Pursuing God with Gene Appel

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 God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Do you tend to go to worse-case scenarios when life gets hard? When the Israelites are on the edge of the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army is coming closer, they exclaim in Exodus 14:12, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” No matter the battle, God promises to deliver you from life’s most challenging circumstances Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed...

It’s natural when your back’s against the wall to be afraid. “If you cave into fear, and sarcasm, and worst-case scenarios in those moments, where is that going to take you?  Isn’t there a better plan?  Isn’t there a way out?” 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 God’...

How do you handle the pressures of life? What do you do when circumstances don’t seem to have a way out? In this week’s podcast series, Gene shares practical tools to shift your focus away from what’s tearing you apart and towards a God who is crazy about you. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped...

“…God was sending a signal to us that our salvation would come through the blood of a lamb, the “firstborn” over all creation, if we would only trust Him…” In today’s episode, Gene shares that, like the Israelites, there is only one thing that can save spiritually searching people. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in...

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 God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Is there something in your life that is getting in the way of you seeking God earnestly? In the book of Exodus, Pharaoh’s only interest in God was to the extent that it would help him be more successful and prosperous. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else…and he will give you everything you need.” Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build communit...

What is it we really hope to find when we search for God? Just like the Israelites who had been waiting for years to be delivered from their slavery and oppression, many times people search for God when they want a quick-fix or an instant remedy. In today’s episode, Gene encourages us to seek to simply know God. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and...

The stakes are high, so why is it that so many who seem to be spiritually searching prematurely end their search? This week on the podcast, Gene teaches from Exodus 4-12 to encourage and provide clarity to those who are spiritually searching. 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 conv...

How did the Israelites handle the many obstacles they faced in the wilderness? Hebrews 11:30 says, “By FAITH the walls of Jericho fell...” In today’s devotion, Gene shares that when you’re navigating change, you’ve got to live by faith – moment by moment. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Ea...

We all go through seasons where we wander spiritually. And just like the Israelites, sometimes we build our own golden calves to worship instead of “clinging to the Rock.” In today’s devotion, Gene challenges us, wherever we are at spiritually, to align or re-align our lives with the God who made us. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash comp...

Time and again the Israelites missed out on joy in their lives – no matter how God provided they slipped back into a posture of ungratefulness. Gene reminds us in today’s episode that the Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:18) Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash co...

Why do we struggle with change?  Why do we glamorize the past? So often we remember the past as better than it really was. In today's episode, Gene teaches on three factors that contribute to our resistance to change 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 God’s gra...

Psychologists say that when we go through too much life change we get on overload, which can lead to all kinds of emotional and physical problems. This week, Gene points us to principles we can learn from the Israelite’s 40-year journey – to help us navigate change in our lives with a sense of confidence and God’s presence Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build comm...

Many of you are carrying wounds in your soul that are holding you back and tearing you apart. What if what appeared to be your greatest weakness, could instead be leveraged by God for your greatest strength? In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that the God of the universe has compassion for our wounds. Jesus already conquered death so that you could experience freedom and healing. Pursuing God wit...

“Am I loved apart from what I do?” Successful people are never quite sure. In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that unless we find healing for our wounds, the infection will seep out, poison us inside and destroy our relationships 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...

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 God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

“As long as I look good on the OUTSIDE, the wound I carry on the INSIDE will stay concealed.” Moses compensated for his wound in multiple ways. And although he was one of the most influential human beings to live on earth, Gene reminds us in today’s episode that Moses had many of the same struggles that we have today. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community...

What is a wound to your soul? No matter how much we like to act like we have it all together, we all have wounds of some kind inflicted in our story. In this week’s podcast series, Gene takes Moses out of the realm of phenomenal leader and uses his story as a case study in child development that we can apply to our own lives. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build c...

The Israelites were enslaved for many years and countless times they cried out to the Lord for help. What they didn’t know is that while they were waiting, God was orchestrating a master plan to deliver them from their oppressed lives and give them a life of freedom. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and...

Sometimes when facing difficult circumstances we wonder if God is even aware of what we are going through. Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.” In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that God is like a loving father who can’t take his eyes off his kids. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounde...

Have you ever had one of those periods where you wait, and pray , and cry out to God, but it just seems like God is SILENT ? When we’re in one of those seasons, we can learn from King David when he writes in Psalm 40:1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place...

Circumstances have forced many of us into a season of waiting right now. In today’s episode, Gene provides the powerful reminder that, no matter what, God hasn’t forgotten you, and He isn’t done working in your life. And in the coming days and weeks, Gene continues to unpack life-impacting learnings from the life of Moses. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build comm...

When we’re wounded, in a difficult season of waiting, or going through enormous change, our circumstances can easily make us feel trapped. We’re kicking off a new podcast series this week, studying the life of one of the most influential human beings that ever lived and asking a question we’ve all wrestled with — Where is God?  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build...

“…I learned what Paul meant when he talked about his own personal crisis that crushed him. He pleaded with the Lord to take it away from him, but instead, God said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ In today’s episode, Gene reminds us of God’s power that is available to us, not only when we feel strong, but also in seasons of complete brokenness. Pursuing...