Wes Young Writer

On suffering. This is a sermon from my supply preaching trail, the final in a series on the book of Job. July 5, 2026 at First Baptist Church, Abbeville, GA. (Sorry the travel audio is not as clear as with my studio mike.)

What is mastery? And why does it matter? This episode, last in a three-part series on expertise, explores these questions.

What is mastery? And why does it matter? This episode, second in a three-part series on expertise, explores these questions.

What is mastery? And why does it matter? This episode, first in a three-part series on expertise, explores these questions.

This past October (2024), I took a spiritual journey (pilgrimage) to the Glendalough monastic site south of Dublin, Ireland. In this episode, I recount the adventure. This is the third and final episode in my series about my trip to London and Ireland. You can see my photos and videos on YouTube @wesyoungwriter: ⁠⁠Pilgrimage

This past October (2024), I took a spiritual journey (pilgrimage) to the Glendalough monastic site south of Dublin, Ireland. En route, I visited London, England. In this episode, I recount the second bit of my London adventure. You can see my photos and videos on YouTube @wesyoungwriter: ⁠Pilgrimage

This past October (2024), I took a spiritual journey (pilgrimage) to the Glendalough monastic site south of Dublin, Ireland. En route, I visited London, England. In this episode, I recount the first bit of my London adventure. You can see my photos and videos on YouTube @wesyoungwriter: Pilgrimage, Part One: London, England

Is "God" a personality or a metaphor? In Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces , he says metaphor. In this AudioBlog, I say otherwise. Enjoy.

"Wes Young Writer" (formerly the "East & Wes" podcast) is an AudioBlog by Georgia author Wes Young. Here you’ll find essay-style writings (the sort of thing you’d expect from a blog) offered in the convenience of audio form. Find more at wesyoungwriter.com.

My new book, ONE STORY, BUILDING, is available now. Find all your purchasing options at wesyoungwriter.com (or, of course, find it on Amazon). Lots of good laughs in this book. I hope you enjoy!

Today’s episode is a sermon inspired by the topic of my forthcoming book, One Story, Building: A Memoir on the Power of Story . I hope you enjoy this recording, and when the book releases later this month (Jan. 2024), I hope you’ll order a copy. It will be available in all major online retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Nobles, Books-a-Million, etc.), but to get a signed copy (and to cut out...

Reaching Sol , my debut novel, is now available as an audiobook (on both Audible and Apple). Today's episode is a free sample, one chapter. Voice Actor: Charles (Chuck) Conover of Texas.

In this finale episode of Season Six, we address the maddening difficulty of work and fruit, toil and futility. If we only live in the material, natural world, then like Solomon we are left crying, "Meaningless, meaningless!" The best we can do, in the mono-dimension, is to try and enjoy our work, for it is our lot. However, if there is both a natural and a supernatural realm, the paradi...

The mainstream modern paradigm is built on the narrative that things rolled out accidentally. The only "driver," from past to present, has been the blind driver of natural selection. Any appearance, so the story goes, of design or meaning is merely ascribed by humanity. The complexity of the cosmos impresses us, arbitrarily, and so we feel there must be "more to it," but this &...

Understanding that there is a supernatural realm, and a Supernatural God who is Lord of all: now what? What is our duty in light of this truth? Many Christians wonder if they are doing enough, or what "enough" would be for them. Today's message from the sixth chapter of Micah will help answer that difficult question. Also, in part, it will reframe the question itself. Much like when...

The incarnation is the defining event of history, and through it we see all things in new light. Do bodies matter? Well, God came in bodily form. Can we trust our senses? Jesus trusted His. Does the present, material world, and our material selves, really count for all that much in comparison to Heaven? Our Lord cared enough even to return a borrowed donkey! Today's episode works to bring back...

Jesus is the stone that causes men to stumble. I can see this, totally, for to talk of “God” can mean so much, can slip so easily into vagueness and ephemeral whatever-ness that two can say “Yes, I believe” and mean wholly different things. The hallway narrows when we talk of “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The Way becomes narrower still, perfectly and exclusively narrow, when the Lord lan...

Today's episode presents the second half of a two-part sermon that explores naturalism vs. supernaturalism, especially as concerns the Christian worldview. This episode is the second installment of my "You Are Here" supply-preaching series (Season Six). This episode was recorded on January 8, 2023 in Fort Valley, Georgia. May it draw you nearer to the Lord. *Disclaimer: There are par...

This premiere episode of Season Six presents the first half of a two-part sermon that explores naturalism vs. supernaturalism, especially as concerns the Christian worldview. This episode is also the first sermon in my "You Are Here" supply-preaching series. This episode was recorded on January 8, 2023 in Fort Valley, Georgia. May it draw you nearer to the Lord.

If you are reading this, then you exist. I'm sure of it! This quick intro episode overviews the adventure that is Season Six, and the seven episodes that follow are seven sermons I've delivered along my supply preaching trail. Special thanks to my home church, Limestone Baptist in Cochran, for hosting me for two of these messages (find more at limestonebaptistchurch.org ).

This Season Finale is a short story entitled "Hird Island." The tale is a coastal adventure set against the backdrop of the bizarre and tragic year 2020. [*For another fun story featuring McIntosh County, try my new novel, Reaching Sol . Find more at wesyoungwriter.com .]

Today's episode explores what I refer to as the "Sapelo Sentiment," which was a strangely haunting feeling that struck me while touring Georgia's remote Sapelo Island. The sentiment is partly captured in Psalm 39:4-7 "Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you....

Hero stories are everywhere, and they have been around a long, long time. Some stories are Judeo-Christian (David killing Goliath). Most are not (Spider-Man killing the Green Goblin). Are these stories innocent entertainment, or can they corrode into something else? Today's episode wrestles with this question. Two things to keep in mind: 1) At least the heroes of old, like Odysseus and Beowulf, ar...

If I asked 100 Americans what happened last July 4, I would get 100 different answers. "I was at the lake" and "I was at a BBQ" and so forth. But if I asked 100 Americans what happened July 4, 1776, I would get one answer. "History" often pretends to be multiple-choice-simple, but it is far from it. Today's episode explores the reason for this and, more importantly, the significance of it in terms...

There's an interesting bit of linguistics in the famous 1 Corinthians 13 passage. Modern translations use the word "love" (like in verse 13, "faith, hope, and love, but the greatest is love"). Older versions, like the King James, use instead the word "charity." Now this discrepancy is no doubt the simple, inevitable drift of language. "Charity" meant "love" to a 17th century Britain, but it means...