all this stuff that he's talking about, this isn't just a preacher thing and it's not just achurch member thing. This stuff about pride and humility, this is an all of us thing.You get that? He says, "Excuse me, we all need to learn not to go beyond what is written."Like, what does that mean? Listen, this is a principle that carries over in everything.You need to learn that you must not, excuse me, you must not go beyond what the Bible says.You must not go beyond what the Bible says.Like, well, what's he talking about? Here's his point. He's telling the Corinthians and he's tellingus harvests because they were exalting others and they had disdain for others and Paul's like,"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You need to view people only the way the Bible describes people."That's what he's saying. You need to view people only as the Bible describes. That's it.How does the Bible describe people? Every single one of us were born with a sin nature. We inheritedthat from Adam. The Bible says Adam brought sin into the world and he passed it on to his kids,he passed it on to his kids and he passed it on to us. We were born with a sin nature. We arerebellious against God by birth and by choice and we deserve hell. That's what the Bible says aboutpeople. But Jesus came, God in the flesh came, he died on the cross to take away our sins. Herose from the dead to give us the promise of eternal life and he has commanded us to turn from our sinand to believe in him. And when we do, the Bible says that you are born again. When you do the HolySpirit, God's Spirit Himself comes and empowers you to be who God called you to be. And every singleperson who is saved is saved that way. Spoiler alert. If you're going to heaven, you're going to hearthe same testimony a lot. Like, how'd you get here? Jesus! Look, how'd you get here? Jesus! I'mgoing to go ask this lady, how'd you get here? Jesus, you're going to hear that not a lot. You'regoing to hear that exclusively. Paul's point here is, look, you guys are all messed up aboutexalting people. Look, you need to have a biblical perspective of who we are. Don't go beyond that.Or, did you see that at the end of the verse? If you do, you will start exalting yourself, right?He says, you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. Go beyond what the Bible says,you're going to start having pride. You're going to start to think that you're better than others.And then Paul gives them the Dutch uncle. Look at verse 7.He says, he has three questions. Paul says, "For who sees anything different in you?"Like, we're all the same. The Bible describes this is who man is. And he goes,"Who sees anything different in you?" Like, what, you're something different?You're something special? You're a little snowflake?Like, all you're like, "I know what the Bible says, but I'm different. I'm special. Grandmathinks I'm special." He says, "Who sees anything different in you?" Like, what makes you thinkyou're so special? Right? Next question. What do you have that you do not receive?Get back to that in a second. What's that question, Marinette?What is it that you're in possession of that wasn't given to you?All right? Then he drives it home with this third question. He goes, "If then you received it,why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"Paul's like, "Why are you so fully yourselves? Anything and everything about you,you received that." I mean, think about that. Just think about that for a minute.That's true physically, right? Everything about you physically, you received thatgenetically from your parents.You know, occasionally, I'll meet somebody or whatever, and they're like, "How old are you?"I'm like, "Well, I'm 50." And people say, "Well, you look young for your age."And I say, "Have you been to the eye doctor lately?" No, I don't say that. I don't say that.I just smile and say thank you, or like, you know, I got good genes from my mom. But you know what I'mthinking when people say that? Like, that's very nice of you to say, but I contributed nothing to that.Like, this is what I got. That's just what I got. I received this. You're like, "I'm sorry." Well,I received this. This is what I got. This is what was given to me.You're like, "Well, doesn't that upset you?" It doesn't matter how I feel about it. This is what I got.This is the shade of my skin. This is as tall as I'm going to get. But that's true for you.Everything you have was given to you. But I don't really think that's Paul's mainpoint here. I think mainly he was talking spiritually, right? Everything that I havespiritually has been given to me. Salvation? How is a gift from God? God gave me that.What about spiritual giftedness? Where did I get that?The Holy Spirit. God gave me a spiritual gift. He gave you a spiritual gift that was given. That'swhy it's called a spiritual gift. He gave it to you, right? Oh, by the way, your talentsare given to you by God. You know, the Bible says those are given to you by God.You're natural, what we call natural talents. The Bible says those were given to you by God.Look that up. It's in Exodus.Everything about you has been given to you from God directly or from God through your parents.And you're like, not me. I work hard.Who gave you the ability to work hard?You see, why are you acting like you earned anything?And then Paul gets sarcastic with them. Look at verse 8.Obviously, dripping with sarcasm here, he goes, "Already, you have all you want.Already, you become rich. Without us, you would have become kings."That you did reign so that we might share the rule with you.You see the sarcasm? He's condemning their pride. He's like, "Oh, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realizethat you were these spiritually elite and wise people. I didn't realize that youattained a level of spirituality all by yourselves. You didn't need us, Madam President.Oh, I beg your pardon for thinking different."What Paul's doing here is he's pulling them back down to earth. He's like, "You guys think you're sosuperior with your pride. Knock it off. Get off of