Podcasts about Wickedness

Matthew 27, paints the scene of Jesus' crucifixion and the cruel mockery He endured. Matthew identifies four groups present at the cross — the ignorant soldiers, the criminal thieves, the fickle crowd, and the religious leaders — and explains how each displayed a different form of rejection. The episode centers on Jesus' prayer, “Father, forgive them,” showing how His intercession, the fulfillment of prophecy, and God's grace brought salvation even amid extreme wickedness. The message contrasts human cruelty with Divine mercy and calls listeners to reflect on the power of forgiveness and the spread of the gospel.

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Contains: Gore, Mild Depiction of Parental AbuseThe team faces off against the The Mother of Wickedness, but in order to get through to her, they must first face down against the gruesome transformations of her daughters, who have been twisted into Abyss Walkers.Cast:Ben Magnet - GMJordan Nelson - "The Spider"Aaron Kaufhold - "The Huntsman""Danger" Dan Jerz - "The Prince"Grayson Norman - "The Knight"Daniel Cruz - Pinocchio: "The Real Boy"Cover Art by Jordan NelsonEditing by "Danger" Dan JerzTheme Song/Outro by Nicole CarinoMusic: Disco by BlackTrendMusic courtesy of Free Music ArchivesAdditional Music provided by: Monument Studios

Wickedness may seem to prosper for a season, but it never sustains. Discover why righteousness attracts God's favor, establishes your life firmly, and protects you from the slippery slope of compromise. Choose integrity. Overcome evil with good.#OvercomeWickedness #IntegrityOverCompromise #CITAMChurchOnline

