The Implanted Word Podcast

They say that you learn the most about yourself when you become a parent. It starts when you bring the newborn home. How well do you handle pressure when you’re sleep-deprived and stressed? The next phase is when you hear your little one say things you thought they didn’t hear. Yikes! Today, Pastor Bill teaches that you never know who’s listening. Does your life reflect what you truly believe? Do your conversations point towards Christ so that those listening know where you find hope?

God has a way of using the most unsuspecting people to accomplish the most unexpected things. Today, Pastor Bill teaches that God wants to do incredible things through little old you. He’s not asking you to go out and create some multimillion-dollar organization or fly to the uttermost parts of the world, though that may be a part of His plan, too. He’s asking you to simply go about your day-to-day routine, living out the Gospel message, and tell those you encounter about Jesus Christ.

How do you receive God’s Word? For many believers, the Bible is a tool used to reinforce their own preconceived notions and the way they want to perceive the world. They wield it recklessly as a sword, ready to take down anyone who disagrees with them. But, as Pastor Bill will point out in the example of the Bereans, this book, this gift from God, is meant to reveal who He is to our hearts. When we study it with humility, he’ll reveal His truth and transform our hearts to be more like His.

In today’s message from Pastor Bill, we’ll encounter a group of Jews who challenge us in our walk. This group was from the region of Berea, and they were known and still remembered for their faithfulness to God’s Word. They diligently studied it daily, and when Paul came with the Gospel, they received him eagerly and weighed his words against the Word of God. This is what we need to be doing every time we take in teaching, testing it for ourselves to be sure it aligns with Scripture.

The fruit we bear as believers may be some of the best, if not the only, evidence for the Gospel that someone in your community ever encounters. We need to be aware of this and allow it to motivate our actions and attitudes. All too often, the only thing different about us as believers is the way we spend our Sunday mornings. As Pastor Bill will urge us in today’s message, we’re called to get out into the world and share the truth that’s been revealed to our hearts by God’s Word and His Holy Spirit.

We have a real problem with entitlement in our culture. Everyone thinks that they’re owed more than they’re getting, and we’re preoccupied with figuring out who to blame for any hardship we experience. As Pastor Bill will challenge us in today’s message, suffering is a big part of our calling as believers. Paul and Silas had the opportunity to run free from the prison but chose to stay for the sake of the guard, their oppressor. Likewise, we may find ourselves called to stay for the sake of those we call enemies. 

As we examine the account of Paul and Silas in prison and the miraculous work of God that happened there, Pastor Bill has an uplifting and challenging message to share. This story is incredible. Paul and Silas, imprisoned for their faith, had an uncertain future immediately ahead. Yet, instead of trembling in fear, they lifted their voices in praise. Then the earth trembled, and God provided freedom. As we’ll find in today’s study, before they walked free, God had a bigger purpose for them.

Jesus wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. We often wish we could walk with Jesus physically and experience Him here in the flesh, but He gave us an incredible gift in his absence by sending His Holy Spirit. This Spirit doesn’t just walk with us and talk with us; He lives in us and empowers us to do things that Jesus said would be even greater than His own earthly works. As Pastor Bill will encourage us in today’s message, all we have to do to receive this Spirit is to ask in faith. 

Have you ever had a job you hated? Or a neighbor, co-worker, or classmate who just made your life miserable? You just want to get out of that situation as soon as possible. It can be very challenging to maintain patience and grace in that position. Many of us find ourselves stumbling into sinful attitudes and actions in response. But, as Pastor Bill will challenge us in today’s message, these trials are an opportunity, and God wants to use you if you’ll just open your heart to his moving.

The kingdoms of man are filled with greed, pride, violence, and lust. The focus is always on what best serves me, even when it brings harm to others. That may sound just fine to you, but when others have the same mindset, it’s going to cause conflict, and that’s what you’ll see playing out in this world every day, in real time. As Pastor Bill will remind you in today’s message, the Kingdom you enter into when you accept Jesus as Lord is one of love. That love is focused on serving others, not yourself.