Wildwood Assembly

I’m a recovering prayer wimp. For years my prayers seemed to zig, then zag, then zig again. Maybe you can relate. Perhaps your prayer life could use a tune up, a reboot? If that sounds overwhelming, I’m inviting you to a simpler plan. Four minutes, plus four weeks, equals forever change! Every day for four weeks, pray for four minutes, focusing on these core elements of prayer:

Father, You are good.

I need help.

They need help.

Thank you.

It’s that simple. Really! Talking with God doesn’t have to be complicated or complex. The power isn’t in the words we pray, but in the One who hears them. Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

Read more Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Chosen Not Because You Were Great, But Because He Loves You

Moses confronts the most dangerous theological error a chosen people can make: believing they were chosen because they deserved it. ‘The Lord did not set his heart on you because you were more numerous than other nations,’ he says, ‘for you were the smallest of all.’ Election is not merit-based. God chose Israel because He loved them and because He keeps His oaths. The reason for grace is grace itself. The command to destroy the Canaanite nations is stark, and Moses offers no softening. The danger is not military but spiritual: intermarriage will lead to idolatry, and idolatry will lead to destruction. Israel’s survival depends not on superior firepower but on exclusive allegiance. Then Moses turns from warning to memory. ‘Remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you.’ The manna was not merely provision; it was pedagogy. God let them go hungry so He could feed them—teaching them that ‘people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.’ Jesus would quote these exact words in His own wilderness. The chapter builds to a devastating assessment of Israel’s character: ‘You are a stubborn people. You have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you.’ Moses retells the golden calf, his smashing of the tablets, his forty days of intercession. The God who was ready to destroy has been held back, again and again, by a mediator who threw himself between divine wrath and human folly. Moses is the most exhausted intercessor in the Bible, and his plea is always the same: ‘They are your people. Remember your promise.’

00:00 Drive Out the Nations
01:00 Do Not Intermarry
02:00 You Were the Smallest of Nations
03:00 God Will Drive Them Out Little by Little
04:00 Destroy Their Idols
05:00 Remember the Wilderness
06:00 Not by Bread Alone
07:00 A Land of Abundance—Don’t Forget God
08:00 Not Because You Are Good
09:00 You Are a Stubborn People
10:00 The Golden Calf Retold
11:00 Moses Smashes the Tablets
12:00 Forty Days of Intercession
13:00 ‘They Are Your People’

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’

Hear, O Israel: The Lord Is One

Moses presents the body of instruction that will govern Israel’s life in the land, and he begins with the Ten Commandments—spoken again to a new generation. The words are familiar, but the context gives them fresh force. These are not abstract moral principles floating in philosophical space; they are commands given by a God who personally rescued this nation from slavery. ‘I am the Lord your God who rescued you from Egypt’ is not a theological statement; it is a credential. He has earned the right to command. The people’s response at Sinai is retold: they heard the voice from the fire and were terrified. ‘Let Moses go and listen,’ they said, ‘and we will obey.’ And God’s reply is one of the most poignant lines in Scripture: ‘Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands.’ It is the sigh of a God who knows what is coming. Then comes the Shema—the great declaration that Jesus would later call the greatest commandment: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.’ These words are to be repeated to children, discussed at home and on the road, tied to hands and foreheads, written on doorposts. Faith is not a compartment of life; it is the atmosphere in which all of life is lived. And then the warning: when you eat from vineyards you did not plant and drink from cisterns you did not dig, ‘be careful not to forget the Lord who rescued you.’ Prosperity is the most dangerous season for the soul.

00:00 Introduction to the Law
01:00 The Covenant at Sinai Renewed
02:00 The Ten Commandments Repeated
04:00 The People’s Fear at the Mountain
05:00 ‘Oh, That They Would Always Have Hearts Like This’
06:00 The Shema: Love the Lord Your God
07:00 Teach These Words to Your Children
08:00 When Prosperity Comes, Don’t Forget
09:00 Tell Your Children the Story

