Join us for Episode 4251 of Day1, as Rev. Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and retired United Methodist Bishop, preaches "Unlimited Forgiveness" from Matthew 18:21-33. As the church moves through the season after Pentecost, Willimon confronts our appetite for limits on mercy, tracing Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant with humor and honesty about debts we'd rather not forgive. With his extensive experience in both ministry and the academy, he reflects on vocation, aging, and reconciliation.

Join us for episode 4250 of Day1, featuring Rev. Paul Roberts, President of the Justice Center for Sacred Theological Studies in Atlanta, preaching "A New Earth and a New Heaven" on Exodus 12:1-14. As the season after Pentecost continues, Roberts moves between the earthy and the cosmic, tracing how a formerly enslaved people learned to hope again on the eve of their liberation. Drawing on his own story of leading a seminary back from the brink, he explores how energy, formation, and hope are bound together in the human search for justice.

Join us for Episode #4249 as Rev. Carla Jones Brown, Designated Pastor of Oxford Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, brings us "Holy Ground, Ordinary Shoes," a sermon on Exodus 3:1-15. Preaching on Moses and the burning bush, Rev. Jones Brown explores what it means to turn aside and notice the sacred breaking into an ordinary day, and how God calls people with no standing to carry extraordinary purpose. As the church moves through the season after Pentecost, this sermon invites us to ask where holy ground might be waiting, right where we are.

Join us for Episode #4248 as Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls, senior pastor of Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, VA, preaches "Who We Say Jesus Is, Matters" from Matthew 16:13-19. As the season after Pentecost invites deeper reflection on discipleship, Qualls explores Jesus' pointed question—"Who do you say that I am?"—unpacking freedom, faith, and what it means to make Jesus central rather than merely a friend.

Join us for Episode #4247 as we welcome Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls, senior pastor of Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, VA, preaching "Life's Harder Questions" from Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32. As the 12th Sunday after Pentecost unfolds, Qualls reflects on God's unwavering faithfulness and the irrevocable nature of divine calling, even amid life's most persistent doubts. Drawing on decades of pastoral experience, he explores themes of loneliness, mystery, and grace that refuse to let us go.

We remember the Rev. Dr. Joanna Moseley Adams, who died August 7, 2026. Joanna's history with Day1 and The Protestant Hour stretched back to 1989. This conversation, recorded in 2024, was her final appearance on the program.

Join us for Episode #4246 of Day1, featuring Rev. Dr. Charles A. Wiley III of the Alliance for Christian Media in Atlanta, GA, preaching "Use Your Words" on Romans 10:5-17. As the 11th Sunday after Pentecost approaches, Wiley challenges mainline Protestants' quiet discomfort with evangelism, unpacking Paul's insistence that faith is both lived and spoken. Drawing on a misattributed quote from St. Francis of Assisi, he makes a compelling case for verbal proclamation alongside faithful action.

Join us for Episode 4245 of Day1 as we welcome the Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner, Assistant Professor of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, preaching "Blessed Wrestling" from Genesis 32:22-31. As we mark the 10th Sunday after Pentecost, Dr. Wagner turns to Jacob's nighttime struggle at the river Jabbok, exploring how blessing and struggle are never mutually exclusive. Drawing on her scholarship in preaching after trauma, she offers a message of honest hope for anyone who has felt surrounded with nowhere safe to go.

Join us for Day1 Episode 4244 with Dr. Anne Zaki, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. In her sermon, “In the Shadow of Grace,” based on Genesis 29:14b-30, Dr. Zaki examines Laban’s consuming hunger for more and the damage greed causes in families, churches, and society. For the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, she invites us to step from the shadows into the transforming light of Christ’s grace.

Join us for Day1 Classics, Episode #4243, featuring Rev. John Vannorsdall, longtime Lutheran preacher on The Protestant Hour and former University Chaplain at Yale University. In his sermon, “Against All Preachers of Bad News,” based on John 20:19-29, Vannorsdall reflects on Thomas, doubt, compassion, and the resurrection hope that meets us in the hard realities of ordinary life. For Proper 11, this message invites us to trust that even amid shadow and sorrow, the final word is resurrection.