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Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham’s Summer Worship Nights Recap!

Today we checked out what your WNZR artists have been up to this summer on Artist News Day!

Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham took some time this summer to go coast-to-coast with Josiah Queen on The Summer Worship Nights Tour! With sold-out shows and audiences of over 30,000, the trio brought the worship with them every night. From familiar worship songs like “Trust In God” to their hits like Lake’s Hard Fought Hallelujah, Wickham’s What An Awesome God, and Queen’s Can’t Steal My Joy, every song was sang to lift up and glorify the Name of Jesus!

Not only that, but Lake and Wickham went beyond the coast of the U.S. to wrap up the tour in the UK, worshipping with an audience of 35,000! With the response of this year’s Summer Worship Nights, we’re looking forward to see if Lake and Wickham will continue the tour next summer!

Tasha Layton is bringing listeners a brand new album, featuring songs we love like Worship Through It and Thank You Isn’t Enough! This one is called Life In Me, and she’s released the title track for this album, which features Rachael Lampa!

If you want to read more about this album and Tasha’s thoughts about it, read the JesusFreakHideout article HERE!

We’ve been talking about Josiah Queen’s new album, Mt. Zion, this month, and it just came out last Friday!

If you’re a fan of his songs Can’t Steal My Joy and Dusty Bibles, those songs are featured on this record, among many others! You can read more about this album by checking out the review on JesusFreakHideout by clicking HERE!

We had a stumper for this week’s Song Poetry! Here were this week’s lyrics:

Three brothers in a fire
Willing to die for their faith
But You were with them in the fire
And they walked out the next day

And Daniel met a lion
Because he chose to pray
But You shut the mouth of that lion
And he walked out the next day

This week’s stumper lyrics are from the song Unashamed by Matthew West!

Congratulations to Brady from Mount Vernon for being the first to call in and guess the song title and artist, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Look At What HE has done!!

We love getting to start our week off with some Monday Motivation for you! We took a look at some encouraging and uplifting songs during The Afternoon Drive! Here’s what we talked about:

The enemy loves to bring up our sins and mistakes, whether past or present, trying to make us believe we’re too far gone, and that we’ve messed everything up. It messes with our heads and brings us down. The enemy tries to make us forget what Jesus did for us on the cross and make us think that God can’t save us.

However, the truth is that God does make all things new, and He has erased our sins by sending His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross on behalf of us for our sins! We took a listen to Tasha Layton’s Look What You’ve Done and what this song says. Instead of letting ourselves tell ourselves “Look what you’ve done”, “You messed everything up”, let’s turn our eyes to Jesus, and thank Him for what He’s done, which was and is enough to save us and make us clean! Whatever you’ve done, Jesus is bigger than it, and He is enough! Look what He’s done on the cross to make you new!

1 Peter 2:24 (NIV) “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Here is your verse of the week!

Psalms 16:7 (NIV) “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”

We’ve got another Family Feud-style question for Mystery Monday! Here was your prompt for this week:

Past or present, name a famous wall.

  1. Great Wall of China (51 votes)
  2. Berlin Wall (35)
  3. Vietnam Wall (10)
  4. The Wailing Wall (2)

Congratulations to Jean from Mount Vernon for being the first to call in and correctly guess the top two answers, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow on Tuesday for Artist News Day and Game Time Tuesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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NZ Top 10 for 8/22/2025

There’s a new one on the NZ Top 10 this week! Let’s check out this week’s countdown:

10. Josiah Queen f/Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy
9. TobyMac – a lil Church (former #1)
8. Emerson Day – Get Behind Me
7. Jon Reddick – No Fear
6. Zach Williams – Jesus Loves
5. Micah Tyler – God Did It
4. Forrest Frank – Your Way’s Better
3. Elevation Worship f/Brandon Lake – I Know A Name
2. MercyMe – Oh Death (former #1)
1. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (3rd week at #1)

New Music Debuting This Week:

Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River

Anne Wilson – God Story

Forrest Frank – Lemonade

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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Get To Know Coach Blevins, MVNU Cougar’s Soccer Coach!

Today on The Afternoon Drive, we got to know more about Kaleb Blevins, who is the new MVNU Cougars Soccer Coach and we also talked about National Radio Day!

We are so excited for you to get to know Coach Blevins! You can listen to the conversation Joe and Kaleb had on our SoundCloud by clicking HERE!

Today is National Radio Day!

To celebrate, we talked about the history of the radio! Did you know the first person to discover radio waves was a man named Heinrich Hertz in 1886? However, a receiver that took advantage of these radio waves wasn’t made until around 30 years later, made by an Italian man named Gulielmo Marconi. Since the early 1900s, radio has been used for commercial use, entertainment, and even ministry, which is what we’re blessed to do with WNZR! To read the full article about the history of the radio on Days Of The Year, click HERE!

How can you celebrate National Radio Day? Well, you’ve already done that by listening to WNZR, and reading this blog, so thank you!

