First Bentonville Podcast

Walk This Way | Week Three In Ephesians 4:13–16, we're called to move from spiritual infancy to maturity so we aren't tossed around by deception or unstable beliefs. Satan's strategy is to dethrone God in our hearts and enthrone self, so growth in Christ is our strongest protection. Spiritual maturity shows up in quick obedience, grounded stability, and a life that holds truth and love together. R...

Walk This Way | Week Two This week's message from Ephesians 4:4–6 calls us to live in a way that matches our faith, marked by humility, gentleness, and patience. Because God has made us one body in Christ, we protect unity by pausing before we speak, seeking understanding, and valuing relationships over winning arguments. True spiritual change is seen in daily obedience to Jesus as Lord, letting f...

Walk This Way | Week One As we kick off our news series "Walk this Way" we learn that walking with love means living in a way that matches the calling we've received in Christ—not just believing the right things, but behaving in a way that reflects them. Paul urges us to pursue unity by choosing humility, practicing gentleness, and showing patience as we relate to imperfect people. Unity doesn't h...

Prayers That Change Everything | Week Six This week's lesson reminded us that the size of our prayers is shaped by how we see God—He is able to do far more than we ask or imagine, and His power is already at work within us. God isn't distant; through the Holy Spirit He strengthens us, renews our minds, helps us pray, and equips us for daily obedience. We also explored worship as a whole-life respo...

Prayers That Change Everything | Week Five This week's message centered on Ephesians 3:14–19 and the "Greatest Love of All": God strengthens us by His Spirit so Christ can be truly "at home" in every part of our lives. We were reminded that God's love is not earned by performance—it meets us where we are, calls us forward, and never starts or stops. As we comprehend the breadth, length, height, an...

Prayers That change Everything | Week Four Ephesians 3 reminds us that God's prayers for us aren't just about what we do, but who we become—strengthened by the Spirit in our inner life. Paul prays that Christ would "dwell" in our hearts, not as a visitor, but as One who has full access to every room of our lives. Faith is the doorway: it's action that trusts God's character, obeys God's Word, and...

Prayers That Change Everything | Week Three This week's message focuses on praying for "strength for the struggle" from Ephesians 3:16–19—strength that comes from God's Spirit working in our inner life. We were reminded that God never expected us to carry life's pressures (temptation, parenting, marriage, suffering, ministry) in our own strength, and that prayer is both dependence and honesty abou...

Prayers That change Everything | Week Two In Ephesians 3:14–15, Paul models prayerful dependence by bowing before the Father—even while suffering—showing that when prayer is hardest, we should pray our hardest. Prayer isn't about a perfect posture; it's an act of humility that moves us from self-sufficiency to reliance on God. God is not an abstract force but an attentive, loving Father who forms...

Prayers That Change Everything | Week One As we kick off a new series, this week's message from Ephesians 1:15–23 reminds us that the greatest use of our words is prayer—especially interceding for others with gratitude and love. Prayer isn't mainly about trying harder; it's about knowing God more deeply and asking for spiritual wisdom and "enlightened" hearts. In seasons of waiting, God often uses...

Discover Your Calling | Week Three This week's message explores what it truly means to discover your calling by redefining greatness through the lens of Jesus. While the world measures greatness by power, success, and status, Jesus teaches that true greatness is found in humility, self-denial, and serving others. Through Scripture and practical application, we're challenged to step off our own "th...

Discover Your Calling | Week Two This week's message explores how every Christ follower is given spiritual gifts not for personal gain, but to serve and build up the church. God equips believers through roles like apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to prepare all saints for ministry work. We are called to minister in three directions—to fellow believers, to non-believers, and t...

God is building a real church, not one defined by a name, opinions, or traditions, and that church stands on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the cornerstone. Because of Christ, we are no longer separated from God but are brought into God's household as fellow citizens with the saints. The church functions like a living, growing building where each believer is a "living st...

Easter 2026. In Luke 24, the road to Emmaus reminds us that God can feel silent in our confusion, grief, and unmet hopes, even when God is present and working. The cross shows that life will not always make sense in the moment, but we can hold onto what God has already made clear. Saturday's silence teaches that God often does the deepest work when we see the least evidence. The resurrection revea...

God gave a warning of judgment, but also provided a way of rescue through Noah—showing that salvation comes by grace through faith. Noah trusted God's word about things he couldn't yet see and obeyed, even when it didn't make sense. His faith wasn't passive; it moved him to act, and that obedience brought salvation to his household. This story reminds us that real faith means trusting God fully an...

This week's message explores Ephesians 2:8-10, emphasizing that salvation is a gift from God through grace and faith, not earned by our works. God's work happens in three dimensions: FOR us (salvation through Christ's sacrifice), IN us (transforming us into His workmanship), and THROUGH us (equipping us for good works). We are saved by grace, through faith, for the purpose of doing good works that...

This week's message explores Ephesians 2:1-7, highlighting how the phrase "But God" transforms our story from spiritual death to abundant life. Paul reminds us that every Christ-follower has a past marked by sin and separation from God, a present defined by God's rich mercy and grace through salvation in Christ, and a future where God will eternally display His grace toward us. The core truth is t...

This week's message emphasizes the urgent call for believers to live on mission, following Christ's example of seeing and serving those who are spiritually blind. Jesus modeled a life of intentional engagement with people, recognizing that every person matters to God and deserves an introduction to His love. We are called to make the most of our time, working the works of God while we have opportu...

This week's message explores the spiritual inheritance believers have in Christ, emphasizing that God's promises are freely given and require no effort to claim. Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:18-23 reveals three key truths: the hope of God's calling (our past doesn't define us, God isn't finished with us, our future is secure, and what we do today matters), the glory of His inheritance in the saint...

This week's message explores how the Holy Spirit's role in salvation provides believers with an unchangeable inheritance. When we hear the gospel and place our faith in Christ, we are immediately sealed by the Holy Spirit—a divine guarantee of our salvation that cannot be altered. The Holy Spirit serves as both a seal of ownership and a pledge (down payment) of the complete inheritance we will rec...

This week's message explores the profound truth that our salvation originates entirely with God through His sovereign choice. Before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless, predestining us for adoption as His children—not based on anything we've done, but according to His grace and love. We are accepted in "the Beloved" (Jesus), which means God loves us with t...

This week's message explores wisdom from Proverbs 1, defining it as seeing and responding to life from God's perspective rather than relying on our own understanding. True wisdom begins with reverence for God and is gained through studying His Word, obeying His commands, and cultivating a deep, personal relationship with Him. 

This sermon explores Psalm 1:1-4, contrasting the blessed life of those who delight in God's law with the fate of the wicked. It emphasizes how believers should avoid worldly influences and instead be rooted in Scripture, resulting in spiritual prosperity and God's favor. The message highlights that when God plants us by His Word, He provides for us, produces fruit through us, and preserves us—lea...

This week's message explores the incredible spiritual inheritance believers receive through Christ, emphasizing that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Just as earthly inheritances pale in comparison, our connection to Christ grants us access to unfathomable riches—wisdom, grace, redemption, and divine guidance for both spiritual and practical matters. The key...

This week we kick off a new series through the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians 1:1–2, we explore the incredible spiritual inheritance believers have in Christ. Paul emphasizes three key themes: discovering our God-given purpose as apostles called by His will, understanding our position as saints set apart for His possession, presence, character, and glory, and receiving God's provision of grace an...

This week's message explores the biblical foundation of the Church, beginning with Jesus' declaration in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church on the confession that He is the Christ. The birth of the Church occurred at Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended on believers with wind and fire—traditional symbols of God's presence—marking them as God's new temple. Through speaking...