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A promise was never going to be secured by the Israelites obedience, but by God's own word. Watermark staff, Hank Hoaglund joins Emma Dotter and Lauren Atkinson on the podcast to talk about Psalm 105. All the promises of God find their yes in Jesus and that is something we can rejoice in today!    Addtional Scripture Referenced in Today's Episode:  Deut 28; If the Israelites did not obey the laws...

Today, Emma Dotter is joined by Porch volunteer Eddie Perez to talk about God's glory in creation from Psalm 104. The psalmist David describes the majesty and power of God in creation. God provides our basic needs but also displays his goodness in allowing us to enjoy His goodness in creation. God provides for his creation in many ways, but ultimately we see His provision for us in Christ, the bre...

God is slow to anger, compassionate and has mercy on His people. Faithful Watermark member, Scot Buchanan joins Emma Dotter on the podcast today. We are reminded of who God is and how we need to respond in light of this. Where have you seen characterisics of God in this Psalm in your daily life?    Grab a Psalms Join The Journey Journal for 2024:  https://a.co/d/7rt0H3g    Got kids? Check out the...

In today’s episode, Emma Dotter explores the psalmist's deep feelings of despair and loneliness, illustrated by vivid imagery of suffering and rejection. Despite these heavy emotions, the psalmist ultimately shifts focus to God's unchanging character and mercy, emphasizing the importance of holding onto hope even in darkness. This passage reminds us to approach those who are struggling with empath...

What does it mean to be a man after God’s own heart? Today, Lauren Atkinson is joined by faithful Join the Journey team member Seth Master as they study Psalm 101, which reveals what it means to be after God’s heart. Despite his flaws, David strove to walk in integrity and purity towards God and accepted God’s abundant mercy being poured into him when he failed. Even more importantly, this psalm p...

Do joy, gladness, and singing mark the attitude and motivation of my heart and ministry? Lead Pastor, Blake Holmes joins Emma Dotter on the podcast today to ask the question, "Do I live with a proper perspective of who God is, His sovereignty and His love for me?" This reminds us that we aren't in control, God is and he cares deeply for us.    Blake's previous episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/u...

Holiness by definition is something worthy of complete devotion and in Psalm 99 we get to see that God deserves our complete devotion because He is holy. Watermark student, Ruthie Weinmann joins Emma Dotter on the podcast today. We are called to look different as Christ-followers and be transformed; however, we cannot do this on our efforts. Thankfully as believers, Jesus has sent us His spirit to...

The joy in Psalm 98 jumps off the page for Michael Stubbs who is joining Emma Dotter on the podcast today. Our faithful God seasons our faith journey with shelter from the storms of life. Psalm 98 is the joy found in proclaiming the faithful goodness of our God. A new song to our God is a heart story sung with voices and instruments. Can you sing your new song?    Summit (Men's Bible Study) Link:...

Today on the podcast, Lauren Atkinson asks us to sit in the fact that the Lord reigns. This truth impacts every part of our life, yet we often skip over it. Lauren takes us through what it means to reign and how we should respond in light of our King. Additional Scripture Referenced in Today's Passage: Luke 19:40, "He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'" Ge...

Today, Timothy Ateek is back in the podcast studio with Emma Dotter to share how God used Psalm 96 in his time away this summer. This enthronement psalm calls us to worship God with a new song blessing His name, or his character and everything that is praiseworthy about Him. What is the song in our hearts to God? Is God reigning in our lives in such a way that we naturally want to share the gospel...

Today, Emma Dotter walks us through Psalm 95 and explores how spiritual disciplines, despite their challenges, can strengthen our faith through reliance on the Holy Spirit.    Additional Scripture Referenced in Today's Podcast:  Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there...

Today, Emma Dotter is joined by faithful Watermark member Scott Meyers to talk through Psalm 94. As we think about the atrocities that occurred on September 11th, 2001, we know well the effects of wickedness on the world. How does God's justice and presence bring comfort in a broken world? We see in Psalm 94 that God's response to evil is not distant or removed. He bring justice and redemption thr...

God's decrees are trustworthy and we can rely on Him. Emma Dotter is joined by faithful Watermark member, Scott Robertson. The term translated “decrees” in Psalm 93 refer to God’s law/commands recorded throughout the Old Testament. We get to see that God's design, decrees and plans are always what's best and He can be trusted.    Additional Scripture Referenced in Today's Episode:  Romans 8:1, "Th...

