Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

In his 1975 book, Angels: God's Secret Agents, Dr. Billy Graham said he had never heard anyone preach a sermon on angels. And... I'm pretty sure I haven't either. Most of us have heard Bible stories that included references to angels. But somewhere along the line, our basic understanding got mixed with cultural cartoonish characteristics, and what we think we know about what an angel is and does h...

Grandparents cuddle and coo over a new grandbaby’s arrival and softly someone whispers, “What a sweet little angel.” Grandchildren, all grown up, gather to honor and remember the life of a beloved grandparent and someone whispers, “Heaven just gained another angel.” From the cradle to the grave, our American understanding and beliefs about angels have been shaped more by advertising agents and Hol...

Last Sunday, we began a new sermon series we've titled Unseen: What You Don't See is Still There.   There's an old hymn that begins with the words, "Open my eyes and let me see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me... Over the next few weeks, we'll be unpacking truths in God's Word about realities that exist, but that we can't actually see. And as we do, my prayer for all of us is that God will open...

It's one of our core beliefs as followers of Jesus. The apostle Paul put it this way in his second letter to the Corinthians... For we walk by faith, not by sight. But apparently, some of our furry friends aren't convinced. You've probably seen the videos... the ones of cats who are terrified of 3-D images that look like holes in the ground? Some of those poor cats react so violently to what they...

This Sunday we're wrapping up our series, Earth 1.0: In the Beginning…the World We Lost. We've spent most of this summer looking deeper than most of us ever have at the story of creation, the fall, and the ripple effect of sin that has echoed through time. Along the way, we've discovered it's not just humanity that's been impacted, but all of creation. We've learned new things, connected dots in w...

No beating around the bush - I'm just gonna say it... Noah was a weirdo. At least... that's what everyone in his neighborhood thought. I mean, compare Noah to any of the other guys in his Rotary Club and you'd certainly be singing, "One of these things is not like the other..." But in Noah's case, being a weirdo was a good thing. Because Noah's kind of 'weird' was righteous, blameless, and obedien...

Boundaries… you’ve been learning about them since you were old enough to hold a crayon. Color inside the lines and you get a pretty picture. Scribble with no regard for the lines and you end up with colorful chaos. In a coloring book, ignoring the lines and crossing the boundaries doesn’t matter. But the boundaries that exist in our world serve significant purposes, and crossing them sometimes com...

Maybe you've read one of the many books or comics they've published, or seen one of the films or TV shows they’ve produced. Or perhaps, you’ve actually visited one of the 28 Odditoriums (museums) they have around the world. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not has been confounding and entertaining people with supposedly true bizarre stories, quirky exhibits, and weird collections for more than 100 years. Yo...

I grew up going to church. I knew what Christians were supposed to ‘look’ like. And I’d seen pictures of Jesus on the wall in Sunday School, so I had an idea of what people thought He looked like too. But it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I met someone who really looked like Jesus. And I was startled, to say the least. Short in stature… really short – maybe 4’9” on a good day, with a softly ro...

Have you ever fallen for a scam? Don’t worry… I won’t ask for a show of hands. But honestly… who hasn’t? I mean, the lies and the liars have become so convincing these days. The pitch sounds good, the product, vacation, subscription or whatever -- is an incredible deal, and if you don’t do it now, you will probably miss out on… something. And who wants to be the one missing out? You listen to the...

It began with an idea… that grew into a dream that expanded into a vision. Then the vision became a plan. And the plan evolved into a course of action. Every detail was thought out; every element carefully designed; every material purposefully selected. And when every decision had been made and every step had been taken, the dream became reality and the vision was accomplished. It was… perfect. Un...

It was back in the year 2000 that at-home kits for DNA testing became popular. Painless… simple… just follow the directions, mail it in, then wait for the results. Since then, it’s estimated that between 55 and 60 million people around the world have done one. Maybe you’re one of them? Seems a lot of people want to know where they come from and who they’re related to. But what if I told you there’...

