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Youngstown Grace | Messages
Youngstown Grace | Messages episodes
- October 25, 2026 | Bad Spirits | Week Four
WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING?
Series: Bad Spirits
Primary Scripture: 1 Peter 1-5-------------------------
What good & bad spirits are you currently carrying?
Fear. Anger. Resentment. Insecurity. Jealousy. Hopelessness.
Some of these things have been with us for so long that we've started treating them like part of our identity. We blame our upbringing, our circumstances, our exhaustion, or the people who have hurt us.
But at what point do we stop allowing the things that wounded us to determine who we're becoming?
In this message of BAD SPIRITS, we're examining how destructive patterns take root, how unhealed wounds can grow into something far worse, & what it actually takes to confront the things we've allowed to live within us.
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Throughout Scripture, Jesus confronts evil directly. He names it, speaks against it, & refuses to allow it to remain unchallenged.
And as followers of Christ, we're called to take seriously the things growing in our own lives.
Through 1 Peter, we're reminded that Jesus hasn't simply forgiven our old lives. He's given us new birth, a living hope, & an entirely new identity.
We weren't created to spend the rest of our lives making excuses for bitterness, pride, anger, division, or sin. We were created to become holy, to love one another deeply, & to reflect the character of Jesus Christ.
So how do we fight & overcome these bad spirits?
1. NAME & FACE THEM through daily, weekly, & communal times of reflection.
2. INTENTIONALLY STARVE THEM by building rhythms of life that don't give evil room to grow.
3. LIVE, THINK, & BREATHE AS A NEW CREATION, becoming the holy people Christ has called us to be.Your past may explain some of what you're carrying, but it doesn't have to determine what you become.
You don't have to keep living as the person you used to be.
It's time to let the old life go.
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REFLECTION QUESTION
What bad spirit, destructive habit, or part of your old identity have you continued allowing to live within you, & what would it look like to finally surrender it to Christ?-------------------------
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTION QUESTIONS
MONDAY MORNING | PSALM 139:23-24
What good & bad things are growing in you right now that need to be honestly named before God?
MONDAY NIGHT | GENESIS 4:1-10
What wound, jealousy, anger, or resentment is “crouching at your door” that you need to address before it grows?TUESDAY MORNING | EPHESIANS 4:17-32
What anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or destructive habit are you allowing to remain long enough to gain a foothold?
TUESDAY NIGHT | JAMES 4:6-10
What would submitting to God, resisting evil, & drawing near to Him actually look like tonight?WEDNESDAY MORNING | 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5
What thought, accusation, fear, or lie needs to be taken captive & made obedient to Christ?
WEDNESDAY NIGHT | GALATIANS 5:13-26
Which fruit are you feeding most right now: the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit?THURSDAY MORNING | COLOSSIANS 3:1-17
What old pattern needs to be put to death, & what new Christlike quality needs to take its place?
THURSDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 12:1-2
What daily rhythm, environment, relationship, or habit needs to change so your mind can actually be renewed?FRIDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 1:13-25
Where are you still conforming to the person you used to be instead of becoming holy in the way you now live?
FRIDAY NIGHT | 1 PETER 2:1-12
What malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander needs to be removed so you can keep growing in your salvation?SATURDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 3:8-17
Where could you repay evil with blessing, pursue peace, & respond with gentleness instead of retaliation?
SATURDAY NIGHT | 1 PETER 4:1-11
What have you spent enough time doing that no longer belongs in the life God is creating in you?SUNDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 5:5-11
What anxiety do you need to cast on God, & what spiritual threat do you need to resist by standing firm in faith?
SUNDAY NIGHT | 2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-21
If you really are a new creation in Christ, what part of the old you needs to stop being treated like the real you?49 min - October 18, 2026 | Bad Spirits | Week Three
DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE
Series: Bad Spirits
Primary Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13 & Ephesians 6:10-20-------------------------
Do you feel delivered from the evil one?
It's a strange question, especially when we consider how often Christians pray the Lord's Prayer without stopping to think about what Jesus is actually teaching us to ask for.
We ask God for provision, forgiveness, protection, & help. But Jesus also teaches us to pray against evil itself.
In week three of BAD SPIRITS, we're taking a closer look at the Lord's Prayer, the reality of demons & spiritual warfare, & why Jesus believed we should be asking God to deliver us from the evil one.
What does it actually mean to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"?
And what happens when we spend so much time fighting our fears, anxieties, anger, & resentment that we forget there's a spiritual battle happening around us?
