Church, It’s Time to Come Home

Through a lot of prayer about this episode, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to speak to the Church, to ask all of us some hard but necessary questions, to speak the truth in love, and to look honestly at where we are and where Jesus is calling us as the body of Christ.

This message comes from a place of deep love for the Church.

We have become very good at building impressive churches, creating powerful experiences, and filling our calendars with activities. 

But have we become the kind of people Jesus is forming us to be?

In this episode, I invite us to examine whether we have confused attendance with discipleship, activity with transformation, and influence with spiritual maturity.

This is not a call to criticize or abandon the Church.

It’s a call to return to Jesus.

A call to come home to wholehearted discipleship, to the presence of God, to obedience, to love, and to the mission of allowing Jesus to expand His Kingdom through our everyday lives.

This is a call to stop playing Church and to start being the Church. 

Church, it’s time to come home.

Show notes:

In this episode, we explore:

The difference between church attendance and true discipleship

Why activity does not always produce transformation

The danger of building impressive ministries without forming mature believers

What it means to return to Jesus as the center

How wholehearted discipleship changes our everyday lives

Why the Church must become a people who reflect Christ beyond the church walls

Scriptures referenced:

1 Samuel 16:6

The Gospels 

Revelation 3:17 and 3:20

Connect with Heather

Website: https://www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

Instagram: @heather.murdock

Facebook: Heather Murdock

TikTok: @heathermurdock1

Share this episode:

If this message encouraged or challenged you, share it with someone who loves the Church and wants to see the body of Christ become more like Jesus.

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

Why do we keep repeating the same unhealthy patterns, even when we genuinely want to change?

Why do we react in ways we later regret? Why do fear, shame, comparison, striving, or control seem to keep showing up?

In this episode, Heather unpacks the connection between our beliefs, thoughts, emotions, desires, behaviors, and the results they produce. Drawing from Romans 7, Romans 12, Proverbs 4, and practical insights into how our minds are renewed, she explores why lasting transformation doesn’t begin with behavior; it begins in the heart.

You’ll discover:

• Why behavior is often the fruit, not the root.

• How false beliefs quietly shape our everyday lives.

• The powerful role desire plays in spiritual formation.

• Why self-awareness alone isn’t enough.

• How Jesus invites us into true transformation from the inside out.

Whether you’re struggling with comparison, anxiety, people-pleasing, striving, burnout, or simply feeling stuck, this episode will help you begin identifying the deeper beliefs driving those patterns and invite you into the freedom found in Christ.

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

Why does God place so much emphasis on the heart?

In this episode, Heather explores one of the foundational truths of spiritual transformation: behavior is not the source; the heart is.

Drawing from Proverbs 4:23, Heather unpacks what the Bible means when it speaks of the heart and why lasting transformation happens from the inside out, not the outside in. Together, we’ll explore how our thoughts, feelings, desires, motives, and will shape the course of our lives and why God is after more than behavior modification; He’s after wholehearted discipleship.

If you’ve ever wondered why change can feel difficult, why knowing the truth isn’t always enough, or what it truly means to follow Jesus with your whole heart, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why Scripture places such a high value on the heart

• The difference between behavior modification and transformation

• What the biblical heart actually includes

• How beliefs, perception, desires, and choices shape our lives

• Why transformation is the fruit, not the goal

• God’s invitation to wholehearted discipleship

Transformation begins in the heart. Join us as we explore what it means to surrender every part of our lives to Christ and allow Him to transform us from the inside out.

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

In this deeply personal episode, I share the story of how Jesus transformed my life.

Growing up in poverty, abuse, substance abuse, and dysfunction, I spent years searching for love, validation, and identity in all the wrong places. That search led me from a small town to Hollywood, New York City, heartbreak, addiction, and devastating loss. When my younger sister was killed in a tragic accident, the grief and unanswered questions nearly consumed me.

But God was pursuing me long before I knew Him.

In this episode, I share how a series of unexpected events led me to encounter the love of Jesus, experience the power of forgiveness, and find healing in places I once believed could never be restored. I also share how God completely delivered me from a 20-year battle with bulimia and began a lifelong journey of transformation.

This isn’t just my story. It’s a testimony to the faithfulness of God.

If you’ve ever wrestled with shame, grief, unforgiveness, identity, or the question of whether God can truly heal what’s broken, I pray this episode encourages you.

Jesus still heals.
Jesus still restores.
Jesus still transforms lives.

Arise. Shine. Emerge.

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

Episode 1 is an introduction to the heart behind Rise and Rejoice and the message that is foundational to this podcast.

In this episode, Heather shares the journey toward finally launching the podcast, the importance of clarity in this season, and why wholehearted discipleship, emotional health, spiritual maturity, and courageous leadership matter more than ever in a noisy and distracted world.

This is an invitation to grow deeper, live with purpose, and become not just informed, but transformed. 

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com

Rise and Rejoice with Heather Murdock is a podcast about wholehearted discipleship, courageous leadership, and real transformation.

In this short trailer, Heather shares the heart behind the show: honest conversations, practical teaching, Scripture, and Spirit-led insight that explore what it means to live rooted in truth and fully formed in Christ. Not just informed, but transformed.

Whether through solo teaching or meaningful conversations, this podcast is for people who are hungry for depth, healing, growth, and wholehearted living in everyday life.

The first full episode arrives Thursday, May 21st. Follow or subscribe now, so it's waiting for you the moment it drops.

Rise and Rejoice is a production of Rise and Rejoice Ministries.

www.riseandrejoiceministries.com