Do you ever feel like you're on a spiritual treadmill with God? Running faster, praying more, serving more—yet somehow not moving forward in your relationship with him? You're not alone.

Pastor Stephen Feith tackles this universal struggle head-on, revealing how our performance-driven culture shapes our approach to faith. When we treat God like a boss to impress or a coach deciding if we'll make the team, we transform what should be a loving relationship into an exhausting quest for approval we can never quite catch.

Through the powerful story of Jesus calling Matthew—a despised tax collector—and then dining with "sinners," we discover how Jesus redefined holiness. While the Pharisees built walls to keep "unclean" people out, Jesus built tables and invited everyone in. His revolutionary message, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," challenges everything about performance-based religion.

This message speaks directly to anyone caught in the cycle of religious striving. Whether you're feeling spiritually inadequate, struggling with perfectionism, or simply exhausted from trying to earn God's favor, Jesus offers a liberating alternative: "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do." The greatest spiritual sickness is thinking we don't need help.

Discover how mercy changes everything—how we approach God when we feel unworthy, how we relate to difficult people, and how we function as a church community. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us."

Ready to unplug from the spiritual treadmill? Join us as we learn to receive God's mercy and let it transform us from the inside out. The Pharisee in us says "prove yourself," but the Savior before us says "receive my mercy." Which voice will you follow?

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What remains when we remove Christ from Christianity? A powerful exploration of how modern Christianity often betrays its namesake by replacing love with judgment, inclusion with exclusion, and grace with condemnation.

Through vulnerable personal stories and penetrating cultural analysis, we confront the uncomfortable reality that Gandhi articulated: "I like your Christ, but not your Christianity." From turning away from homeless people while claiming religious devotion, to Christians leading opposition against refugees and immigrants despite clear biblical mandates to welcome strangers, we see a faith that has lost its center.

The heart of this spiritual crisis lies in our desperate search for validation and worth. We collect "medals" of achievement, relationship status, and financial success, wearing them proudly until they're inevitably stripped away. But Jesus offers a different medal—the unchangeable identity of being God's beloved child—that never leaves our neck regardless of circumstances or performance.

Putting Christ back into Christianity requires two transformational moves: accepting Christ's unconditional love rather than frantically trying to earn it, and extending that same love to others—especially those who seem least deserving of it. The families of Emanuel AME Church shooting victims demonstrated this radical love when they looked at their loved ones' killer and said, "I forgive you."

What would happen if we were given the microphone to address those who have wounded us most deeply? Could we find the courage to bless rather than curse? When we choose forgiveness over vengeance and love over hatred, Christ returns to the center of our faith, transforming it from hollow religion into living relationship.

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If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

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What if the beautiful flowers we showcase on social media were just the perfect frame hiding a garden overrun with weeds? That carefully curated image represents how many of us approach not just our online presence, but our spiritual lives as well.

In this deeply introspective exploration, we examine the concept of spiritual authenticity through the lens of Jesus's teachings in Matthew 6. Like those famous London townhouses with perfect facades hiding completely empty interiors, we're often tempted to craft a religious persona that looks impressive from the outside while remaining hollow within.

Jesus presents us with a profound choice: we can perform our good deeds, prayers, and generosity to receive immediate acclaim from others, or we can practice these disciplines privately and receive a lasting reward from God. "Your method points to your motivation," and that motivation determines which reward you'll ultimately receive.

The contrast is stark between serving others for social media content versus serving them simply because they matter. When we exploit vulnerable populations for photo opportunities or turn prayer into a performance art, we've chosen human applause as our payment. But Jesus invites us into something far more meaningful – a genuine relationship with God that doesn't require public validation.

This isn't about never serving publicly or praying corporately. Rather, it's about examining our hearts and asking uncomfortable questions: Would I still give if no one knew? Would I still pray if no one could hear except God? Would I still serve if I couldn't post about it afterward?

Though we'll all fail at maintaining pure motives sometimes, God's grace covers our shortcomings. The invitation remains: choose the reward that honors Him rather than ourselves. Will you accept the challenge to cultivate a life of authenticity, integrity, and presence with God, even when no one's watching?

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If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

When confronted with a woman caught in adultery, Jesus faced a carefully crafted trap. The Pharisees, delighting in their judgment, expected him to either condemn her according to Mosaic law or reveal himself as a false teacher by showing mercy. Instead, Jesus turned their trap against them with eight powerful words: "Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone."

This sermon examines how easily we slip into the role of the Pharisee, justifying our judgment of others while overlooking our own failings. Four warning signs reveal when we've crossed into unfair judgment: being more upset with others' sins than embarrassed by our own, cutting off those who disagree with us, bonding with others by critiquing common enemies, and manipulating moral frameworks to justify predetermined outcomes.

