Send a text

Hard words are only unbearable when they threaten what we refuse to release. Today we follow John 6:52–71 into the heart of that tension, where Jesus tells a synagogue audience to eat his flesh and drink his blood—and then doubles down when they object. We trace why the crowd clings to literalism, how Jesus answers with even sharper clarity, and what he means when he says the Spirit gives life and the flesh gives nothing. The result is a spiritual line in the sand: many walk away, not because he’s vague, but because surrender sounds like the death of self-rule.

We unpack the difference between adding Jesus to your life and receiving Jesus as your life. Abiding emerges as the central theme: ongoing dependence, union, and trust that displace self-provision. We explore how belief is granted by the Father, why this removes our favorite fallback stories about evidence and effort, and how Peter’s confession—“To whom shall we go?”—models the freedom found on the far side of surrender. Along the way, we make it practical: what abiding looks like at work, in prayer, and in obedience; how identity detaches from success or failure; and why assurance grows when faith rests on divine initiative rather than personal resolve.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to manage outcomes, measure your worth, or negotiate with God, this conversation invites you into rest you cannot manufacture. Listen for clarity on spiritual dependence, abiding in Christ, and the end of self-salvation—and stay for the hope that comes when grace carries what effort never could. If this helped you see John 6 in a new light, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to tell us what part challenged you most.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

A calm crowd turns restless the moment Jesus claims He came down from heaven. We follow that pivot in John 6:41–51 and unpack why the issue isn’t the miracle of bread or the promise of resurrection, but the authority of the One who stands before them. I walk through the difference between hearing and learning, how “taught by God” means an inward work that leads us to recognize the Son, and why Jesus refuses to be managed even when the room starts to grumble.

We explore the hard line many try to smooth over: “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him.” Instead of treating it like a puzzle, we receive it as reality that humbles pride and steadies anxious hearts. This is not divine pressure; it’s divine illumination. The Father draws, the Son gives life, and eternal life becomes a present possession, not a distant hope. Along the way, we face the limits of manna—real provision that still ends in death—and meet the living bread who gives His flesh for the life of the world.

If you’ve ever felt torn between wanting a helpful Savior and resisting a sovereign Lord, this conversation aims straight at that tension. We name the ways familiarity blinds us, why control fuels unbelief, and how grace dismantles our frameworks to build a deeper assurance. Hit play for a clear, Scripture-rich journey through John 6 that links divine drawing, the incarnation, and the cross into a single promise: those the Father gives, the Son keeps and raises. If this helped you see Jesus more clearly, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to tell us what moved you most.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

What if salvation doesn’t begin with your search for God, but with God’s purpose for you? We walk through John 6:38–40 to show how Jesus anchors faith in the Father’s will, not in human effort, and why that makes assurance more than wishful thinking. Jesus’ claim—“I have come down from heaven”—shifts the story from our climb to His descent. He came not to improvise redemption but to accomplish it, revealing a unified will: that none given to the Son are lost and that all are raised on the last day.

Across this conversation, we connect three vital truths: the Father gives, the Son keeps, and the Son raises. That chain of grace dismantles the fear that we might slip through God’s fingers and clarifies that belief is a God-given response, not a self-generated achievement. We also face the tender questions that love brings: How do we pray for those who have not yet believed? What does sovereignty mean for our children, our friends, and our doubts? Rather than shrinking prayer, this vision enlarges it. We ask the God who opens eyes and softens hearts to do what only He can do—give life and keep it to the end.

Along the way, we address the tension between mercy and fairness, showing why Scripture answers Why me? with worship rather than self-congratulation. And we end where Jesus does: with a clear invitation. If you feel drawn, come. Whoever comes to Him will never be cast out, never be lost, and will be raised on the last day. If this stirred new questions or fresh hope, tap play, share it with someone who needs assurance, and leave a review so others can find the message. Subscribe for more deep dives through John 6 and beyond.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

What if the hunger that keeps you up at night isn’t about food, success, or certainty, but about a source you cannot generate? Pastor Harry Barens walks through John 6:35–37 and sits us in the crowd’s sandals—where bread means survival, thirst means danger, and the daily grind makes self-preservation feel like wisdom. Jesus’ words land with seismic force: “I am the bread of life.” He is not offering advice, a system, or steps. He is offering Himself as the end of the endless cycle to secure your own life.