It’s also National Bacon-Lovers Day! If you love bacon, celebrate this day by enjoying your favorite meat from the belly of a pig! Whether for by itself for breakfast or found in a juicy cheeseburger, adding bacon is a great way to add an extra level of flavor to your meal!

To read the full article about National Bacon-Lovers Day, click HERE!

Today we played Who Am I? which is where you try to guess our mystery celebrity! Here are your five biographical hints:

  1. I was born today, August 20th, 1983, in Los Angeles California, but I was raised in Epsom, Surrey, England.
  2. I trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where I began my acting career in theatre.
  3. My breakout role was for my performance in “The Social Network” as Eduardo Saverin, which earned me a Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.
  4. I am widely known for my portrayal as Spider-Man in “The Amazing Spiderman” films in 2012 and 2014.
  5. In 2017, I earned a Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Play” for my role as Prior Walter in “Angels in America” on Broadway.

I am… Andrew Garfield!

Congratulations to Anna from Marengo for being the first to call in and guess it was him! Tune in tomorrow for Praise Thursday as we read some devos and listen to worship music!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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More Than We Could Ever Ask, Think Or Imagine!

We love starting the week off strong with some Monday Motivation on The Afternoon Drive!

We took a look at Tauren Wells and Davies’ song Take It All Back during the show today, and we talked about how the enemy comes “only to steal and kill and destroy”, as it says in John 10:10. But when we look at the rest of that verse, Jesus says “I have come that they (That’s us!) may have life, and have it to the full.”

This song is a declaration of taking everything the enemy is stealing from us. Our joy, our peace, our strength. We take it all back in the Name of Jesus and by staying rooted in His Word. The enemy loves to take us on little rabbit trails in our mind by throwing some lies in our head, have us follow them, and eventually find ourselves lost in worry and anxiety, resulting in us feeling like we lost our joy. We can take heart, for Jesus came so we can have life, live it to the full, and combat the enemies lies by “take[ing] captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV)

This song is a powerful declaration of taking our joy back, and setting our eyes on God, who has never lost a battle! What a powerful message to start our week off!

Here is our Verse Of The Week on WNZR!

Luke 6:38 (NIV)
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

For Mystery Monday, we have another game of Family Feud! Here was today’s prompt:

Besides a teacher, name a job at a high school.

  1. Janitor (47 votes)
  2. Principal (34)
  3. Counselor (7)
  4. Cafeteria Worker (4)

Congratulations to Jim from Mount Vernon for being the first to call in and give us the top two answers on the board, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Artist Newsday and Game Time Tuesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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NZ Top 10 for 8/15/2025

There’s a new one on the NZ Top 10 this week! Let’s check out this week’s countdown:

10. ELEVATION RHYTHM f/Gracie Binion – Goodbye Yesterday
9. TobyMac – a lil Church (spent 2 weeks at #1)
8. Emerson Day – Get Behind Me
7. Zach Williams – Jesus Loves
6. Jon Reddick – No Fear
5. Elevation Worship f/Brandon Lake – I Know A Name
4. Forrest Frank – Your Way’s Better
3. Micah Tyler – God Did It
2. MercyMe – Oh Death (spent 1 week at #1)
1. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (2nd week at #1)

You can listen to Phil Wickham’s #1 song here!

No New Music Added This Week!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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God Couldn’t Love You Any More Than He Does Right Now!!!

We took some time to slow down and take some moments to breathe on Praise Thursday today. We listened to some worship music, talked about a powerful message from one of MercyMe’s songs and read some devos out of Our Daily Bread Devotionals!

We listened to MercyMe’s song Best News Ever during The Afternoon Drive today. We talked about the message of this song, which is that what Jesus did on the cross was and is enough! He has been pleased with you the day you called His Name, and there’s nothing you can do to ruin that.

Something we as believers try to do is try to earn our grace, or earn our attention from God. Something we need to realize is that we need to stop trying so hard, and just accept the truth that the cross was, is, and always will be enough. “What if I were the one to tell you that the fight’s already been won?” There’s nothing more you can or need to do to earn His grace. Believe the cross was enough and that as you accept Jesus as your Savior, you are changed, made holy, righteous, and redeemed!

We looked in a new Our Daily Bread devo book for these next three months! The one we looked at today talked the boundaries, and how they set us more free than we think!

A study was made by architects who would provide a fence for a preschool. What the architects noticed was that when there was no fence, the students would stay close to the building, and stay a little secluded. However, when they built a fence, the students enjoyed all of the area that was in the fence, not just the little area next to the building.

We see here that boundaries set a greater sense of freedom! And we see how God sets boundaries with the Ten Commandments, which He promised would provide good, quality life within these boundaries. We also saw Jesus say in John 8:31-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We see that boundaries are for our good and provide us freedom, rather than restraining us!

To read the entire devo on this topic, click HERE!

Today we played a 20 second song clip from a song we listened to on The Afternoon Drive for Name That Tune!

Our song today was Jesus Loves from Zach Williams!