your high horse. Stop it."Because everything you have has been given to you. How in the world can you boast about that?You know, just imagine this scenario. Imagine that five of our kids from Harvest Academy,imagine I gave them each a quarter. Like, "No, don't spend it all in one place."But I gave five kids a quarter. And as you're walking out church, you see the five of those kids.Those five kids are sitting at a table up here by Harvest Academy. And you stop and listen for asecond and they're all bragging. And one kid's like, "I got a quarter. I got a quarter. Lookhow awesome I am. I have a quarter." And then the little girl beside him is like, "I got a quarter.You think you're great. I got a quarter. I'm awesome. I got a quarter." And then the next kid's like,"I got a quarter." And like, wouldn't you be like, "What are you guys bragging about? Like, Jeff justgave you all a quarter. Like, how does that... Why are you so boastful?" And that's what Paul's sayinghere to the Corinthians. You're like a bunch of kids bragging because somebody gave each a quarter.Knock it off. We're all equal in God's eyes. And equal does not mean the same, but equal does meanequal. You're never going to humble yourself until you get to the place where you recognizeevery single thing that you have was given to you. All right? Humble yourself and here'sfour truths that will help you. Number three, this is a hard truth. All right?Number three is God wants to show everyone how I suffer.God wants to show everyone how I suffer. Pick up in verse 9. Paul says, "For I thinkthat God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death,because we have become a spectacle to the world to angels and to men." Paul says,"God put us on display." He says, "We're like the lowest people on the earth." You see the picturethere? Paul says, "You know what we're like? We're like men on death row being escorted to the electricchair while TV cameras all around recording us for the entire world to turn on the TV and watch us."Like, hey, look, there they go. Off to be killed. Look at them. Everybody watch.He says, "That's how God put us on display."And you see in verse 10, Paul gets back into some more sarcasm.He says, "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong.You are held in honor, but we in disrepute."What's he talking about here? It's more sarcasm.See what Paul's saying? Paul's like, "We're out here suffering serving the Lord. We're out hereactually suffering and you're sitting in your little pews patting yourselves on the back."Like, what's going on? Like, well, suffering how? How are you suffering, Paul? Well, he tells usto the present hour, we hunger and thirst. We are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless.And we labor working with our own hands.What is there to brag about again?Paul's reminding them the following Christ means suffering.I don't really care what the health and wealth church down in the street says about that.And I don't really care what the prosperity preacher on TV says about that.All I care is what the Bible says about that. And do you know what the Bible says?The Bible says if you follow Christ, you are going to suffer.Jesus himself said this, John 15.20. Jesus said, "Remember the word that I said to you,a servant is not greater than his master." Jesus said that a bunch.A servant is not greater than his master. What are you saying, Lord? If they persecuted me,they will also persecute you. See what Jesus is saying?God allowed his only begotten Son to suffer. So you think as an adopted child of God thatyou're exempt from that? You think that because you're adopted that you get a pass on suffering?Listen, God doesn't keep you from suffering. He puts you on display in suffering.Why would He do that? Why in the world would God do that? Are you telling methat God is allowing me to suffer so everybody can watch me suffer? That's what He said.Like why would He do that? He tells us.Continuing verse 12 here, He says, "When reviled, we bless. When persecuted,we endure. When slandered, we entreat."So why in the world would God lead us to suffering?So God can show everyone who's watching how we suffer.So He talks here about being reviled and persecuted and slandered. Have you everseen worldly people react to those things all the time? Right? What does the world do whenthey're reviled or persecuted or slandered? The world reactions are on display everywhere.It's retaliation. It's temper tantrums. I'll get even with you. You can't do this to me.It's pity parties. And oh, what was me? And that's how the world reacts. Listen,God wants you to walk through the same kinds of suffering so that you can exhibit the life ofChrist. Do you realize how awesome this is? That God is going to allow you to suffer so the worldcan watch, so God can point to you and say, "Look at how my people suffer." Oh, you see how the worldsuffers and how they retaliate and how they're bitter and how they're angry. And look at my people.When they suffer, they reflect the character of my son.Look at my people. When they're reviled, they turn around and they look for ways to bless thepeople that hate them. Do you see my people do that? God says, "Look at my people." When they'repersecuted, they don't pack it up. They don't boohoo. I quit. I can't take it anymore. Look at my people.When my people are persecuted, they endure. They are not going to give up.God says, "Look at my people." When they're slandered,they don't slander back. They don't hate the people that speak negatively about them. God says,"Look at what my people do." They entreat. They're trying to reach the people that hate them withthe gospel of my son. Look at my people. This guy sounds familiar, doesn't it?Probably because Peter said something almost identical. