The Implanted Word Podcast

Have you ever watched old TV footage from decades ago? Before high definition, everything looked blurry and grainy—like you were peering through a foggy lens. You almost want to rub your eyes to make the picture clearer. Today, Pastor Bill says that celebrating Easter without Jesus is like that. Without Him, it’s just eggs, candy, and a holiday meal. But with Jesus, Easter bursts into full color. It becomes the celebration of victory over death. So, how are you seeing Easter? 

Eating a donut for breakfast, a candy bar for lunch, and greasy pizza for dinner might sound great in the moment. But after a few days, your body starts craving something hearty and homemade. Today, Pastor Bill says your spiritual life works the same way. You can try to fill yourself with cheap substitutes — alcohol, parties, old memories— and they may feel good for a while. But if that’s all you’re feeding on, you’ll end up empty. There is a way to be filled. That fulfillment has a name: Jesus.

There’s nothing like stepping outside on a cool day and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face. Yet that same sun is so powerful you can’t even look at it, and too much exposure can burn you. Still, without it, life on earth would not exist. Today, Pastor Bill reminds you that while every living thing depends on the S-U-N, there is One even more powerful and life-giving—the S-O-N. The question is, are you living under the life and authority of Jesus, the Son?

This world is full of things for us to be worried about! It seems like every week there is a new crisis in our towns, our countries, and our world that threatens to spell the end of life as we know it. But Pastor Bill encourages us to remain faithful to the Lord in spite of our challenging circumstances. Our lives aren’t defined by the tough times we live through; they’re defined by the work God is doing within us. The more faithful we are to Him, the more He transforms us into better reflections of His Son.

One of the ways that God challenges us to live differently is to respect the image of God reflected in every single person around us. Many of us, even those of us who follow Jesus, are likely to look down on certain people because of different beliefs, different cultural backgrounds, or even different interests. But Pastor Bill doesn’t want us to forget the most important thing about humanity: God made every one of us special, in His image! We all have a place waiting for us at the Lord’s supper table.

Back in Old Testament times, it was a big deal to enter into God’s presence! Pastor Bill reminds us that Moses’ face was glowing after spending a significant amount of time with the Lord on Mount Sinai! Well, that presence that was so inaccessible to people thousands of years ago is something that is available to us freely today! When we allow Jesus into our lives, He breaks down the barriers that separate us from the Father’s presence. We have been sanctified by His blood.

When you leave a loaf of bread out on the counter for too long, and one slice starts to get moldy, do you throw out the bad slice and save the rest to eat later? Of course not! You throw away the entire loaf, because the mold has probably already spread to the rest of the loaf! In today’s message, Pastor Bill reminds you that the stain of sin has contaminated this entire world. But praise God, because He offers us a way to live in the eternal light of His Son, Jesus Christ! We are forever free from sin’s shadow!

When we read the book of Ecclesiastes on its own, we can feel lost and hopeless! After all, one of the central conclusions of this book is that nothing we can do will prevent the judgment that is coming for this world that we live in. But Pastor Bill reminds us that the end of Ecclesiastes isn’t the end of our story! We learn today that God made a way for us to be saved from the penalty of our own sin. By trusting in Jesus, the burden of sin was lifted from us and placed on Jesus’ shoulders.

Jesus’ disciples were devastated after His crucifixion. All of them had left behind their families and their jobs to follow after the Lord, and they were beginning to wonder what their next steps would be. But Pastor Bill reminds you today that because you’ve already read what happens on Sunday, you can live joyfully on Saturday! You don’t have to be worried about what is coming next for you, because you have already received a promise from God’s Word! His promises never return void.

Every day we have on this Earth is a gift from the Lord! We have the opportunity on a daily basis to make an impact for God’s Kingdom, but we have to be the ones to take initiative on the opportunities we are given! Pastor Bill wants us to realize today that we don’t know when our time is going to run out. Do we want to stand before God’s throne wishing we had done more with the time we had? Or do we want to enter His Presence with the confidence that we did not let a single day go to waste?