McGregor Podcast

How can Jesus know the hearts of men and also ask a genuine question? How can he foretell his own death and resurrection and also say he does not know the day or the hour of his return? In this Beyond the Notes teaching, the speaker walks through the biblical evidence for both sides of Christ's nature, drawing from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Hebrews, and Philippians. The episode covers specific mo...

The King Has Come "Jesus Feeds the 5000" (Matthew 14:13-21) In Matthew 14, Jesus has just received word that his cousin and fellow minister John the Baptist has been killed. He withdraws to grieve. A crowd of more than 10,000 follows. And rather than sending them away, Jesus extends compassion. Then he turns to his disciples and says something that stops them cold: "You give them something to eat....

What is God doing through a young adult ministry that just outgrew its room? Around McGregor hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian walk through where The Bridge stands today, including the recent fifth Thursday gathering on Stage 1 that drew new faces for hamburgers, worship, and trivia. They also confirm that Mike Hess starts as Family Ministry Minister on June 1, share details about the upcoming newc...

Journey Together "Holiness and Conscience" (Romans 1:16-17) When God's holiness is fully in view, the conscience has no place to hide. Elder Peter Finch uses the life of Martin Luther as a window into what happens when a person measures himself honestly against what God actually requires: not human standards, not a curve, but the standard of loving God with every part of you, every day. Luther's y...

What do the rulers named Herod in your New Testament have to do with each other? The answer is more connected than most people realize. In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard traces the Herodian dynasty across four generations, beginning with Herod the Great at the birth of Jesus and ending with Herod Agrippa II in the court of Governor Festus during the apostle Paul's imprisonmen...

The King Has Come "Oh, The Places You'll Go" (Matthew 14:1-12) In Matthew 14:1-12, two men occupy the same passage but inhabit entirely different worlds. Herod Antipas sits on a throne, driven by lust, cowardice, and a fear that bounces him from one bad decision to the next. John the Baptist sits in a dungeon, yet speaks freely because his faith is anchored in Christ. Pastor Russell Howard traces...

Mother's Day arrives on the heels of one of the fullest Sundays of the year at McGregor.   Around McGregor hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian look back on last Sunday, which included 17 baptisms across two services, senior recognition for graduating high school students, the introduction of incoming Family Ministry Minister Mike Hess, and a 400-person member meeting that welcomed 34 new members into...

What is the right response when you come face to face with the holiness of God? In this Journey Together Bible study, David Miller teaches from Luke 5:1–11, exploring what R.C. Sproul calls the trauma of holiness. The episode covers three effects that God's holiness produces in us: an awareness of sin, a holy fear, and a change in direction. Using the account of Peter's miraculous catch of fish, D...

What do you do when you've prayed and prayed and God has not said yes? In this episode of Beyond the Notes, Pastor Russell Howard picks up where Sunday's sermon left off, working through James 4:2-3 to address what Scripture says about unanswered prayer. He walks through five biblical questions to ask when God hasn't yet said yes: Am I being selfish? Am I using prayer to delay obedience? Has God a...

Matthew "The Power of Unbelief" (Matthew 13:53-58) In Matthew 13:53-58, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and the people who knew him best are the ones who reject him most completely. Pastor Russell Howard examines what the hometown crowd's response reveals: that unbelief is not a matter of insufficient evidence, but of a heart unwilling to bow. The passage raises the stakes for everyone...

What does a full Sunday at McGregor actually look like? In this Around McGregor episode, hosts Mark Bricker, Tamara Miller, and Christian Miller walk through one of the busiest Sundays of the year, covering 17 baptisms across two services in Fellowship Hall, graduation recognition for all 22 seniors at all three services, and the in-person introduction of prospective Family Minister Mike Hess. The...

God is often described as loving, gracious, and near. But in Scripture, every person who encountered Him directly fell to the ground in fear. In this McGregor Podcast teaching, Danny traces that pattern from Moses at the burning bush to John in Revelation, asking why holiness produces awe before comfort. He explores what Scripture means when it calls God holy, why the chasm between humanity and Go...

The word "equity" shows up in Psalm 67:4. It also shows up constantly in the social justice conversation. Those two uses do not mean the same thing. In this Beyond the Notes episode, David Miller works through what Psalm 67:4 actually says about how God governs and why the Hebrew word behind "equity" points to impartiality and righteousness, not equal outcomes. He draws on two key passages, Romans...