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21.Look at this. Same thing. Exact same truth. For to this, you have been called because Christalso suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might fall in His steps.Here's the example. Jesus committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in His mouth.When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten,but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.You're going to suffer. The only real question is, how are you going to suffer?Meaning, what is going to be your attitude during your suffering?You're going to lash out because your pride was hurt? You're going to humble yourselfand show them the example that Jesus gave you.But you'll never humble yourself until you understand that you are called to respond tosuffering like Jesus. One more slice of humble pie, are you full?You're like, you know what, Pastor Jeff, I think I'm just the right amount of humble.Can we sing and get out of here? There's one more.Number four, something to tell yourself when you start to think that you're so important.Number four, the world thinks I'm scum.Look at the last part of verse 13. We have becomeand are still like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.Yeah, we're scum. We're garbage. You know that. We are garbage people.To the lost, they think our message is foolishness. You realize that.You realize that to the lost, they would come in here and hear what we're doing,see what we're doing, and they would say, literally, what a bunch of morons.Look, if you're here for a little ego boost, I'd just like to remind you what the Bible says,you're trash. We're all just trash in the world's eyes.You know, when I was a kid, my dad used to say that he had this little saying that he said allthe time. And as a kid, I never understood what it meant. It was this, anytime somebody was actinguntowardly, somebody was acting like a hog or insulting you or being cruel towards you orspeaking perversely or anytime somebody was acting like that, my dad would just say,well, you got to consider the source. I never knew what that meant until I became an adult. Now I'mOh, I get what he's saying now. And I think that little saying of dad certainly applies here.It's like, hey, hey, you know, the world thinks you're scum.Now consider the source. The brilliant world crucified Jesus Christ.This world who was giving their opinion of me took God in the flesh and publicly executedhim in the most humiliating and painful way. All they think I'm scum, huh? Well,I guess I should just consider the source. You're never going to be popular with the world. If youfollow Christ, you're never going to be popular with the world. It's not going to happen. Theythink you're scum. And the truth is, I'm actually much worse than they think I am.I am. My sin is so bad it took the blood of the spotless Son of God to wash my sin away.That must mean my sin was pretty bad.So it takes us back to point one, right? God's opinion is really the only one that mattersanyways. But you're never going to humble yourself until you're okay with the world regarding youas scum. All right. So if our worship team would make their way back to the platform,I just want to leave you with this. If you're ever a contestant on jeopardy,not likely for most of us, or you start to think that you're pretty important,which is actually very likely for all of us, I'm going to give you your speech.When someone says, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself. If you want to be biblical,here's your speech." Like, my name is, I'm only here to please God. Everything I have has been givento me. God wants me to suffer so that the world can see Jesus. And the world thinks I'm scum.Tell me a little bit about yourself. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I just ask again that you woulduse your word to humble all of us. Our sin is so self-exalting, and we start tothink that we have things figured out, or we reached a level that other people should aspire towhen your word says that we should humble ourselves. Father, remind us of these truthsthat someday we're going to stand before you, and on that day,we will learn the truth that it is only your opinion that means anything.Increase our faith, Father. Give us the drive to humble ourselves. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Have you ever felt the tension between what God has promised and what you currently experience in life? Do you struggle to obey God after receiving a blessing, or wonder how to trust Him when life is painful or hard? In this message, Pastor Kyle unpacks Genesis 21:1-8 and 22:1-14, exploring the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and the radical test of his faith. Discover the lessons on true faith that continues to trust, obey, and celebrate, even when faced with the most challenging sacrifices. In this sermon, you'll learn: - How God's delays are not denials, and that He fulfills His promises at the time He has spoken. - Why true faith requires continued obedience and celebration, even after receiving what you want. - That God tests us so that we may know what is inside us, helping us grow and develop. - The difference between God's testing (which aims for us to pass) and the devil's temptation (which aims for us to fail). - The importance of immediate obedience, responding to God's call with "Here I am". - The necessity of sacrificing what we love and trusting God with our future, as He ultimately provides the sacrifice. - How the story of Isaac's near-sacrifice foreshadows Jesus Christ's ultimate substitutionary sacrifice. Key Topics Covered: - The 25-year wait between God's promise to Abraham and the birth of Isaac. - Living in the tension between what is seen in God's Word and what is experienced in the world. - The connection between Abraham's sacrifice of his past, present, and future, and the sacrifices God asks of us. - God's motivation methods: the love of God, the rewards of God, and the fear of God. - The significance of the phrase "The Lord will provide" (Jehovah Jireh). - The parallels between Isaac (the son of promise) and Jesus (the ultimate Son of promise). If you're seeking to understand the faithfulness of God in your seasons of waiting, or if you need encouragement to embrace sacrifice and obedience, this message will inspire and challenge you.

