Conversations with Pastors

At the heart of this conversation with Jerry Wragg is Hebrews 13:17, which calls us to obey our spiritual leaders and submit to them—not to human authority, but to the authority of Scripture itself as it's faithfully proclaimed. We're reminded that exposition isn't just about explaining what a text means; it includes exhortation, where the implications of God's truth are drawn out and applied to o...

This conversation cuts to the heart of one of our most persistent spiritual struggles: self-righteousness. The core issue is trusting in ourselves as the moral standard while viewing others with contempt. What makes this so insidious is how it masquerades as spiritual maturity. We can know all the right doctrines, attend church faithfully, and still harbor hearts that elevate ourselves above other...

When we encounter discouraged brothers and sisters in Christ, we face a sacred opportunity to embody the ministry of Jesus Himself—the One who sustains the weary with a word. This week Todd Murray shows us the art of biblical encouragement, reminding us that effective ministry to the discouraged requires both a trained tongue and a trained ear. Drawing from Isaiah 50, we're reminded that Jesus kne...

The danger of spiritual drift presents one of the most sobering realities we face as believers and families. This week, Reid Price explains how even the most enthusiastic, committed Christians can gradually find themselves on the periphery of church life. The image is striking: like an airplane one degree off course at takeoff, the deviation seems insignificant at first, but across the Atlantic Oc...

What invisible burdens are we carrying that prevent us from running our spiritual race with full abandon? Dave Temple opens to Hebrews 12:1 and challenges us to examine not just the obvious sins we need to confess, but the subtle weights that slow our pursuit of Christ. Drawing from the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, we discover that Abraham had to release his need for predictability and control,...

What if everything we think is bad for us is actually good? This challenging exploration of Ecclesiastes 7 confronts our comfortable definitions of prosperity and adversity. We discover that Solomon isn't just offering ancient wisdom—he's dismantling our entire framework for understanding what makes life good. The startling claim that sorrow is better than laughter and the house of mourning better...

Life has a way of delivering disappointments that shake us to our core. When our expectations crumble and circumstances turn against us, we face a critical choice: will we see ourselves as victims, or will we recognize God's guiding hand? This week, Paul Shirley shows us the difference between how our culture views trauma—as permanently debilitating—and how Scripture presents trials as instruments...

When we've been wronged, our hearts can become battlegrounds where forgiveness fights against our natural desire for justice. This week, Marc Wragg shows us what it means to forgive from the heart. We discover that genuine forgiveness isn't just a feeling or a one-time decision, but rather an ongoing demonstration of biblical love. The discussion challenges us to examine whether we're really forgi...

When we find ourselves parenting a rebellious child, we're walking a path that God Himself knows intimately. Isaiah 1:2 reminds us that even the Lord has experienced the heartbreak of children who revolt against Him. Todd Dykstra helps us explore the spiritual realities beneath the surface of prodigal children—not as parenting failures, but as opportunities for deep sanctification in our own heart...

1 John 3 says, 'No one who abides in Him sins... no one who sins has seen Him or known Him.' These words can feel like a hammer to the struggling believer who desperately wants to please Christ but keeps stumbling. Yet what if we've misunderstood John's purpose? This exploration of 1 John reveals that the apostle wasn't writing to crush believers under condemnation, but to comfort them with assura...

This conversation invites us to examine our tendency to take offense. It often reveals more about our own hearts than about the actions of others. We're challenged to examine the difference between being legitimately sinned against and simply having our expectations—sometimes petty or selfish ones—go unmet. The conversation draws us to 1 Peter 2:21-25, where we see Christ as our ultimate example....

Whether we're the younger person rolling our eyes at outdated perspectives or the older person dismissing new ideas as naive, everyone will eventually be on both sides of this divide. But Scripture calls us to something radically different. Through passages like Romans 12:10, which urges us to outdo one another in showing honor, and 1 Timothy 5, which instructs us to treat older men as fathers and...

