The Word For The Valley Podcast (iOS)

Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it: to love your neighbor as yourself. Those two commands are inseparable. Our love for God is meant to shape the way we live, serve, sacrifice, and relate to the people around us. But that kind of love is not something we manufacture through sheer effort. It begins with receiving the lov...

In Matthew 22, the Pharisees and Sadducees have been taking turns questioning Jesus, each hoping to expose a weakness in His teaching. But after Jesus silences the Sadducees, one of the Pharisees, a lawyer, steps forward with another question: “Which is the great commandment in the law?” And in Jesus’ answer, we are given something much bigger than a ranking of commandments. We are given, in many...

In Matthew 22, after Jesus answers the Pharisees and Herodians, the Sadducees come to Him with another challenge. Because they deny the resurrection, they present Jesus with a complicated hypothetical about a woman who had been married to seven brothers, hoping to expose what they see as a problem with life after death. But Jesus says their real mistake is deeper: they do not know the Scriptures o...

In Matthew 22, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders continues to intensify. After Jesus exposes their rejection of God through a series of parables, the Pharisees change tactics. They send their disciples with the Herodians to trap Jesus with a politically charged question about paying taxes to Caesar. Their goal is not really to discover truth. They are trying to force Jesus into...

In Matthew 22, the king’s invited guests refuse to come to the wedding feast. So the invitation goes outward. The servants are sent to the highways to invite people who would never have expected a place at the table. The feast has already been prepared, the cost has been covered, and the king desires people to come and honor his son. In this episode, Pastor Mike continues through Matthew 22:1–14 a...

In Matthew 22, Jesus continues confronting a dangerous assumption: that proximity to the things of God guarantees a place in His kingdom. The religious leaders trusted in their heritage, their position, and their identity as God’s chosen people. But Jesus tells a parable about a king who prepares a wedding feast, only to have those originally invited refuse to come. So the invitation is extended b...

In Matthew 21, Jesus asks the religious leaders what the landowner should do to the wicked tenants who rejected his servants and killed his son. Their answer is immediate: those men deserve judgment, and the vineyard should be entrusted to others who will produce its fruit. But in giving that answer, they unknowingly pronounce the verdict on themselves. In this episode, Pastor Mike continues throu...

In Matthew 21, the response to Jesus begins to change. The crowds had welcomed Him with celebration, hoping He might overthrow Rome, restore their nation, and bring outward prosperity. But Jesus had come to accomplish something much deeper. Rather than confirming their expectations, He confronts the spiritual condition of those who claimed to follow God while failing to recognize the work of God d...

You cannot receive help for the person you refuse to reveal. In Matthew 21, Jesus confronts religious leaders who are more committed to protecting their image than receiving the truth. Their mask may preserve their position, but it also keeps them distant from the One who could actually change them. In this episode, Pastor Mike continues through Matthew 21 and shows us why honesty before God is th...

In Matthew 21, Jesus is returning to Jerusalem after the triumphal entry. The crowds have praised Him, welcomed Him, and celebrated His arrival. But Jesus carries a much heavier understanding of what He sees in the city and in the temple. On His way back, He encounters a fig tree that looks healthy from a distance but bears no fruit. That image reflects the spiritual condition He is about to confr...

What does a healthy relationship with God actually look like? For many of us, prayer can feel uncertain or distant. But when we look at Jesus, we see a God who is present, attentive, and deeply relational—One who listens and knows our hearts before the words are even spoken. And that is part of why the life of Jesus matters so deeply. We learn what a healthy relationship looks like by watching Him...

In Matthew 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem as King—but not in the way the world might expect. His ministry is not built around celebrity, self-promotion, or personal advancement. It is marked by service, generosity, humility, and care for people. In this teaching, Pastor Mike begins walking through Matthew 21:1–17 and contrasts the ministry of Jesus with our tendency to equate size, recognition, and mo...

