Pursuing God with Gene Appel

Words of encouragement and affirmation are vital to great and lasting relationships. In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that relationships flourish when we seek to understand before we seek to be understood and how important it is to communicate encouraging words to those we love. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in...

When you love someone, you are patient with them. The word literally means “taking a long time to boil.” Gene continues to unpack Ephesians 4 today by reminding us that the people in our lives are more important than our time and things. If you struggle with patience, it can be that your time or your things have become more important than the people in your lives. Love and hurry are incompatible....

Great relationships demand open communication. Our words have power; they can either tear down or build up. In today’s episode Gene reminds us to focus on Ephesians 4 when communication begins to break down in our families, in our work, and wherever we spend our time. Here’s a hint: bear with one another in love. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and...

In Genesis 3:15, God gives the world a glimmer of hope through a prophecy about the future - the coming of Jesus. Even though Adam and Eve were ashamed that they disobeyed God, God covered their shame. It is a picture of how God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ is foreshadowed by the killing of an innocent being. Jesus offers life, forgiveness, and salvation. God wants his story to become a par...

In today’s episode, Gene talks about the origin of chaos in the world today. God’s enemy, Satan twisted God’s rule for Adam and Eve and was able to trick Eve into eating from that particular tree. From that one incident, chaos entered the world which we call sin. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shap...

When God looked at all of creation and how each of the animals were male and female, he created Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs. Then God said of his creation, It is very good. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden and walked with God in perfect harmony. God gave them everything they needed, and he only had one rule - don’t eat fruit from one particular tree.  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is desi...

After God created everything, he announced that it was all good. He made all the land, the seas, the birds and all the animals. Then he created Adam in His image and said, It is very good. Today, Gene wants us to know that you are not here by accident. God created you and has a purpose and a plan for you. Like Adam, you are ‘very good.’ Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue G...

Adam and Eve were not the ‘stars’ of the story that begins in Genesis. In today’s episode Gene emphasizes that God is the author of the Big Story we call the Bible. Scientists have no explanation for the beginning of creation. The very first line of the book of Genesis tells us that in the beginning, God created. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and...

Adversity has a way of producing humility. When adversity kicks us and causes us to bend over in pain, we need to come to Jesus in humble prayer. In the story of Joseph, the Bible repeats, “The Lord was with Joseph.” Even during our worst circumstances, the Lord will be with us, when we come to Him in prayer. Gene encourages us to turn to God, even when we think He isn’t there. Through prayer we c...

All Joseph knows is that his life seems to be a tragic series of events. In today’s episode, Gene challenges us to pray through our own adversity to gain perspective on what God is doing. When Joseph is exalted to prime minister of Egypt, his brothers come to ask for food. Joseph is able to finally see how his brothers meant him harm, but God meant it for good. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is desi...

Just when things are going well with Joseph running Potifer’s affairs, Mrs. Potifer continues to tempt him to have an affair with her. When faced with relentless temptation, Joseph ran. But instead of being rewarded for his moral courage, Mrs. Potifer falsely accuses him of trying to rape her. Potifer throws him in prison. Sometimes doing the right thing is more costly than doing the wrong thing....

Joseph’s example shows some applicable life lessons for us today. His brothers sold him into slavery, but hid their deception by telling their father an animal had killed him. This life-altering event could have caused Joseph to be bitter, but instead he is put in charge of Potifer’s household. Joseph went from a favored son to a slave to a leader. But Joseph had to overcome his pride. Today Gene...

In the Old Testament, the story of Joseph is one that we can identify with today. Despite Joseph’s circumstances that seemed they would crush him, he found peace, knowing that God was working for Joseph's eventual good. In today’s episode, Gene touches on how we can look to Joseph as an example of God’s goodness, despite our circumstances. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you...

Jesus never asks us to do something He wasn’t willing to do. When we make the decision to be baptized, we lay aside our pride and walk in Jesus’ example. Jesus was baptized as a picture of His ultimate mission, to be His sacrifice for our sins. Gene challenges us to consider making a public declaration of our faith by committing to being baptized. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help y...

Before Jesus began his public ministry, He prepared Himself by getting baptized. It marked a turning point in His life - turning from being a carpenter to being the Lamb of God. Gene encourages us in today’s episode to make a public expression of our commitment to God through baptism. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded...

In today’s episode, Gene encourages us that when we pray, our prayers are heard in Heaven. He shows us some examples from the lives of Daniel and David and how after they prayed, angels were immediately sent to do battle on their behalf. When we pray, it makes us dangerous to the enemy. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Ground...

We have weapons to fight against the unseen forces that work to keep us from doing God’s will. Gene shows us how to defeat the enemy by using the spiritual armor like the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that Go...

Today Gene unpacks how our enemy, the devil, seeks to distract us from God. First he blinds the eyes of the unbelievers, then he steals God’s word from us; third, he sets traps to ensnare us at the places we are most vulnerable; and finally, he fights to stop the work of God inside us. But God has equipped us to stand firm and be victorious. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pur...

In today’s episode, Gene admonishes us to be part of God’s family because we belong in God’s Kingdom. When we refuse to live in community and in connection with others, we are like the missing piece of a puzzle. You are needed to complete the puzzle. Won’t you join a small group and experience the power of community? Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community,...

Obeying the ‘one another’ scriptures is impossible to practice in isolation. We need encouragement to be more like Jesus. In today’s episode Gene discusses how we can encourage and admonish others when we are connected in a small group community. As followers of Jesus, we must follow God’s commands to live in the power of community. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God,...

As we continue to look at how we live with others in community, Gene discusses the differences between introverts and extroverts. No matter which you identify with, each personality type needs both times with others and times alone with God. We are better together. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and sh...

Community is essential for survival and has an impact on our joy. When we have a small group of like-minded people, we experience the joy of answered prayer. The same holds true when we share our sorrows with others. When we find others who show us unconditional acceptance, we know we can rely on them when a crisis hits us. Gene reminds us in today’s episode that we were created to do life with ot...

There’s a proverb that says, ‘Shared joy is a double joy and shared sorrow is half a sorrow.’ The Apostle Paul says it this way, ‘rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.’ When we live in connection and in community, life is better. In today’s episode, Gene encourages us to share our lives with good friends. Transformational power happens when we live in community together. P...

When we’re stuck in a bland, predictable life that leads to nowhere, it is easy to become discouraged and to feel caged. Today Gene tells us that we have a God-given destiny, but we need to be intentional about taking God’s hand and letting Him lead us. God is still looking today for people longing for spiritual adventures with God. Will you listen to His voice and say, ‘Yes, I will obey your lead...

When God calls us on a faith adventure, He gives us a deadline. After building the ark, God told Noah it was time to enter the ark. Gene shows us in today’s episode that Noah had a choice to enter the open door of the ark. He and his family went through the door, and God kept them safe from the rains and the flood. A door of opportunity doesn’t stay open forever. We must walk through the open door...