The physical sensations of judgment work both ways - when judged, we feel tightness and isolation; when judging, we experience anger and negativity that oozes from within us. This reveals the heart issue at the core of judgment. St. Augustine described the conclusion of this story as "misery and mercy left alone" - the woman in her misery meeting Jesus, the embodiment of mercy. Rather than condemning her, Jesus commissioned her with "Go and sin no more."

How might our communities transform if we examined our own hearts before picking up stones to throw? As we receive communion, we remember not only Christ's mercy toward us but also our unity with one another. The question remains: Do we judge, or do we show mercy? Choose today to embody love that never gives up, never loses faith, and endures through every circumstance.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

Have you ever felt like you're doing all the "right" spiritual things but still missing something? This profound question opens our exploration of how we can unintentionally trade relationship with God for routines centered around God.

The Pharisees were devoted, serious about Scripture, and committed to living how they thought God wanted. Yet when confronted with God in the flesh, they completely missed him. This series holds up a mirror asking not "What's wrong with them?" but "Where is the Pharisee in me?"

In Mark 7, Jesus confronts religious leaders who were upset that his disciples weren't following traditional hand-washing rituals. What began as good intentions had evolved into burdensome systems where human traditions carried nearly the same weight as Scripture itself. Rather than defending his disciples, Jesus addresses the heart issue: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

While we might not hide behind the same religious traditions today, we create our own barriers through personal preferences and emotions. We develop spiritual checklists that make us feel righteous without necessarily transforming our hearts. We go through motions – reading scripture, praying before meals, attending services – while avoiding true surrender.

God isn't impressed by religious performance. He's looking for integrity, a surrendered heart, and a life that reflects his character. The invitation is clear: trade performance for presence. Let God have your heart, not just your habits. Read the Bible to listen, not check boxes. Examine whether your spiritual practices are drawing you closer to Jesus or helping you avoid surrender.

If you've felt burned by religion, this is good news: Jesus doesn't want your perfection – he wants your heart. You don't need to clean yourself up or learn all the rules; you simply come as you are. The question remains: Are you honoring God with your lips while keeping your heart distant?

Join us next week as we continue examining where the Pharisee lives in each of us, exploring how we judge others while failing to show mercy ourselves.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

The gap between knowing and living, between religious performance and authentic faith—this is where many of us find ourselves today. In this challenging and heartfelt message, Stephen Feith opens a new six-week series with a question that hits close to home: "Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reasons?"

Drawing from Matthew 23, Stephen examines why the Pharisees—people who believed in Scripture, the Messiah, and resurrection—completely missed Jesus when he stood right in front of them. Their failure wasn't a lack of knowledge or even wrong practices; it was that they had substituted the appearance of righteousness for actual transformation.

The parallels to our modern spiritual experience are striking. We live in an age saturated with biblical knowledge and spiritual content. We know how to look and sound spiritual. Yet as Stephen powerfully puts it, "We are educated beyond our obedience." We know far more about God than we're willing to live out.

Jesus uses startling imagery like whitewashed tombs to illustrate this spiritual danger—appearing beautiful externally while harboring death within. This isn't just about personal hypocrisy; it's about how our focus on appearances rather than transformation can actually contaminate those closest to us.

But this message isn't about condemnation. After his strong rebukes, Jesus shifts to a maternal image of longing: "How often I've wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks." His desire isn't to shame us but to free us, not to punish but to gather us in love.

Whether you're exploring faith, returning to it, or consider yourself spiritually mature, this message offers a powerful invitation to move beyond spiritual performance to spiritual surrender. Because Jesus didn't die so we could learn the correct answers—he died to give us new hearts.

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If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

Have you ever been terrified by end-times prophecies based on Revelation? You're not alone. Randy Knie vividly recalls sitting on his parents' bed at 13, trembling as he read a newsletter predicting imminent apocalypse—supposedly decoded straight from Revelation's pages. This traumatic experience mirrors countless others who've either become obsessed with this mysterious biblical book or avoid it entirely.

But what if Revelation isn't primarily about predicting when the world ends? What if it's actually a revolutionary message about where we place our allegiance in a world of competing powers?

In this illuminating exploration, Randy unpacks Revelation as "apocalyptic" literature—not meaning catastrophic destruction, but rather an "unveiling" of what's really happening behind world events. Written to persecuted Christians under Roman oppression, Revelation uses coded imagery that would be recognized by believers but missed by authorities.

The heart of Revelation centers not on fearsome beasts but on "a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered." This unexpected protagonist creates a profound counter-narrative to empire's violent power. Meanwhile, the beasts from sea and earth represent not specific individuals but timeless systems of war, violence, and economic exploitation that demand human allegiance throughout history.

Most striking is the final battle scene where Jesus appears already covered in blood before the fighting begins—his own sacrificial blood, not his enemies'. This radical inversion challenges popular interpretations of a vengeful warrior Christ and reveals a victory achieved not through domination but through self-sacrifice.

