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The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

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Jesus Has ALL Authority!!

WNZR’s Verse Of The Week:
2 Corinthians 3:17 “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

We want to start your week off right on Monday Motivation today! Today we talked about the authority that Jesus has over our storms, our fears, everything!

When thinking of the song “I Know A Name” from Elevation Worship and Brandon Lake, which we listened to on The Afternoon Drive, we thought of the story when Jesus calmed the storm on the boat with His disciples. The waves and storms listen and obey to every command of Jesus, who has all authority over everything. It’s so encouraging and comforting knowing that He has the first and final say in everything!

We looked at this part of Scripture today:
Mark 4:38-41
“38Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!””

We have nothing to fear for we know that Jesus is on our side!

We also listened to Forrest Frank’s “Your Way’s Better” during The Afternoon Drive, which reminded us of what it says in Isaiah 55:8-9:
“8My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Forrest’s song says “I searched the world ’till my head hurts, just to find out Your way’s better.”

Ask God to show you how to follow Him and what He wants for you life! It may be hard to understand, but know if you come to Him and ask Him to help you, He is faithful to hear you and help you to know His will, and will lead you through every step He wants you to take!

Today we had a Family Feud-style trivia question! Here was today’s prompt:

Name an animal that weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

  1. Elephant (77 votes)
  2. Whale (7)
  3. Hippopotamus (6)
  4. Grizzly Bear (4)
  5. Rhinoceros (3)

Congratulations to Lucas from Mount Vernon for calling in and correctly guessing the top two answers on the board, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Artist Newsday and a game of Song Poetry!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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NZ Top 10 for 7/11/2025

It’s Friday! You know what that means– Here is your top 10 countdown for this week:

10. We Are Messengers – A Thousand Times
9. Zach Williams – Jesus Loves
8. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God
7. Phil Wickham – The King Is In The Room
6. Micah Tyler – God Did It
5. Forrest Frank – Your Way’s Better
4. ELEVATION RHYTHM – Goodbye Yesterday
3. MercyMe – Oh Death
2. TobyMac – a lil Church
1. Jon Reddick – No Fear [7th week at #1]

New Music Friday Adds This Week:

Natalie Layne – All Joy

Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Call On Jesus!

Even with a couple technical difficulties today, we still had a great show! Today on Praise Thursday, we read some devotions out of Our Daily Bread Devotions!

We read a story about a woman, Nancy, who was walking in her town, and on her way she walked past a dog being walked on a leash. The dog tried to attack Nancy, but the owner held on to the leash, keeping the dog from harming her.

This reminded Nancy how the devil is prowling around waiting to attack us and paralyze us with fear, however we do not need to fear at all, because he is no match for the God we know and believe in. God calls us to “submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” found in James 4:7. Cry out to Jesus in times of fear, desperation, anxiety, when you need help, and as it says in 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Read the full devotional HERE!

Jesus is our everything. We couldn’t possibly get through life without Him. Our other devotion we went though talks about how Kennedy Blades, a 2024 Olympian gave all glory to God, and praised Him for her victories. It is so incredible to see Kennedy using the platform God gave her to give Him glory and praise for everything. We see this heart posture reflect David in Psalm 63 where he says in verse 1, “I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you.” Kennedy acknowledged that she couldn’t have gotten anywhere, or done anything without the hope and grace that she has been blessed with by Jesus Christ!

If you want to read the full story, click HERE!

Today we took a 20 second clip of a song we played during The Afternoon Drive today!

Today’s song was Firm Foundation from Cody Carnes! Congratulations to Adam from Fredericktown for calling in and guessing the song title and artist correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for the NZ Top 10, where we count down the top 10 songs in Christian music of the week! We’ll also have some new music for you as well!

Thank you so much for tuning in and listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About For King & Country and Seph Schlueter!

You may not have known these facts about some of your favorite artists on WNZR! It’s Who Knew Wednesday today, and these were the facts we shared today:

Did you know that for King & Country had made a whole other movie before their big hit movie Unsung Hero? It’s a movie called Priceless, with Joel Smallbone, one half of the Smallbone brothers in the for King & Country band, starring as the lead role. This movie speaks up against human trafficking and has a beautiful message about how women are made innately, beautifully priceless. It goes along with their song called Priceless, which we got to hear during the Afternoon Drive today!

If you want to watch the movie, here is the official Priceless trailer on for King & Country’s YouTube channel:

Also… did you know Seph Schlueter’s real first name is Joseph? If you look closely, you’ll see that “Seph” is just the name “Joseph” without the “Jo”. It’s a pretty cool nickname for someone named Joseph! He’s still known as Joseph around his family, but we’re happy to know him as Seph Schlueter though!

