In Acts 10, we see how God was already at work long before Peter and Cornelius understood what He was doing. As their stories unfold, we're reminded that God often meets us in the middle of ordinary moments and unexpected interruptions. Rather than trying to force our own plans, we're invited to slow down, pray, and pay attention to where God is already moving. As we learn to trust His timing, we discover that He is often opening doors we never could have imagined.

The Bible is the bestselling book in history—but for many Christians, it's also the least understood.

Why does it feel so overwhelming? Why do so many people start reading it only to stop a few weeks later? And what if the problem isn't the Bible itself, but the way we've learned to approach it?

In this episode of the But I Tell You podcast, Tyler Gorsline sits down with author and Bible teacher Zach Windahl to explore how discovering the Bible as one unified story transformed Zach's faith—and how it can transform yours.

Together they discuss:

• Why reading the Bible deeply strengthened Zach's faith instead of dismantling it.

• Why so many Christians struggle to understand Scripture.

• The surprising Jewish context behind Jesus' invitation to "Follow me."

• How seeing the Bible as one story changes everything.

• Why spiritual formation requires both invitation and challenge.

• Practical ways to fall in love with reading Scripture again—even if you've tried before and quit.

Whether you've been following Jesus for decades or you're just beginning to explore the Bible, this conversation is an invitation to rediscover a more beautiful view of Jesus and the story He invites us into.

Connect with Zach Windahl

Instagram: @aseattlechurch

Website: zachwindahl.com

If this episode encouraged you, consider downloading the app, subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with someone who wants to know Jesus more deeply.

Follow A Seattle Church:

Website: aseattlechurch.com

Instagram: @aseattlechurch

Follow Tyler:

Substack: https://tylergorsline.substack.com

Instagram: @tylergorsline

Follow the podcast:

Instagram: @butitellyoupod

In Acts 11, we meet the ordinary followers of Jesus who helped shape one of the most influential churches in the early Christian movement. The church in Antioch wasn't built by famous leaders, but by everyday people who faithfully shared the hope of Jesus, encouraged one another, and lived with remarkable generosity. As we reflect on their story, we're invited to consider what God might do through our own ordinary lives—and how He can use a community of faithful people to bring hope to our city.

In Acts 10, Peter and Cornelius each encounter God in ways that change not only their own lives, but the future of the church. As God challenges Peter's assumptions about who belongs, we're invited to consider the walls we've built between ourselves and others. This story reminds us that our identity is found first in Jesus—not our politics, preferences, or backgrounds—and that the gospel has always been about drawing people together, not pushing them apart. As we learn to see every person as someone made in the image of God, we become a church that reflects the welcoming heart of Christ to our city.

What keeps us from praying with confidence? In Acts 9, Peter prays for Aeneas to be healed and Tabitha to be raised from the dead to remind us that the Holy Spirit is still at work today. Too often we lower our expectations, relying on ourselves more than on God and settling for safe prayers instead of bold faith.

This message invites us to move from self-consciousness to God-consciousness, trusting God's character and joining Him in what He's already doing. As we surrender our lives to Him and step out in faith, we discover there's always more of the Holy Spirit than we've experienced, and that God still delights in doing the impossible.

In Acts 9, we witness one of the most surprising stories of transformation in Scripture as Saul goes from persecuting the church to proclaiming Jesus. Along the way, we're invited to consider our own blind spots and the ways God gently exposes what's keeping us from Him without condemnation. We also see that transformation doesn't happen in isolation. Through Ananias' courageous obedience and welcome, we're reminded that God often uses community to shape us. Whether we've followed Jesus for years or are just beginning to explore faith, this story challenges us to trust that God is still changing lives and invites us to take the next faithful step.

