Mercy Culture

Noleen Sedra is back on Holy Disruption, and this time she and Heather Schott are breaking down Islam — not as a religion, but as what Noleen argues it actually is: a political ideology with no concept of freedom. Co-founder of Echo Church in Sydney alongside her Egyptian-born husband Andrew, Noleen has spent years debating Muslims and studying the Quran, and she walks through what the text says about women, child marriage, jihad, and the "infidels" — and why she believes the so-called radicals are simply the faithful ones. This is a conversation most Christians are afraid to have. Heather, Jasmine and Noleen go there anyway: why the West is romanticizing Islam, how Christian freedom is being used as a loophole, what's happening in Egypt, Iran, and Columbus, Ohio — and four practical ways to actually share Jesus with a Muslim friend. It ends with intercession for America and the women of Iran.

Spiritual battles require spiritual strategies. In “Your War Cry is a Weapon,” Senior Lead Pastor Landon Schott teaches how holy ground prepares us for spiritual warfare—and how a true war cry is not simply a loud shout, but an expression of faith, obedience, and agreement with God. Discover how surrendering to the Commander, dying to the flesh, and being filled with the Holy Spirit prepares you to become an instrument God can use in battle.

Most of us picture spiritual warfare as getting louder and more aggressive. What if winning the fight starts with going lower?

In this episode, we continue our series on spiritual warfare and look at James 4:1-7, where the battle is described as the war inside us over who rules our will. We start by clearing up a common mix-up: humility is not timidity. Jesus flipped tables and David faced Goliath, and neither of them stopped being humble when they started being bold.

From there we look at what keeps us from humility: pride, which blinds us to ourselves and puts us in opposition to God, insecurity, which convinces us God can't use us, and false humility, which tries to make itself low without God's help. Then we cover four practical ways to walk in humility: daily encounters with God, seeing yourself the way He sees you, going low in service, and giving Him the glory.

The key point of the message is this: submission isn't preparation for spiritual warfare, it is spiritual warfare. Humility-based warfare means coming under God's authority so you can fight from His victory.

Hear Pastor Les Cody teach us how to identify and combat the spirit of Jezebel in our lives!

"I didn't really want what God wants. I wanted it my way."

What if the way you fight your spiritual battles matters more than whether you win them? In this message, we go to the hill at Rephidim, where Moses' raised hands, Joshua's sword, and the steady support of Aaron and Hur show us what it looks like to stand in the fight together, and to stand for God's glory rather than our own victory.

We start with the surprising science of willpower and the anterior midcingulate cortex, the part of the brain that grows when we do the hard things we'd rather avoid. From there we see why the battles we fight tomorrow are shaped by the flesh we deny today. Drawing on Matthew 16, Galatians 5, and Romans 8, we explore what it means to consecrate ourselves so God can do amazing things among us.

Then we get practical. What does it look like to storm the hill? Get under spiritual authority, surround yourself with people of integrity, embrace your role in the fight, and refuse to lower the staff. Moses' moment at Meribah is a sobering reminder of what happens when ambition takes over. We unpack the difference between ambition-based warfare ("It's my job to make it happen!") and joy-based warfare ("It's my job to stay in His presence"), and discover why the joy of the Lord really is our strength.

Whether you're weary, striving, or wondering if the fight is worth it, this episode invites you to trade the emotional rollercoaster for trust, and to die on hills your children will one day conquer.

Pastor Will Ford unpacked the power of the anointing as a spiritual fragrance that carries the presence of Jesus — attracting heaven and repelling darkness wherever We go. The call of the message was simple: stop being Martha, distracted by doing, and become Mary, anchored in gazing — because one glimpse of your eyes toward Him ravishes His heart, and He's inviting Us from a glimpse to a gaze.

In this compelling message, Pastor Chris Cheema challenges the church to wake up and engage in spiritual warfare, drawing from 1 Kings 18 and Ephesians 6. He unpacks the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel, revealing that the same demonic spirits Elijah confronted then, including the Jezebel spirit of control, seduction, and intimidation, are the same familiar spirits the church in America faces today. Pastor Chris challenges believers to stop spectating and to get into the fight, because the time for watching from the sidelines is over.

Pastor Chris warns that what many label as political issues are actually spiritual ones, including abortion, sexual perversion, censorship, and the silencing of truth, and that the church's reluctance to engage is itself a symptom of the Jezebel spirit at work. He calls believers to stop letting intimidation, fear of man, and talking points silence the truth of God's word, reminding the church that separation of church and state was never designed to keep the church out of public life, but to keep the government out of the church.

This message equips believers with five practical strategies for spiritual warfare: stand on truth, fear God over man, seek spiritual authority over influence, obey God, and confront wickedness. Pastor Chris closes with a powerful declaration over Waco, calling the church to take its place as warriors who provide the altar for the fire of God to fall and who make it known that Jesus is the highest authority over every street, neighborhood, and office in their city.

The vision of Mercy Culture is to take people from corporate encounters with God to daily personal encounters with God.

At Mercy Culture, one of our unique characteristics is that we are a presence driven church. We are not built around any person or ministry. We are built around the presence of God. Each week, you will hear a teaching from our Lead Pastors, Sean and Natalie Gleason or another leader in our community.

To learn more about Mercy Culture, visit https://mercyculturewaco.com

In this message, we go deeper into spiritual dreams—learning to recognize the difference between warning dreams and demonic encounters, and how God can use dreams to reveal, warn, protect, and guide us. Discover how humility, prayer, Scripture, and wisdom help us discern what God may be communicating and respond faithfully to His voice.