In today’s passage, we are reminded of how big God is. Faithful Watermark member, Carol Robertson joins Emma Dotter to talk about Psalm 92 and how from morning to night we are reminded of God’s love and faithfulness.     Grab a Join The Journey Journal for Psalms:  https://a.co/d/7rt0H3g     Got kids? Check out the Psalms Join The Journey Jr. Journal:  https://a.co/d/eYBgvUM     You can also check...

Today, Jesse Collins is back in the podcast studio with Emma Dotter to talk about Psalm 91 and the security, deliverance and assurance we have in Christ. Jesse shares some of what he and his wife have walked through over the last year and how this psalm has been a comfort and hope. We live in a broken world, so suffering is not completely gone now. But we have hope knowing that God is present in o...

What does it mean for the Lord to “establish the work of our hands?” In today’s episode covering Psalm 90, Emma Dotter is joined by Seth and Brooke Master who answer this question. Seth will be interning with Join The Journey this fall, so you will definitely get to hear more from him!     Additional Scriptures referenced in this episode:  John 15:5 - Fruit     If you are interested in joining Set...

What does it mean that God is incomparable? And what do you do when you feel awkward sharing the gospel? In today’s episode, Emma Dotter is joined by Watermark Community Church High school student, Caleb Wenning to discuss these questions and more.    Learn more about Watermark’s ministry to Middle & High School Students: https://www.watermark.org/ministries/students     Learn more about Water...

In this episode Emma and Lauren (but mostly Lauren, our favorite JTJ podcast teammate) walk us through Psalm 88 - the psalm most commonly associated with “dark nights of the soul.” When we see the psalmist express deep and intense emotions, how do those expressions impact our understanding of God’s character?     Additional scripture referenced in this episode:   1 Chronicles 6:33 - Who was Heman?...

What does "this one was born there" mean? Emma Dotter walks through Psalm 87 and shows how the story of Nicodemus in John 3 connects to our passage today. In the Old Testament, Zion is the place where God would meet with his people in the temple. We see in this psalm that Zion carries deep spiritual significance because it represents a people or nation belonging to God. There are people from all o...

In today’s episode covering Psalm 86, Emma Dotter is joined by Watermark’s Worship Director, Hayden Browning. Watermark Music’s song, Undivided Heart, is rooted in today’s psalm. Hayden shares how this psalm not only intersected with his own life but also inspired the worship song we sing together as a church.     **Check out Watermark Music’s new song, Behold The Lamb: https://watermarkmusic.fanl...

God encourages His kids to ask Him to operate in ways that challenge the status quo and put His character on display. In today’s episode covering Psalm 85, Emma addresses this idea and more!     Additional Scripture referenced in today’s episode:  2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord isn’t wishing for anyone to perish    Grab a Psalms Join The Journey Journal:  https://a.co/d/7rt0H3g     Got kids? Check out the...

Ever wonder if God is depriving his people of anything good? Today Emma Dotter is joined by Watermark Student's graduate Anna Sharpe to talk through Psalm 84. If we are wondering if God is withholding good from us, we have to first define what good is. We see throughout the Bible, that true joy and happiness comes only from abiding in Jesus. The best gift God could ever give us is the gift of His...

How can we make sense of passages in the Bible talking about mercy and others where the writers are crying out for judgement on their enemies? Today, Emma Dotter dives into Psalm 83, an imprecatory psalm, to answer this question. The God of the Old Testament truly is the God of the New Testament. All of us in our sin were enemies of God before Christ's sacrifice for us and our salvation. On the cr...

Who are the gods the psalmist is speaking to? Today, Emma Dotter is joined by faithful Watermark member, Rob Heath, to talk through Psalm 82. While there could be different meanings of what a potential "divine counsel" or "gods" may mean, we know that ultimately God is the Most High God and is Himself the source of all wisdom.   If you have questions about taking your next step with God, feel free...

Do you remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness? In ancient Israeli culture, God commanded them to celebrate His past faithfulness to them through various feasts. In today’s episode, Emma Dotter points out how Psalm 81 was probably referencing the Feast of Tabernacles and is a foreshadowing of Christ dwelling among us. Celebrating God’s deeds is important because gratitude moves us to action and...