Through the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, we discover that God cares more about people than platforms, more about roadside encounters than revival crowds. Philip is called away from a breakthrough revival in Samaria to a desert road where he meets a wealthy, powerful official who is simultaneously religiously marginalized. This Ethiopian treasurer had spent ten months of wages on a scroll of Isaiah, desperately hungry for spiritual truth despite being excluded from full temple worship. The passage reveals three transformative principles: we hear God's voice to be sent to hear others; those who feel heard are more likely to hear what we have to say; and the heard are more likely to share what they've heard. Philip's simple obedience didn't just change one life—it launched the gospel across an entire continent, establishing what would become the 50-million-strong Ethiopian church. The message challenges us to recognize that success in God's kingdom isn't measured by crowd size but by faithful obedience to His voice, even when it makes absolutely no sense to us in the moment. Sometimes God asks us to leave the revival to reach the one person waiting on a desert road.

We live in a world that constantly promises us shortcuts to power, transformation, and fulfillment. This message from Acts 8 confronts us with the story of Simon the Sorcerer, a man who wanted God's power without God's presence, who sought the gifts without the Giver. The passage challenges us to examine what paths we're taking in our spiritual journey. Are we following the well-trod path of surrender and intimacy with Jesus, or are we being seduced by the easier route that promises transformation without vulnerability, healing without repentance, and resurrection without death? The central revelation here is that every city and every person lives under a spell of some kind. For us in modern times, these spells might be individualism, scarcity mindset, workaholism, or the technological ease that promises instant answers without the hard work of formation. We're invited to recognize that we cannot gain God's power without His person and without His passion. True transformation requires us to die to ourselves, to surrender control, and to trust that the difficult path of discipleship is actually the good path. This isn't just about avoiding obvious sins; it's about recognizing how we've become consumers rather than disciples, how we want friendship with benefits from Jesus rather than covenant relationship. The call is clear: repent from the magic that manipulates spiritual forces for personal gain, and instead embrace worship that says 'I surrender' rather than 'I leverage.' We're reminded that we can be baptized and still not fully surrender, that we can join the movement and still seek the power of our old life. The invitation is to become transitional characters who break the curse in our families and our city, saying 'it ends with us' and stepping into the freedom that only comes through the Holy Spirit.

What happens when we do everything right, yet life still falls apart? Through the story of Stephen in Acts 7, we encounter a faithful servant who checked every box, served with integrity, and spoke truth with divine wisdom, only to face brutal persecution and death. His story shatters the formula fallacy we often cling to, the belief that right living plus hard work automatically equals desired outcomes. We've all been there, haven't we? The diagnosis that shouldn't have happened. The relationship that ended despite our best efforts. The job loss after years of integrity. The unanswered prayers for healing. Stephen's experience reveals a profound truth: faithfulness doesn't guarantee earthly success, but it does guarantee divine presence. In his final moments, Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God, the only time in Scripture where Jesus isn't seated. This legal posture of a witness advocating for another reveals that even when our stories don't end as we planned, Jesus stands with us, for us, as our eternal advocate. The invitation isn't to follow a formula, but to release our grip on outcomes and trust the One who never leaves us, even in crushing disappointment.

What if the most devastating moments in our lives are actually God's way of planting us exactly where we need to be? This message takes us deep into Acts 8, where we discover that persecution meant to destroy the early church became the very mechanism God used to spread the gospel beyond Jerusalem's walls. Through the powerful imagery of South Africa's King Protea flower, which requires fire to release its seeds, we see a stunning parallel: sometimes we need the heat of crisis to break open what God has locked within us. The scattered believers weren't running in defeat; they were being intentionally sown across new territories. Philip, a simple deacon who served tables, found himself in Samaria, a place Jews actively avoided for 700 years, yet this became the site of miraculous breakthrough and great joy. We're challenged to examine our own scattering seasons, those painful transitions we've interpreted as punishment or failure, and recognize them instead as divine planting. The grassroots church, the everyday believers, became the primary missionaries who shook the world. This isn't about waiting for official programs or perfect timing; it's about the overflow of an encounter with Jesus that we simply cannot contain. Wherever the Spirit plants us, whether in boardrooms or dark alleys, Christ has already been there before us, preparing the soil for harvest.