On The Trail

"We are a people who..."   ...love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44)  ...find rest in Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)  ...practice Gospel habits and abide in God's peace (Philippians 4:9)  In Part 4 of the Identity Series, we wrap up this compiled topic with the role of Community in our identity formation and a review of our Gospel Identity .  How does community bring the two...

Who does God say you are?  We spent last week calling out the devil's lies and strategies for warping our self-perception.   Like tearing down our fear house and building a joy house, let us tear down our Kosmos identity and live from our Kingdom identity . (If you missed "Joy vs. Fear House," find it here .)  In Part 3 of the Identity Series, we unpack four keys to understanding our New Covenant...

Two realms want to define your identity: the Kingdom & the Kosmos. The Kingdom teaches us how to see reality, God, and ourselves as God sees. The Kosmos teaches us via the world, the flesh, and the devil working together to give us an identity and affect what we believe.  In Part 2 of the Identity Series, we unpack how the enemy uses the world and the flesh together to trap us in pecking order...

God designed us to know ourselves based on relational identity. Over the next couple weeks, we'll be reviewing identity formation from the angles of brain science , Scripture , spiritual warfare, and community . Our brains work from right to left, from attachment to beliefs. So it makes sense we follow that pattern. This week's compilation reviews how attachment affects our identity .  We're looki...

Is your joy elevator stuck?  Do you ever find yourself rummaging in the kitchen for something, but you don't know what? Has someone ever given you good advice, but the emotional weight you are feeling won't go away?  These are just two mild indicators that your joy elevator might be stuck in some pain that needs to be processed.   In order for suffering to keep from becoming traumatic, our brains...

This series explores the transformative nature of JOY.  Our brains are designed to run on the fuel of joy, but they can default to fear. In their book The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled People , Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey talk about building an internal joy house. Part of building a joy house is tearing down the fear house that so many of us have built up throughout our lives. Fear and joy bonds are...

How do we keep the devil from claiming footholds in our lives?  This series looks at the five main areas where we surrender ground to the enemy. These five areas can be remembered with the acrostic SOUL-L : S in, the O ccult, U nforgiveness, L ies we believe, and L ineage.  If sin is like leaving your front door unlocked for the enemy, the occult is like throwing open the garage door and hosting a...

Satan thought he had defeated Christ at the Cross only to discover that Jesus had completely flipped the tables on him. Christ is Victor.  At the Cross, Jesus Christ disarmed the principalities and powers and canceled the debt against us (Col. 2:14-15). This victory is the foundation of our freedom and our authority in Christ. What does it look like to have this authority?  In this series, we dig...

Do our attachment styles, maturity levels, and relational skills affect our prayer life? In this series, we look at listening prayer and inner healing .  What is listening prayer and what is it not? This conversation focuses on prayer at the lifestyle level and then on R.E.A.L. prayer at the healing level. How do we invite Jesus into our emotional healing , and what do we do if we encounter obstac...

Do you ever feel like you are scraping the bottom of the barrel? Like you’re a deflating ball that just won’t bounce? This series wants to help you pump more air into that ball. We’re looking at emotional resilience . What is capacity and why is it so important? What are tools for growing emotional capacity ? In this part of the series, we also talk about the 2023 Asbury Revival.   This compilatio...

🥳 Happy Birthday, On the Trail!  This week marks TWO YEARS on the trail together. And we have a birthday gift for you!!  We’ve been hinting at The Freedom Course all year, and it’s finally here. Not only does it release today with a festive sale but also YOU GET AN EXTRA DISCOUNT! In celebration of being on the trail together for two years, we are giving On the Trail listeners a bonus discount on...

In this compilation of the Life of Jesus series, we look at prophecies He fulfilled, key points of His ministry , His Gospel values , and His work on the Cross and resurrection . Feel S.M.A.R.T. as we revisit the five stages of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. Dig into Jesus' works on the C.R.O.S.S. Learn four evidences of the resurrection that are hard to B.E.A.T. , and understand how we can L.I....

