Matthew - The King Has Come

"The Glory Of Jesus"

Six days after Jesus first told His disciples that He would suffer, die, and rise again, He led Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, His clothes became white as light, and Moses and Elijah appeared beside Him. A voice from a bright cloud declared, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." Pastor Russell Howard walks through this account of Christ's unveiled glory, the disciples' fear, and Jesus's own tender response to that fear, and closes with a clear answer to the question the disciples raised about Elijah. Listeners walk away with a fuller picture of who Jesus is: entirely human, and entirely the living God.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

What happens when your own sin is the reason your future got interrupted?

In this episode of our Midweek Bible Study series, "How to Handle Life's Interruptions," Pastor Russell Howard turns to the story of Moses in Exodus 2. Moses was prepared and positioned for a great calling, yet one moment of sin nearly derailed everything. Pastor Russell traces how God preserved Moses' mission even after his failure, and what that means for anyone whose own mistakes have complicated their story.

This teaching does not minimize sin, but it does not leave you there either. It points toward honest repentance, real trust in God, and the confidence to keep moving forward in faith, even after a self-inflicted setback.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

When was the last time a fellow believer sat down and told you that you were wrong?

In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor David Miller goes deeper into Sunday's sermon on Matthew 16, exploring what it means to rebuke one another well. He walks through Jesus' teaching in Luke 17 and Luke 6, the call to humility in Galatians 6, and the danger of self-deception described in James 1 and 1 John 1.

Listeners walk away with a clear, biblical picture of how to deliver a rebuke with humility and how to receive one with a heart that is quick to hear and slow to speak. This episode is for anyone who has wondered whether honest correction still has a place in the local church.

Do You Know How to Rebuke? | Desiring God

By Marshall Segal

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

Matthew: The King Has Come

"A Significant Shift"

After two and a half years of public ministry, Jesus began preparing His disciples for what was ahead: His death, His resurrection, and what following Him would actually cost them. Pastor David Miller walks through Matthew 16:21-28, where Peter's attempt to talk Jesus out of the cross meets Jesus's clear response, and where Jesus tells His disciples what it means to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him for good. Listeners walk away with a clearer picture of what real life is, and what it isn't.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

What does it actually mean to be thankful for your country without loving it more than you love the Kingdom of God?

In this Journey Together Summer teaching, Pastor Russell Howard marks the nation's 250th birthday with four specific reasons for gratitude: God's sovereign hand over the rise and fall of nations, the principle of religious liberty born out of a Baptist conviction, America's unmatched missionary heritage, and the everyday common grace God has poured out on this country. He closes with a challenge from Philippians 3:20, that every citizenship a believer holds is layered, and the highest one never fades.

Whether you find it easy to celebrate the Fourth of July or complicated, this teaching gives you a clear, biblical way to hold gratitude for your country and greater devotion to God's kingdom in the same hand.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

What did the location of Peter's great confession reveal about what Jesus was claiming?

In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard goes beyond his notes from Sunday's sermon on Matthew 16 to explore the geography and archaeology of Caesarea Philippi. He traces the city's history as a center of pagan worship, explains the significance of the cave known as the Gate of Hades, and unpacks the petros/petra distinction Jesus drew between Peter and the rock on which he would build his church.

The geography does not complete the text. But for anyone who has ever read Matthew 16 and sensed there is more beneath the surface, this episode brings the setting into focus in a way that makes the confession of Christ land with full weight.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The King Has Come

"The Great Confession"

The world is full of people who think well of Jesus. Every major religion has something generous to say about him. Most people in your neighborhood, given the chance, would call him a great teacher or a profound moral leader. But in Matthew 16, Jesus makes clear that a high opinion is not the same as the right answer.

In this sermon, Pastor Russell Howard works through Matthew 16:13-20 from Caesarea Philippi, a city built for idolatry at the northern edge of Jesus's earthly ministry. There, surrounded by temples to false gods, Jesus asks his disciples the one question that cuts through every polite comparison: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter's answer, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," is not something he reasoned his way to. Jesus is clear: the Father revealed it. That distinction matters for every believer. Faith in Christ is not a conclusion you earned. It is a grace you received.

Pastor Howard also addresses one of the most misread verses in the Gospels: "on this rock I will build my church." He traces the difference between petros (the name given to Peter, a small stone) and petra (the bedrock of the confession itself), showing that the church stands on the truth that Jesus is the Christ, not on any man. From there, the sermon moves to the certainty Jesus gives his church: that she belongs to him, that the organized forces of darkness will not prevail against her, and that she carries the responsibility of faithfully reflecting the Kingdom in how she receives and releases members.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The moment you hear a sermon about handling life's interruptions is often the moment the interruption arrives.

In this Around McGregor, Mark Bricker, Tamar Miller, and Christian Miller close out the first half of summer before the show's annual July break. They cover the July 1st celebration of God's faithfulness in Fellowship Hall (dinner at 5 p.m., program at 6:30), the summer Wednesday night series "How to Handle Life's Interruptions" returning July 8th with Pastor Russell Howard, the Faith and Fitness Retreat on July 18th, a family mission trip to Arizona, and the full July dinner calendar. They also introduce Sheila Ponds, McGregor's new Administrative Assistant for Student Ministries, whose story runs from Havana to Miami to Fort Myers through generations of faithful ministry.

Anyone wanting to stay connected to the McGregor family this summer will leave this episode with dates, details, and a reason to show up. Around McGregor returns August 2nd.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

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In this opening Journey Together teaching, Pastor Russell Howard draws from the life of Joseph in Genesis 37, 39-41, and 50 to walk through the things every believer needs to learn in the light, before the dark arrives. He covers seven specific realities: the world is broken, people are fallen, your days are numbered, deserve is a dangerous word, a refining process is part of following Christ, you are not home yet, and on your best day and your worst, God is sovereign. Alongside each of these truths, he traces Joseph's biography from favored son to forgotten prisoner to prime minister of Egypt, showing how each disruption in Joseph's story was navigated not by good luck but by settled conviction.

The episode lands on three takeaways from Joseph's perspective: obedience and faithfulness kept mattering through the ruin, bitterness feeds on the gap between expectation and reality, and the names of Joseph's sons (Manasseh and Ephraim, forgetful and fruitful) map the path from surviving a collapse to living beyond it. This teaching is for anyone facing an interruption they did not plan for, and for anyone wise enough to prepare while they still have the chance.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The Pharisees and Sadducees look like a unified front in the four Gospels. They were not.

In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard traces the distinct origins, beliefs, and social roles of these two first century Jewish parties. The Sadducees controlled the high priesthood under Roman favor but rejected the resurrection, angels, and miracles taught in the Old Testament. The Pharisees were the devout cultural anchor of Jewish life and held the trust of the common people. Their rivalry was deep enough that when the Apostle Paul exploited it in Acts 23, a formal council meeting turned violent.

What unites groups that agree on nothing? Opposition to Jesus. Pastor Howard draws from Matthew 16 and Acts 23 to show that this pattern did not end in the first century and helps listeners read the Gospels with fresh eyes and a clearer framework.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026