What does greatness look like in the kingdom of God? In Matthew 20, James and John are seeking position, honor, and authority. They want to be great, but their request reveals that they still misunderstand the nature of Jesus’ kingdom. So Jesus gathers His disciples and teaches them that His kingdom does not operate like the kingdoms of this world. The world uses authority to climb over others, to...

Jesus lived on purpose. In Matthew 20, we see Jesus moving steadily toward Jerusalem, fully aware of what is waiting for Him there. He has already told His disciples what will happen—His suffering, death, and resurrection—and yet He continues forward in obedience to the will of the Father. That kind of purpose is very different from the aimless way many people live: moving from crisis to crisis, s...

What if the reward is not only what we receive at the end, but the privilege of being with the Lord along the way? In Matthew 20, the workers who labored all day complain because those hired at the eleventh hour received the same payment. They say, “You made them equal to us,” because they are focused only on the wage. But Jesus is exposing something deeper. Those who worked all day had more than...

After the rich young ruler walked away, Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore, what shall we have?” And while Jesus does answer that question, He also begins to address something deeper underneath it. Because beneath Peter’s question is another question—one he may not have said out loud: “Doesn’t our sacrifice make us greater than him?” In this episode, Pastor Mike begins...

Who then can be saved? That is the question the disciples ask after hearing Jesus speak about the difficulty of entering the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus’ answer is both sobering and hopeful: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The issue is not just that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom. The deeper truth is that it is impossible for anyone to enter by...

What happens when someone sincerely wants eternal life, but misunderstands how it is received? In Matthew 19, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus with an important question: “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” His question reveals both sincerity and confusion. He believes eternal life is something he can gain by doing more, adding something good to the life he already has. But...

What are we really seeking when we come to Jesus? In Matthew 19, the children brought to Jesus receive more than a blessing. They receive time, attention, and love from the Savior Himself. In this episode, Pastor Mike helps us consider the difference between seeking God’s hand and seeking God’s face—and why the greatest gift Jesus gives is ultimately Himself.

In Matthew 19, we move from confrontation to invitation. While the religious leaders came to Jesus looking to test Him, now parents come bringing their children—hoping for blessing, prayer, and the touch of the Messiah. But surprisingly, the obstacle in this moment is not the crowd, the children, or even the parents. It’s the disciples. They rebuke those who are trying to come to Jesus. In this ep...

The conversation about marriage and divorce continues—but now Jesus brings the issue deeper than legal permission and into the condition of the human heart. The Pharisees assume that because Moses allowed divorce, God must have commanded it. But Jesus makes an important distinction: permission is not the same as design. Divorce was never God’s ideal—it was a provision made because of the hardness...

In Matthew 19, the Pharisees come to Jesus with a question—but it isn’t an honest search for truth. It’s a test. They’re looking for a way to trap Him, asking a question they know will stir emotion and division: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”But instead of avoiding the tension, Jesus uses the moment to speak clearly about God’s design for marriage, the seriousnes...

How do we know if we’ve truly understood the love of God? It’s one thing to say we believe it—but the real indicator shows up in how we treat other people. In this section, Jesus tells a parable that exposes the connection between receiving God’s compassion and extending it to others. And In this episode, Pastor Mike helps us see how God’s love is not only something to believe, but something that...

How do we handle conflict in a way that truly reflects the heart and will of God? In Matthew 18, Jesus speaks about authority that had previously been given in the context of teaching and doctrine. But here, he applies it in a different way. This time, the focus is on how we live it out—how we navigate relationships, conflict, and restoration within the body of Christ. In this episode, Pastor Mike...

Jesus repeats a striking warning—if something causes you to sin, remove it. But unlike earlier in His teaching, the emphasis here is not just personal holiness. It’s about how our actions impact others, and the seriousness of leading someone else into sin. In this teaching, we explore what Jesus is calling us to, and why the way we live matters not only for ourselves, but for those around us.