Life rarely follows the plan we wrote for it. How do followers of Christ respond when it does not?

In this week's Around McGregor, Mark Bricker, Tamar Miller, and Christian Miller preview a new summer Bible study called How to Handle Life's Interruptions, starting Wednesday, June 24 at 6:30 in Fellowship Hall. They also walk through the next month at McGregor: the Newcomers Coffee on May 31, the Prospective Member Class on June 7, Rainforest Falls VBS the week of June 8 through 12, an international Potluck in the Hall on June 17, and a special July 1 evening celebrating God's faithfulness alongside our country's 250th birthday.

Whether you are new to McGregor or have been here for years, this episode lays out a full season of gathering and points to where you can step in.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

Wednesday Night Teaching

"Holy Justice"

What do you do with the parts of the Bible that feel severe? The passages where God's judgment lands swiftly and people die, where nations are destroyed, where the cost of sin is immediate and real? If we're honest, those passages can produce more questions than comfort.

In this Wednesday night teaching, Elder Mike Hess walks through Luke 13:1-5 and a series of passages across the Old and New Testaments, including Leviticus 10, 1 Chronicles 13, and Numbers 4, to show that God's justice is never a miscarriage of justice. It is always an expression of who He is: holy, infinitely wise, and never wrong. Hess addresses four commonly misunderstood biblical concepts (justice, holiness, grace, and sin), examines the stumbling blocks that lead us to question God rather than submit to Him, and shows that perfect justice is ultimately found at the cross of Jesus Christ, where the wrath of God was satisfied so that sinners could be declared righteous. Because God is holy, we can trust Him completely, with our questions, our pain, and our future.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

How can Jesus know the hearts of men and also ask a genuine question? How can he foretell his own death and resurrection and also say he does not know the day or the hour of his return?

In this Beyond the Notes teaching, the speaker walks through the biblical evidence for both sides of Christ's nature, drawing from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Hebrews, and Philippians. The episode covers specific moments of supernatural knowledge (the coin in the fish, Nathaniel under the fig tree, the foretelling of Peter's denial), specific moments of genuine human limitation (questions asked at the tomb of Lazarus, growth in wisdom in Luke 2:52, learning obedience through suffering in Hebrews 5:8), the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) as a landmark articulation of the hypostatic union, and the kenosis passage in Philippians 2:5-8, explaining what it means that the Son "emptied himself" without ceasing to be fully divine.

The episode closes with a pastoral challenge: refusing to do theology is not the same as worshiping freely. If you never examine who Jesus actually is, you run a real risk of devoting yourself to a Jesus of your own construction. This teaching is for anyone who takes Jesus seriously enough to think carefully about him.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The King Has Come

"Jesus Feeds the 5000"

In Matthew 14, Jesus has just received word that his cousin and fellow minister John the Baptist has been killed. He withdraws to grieve. A crowd of more than 10,000 follows. And rather than sending them away, Jesus extends compassion. Then he turns to his disciples and says something that stops them cold: "You give them something to eat."

Pastor Russell Howard walks through this miracle, the only one recorded in all four Gospels before the resurrection, and draws out its central test. The disciples analyzed the situation correctly. Five loaves, two fish, no money, no plan. They passed the math test. What they failed was the faith test. The Jordan River did not part until Israel's feet touched the water. Provision follows obedience. Measuring the gap is good, because it lets you see when God acts. But the gap is not the final answer.

The listener walks away with a clearer picture of what Jesus is actually asking when he calls his people to do what seems impossible: bring what you have, open-handed, and let him work.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2025

What is God doing through a young adult ministry that just outgrew its room?

Around McGregor hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian walk through where The Bridge stands today, including the recent fifth Thursday gathering on Stage 1 that drew new faces for hamburgers, worship, and trivia. They also confirm that Mike Hess starts as Family Ministry Minister on June 1, share details about the upcoming newcomer coffee, the next potential teacher training, the middle school sneak peak, the June 7 prospective member class, and VBS the following week.