Psalms 1 & 2 E1 — The Psalms scroll—Israel's ancient hymn book—has deeply shaped the worship and prayers of millions of people over several millennia. The first two psalms work together as a unified introduction to the whole collection. Psalm 1 starts with the phrase “How good is life for the man who…” or in most English translations, “Blessed is the man who…” We then find a list of activities to avoid and an instruction to practice daily Scripture meditation. So how does this way of living lead to “the good life”? And what happens to those who follow it—and to those who don't? In this episode, Jon and Tim start a short series in Psalms 1 and 2 by first meditating on Psalm 1.FULL SHOW NOTESFor chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.CHAPTERSThe Path of Tragedy (0:00-21:35)Becoming Like a Tree (21:35-40:40)Standing in the Judgment (40:40-1:06:14)OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTView this episode's official transcript.REFERENCED RESOURCESThe Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary by Robert AlterCheck out Tim's extensive collection of recommended books here.SHOW MUSIC“Growing Season” by Gas Lab & Guillaume Muschalle“New Dae” by El Train & G MillsBibleProject theme song by TENTS SHOW CREDITSProduction of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today's episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When the two angels arrive in Sodom, Lot receives them with Christian welcome. Lot's hospitality stands in stark contrast to the evil intentions of the men of Sodom. Whatever Lot's intentions were in offering his daughters to the men, he was only adding evil to evil. The angels quickly intervene before the situation devolves further, striking the men of Sodom blind. When the angels urge Lot and his family to leave the city quickly, Lot warns his sons-in-law, but they only scoff. This account warns us against falling into the same wickedness found in Sodom and urges us to heed the warning of God's Law before the Day of Judgment comes.  Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Genesis 19:1-14.  To learn more about Trinity in Ottumwa, visit trinitylutheranottumwa.com. “In the Beginning” is a series on Sharper Iron that studies Genesis. The first book of Moses sets the stage for God's entire story of salvation. As we learn the beginning of the story, God prepares us to receive the fulfillment of the story: Jesus Christ, the Offspring of the woman who has crushed our enemy's head.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Privilege of Being in God’s House Gratitude for the freedom and presence of the Spirit of God. Many people would love to be in a place where the spirit of God is free. It is a privilege to be in God’s house. Romans Chapter 4 Reading of Romans 4:17-25 and verse 16. Focus on faith and grace. It is of faith that it might be by grace. The promise might be sure to all the seed. Not to that only which is of the law, but also which is of the faith of Abraham. Abraham: Father of Many Nations Abraham as the father of many nations, not just Israel. God told Abraham, “I’m going to make you a father of many nations.” All are children of Abraham through faith, not the law. Abraham pleased God through belief, not law-keeping. The law had yet to be given. Abraham came because he believed God. Abraham’s Faith God’s promise to Abraham to make him a father of many nations. Sarah was barren. Abraham didn’t have any children. Abraham believed God despite his age (100 years old) and Sarah’s age (90 years old). Abraham believed God. It was imputed to him for righteousness. Righteousness imputed to Abraham because of belief, not personal righteousness or worthiness. Not because Abraham was righteous. Not because Abraham deserved righteousness. Not because he was worthy of righteousness. But because he believed God. Importance of Faith Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God puts such a value on faith. When any soul will simply believe God in spite of all the circumstances, in spite of all the situations. God imputes righteousness to those who believe. Righteousness of Christ imputed at the moment of faith. We believed. Hope in a Hopeless World Hope is very important. The world has lost hope, even the lost. Wickedness abounds and it’s getting worse. Political changes have not brought righteousness. A lot of people thought when Trump got in office that somehow this country would turn around and get righteous. We’re no closer to God than we were two years ago. Evidence of lack of revival: no abandonment of sin, no church filling. If things were really getting right, brother, we’d see it in the church. It ain’t here. It’s growing more wicked every day. Encouragement to keep hope. Don’t let anything steal your hope. Advice to avoid negative influences: turn off TV and radio, open the Bible. Turn your TV off. Turn your radio off. And open up your Bible. Stop the influences of the devil. Hope as a Necessity Hope is absolutely necessary for the people of God. Despair and worry heard in voices of men at a gathering. There were some of them that were sharing before church, and some of them shared even after we had started. I could hear the despair in their voice. I could hear the worry and the concern. Concern is valid, but must be balanced with hope in God. Without a vision, you’ll perish. We cannot as the people of God in good faith talk about it without still having hope in God. Faith and hope are linked; faith precedes hope. If you’ve got faith hope’s right behind you. The more faith you have, the greater hope you’ll have as well. 1 Corinthians 13: faith, hope, and charity (love). Love is the greatest, but in good company with faith and hope. Now abideth these three. Faith, hope, and charity. But the greatest of these is charity. Need for hope in the church. We need to have hope in our heart tonight. We need to have a hope down in our soul. With God, anything can happen. When God’s involved, anything can happen. Believe God and let hope save each day. What we need to do is believe God and then let hope save us each and every day. Hope as Verb and Noun Hope is both an action (verb) and a thing (noun). Hope is both a verb and a noun. It is both an action and a thing. Like faith and love, hope is a real thing. Faith is an action, but faith is also a thing. Love is an action, but it is also a noun. It is a thing. Appreciation for people with hope who haven’t given up on God. I love to meet people that have got hope. I like to meet people that ain’t give up on God. They’ve not laid down on God. They’ve not quit believing in God. Hope leads to expecting God to move in unexpected ways. God’s going to do something that they ain’t expecting, that God’s going to move in a way they’ve never seen, that God’s going to come in and help them in a way that they can’t even understand or foresee. Hope should follow faith. If you’ve got faith, you ought to have some hope with you. Hope ought to follow your faith. Many Christians seem to lack hope. I see a lot of people that ain’t got much hope. I talk to Christian people, good Christian people. And when you talk to them, it seems like they don’t give up. They just throw it in the towel. Losing belief in God leads to hopelessness. When they quit believing in God, they quit believing God can do something. Focus on the present and the work to be done. I’m still breathing. I’ve still got a day ahead of me if God wakes me up and the sun shines again. We’ve got work to do. Need for hope to avoid emotional and spiritual backsliding. You’ll get so far down the ditch that you’ll end up backslidden emotionally and spiritually. You’ll get to the place where you sell out on faith and you sit down on God and suddenly, amen, everything that is wrong begins to come your way. Reaping hard things from sowing bad things. You’ll begin to reap hard things because you’ve sown bad things. Even without understanding God’s plan, hope is essential. Even though we cannot see what God is doing, we do not know what moment in time, what dispensation we’re in. What I can tell you is that we still need hope today. Abraham believed against hope. Abraham, who against hope, believed in hope. Hope is part of faith. Hope’s part of our faith. These three abideth, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is hope. Believing Against Hope Abraham believed against hope (Romans 4:18). Every earthly argument or sense was not supporting what God was telling Abraham. Everything that God told Abraham, the worldly argument, the worldly sense, the worldly rationality, The worldly experience would tell Abraham that’s not going to happen. Worldly rationality says it’s impossible, but God can do anything. It cannot be. It is impossible. There’s no need to believe in that because that is not reality. It is not something that can occur. Believing God despite circumstances allows hope to flourish. When everything says it cannot be. It still can be. Believing in God Believing in hope means believing in God (verse 17). Before him whom he believed even God. Believing in God overrides worldly rationale and human experience. If you’re believing in God today, all bets are off as far as the world’s rationale. All bets are off is on human experience. God can change situations even when doctors say nothing can be done. You may have been to a thousand doctors and every one of them tell you, Nope, there is nothing that can be done. But brother, when you put it in God’s hands, it can change. Question of who to believe: doctors, lawyers, personal experience, or God. Do you believe the doctors? Do you believe the lawyer? Do you believe that person? Do you believe your experience, your own rationale, your own common sense? God can do anything, including wondrous miracles. All of those things are nothing to my God. Because God can do anything. God acts when humans cannot. God did it because you couldn’t do it. God did it because nobody else could do it. God did it to show you He could do it. Believing in God despite terrible circumstances. There are circumstances in my life that are terrible, and I have no idea how this is going to turn out. Anything is possible with prayer and belief. If you’ll keep praying and you’ll keep believing, friend, anything is possible. God’s timing differs from human timing; patience is needed. God’s timing ain’t your timing. So just be patient. Human solutions to God problems don’t work. His wife said, I’ve come up with a human solution to a God problem. What you need is not a human solution, but you need the God solution. Trusting God with all your heart leads to directed steps. If I trust in Him with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledge Him that He will direct my steps. God fixes what humans