What does this mean for us today? In a polarized society where political leaders, media voices, and national identities demand our unwavering loyalty, Revelation boldly asks: where does your true allegiance lie? Join us in discovering how this ancient text speaks with surprising relevance to our modern struggles with power, violence, and competing claims on our hearts.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

What happens when human systems fail us? Where do we turn when justice becomes injustice? Stephen's powerful story provides an answer that still resonates today.

Standing before a hostile council with false witnesses arrayed against him, Stephen doesn't cower in fear but shines with supernatural radiance – "his face became as bright as an angel's." This first Christian martyr demonstrates what hope looks like when it's anchored not in human systems but in Christ himself.

The irony is striking: Stephen faces accusations from the "synagogue of freed slaves" – people who had experienced persecution becoming persecutors themselves. His defense doesn't focus on self-preservation but on Israel's long history of rejecting God's chosen leaders. "You have betrayed and murdered the Righteous One," he boldly proclaims, seeing beyond his immediate circumstances to the eternal reality.

When the council drags him out for execution, Stephen's final words mirror Christ's own: "Lord, don't charge them with this sin." Meanwhile, a young man named Saul watches approvingly – the future Apostle Paul, whose transformation would further demonstrate God's redemptive power.

Stephen's name (Stephanos in Greek) means "crown," connecting him to every New Testament reference to crowns – from Jesus' crown of thorns to the crown of righteousness promised to believers. His story reminds us that being filled with the Spirit doesn't guarantee comfort but does provide supernatural perspective when systems turn against us.

Are you facing opposition? Feeling the weight of broken systems? Stephen's witness challenges us to examine where our ultimate hope lies. Not in human institutions, but in "the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the life-sustaining creation of God."

Join us as we explore what it means to be a "Pentecost people" – defined not by human approval but by the same Spirit that allowed Stephen to see heaven opened even as stones rained down upon him.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.

This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

When discrimination emerged in the early church, it sparked a revolutionary leadership model that still challenges us today. This message examines a pivotal moment in Acts 6 where Greek-speaking Jewish Christians complained their widows were being overlooked in food distribution by the Hebrew-speaking majority.

Rather than dismissing these concerns or implementing top-down solutions, the apostles responded with remarkable wisdom. They recognized that the most effective response would come through empowering members of the marginalized community themselves. The seven leaders they commissioned—all bearing Greek names—demonstrate how the early church prioritized cultural competency and representation.

This passage invites us to reconsider what it means to be "Pentecost people." While many contrast Pentecost with Babel, viewing one as unifying and the other as dividing, closer examination reveals both affirm diversity. At Babel, humanity's uniformity was scattered into beautiful multiplicity. At Pentecost, this diversity wasn't erased but transcended—people heard God's praises in their native tongues.

Today's church faces similar challenges with discrimination along racial, gender, and sexuality lines. Acts 6 offers a powerful corrective, showing that authentic Christian community doesn't erase differences but empowers diverse voices. The criteria for leadership—being "full of the Spirit and wisdom"—applied equally to those preaching and those distributing food, challenging hierarchical notions of ministry.

What would change if we followed this model? How might our churches transform if we recognized that sometimes holy complaints reveal places where the Spirit wants to work? Join us as we explore how embracing both cultural and spiritual diversity reflects God's heart for a church where everyone has a vital role to play.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at [email protected].

For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow us on social media:

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.

This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

What happens when following Jesus puts you at odds with everyone around you? When doing the right thing costs you something meaningful—comfort, relationships, or future plans? This transformative episode explores the courage of the early church in Acts 5, where ordinary believers faced extraordinary opposition yet remained steadfast in their mission.

The apostles, once hiding in fear after Jesus' crucifixion, now boldly performed miracles in the same temple courts where their teacher had been condemned. As their influence grew, so did the resistance from religious authorities. Arrested, miraculously freed, and then arrested again, Peter stands before the high council with a declaration that would redefine authority itself: "We must obey God rather than any human authority."

Most striking is how these followers responded to suffering. After being flogged—a punishment designed to humiliate as much as hurt—they left "rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the Name." This profound reframing challenges our modern tendency to view hardship as something to avoid or as evidence we're doing something wrong. For the early church, resistance wasn't just expected; it confirmed they were walking in Jesus' footsteps.

The message speaks directly to our struggles today. Standing firm in your values at work, setting healthy boundaries in relationships, or identifying openly with your faith will sometimes invite opposition. Yet the gospel has always advanced not through comfort but through costly obedience. You don't need to be fearless to follow Jesus—just willing. The same Spirit that empowered the apostles remains available to us as we navigate our own challenging terrain of discipleship.

Wonder what might happen if we became communities known for choosing obedience over approval? What could God do through people who understand that resistance doesn't mean we're off track, but that we might be right where we need to be?

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at [email protected].

For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow us on social media:

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.

This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.