Once upon a time… A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish… Iconic opening lines. They draw us in, capturing imaginations – young and old – with the promise of a story worth the telling. This week, we begin a new series about a story that begins with the greatest opening line of all:   In the beginning,...

For the past 8 weeks, we've been working through our series, Gravity: Breaking Free From the Weight of Sin, which has helped us reframe and perhaps even expand the way we think about sin. We've come to understand that sin is more than bad behavior, stinky attitudes, or hurtful words -- it's about how our heart is positioned -- whether we're moving toward Jesus or allowing something else to pull us...

Hide and seek… tag… or better yet, freeze tag! These are simple children’s games where one player chases or pursues all the others. But how do you decide who is going to be the chaser or pursuer… the IT? “Not it!” “Not it!” “Not it!” voices shout; everyone trying desperately to not be IT. Because sometimes chasing or pursuing can be disappointing, frustrating and exhausting. Most of us are long pa...

Have you ever noticed how some people have a different voice or way of speaking when they're talking to a baby or perhaps a pet? That's an example of  situational behavior - changing something, in this case the manner of speaking - based on the situation. But situational behavior isn't always innocent or harmless. We're in week 6 of a sermon series we've titled, Gravity: Breaking Free From the Wei...

For the past few weeks, we've been working our way through a series we’ve titled, Gravity: Breaking Free From the Weight of Sin. We've covered a lot of ground... the way sin pulls at our hearts and minds, the difference between toxic and healthy shame, the things we trust more than God,  and the disordered desires that derail our lives.  This week, we're looking at what we're calling acceptable si...

Tell me what 'cha want, what ya really, really want... But... do you really know? In his 1941 essay titled, The Weight of Glory, author CS Lewis writes, "It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us; like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pie...

If I were to ask you, “What’s the most important thing in your life?” many of you would tell me it’s your relationship with God. Good answer… at least it sounds good. But if I asked you to look at your calendar and tell me what your first priority is… the thing you give the most time, thought, and energy to… would it be something different? What really has first place in your heart and life? We're...

It's one of the first games little kids learn to play. And oh.... the fun of squeezing into the perfect spot or finding just the right-sized thing to hide behind. And then, anticipating the moment that someone discovers where you are...  I see you! There is so much joy in being found!  But somewhere along the way, being found isn't what we're after. Something shifts and we begin to look for more s...

From the moment we are born, we’re subject to its power. It pulls on us with such strength and consistency that we hardly even notice it’s presence. It feels natural, normal, the way things are meant to be. Living free of it would feel… weird. And yet, we were created for freedom. Sin doesn’t just show up in big, obvious ways in our lives – it pulls on our hearts steadily, consistently, with such...

"Have a good summer!" "Keep in touch." "Stay sweet!" "Good luck!"  Those were the standard yearbook farewell messages back in the day. As the last days of the school year approached, yearbooks would be passed among classmates, gathering signatures and well-wishes... marking the end of another chapter of life. This week, we're at the end of our series, Endurance, and Paul is penning the final words...

The best Sunday School songs are the ones with hand motions... at least those were the ones I liked! Do you remember singing, "The wise man built his house upon the rock...? The best part of that song, at least from a kid's perspective was when the foolish man's house - which he built on the sand - went SPLAT!  We're in week 3 of our series, Endurance, and chapter 3 of 2 Timothy.  Paul knows this...

April 15, 1947. Yesterday, in ballparks all across the U.S., Jackie Robinson Day was celebrated. It was on that date, 79 years ago, that Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier and forever changing not just baseball history, but American history.  Jackie's story is one of incredible endurance. Of pressing on, in the face of prejudice and discrimination,...

We're beginning a new sermon series this Sunday that we've titled, Endurance. And once again, we're diving into another of Paul's letters. It's his second to his protege, Timothy. But this time, the tone is different. Second Timothy is the most personal of Paul's letters. Likely the last he ever wrote, there is an urgency in Paul's voice. He knows he is nearing the end of his earthly race, and lik...