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivo

The God Who Is Near: A Nation Unlike Any Other

Moses shifts from history to exhortation, and his urgency is palpable. ‘Do not add to or subtract from these commands.’ The covenant is not a rough draft to be edited; it is a finished document to be obeyed. He reminds them of Baal Peor—the survivors standing before him are alive precisely because they did not join that rebellion. Faithfulness is not merely virtuous; it is the reason they are still breathing. Then Moses makes an extraordinary claim about Israel’s distinctiveness: ‘What great nation has a God as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him?’ The argument is not that Israel’s laws are more sophisticated than other nations’ laws, though they are. The argument is that Israel’s God is closer. The surrounding nations have gods of wood and stone—gods that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. Israel has a God who speaks from fire and yet leaves no visible form. The prohibition against idols is grounded in theology: you saw no shape at Sinai because God has no shape that human hands can carve. To make an image is to diminish the infinite to the finite. And yet, even in the warning of exile that follows—scattered among the nations, worshipping handmade gods—there is a promise: ‘If you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.’ The God who is near does not stay near automatically. He must be sought. But He has promised to be found.

00:00 Obey and Live
01:00 The Witness of Baal Peor
02:00 A Nation with God Near
03:00 No Form at Sinai—No Idols
04:00 Warning Against Worshipping Creation
05:00 The Promise of Return After Exile
06:00 Has Any Nation Heard God’s Voice?
07:00 Three Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk?  No. People didn’t groan when he appeared. They didn’t duck for cover when he entered the room.  He called them by name. He listened to their stories. He answered their questions. He visited their sick relatives and helped their sick friends. He fished with fishermen and ate lunch with the little guy and spoke words of resounding affirmation. He went to enough parties that he was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds.

People were drawn to Jesus! Thousands came to hear him. Hundreds chose to follow him. They shut down their businesses and walked away from careers to be with him. His purpose statement read, “I came to give life with joy and abundance” (John 10:10 The Voice). Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

When the kids are grown and age starts to creep in, how do you love your spouse well? Larry McCall explores this often-overlooked season of marriage—a time of quieter homes, shifting schedules, and new realities like becoming grandparents, facing health challenges, or learning to slow down. Larry reminds us that marriage isn’t about personal happiness but about reflecting Christ’s love through selfless service, even in times of change or transition. You’ll learn how to grow closer, serve with purpose, mentor others, and finish well by leaving a legacy of faith, love, and Christ-centered devotion.

Receive a copy of A Seasoned Marriage and an audio download of "Maintaining a Thriving Marriage in Midlife and Beyond for your donation of any amount!

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If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

The Conquests Retold: What God Has Already Done

Moses continues his historical survey, and the emphasis is unmistakable: God did this, not you. The journey through Edom, Moab, and Ammon reveals a God who respects the boundaries He has given to other nations—the descendants of Esau, the descendants of Lot. Israel is commanded not to provoke them, not to take their land, not even to pick a fight. God’s promises to Israel do not nullify His promises to others. Then the tone shifts. King Sihon of Heshbon refuses peaceful passage, and God hardens his heart—a deliberate act that leads to his destruction. King Og of Bashan, the last of the giant Rephaites, meets the same fate. His iron bed, thirteen feet long, is mentioned almost as a museum curiosity—proof that even giants fall before the God of Israel. The conquered land is divided among Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, but with a condition: their fighting men must still cross the Jordan and fight alongside their brothers. No one inherits in isolation. Then Moses turns to Joshua with words that carry the weight of a dying man’s blessing: ‘You have seen everything the Lord your God has done. Do not be afraid.’ And finally, Moses’ own plea—‘Let me cross the Jordan’—is refused. ‘That’s enough,’ God says. ‘Speak of it no more.’ The finality is crushing. Moses may look at the land from the peak of Pisgah, but he will never set foot in it. The servant who gave everything is denied the one thing he wanted most.

00:00 Passing Through Edom, Moab, and Ammon
01:00 God Respects Other Nations’ Boundaries
02:00 Thirty-Eight Years of Wandering
03:00 The Defeat of King Sihon
05:00 The Defeat of King Og
06:00 Og’s Iron Bed
07:00 Land Divided East of the Jordan
08:00 Fighting Men Must Cross Over
09:00 Moses’ Charge to Joshua
09:00 Moses Pleads to Enter the Land
10:00 ‘That’s Enough—Speak of It No More’

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.