Availability . . . and a Game of Chess (Exodus 3-4:17)

Availability . . . and a Game of Chess (Exodus 3-4:17)

Share a comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545810/fan_mail/new] God calls Moses out of an ordinary day and into a moment that changes everything: a burning bush, holy ground, and a mission Moses does not want. What follows isn’t just ancient history, it’s a painfully familiar pattern of hesitation. We hear Moses reach for excuse after excuse, and we recognize ourselves in the questions: Who am I to do this? What if I don’t have the answers? What if people don’t believe me? What if I’m not gifted enough to speak or lead? We trace each objection and God’s response, because the story is packed with practical guidance for Christian leadership, calling, and everyday faith. God doesn’t build Moses with flattering words or promise a perfectly easy path. He offers presence: “I will be with you.” He reveals His name, Yahweh, “I AM,” and shows that spiritual authority comes less from having a polished method and more from knowing God deeply. We also connect that revelation to Jesus’ words in John 8, pointing to the heart of discipleship: learning Christ, not just collecting answers. Then the tension rises as Moses claims inability and inadequacy, and God answers with undeniable signs and a blunt reminder that He made Moses’ mouth. The conversation lands on the moment where excuses turn into refusal, and we bring it home through Matthew 28 and the Great Commission: Christ gives the authority, the message, and the promise of His presence. If you’ve been stalling, bargaining, or waiting for “someone else” to step up, this is your nudge to stop playing chess with God and surrender. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review with the excuse you’re ready to drop. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 [https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25] Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ [https://www.wisdomonline.org/] Support the show [https://app.easytithe.com/App/Form/d39a9be4-01ce-4f82-a3ae-8b860c3ab89e]

Desert Lab 101 (Exodus 2:15-22)

Share a comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545810/fan_mail/new] Failure has a way of making life feel like a desert, silent, exposed, and endless. We lean into three of Scripture’s most relatable “blown it” moments and ask a different question than “How did they mess up?” We ask: What did God build in them afterward, and what can He build in us when we’re tempted to quit, hide, or numb the guilt? We walk through John Mark’s story in Acts, the young helper with every advantage who deserts the mission and becomes a point of sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. From there we widen the lens to the pressure points most of us actually face: fear of ridicule, the ease of keeping quiet about Jesus, and the moment where convenience starts to look like wisdom. It’s a practical conversation about Christian perseverance, courage, and why spiritual potential means little without endurance. Then we turn to David, not as a coward but as a man crushed by moral failure, and we sit with the raw honesty of Psalm 32 and the turning point of Psalm 51. Finally, we revisit Moses, trained for leadership yet forced into Midian’s obscurity, where self-sufficiency dies and dependence on God is born. A surprising thread ties it all together: God often speaks in the desert through another believer, a Peter, a Jethro, a timely voice you’re meant to hear. If you’re walking through regret, disappointment, or spiritual dryness, this is a reminder that the desert doesn’t have to be the end of your story. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more listeners can find the conversation. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 [https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25] Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ [https://www.wisdomonline.org/] Support the show [https://app.easytithe.com/App/Form/d39a9be4-01ce-4f82-a3ae-8b860c3ab89e]

Forty Years Ahead of God (Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:21-29)

Share a comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545810/fan_mail/new] A single sentence can expose an entire life plan. When Moses steps into a fight and tries to position himself as Israel’s deliverer, the response is sharp: “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” We follow that question through Acts 7 and Exodus 2 to uncover what goes wrong when calling turns into self-appointment, and when passion tries to replace God’s authority. We talk through Moses’ unique preparation in Egypt, his education, influence, and leadership potential, then the moment he “looks this way and that” and chooses a method God never asked for. The result is a sobering case study in getting ahead of God: serving God while ignoring God, using pragmatic tactics that seem to work, and discovering you can be right about the need and wrong about the timing. Along the way, we connect Moses’ shortcut to the New Testament pattern of spiritual warfare in 1 Timothy 2, where Paul calls believers to prayer even under corrupt and violent leadership. We also bring it home with three concrete questions for Christian decision making and spiritual leadership: Is impatience shaping your choices, are you violating God’s counsel to get what you want, and are you planning everywhere but up? If you’re facing a big decision, building a ministry, or feeling the pressure to act now, this conversation will slow you down in the best way. Subscribe for more Bible teaching, share this with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review with the part that challenged you most. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 [https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25] Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ [https://www.wisdomonline.org/] Support the show [https://app.easytithe.com/App/Form/d39a9be4-01ce-4f82-a3ae-8b860c3ab89e]

Faith . . . and a Wicker Basket (Exodus 2:1-10)

Share a comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545810/fan_mail/new] A government order turns newborn life into a death sentence, and suddenly Exodus 2 feels less like a children’s story and more like a survival account. We walk through Moses’ rescue with fresh eyes, noticing a detail most people skip: the major characters stay unnamed for a long stretch, as if Scripture is quietly insisting that God is the lead actor, not the supporting cast.  We trace the faith of Amram and Jochebed as something sturdier than optimism: they hide a baby for three months, then build a waterproof basket, choose the placement, and send Miriam to watch with a line ready at the right moment. We also explore the strange providence of Pharaoh’s daughter bathing in the Nile as a religious fertility ritual, and how a crying child and a compassionate heart collide at the only point in the kingdom where Pharaoh’s edict can be overridden. Along the way we connect the story to Acts 7 and Hebrews 11 to frame the whole scene as faith in action.  Then we bring it home with three takeaways that cut close: faith benefits the people nearest to us, faith should shape everyday decisions and integrity, and faith impacts the observers we never knew were watching. The episode even follows the thread of Pharaoh’s daughter beyond the riverbank, raising the question of how living faith can ripple outward for decades. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review if it sharpened your view of God’s providence and your own choices. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 [https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25] Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ [https://www.wisdomonline.org/] Support the show [https://app.easytithe.com/App/Form/d39a9be4-01ce-4f82-a3ae-8b860c3ab89e]

From Pasture to Brickyard (Exodus 1:1-22)

Share a comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545810/fan_mail/new] A nation grows, a ruler panics, and cruelty becomes “policy.” We open Exodus 1 with the uncomfortable logic of fear: a new Pharaoh forgets Joseph, looks at Israel’s strength, and decides the only safe future is control. That decision spirals fast, from hard labor and forced building projects to covert orders aimed at newborns. The ancient details are vivid, but the questions feel modern: what happens when power is driven by insecurity, and what does it do to a society’s moral compass? We trace the three escalating plans Pharaoh uses against the Hebrews, then slow down at the turning point in the story: two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who “fear God” and refuse to participate in evil. Their courage becomes a practical framework for conscience, authority, and civil disobedience. We talk about the cost of saying no, why integrity is more than a private virtue, and how faith shows up when the pressure is real, whether that pressure comes from leaders, institutions, or the crowd. The conversation also draws a straight line from Exodus to the bigger biblical story of redemption, pointing to Moses as deliverer and the way Exodus foreshadows rescue from sin through Jesus Christ. We end with two grounded takeaways for anyone walking through suffering: affliction can be unfair yet purposeful, and when God seems absent He is always at work. If you need a final image to hold onto, it’s the story of a child carrying a heavy basket with confidence because his father knows his limits. Subscribe for more Bible teaching with clear application, share this with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: where do you need to say no and trust God’s work right now? Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 [https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25] Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ [https://www.wisdomonline.org/] Support the show [https://app.easytithe.com/App/Form/d39a9be4-01ce-4f82-a3ae-8b860c3ab89e]