The Big Story | Acts - What Community Looks Like

Go Into All The World | The Best News Ever

THE BEST NEWS EVER Scripture: Acts 8:34–35 Runtime: ~3 min The Ethiopian eunuch asked a question: "Who is Isaiah writing about?" Philip didn't pivot to a different topic or a rehearsed presentation. He started exactly where the man was — and from that very passage, he told him the good news about Jesus. That's a skill worth having. In this episode: * Why starting with the question someone is already asking is more effective than starting with the message you came prepared to give * The gospel in one sentence: Jesus came from heaven, became a man, died on the cross, and rose again — so that anyone who trusts in him has eternal life * How to explain it simply enough for a child, clearly enough for a skeptic * An honest challenge: do you know the good news well enough to share it from the Bible? Reflection: With whom could you share the good news about Jesus this week? Pray for a specific opportunity — and for the words when it comes. Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney [https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney] Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD [https://cfhome.org/EGD] If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org. [https://cfhome.org]

Go Into All The World | Answering Questions

ANSWERING QUESTIONS Scripture: Acts 8:30–33 Runtime: ~3 min The official was reading Isaiah 53 — one of the most profound and confusing passages in the Old Testament. He understood the words but not what they meant. Philip didn't wait to be invited. He ran. What would change this summer if you moved a little faster when God nudged you? In this episode: * Why Isaiah 53 was so puzzling to Jewish readers — and what the Ethiopian eunuch couldn't have known without help * The "massive irony" at the center of the gospel: an unjust death that brings justice to the world * Why not having all the answers doesn't disqualify you from entering a spiritual conversation * The practical move: a text message, a question, a willingness to sit with someone and open the Bible together Reflection: Is there someone around you who's been asking spiritual questions? Who might God be nudging you to reach out to this week? Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney [https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney] Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD [https://cfhome.org/EGD] If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org. [https://cfhome.org]

Go Into All the World | An Unexpected Encounter, Led by the Spirit

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER, LED BY THE SPIRIT Scripture: Acts 8:26–29 Runtime: ~6 min Most of us don't think of a summer road trip as a mission field. But what if the person sitting next to you in line, or parked beside you at the campground, or reading in the stands at your kid's game — what if that person was exactly who God had in mind when he nudged you this morning? This week we're in Acts 8, watching what happens when an ordinary believer says yes to a very unexpected detour. In this episode: * Who Philip was — not one of the Twelve, just a faithful church member. Someone a lot like you * Who the Ethiopian eunuch was: a high-ranking government official, likely one of the first Black converts to Christianity, and a man who had been excluded from the temple by Mosaic law * Why God was already at work in this man's life before Philip ever showed up — and what that means for the people around you this summer * What it looks like practically to "go up and stay near" when the Spirit prompts you — including a story from Bruce and his wife Tamara at an RV park Reflection: What kind of person do you sometimes hold back from engaging? What might it look like to follow a Spirit prompting toward them this summer? Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney [https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney] Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD [https://cfhome.org/EGD] If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org. [https://cfhome.org]

The Big Story | The End - The Story Isn't Over

The Story Isn't Over: Living the Big Story Right Now Show Notes: We made it to the end. But the story isn't finished — not for us. In this final episode of the Big Story series, Lisa brings the whole journey together and asks the question every good story demands: so now what? This week we saw Jesus revealed in his full glory. We stood before the great white throne. We watched the New Jerusalem descend from heaven and heard God promise to wipe every tear from his people's eyes. And we came home — to a river, a tree, the face of God, and a world made whole. What was lost in Genesis 3 has been restored in Revelation 22. That is the story. It is the truest story ever told. And it is our story. So now we live it. Lisa offers a set of practical anchors for carrying this week's vision — and this entire series — into everyday life. How do we live as people who know how the story ends? How do we resist anxiety when we remember what's coming? How do we bring previews of the new creation into the present through acts of generosity, reconciliation, beauty, and faithful work? And then there's this: the story is meant to be told. Not everyone knows that there is a God who created them on purpose, who has been pursuing them relentlessly, and who has made a way for them to come home. You don't need a seminary degree to share it. You just need to tell someone what God has done — in scripture and in your life. Live It Out: * Live as someone who belongs to the King — trust him completely, obey him fully, seek his righteousness even when the world pulls in a different direction * When anxiety creeps in, return to the promise: God will make all things new. Let that hope replenish what fear tries to take * Look for ways to bring glimpses of the new creation into the present — an act of generosity, a word of reconciliation, a moment of beauty, a display of creativity or faithful work * Worship regularly — not out of obligation, but out of the overflow of knowing who God is and what he has done Tell the Story: Who in your world needs to hear that this story has a good ending — and that they are invited into it? Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney [https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney] Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD [https://cfhome.org/EGD] If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org. [https://cfhome.org]

The Big Story | The End - Back to the Garden

Back to the Garden: How the Story Ends Where It Began Scripture: Revelation 22:1–5 Show Notes: If you've been with the Big Story since the beginning, today's passage is going to feel like coming home. In Revelation 22, John's vision takes us deeper into the new Jerusalem — and what he sees there is unmistakable. A river. A tree. The presence of God. No curse. We've been here before. This is the garden. In Genesis 2, God planted a garden with a river running through it and placed the tree of life at its center. He walked with Adam and Eve there — present, known, loving. Then it was lost. The curse fell. Cherubim with a flaming sword were stationed to guard the way to the tree of life. That was Week 1 of the Big Story. We have traveled the entire Bible since then. And now, at the end of all things, here is the river again. Here is the tree again — bearing twelve crops of fruit, its leaves for the healing of the nations. The cherubim are gone. The flaming sword is gone. The curse has been lifted forever. And they will see his face. No veil. No barrier. No mediator needed. Face to face with God — not the way Moses had to be hidden in the cleft of the rock, but directly, truly, without anything in the way. Lisa closes this episode with one of the most beautiful observations of the entire series: the Big Story begins with rivers and ends with a river. It begins with a tree of life and ends with a tree of life. It begins with God walking among his people and ends with God dwelling among his people forever. This is not a coincidence. This is what God has been doing all along. In this episode: * How Revelation 22 mirrors Genesis 2 — and why that's intentional * What it means that the tree of life is no longer guarded * Why "they will see his face" is one of the most staggering promises in all of scripture * How God's original design for humanity — to reign over creation — is fully restored in the new creation Reflection prompt: Think back to where you were when this series began. What has changed in how you see God — his character, his faithfulness, his love — after walking the whole Big Story? Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney [https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney] Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD [https://cfhome.org/EGD] If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org. [https://cfhome.org]