"Our Missionary God" (Psalm 67) David Miller, Pastor of Membership and Missions at McGregor Baptist Church, preaches through Psalm 67, an ancient harvest song that Israel sang while bringing in crops from the land God had given them. But the psalm is about more than the harvest. It is about the reason God blesses his people at all. The requests in verse one, drawn from the priestly blessing of Num...

Spring is one of the busiest seasons in the life of McGregor, and this week's episode makes that clear. In this Around McGregor, hosts Mark, Tamar, and Christian cover an unusually full stretch of upcoming events: the preschool and children's choir spring concert on April 26, baptism in Fellowship Hall for the first time during the Renew Phase 2 renovation, Graduate Recognition Sunday on May 3 wit...

Journey Together   "An Introduction to the Holiness of God" (Isaiah 6; Job 42)   What does it actually mean that God is holy? Before the answer can land, some ideas have to go. In this opening Journey Together teaching, Pastor Russell Howard begins a new series on the holiness of God by clearing away three distortions that have found their way into Christian thinking: open theology, which pictures...

Sin is attractive precisely because it doesn't show you what it costs. In this Beyond the Notes teaching, Elder Peter Finch opens Hebrews 3:13 to examine what the Bible means by the "deceitfulness of sin." He traces three specific lies sin tells — that it is a logical conclusion, that it is a reward you deserve, and that it leads to freedom — and sets each of them against what Scripture actually s...

The Psalms Series "Worship and Warning" (Psalm 95) In Psalm 95, Elder Peter Finch draws us into the full picture of biblical worship. The psalm opens with a call to exuberant, communal singing before a God who is supreme Creator and sovereign Redeemer. But it does not stay there. The second half carries a serious warning: do not let your worship be disconnected from a surrendered heart. Using the...

What does it look like when an entire church family changes at once? On this week's Around McGregor, Mark Bricker, Tamar Miller, and Christian Miller recap McGregor's first Sunday worshiping in Fellowship Hall as the Renew Phase 2 renovation gets underway. They talk through new parking patterns, tighter seating, and the small moments that made the morning memorable, including one kid who swapped h...

"The Doxology" (Jude 24-25) In Jude's closing two verses, the tone shifts from correction to praise. After six weeks of warning his audience about the danger of trusting their own wisdom, their own strength, and their own version of faith, Jude ends with a doxology: a word of glory directed at the only God who is actually able. [SPEAKER NAME] walks through what that word "able" really means, and w...

Psalms - Songs of the King "A Psalm For The Journey" (Psalm 84) What does it mean to stand before God and give an account? In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard opens in Psalm 84:7 and brings that ancient pilgrim language into conversation with 2 Corinthians 5:6-11. He walks through five affirmations Paul makes to believers, covering the source of Christian courage, the reality o...

Psalms - Songs of the King "A Psalm For The Journey" (Psalm 84) In this episode of the McGregor Podcast, Russell Howard unpacks Psalm 84, exploring Jesus as the Chosen Servant who embodies gentle grace and brings global glory. Discover how Jesus navigated conflict, extended compassion to the hurting, and sought to fulfill the Father’s will above all. Russell Howard challenges listeners to reflect...

Easter Sunday afternoon, the worship center transformation began. By Monday morning, the construction crews were already inside. On the April 12 episode of Around McGregor, hosts Mark Bricker, Tamar Miller, and Christian Miller record from inside the construction zone on McGregor's first Sunday in Fellowship Hall. They walk through the full logistics of the transition: where to park, how the new v...

How do we fight for the faith when the world pushes back — and false teaching is everywhere? In this week's Midweek Bible Study from the Book of Jude, we work through Jude 17–23 and find a clear game plan for contending for the faith right where God has placed you. Whether you're a business owner, a teacher, a plumber, or a retiree — you have a platform, and you have a testimony. This passage give...

What does hope actually look like when nothing is going your way? In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard walks through three Old Testament figures, Job, Abraham, and Habakkuk, to draw a clear line between situational optimism and biblical hope. He traces Job 19 as one of the most precisely articulated resurrection hope passages in all of Scripture, written from the depth of Job's...