Did you know Seph has actually been in Mount Vernon, Ohio? His wife, Abby, grew up in Mount Vernon, and what’s really cool is that Seph has spent many wonderful times enjoying Happy Bean in Downtown Mount Vernon! It’s so cool that one of our favorite artists on WNZR has been in our own backyard at our favorite local coffee shop!

Today we played a game of Who Am I? where we give you five biographical facts about a famous person born on this day, and you call in and try to guess the person! Here were today’s five biographical facts:

  1. I was born today on July 9th, 1956 in Concord, California.
  2. I am married to Rita Wilson, who I met on the set of a TV show.
  3. I’m famous for many movies, most notably starring in Forrest Gump.
  4. I voiced the toy cowboy “Woody” in Pixar’s first animated movie, Toy Story.
  5. I spoke the famous line “Houston, we have a problem,” in the movie Apollo 13, portraying astronaut Jim Lovell.

I am… Tom Hanks! Congratulations to Maude from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing me correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Praise Thursday and a game of Name That Tune!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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Lauren Daigle From The Super Bowl To The U.S. Capitol!

Lauren Daigle has been taking audiences by storm, performing in some of the U.S.’s most well-known areas! Today is Artist Newsday, and we’re highlighting how incredible it is to be getting artists like Lauren Daigle to perform in all these areas where she gets the opportunity to let Jesus shine through her!

You may remember when Lauren sang live at this past year’s Super Bowl, wowing the stadium with her rendition of America The Beautiful with singer and trombone specialist Trombone Shorty. That train continues as she got the opportunity to sing at the U.S. Capitol for the 45th Anniversary of PBS’s Capitol Fourth Concert, singing live in front of thousands. She brought her special rendition of America The Beautiful with her once again, along with her version of Walking On Sunshine, and one of her biggest hits Rescue for her performance in D.C.

Lauren Daigle performing Rescue at “2025 A Capitol Fourth”, courtesy of PBS and Capital Concerts

Seeing this is so incredible to see, as artists like Lauren will get to reach other audiences on these platforms and spread the Gospel of Jesus through music, that of which she is unashamed of! We’re excited to see how the LORD uses Lauren and other artists to spread His Word and build His Kingdom next!

Matthew West is going on tour with a new Christian artist! On his Don’t Stop Praying 2025 Tour, Matthew is bringing Peter Burton along with him, of which we got to learn a little about him during Momentum 2025. We got to see one of the songs he has been working on, called Where Would I Be, and he will be bringing these songs with him as he goes with Matthew West on this tour!

Peter Burton’s Where Would I Be Lyric Video

Matthew West will be bringing his Don’t Stop Praying 2025 Tour to the Genoa Baptist Church in Westerville, OH on November 6th! If you want to be a part of this prayer, worship-filled night, and hear more from Peter Burton, click the link HERE to find more information and purchase tickets! Matthew has been so passionate about prayer, and strongly believes that prayer makes a difference, and that’s what he wants to bring to Ohio, and this entire tour.

So much artist news this week! If you want to join CeCe Winans on her More Than This tour with Charity Gale, make sure to find ticket information on our website, wnzr.fm. She will be in Kettering, OH on July 23rd!

Today we played Song Poetry! Here were today’s lyrics that we took from a song played during the Afternoon Drive:

Wide awake while the world is sound asleep, and
Too afraid of what might show up while you’re dreamin’
Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you
Nobody, nobody would believe you…

Today’s song was God Only Knows, from for King & Country! Congratulations to Jennifer from Centerburg for calling in and guessing the song title and artist correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for a game of Who Am I? and Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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Praise The Lord! He is with is in the pit.

We had some motivation to start your week off strong! We dove deeper into some songs we listen to on WNZR, them being Tasha Layton’s “Thank You Isn’t Enough” ft. The Choir Room, and “Raise A Hallelujah” from Bethel Music!

Tasha Layton’s newest one reminds us we always have so much to be thankful for! “Thank You for the air that I’m breathing, thank You for a life full of meaning” is something we can be thankful for on the mountain, and in the pit. If we still have air in our lungs, we know God’s not done with us!

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

“Raise A Hallelujah” is such a beautiful anthem of praising God anywhere. Whether it be on top of the highest mountain, or deep in the lowest of valleys, raising a hallelujah to God makes a huge difference. We were made to worship God, and what He wants us to do is worship through whatever we’re going through, as we see in Psalm 40: 4Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”

Today we played Family Feud for Mystery Monday! Here was our prompt for today:

Besides Thanksgiving, name a holiday when people eat too much.

  1. Christmas (64 votes)
  2. Easter (16)
  3. 4th Of July (8)
  4. Memorial Day (4)

Congratulations to Greg from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing the top two answers, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Artist Newsday, and a game of Song Poetry!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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249 years of America!

We are just ONE YEAR way from the 250th birthday of the United States of America!

