Spray United Methodist Church Podcast

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

What do we do when we still believe, but prayer feels empty, worship feels mechanical, and faith no longer feels strong?

In this episode, Hoyt considers why faith sometimes feels thin and reminds us that tired faith is not failed faith. Through Psalm 13, the desperate father’s prayer in Mark 9, and Elijah’s exhaustion in 1 Kings 19, we see that God does not abandon us when we struggle with doubt, disappointment, or weariness.

We also consider several simple ways to remain open to God’s grace: praying honestly, borrowing words from Scripture, staying close to trustworthy people, choosing one small spiritual practice, and caring for our bodies.

When our grip feels weak, Christ is still holding us.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

In Episode 39, “We Are All Ministers,” we explore the truth that ministry is not limited to pastors, church leaders, or people standing behind a pulpit. Every follower of Jesus is called and equipped to serve.

Our gifts and circumstances may differ, but God can use each of us through ordinary acts of love—listening to someone who is hurting, encouraging the discouraged, welcoming a stranger, preparing a meal, making a telephone call, or quietly praying for another person.

You do not need a title or formal position to make Christ’s love visible. We are not all pastors, but we are all ministers.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

Why does the Church still matter in a world where many people practice faith on their own—or have walked away after being hurt?

In Episode 38, Hoyt explores the Church as the body of Christ: a place where faith is strengthened, burdens are shared, lonely people find belonging, and believers are sent to serve their communities. He also speaks honestly about the harm churches can cause and offers guidance for finding a healthy congregation centered on Christ, Scripture, grace, accountability, and service.

Whether you are active in a church, considering returning, or healing from a painful experience, this episode offers a compassionate reminder that the failures of Christians do not erase the faithfulness of Christ.

Scriptures include Matthew 16:18, Colossians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Acts 2:42, Hebrews 10:24–25, Galatians 6:2, and Matthew 5:16.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

In Episode 37, “Hope Without Denial,” we explore the difference between genuine Christian hope and simply pretending that everything is all right. Faith does not require us to ignore our pain, hide our fear, or deny the difficult realities around us. Biblical hope looks honestly at hardship while continuing to trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Even in seasons of grief, uncertainty, illness, or disappointment, we can acknowledge what hurts and still believe that God is present, working, and leading us forward. Hope is not denial—it is confidence that suffering will never have the final word.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

Waiting is one of the hardest parts of life. We wait for healing, guidance, reconciliation, test results, open doors, and answers to prayer. In those uncertain seasons, it can feel as though God is silent or far away.

In this episode, Hoyt reflects on the “waiting rooms of the soul” and what it means to remain faithful when we cannot hurry the answer. Drawing from Psalm 130 and the stories of Simeon and Anna, we discover that waiting is not wasted time—and it does not mean doing nothing. God remains present, offering sufficient grace for today and strength for the next faithful step.

Hoyt’s books, The Apostles’ Creed and The Lord’s Prayer, are available on Amazon. Search for author Hoyt S. Barrett Jr.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

What can we offer when someone is hurting and there are no words that can take the pain away?

In this episode, Hoyt explores the ministry of presence—the faithful act of showing up, listening, and remaining beside someone when we cannot remove their burden. Drawing from Job’s friends, the tears of Jesus at Lazarus’s tomb, and his own experience with dialysis, Hoyt considers how simple acts of compassion can reflect the presence of Christ.

We may not have the answers or the power to repair every loss, but through Christ, we can help one another carry the burden.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

What happens when we pray for relief, but the burden remains?

In this episode, Hoyt reflects on Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” and Christ’s promise: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, CSB).

Drawing from Scripture and his own experience with dialysis, Hoyt explores unanswered prayer, human limitations, and the strength God provides for the next faithful step. Weakness is not spiritual failure, and needing help does not mean that our faith is inadequate. When our strength comes to an end, God’s grace does not.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

In a world that never seems to stop, rest can make us feel uncomfortable—or even guilty. We may begin measuring our worth by how much we accomplish, forgetting that God never intended our value to depend upon our productivity.

In Episode 33, “Sabbath in a Restless World,” Hoyt explores Sabbath as God’s gift of worship, freedom, mercy, and restoration. We consider its roots in creation, its connection to Israel’s deliverance from slavery, and Jesus’ reminder that “the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.”

Sabbath should never become a weapon against people whose work, caregiving, illness, or medical treatment makes traditional observance difficult. It is an invitation to trust that God remains at work when we stop.

Primary Scriptures: Genesis 2:2–3; Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Mark 2:23–28; Matthew 11:28–30

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

How do we stand by our convictions without treating those who disagree with us as enemies?

In this episode, Hoyt considers what it means to speak the truth in love, listen before answering, and remember that every person is created in the image of God. Christian love does not require agreement, but it does require patience, humility, and respect.

Drawing from Ephesians 4:15, James 1:19, Romans 12:18, and John 13:35, we are reminded that people are not arguments to be defeated. We can disagree without becoming enemies—and allow the love of Christ to remain visible in us.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.

If you’d like to share encouragement or questions about today’s message, you can text us. We may not respond individually, but your feedback helps us pray for you and shape future episodes.”

There is a kind of tiredness that a good night’s sleep cannot cure. You may still believe in God and love Jesus, yet prayer requires more effort, worship feels distant, and familiar words begin coming from the mouth instead of the heart.

In Episode 31, Hoyt considers what it means when the soul becomes tired. Drawing from Psalm 23, Matthew 11:28, Romans 8, and familiar truths of the Christian faith, he reminds us that a weary soul does not always need something new. Sometimes it needs to receive an old truth with fresh attention.

A tired soul is not a faithless soul—and it is not a forgotten soul. Jesus still invites the weary and burdened to come to Him and find rest.

“Sowing seeds of the Gospel, trusting God for the harvest.”™ 🌱✝️

• “Intro/Outro music: Ambient Guitar Magic, courtesy of Transistor.fm (CC BY-SA 4.0 license).”

The Spray UMC Podcast is a conversation for ordinary people seeking to follow an extraordinary Savior. Together we explore Scripture, Christian faith, and everyday discipleship in a way that is biblically faithful, deeply practical, and understandable for believers of all ages.