Wildwood Assembly

Do you prepare for church worship?  We’re sadly casual when it comes to meeting God. Suppose you were invited to a Sunday morning breakfast at the White House?  How would you spend Saturday night?  Would you think about your questions and requests?  Should we prepare any less for an encounter with the Holy God?

Come to worship prepared to worship.  Pray and read the Word of God before you come, and come expecting God to speak. Then you’ll discover the purpose of worship—to change the face of the worshiper.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “Our faces, then, are not covered.  We all show The Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like Him” (EXB).  God wipes away our tears, softens our furrowed brows and touches our cheeks. He changes our faces as we worship.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

The Earth Opens Its Mouth

The offering regulations for when Israel finally enters the land carry a quiet note of grace—‘when you arrive’ is not ‘if you arrive.’ God still speaks of the promised land as a certainty, even as the current generation is condemned to die in the wilderness. Their children will get there. The promise bends but does not break. A man is found gathering wood on the Sabbath and is stoned—a punishment that shocks modern sensibilities but reveals how seriously God takes rest. The Sabbath is not a suggestion; it is a commandment woven into the very fabric of creation. Then God commands tassels with a blue cord on every garment—a visible, tangible reminder dangling from every hem: you belong to someone. Remember whose you are. But the heart of today’s reading is Korah’s rebellion. Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan, Abiram, and 250 leaders, confronts Moses with words that sound almost democratic: ‘The whole community is holy. Why do you set yourselves above us?’ It is a reasonable-sounding argument that masks a fundamental error—they confused being set apart with being set above. Moses’ response is to fall on his face and let God decide. The next day, the ground opens and swallows Korah, Dathan, and Abiram alive. Fire consumes the 250 incense-bearers. And yet the very next morning the people blame Moses for the deaths, and a plague kills 14,700 more before Aaron runs into the gap with his censer, standing literally between the living and the dead. Then God settles the question of authority once and for all: twelve staffs are placed in the tabernacle overnight. Aaron’s staff alone sprouts buds, blossoms, and ripe almonds—life from dead wood. The symbol is unmistakable. God’s chosen leader is the one through whom He produces life where there should be none.

00:00 Offering Instructions for the Promised Land
02:00 Same Law for Israelites and Foreigners
03:00 Unintentional vs. Deliberate Sin
04:00 The Sabbath-Breaker Stoned
05:00 Tassels with a Blue Cord
06:00 Korah’s Rebellion Begins
07:00 Moses Confronts Dathan and Abiram
09:00 The Earth Swallows the Rebels
11:00 Fire Consumes the 250
12:00 The People Blame Moses
13:00 Aaron Stands Between the Living and Dead
14:00 Aaron’s Staff Buds and Blossoms
15:00 The People’s Fear

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 r

Today’s boys are growing up in a world where disrespect toward women is too often treated as normal. Dave and Ashley Willis—parents of four boys—share powerful stories and biblical truths to help parents raise sons who value honor, integrity, and true manhood. They warn against the toxic “locker room mentality” and offer practical lessons that shape boys into men of character. With real-life examples and conversation starters for every age, this is a guide to raising respectful, responsible, Christ-centered young men.

Receive a copy of Raising Boys Who Respect Girls and an audio download of "Coaching Boys to Develop Healthy Respect for Girls" 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.

How do I detect God’s unseen hand on my shoulder and his inaudible voice in my ear?

Give God your waking thoughts. Before you face the day, face the Father. Psalm 5:3 (NCV) says, “Every morning, I tell you what I need, and I wait for your answer.”

Give God your waiting thoughts. Spend time with him in silence.

Give God your whispering thoughts. During your lifetime, you will spend six months at stoplights, eight months opening junk mail. Give these moments to God. Simple phrases, such as “Thank you, Father,” can turn a commute into a pilgrimage.

Give God your waning thoughts. Conclude the day as you began it: talking to God. If you fall asleep as you pray, don’t worry. What better place to doze off than in the arms of your Father.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Grasshoppers in Their Own Eyes

Miriam and Aaron challenge Moses’ authority—ostensibly over his Cushite wife, but truly over his unique standing before God. The Lord’s response is swift and specific: ‘With Moses I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles.’ Miriam is struck with a skin disease, and Aaron’s desperate plea to Moses reveals the terrible irony—the siblings who questioned Moses’ authority now beg for his intercession. Moses prays five of the most tender words in the Old Testament: ‘O God, please heal her.’ She is healed, but must wait seven days outside the camp. Even forgiveness has consequences. Then comes the reconnaissance of Canaan. Twelve spies, forty days, and a cluster of grapes so enormous it takes two men to carry it. The land is everything God promised—flowing with milk and honey, bursting with fruit. But ten of the twelve see only the giants. ‘We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes,’ they report, ‘and we looked the same to them.’ That phrase is devastating: they had already decided they were small before the giants ever saw them. Only Caleb and Joshua dissent: ‘The Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid.’ But fear is contagious, and faith, that night, was not. The people weep, plot a return to Egypt, and nearly stone the two faithful spies. God’s sentence is measured: forty years of wandering, one year for each day of exploration. The generation that refused to enter the land will die in the wilderness. And then, with grim predictability, the people reverse course and attempt to invade on their own—without Moses, without the ark, without God. They are routed. Disobedience in one direction is not corrected by disobedience in the other.