We are celebrating with the July First Friday tomorrow (on a Thursday) with Experience Mount Vernon, and then fireworks all around the county on Friday night, including Mount Vernon’s celebration at Ariel-Foundation Park!

We are going to be giving away a Grab a Sip, Take a Dip, Turn It Up prize basket, featuring a $15 Happy Bean gift card, a Family 4 Pack of One-Day Passes to the Hiawatha Water Park and Pool, a WNZR Bluetooth Speaker, and stuffed with many WNZR goodies as well! Find us at Big Blue next to the Dog Fountain at the Mount Vernon Public Square, and you can get registered to win!

Today is also Made in the USA Day!

Joel Joseph of the Made in the USA Foundation created Made In The USA Day in 1989. The biggest reason for founding this day was to signify American-made products and support the domestic manufacturing sector!

This establishment helped in more ways than just one. First, it would signify the importance of American manufacturing to the economy, and it would also encourage consumers to support American goods production. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also plays a key role in this observance. That’s because the agency regulates the labels and marks that signify the country of origin.

So what are some products you wouldn’t have expected to be American-made? Well for starters, the classic No. 2 pencil is still made in the USA, since the 20th century. The red SOLO cup is also made in the U.S., along with Charmin and Angel Soft toilet paper as well!

Today we played a game of Who Am I?. Here are the five biographical questions about our mystery, patriotic, famous person:

  1. I was born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland.
  2. After I was denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School due to segregation, I graduated first in my class from Howard University School of Law in 1933.
  3. I founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which became a powerful legal arm in the fight for civil rights.
  4. In Brown v. Board of Education, I served as lead attorney, and successfully argued this landmark Supreme Court case, which ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
  5. President Lyndon Johnson appointed me as the first African American Supreme Court Justice, where I served until 1991.

I am… Thurgood Marshall! Congratulations to Kathy from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing me correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune into the Afternoon Drive tomorrow for Praise Thursday, where we take time to worship God and read some encouraging devotionals!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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TobyMac is bringing a very special tour to Ohio!

Today is a very special Artist News Day! We’ve got news from TobyMac, a unique tour from him, Seph Schlueter, releasing his first full length album and announcing a full tour along with it, and news from Stars Go Dim as well!

Last week, TobyMac announced the Heaven On My Mind Start To Finish Tour, and it’s a little different from other tours he has taken. He’s stopping at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, OH on November 6th, which is one of five states he will be visiting on this tour! This is an intimate, more personal concert, where TobyMac will be performing his entire latest record live from start to finish, as the name suggests! Not only that, he’ll also be performing other great hits from his earlier records as well!

Ticket sales go live tomorrow, Wednesday, July 2nd and if you want to buy tickets, click HERE! The concert is on November 6th, at 7PM!

TobyMac’s latest record is called “Heaven on My Mind”, where TobyMac is on the other side of grieving the tragic loss of his son, Truett. This record is deeply honest, and as the record title says, after everything TobyMac has gone through, he has Heaven on his mind, keeping his “eye on the prize”, so to speak. He is counting on God, and he’s diving in even deeper into his trust in God!

Seph Schlueter is coming out with a his first ever full-length album on July 11th! It will have a whole 17 songs on it, and includes collabs with the likes of Matt Maher and Essential Worship. Alongside this album release, he’s going on tour with this record and all of his other songs, so you’ll get to hear songs like “Counting My Blessings”, “Running Back To You”, and many more! He’s coming to Cincinnati, OH with bodie to bring you a fun, worship-filled night! If you want to order tickets for this concert, click HERE!

Stars Go Dim is releasing a full length album called Roses on July 11th! Check it out HERE!

Today we played Song Poetry! Here were the lyrics we took from a song we’ve heard during today’s show:

I will not be afraid
In the end, you will lose
I will dance on your grace
With the one who buried you.

Today’s song was “Oh Death” from MercyMe! Congratulations to Kelly from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing the song and artist correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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Some truths to start your week!

We’re starting the week off with Monday Motivation with some truths to bring you some encouragement, and songs you hear on WNZR to go along with them.

You are not alone! You are loved, valued and created with a purpose.

This simple truth reminded us of Kari Jobe’s “I Am Not Alone”.

Speak life, be kind, shine bright! The world needs your light today.

This truth reminded us of TobyMac’s song “Speak Life”, and verse found in Proverbs 18:21. “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

Today we played Mystery Monday, where we ask you a Family Feud-style question, and you get to call in and give us the top two answers! Here was today’s prompt:

Name a job where people get wet.

Diver or swimmer (50 votes)
Lifeguard (27)
Firefighter (9)
Plumber (5)

Congratulations to Samantha from Mount Vernon for guessing the top two answers correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in on Tuesday for a very special Artist Newsday announcement with TobyMac, and a special tour he just announced, and a game of Song Poetry!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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