Starting your week off with some encouragement, we talked about Lauren Daigle’s song “Look Up Child”!
Lauren’s song encourages up to take our eyes off of our worries and struggles, and to just set them on Jesus! We see this posture of heart in Hebrews 12:1-2, where it says:
“12 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
Set your eyes on Jesus! He will bring peace to you, take care of you, lead you, and guide you in whatever is swirling in your mind, or what your situation is!
Here was our Family Feud question on Mystery Monday!
Name a musical instrument you do not blow into.
Guitar (39 votes)
Piano (33)
Drums (11)
Violin (11)
Congratulations to Lyle from Howard for calling in and giving us the top two answers, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in on Tuesday for Artist Newsday and our On The Road With Big Blue broadcast at the Knox County Fair!
Happy Friday! Here is your top 10 countdown for this week:
10. We Are Messengers – A Thousand Times 9. Phil Wickham – The King Is In The Room 8. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God 7. Micah Tyler – God Did It 6. Zach Williams – Jesus Loves 5. Forrest Frank – Your Way’s Better 4. ELEVATION RHYTHM – Goodbye Yesterday 3. MercyMe – Oh Death 2. Jon Reddick – No Fear [Was #1 for 7 Weeks] 1. TobyMac – a lil Church
Which hot dog would you choose? Ethan chose the Detroit Coney Dog and Joe chose the New York Style Hot Dog!
NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY – here’s a great chart from the Art of Manliness website 🙂
NATIONAL CHERRY DAY (from NationalToday.com)
Cherries have been a staple for centuries. From the Roman Empire to the Chinese dynasties, the little red fruits have been on the plate of millions and came to America by ship with early settlers in the 1600s.
Modern-day cherry production in the United States began in 1852 when Peter Dougherty began planting cherry trees on the Old Mission Peninsula in the state of Michigan. The Midwest area proved to have an ideal climate for growing cherries and mass harvesting soon took place, with the first commercial tart cherry orchards in Michigan being planted in 1893. Soon, production surpassed other major crops and the first cherry processing facility, Traverse City Canning Company, was built with the ruby-red fruit soon being shipped to neighboring cities in the Midwest. Outreach to the entire country was created shortly after.
We’re going to the Knox County Fair starting Sunday, July 20th next week! Sign up for our prize baskets on our website for your chance to win HERE!
Can you guess our mystery famous person that was born on July 16th? Here are the five biographical clues:
🏈 I was born July 16, 1968, in Wichita, Kansas.
🏆 I won the Heisman Trophy in 1988 while playing for Oklahoma State University, after a record-setting season with over 2,600 rushing yards.
🦁 I was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989, and played 10 NFL seasons, earning 10 Pro Bowl selections and rushing for 15,269 career yards.
🔥 I was known for my elusive running style, balance, and speed and won the NFL MVP in 1997, tying with Brett Favre.
🏛️ I retired unexpectedly in 1999 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Who Am I?
I am… BARRY SANDERS (photo credit: Pride of Detroit)
Congratulations to Michelle from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing him correctly, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for some devotions and worship music on The Afternoon Drive!
We’re absolutely loving the music Seph Schlueter has been putting out! We get to see some of our favorites from him, and some brand new ones, in a full-length, 11-song album called “Counting My Blessings”, including the title track which was his first big hit!
On Artist Newsday today, we went more in depth with Seph’s new album that is out now, Josiah Queen’s new album, and something new coming from a band from the vault we hear on WNZR, called Kutless!
Seph Schlueter blows us away with his style of music that the Lord has spoken through to so many people, touching so many lives. This album reminds us of God’s grace and that His grace is always sufficient for us and never runs out. It’s an album full of worship and gratitude towards God. We’ve been so blessed to hear songs like Running Back To You and the title track, Counting My Blessings, on WNZR, which you can find on this new album!
With this new release, Seph will be taking his these new songs with him on his Counting My Blessings Tour this Fall alongside a favorite new artist, bodie! They’ll be stopping at The George in Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday, October 2nd! You can find more details and ticket information on the Concert page on our website by clicking HERE!
What can you look forward to next with new album releases? You can keep an eye out for Josiah Queen, who’s releasing a new, full-length album titled MT. ZION. This new album includes the new one from Josiah and Brandon Lake, Can’t Steal My Joy, alongside some songs of his that have been blowing up on social media! God is once again using artists like Josiah to spread the love of God to areas like social media, and spread the Good News of the Gospel to people who may not have heard that much about Jesus or what He did to pay for each and every one of all our sins!
Josiah Queen be here in Ohio soon, joining the stage with Tauren Wells at the Ohio State Fair on Monday, July 28th! Keep listening in for ticket giveaways for this concert! We’re doing Tauren Wells and Josiah Queen trivia questions, and whoever calls in first with the correct answer takes home two tickets to the concert! Don’t miss your chance and tune into The Morning Thing, 6am – 9am, and The Afternoon Drive, 4pm – 6pm! More details about this concert and the Ohio State Fair can be found HERE on our website!
With their unique and hard rock style, the band Kutless creates a Revelation-inspired 6-song EP which is called The Seventh Seal. You can find this new EP on their YouTube channel, by clicking HERE and find it where they stream music!
Today we played Song Poetry! We took a segment of lyrics from one of the songs we heard during The Afternoon Drive. Here were the lyrics we had for Song Poetry today:
I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You, I’d probably fall off the edge. I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go, So keep me held in Your hands.
This week’s song was… “Thank God I Do” from Lauren Daigle! Congratulations to Janell from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing both the song title and artist correctly, taking home the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for a game of Who Am I? and some fun facts on Who Knew Wednesday!
Thank you so much for listening! – Ethan Hershberger
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.
Elephant (77 votes)
Whale (7)
Hippopotamus (6)
Grizzly Bear (4)
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!
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
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.”
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!
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
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:
I was born today on July 9th, 1956 in Concord, California.
I am married to Rita Wilson, who I met on the set of a TV show.
I’m famous for many movies, most notably starring in Forrest Gump.
I voiced the toy cowboy “Woody” in Pixar’s first animated movie, Toy Story.
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
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
Driving Notes 