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Through Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us to approach God as our Father, trust His plans above our own, depend on Him for our daily needs, seek His forgiveness, & ask for protection during life's trials.
And through Ephesians 6, we're reminded that our struggle is not against flesh & blood. Our enemy isn't the person across the room, the family member who hurt us, or the people we disagree with.
Scripture tells us to put on the full armor of God, stand against the devil's schemes, & continually pray for God's strength & protection.
We don't have to understand everything about Satan, demons, or the supernatural to recognize our need for God's help.
The Lord's Prayer is more than something we recite. It's a declaration of dependence on God, a rejection of evil, & a reminder of whose Kingdom we're asking to come.
We are at war. But we're not at war with one another.
And God never intended for us to fight alone.
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Do you actually believe you're in a spiritual battle, & what would change if you began intentionally praying for God's protection, deliverance, & strength every day?-------------------------
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTION QUESTIONS
MONDAY MORNING | MATTHEW 6:9-13
Which line of the Lord’s Prayer is hardest for you to genuinely mean?
MONDAY NIGHT | EXODUS 16:1-20
Where are you struggling to trust God for today instead of demanding security for tomorrow?TUESDAY MORNING | MATTHEW 26:36-46
What trial do you desperately want removed while still needing to pray, “Your will be done”?
TUESDAY NIGHT | JAMES 1:12-18
What temptation are you blaming on God, circumstances, or others instead of recognizing what is pulling at your own heart?WEDNESDAY MORNING | 2 CHRONICLES 20:1-12
Where do you need to admit, “I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You”?
WEDNESDAY NIGHT | PSALM 121
What threat feels bigger than you right now, & what changes when you remember where your help comes from?THURSDAY MORNING | EPHESIANS 4:17-32
What anger, bitterness, pain, or unresolved wound are you allowing to become a foothold for evil?
THURSDAY NIGHT | 1 PETER 5:6-11
What anxiety do you need to cast onto God instead of carrying it until it reshapes you?FRIDAY MORNING | EPHESIANS 6:10-18
Which piece of God’s armor are you most neglecting in the battle you are facing?
FRIDAY NIGHT | JAMES 4:1-10
Where do you need to stop fighting people, submit to God, resist evil, & draw near to Him?SATURDAY MORNING | 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5
What thought, fear, suspicion, or lie needs to be taken captive before it grows into something worse?
SATURDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 12:1-2
What part of your life or will are you still refusing to place fully into God’s hands?SUNDAY MORNING | COLOSSIANS 3:1-17
What needs to be taken off your old self, & what Christlike quality needs to be put on instead?
SUNDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 8:31-39
What power, fear, evil, suffering, or spiritual opposition are you allowing to make you forget that nothing can separate you from God’s love?1 hr 1 min - October 11, 2026 | Bad Spirits | Week Two
WHO DO YOU TRUST?
Series: Bad Spirits
Primary Scripture: 1 Samuel 8-17-------------------------
Do you trust God?
It's a simple question, but sometimes our actions tell a different story.
In week two of BAD SPIRITS, we're examining what happens when we stop trusting God & begin relying on ourselves, other people, or the things of this world to save us.
The Israelites wanted a king because they wanted to be like everyone else. They wanted someone they could see, someone they could follow, & someone they could trust more than God.
And God warned them that the very king they wanted would eventually take everything from them.
But they refused to listen.
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King Saul began his reign anointed by God, filled with His Spirit, & capable of extraordinary things. But gradually, impatience gave way to control, control gave way to disobedience, & disobedience gave way to pride, jealousy, resentment, & hatred.
Saul became a distortion of the person God had called him to be.
David, however, approached Goliath with an entirely different understanding of power. Where everyone else saw an impossible giant, David saw another opportunity to trust the God who had always been faithful.
The difference wasn't strength, experience, or ability.
It was trust.
And the same choice stands before us today.
Are we going to keep trying to prove ourselves, protect ourselves, & save ourselves? Or are we finally going to surrender to God?
You don't have to prove yourself. You just have to prove who you trust.
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REFLECTION QUESTION
What fear, impatience, pride, or need for control is keeping you from fully trusting God, & what might change if you surrendered it to Him?-------------------------
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTION QUESTIONS
MONDAY MORNING | PSALM 46
What would change today if you actually stopped, became still, & trusted that God is God?
MONDAY NIGHT | GALATIANS 5:13-26
Which “spirit” or pattern is growing in you right now, & what fruit of the Holy Spirit needs to replace it?TUESDAY MORNING | 1 SAMUEL 8:1-22
Where are you asking for something else to lead, protect, or save you because trusting God feels too uncertain?