We trace how Jesus emphasizes identity before explanation, turning a familiar phrase into a claim of divine source. Then the message confronts a modern reflex: seeing is not believing. Evidence, exposure, and even miracles fail to produce faith if faith is fundamentally God’s work. That diagnosis removes both pride and panic. You do not muscle your way into belief; you receive it. And the comfort is as deep as the confrontation is sharp: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” Divine initiative creates real desire, and the Son’s welcome is unwavering for all who come.

Across this conversation we explore dependence vs. self-sufficiency, why coming and believing are acts of trust rather than mere agreement, and how grace reframes assurance. The takeaway is not that life gets easy, but that your source changes. Where fear once drove constant control, rest grows as you feed on the life Christ gives. If this reframed your view of faith, share it with a friend, subscribe for more teaching through John, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

Hungry for change but exhausted by striving? We open John 6:22–34 and walk with the crowd who chased Jesus for another meal while missing the meaning of the miracle. Pastor Harry Burns draws a clear line between the life we try to manage on our own and the life Jesus alone can give. The tension is real: we often want the gifts without the Giver, upgrades without surrender, resurrection without crucifixion. This conversation refuses easy answers and points us to the heart of the gospel—grace does not merely comfort; grace empowers surrender.

We trace the crowd’s questions, their demand for signs, and Jesus’ surprising reply: “Do not work for the food that perishes.” When they ask for steps—“What must we do?”—Jesus levels our strategies with a single sentence: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Belief becomes more than mental assent; it is God’s miracle in us, the end of self-reliance and the start of receiving. From there, the focus shifts from manna to the true bread. The bread of God is not a commodity to manage; He is a Person to trust. The Father is giving life, not as a product on our terms, but through the Son who will be broken and raised.

Along the way, we confront our own bargains with God: fix this and then I’ll trust you; show me a sign and then I’ll obey. Pastor Harry shows why those deals keep us on the shore of unbelief and how grace invites us off the cliff of control into the safety of Christ. Death to self is not the enemy of Christian life; it is the doorway through which resurrection becomes personal and worship becomes real. If you’re weary of rowing harder and ready to receive the Savior, this teaching offers clarity, courage, and hope.

If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can discover the Bread of Life and find new creation in Him.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

Bread filled a hillside, but the real turning point happens on black water where oars bite wind and fear tastes like salt. We pick up in John 6:16–21 and trace the movement from provision to presence, watching Jesus walk into the very place his friends feel most helpless. The disciples obey, the storm rises, and instead of a quick fix we hear a voice over the waves: “I am.” That order—revelation before relief—reframes how we think about peace, obedience, and what it means to be led by God when the shoreline disappears.

Together we explore why storms are not proof of failure but often the fruit of faithfulness. John highlights the God-claims embedded in the scene, echoing Job and the Psalms where the Lord treads the sea and rules chaos. We also weave in Matthew’s angle: Peter steps out at a word, sinks when his focus shifts, and is caught immediately. It’s the pattern that keeps us honest and hopeful: God commands, our limits surface, and grace supplies what strength cannot. The miracle does not end with water-walking; it culminates as Jesus climbs into the boat and they are immediately at the shore—a quiet picture of how presence finishes the journey.

If you’re rowing through grief, pressure, or decisions that felt clear until the wind rose, this conversation offers more than tips. It offers a Person. We talk about faith formed by storms, peace rooted in identity, and how to move from crowd comfort to costly trust without glamorizing pain. Expect thoughtful Scripture, practical reflection, and an honest invitation to lift your eyes from the waves to the One who stands above them. If this lands with you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s in headwinds, and leave a review with one takeaway—what word steadied you today?

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

Hunger can hide the heart. We step into John 6:1–15 and watch a familiar story open like a doorway: a hillside crowd, five loaves, two fish, and a question from Jesus that exposes motives and invites surrender. What begins as a need for food becomes a revelation of identity, purpose, and the kind of kingdom no crowd can control.

We trace the deliberate details John gives—wilderness, mountain, and Passover—and hear the echoes of Exodus 16 as manna meets multiplied bread. Philip does the math and finds a deficit; Andrew brings a boy’s small offering and shrugs at its limits. Jesus receives what is little and makes it more than enough, then commands the gathering of fragments so nothing is lost. That quiet act becomes a living parable: the true people of God are formed from what comes from Christ, kept by his hands, and never wasted. Twelve baskets speak of a new Israel shaped not by lineage but by grace.

When the crowd surges to make him king by force, Jesus withdraws. Not fear—fidelity. The sign points beyond full stomachs to a cross-shaped kingdom and a Savior who refuses to be tailored to human desires. We wrestle with the modern mirror: consumer Christianity, charisma over character, and the pull to seek gifts over the Giver. Along the way we hold out hope for every listener who feels like a fragment—overlooked, insufficient, scattered. In Jesus’ hands, fragments become fullness, and what’s given is never lost.