Congratulations to Alex from Howard for calling in and guessing the song title and artist correctly, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow as we count down the top 10 songs in Christian music on the NZ Top 10, and as we take a look at new music getting added to WNZR!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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Seph Schlueter and Left Hands!

Today on Who Knew Wednesday, we learned more about Seph Schlueter and International Lefthanders Day!

Who knew Seph Schlueter spent some time in Knox County? Before he moved to Nashville to pursue his music career, Seph was a worship leader at Damascus Church in Centerburg! On top of that, his wife, Abby Schlueter, lived in Mount Vernon, and Seph told the WNZR crew in an airport that he loved going to Happy Bean when he was down in Knox County. So just remember whenever you go to Happy Bean, one of your favorite artists has stepped foot in one of your favorite local coffee shops too!

We learned today that our very own Joe Rinehart is left-handed! As a matter of fact, Joe is kind of ambidextrous, as he eats and writes with his left hand, but catches and throws with his right hand!

A way that you can celebrate this day, if you’re right-handed, is to try eating with your left hand at dinner, or try to write left-handed! Or, you can give your left-handed friend or family member a big empathetic hug for having to buy slightly more expensive scissors!

To read more about International Lefthander Day, click HERE!

Today we played a game of Who Am I? which was a stumper from last week, so this one is worth two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

  1. I was born today, August 6th, in 1965; I’m married to my wife Valarie and we have two children!
  2. I am a follower of Jesus, as well as a philanthropist! I founded the Carver Academy, which is a private school in San Antonio, which was later turned into a charter school network.
  3. I was selected as the #1 pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.
  4. I didn’t join the Spurs until 1989 due to my commitment to serve in the U.S. Navy for two years, where I got nicknamed “The Admiral”.
  5. I was a member of the iconic 1992 “Dream Team”, which was the first U.S. Olympic basketball team to feature active NBA players.

I am… David Robinson!

Congratulations to Jay from Mount Vernon for being the first to call in and correctly guess him correctly, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow as we take some time to slow down to read some devotionals and listen to some worship music on Praise Thursday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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Album Releases For The Month Of August!

Today we talked about all the new music and albums coming from your artists here on WNZR! There’s one already out, and there a few new ones to come as well!

MercyMe has debuted their twelfth studio album, Wonder & Awe last Friday, August 8th!

With thirteen tracks on this one, the band takes a twist on the kind of style of music audiences would expect for them to put out. Lead singer Bart Millard described it as feeling like being in a teenage garage band, where they get to make music they are having fun with, and not be put under an expectation of what kind of style of music to make.

The album title, Wonder & Awe speaks as a theme of wanting to go back to that place of adventure, surprise, and as the title suggests, wonder and awe. Millard said one time “I mean think about it, not much surprises us these days”. And no wonder! With all the information we need in the palms of our hand. So the band wants to take us back “to eyes open wide” and “to that kid who once believed he was always made to fly”. When listening through this record, you can tell the band had a lot of fun putting this one together!

To read the full album review on JesusFreakHideout, click HERE!

Katy Nichole is releasing her second full-length studio album, Honest Conversations, on Friday, August 15th!

With her previous record, Jesus Changed My Life, Katy Nichole touched hearts with her honest, touching, and passionate lyrics that filled her songs. This album is bringing more of that heartfelt honesty that speaks to people worldwide.

It’s incredible to see how the Lord uses Nichole’s struggles to speak through to others who are going something tragic as well. We got to see a little of what this album will be like by getting to hear Katy Nichole’s song When I Fall when she released it 8 months ago!

To learn more about this upcoming record, click HERE!

Josiah Queen is debuting his second full-length studio album, Mt. Zion, on Friday, August 22nd!

With a unique style of folk-pop music, Queen is bringing that same unique style in new ways on this upcoming record! We’ve gotten to hear a few songs that will be on this record, such as Can’t Steal My Joy (feat. Brandon Lake) and Dusty Bibles!

We’ve seen Queen’s social media go viral ever since his big hit The Prodigal, and when he teases snippets of his new music, it almost never fails to bring excitement to listeners all over!

To hear more of what Josiah Queen said about this upcoming release, click HERE!

Keep David Crowder in your prayers for these next few weeks! He broke his leg last week, saying “I’m not near as athletic as I thought I was-“, and because of this he said he will also be missing a couple of shows as a result.

This week’s Song Poetry is a returning stumper! That means we weren’t able to find a winner for Song Poetry, so the winner of this one takes home three $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Here were the lyrics:

Come see all the captives run free
He’s tearing down the walls
He’s tearing down the walls
There’s grave shaking power when we sing
The Name above them all
Your Name above them all

These Song Poetry lyrics were from Phil Wickham’s The King Is In The Room! And for this week’s returning stumper, congratulations goes to Connie from Centerburg for being the first to call in and guess the song title and artist correctly!

Tune in tomorrow for a fun day of fun facts on Who Knew Wednesday, and for a game of Who Am I?, which is also a stumper, so tune in from 4-6pm for a chance to win two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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