Thanksgiving and generosity are inseparable. One produces the other. Thanksgiving produces generosity. Generosity produces thanksgiving. And both thanksgiving and generosity bring glory to God.

Psalm 115 calls us to behold the glory of God and understand that all things in heaven and earth are for God’s glory. From this foundational truth flows the encouragement and response to trust the Lord alone for help and salvation and to praise the Lord.

In this episode of All for the Kingdom, host Ben Smith sits down with his wife, Dana Smith, for a candid and thoughtful conversation about life as a pastor’s wife. Drawing from more than two decades of ministry together, Dana shares personal reflections on the joys, challenges, and spiritual realities that often remain unseen by the congregation.

Dana discusses how her understanding of ministry has evolved over the years, from early expectations to the daily faithfulness required in supporting pastoral work. She speaks openly about the emotional weight of ministry life, navigating church relationships, protecting family priorities, and learning to depend on God’s grace through every season.

This conversation also highlights the importance of marriage in ministry, healthy boundaries, and the quiet faithfulness that sustains long-term service. Dana offers encouragement to other pastor’s wives, wisdom for pastors seeking to care well for their families, and insight for church members who desire to better understand and support their leaders.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

- What it’s really like to be a pastor’s wife

- The joys and challenges of life in ministry

- Navigating expectations, relationships, and boundaries

- The importance of marriage and family in pastoral ministry

- Encouragement for pastor’s wives and ministry families

- How the church can better support its leaders

Whether you are a pastor’s wife, a ministry leader, or a church member, this episode offers honest reflection, biblical perspective, and practical encouragement—all aimed at living faithfully for the glory of God and the good of His church.

The greater context of chapter 40 is a call to behold the glory of God (vs. 9) and know (vs. 21, 28) that God stands alone in His glory and power, and in Him alone is hope. Here is the whole sermon in one sentence: If you turn your attention to God, the problems of this world become small, but if you give your attention only to the problems of this world, they will overwhelm you. Through the prophet Isaiah, God is calling His people to look and see and behold His glory.

This passage is a familiar passage to most Christians. Most Christians know that they should be sharing the gospel. However, many Christians approach this passage more with inaction and guilt than obedience and enthusiasm. I hope, through this sermon, you will wrestle with the command of Jesus and take hold of the power that God provides for our obedience.

We could certainly find much to point to in our current cultural context that would testify to the dysfunctional and delusional elevation of personal autonomy over truth. However, all of us have a natural inclination to preference our desires and autonomy over others. Thus, what Paul teaches in this passage is certainly radical in contrast to our present-day, but truthfully it has always been counter-culturally radical. The gospel compels us to sacrifice many things, but the first of which is our very lives.

For Christians, the most important thing about you is that you have been saved from sin by the power of God. Your salvation and your relationship with the Lord should be the first thing and the most significant thing that defines you.

There are some professing Christians who keep their faith under wraps. They recognize that it as a liability in this increasingly secularized culture. They justify it by claiming it is not polite to talk about religion or politics. Or they say they do not want to offend anyone.

This passage is in direct contrast to a private, personal, secret faith. Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel, and neither should we be ashamed of the gospel.

When you understand the biblical understanding of heaven, you will discover that it is exponentially greater than anything from the mind of man.. From John 14:1-3 I want you to see two simple, but eternally profound, truths about heaven:

1. There is real hope because heaven is a reality

2. The focus and glory of heaven is dwelling in the presence of God

If you fear the wrong thing, you will pursue the wrong thing. If you fear the right thing, you will pursue the right thing. In Luke 12:1-7, Jesus warns His disciples against fearing man and that they should fear the judgment of God.

The consequences of the pandemic have made the fleeting nature of life inescapably exposed. Every day there seems to be news of someone you know who has become very sick or has died from the virus.

All biblical sermons are gospel-focused. Some are more explicit than others. Recognizing the perilous times we are experiencing I want to spend the next several weeks being as explicate as I can about the hope of the gospel, the eternal peril of God’s judgment, and the glorious promise of heaven.

In today’s podcast we consider the wonderful declaration of Romans 6:23.