Join us as we follow the thread from Exodus to Galilee, from hunger to glory, and from crowd to remnant. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. And tell us: are we chasing bread, or the Bread of Life?

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

Step into the scene where the religious leaders thought they were trying Jesus, and watch as he takes the judge’s seat and calls five witnesses that leave no doubt about his identity. We walk through John 5 with open eyes and open Bibles, tracing how the prophetic voice of John, the public power of Jesus’ works, the Father’s own testimony, the witness of Scripture, and Moses’ covenantal authority converge into a complete and compelling case. Along the way, we unpack how first-century Jewish courts worked, why multiple witnesses mattered, and how Jesus honors the very law he gave while exposing the deeper roots of unbelief.

What emerges is both piercing and hopeful. The problem isn’t that evidence is thin; it’s that hearts crave human glory more than God’s. Jesus names the motive behind resistance, then offers mercy. The Judge who can condemn is the Savior who calls: Come to me, that you may have life. We reflect on how Scripture functions as a signpost to Christ, why the Father’s witness sits at the center of the fivefold testimony, and how Moses’ writings anticipated the Messiah from the very beginning. This isn’t a distant legal drama; it’s a present summons to trust, to lay down our defenses, and to receive the righteousness we could never earn.

We close by looking ahead to John 6, where the same Jesus who judges with perfect righteousness provides with perfect compassion, feeding the hungry and keeping his people. If this journey deepened your understanding and stirred your faith, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your support helps more people hear the gospel and find hope in Christ.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

What if the miracle was only the opening act—and the real shock was what Jesus said next? We walk through John 5 as Jesus moves from healing to declaring divine authority, claiming unity with the Father and staking out two breathtaking prerogatives: to give life and to judge. This is not a teacher asking for a hearing but the eternal Son defining himself, inviting awe that matures into worship and assurance that steadies the soul.

Together we read John 5:19–29 and unpack why “the Son can do nothing of his own accord” signals perfect oneness, not weakness. We explore how the Father’s delight in the Son overflows into creation, why “the Son gives life to whom he will” reveals sovereign grace, and how eternal life is a present possession for those who hear and believe. We also press into the hard edge of glory: all judgment entrusted to the Son so that all may honor him, the spiritual resurrection that happens now through his voice, and the future resurrection to life or judgment that no one will escape.

If you’ve wondered whether salvation can be secure, this conversation anchors hope in the authority and faithfulness of Christ. If you’ve wrestled with the nature of judgment, it shows how justice and mercy magnify Jesus together. And if your heart needs worship more than more facts, John 5 leads you onto holy ground—where curiosity gives way to conviction and conviction becomes adoration.

Listen, share with someone who needs clarity and hope, and help us spread the word. If this message helped you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what part of John 5 reshaped your view of Jesus.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

Send us a text

What if the very words of Jesus don’t just tell you what to do, but give you the power to do it? We step into John 5 and the crowded colonnades of Bethesda, where a man has waited thirty-eight years for change. Jesus sees him, knows him, and speaks a simple command that carries resurrection weight: “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” That moment moves beyond a healing story into a revelation of who Jesus is and how grace truly works.

Across John’s Gospel, a pattern emerges—command, revelation, grace, and glory. We connect “Follow me,” “Fill the jars,” “You must be born again,” and “Go, your son will live” to this scene, where Jesus directs grace toward the helpless rather than the seeking. The result is transformation that precedes understanding, exposing the limits of religious effort and the futility of waiting for the “water to stir.” Then the tension rises as the healing collides with Sabbath rules. Instead of worship, leaders deliver accusations, and Jesus answers with a claim that brings the real issue to light: “My Father is working, and I am working.” Authority, not mats or timetables, sits at the center—Jesus openly identifies as the Son who shares the Father’s work.

We also explore the second command, “Sin no more,” and why mercy is not leniency but power for holiness. Healing is the gift; holiness is the call; grace is the engine for both. Along the way we surface key themes for your walk with Christ: why divine commands expose inability and then supply ability, how worship grows when we see grace initiate, and what it means that the Son gives life to whom he will. This is a story about legs, yes, but even more about life—life spoken by the One who made the world and now makes the helpless stand.

If this message helped you take a step closer to Jesus, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a quick review so others can find it too. Your voice helps spread the good news of grace that still speaks today.

Support the show

Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."