Pursuing God with Gene Appel

One of the most powerful stories in Scripture is the story of Joseph, a young man whose life unraveled almost overnight. Betrayed by his brothers, stripped of his status, and sold into slavery at just seventeen, Joseph’s dreams seemed shattered before they ever had a chance to unfold. Yet behind the dysfunction, jealousy, and injustice, God was writing a bigger story. If you’ve ever felt blindside...

As we wrap up this week in the Old Testament Challenge, we arrive at the most intense moment in Abraham’s journey, a test that feels almost unthinkable. After waiting decades for the promised son, Abraham is asked to place Isaac on the altar and trust God beyond logic, emotion, and instinct. This episode explores what it means to surrender the very thing you love most, to trust God when obedience...

Faith is not just stepping out when God says go, it is staying put when God seems slow. Abraham and Sarah received an extraordinary promise, descendants as numerous as the stars, yet year after year passed with no child. Waiting exposed their doubts, their impatience, and their temptation to take control. When they tried to “help” God, it created consequences that rippled through history. But even...

What do you do when God asks you to move forward and you don’t have all the details? In this episode of Pursuing God , Gene looks at the life of Abraham and unpacks what real faith looks like. It’s not about having a clear roadmap or guaranteed outcomes. It’s about trusting God enough to take the next step, even when you can’t see the whole journey. If you’ve ever felt stuck between comfort and ob...

Why Abraham? Today we look at the surprising beginning of God’s nation-building plan and the pattern we see throughout the Bible: God chooses the weak and the unlikely to accomplish His purposes. If you’ve ever felt too old, too broken, or too ordinary to be used by God, this conversation is for you. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash comp...

Today we’re looking at God’s covenant with Abraham and the three promises that set His rescue plan in motion — land, nation, and blessing. From Abraham to Jesus, we see a promise-keeping God at work. What promises are you holding onto today? 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 convi...

From the very first pages of Scripture, God reveals that brokenness is never the end of the story. After sin enters the world, God covers Adam and Eve’s shame through the sacrifice of an innocent life, offering an early picture of redemption that points directly to Jesus. This moment in Genesis foreshadows the cross, where Christ would ultimately bear our guilt and restore what sin had broken. As...

After sin fractures God’s good creation, the story of Noah reveals a powerful truth: brokenness is not the end of the story. Even in judgment, God is at work to heal, restore, and begin again. Through the flood, we see both the seriousness of sin and the mercy of a God who refuses to abandon His creation. From the earliest pages of Genesis, God paints windows of hope, including the first promise o...

Genesis 3 reveals the moment God’s good creation fractures through deception, disobedience, and sin. By tracing Satan’s tactics from the garden to the brokenness we still experience today, we see how guilt, shame, fractured relationships, and a broken world entered the story. Yet even in judgment, hope remains. Through Noah’s story, Scripture reminds us that God still seeks, shows favor, and offer...

What does it mean to be made in the image of God? God calls creation good, but humanity very good, revealing that people are intentional image bearers created for a relationship with Him and with one another. Through the story of Adam and Eve, we see God’s design for community, purpose, and trust, along with the ongoing question of who defines good and evil in our lives.  Pursuing God with Gene Ap...

Creation begins with one foundational truth: God is the starting point of everything. Week 1 of The Old Testament Challenge starts with Genesis 1 and the powerful reality behind the Bible’s opening words, “In the beginning, God.”  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...

Discover how expressing your uniqueness with passion and extending love with devotion helps people move from attending church to truly belonging. Learn why meaningful connection, small groups, and intentional relationships are essential to building a spiritual family. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and...

Explore six practical expressions of love that strengthen God’s family, including selflessness, zeal, joy, prayer, generosity, and hospitality. Discover how lived-out love creates deeper connection, unity, and spiritual growth in the church. 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 convi...

Discover how genuine love helps people truly connect in God’s family. Learn why sincerity, integrity, and friendship are essential marks of real love and how extending love with devotion creates a church where people belong and grow. 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 th...

God designed every person in His family with unique gifts and purpose. Explore how expressing your God-given uniqueness with passion helps others connect, strengthens the church, and allows you to play your part in God’s family. 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...

Belonging to God’s family is about more than attending church. Discover how connection, love, and using your unique gifts help turn outsiders into insiders and create the kind of spiritual family God designed us to experience. 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’...

Guilt and shame can keep us trapped in the past, but Jesus has the power to forgive fully and set us free. Discover how God’s mercy removes condemnation and how forgiveness opens the door to freedom as we walk forward and experience power along the way. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by East...

Many people wait for God to act before they move, but Scripture shows that God often provides strength as we step forward in obedience. Learn how God meets us with power along the way as we pursue reconciliation, freedom from sin, and courageous faith. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Easts...

God often releases His power after we move in faith, not before. Through stories like the Red Sea, the Jordan River, and the ten lepers, discover how God meets obedience with supernatural power along the way. 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 eve...

God is powerful enough to do anything, but many people struggle to access that power in daily life. Explore the biblical principle of “power along the way” and discover how God often releases His strength as we take steps of faith, not before them. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’...

Even small faith can trust a powerful God. Explore what God is truly capable of and how His unlimited power can meet real needs in relationships, work, forgiveness, and everyday struggles. Learn why the strength of faith matters less than the greatness of the One we trust. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scriptur...

Having more does not always lead to peace. Explore why abundance often fails to satisfy and how true contentment is found when money loses its grip and trust in God becomes the foundation for freedom, generosity, and lasting peace. 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...

Living with less can reveal deeper trust, stronger relationships, and a dependence on God that wealth often masks. Explore how contentment grows through reliance on God and community, and why those with fewer resources often discover a peace money cannot provide. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shap...

Financial worry often has less to do with money and more to do with trust. Drawing from Philippians 4, this episode explores how contentment is learned, why circumstances don’t determine peace, and how placing Jesus at the center reshapes our relationship with money, security, and anxiety. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Gro...

Money anxiety is rarely about a dollar amount, it’s about control. We look to money to give us security, predictability, and peace, but it was never designed to carry that weight. When money becomes our source of safety, it quietly becomes our source of stress. Today is an invitation to notice what you’re asking money to do for you, and to begin shifting that burden back where it belongs, into the...