The episode closes with a call to pray for our Paris mission team, led by Danielle Flood, leaving May 21 to serve among migrants who have settled in Paris from other parts of the world. It's a quick way to stay current with everything happening at McGregor and to lift up the people going for the sake of the gospel.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

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Journey Together

"Holiness and Conscience"

When God's holiness is fully in view, the conscience has no place to hide. Elder Peter Finch uses the life of Martin Luther as a window into what happens when a person measures himself honestly against what God actually requires: not human standards, not a curve, but the standard of loving God with every part of you, every day. Luther's years of compulsive confession and self-punishment weren't weakness; they were the logical result of seeing God's holiness clearly and refusing to pretend otherwise. The same mirror that exposed Luther's despair, the law of God, ultimately pointed him to the discovery that changed the Reformation: the righteousness of God in Romans 1:17 is not a demand but a gift, freely given to all who trust in Christ. Clothed in Christ's righteousness, the fear that once crushed Luther was transformed into love, adoration, and a genuine desire to grow in obedience. Philippians 2:12-13 closes the message: it is God who works in you both to will and to work. The grace that saved you is the same grace that is changing you.

May 13, 2026

Peter Finch • Elder

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

What do the rulers named Herod in your New Testament have to do with each other? The answer is more connected than most people realize.

In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard traces the Herodian dynasty across four generations, beginning with Herod the Great at the birth of Jesus and ending with Herod Agrippa II in the court of Governor Festus during the apostle Paul's imprisonment. He covers the family's role in the death of John the Baptist, the martyrdom of James the apostle, and Paul's appeal to Caesar, while also walking through how the first-century Jewish historian Josephus independently confirms the biblical account of Herod Agrippa the First's death.

Two takeaways anchor the episode: the apologetic value of secular history confirming Scripture, and the question of generational momentum. If your family has handed you a difficult legacy, your generation carries both the possibility and the accountability to break that pattern. If you inherited a godly one, the call is to treasure it and carry it forward.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The King Has Come

"Oh, The Places You'll Go"

In Matthew 14:1-12, two men occupy the same passage but inhabit entirely different worlds. Herod Antipas sits on a throne, driven by lust, cowardice, and a fear that bounces him from one bad decision to the next. John the Baptist sits in a dungeon, yet speaks freely because his faith is anchored in Christ. Pastor Russell Howard traces the contrasting paths of unbelief and persevering faith, and calls listeners to examine what kind of belief they actually hold. There is a belief that stays in the head, knowing facts and even trembling at them, and there is the saving belief that repents and trusts Jesus as Lord. This Mother's Day teaching closes with a pastoral word to every mother: your influence is going somewhere, so guard it for the love of Christ and the good of the people in your home.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

Mother's Day arrives on the heels of one of the fullest Sundays of the year at McGregor.

Around McGregor hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian look back on last Sunday, which included 17 baptisms across two services, senior recognition for graduating high school students, the introduction of incoming Family Ministry Minister Mike Hess, and a 400-person member meeting that welcomed 34 new members into the church family. They also celebrate Tamar's son graduating from UCF and look ahead to the church golf tournament, potential teacher training, the middle school sneak peak, the next prospective member class, and Vacation Bible School.

Through it all, last week was a reminder that Christ continues to build His church, and Mother's Day is a chance to thank God for the mothers who keep pointing their kids toward Jesus. This episode is for anyone connected to McGregor who wants to stay current with what's happening across the church family during Renew Phase 2.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

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What is the right response when you come face to face with the holiness of God?

In this Journey Together Bible study, David Miller teaches from Luke 5:1–11, exploring what R.C. Sproul calls the trauma of holiness. The episode covers three effects that God's holiness produces in us: an awareness of sin, a holy fear, and a change in direction. Using the account of Peter's miraculous catch of fish, David shows how the miracle was never about the fish. Jesus directed Peter's attention away from the catch and toward something Peter could not escape: his own sinfulness in the presence of a holy God.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered why the gospel requires bad news before it can offer good news, and for those who need to be reminded that being caught in sin is not a sign of God's absence. It is a sign of his mercy.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026