In a world that grows increasingly dark, we're called to be unmistakably different—not for the sake of being different, but because our allegiance belongs to the King. This week, Justin McKitterick explores what Jesus meant when He called us 'salt and light' in Matthew 5, right after the challenging Beatitudes that describe kingdom living. We discover that being salt isn't about adding flavor to c...

We have unprecedented access to biblical resources, but we face a curious paradox: we possess more tools for understanding Scripture than any generation before us, yet many of us remain intimidated by the depth of God's Word. This week, Mike Kotecki challenges us to reconsider our responsibility as believers to pursue theological education—not as an academic exercise reserved for pastors, but as a...

We all carry expectations—biblically informed ones, even—about how our lives should unfold. Marriage, career, family, ministry opportunities: these are good desires rooted in Scripture. Yet what happens when reality doesn't align with what we anticipated? Dave Temple explores a moment in Acts 1 where Jesus redirects His disciples' expectations about the restoration of Israel's kingdom. They weren'...

What if everything our culture has told us about happiness is backwards? This week James Jeong challenges us to examine where we're seeking fulfillment. Are we chasing the world's definition of happiness—self-oriented, subjective, and ultimately empty—or are we anchored in the biblical understanding of blessedness? Drawing from Psalm 1, Psalm 32, and the Beatitudes, we're reminded that true joy co...

This week Kempiz Hernandez takes us into Philippians 1, where Paul models a transformative approach to church relationships. We discover that our failure to love often stems not just from selfishness, but from losing sight of the bigger picture—the gospel itself. Paul reminds the Philippians of their 'koinonia,' their participation in the gospel from day one, establishing that our love for each ot...

At the heart of John chapter 3 lies a truth that challenges our understanding of belief and obedience. We often think of John 3:16 as the complete gospel message, but as we journey to the end of this chapter, we discover John the Baptist revealing something deeper: belief and obedience are inseparable companions. When John declares that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, he immediately...

Where does true knowledge originate, and how do we discern it? This week, Jerry Wragg takes us deep into the theological foundations of epistemology—how we know what we know—and challenges us to anchor our understanding firmly in Scripture rather than in the seductive conveniences of artificial intelligence. We're reminded that God alone possesses infinite knowledge and has breathed life into us a...

Have you found yourself grumbling without even realizing it? Complaining about traffic, coworkers, children, or circumstances that don't go our way. But what if this habitual grumbling reveals something deeper about our hearts? This week Brian Arnold explores how our complaints are actually red flags pointing to a lack of gratitude and, more significantly, a failure to trust God's sovereignty over...

In our modern culture, we often struggle with the concept of submission to authority, especially when it comes to church leadership. Yet Scripture reveals a beautiful design woven into the very fabric of creation—a divine order that reflects the eternal nature of the Godhead itself. When we examine passages like Ephesians 4, we discover that church leaders aren't self-appointed authorities but gif...

What does true success look like through God's eyes? This week, Gonz Herrera shows us that Joshua 1:8 challenges everything we've been taught about achievement and prosperity. We discover that God's definition of success isn't found in our bank accounts, our children's salvation, or our perfectly structured lives—it's found in our obedience to His Word. The passage reveals three transformative pra...

In our hyper-emotionalized culture, we face this challenge: learning to distinguish between emotions as gifts and emotions as authorities. This conversation unpacks a critical truth that many of us struggle with daily—our feelings, while real and God-given, were never meant to serve as the ultimate guide for our lives. Scripture alone holds that authority. We discover that emotions aren't neutral...

What if the very limitations we're fighting against are actually God's loving design for our spiritual growth? This week Dave Temple challenges us to examine this distinction: the difference between being resigned to our circumstances and being submitted to God's sovereignty. Drawing from Jeremiah 29 and the story of Israel's exile in Babylon, we discover four essential 'handholds' for climbing th...

This week Dan Kreider challenges us to reconsider the supremacy of corporate worship over our private devotional lives. Drawing from David Clarkson's Puritan classic 'Prizing Public Worship,' we're confronted with a radical premise: God is more glorified, more present, and more powerfully at work when His people gather together. This isn't to diminish private prayer or personal Bible reading, but...