00:00 Miriam and Aaron Criticize Moses
01:00 God Defends Moses
02:00 Miriam’s Leprosy and Healing
03:00 Twelve Spies Sent to Canaan
05:00 The Cluster of Grapes
06:00 The Bad Report: Giants in the Land
07:00 Joshua and Caleb’s Faith
08:00 The People Threaten Stoning
09:00 Moses Intercedes
10:00 God’s Sentence: Forty Years
11:00 Only Caleb and Joshua Will Enter
12:00 The Ten Spies Struck Dead
13:00 The Failed Invasion

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 hi

The Spirit Poured Out and the Graves of Craving

The Levites are purified with a ceremony that makes their meaning unmistakable: the people of Israel lay hands on them, and they become living substitutes—offered to God in place of every firstborn son. They are, in a sense, a nation’s thank-offering for the night death passed over Egypt. Then comes the provision for a second Passover—a remarkable concession for those who were unclean or traveling. God’s festivals are not traps designed to exclude; they are invitations with room for those who arrive late. The cloud above the tabernacle governs Israel’s movement with a beautiful simplicity: when it lifts, they march; when it settles, they camp. Sometimes for a night, sometimes for a year. The people have no schedule but God’s presence. Then the tone darkens. Israel departs Sinai at last, and almost immediately the complaining begins. The people crave meat, remembering Egypt’s fish and cucumbers while forgetting Egypt’s chains. Moses, crushed under the weight of leadership, cries out: ‘Did I give birth to them? Why do you tell me to carry them like a nursing baby?’ God’s response is twofold: He distributes the Spirit among seventy elders, and He sends quail—mountains of quail. When Eldad and Medad prophesy unbidden in the camp and Joshua objects, Moses replies with one of the most generous lines in Scripture: ‘I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets!’ But the quail become a judgment. The people gorge themselves, and the plague strikes. The place is named Kibroth-hattaavah—the graves of craving. God gave them exactly what they wanted, and it destroyed them.

00:00 Purification of the Levites
01:00 Levites as Substitutes for the Firstborn
03:00 Retirement Age for Levites
04:00 The Second Passover Provision
06:00 The Cloud Over the Tabernacle
07:00 The Silver Trumpets
09:00 Israel Departs Sinai
11:00 Moses Pleads with Hobab
12:00 The People Complain
13:00 Craving Meat from Egypt
14:00 Moses Overwhelmed
15:00 Seventy Elders Receive the Spirit
16:00 Eldad and Medad Prophesy
17:00 The Quail and the Plague

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

Twelve Identical Offerings and the Voice Between the Cherubim

For twelve consecutive days, each tribal leader brings exactly the same offering—the same silver platter, the same gold incense container, the same bulls and rams and lambs. The repetition is deliberate and, to the hasty reader, maddening. But God does not record it as a formula; He records it twelve times, naming each leader, honoring each gift as though it were the first. The offering of Nahshon of Judah on the first day is no more or less precious than the offering of Ahira of Naphtali on the twelfth. God does not grow bored with faithful obedience. He receives each act of worship as singular, personal, unrepeatable—even when the gift itself is identical. This is the mathematics of grace: the same offering, given by a different heart, is a different offering altogether. And when the dedication is complete and the altar consecrated, Moses enters the tabernacle and hears the voice of God speaking from between the two cherubim above the ark’s cover. The God who received twelve identical offerings now speaks in intimate conversation. He is both the God of the assembled multitude and the God who meets one man in a quiet room. The lampstand is lit, its seven flames casting light forward—always forward—because the God of Israel is leading His people toward something they cannot yet see.

00:00 The Tabernacle Set Up and Anointed
01:00 Wagons and Oxen for the Levites
02:00 Day 1: Judah’s Offering
03:00 Day 2: Issachar’s Offering
04:00 Day 4: Reuben’s Offering
06:00 Day 6: Gad’s Offering
07:00 Day 7: Ephraim’s Offering
08:00 Day 8: Manasseh’s Offering
09:00 Day 9: Benjamin’s Offering
10:00 Day 10: Dan’s Offering
11:00 Day 11: Asher’s Offering
12:00 Totals of the Dedication Offerings
13:00 God Speaks from Between the Cherubim
13:00 The Lampstand Instructions

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.

Are you comfortable sharing the gospel message with others? Would you like to be more comfortable? Join us as Greg Stier provides a fun, conversational way to share God’s plan of salvation with friends or strangers.

Receive a copy of Dare 2 Share and an audio download of "Spread the Joy: Share the Gospel Today!" for your donation of any amount!

Get More Episode Resources 

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