cannot. You’re liable to find out He fixes what can’t be fixed by humans. God’s Abilities Believing in God who is able to do all things. Abraham believed in any help because he was believing, number one, in God who is able to do all things. Believing in God who can quicken the dead. He was believing that God was able to quicken the dead. This God had power to raise someone up from the dead. Believing in God who calls things that are not as though they were. When God talks about something that has not happened, he’s speaking to it as if it will happen because he will make it happen. God will speak it as if it has already happened. Need for More Faith Need for more faith. I need more faith. I need to believe God for more than what I’m believing. Trusting God for things that are impossible for humans. When you trust God and believe Him for things that you can’t fix, you can’t do. Daily choice to believe God or the world. Every day when you get up, you’re going to have to make a choice. Am I going to believe God today or am I going to believe the world? Believing God leads to the birth of hope. If you believe God, friend, hope is born again right in your soul. Abraham’s Strength in Faith Abraham was not weak in faith. Abraham was strong in the faith. Abraham believed God when asked to sacrifice Isaac. Take your only son Isaac up there and offer him up as a sacrifice unto me. Abraham believed God would provide a sacrifice. God will provide himself a lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. He believed in his heart that if God allowed him to take that boy, that he’d raise him from the dead. Overcoming Weakness in Faith Problem of weakness in faith. I think that’s part of our problem today. Faith can move mountains (Matthew 21:21). If we had faith we’d say to the mountain be you moved and cast into the sea and it would be. Abraham’s example of not considering his own body as dead. Being not weak in the faith, he considered not his own body, now need. Not letting the mind dictate faith. Abraham did not let his mind dictate what God was saying, whether it be possible or impossible. Not staggering at the promise of God through unbelief. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in the faith, giving glory to God. Being fully persuaded that God could perform what He promised. Being fully persuaded what he had promised, he was also able to perform. Value of Hope Faith, hope, and charity (love) are all important. These three things abide. Faith, hope, and charity. The greatest of these is charity. Need for hope. You need a lot of hope, by the way. Wake up with enough faith to produce hope for the day. You need to wake up in the morning with enough faith to produce more hope so that you have hope to do you all day long. Losing hope leads to stopping. The minute you run out of hope, the minute you sit down. The minute you quit working for God, the minute we quit living for God and serving God and reading and studying and seeking God, when you lose hope, you just stop. Hope is essential for survival, like for prisoners of war. The main thing that those prisoners of war in Vietnam needed, the main thing they needed was hope that they’d get out. Hope can lift one out of pits, depression, and hurt. It’ll lift you up out of that pit that you’re in, that depression that you’re in, that hurt that you’re feeling. Hope is powerful and can save. Hope will save you. It’s that powerful. Hope from the Scriptures Hope comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Increased faith leads to bold hope. As your faith is increased, brother, hope becomes bold within yourself. Need for hope at all times, not just in church. You don’t need it on Wednesday and Sunday. You need hope on Thursday morning. You need some good hope on Friday morning. The world should see hope in Christians. Reckon why they’d ever ask you about Christ if when they see or hear you, all they see is somebody that has no hope. The lost are the most hopeless. If there’s anybody hopeless, It’s the lost. Without hope in Christ, life is miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19). If I had hope in this life only in Christ, I’d be of all men most miserable. God of Hope The Word of God gives hope and sustains belief. The Word of God was meant to give us hope because it gives us faith. Hope keeps serving and fighting and helping and it’ll sustain you. God is the God of hope (Romans 15:13). Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace and believing. Prayer for God to fill with joy, peace, and belief. I pray that He fill you with all joy and peace and believing. Abounding in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. That ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Supercharged Hope The Holy Ghost supercharges hope. The Holy Ghost then gets into hope. It gets supercharged at that point. Hope begins to do unexpected things. Suddenly hope begins to do things you didn’t know hope could do. The power of the Holy Ghost brings action. When you get the power of the Holy Ghost into something, you better get out of its way. Because it’s fixing to do something. Hopelessness leads to despair. So many people have got their head down, which infers to me they’ve lost hope, which means they’re not believing God. Christians should never be hopeless. You’re never hopeless. Simple faith in Christ produces supercharged hope. That simple faith in Christ produces a supercharged hope that has power to lift you up out of depression, lift you up out of the pit, lift you up out of that hard place. God can do what no one else can do. God can do what no one else can do. Hope as an Anchor Hebrews 6:18-19: hope as a strong consolation. By two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. Lay hold upon the hope set before us. Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Hope is both an action and a thing. Hope is both a verb and a noun. Hope is an action and a thing. Hope is the answer and a supercharged power. Out there in front of you is hope. Out there in front of you is the answer, the hope that you need. You’ll experience hope as a thing. A supercharged. Holy Spirit-filled thing. A power unlike anything else on the earth. Hope changes perspective. Give somebody real hope. Their perspective changes on every circumstance. Loss of hope leads to despair and suicide. If you take their hope away, you know what they do these days? They try to kill themselves. Need to exercise faith to increase hope. You better keep working on hope. Hope will rescue and save. Hope’s going to rescue you. Hope’s going to save you. Hope as an anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19). Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Hope leads to Christ’s presence. Hope will lead you into His presence. Need to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. The one thing you need, more than anything else, is to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. Hope takes one to Christ. Your hope took you there. Hopelessness leads to quitting. You take a person that’s hopeless and you know what they want to do? They want to quit. Hope leads to seeking Jesus. Somebody that’s filled with hope is going to find themselves at the feet of Jesus one more time. Hope is supercharged by the Holy Ghost. Hope is supercharged of the Holy Ghost. Hope is brought by the Scriptures. It is brought to us by the Scriptures. Hope is a refuge and a sure anchor. God has said it before us that we might lay hold upon it as a refuge. It is a sure and steadfast anchor of our… Hope leads into the presence of Christ. It takes me into the presence of Christ. Creation’s Groaning and Hope’s Saving Power All creation groans (Romans 8:22). We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Everyone experiences problems. Every one of you have got problems. Choice to believe God and have hope or go farther down. They can either believe God. In that moment, they can either believe God and watch hope be born and supercharged powerfully enter into their life and lift them out of that circumstance or they will go farther down. Saved by hope (Romans 8:24). For we are saved by hope. Hope saves like a life preserver. Like a life preserver, when I’m going under it, Hope saves me. Hope lifts one up when feeling overwhelmed. When it feels like you’re just so far down that you ain’t going to come up again, and suddenly you feel like something grabbed a hold of you and just hit you right back down. That was hope. Hope replaces negative emotions with positive ones. A smile replaced the frame. And confidence the worry. And boldness the fear. Hope is always available in Christ. In Christ, there is always hope. Hope rescues and lifts up. Hope, it didn’t rescue you. It didn’t lift you up out of that where you said it didn’t pull you right back up to hope it saved you. Waiting with Patience Hope is born of faith. Hope is born of faith. When there is no faith, there is no hope. More faith leads to more hope. The more faith you have, the more hope is born. Hope lifts above the world’s troubles. Hope will save you. Hope will lift you above the waves of this world and the wretchedness we live in and the groaning and the pain. Hope is for things not seen (Romans 8:24-25). Hope that is seen is not hope. If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Patience is needed while waiting for God’s promise. If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Hope sustains while waiting. That hope will be what sustains you as you wait for it. Hope is an anchor of the soul. Hope will hold you. As an anchor of the soul. Hope leads closer to God. That hope is taking you right into him. Hope leads into the holiest of holies. It’s walking you closer and closer to him. Until it goes right inside, within the veil, behind the curtain, to the holies of holies. God does what no one else can do. God did something that nobody else could do. Patience allows hope to work until God fulfills His promise. With patience while hope did its work in sustaining and saving day after day moment after moment until finally God does what God said he’d do. Once the promise is seen, there is no more need for hope. Once you see it, you no longer have to hope for it no more. Faith, hope, and charity (love) are essential. Faith, hope, and charity. These three. Gratitude for hope. Thank God for Hope. Believing and carrying on despite uncertainty. You just keep carrying on. And you keep believing. Hope it keeps up. God’s plan is good. What a good plan He came up with, honey. Use faith, hope, and love. You’ve got them. Use them. Invitation to be filled with hope. I’d like to see you leave here filled with hope. Filled with hope. Let God save and help. Let him save you tonight. Let him help you.

