Pursuing God with Dave and Gene

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. One moment life can feel completely secure, and the next everything can change. As we finish our short course in wisdom from Ecclesiastes 7, we'll discover two reasons Solomon says wisdom matters so much: it helps protect us from unnecessary pitfalls and gives us perspective when life doesn't go as planned. Whether you're in a season of plenty or facing something you never expected, God invites you to ask Him for the wisdom you need for whatever comes next.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

We want results quickly, answers now, and progress we can see. But some of the most important things in life simply can't be rushed. Solomon warns us that impatience and pride can cause us to force something before its time or walk away before the work is finished. Today we'll discover why patience is essential to finishing well and why we don't have to keep looking backward for the "good old days." Where might God be asking you to stay patient and keep going?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Cutting corners can sometimes look like the easier way forward, but Solomon learned that dishonesty eventually costs us more than we expect. Today we'll explore why integrity is always better than deception and why experience can teach us things we never understood at the beginning. You don't have to get everything right the first time, but you can choose honesty with whatever is right in front of you today.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

We'd probably choose a celebration over sorrow every time. But Solomon says some of life's deepest wisdom comes from the places we'd rather avoid. Today we'll explore why grief can clarify what really matters, how difficult experiences can deepen us, and why honest correction is more valuable than empty praise. The moments we would never choose may become some of our greatest teachers.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

"If I only knew then what I know now." Most of us have said those words at some point. In Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon looks back on his own mistakes and shares wisdom he learned through years of experience. Today we'll begin a short course in wisdom by looking at two things Solomon says matter more than we might realize: the reputation we're building and the hope we're building our lives on. What are you learning today that you wish you'd understood years ago?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

What does loving like Jesus actually look like in everyday life? It can start with something as practical as praying for someone who hurt you or listening to someone whose experiences and beliefs are different from your own. Today we'll discover simple ways to move toward people instead of away from them and return to the challenge of Micah 6:8: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Who could you choose to love differently today?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Loving someone doesn't require agreeing with everything they believe. When Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, He deliberately made someone His audience despised the hero. In doing so, He challenged their assumptions about who deserved compassion and what it really means to be a neighbor. Today we'll explore how truth and grace can coexist and why our disposition toward people matters just as much as our position on an issue. Who is hardest for you to love right now?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Compassion is easy when it doesn't cost us anything. But the Good Samaritan didn't simply notice someone hurting. He stopped, gave his time, spent his money, sacrificed his comfort, and cared for someone he had every cultural reason to avoid. Today we'll discover why loving our neighbor requires more than good intentions and what can happen when we're willing to be interrupted by someone else's need. Who might God be asking you to stop and notice?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

It's easy to love people who think like us. The real challenge comes when Jesus asks us to love the people we'd rather avoid. In the story of the Good Samaritan, one man's simple question, "Who is my neighbor?" reveals how easily we create boundaries around who deserves our compassion. Today we'll discover how Jesus challenges those boundaries and invites us to examine the people we've decided are hardest to love. Who have you quietly given yourself permission not to love?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Loving people sounds simple until we have to love someone who thinks, believes, or lives differently than we do. In Micah 6:8, we're given a powerful picture of what love in action looks like: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Today we'll explore why all three matter and what happens when we leave one of them out. Which part comes naturally to you, and which one might God be asking you to grow in?

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.