Join The Journey

How did people respond to Saul’s conversion? What effect did it have on the church? In this episode, Emma Dotter and Marvin Walker continue their conversation about the events following Saul’s conversion, including how people were baffled by his transformation, how he had to escape from persecutors in a basket, and how trusted followers of Jesus came alongside him to provide encouragement and affi...

What happened after Saul’s conversion? Why does God redirect our plans? How does God’s grace change everything about our lives? In this episode, Emma Dotter and Marvin Walker, Watermark South Dallas Campus Pastor, discuss how God often interrupts our plans to enable us to see him more clearly, how to walk alongside new followers of Jesus with love and grace, and what maturing in faith looks like. ...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 9:20-31. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things found in Acts 9:31: that the church would walk in peace with one another and be built up, that we would walk in fear of the Lord and would receive comfort from the Holy Spirit, and that more people would come to know Christ. If yo...

How did the apostle Paul become a Christian? Is anyone too far gone from Jesus? In this episode, Emma Dotter unpacks the conversion story of Saul: a Pharisee who was on his way to persecute Christians when he had a miraculous encounter with Jesus. Later, Saul would go by his Roman name, Paul, and become one of the most famous Christians in history: the apostle Paul. Then, Watermark Institute stude...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 9:1-19. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: that persecutors would come to know Christ, for courage and grace within believers who are being persecuted, and that God would use all of us to accomplish his purposes. Join us for a great night of Prayer and Worship this Thursda...

What does the Holy Spirit do in our lives? Does he still speak? What does it look like for him to lead us? In this episode, Emma dives into what it means to be Spirit-led and unpacks the Holy Spirit’s three primary roles in the lives of believers today. Then she gives practical advice for those who want to grow in their ability to listen for God’s voice and respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading.  /...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through our Spirit-Led Marker. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: that we would be a people who listen to the conviction of the Spirit, to the instruction of the Spirit, and would bear fruit of the Spirit in our lives. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark praye...

How did Philip vanish after his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch? Why is Bible teaching important? How should we view evangelism and discipleship? In this episode, Emma Dotter and Watermark Students Resident, Ellie Higgins, discuss the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. Together, they explore the importance of Bible teaching, being Spirit-led to share the gospel, and th...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 8:26-40. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: for our church to be sensitive to God's sending, for the lost to have an increased hunger and curiosity for Christ, and that we would have a hunger to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to the lost. Have questions about faith? Check o...

How should we think about unclean spirits? What are demons? Is spiritual warfare real? What’s so important about Samaria? In this episode, Emma Dotter and Ryan Garrahan, Watermark’s Director of Community Formation, talk about why there was such an intense rivalry between Jews and Samaritans. Then, Emma unpacks unclean spirits, demons, the spiritual realm, and the confidence followers of Jesus have...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 8:1-25. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: that God would increase the joy and goodness in our city through salvation, pray against pride in those who do not know Christ, and that we would be marked by humility when confronted with our sin. If you would like to submit a pr...

What is a martyr? Why was Stephen's death so pivotal? Do people still get killed for following Jesus? In this episode, Emma Dotter unpacks the death of the first Christian martyr in Acts 7:54-8:3 and the history of followers of Jesus being killed for their faith. Then, Watermark’s International Missions Director, Bruce Kendrick, joins to discuss how we should think about persecution and martyrdom...

"Happy Easter!! In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through On this Easter Sunday, Wes leads us in prayers of worship, gratitude, and adoration of our God who gave us life through his Son's resurrection! If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer team, you can do so at https://www.watermark.org/prayer You can als...

How does Stephen’s speech connect to the rest of Scripture? Why revisit Israel’s history with leaders who already knew it? In this episode, Emma Dotter explores fascinating insights about ancient Israel’s history and shows how Stephen’s words in Acts 7:1-53 fit into the larger story of the Bible, highlighting his main point: ancient Israel had a pattern of rejecting God, and the religious leaders’...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 7:1-53. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: we know and understand the story of the Bible, that we would not give up on committing to Scripture memory, that we would apply the Word of God to our lives. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer tea...

How do followers of Jesus remain faithful in persecution? Does the Church really thrive under pressure? In this episode, Emma Dotter examines Acts 6:8-15 and the extraordinary faith of an ordinary man named Stephen after being arrested by religious officials. Even though Stephen was not an apostle, he accomplished incredible things by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then, one of Watermark’s overseas work...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 6:8-15. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: that we would be full of grace and wisdom, for those who persecute us, that we would respond to those who persecute us in love. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer team, you can do so at https://ww...

What should care and correction in the church look like? How should followers of Jesus care for widows in their church body? In this episode, Watermark elder Todd Anders joins Emma Dotter to discuss Acts 6:1-7 and what it means to be a shepherding church, the five aspects of a shepherd, and the “one another” commands in Scripture. Then, faithful Watermark member Melanie Graber describes her experi...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 6:1-7 This week, Wes leads us in prayer for three things: that the needs of our body would be met through our church, that leaders would be raised up to care for people, and that the Gospel would continue to spread. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer team,...

What do we do when faithfulness brings legal pressure? // How should we respond when we’re criticized for our faith? Why is Gamaliel important? Who was Polycarp? In this episode, Emma Dotter unpacks Acts 5:17-42, the legal pressure the apostles faced, and how God used a Jewish official named Gamaliel to protect the gospel. Then she tells the story of Polycarp, a disciple of John who refused to den...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, College Director, Grant Wilkie, leads us in praying through Acts 5:17-42. This week, Grant leads us in prayer for three things: that we would have courage to obey God, that we would have conviction to preach the truth of the Gospel, and that we would be the type of believers who have a faith that would be persecuted. If you would like to submit a prayer r...

What are the different views about signs and wonders? Do miraculous gifts still exist today? Can the Church disagree about this and still be unified? In this episode, Emma Dotter unpacks Acts 5:12-16 and explains the spectrum of convictions within the Church about the miraculous gifts (healing, tongues, prophecy), from cessationism to continuationism. Then, Executive Director of Watermark Health,...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, College Director, Grant Wilkie, leads us in praying through Acts 5:12-16. This week, Grant leads us in prayer for two things: that we would trust the Word of God and that our church would be be fruitful and multiply. If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Watermark prayer team, you can do so at https://www.watermark.org/prayer You can also ch...

Does God care about generosity? How did the early church “have everything in common”? Why did God judge Ananias and Sapphira? In this episode, one of Watermark’s elders, Kyle Thompson, joins Emma to discuss Acts 4:32-37 and the radical generosity that marked the early church. Then, Emma unpacks Acts 5:1-11 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira with Watermark’s National Director of Merge and Founda...

"In today's Conversations for the Journey, host and Care Director Wes Butler leads us in praying through Acts 4:1-31. This week, Wes leads us in prayer for four things: that we would be Gospel-Saturated, proclaiming Jesus's name in all that we do; that we would be recognized as being people who are with Jesus; that we would be faithful to love our enemies and have boldness even in opposition; pray...