Episodes

Worship is the center of the lives of Christians. We are called to worship God for who He is, for what He has done, and for His goodness. Let us once again look to the Holy Spirit as He brings to mind, through our mentor, David, the content of acceptable worship. This call to worship is not just a duty, but a privilege and a joy in our Christian journey. "Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship t...

As we reach day 25 of our October Surprise month, let's continue to engage and commit to our shared purpose of service! Every passage of Scripture is, at one time or another, a chance to refine our prayers. Today, in the area of service. We have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve one another. In the flesh, we all long for some significance. Service in the building up the body of Christ gives us that purpose. Remember, an element of the abundant life Jesus promised is the joy and fulfill...

The Author displays for us once again, worship. All of Scripture is potential of worship, one of the most emotive passages in the Bible comes from Isaiah led by the Holy Spirit confessing: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 Worship now, we have seen the coming of the Lord: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Fa...

Today, we look at the difficult passage, "'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Matthew 6:9-13 Specifically, verse 13 is the riddle. We know He does not lead us into temptation (James), so why this request? My best sense at this moment: ...

Today, we delve into a most precious passage, where the Author of Scripture shines a light on a special servant, a revelation made possible by the Holy Ghost's divine intervention in Paul's memory. This episode is a heartfelt tribute to all my prayer mates at Hill City Church, and Living Hope Bible Church! Your dedication and faithfulness in prayer are a true blessing, and I am deeply grateful for each one of you. >Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his...

God has given us three very specific prayer requests. He asks us to pray for the harvest and workers for the harvest, and He has asked us to pray for our spiritual leaders. (It may not seem so, but they have that critical need!) Despite the challenges, We are called to pray for our secular leaders. It may seem daunting, especially when we see many of them driven by personal gain. However, we must remember the power of prayer. The Author, the Holy Spirit, is clear in His request for us to pray f...

I am amazed, even dumbfounded, at one particular skill of our pastors and leaders who are totally sincere, holding their emotions with all the feelings around them. Pastor Greg is a man of integrity and compassion; it had to be God and His mercies on Pastor Greg that enabled him to stay stable. So when we read, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a...

In examining the question, "What is Prayer?" We accidentally learn why we pray. Even though no Biblical person asks why we pray? Their lives reveal our anguished need for prayer. We are sinners. Until glory, we struggle with sin. Prayer is the act of faith that assures our soul. We are complex lonely beings, and prayer brings us into the arms of our heavenly Father, who knows us, holds us, and comforts us. Some of my favorite prayers: Hannah, 1 Samuel 1. Fathers calling out for their child...

October 19th, 2024, is our celebration month! Today, we look at the first of three prayer requests, very specific requests from the Author of Scripture. Today, He says, "Pray for the harvest. We hear from Jesus: Matthew 9:35-38, and "Jesus *said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. 35 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for ...

Straightforward message today: Love "And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:12-14 Our Savior displayed "compassion, kindness humility, gentleness, patience, p...

This episode is a repeat of our episode on forgiveness. This episode was well received, and as you will hear, praying that 2023 will be a year of Jubilee and Forgiveness and revisiting just how serious God is about His children forgiving as we have been forgiven seems like a good idea. Thank You, Jesus! The host is weak, faltering, and wholly inadequate for the task, but the word of God is none of those. The call for the children of God to forgive is serious, and the Bible uses: Serious Comm...

Straightforward message today: The Author of Scripture commands us to forgive. The most difficult skill we have to learn, and by skill I mean changing our self-centered attitude about others who have wronged us, but it is an essential command. "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12' And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."...

Day 16 of our October surprise, and we are looking into one of the principles in Scripture, emphasized by Peter. In 1 Peter 2:1, he tells us to, like newborn babes, and grow through the food of Scripture, and then in 2 Peter 1 we read: "Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; 7 and in yo...

These episodes are a little hard for me. It is hard for me to not input into them at all, and we basically read the Psalm to learn from David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1) the art of prayer and worship. While knowing you can read the Psalm for yourself, it is good to worship together culminating with verse 14: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer." Oh, may it be so, our King, the great "I AM!" Wo...

We asked, What else might daily reliance on God for Bread Teach Us? Contentment is the answer. The Author tells us what that looks like. "Two things I asked of Thee, Do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or lest I be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:7-9 Glory to God, give us today, "what is our...

We began our October Surprise with an antidotal story of a prayer meeting I recently attended, and the content was 100 percent centered on health. Lest we think God does not care for the mundane, we come back to Matthew 6:9-12 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread." We have, as humans, no more consistent need than food and perhaps no more consisten...

Today, the Author of Scripture, through "the man after God's own heart," displays wondrous worship. "O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! 2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. 3 When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that Thou dos...

My realization and confession for today, as I read the first instance that we know of, of Paul sending a missive with his prayer for a Church (1 & 2 Thessalonians seem to be his earliest letters), I was struck with how little time I take in gratitude for God's work in salvation for those I love. That is going to change. Our Passage 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 in summary. What a list! Thanks and praise for the work of faith and hope in the presence of God. Knowing God's will, Imitators of Paul an...

The Longer we are saved and take our faith seriously, the more our perception of God and His word changes it has to we are growing, 1 Peter 2:1 So, as we look at our passages this October, we are trying to stay out of the way and ask the following question: What does the Author of Scripture say, and how might His letter to us impact the content of our prayers? At the start of our October celebration, I asked the worldwide audience to sincerely pray for my Christian culture here in the U.S. th...

Does the Author of Scripture have any content for us as we pray for brothers and sisters we love, have lost contact with, and may never see again, and may never have met? :And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the gentle...

As children of God, we are guided by the author of Scripture, and our Father leads us to a personal prayer. This same prayer, when extended to others, becomes a powerful tool of unity and connection in our spiritual community. This year, as in the previous two… Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."… Has made...

Is it appropriate for one person, maybe you, to confess the corporate sins of your Christian culture? The Author of Scripture, moving on Daniel and Nehemiah, is worth listening to. "So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have...

The truth is, I am not all that smart, but one thing I do know beyond all doubt is "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." John 17:3 Nothing is better in the whole world, and our converse with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also carries us through the deepest valleys. Thank You, Jesus! Our meditation for today: How might we apply these passages to our prayer lives? Move on is Holy Spirit. Now faith is the assurance of...

Day 5 of our October Surprise 2024 One of my most tremendous encouragements to increasing my faith is: "For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, 'I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU, AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.' 15 And thus, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even...