Send a textEach week Pastor Mark takes time to go deeper and talk about the week's message!  If you have questions you'd like him to answer or hear more about please send those in by texting us at the link in the show notes!You can also view video of this podcast and our Sunday sermons by visiting our YouTube channel!https://www.youtube.com/@lifehousemotA flying scroll enters a house and burns it to the beams. A sealed basket carries “Wickedness” to Shinar. These vivid scenes from Zechariah 5 aren't just strange images; they're a sharp lens on our lives, our homes, and the drift that happens when we normalize what God calls deadly. We open the text and open our hearts to a hard truth: sin always spreads, and casual tolerance always costs more than we think.We talk about how God's Word exposes deception and why “private” sin is never private. From media habits to secret relationships, from slow cultural drift to generational patterns, we name the subtle steps that desensitize us and the collateral damage that follows. You'll hear practical, concrete ways to practice radical repentance: delete the number, cancel the subscription, burn the stash, block the site, tell a trusted friend. Half-measures keep temptation within reach; decisive steps protect your soul and your family.Grace runs through every line. Jesus refuses to condemn the woman caught in adultery and also refuses to bless her bondage—“Go and sin no more.” That is our model for accountability: truthful and gentle, focused on healing rather than shaming. We revisit Achan's hidden sin, the urgency of confession, and Paul's call to crucify the flesh, not manage it. And we anchor the fight in hope: a coming day when sin is gone for good, and a present power in the Spirit to live set apart right now.If you're ready to trade compromise for clarity and fear for freedom, this conversation will help you draw the line and keep it. Listen, share with someone who needs courage, and subscribe for part two as we continue into Zechariah 6. If this encouraged you, leave a review and tell us: what step are you taking to remove what harms your soul?New episodes every Mondaywww.lifehousemot.cominfo@lifehousede.com Join us Sundays at 9 & 11 AM Intro music by Joey Blair

Let go of your sins today. -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible.     Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

1 Doesn't wisdom cry out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands. 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud: 4 "I call to you men! I send my voice to the sons of mankind. 5 You simple, understand prudence! You fools, be of an understanding heart! 6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things. 7 For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction rather than silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can't be compared to it. 12 "I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. 14 Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power. 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth. 17 I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me. 18 With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, my yield than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, in the middle of the paths of justice, 21 that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries. 22 "Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed. 24 When there were no depths, I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born; 26 while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, 29 when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him, 31 rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men. 32 "Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise. Don't refuse it. 34 Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and will obtain favor from Yahweh. 36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death." Listen Donate Subscribe: Proverbs Daily Podcast Psalms Daily Podcast

We often think of God as an immovable, distant force. But when Enoch looked into heaven, he didn't see a stoic deity—he saw a God in tears. Why would the Creator of "worlds without number" weep for us? The answer reveals the true heart of Zion. Summary: In this deep dive into Moses 7, we witness the culmination of Enoch's ministry. We move from the "high mountain" of personal revelation to the "City of Holiness" that eventually ascended to God. Building the City of Zion: We analyze the three pillars of Zion: being of "one heart and one mind," dwelling in "righteousness," and ensuring there are "no poor among them". The Weeping God: We explore the stunning dialogue where Enoch asks God, "How is it that thou canst weep?". We learn that God's sorrow stems from the agency of His children who "hate their own blood" and refuse His love. The Perspective of Enoch: Like Enoch, we are invited to look beyond our own time. We discuss his vision of the Crucifixion, the Restoration, and the eventual return of Zion where "heaven and earth shall meet". Divine Empathy: We discuss the "Mother Eve" connection and the "Mother Earth" who groans for her children, showing that all of creation yearns for the righteousness of Zion. Call-to-Action: Zion is not just a place; it's a way of being. What is one thing you can do this week to move toward having "one heart" with those around you? Share your thoughts in the comments! To keep your faith "Unshaken" while we build Zion together, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:59 Joseph Smith Translation and Moses 7 7:26 Building Zion 12:47 Study of Moses 7 15:52 Conversations at Higher Elevations 19:37 Wickedness Spreads 26:29 Enoch's Faith, Power, &  Language 31:16 Zion, City of Holiness 39:34 Visions of Wickedness 42:49 Satan's Laughter 48:01 Noah's Converts 49:55 A Weeping God 1:00:33 The Two Great Commandments 1:05:04 The Wickedness of the World 1:09:26 Sorry over Our Suffering 1:15:45 The Suffering of the Savior 1:18:14 Understanding God's Heart 1:22:11 The Flood 1:26:49 The Coming of Christ 1:29:38 Mother Earth 1:40:42 A Flood of Truth 1:49:23 Conclusion

Contains: Mild Gore, Elements of Body HorrorIn an effort to get in close to The Mother of Wickedness, the team agree to a trial to earn an audience with her: finding and retrieving her cat...and surviving to tell the tale.Cast:Ben Magnet - GMJordan Nelson - "The Spider"Aaron Kaufhold - "The Huntsman""Danger" Dan Jerz - "The Prince"Grayson Norman - "The Knight"Daniel Cruz - Pinocchio: "The Real Boy"Cover Art by Jordan NelsonEditing by "Danger" Dan JerzTheme Song/Outro by Nicole CarinoAdditional Music provided by: Monument Studios