TUESDAY NIGHT | JEREMIAH 31:27-34
What destructive pattern from previous generations do you want to stop carrying into the next one?WEDNESDAY MORNING | 1 SAMUEL 10:1-10
What does Saul’s beginning teach you about what God can do with a person who is surrendered & filled with His Spirit?
WEDNESDAY NIGHT | 1 SAMUEL 13:5-14
Where is fear or impatience tempting you to take control instead of waiting for God?THURSDAY MORNING | 1 SAMUEL 14:24-46
Where has your need for control begun hurting the people closest to you?
THURSDAY NIGHT | 1 SAMUEL 15:10-31
Where are you calling something “obedience” even though you know you have not fully listened to God?FRIDAY MORNING | 1 SAMUEL 16:1-14
What could change in you if you stopped trying to prove yourself & simply allowed God to form your heart?
FRIDAY NIGHT | 1 SAMUEL 18:5-16
What jealousy, comparison, insecurity, or resentment could distort who you are becoming if you keep feeding it?SATURDAY MORNING | 1 SAMUEL 17:23-40
What past evidence of God’s faithfulness should give you courage for the giant in front of you now?
SATURDAY NIGHT | 1 SAMUEL 17:41-51
Are you facing your battle in your own strength, or truly coming against it in the name & power of God?SUNDAY MORNING | PROVERBS 3:5-8
Where do you need to stop leaning on your own understanding & trust God again?
SUNDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 12:1-2
What part of your will, thinking, behavior, or identity needs to be surrendered again so God can transform what you are becoming?54 min - October 4, 2026 | Bad Spirits | Week One
DON'T GIVE UP. GIVE IN.
Series: Bad Spirits
Primary Scripture: 1 John 3:1-24-------------------------
We all have stress. We all have responsibilities. We all experience pressure. But are we handling those things in holy ways?
In this opening message of our BAD SPIRITS series, we're talking about the things that seem to take hold of us when life gets difficult. Fear, anxiety, anger, resentment, discouragement, & even hopelessness.
These struggles are real, & Scripture reminds us that there's a spiritual battle happening around us that we often fail to recognize.
But Jesus came to do something about it.
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According to 1 John 3:8, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."
Through Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to experience freedom from sin, a new identity as children of God, & the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
So, what is OFF in you? What have you been carrying that you need to surrender to God?
Don't give up. Give in.
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REFLECTION QUESTION
What fear, anger, resentment, anxiety, or destructive pattern do you need to name before God today?-------------------------
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTION QUESTIONS
MONDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 5:6-11
What fear, anxiety, temptation, or heaviness do you need to name instead of simply letting it control you?
MONDAY NIGHT | 1 JOHN 4:7-21
Where is fear occupying space in you that God wants to fill with His love?TUESDAY MORNING | JOHN 10:7-18
What in your life has been stealing, killing, or destroying, & where is Jesus inviting you back toward life?
TUESDAY NIGHT | COLOSSIANS 1:9-14
Where do you need Jesus to rescue you from darkness & bring you more fully into His Kingdom?WEDNESDAY MORNING | EPHESIANS 6:10-18
What spiritual battle have you been trying to fight entirely through your own strength?
WEDNESDAY NIGHT | 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-18
What pain is tempting you to lose heart, & what truth from God do you need to keep looking toward?THURSDAY MORNING | 1 JOHN 3:1-10
What does your identity as a child of God say about the person you are becoming?
THURSDAY NIGHT | 1 JOHN 3:11-24
Where could love in action begin replacing isolation, hatred, resentment, or despair?FRIDAY MORNING | MATTHEW 26:36-46
What can you learn from Jesus about honestly naming sorrow, fear, & anguish before God?
FRIDAY NIGHT | PSALM 42
What would it sound like for you to speak hope to your own soul while still honestly admitting what hurts?SATURDAY MORNING | ROMANS 8:1-17
Where are you living like you are still trapped or condemned instead of led by the Spirit as God's child?
SATURDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 8:18-39
What suffering or fear needs to be confronted with the truth that nothing can separate you from the love of God?SUNDAY MORNING | JOHN 14:15-27
What would it mean for you to deliberately ask the Holy Spirit for help, guidance, remembrance, & peace?
SUNDAY NIGHT | GALATIANS 5:13-26
Which "bad spirit" or destructive pattern needs to lose ground in you, & which fruit of the Holy Spirit do you most need God to grow in its place?59 min
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