What do you do when you've prayed and prayed and God has not said yes?

In this episode of Beyond the Notes, Pastor Russell Howard picks up where Sunday's sermon left off, working through James 4:2-3 to address what Scripture says about unanswered prayer. He walks through five biblical questions to ask when God hasn't yet said yes: Am I being selfish? Am I using prayer to delay obedience? Has God already closed the door? Am I trusting God without presuming on him? And am I willing to persevere? He draws from Exodus 14, where Moses is told to stop praying and start moving, the story of Anna in Luke 2 who prayed for the Messiah for decades, and the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18, where Jesus himself teaches that his people ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The listener walks away with a clear biblical framework for one of the most personal challenges in the Christian life — learning to hold a request before God faithfully without confusing confidence with control.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

Matthew

"The Power of Unbelief"

In Matthew 13:53-58, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and the people who knew him best are the ones who reject him most completely. Pastor Russell Howard examines what the hometown crowd's response reveals: that unbelief is not a matter of insufficient evidence, but of a heart unwilling to bow. The passage raises the stakes for everyone who has heard about Jesus without ever surrendering to him, and it presses believers to examine whether they are asking God for things, anticipating his care, and attributing good gifts to the One who gives them. James 1:17 says every good and perfect gift is from above. This sermon calls us to actually live that way.

Sermon Notes

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What does a full Sunday at McGregor actually look like?

In this Around McGregor episode, hosts Mark Bricker, Tamara Miller, and Christian Miller walk through one of the busiest Sundays of the year, covering 17 baptisms across two services in Fellowship Hall, graduation recognition for all 22 seniors at all three services, and the in-person introduction of prospective Family Minister Mike Hess. They also cover the member meeting following the last service and the graduate family lunch.

Looking ahead, they highlight the Wings Group tea and luncheon on May 7th, All the King's Daughters on May 9th (registration open through May 8th), the 8th Annual Church Golf Tournament on May 16th supporting student camps and the Arizona family mission trip, and VBS "Rainforest Falls" running June 8-12 from 6:15 to 8:15 PM. VBS kids will be raising money to fund audio Bible devices for a community in Peru. Volunteers are still needed; sign up at mcgregor.net/vbs.

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God is often described as loving, gracious, and near. But in Scripture, every person who encountered Him directly fell to the ground in fear.

In this McGregor Podcast teaching, Danny traces that pattern from Moses at the burning bush to John in Revelation, asking why holiness produces awe before comfort. He explores what Scripture means when it calls God holy, why the chasm between humanity and God is one no human effort can close, and why the cross is the only place where God's justice and mercy could ever meet.

Listeners walk away with a bigger view of what it cost to close that gap, and a deeper understanding of why grace only grows larger the more seriously we take God's holiness. This episode is for anyone wanting to understand the gospel at a deeper level, or whose sense of grace has grown smaller than Scripture intends.

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The word "equity" shows up in Psalm 67:4. It also shows up constantly in the social justice conversation. Those two uses do not mean the same thing.

In this Beyond the Notes episode, David Miller works through what Psalm 67:4 actually says about how God governs and why the Hebrew word behind "equity" points to impartiality and righteousness, not equal outcomes. He draws on two key passages, Romans 9 and the parable of talents in Matthew 25, to argue that unequal outcomes are not inherently a sign of injustice. They can reflect God's purposeful design. He also references E. Calvin Beisner's short book "Social Justice: How Good Intentions Undermine Justice and the Gospel," available free through the Family Research Council.

Download the resource: https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF13E133.pdf

This episode is for anyone trying to think biblically about justice, equity, and equality without losing the gospel in the process. You will walk away with a clear framework rooted in Scripture and a renewed sense of what sinners actually deserve and what grace actually provides.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

"Our Missionary God"

(Psalm 67)

David Miller, Pastor of Membership and Missions at McGregor Baptist Church, preaches through Psalm 67, an ancient harvest song that Israel sang while bringing in crops from the land God had given them. But the psalm is about more than the harvest. It is about the reason God blesses his people at all. The requests in verse one, drawn from the priestly blessing of Numbers 6, are made with a clear purpose in verse two: that God's way would be known on earth and his saving power made known among all nations. That purpose runs all the way back to God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, and it runs forward to the church today.