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Beginnings | Week 23 The Great Wickedness of Man February 1, 2026 Pastor Ben Bufkin

2 Chronicles 25:17-28 New International Version 17 After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash[a] son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.” 18 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. 19 You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?” 20 Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,[b] at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits[c] long. 24 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria. 25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 26 As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 He was brought back by horse and was buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah.[d]See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Chronicles 25:14-20 English Standard Version Amaziah's Idolatry 14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. 15 Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” 16 But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.” Israel Defeats Amaziah 17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 18 And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 19 You say, ‘See, I[a] have struck down Edom,’ and your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?” 20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought the gods of Edom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Chronicles 24:8-27 New International Version 8 At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. 9 A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. 10 All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. 11 Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple. 13 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord. 15 Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. 16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple. The Wickedness of Joash 17 After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen. 20 Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” 21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.” 23 At the turn of the year,[a] the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. 25 When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad,[b] son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith[c] a Moabite woman. 27 The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptHey everybody. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we have been unable to meet, and we are going to be starting Second Samuel this coming Sunday when we are hopefully, Lord willing, able to get back together.So what we wanted to do was I'm just going to take a moment to kind of walk you through some of the content that we had prepared and was intending to walk through as we finished up our prayer series this Sunday. And so just wanted to walk you through some of that.If you will just grab a Bible, go to Matthew chapter 6. We're going to look at what is known as the Lord's Prayer. So Jesus, this is how he teaches his disciples to pray. And this is actually in the middle of what we're looking at is in the middle of the sermon on the mount, although it shows up in other times as well.So what we've done in our prayer series is we've taken the time to look at New Testament prayers and consider the things that Paul prays for. Some of the things that Paul prays for and we've seen these expansive prayers. The requests that he's making are huge. He wants us to see the glory of God and to know eternally what's coming for us. He wants us to be sanctified completely. That's the will of God, that we would be sanctified, that we would completely be made holy. He wants us to know the love of God, the unknowable love of God, so that we might be filled with all the fullness of God, which is unfathomable. And then to be able to then see that he's able to do more than we can ask or imagine. He's beyond our mental capabilities. Like these are massive prayers.And what we're going to see here is something very, very simple, straightforward.And so some of what I think is helpful for us to understand is that there is no ceiling to prayer when it comes to the things we can talk to God about and we can pray for, that we've entered into it goes as high as heaven, like it is beyond thought, it is beyond reason. We get to go and talk to him about everything and request anything and talk - like the expanse of prayer is wide open.But the floor to prayer is very low. It's not complicated. And that's what we're going to see as we talk through and see what Jesus teaches his disciples here, is that it's not like, hey, in order to pray this is going to be real hard. Anybody can enter in.So for the person who goes, man, I just don't even know how to pray and I feel like when I pray it's only like 30 seconds long and then I'm distracted, it's like, yeah, you can do it. A prayer can be 10 seconds long. The prayer that when he says pray like this, he prays for about 20 seconds. The thing that he shows him how to pray.But then we see that Jesus also prays all night long. And so there's just, the ceiling is non-existent. You can go as high as possible. So for the person who's like, oh cool, I prayed for 15 seconds, I did it - it's like, no, you get to keep growing in this.But for the person who's like, I think this is really difficult and I don't even know if I'm praying right - it's like, hey, the entry level is real simple. And so that's where we're going to start with Jesus teaching a basic daily prayer that's pretty straightforward.And so I want to read the whole section we're going to look at. It's in Matthew 6. And then we're just going to go through it piece by piece. And I'm going to try to go through it fairly quickly. This is the content that I would have been preaching, but I'm not really preaching to y'all. I'm just kind of walking you through some of this. So we'll move fairly fast.Matthew 6:5–8 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”Now, I said I was going to read through the whole thing, but I want to stop there for a second.He's going to start off by basically saying, “Hey, I'm going to teach you about praying, but when you pray, there's some ditches. There's some things you just need to avoid.”One of the dangers of praying is that you would pray to be seen by others. That's the way he words it. He says, “Don't pray like the hypocrites,” meaning that they look like something on the outside, but there's something else going on. It's a trick.And so he says they pray in the synagogues, they pray at the street corners, and their goal is for you to see them. And he says they have their reward. They've done it. So if your praying is a performance, it works. It works as a performance, but it doesn't work as a prayer. They get what they wanted because their prayer wasn't to God. It wasn't between them. It was for you to watch them.And so he says, “Don't do that. Don't make praying a performance. Rather, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who sees in secret.”So the bulk of Christian prayer should be done privately like that. You should have an active private prayer life.He does not forbid praying in front of people, and we actually see that he prays in front of people. He prays out loud at times. The disciples pray together and pray out loud. There's actually a lot of good and health that can come from us praying together. But you do have to watch that the point of your praying together is still relating to God, communing to God, speaking to God, and not somehow putting on a show.So we just have to be careful if somebody asks you to pray at a meal or if you're praying in your group. Like I know that there are times where we're praying together and I'm thinking about what I'm going to pray and I'm not praying with them. And so I'm doing what he said here as I'm turning it into some sort of performance.And he says, “Don't do that. I don't think you have to pray out loud in front of people. You do have to pray.” And he says, “Go in your room, close the door, pray by yourself.” So that is commanded of us as Christians.But he's not prohibiting praying together. But we do have to be on guard that when we do that, that we don't miss the point and make prayer somehow a performance.So he starts off there. Don't do that. Don't pray as a performance.He's going to give us another ditch. Don't do this.So then he says, “And when you pray,” this is verse 7, “do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”Okay? So don't heap up a bunch of empty phrases. Don't think that your prayer has to be a certain length or a certain amount of flowery language or you've got to use the right words. Don't do that.And specifically, one of the things I think you would see here is that his disciples are coming to him and he's teaching them how to pray. He's explaining to them how to pray. And this is in the sermon on the mount. There's another place where they come and say, “Teach us how to pray,” and he does the same thing.If you went to a priestess of some deity and you were asking, “How do we pray?” what he's saying is that they would, they have all this junk. You got to chant. You got to wear the right clothes. You got to be in the right place. We're going to have to have some music. We're going to need to cut ourselves. They're going to add all this stuff to it. You got to do it a certain amount of time or it doesn't count. Or you have to do it at a certain time.And he just is like, “No, none of that. Don't heap up a bunch of empty phrases. Don't think that your many words are going to get it. Don't think you have to assault God with language to get him to bend to your will. None of that.”And then what he's going to say is, “Pray like this.” And what he prays now is simple in its form, simple in his word use, simple in his sentence structure. It's straightforward and it's not long. Just pray like this.So when we're talking about like this, which is what he says in verse 9, pray like this, it's simple, but it does open for us, I think, categories that might, when you're thinking about the prayers that you have, might increase the like, oh actually, I probably should be praying about this and I should be praying about this.So we're going to take it through and just kind of go, what are the categories that he prays? You'll notice the sentence structure is simple and the length is simple. But it maybe will add some complexity to your praying if there's some areas where you're just like, I haven't been praying about that and that.So I don't want you to, because we're going to go through it and look at the different categories, suddenly go, “Oh, wow. This is really complex.” It's like, “No, he actually is praying pretty straightforward, pretty cleanly, pretty simply,” even if it opens up categories for you, it doesn't make it more difficult.Like I said, the floor here is very low. And I think that's built into what he says when he says, “Don't be like them.” This is verse eight: “For your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”And that's the baseline assumption in praying, is that we're going to the Father and he cares about us. He knows what you need. And that's beautiful.So if you understand, okay, does a three-year-old know how to talk to his father? Does he know how to approach him? Doesn't know how to be humble and to be in need. Then if that can happen, then you can pray. If you knew how to ask your father for something you needed, then you can pray, because that's the baseline thing that's happening here.So with that in mind, we're going to look at, he says, “Pray then like this.” I'm going to read the whole thing and then we're going to go through bit by bit to just see what's in this prayer. Even though it's simple and straightforward, it takes 15 seconds.And like I said, that's the entry to prayer, is we get to pray very simple, very straightforward. And then we can go from there into not more empty words and phrases, but just greater depth of relationship.You know, Jesus prays all night long, and it's not because he had to say the same thing over and over again for it to work. It's because he relates to the Father. The same way that you would stay up all night and talk to someone, a friend that you cherish or someone that you're in love with, and you would just, it would just keep going and it's conversational and there's so much to talk about and you don't want to stop.That's what I mean by the ceiling to prayer. The requests that you can make, the things that you can talk about is unending because of the depth of relationship that we get to have with the Father.But the entry level to just like what counts as a prayer is any of it. If you're aiming it at him and if the point is to relate to him and to talk to him and to bring your needs to him, then it all counts.So I'm going to, this is what he says. Pray then like this.Matthew 6:9–13 “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”That's it. That's the whole prayer.So we're going to walk through. I'm going to tell you what these different things mean, what he's saying, and then I want you to consider them as like, okay, do I have category for that? Do I pray that sort of thing?Again, not complicated in language, not long, not repetitious, but also for us to go, hey, there's things I should be praying for.It's like, what? Well, let's look and see what sort of things he says to pray for.So he starts off with “our Father in heaven.” And that's just framing up who are we talking to. Prayer is not to the universe. It's not just floating out there. And Christian prayer is to the Father. We can pray to Jesus. We can talk to the Spirit. But in general, normative Christian prayers, we're praying to the Father. That's who Jesus bought our relationship with. He brought us back to the Father. Our arrangement was with the Father and that Christ comes to rescue us and to bring us in to be adopted as sons and daughters of God.So we're praying to the Father, and it's beautiful this pairing. He's our Father in heaven.So he is our Father. That's the - he loves us. He knows us. There's this relationship built in. But he's also in heaven. He's big, competent, capable, ruling, reigning, glorious.And so know who you're praying to and begin with the relational depth there, but also the weighty glory of him reigning from heaven.So that's “our Father in heaven” is where he starts.And then “hallowed be your name.” Now we don't consider, we don't talk about hallowing things very often, but it's may your name be honored as holy. May it be set apart.And I think that there's two things happening here. This is just praising God. So it's beginning with, I'm hallowing, like I'm surrendering to you your honor. It's, you know, when the angels say glory to God in the highest, it's I'm glorifying you now. I'm hallowing you now. I'm honoring your name now in this very moment.And so it's, you can praise God, glorify him, honor him. And it's a way for you to remember you are my Father in heaven. You do love me but you are holy and completely other and different and above me. So it's a humility in approach.It also, if it's a prayer that moves forward, is to be praying that, Lord, I would honor you, that I would show you respect, that I would bring glory to your name, that in my heart and my words and my actions I would live in a way that brings you honor.So that's start off knowing who you're praying to, and then in submission and respect and humility, we praise him. But also do you pray that you would honor him as you go forward and as you live your life.So that's some of what's happening there.Okay. “Hallowed be thy name.” “Your kingdom come.”Now again, I think all of these is such a simple phrase. All of these we could spend a whole sermon on just explaining some of what's going on here. But the category that I want to open up for you is that we should be praying for the advancement of his kingdom on earth.We want more people to submit to the King. Which means that we want more people to place faith in Jesus. We want the advancement and the good news of the kingdom to be proclaimed. We want the good effects of the kingdom to be extended.So you should pray for missions and missionaries and for your school and for your co-workers. You should be praying that people would meet Jesus.This is, you know, we have this section in when our groups meet. We want to discuss and review kind of how are we being missionaries together and who are we building with? We want to pray for those sort of things.And this is built into what you're going to see later. It's a daily prayer. So it's just the normal daily way to pray. You