Episode Summary: If you have ever been in a place where you just feel like you've hit rock bottom, I’m glad you’re here. Last week we talked to Julie Seals who was born with Spina Bifida, had her leg amputated, lost her father, became addicted to drugs, lost custody of her son, and ended up in Federal Prison for trafficking illegal drugs. But God was not done with Julie! This episode is part 2 of Julie’s story, and I promise you will be encouraged that God can turn your biggest messes into something beautiful! Quotables from the episode: I was sitting in prison sitting on the metal bunk bed and crying and I forgot that the night before I crossed the border I had cried out to God and said, "I'm done. I need you, come into my life and change everything." And all I was looking at were my current circumstances. And in comes this group of women doing prison ministry. And one of them looked at me crying on my bunk and she marched over and sat down on my bunk. And she said, "Did you know that Jesus loves you very much. And I said, "Not me!" And I'm crying. And she kept insisting that no matter what I did, no matter what had happened, that Jesus Christ loved me and that if I would repent of my sin and turn towards him and ask him to be my Lord and Savior, he would make me a brand new person. I felt hope rise in my heart as this woman was speaking. And that evening, as all the other inmates were off eating dinner, I stayed behind at my prison bunk and I got down on my knees on that cold hard cement prison floor and I was weeping and I asked Jesus Christ to become my lord and my savior and forgive me or everything I had done wrong, and I felt freedom. I literally, I felt chains, invisible chains break off my chest and tears of repentance turned into tears of freedom and joy. I thought I was going to do life in prison when I got up from that prayer but all of a sudden, I had this realization that I was a free woman on the inside and I had joy real joy for the first time in my life. All of a sudden, I had the Holy Spirit living in me and the joy of the Lord and the Holy Spirit was now going to take me through the challenging journey of dealing with my past and realizing oops, I made a whole bunch of mistakes that got me here. So now we move forward in strength and in power and in victory with hope. I read the Word every day, and I spoke the Word out loud every day over my life and circumstances. And as I did, my faith in God’s Word became unshakeable. The One who rescued me from addiction and darkness saw my great grief. And He loved me so much that when I was cut off from society, living in a razor-wire-enclosed cage, He gave me what can only be described as a miraculous message. Other inmates began to notice that one-legged lady who passionately loved Jesus was working hard to keep her heart pure. Those inmates came to me and started asking me about this Jesus that I loved so much. They were noticing that I was a new person, and even in federal prison, facing a life sentence, I had crazy, ridiculous joy. I smiled constantly. I laughed often. The joy on the inside of me was so infectious that everyone around me wanted some of it. I was hurting. My mom was gone. She was dead, I was like just desperate, broken, I didn't think anybody, there was nobody for me there. And as I looked at that computer screen, I didn't see a patent because on that computer screen were written different scriptures from the Psalms and encouraging things that talk about how God heals the brokenhearted. He binds up their wounds. He sees us. He saves our tears. I started screaming for the other ladies, the other inmates. I'm like, God's talking to me on my computer! I read this love letter from God, who saw me in this 40 acre cage prison and came to me in my moment of desperation to let me know he saw me. He loved me and he was right there beside me in my most broken place. It was God himself speaking to me, one little one-legged, ex -addict federal inmate inside of a federal prison locked away from society. That God who rescued me, gave me joy and saved my soul came to me in that dark moment to tell me and remind me that he loved me and that there was still hope for my future. At a time where you felt lost and unseen, you no longer had your mother or your father or anyone else around you. Right. God made sure that you knew that he saw you and he was with you. Friends, if that is not an encouragement to you, Julie has been sharing how the seemingly impossible happened time after time after time again, but her heart was surrendered. One of the things that drew me to you and your story is your perspective. You wrote in the book, life is so good. Now friends, what I want you to know is this was her perspective sitting in federal prison. “Life is so good. I had a great job. I had a new leg. I was clean and sober and healthy. For the first time in 17 years, it mattered not to me that I was on the wrong side of the razor wire fence. I was sober, happy, and even in prison, I was free." That's an incredible statement, that you could find freedom within the razor walls of prison. Forgiveness is like a chain around our neck or unforgiveness is and if we are able to let go and especially towards our self. You know, I had so much shame, I had so much guilt and at times it was tormenting and in those moments what I learned is that I needed to stop looking inward at myself and at what I had done. I had to stop looking in the rearview mirror at my past and simply look up to the Savior who forgave it all and washed me clean. I made up my mind I was going to replace my old stinking thinking with God's thinking and I was in my Bible probably up to five hours a day. It was like Jesus boot camp…I would get index cards and I would write the scripture on an index card and I was on the bottom metal bunk of a two, bunk, metal bunk bed. And I taped like wallpaper all the way around my bunk bed on the inner little ledge and every day at lunch I would not eat lunch I would come to my room sit on the bed and I would start at one place and I would go through every single card and