Weekend Scripture: Mark 3:1-5

What does it look like to pray when you're out of control? And what happens when desperation becomes the doorway to deeper trust?

This week on The Cutting Room Floor, Neil sits down with Matt Williams to unpack what didn't make it into Sunday's sermon on desperation and prayer. From hospital rooms to unanswered prayers, they talk honestly about what it means to depend on God when control slips through your fingers. The conversation moves from the Garden of Gethsemane to everyday life, parenting, grief, career changes, and reframes prayer as relational, not transactional. It's a reminder that surrender isn't weakness; it's training for trust.

The challenge:

As you step into a new year, don't just ask what you want to add. Ask what God is inviting you to lay down. Where might surrender make room for deeper dependence?

Hosts: Neil Gregory & Matt Williams

What We Discuss

• Why desperation often reveals what we truly depend on
• Standalone sermons and the pressure of closing out the year
• Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as our model for prayer
• Prayer as relational rather than transactional
• How honesty and tears can become prayers
• Parenting, prayer, and reflecting the heart of the Father
• What it means to pray "Your will be done" when outcomes hurt
• The difference between hope and expectation
• Surrendering good things to say yes to better ones

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About Southland Christian Church

Southland is one church meeting in multiple locations across central Kentucky. We believe Jesus came for the lost and the broken, which means there's a place for everyone here. Around here, that means we worship defiantly, speak truth unashamedly, and extend grace generously.

To support this ministry and help us continue to reach across Central Kentucky and all around the world, visit: https://southland.church/give

Weekend Scripture: Matthew 26

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About Southland Christian Church

Southland is one church meeting in multiple locations across central Kentucky. We believe Jesus came for the lost and the broken, which means there's a place for everyone here. Around here, that means we worship defiantly, speak truth unashamedly, and extend grace generously.

To support this ministry and help us continue to reach across Central Kentucky and all around the world, visit: https://southland.church/give

Weekend Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

What happens when God breaks 400 years of silence? What if Christmas isn't just comfort and joy, but a call to clear the way?

This week on The Cutting Room Floor, Neil and Scott go deeper into Christmas According to Kids, Part 2, unpacking the story of John the Baptist, Mary, Elizabeth, and the moment when God's long silence finally ends.

They explore how ancient prophecy collides with everyday faith, why John's whole life was about getting out of the way, and how Christmas awakens a deep longing, even in people far from God. From Malachi to the manger, from dragons to dinner tables, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the spiritual battle behind the nativity and the simple invitation Jesus still gives: come and see.

The Challenge

This Christmas, ask the question John's life demands: Who is near to me, but far from God? Then take one small step, ask a question, share your story, extend the invitation. Let Jesus do the rest.

Hosts: Neil Gregory & Scott Nickell

What We Discuss

• Why God's 400 years of silence matters more than we realize
• How Malachi's prophecy points directly to John the Baptist
• Why Christmas softens hearts in ways Easter often doesn't
• The power of asking simple, curious questions about faith
• "Come and see" as Jesus' most effective invitation strategy
• Spiritual warfare hiding in plain sight in the Christmas story
• Finding comfort and joy without pretending everything is okay
• Why your story with Jesus matters more than having all the answers

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About Southland Christian Church

Southland is one church meeting in multiple locations across central Kentucky. We believe Jesus came for the lost and the broken, which means there's a place for everyone here. Around here, that means we worship defiantly, speak truth unashamedly, and extend grace generously.

To support this ministry and help us continue to reach across Central Kentucky and all around the world, visit: https://southland.church/give

Weekend Scripture: Luke 1:39-45

What if the wonder you lost somewhere between wrapping paper, deadlines, and traffic could actually come back and lead you straight to Jesus?

This week on The Cutting Room Floor, Neil sits down with Scott to talk Christmas nostalgia, and Mary's fierce childlike faith. In a season that can feel rushed and noisy, the conversation invites us to look through the eyes of a teenager from Nazareth, one who didn't just hope God could move, but trusted He would.

Mary's response wasn't sentimental; it was courageous. Saturated in Scripture, rooted in promise, she embraced a calling far beyond her understanding with a simple, steady "Let it be." That's the invitation of Christmas: not to do more, perform better, or polish ourselves into worthiness, but to stand in awe at the God who came near.

Your Challenge:

This week, act like a kid on purpose. Slow down. Notice beauty. Drink cocoa. Look at lights. Let wonder lead you back to worship, not worry.

Hosts: Neil Gregory & Scott Nickell

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What We Discuss

• Scott's unapologetic love for Christmas
• Why Die Hard is (apparently) a Christmas movie
• The return of Christmas According to Kids and why the team ran it back
• Mary's Magnificat and her surprising theological grit
• Humble obedience vs. trying to "do better"
• Scripture memory
• Recovering dangerous wonder in a grown-up world
• When faith feels like microscope vs. telescope living
• How worship, lights, music, and tradition awaken childlike joy
• Christmas and Easter: morning and night of the same story

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About Southland Christian Church

Southland is one church meeting in multiple locations across central Kentucky. We believe Jesus came for the lost and the broken, which means there's a place for everyone here. Around here, that means we worship defiantly, speak truth unashamedly, and extend grace generously.

To support this ministry and help us continue to reach across Central Kentucky and all around the world, visit: https://southland.church/give

What if the love you're giving, and the love you're expecting, aren't the same thing?

In this week's episode of The Cutting Room Floor, Neil and Scott wrap up an 11-week journey through men, women, and marriage. They explore what didn't make it into Sunday's sermon, from C.S. Lewis insights, to Greek word studies on love, to the work that needs to be done in every relationship. Together they unpack why fixing our eyes on Jesus is the only way marriage makes sense at all.

Challenge:

This week, choose one action that demonstrates love or respect, and practice it without expecting anything in return.

Hosts: Neil Gregory & Scott Nickell

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What We Discuss

• The divine drama of marriage and why it can't simply end with "try harder"
• What "love and respect" actually mean, and how they're misused
• The four Greek words for love and why agape changes everything
• Why biblical love feels impossible without Jesus
• Tough and tender: the two postures every husband must hold
• Emotional homework for men (and why anger is rarely the real emotion)
• Niceness vs. kindness and why only one is a fruit of the Spirit
• How to recognize the Shepherd's voice in a world full of noise
• What couples should starve and what they should feed in their marriage

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About Southland Christian Church

Southland is one church meeting in multiple locations across central Kentucky. We believe Jesus came for the lost and the broken, which means there's a place for everyone here. Around here, that means we worship defiantly, speak truth unashamedly, and extend grace generously.

To support this ministry and help us continue to reach across Central Kentucky and all around the world, visit: https://southland.church/give

Ephesians 5:21-33 | Join us as Scott unpacks God's intention for marriage in a sermon on love and respect versus bitterness and resentment.