should be praying for missions. You should be praying for the kingdom to advance and for more people to surrender to Jesus.And then this fits into that, but he says, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”So this kingdom advancing is faith and it is new believers, but it also is submission to his will. It's that the world would look more like it belongs to him.So “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So we should be praying that his will would be accomplished in our lives, in the lives of others, in our schools and our neighborhoods, that it would look like we belong to him, that we would surrender to him, that good things would happen, that people would turn from sin, that we would do what is right.And so as you're going through and thinking through what are the things I'm praying for and how do I pray normally, we pray for missionaries, we pray for the work of the advancement of the kingdom, and we pray for the advancement of his will.And then also when there's situations in your life, you can pray it like this: I pray that your will would be done. I don't know what should happen at work. I don't know how this conversation should go. I don't know how I should handle this, Lord. I pray that your will would be done. I pray that I would be sanctified and repent of sin and handle this well and honor you well. And so I just pray that your will would be done in this situation.And so that's the - he prays that.Then he says this: “Give us this day our daily bread.”This is humility in the fact that we are dependent on him every day of our life.I think that for a lot of us, this is kind of where most of our prayers center around, just what's going on today. What do I need? And that's fine and beautiful that that shows up in our prayers. He expects it to.This was a practical reality for them that often they needed their food today. Like they didn't know if they were going to have it. Whereas we, you know, we have grocery stores and refrigerators and freezers. And so a lot of times we just kind of aren't thinking about how dependent on him we are for the general just function of life, but you are.And so we should normally be asking, Lord, hey, provide for me what I need. And one of the ways I word it, and I pray this through this with my boys a good bit, was, Lord, give us everything we need and help us to be truly thankful. Help us to enjoy it, but help us to be truly thankful.But I think for a lot of us, this is the stuff. This is, you know, praying over this meeting I have at work and this test that I'm going to take and all these just different things that are coming up that are on our plate that day. This conversation I'm going to have with this person. Just, Lord, provide the things that I need to live, to exist, to function, for this day to go well.And so we ask for that, and we humbly are dependent on him for those things.I think for some of us the bulk of our prayer may be in this zone, this practical need zone. And I would just say, yeah, but you need to open up and understand we should be praying for missionaries. We should be honoring the Lord in our prayers and we should be considering his will at work and things. So, you know, spread it out.And then I think that every once in a while I'll meet someone and it's almost like talking to God about simple things like bread is beneath God, so we shouldn't talk about stuff like that. I shouldn't pray to him about, you know, this test I have because I don't want to waste his time.And that also, I think, belittles him as if he's big but not so big that we are able to waste his time. We're not able to waste his time. He's not exhausted by us. He's not limited by us. We are to bring things to him, and he delights to talk to us.If there's something that's burdening you or bothering you or in your way or in your need, you talk to him about it. He's not too big for that. He's not too busy for that.And so I would say for the person who's like, I only pray big prayers - it's like, yeah, we should pray big prayers. But we also should know that he loves us, that he cares for us, and that he is dear and near, and not too big that these are beneath him, but so big that he can handle everything. And so I just think that don't limit him in that way either.So we should have the humility to realize situations and we should talk to him about practical things.All right. So then as he finishes, he's going to say, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Those three together.I find it very interesting and very helpful, and I point this out a lot when I'm talking to people about prayer. The Bible tells us we have three enemies: the flesh, the world, and the devil. And it doesn't always frame them up like that in that order, but we do. It's going to talk about those three things as that stand in the way of us following God.So we're told that we have to put to death the deeds of the body, that we're fighting the passions of our flesh, that the flesh is opposed to the Spirit, and that we're only going to walk in one. We're either going to walk in the Spirit or walk in the flesh.And so that's the idea that you want to sin, you desire sin. That there's a part of you, there's a part of me that genuinely wants to sin, and I have to put that to death. I have to fight against that. You have to fight against that.It tells us that one of our enemies is the world. This is not like “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” as in the people, but the world systems, world ideas that stand opposed to God. It is people that tempt us to sin or that tell us sin is okay or that normalize it, or the systems that are in place that help us rebel against God.So that friendship with the world is enmity with God. That is the way the Bible's going to talk about it. So that we shouldn't be friends of the world but we should come out of the world. We should love Jesus. We should follow him. We shouldn't look like we belong here. We should look like we belong to him.So that's a second enemy, is the world.And then the third one is the devil, that we actually have a real spiritual enemy that wants destruction for us, that wants us to follow him into rebellion, that doesn't want joy or peace. You know, he roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour is the way Peter puts it. So we have that enemy.And what's interesting and I find very helpful in this normal daily way to pray, Jesus has in mind all three. He has in mind that we are in a war against sin, that sin is destructive. We are in a war that the world tries to pull us and lure us and take us captive. And that we're in a war against a real enemy that wants us to not surrender to the Lord and not follow him.And so I think it's very helpful that in his normal daily way to pray, he considers all three: the flesh, the world, and the devil.And so when he considers the flesh, what he says is, “Forgive us our debts,” or forgive us our sins, “as we have also forgiven our debtors,” or as we have also forgiven those who have sinned against us. And so trespasses is another way that that'll be translated at times.That a normal daily way for you to pray is to ask for forgiveness, to walk in repentance. That repentance is part of the Christian life. And it's not us walking with our head down in shame. It is delighting in the freedom that has been purchased for us by Christ, that we get to be forgiven.And so you should, in your normal praying, be considering: forgive me for how I spoke yesterday. Forgive me for the language I use. Forgive me for the attitude that I have. Forgive me for when I had that opportunity to serve somebody, I just did it begrudgingly. I was annoyed the whole time that there was a person around me in need rather than loving them. So forgive me. Help me.And this is why one of the normal things Christians should do with each other is repent to each other, because it's been - it's part of our normal praying. It's part of our normal walking with the Lord, is that we're asking for forgiveness.The flip side of this, and I would encourage you to read what he says after this in 14 and 15, but he connects this idea of us being forgiven with us forgiving others. And Matthew 18 is also helpful here. Yeah, all of Matthew 18. I was wanting to see if it went into Matthew 19, but in Matthew 19 he starts talking about other things. So just all of 18.But it's helpful here in this idea of how forgiveness works.But we're to be people who receive grace and live in the grace and the mercy of God, and that we're to be people who give grace and mercy to all those around us. And so that's where he puts those together. That he says forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us.And so that a normal part of our daily praying is to consider our sin, but also to walk in repentance and ask for forgiveness and to move forward in being forgiven and receiving mercy. That his mercy is over all that he's made, and so that daily we receive mercy and it's wonderful. And so that we would normal daily pray, repent of sin.The next thing he says is, “Lead us not into temptation,” so that we would be aware that one of our enemies is the world. That the world is going to try to normalize sin. It's going to be out there taunting us and calling to us.And you're saying, “Lord, don't let me look at the bait on the hook and not see the hook.” You know, that'll keep me away from temptation. He doesn't just say, “Help me withstand temptation.” He says, “Pray that you won't even enter into it. That you won't go near it. That I won't even be tempted today.”And I was, Chet said one of the ways that he prays this and considers this in his prayer life is, Lord, help me to see the things that tempt me. You know, he gave the example of like if there's a certain app on my phone that's going to keep tempting me, help me to see that, recognize that, and just get rid of the app. Help me to see the areas and the avenues and the people and the places that lead me into temptation so I can get rid of them.You know, I heard a pastor say this one time and I found it very helpful. But the sooner you show self-control, the less self-control you need.So that saying, “I'm going to go to the party, but I'm not going to drink,” is harder than just saying, “I'm not going to go to the party.” Saying, “We're going to go up into the dorm, but we're not going to commit sexual sin,” is harder. It's more difficult than just being like, “Hey, let's just not go in the dorm. Let's just not be alone together.” That temptation level is higher. So let's avoid temptation.And so rather than saying, “I want to avoid sin,” Jesus is saying, “Yeah, okay.” But also you want to be forgiven for sin and you want to avoid temptation. You want to go further back and say, “What are the things that tempt me? How do I not even get to where I'm close to the line? How do I stay away from temptation?”And so that'd be a thing that you'd be praying, and that you would be aware of the world's influence to draw and entice you away from the Lord and into sin.Third enemy, and the way that he finishes prayers: “But deliver us from evil.” Now the word evil there, evil is a fine translation. Wickedness is a translation that it'll be translated wickedness sometime, or wicked as in like wicked people, or the evil one as in Satan himself.And so I think you just need to be in your praying mindful of the evil of the world. And so this is in some ways praying, Lord protect me from wicked men, from evil situations. Protect me from the evil that I've already gone into and that I'm surrounded by. Like deliver me out of it. Rescue me is kind of the word he's using here.But also to be mindful of like when Ephesians says:Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”That I think sometimes in our normal configuration of prayer and the normal way that we think, because we're western, most of us, and we don't grow up considering spirits and dark forces and invisible things, we even in our own faith are sometimes like, yeah, well this is my personal faith, but the real things in the world are like on the periodic table. And we even miss that like, no, God is real and the spiritual world is real. It's as real as oxygen and hydrogen. We're just not thinking about it right. We don't have it framed up in our head right.And so sometimes when we think about the things that we're worried about or that are assaulting us, that we most often in the western world, when you think about like what are the enemies, you pick people. You pick political ideas or entities. And so the things that you're worried about is like them trying to do this, this nation, this people, this idea, this group.And Paul says, yeah, we're not wrestling with flesh and blood. That's not who we're worried about. That we're at war with a much bigger enemy in a much bigger scheme. And so your normal daily praying should consider, hey Lord, deliver us. Rescue us from the influence of the enemy. Rescue us from the evil one. Rescue us from evil. Rescue us from sin as it goes to work. Protect us.And so your normal daily praying should include repenting of sin, praying against temptation, and praying about the work of the enemy, that he would not have any effect, that he would not, that the Lord would rescue you from lies that you're believing and ways that he's at work and ideologies and temptations and things that he's doing in the world, and just that evil is at work in the world.But evil isn't just a benign force. It has an agent behind it, and being aware of that in our praying.So Jesus says praying is not a show and it's not some big long complicated thing. Pray like this. And then he gives a simple straightforward prayer. But I do think it opens up categories for things that we should consider as our normal prayer.So that you should go in your house and close the door and pray simple straightforward things. And I think it's helpful if you can print this out or you can open it up to Matthew 6 and you can just kind of go, okay, and help these things guide some of your praying. But don't complicate it. Don't think you have to say it well. You're not filling out forms at the DMV. It's not like it's going to get rejected and sent back to you.You're talking to your Father who already knows what you need before you say it.Now, Jesus does tell us to labor in prayer, to continue at it, to pray the same things. And he doesn't mean say it seven times in a row for it to count. He just means come talk to him again about it tomorrow. Pray when it's on your mind. Pray again. Pray this morning and pray this afternoon. And then when you think about it again, pray, because he cares about you and he knows you.And keep at it. Keep talking to him. Keep telling him what's going on. Keep letting him work on you in prayer so that we would be people who pray.And the last thing I want to point out as I'm wrapping up just kind of this walkthrough, this assumptive reality of how we get to approach God that Jesus teaches his disciples, is purchased by Jesus. This is a blood-bought gift to you.You don't get to pray like this if Jesus doesn't go to the cross, because he's not your Father, because you haven't been adopted. If Jesus hasn't saved you, you haven't been brought into the family.Jesus has to go die for this to be a reality, that he gets to be our Father in heaven. You don't get forgiven if there is no cross. You don't get rescued from the enemy if there is no cross. You don't get taken out of the world if there is no cross. The provision that we need stops at daily, and our eternal provision is not provided if there is no cross. His kingdom doesn't come if there is no cross. His will isn't accomplished if there is no cross.And so one of the things that is to be in mind as we do this is to rejoice in the work of Jesus and to know the privilege and the delight that this type of praying is because it was purchased by the precious blood of Christ and given to those who belong to him as a way that we get to relate to God.And without him it doesn't exist, but with him we get to delight in and enjoy it. And it's not something that we earn or that we achieve or that we do well. It's something that he's graciously given us as a gift.So hopefully as we wrap up our prayer series, this simplified kind of, hey, it's not a show and it's not complicated. You get to go talk to your Father and you get to do it because Jesus has earned that for you and given that to you and modeled it for you.Then go pray. Pray big prayers, but also realize that you get to talk to him normal daily about all the stuff of life. And trust him, because he's your Father and he loves you and he knows you and he already knows what you need even before you ask.

