Zion Podcast

In the book of Acts, Peter heals a man at the gate called "beautiful". The people who saw this were witnesses of the miracle-working power of God. These people were witnesses because of their experience with God. With their eyes, they saw the power of God and what He could do for their lives. They saw that He can heal, restore, and deliver. Just like these people, God wants our experience with Him to make us witnesses of His character and His power.

The reality is that your life might be a witness of God's glory. As witnesses of God's goodness, we have the opportunity to testify how wonderful life can be with the living God. When we do this, the people around us start to notice that something is different. A single witness becomes a great cloud of witnesses who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Listen in to find out more as Pastor Brandon teaches us that there is power in witnessing and experiencing the presence of God. 

This Easter Sunday, we celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's undeniable that someone born thousands of years ago still has an effect on today. But what does this mean for us? Jesus was not born so that God can put a band-aid on all of our issues and brokenness. No, He was created for so much more. . .
In this week's episode, we learn that through Jesus, we are made perfect through Jesus's resurrection. Christ the redeemer has risen! As you are listening, our prayer is that you would discover a new relationship with Jesus and begin to understand what He paid for in a real way. 

This Palm Sunday, our worship pastor Allison Weedin brings the word as she tells us the beautiful story of Jesus riding the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. Throughout her telling of the story, she provides us with wisdom for our lives with a new perspective.

In the passage of John, God fulfills a prophecy that is told 553 years before it takes place (Zechariah 9:9). This prophecy is Jesus riding a donkey down the streets of Jerusalem in His triumphant entry. What is even greater than that, is to know that God fulfills all prophecies this way. He always holds true to His word.

You won't want to miss this week's message as you also discover a new meaning to the palm branches. Pastor Weedin tells us that it's not a coincidence that God gave us two palms of our own. This is so that we have the opportunity every day to pick up our palm branches and give the Lord our praise! Find out more by listening to this week's episode.

God is in the business of doing things greater than we can imagine. In the book of Acts, the disciples performed signs and wonders, not because they were seeking them, but because it is what flowed out of their knowledge and experience of being with God. Being with God and knowing His character is crucial in our daily lives as Christians because it gives us faith and understanding to bring His Kingdom down to Earth.

In this week's episode, Pastor Brandon shares a story in Acts 3 about how Peter heals a lame beggar. He teaches us that even though the lame man only had the expectation to receive a financial donation, Peter understood that God wanted so much more for this man.  For some Christians, we walk through life only with the expectation that God throws us a figurative bone when we need help the most, just like this lame man. Hopefully, after listening to this episode, your faith is built to believe that God has a power that is way beyond your expectation. In response, we pray that you would begin to see signs, wonders, and miracles flow out of your knowledge and experience of what God wants to, and can do.

When you decide to follow Jesus with your life, you inherit the kingdom of God. You become a son or daughter of the king of kings! With that crown comes royal attributes that you carry with you every day. 

Listen in as Jennifer explores what that means for your every day life through the story of Esther and challenges us to walk with the royal authority we are given as children of God!

The full story of Esther can be found by reading the book of Esther in the Bible.

Other Scripture References;
Psalms 5:12
Proverbs 1:5
Proverbs 31:25-26
Galatians 5:22-23
Psalm 16:5
Jeremiah 29:11
Romans 8:28
Esther 4:13-14
Proverbs 16:9
Ephesians 3:20

Many times as Christians we've heard the call to be fully devoted to the Lord. Full devotion involves developing and growing a culture that reflects the heart of God. It's more than just our prayers and involvement in the church, it's the way we walk outside of the church.

In this week's episode, Pastor Brandon helps us to learn what living fully devoted looks like. It involves fellowship with the people around us, breaking bread, and being in each other's homes. It means to be full of awe at everything that God is doing in our lives and in the church. But there is one more thing that causes us to change from the inside out in everything we do. 

Giving our lives to the Lord requires the fear of God. This fear is what every believer needs to understand that life is much more difficult without Him. It gives us dependency and wisdom. Listen to this episode to find out more. . .

In the Bible, Elijah knew that even though he was ordinary, he was connected to an extraordinary God. The prophets of Baal fell on their faces before the Lord through Elijah's demonstration of God's power. In the face of the world today, God wants us to have this same connection so that His power may be revealed on Earth.

In this week's episode, Pastor Brandon teaches us that God doesn't always use the mightiest and most spiritual giants, but He always uses ordinary people that are willing to listen and be obedient to His voice.  As God speaks to you during this message, our prayer is that you would receive the Holy Spirit to guide you and direct you to His call on your life in an extraordinary way. We pray that you would be empowered in such a way that it makes an impact on your life and your community just like it did Elijah.

David J. Bendett is the Senior Pastor of Rock City Church in Corpus Christi, TX. He returned to his hometown of Excelsior Springs to prophecy over Zion and deliver a powerful message during our 2023 Encounter week. Listen in to hear this man of God speak over our lives and our future.

Resting and waiting have become one of the most challenging things for this generation to recognize. It's uncomfortable, it's awkward, and sometimes we feel guilty for doing it.  In silence, we are forced to think deeply about our lives, avoiding the monotonous tasks of the fast-paced world. What value is there to sitting in an empty, quiet room?

The reality is that this is exactly what God is calling us to do when Jesus called the disciples to "sit and wait" until the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:4).  The Father wants us to interact with Him in such a way that we should sacrifice our time and our comfort for it.

In this week's episode of the Zion Podcast, Pastor Brandon Block tells a story of the power that came on a woman after she decided to wait for three days to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Through this story, we learn that God honors the sacrifice of our time to wait in His presence with a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"Repentance is not an emotion, but a continual choice, an act of the will." 
-Brandon Block

Sometimes, being close to God isn't possible if we are constantly turning away from Him. That's why he leads us to repentance. This word "repentance" doesn't mean that we have to cry and confess at the altar, but it's actually an action. You could define it as a 180-degree turn towards God.

This week at Zion, we not only learn the importance of repentance and what it means to repent, but Pastor Brandon Block also reminds us of what it's like to truly be close to God. This is so that we can recognize that being close to Him isn't a matter of how far away He is from us, but it's whether or not we desire to change our direction and turn towards the Father.