read every single scripture out loud speaking it out loud over my life. I've been out of prison for 23 years and I've been married to my prison chaplain husband for 19 years. We are prison ministers, we're ordained ministers and 11 years ago my husband drove me to the Jacksonville, Florida International Airport and my son at the age of 20 years old got off a plane and came running to his mama arms wide, open, and full forgiveness. Not only is he saved, not only is he a Christian, but his moment of giving his life to Jesus happened exactly the way I prayed. When he told me about it, he said, "You're going to think this is weird, mom, but..." And it was exactly what I prayed. This is the favorite part of my story. And the part of my story that gives me probably the most joy. God delivered me from the pit of prison so that I could spend the rest of my life going back in. When I was in prison, I told God, I made him a promise, and I said, "If you let me out of here, I will spend the rest of my life going back in," and telling inmates who are hopeless, who think that they have messed up beyond repair, who think there is no way out of their situation that Jesus died to set the captive free and make them a new creation and that there is hope in him. And God let me do that. Scripture References: Psalm 18:16-19 “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters…He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.” Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.” Recommended Resources: All My Hope: A Prisoner No More by Julie Seals Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner AWSA 2024 Golden Scroll Christian Living Book of the Year and the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Christian Living and Non-Fiction categories YouVersion 5-Day Devotional Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises from God to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, AWSA Member of the Year, winner of the AWSA 2023 Inspirational Gift Book of the Year Award, the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Devotional category, the 2023 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in four categories, and the Christian Literary Awards Henri Award for Devotionals YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 1 YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 2 Revive & Thrive Women’s Online Conference Revive & Thrive Summit 2 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 1 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 2 Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the AWSA 2020 Best Christian Living Book First Place, the first place winner for the Best Christian Living Book, the 2020 Carolina Christian Writer’s Conference Contest winner for nonfiction, and winner of the 2021 Christian Literary Award’s Reader’s Choice Award in all four categories for which it was nominated (Non-Fiction Victorious Living, Christian Living Day By Day, Inspirational Breaking Free and Testimonial Justified by Grace categories.) YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide Free PDF Resource: How to Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Henri and Reader’s Choice Award Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award Free Webinar: Help for When You’re Feeling Blue Social Media Links for Host: Connect with Julie Seals: Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at: Order Book Sacred Scars / Order Book The Hem of His Garment / Order Book Today is Going to be a Good Day / Order Book Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails / Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson) / LinkedIn / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Podcast on Apple Guest: Julie Seals is an ordained minister and prison evangelist. Having left her life as a drug addict and dealer behind, Julie Seals is now a Hope Dealer as she inspires and challenges people from all walks of life to encounter, know, and live for Jesus. She co-founded Her Hope Recovery Ministry in 2022. Julie is married to prison chaplain, Mike Seals. Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Have you ever felt stuck waiting for God's promises, wrestling with doubt, or wanting answers in a season of silence? In this message, Pastor Kyle unpacks Genesis 17, exploring the covenant God establishes with Abraham, including the unexpected command of circumcision. The message highlights the theme of faith that is tested, marked, and leads to worship and change. In this sermon, you'll learn: - How faith starts with God revealing Himself ("I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless") before calling us to action. - The difference between "walking with God" (fellowship) and being called to "walk before me" (knowing God is watching). - That God desires progress, not perfection, which is captured in the word "blameless" meaning "single-hearted" and wholly devoted to the Lord. - The importance of thinking generationally, as God promises Abraham lineage and a legacy of nations, contrasting with modern short-term, instant thinking. - That faith changes you, as seen in the name change from Abram to Abraham ("father of a multitude of nations") and Sarai to Sarah ("Princess"), showing God redefines identity based on His promise, not their past. Key Topics Covered: - The Three "Greats" in the Bible: Great Commandment, Great Commission, and Great Compassion. - The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision, and its significance as a personal, painful, and permanent sign of loyalty and sacrifice, which in the New Testament is replaced by Baptism. - Worship and Response: Abraham's emotional response of falling on his face, which is a sign of surrender and is related to the idea of an emotional and volitional response to God's Word. - Immediate Obedience and Leading by Example: Abraham's immediate action to circumcise all the males in his house that very day. - Laughter in Faith: Abraham's initial laughter in response to the promise of a son through a 90-year-old Sarah, and the son's name, Isaac, which means "Laughter".