Millions of people are on autopilot coasting through life and not in any way, shape, form, or fashion trying to change! That is the sad truth! Every single day we all get an opportunity to change and become better, but people don't take it, they continue their cycles of the same things, only to get the same results or sometimes worse results! It's self-inflicted!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/relationships-and-relatable-life-chronicles--4126439/support.

There are things to consider with regard to Virginia's upcoming anti-gun legislative intentions... but let's not get sideways just yet. We advise on when, if, and how to respond. And can the 30-06 work well at long range? Even from a hunting rifle? Indeed it can. We'll discuss some "go to" loads that will work for you.

In today's episode, we meet an important person, a Roman Centurian, who knew that Jesus was more powerful than he was, and humbly sought the help of the God-Man.

Psalm 125, Standing Firm Because the Lord Surrounds His PeopleSeries: Walking Through the PsalmsPodcast: Servants of Grace PodcastPreacher: Dave JenkinsDate: Friday, January 9, 2026Show SummaryIn this episode of Walking Through the Psalms, Dave Jenkins walks through Psalm 125 and shows how God'speople can stand firm in a world that often feels unstable. Psalm 124 taught us to remember the Lord's deliverance.Psalm 125 teaches us how to live going forward, trusting the Lord who surrounds His people with covenant care.Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, unmovable and secure, not because of their strength, but becausethe Lord is faithful and unchanging.Audio PlayerVideo PlayerEpisode NotesKey ScripturePsalm 125Episode OutlineAn Unshakable People (Psalm 125:1)Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. Our stability is not rooted in personality, resilience, or willpower, but in the Lord who is faithful and unchanging.A Surrounded People (Psalm 125:2)As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forevermore.God's protection is constant, not occasional.God Restrains Evil (Psalm 125:3)Wickedness is never sovereign. The scepter of wickedness is limited and temporary, and God restrains evil for the sake of His people.Moral Clarity Preserved (Psalm 125:4–5)This is not salvation by works. It is the fruit of grace in a transformed heart. The Lord sees, knows, and judges rightly, and He preserves His people as they grow in upright living.Theological ThemesThe security of those who trust in the Lord.God's covenant surrounding protection.The temporary nature of wicked power.God's restraint of evil for the sake of His people.Faith that produces upright living.How Psalm 125 Points to ChristPsalm 125 ultimately points us to Jesus Christ. In Him the kingdom of God cannot be shaken. God's people are securenot because they hold their ground perfectly, but because they are united to Christ who stands forever. Those who trust in Him will never be moved.Reflection QuestionsWhere do you feel pressured or unstable right now, and how does Psalm 125 speak to that moment?What does it look like to trust the Lord when you feel shaken, not by denial, but by faith?How has the Lord surrounded you with His care in ordinary ways you may overlook?How does the temporary nature of wicked power help you endure faithfully today?What is one way the Lord is calling you to walk uprightly as fruit of His grace?Call to ActionIf this episode encouraged you, please share it and consider leaving a review. It helps others find the show and benefits the work of Servants of Grace. Subscribe on YouTube and follow the podcast wherever you listen.Next episode: Lord willing, we will continue with Psalm 126.For more from our latest series please visit our Psalms page here at Servants of Grace or at our YouTube.

Cities and places matter. The Christians life is about two cities. One is our here. One is our hope. Babylon represents the total culture of the world apart from God.  We are shown the… 1. The Lust of Wickedness (v.1-5) 2. The Lure of Wickedness (v.6)        -In 2026 what are you going to say “NO” to? 3. The Leader of Wickedness (v.7-8) 4. The Line of Wickedness (v.9-13)        -Wickedness may look chaotic but it is most certainly not.  It is organized, structured, planned, and premeditated. 5. The Loss of Wickedness (v.14-18)  - Wickedness will lose! Wickedness will lose to the Lamb of God (v.14) Wickedness will lose to the Lordship of God (v.15-18) See Babylon for what she is. Run to the Lamb!  

Today, Pastor Al Dagel reminds us of the depth of God's redeeming plan and of how His Word reveals all that we need to know to be saved from our sins.

Steve Klein -- Pursuing Righteousness in a World of Wickedness

TULLIA AND THE BIRTH OF THE REPUBLIC Colleague Emma Southon. Contrasting Lucretia is Tullia, a figure of female ambition and wickedness. Tullia conspires with her brother-in-law to murder their spouses and her own father, the king, even driving over his body. Her crimes and the subsequent assault on Lucretia by her son, Sextus, justify the overthrow of the monarchy. Brutus uses Lucretia's body to incite the revolution that establishes the Roman Republic. NUMBER 11

Oneness VS. Wickedness

Discover why blame is misplaced and how we entertain wickedness. Learn to reject temptations from Satan and selfish people to find victory in your life.

Show #2560 Show Notes: Wes Allison    https://youtu.be/gL4EVghZ2KQ?si=VJYw0a3tMCqGII-A Trump statement    President Trump reacts to deaths of Rob and Michelle Reiner | Crime | kten.com Rejoice   Proverbs 11:10 KJV – When it goeth […]

We're picking up where we left off in the collection of visions that Zechariah saw, today looking at visions six, seven and eight. The vision of the flying scroll is an indication that God's just law is about to be executed in the land. Wickedness is personified as a woman who is taken captive and sent away to Babylon to be worshiped. The eighth vision, like the first, includes four horses who patrol the earth, signifying God's sovereignty over all creation. After this Zechariah addresses questions of fasting and declares that a day of fruitfulness and feasting is coming for those who seek the Lord.Zechariah 5 - 1:11 . Zechariah 6 - 3:20 . Zechariah 7 - 6:55 . Zechariah 8 - 9:40 . Isaiah 56 – 14:38 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