Worldview. What is it, and why is it important?  As Christians, we want to see reality as God sees it .  In this compilation of the Kingdom Worldview series, we revisit a Kingdom theology , how to be a Kingdom people , and the three pillars of Sacred Romance, Sovereign Lordship, and Spiritual Warfare.  Understanding that God is love , God is sovereign , and this world is at war are three fundament...

Do you understand your identity in Christ? Your freedom ? While Marcus is on Sabbatical, we are revisiting prior series in compilation episodes. This week we're returning to the F.I.S.H. model, with today's topic specifically looking at identity and freedom. Based on Deeper Walk's flagship book, the FISH series walks through the gospel’s four essentials: freedom , identity , Spirit , and heart-foc...

Last week we looked at four approaches that have missed the mark in transformative discipleship. Now it's time to look at heart-focused discipleship .  While Marcus is on Sabbatical, we are revisiting prior series in compilation episodes. This week we're coming back to the F.I.S.H. model. This series introduces the whole-brained , heart-focused discipleship model known as “FISH and Go FISH.”  Base...

Over the summer we’re compiling the episodes from an entire series into one episode to release on our normal Monday schedule.  So now, let's time travel to July 2022 and On the Trail's first podcast series!  The Broken Discipleship Factory series is an introduction to the concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. It discusses how the Enlightenment and other...

We’ve made it to the promised land! The people of Israel have left behind their victim identity and taken on a freedom identity. It’s been quite the journey.  In Egypt , we see them in a world of perpetual crisis and in need of salvation. In the Exodus , we see God get them through the tunnel of chaos. In the wilderness , we see them enroll in boot camp to tear down their old identity and learn th...

What does it look like to move forward into a life of freedom and continued healing?  Now that we have completed the Exodus journey, learned our boot camp lessons, and entered the promised land, it's time to walk out our victorious life in the Spirit. In this episode, we're looking at four case studies for walking out the SLOW Model in the book of Joshua, and we remember those four battles with th...

The wilderness is over! Joshua has taken charge, and it’s time to leave the manna behind and live off the fruit of the land God has for them. The lessons of boot camp are all coming together in Joshua. Victory comes when you fight the battles God asks you to fight how and when He tells you. Moving into the promised land doesn’t mean the battles end. It means fighting battles that matter and doing...

Moses and Joshua were practiced in walking with God — stopping and seeking Him, listening to Him, obeying Him, and watching what happened when they did—or didn’t. In this episode, we’re looking at the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua and walking with God into the promised land. Come join us on the trail! Helpful Links: SOM Summer Intensives: deeperwalk.com/summer-intensives   Breakthr...

You've heard of David and Goliath, but do you know about Moses and the Giants? This week you can expect some brain science , some biblical insights , and encouragement that breakthroughs can happen no matter the state of your generational contexts.  Come join us On the Trail!  Helpful Links: SOM Summer Intensives: deeperwalk.com/summer-intensives   Breakthrough! deeperwalkinternational.org/breakth...

When we find ourselves stuck with consequences we can’t change, are we going to be angry and bitter about it? Are we going to seek God in the midst of it? In this episode, we are breaking down camp and setting out with the people of Israel toward the promised land. But when the people discover that the promised land is not only flowing with milk and honey but also filled with giants, they panic. J...

We don’t have to earn God’s presence. In Christ, it is a gift! When we’re on a healing journey, it is easy to feel dirty and unclean. But Christ has done the work to make us clean so that the Holy Spirit can live within us, so we can have relationship with God.  Atonement is core to God’s solution to fixing the sin problem. It addresses the sin problem not by ending immorality but by giving us the...

What does it mean to be holy? The healing journey we’ve been on with the people of Israel has been a process of dismantling their old identity and creating a new one. This involves creating a new culture. With a new culture comes a new Law — rituals, protocols, and principles for interacting with the unseen realm, living together, caring for one another, and worshiping God. In this episode, we’re...

We have been on a victory journey with the people of Israel, one where they learn to die to their old identity , rise to their new identity , walk with God , and live in community . They’re about to leave their boot camp in the wilderness and head toward the promised land.  Alas, something tragic happens before they break camp. It’s not fun to look at the hard things, but in today’s episode, we’re...