Pastor David works through three movements in the psalm: the requests of God's people, the reasons behind those requests, and the results that follow. Along the way, he addresses why God's people have reason for joy, why his governance brings gladness, and what it means that salvation is not just transactional but familial. The sermon closes with a direct, pastoral challenge: if God saved us, he saved us to send us.

Sermon Notes

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Spring is one of the busiest seasons in the life of McGregor, and this week's episode makes that clear.

In this Around McGregor, hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian cover an unusually full stretch of upcoming events: the preschool and children's choir spring concert on April 26, baptism in Fellowship Hall for the first time during the Renew Phase 2 renovation, Graduate Recognition Sunday on May 3 with graduates present in the 11:00 service, and a church member meeting immediately following with a vote on elder-recommended Minister to Family Ministries Mike Hess. They also walk through Spring Journey Together midweek classes, the Widows Tea and Luncheon on May 7, the All the King's Daughters event on May 9 featuring ventriloquist Julie Boyd, the Church Cup golf tournament on May 16, and VBS volunteer opportunities opening for June. Box lunch preorders for the member meeting are available at mcgregor.net/around through April 29.

Whether you're a long-time member trying to stay current or someone new to the McGregor community, this episode is a practical guide to what's ahead.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026 Visit Our Website at McGregorPodcast.com New to McGregor? Plan a visit at mcgregor.net/plan-a-visit

Journey Together

"An Introduction to the Holiness of God" (Isaiah 6; Job 42)

What does it actually mean that God is holy? Before the answer can land, some ideas have to go. In this opening Journey Together teaching, Pastor Russell Howard begins a new series on the holiness of God by clearing away three distortions that have found their way into Christian thinking: open theology, which pictures God as a character in process alongside us; dualism, which assigns Satan a symmetry with God that Scripture flatly refuses; and any framework for salvation that credits human merit with tipping the scale. From there, Pastor Russell turns to what Scripture actually shows when people encounter the holy God. Isaiah undone in the temple. Job silenced after his long list of accusations. Saul of Tarsus walking away from everything he thought he was doing. The pattern is the same: first, being undone; then, humility and receptivity to God's Word; then, a transformation of both being and purpose. This is an introduction to holiness, and the good part is still ahead.

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Sin is attractive precisely because it doesn't show you what it costs.

In this Beyond the Notes teaching, Elder Peter Finch opens Hebrews 3:13 to examine what the Bible means by the "deceitfulness of sin." He traces three specific lies sin tells — that it is a logical conclusion, that it is a reward you deserve, and that it leads to freedom — and sets each of them against what Scripture actually says. Drawing from John 8, Romans 6, and the parable of the prodigal son, Peter shows that sin always promises liberation and delivers bondage.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered why sin is so hard to walk away from, and what it actually means to be free. Peter closes with three grounded steps from Hebrews 3: make sure you know the Lord, stay in Scripture, and stay in Christian community with people who will tell you the truth.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026

The Psalms Series

"Worship and Warning"

In Psalm 95, Elder Peter Finch draws us into the full picture of biblical worship. The psalm opens with a call to exuberant, communal singing before a God who is supreme Creator and sovereign Redeemer. But it does not stay there. The second half carries a serious warning: do not let your worship be disconnected from a surrendered heart. Using the wilderness failures of Israel at Meribah and Massah, Elder Peter traces what it looks like when God's people harden their hearts against His voice, and what it costs them.

The takeaway is both sobering and freeing. Worship and obedience are not two separate things. They flow from the same source. And today, if you hear His voice, the invitation is still open.

Sermon Notes

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026