There is a remarkable clarity in these sayings and stories a piercing simplicity that both unsettles and consoles. The Evergetinos places before us the most difficult and necessary truth. The evil done to us is not a detour on the spiritual path but the path itself. Wickedness does not destroy wickedness. Resentment never cures resentment. Anger never frees us from anger. Only goodness that is unmerited and uncalculating has the power to unmake what evil intends to build. It is a truth we often admire in abstraction and dread in practice. The Fathers do not theorize about forgiveness. They reveal what forgiveness becomes when enfleshed. A man betrayed unto martyrdom thanks his betrayer for delivering him to blessing. A brother who has been stealing bread from a starving elder receives not reproach but gratitude. The monk who finds his life endangered cries out to warn the very man who led him into danger and would have robbed him. These stories do not soften the challenge but intensify it. The gospel is not a philosophical proposition but a cruciform way of being. And the cross is never abstract. It always has a name and a face and a voice that has wounded us. It is in the seventh story that the Fathers hand us the key for understanding the rest. The one who injures me is not merely an adversary but a physician. The one who slanders or ignores or mocks me reveals the wound of my vainglory. The one who takes what is mine uncovers my greed. The encounter that disturbs my peace does not create the sickness. It unmasks it. To resent the one who exposes it is to reject the medicine of Christ. It is to say to the Healer not this way not through this pain not at this cost. Yet without accepting what is bitter there can be no cure. Such a word lands upon the heart with weight. It does not flatter our natural instincts or offer comforting sentiment. It is a summons to a death of self that cannot be faked and cannot be delayed without consequence. But if these stories demand much they give even more. The elder who kissed the hands of the thief died with the joy of one who knew the road to the Kingdom was paved by the mercy he showed to others. The patriarch who ransomed the man who robbed him knew the sweetness of compassion that does not remember wrongs. The elder who visited his accuser in prison tasted the freedom of one whose heart was no longer governed by injury. There is joy here not the fleeting spark of vindication but the deep quiet illumination that comes when the soul sees that nothing done to us can keep us from the Kingdom if we allow grace to transfigure it. To forgive is not merely to release another. It is to be released. To bless those who curse us is to breathe a different air. To see those who injure us as agents of healing is to discover that the road into God is not guarded by our enemies but escorted by them. The Evergetinos does not give us a map but it reveals the terrain of the heart. It shows that the spiritual life depends less on what happens to us than on how we respond. And in doing so it opens before us not just a path but a promise. Mercy is not only an obligation but a liberation. Love is not only commanded but possible. And the wounds we receive if we accept them in Christ become the very places where the Kingdom dawns. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:17 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 321 00:01:23 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Number 2 00:04:20 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.org/blog 00:09:55 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 321 section E, # 2 00:12:45 Catherine Opie: Apologies for being late where are we? 00:12:53 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 321 section E, # 2 00:21:21 John Burmeister: are we talking money or a material item 00:25:16 Forrest: The Greek words in the passage for what to give is is μικρὰν εὐλογίαν, which is a literally "small good word."  that, is, a small good blessing. 00:25:49 Una's iPhone: Simone Weil? 00:26:02 John Burmeister: Reacted to "The Greek words in t..." with

We're picking up where we left off in the collection of visions that Zechariah saw, today looking at visions six, seven and eight. The vision of the flying scroll is an indication that God's just law is about to be executed in the land. Wickedness is personified as a woman who is taken captive and sent away to Babylon to be worshiped. The eighth vision, like the first, includes four horses who patrol the earth, signifying God's sovereignty over all creation. After this Zechariah addresses questions of fasting and declares that a day of fruitfulness and feasting is coming for those who seek the Lord. He then predicts judgment on Zion's enemies and declares that their king is coming.Zechariah 5 - 1:03 . Zechariah 6 - 3:24 . Zechariah 7 - 6:26 . Zechariah 8 - 10:01 . Zechariah 9 - 15:13 . Proverbs 30:1-17 - 19:16 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

1 Doesn't wisdom cry out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands. 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud: 4 "I call to you men! I send my voice to the sons of mankind. 5 You simple, understand prudence! You fools, be of an understanding heart! 6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things. 7 For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction rather than silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can't be compared to it. 12 "I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. 14 Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power. 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth. 17 I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me. 18 With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, my yield than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, in the middle of the paths of justice, 21 that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries. 22 "Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed. 24 When there were no depths, I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born; 26 while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, 29 when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him, 31 rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men. 32 "Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise. Don't refuse it. 34 Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and will obtain favor from Yahweh. 36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death." Listen Donate Subscribe: Proverbs Daily Podcast Psalms Daily Podcast

Welcome back to Straight Bible with The Raven, Top Lobsta, and Matt — filmed live inside The Standard Coffee Shop in Lady Lake, FL.In Part 3 of The Story of Elijah, we dive into 1 Kings 21 — the brutal, political, spiritual, and prophetic showdown between Ahab, Jezebel, and the righteous man Naboth. This episode unpacks one of the most dramatic chapters in the Old Testament: false accusations, corrupt government, demonic manipulation, cowardly leadership, Jezebel's wicked schemes, murder, prophetic justice, spiritual inheritance, and God's response to systemic evil.Inside this episode we break down:

Message from Nathan Knight on November 23, 2025

Pastor Josh Cardwell

Christians are not just both sinners in themselves and saints in Christ. They are also both sinners and masters over sin.Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

November 16, 2025 2 Samuel 4:1-12

Daily audio recordings of CMFI Praise, Prayer and Fasting Crusade. From 13th October to 21st Nov 2025

Daily audio recordings of CMFI Praise, Prayer and Fasting Crusade. From 13th October to 21st Nov 2025

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.   You can find JH Markert at jamesmarkert.com or on IG at @jamesmarkert74   This week we chat with JH Markert who we spoke to pre-Covid in the before times when he was writing historical fiction. Over the last couple of years, he has changed gears and returned to the genre that first made him an avid reader: horror. JH has been cranking out horror novels and finding a great deal of success with them. We catch up with James and discuss his transition to horror and what that has been like after writing five previous historical fiction novels.  His most recent release that came out in September, Spider to the Fly, is dark horror suspense that deals with a serial killer, a true crime influencer, and a family with some bizarre dynamics.    And for our book rec section, we are talking about notable nonfiction. These are nonfiction books we've read in the last year that have made us think differently about a topic or stood out for us in some way (even though these books might not have been published in the last year). We'll talk about a micro-history, a biography, a true crime, a memoir, a study of morality and politics, and a niche book about cussing.    Books Mentioned In This Episode:   1- Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert  2- Molokai by Alan Brennert 3- A White Wind Blew by James Markert 4- Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert  5- Mr. Lullaby by J. H. Markert 6- Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert  7- Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert  8- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb 9- Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness by Janet and Geoff Benge  10-The Vanishing Place by Zöe Rankin  11- Five Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover Jasper Adams-Smith - Be Kind, My Neighbor by Yugo Limbo  12- For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun by Rebecca Roache  13- The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone  14- The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss  15- The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt  16- Playing to Lose: How a Jehovah's Witness Became a BDSM Model by Ariel Anderssen  17- The Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan  18- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez   Media Mentioned:   1- The Friend (2024) 2- Chief of War (Apple +, 2025) 3- The Outsider (HBO Max 2019) 4- Sinners (2025) 5- Nosferatu (2025)  

In this episode of The Leader's Notebook, I continue our series Also Featured in the Cast—where we explore the lesser-known people surrounding the great figures of Scripture. Today, we look not at Elijah himself, but at those who stood around him: Ahab, Jezebel, and Elisha. Ahab saw Elijah as a troublemaker—proof that when culture descends into wickedness, righteousness is seen as disruption. Jezebel went further, viewing Elijah as a mortal enemy, a threat to her idolatrous power. Yet Elisha saw Elijah as a mentor to admire, serve, and ultimately surpass. We live in a world much like theirs—where standing for truth may make us “troublemakers” to a corrupted culture. But like Elisha, we must pray, “Lord, give us a double portion.” May God raise up bold, Spirit-filled believers who will stand unafraid in this generation. – Dr. Mark Rutland Chapters (00:00:03) - The Leaders Notebook(00:00:25) - The People Around Andy Griffith, Jerry Seinfeld, and More(00:04:00) - The Life of Elijah the Prophet(00:06:16) - God's Word on Wickedness(00:10:31) - Teacher Fired for Refusing to Lie About Her Child's Gender(00:12:05) - God Raises Up Troublemakers for America(00:18:39) - All kinds of idolatry(00:25:55) - The Life of Elisha(00:32:20) - The separation of Elijah and Elisha(00:39:14) - The Leader's Notebook

Mark 7:1-23 (ESV)Andrew, Isack, and Edwin discuss what is truly defiling to people. Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=23158The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/