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.31Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,“That you may be justified in your words,     and prevail when you are judged.”5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.1.     Do you have an idea of what the non-Christians around you think of Christians and Christianity? If they have negative opinions, are they warranted?2.     If you are a Christian, what do non-Christians in your life think of God because of you? If you don't know, would you ask?3.     What are some externals, outward signs, symbols and practices that you might say help define you?4.     Do you ever let externals define your relationship or standing with God? How does that impact you?5.     The gospel says true change flows out of a restored relationship with God, through his grace and power. Do you believe that? Is that how you approach change in your life?6.     Bob said aspects of gospel living will be invisible to others, go unrecognized. Have you experienced that in your life? Do you find it difficult?

7:1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 7:2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 7:3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 7:5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7:7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 7:10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 7:12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 7:13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 7:14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 7:15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 7:17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:7–8 NLT) We’re going to look at prayer over the next few days. To be a growing Christian, you must have an active prayer life. You must communicate with and listen to God regularly. Some church traditions suggest that there are proper and improper ways to pray. That God prefers us to be formal, dignified, and reverent, and to use precise and proper words in a precise and proper cadence. But that’s not necessarily so. Prayer is a conversation. Like other conversations, it can be formal or informal. Certainly, we can’t help but be reverent when we find ourselves in God’s presence, but that doesn’t mean we have to be formal, dignified, proper, or precise. It’s not like one prayer method or posture is more legitimate than another. You can pray in any position at any time in any place. Sometimes we may feel as though the Lord will respond to our prayers more quickly if we pray in a church sanctuary. But that’s not true at all. Daniel prayed in a lion’s den. David prayed in a field. Peter prayed while he walked on water—and then a few moments later when he was underwater. Jonah prayed from even greater depths from the belly of a large fish. God will hear your prayers wherever you are. Your prayers can and should fit your circumstances. You can pray publicly. You can pray privately. You can pray verbally. You can pray silently. You can pray while kneeling, standing, sitting, lying down, or even driving. You can lift your eyes to Heaven and pray. You can close your eyes and pray—as long as you’re not driving. Your prayers don’t have to impress anyone. They don’t have to inspire “Amens” from the congregation. They don’t have to show off your biblical knowledge or vocabulary. In addition to His warning in Matthew 6:7–8 against praying as the Gentiles do, Jesus also said, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get” (Matthew 6:5 NLT). Your goal should be to create prayer habits that work for you—ones that deepen your unique relationship with your heavenly Father. If you prefer to be active, pray while you walk. If you prefer not to be distracted, pray in a private place. If you don’t like long conversations, pray in short bursts throughout the day. Incorporate the words of the psalmists or the lyrics of your favorite worship songs into your prayers. Create a dynamic prayer routine that challenges you, opens your heart to God’s leading, and works for your personality and your circumstances. Discover how prayer can change your life. Reflection question: How would you describe your prayer habits? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Question: What do we pray for in the sixth petition? Answer: In the sixth petition, which is, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," we pray, That God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

Question: What do we pray for in the fifth petition? Answer: In the fifth petition, which is, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," we pray, That God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are able to be rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/

Question: What do we pray for in the third petition? Answer: In the third petition, which is, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," we pray, That God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven. Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://gift.ligonier.org/1267/westminster If this podcast has been a blessing to you, try these other podcasts from Ligonier: Renewing Your Mind: https://renewingyourmind.org/ 5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/ Ask Ligonier: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast Open Book: https://openbookpodcast.com/ Simply Put: https://simplyputpodcast.com/