Today on the show I shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread. This devotional is so good because it reminds us that even though we sin, we can always run back to Christ for him to forgive our sins. We will be cleansed and made whole again. Also we had our weekly Name That Tune Feature where one lucky person has a chance to win TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant.
Here is the devotional that I shared from Our Daily Bread titled, “Cleansed By Christ”. Read more about it here!
Today’s song is titled “It Is Well With My Soul” by Matt Redman
Congratulations to Brenda of Fredericktown for guessing the correct answer! She wins TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant.
Are you in the market for some wisdom? Some advice leading to good judgment? The Word of God is a great place to start:
“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” – James 3:17 (KJV)
Other translations of this verse include the adjectives, “considerate, submissive, impartial, sincere.” Today we shared a prayer from authors Christine Dallman and Randy Petersen:
‘”I’ve had enough of worldly wisdom, dear Lord, from so-called sages who tell me that money buys happiness and success brings friends. They say I should put myself first, indulging my desires and ignoring others. This, I’m told, is the path to fulfillment. But that can’t be right, can it? Lord, I ask for an extra helping of your ‘wisdom from above.’ Show me how to treat others with gentle love. Teach me to deal peaceably with the challenges in my life. Help me be fruitful and merciful. Erase the petty prejudices that keep me from appreciating your other children. Let me yield fully to your perfect wisdom and set aside the tame truisms of this world.”
Dylan shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread called ‘Words Reflect Our Heart.’ Read more here!
We had a stumper this week! A couple of hints: it was a song we played in the 4pm hour, a song that samples part of a classic hymn and part of the hymn title is in the title of this song.
Today on the show we talked about how today is National Day of Prayer and we shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread! We heard from several different local pastors here in Knox County. Mike also shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread that is associated with how today is National Day of Prayer. And of course we had our weekly Name That Tune Trivia where one lucky person has a chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica.
The theme this year for National Day of Prayer is “Lift Up the Word, Light Up the World.” The theme verse this year is 2 Samuel 22:29-31, “For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God-His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.” Mike shared about the encouragement of these verses and how God being a shield for us helps us to overcome the obstacles we face.
Walking Free by Micah Tyler!
Congratulations to Jennifer of Centerburg for guessing the correct answer! She wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.
Today on the show I talked about how you can still give to Food For The Hungry until 12/31/23. I also talked about people who won our Grand Prizes for Christmas Gift Exchange. Congratulations to all who won! I shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread. And of course we did our Name That Tune feature where one person had a chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.
Here is the devotional that I read today from Our Daily Bread: “Troubled Souls, Honest Prayers.” You can find the link here.
I Thank God by Housefires/ JWLKRS Worship.
Congratulations to Rebecca of Lima who guessed the correct answer! She wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.
Today Abby and I shared praises about one of the greatest themes of Christmas, Immanuel, “God with Us.”
The word Immanuel means, as we learn in Matthew 1:23, “God with us.” The coming of the Christ child fulfilled what Isaiah wrote in chapter 7, verse 14: “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
In his book Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller shares that for centuries, the Jewish religious leaders and scholars had known that prophecy, but did not think that it should be taken literally. They thought it was simply predicting the coming or arrival of some great leader through whose work, God would be present with his people.
However, Matthew writes that this promise is greater than anyone imagined! It did not come true figuratively, but literally. Jesus Christ is “God with us” because the human life in Mary’s womb was a miracle performed by God himself. Then Jesus, with his life, his claims and his resurrection, convinced his closest followers that he was not just a prophet telling them how to find God, but God himself coming to find us.
Keller writes that this claim, that Jesus is God, gives us the greatest possible hope. Why? Because it means this world is not all that there is…it means that there is life and love after death and it means that evil and suffering will one day end.
And it is not just hope for the world, but hope for you and me personally. A God who was only holy would have not come to us in Jesus. He would have just demanded that we pull ourselves together and be moral and holy enough to be worthy of relationship with him. But our God is fully holy and fully human – so he doesn’t send someone else – he comes himself! Jesus is one of us – and that should give us all hope!
Today’s winners:
Brad from Bellville – Hillsong United Limited Edition White Album (yes, it’s vinyl) David from Mount Vernon – Who Knew? book bundle pack
We played “One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas” from the Muppets. Congratulations to Asher from Fredericktown, who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
More Christmas Fun Facts, too!
‘Jingle Bells’ was originally a Thanksgiving song.
“Jingle Bells” was written by James Lord Piermont in 1857 for his church’s Thanksgiving concert. However, over the years, it became more closely associated with Christmas and is now one of the most popular holiday songs!
‘The Grinch’ is the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time.
The 2018 computer-animated film brought in $512,858,819 worldwide. The runner-up? Home Alone, the Christmas classic from 1990.
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was a box-office flop.
Believe it or not, the enduring Christmas classic initially bombed at the box office. It wasn’t until 1974, when its copyright expired and television networks could air it for free, that it cemented its place as one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time.
Today on the show I shared a devotional from Our Daily Bread. We also mentioned how tomorrow is Food For The Hungry Drive Day! We are so excited to be able to broadcast this event! You can find the event on https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mvnuadmin/. This link will take you right to the page where the broadcast will be streamed. Also, don’t forget to listen on 90.9 FM, WNZR as we will be having special interviews with different people involved with Food For The Hungry. We hope that you will listen in!
Here is my devotional from Our Daily Bread titled, “Appetite For Distraction.” You can find the link here.
Congratulations to Bonnie of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer which was Ryan Ellis’ song Heart of the Father. She wins TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant!
This week I was reading an email newsletter I get twice a week…in this particular post, the author was sharing a story of the intersection of our faith with current world events. He shared that the headlines coming out of the Russian war against Ukraine have led him to think about Romans 12:12.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.”
Recently, the Ukrainian leader, President Zelenskyy has been visiting allies in Europe, trying to gain support for an assumed counter-offensive against the Russian invaders. The concern is that if those attacks go into Russian territories, the war will spread. Pope Francis has offered to be an intermediary in peace negotiations. This is clearly a pivotal moment of decision-making for the Ukranian leader. So what can we do? I resolved almost 15 months ago, when this war started, to pray specifically for disruption of Russia’s (specifcally Putin’s) plan. I believe that prayer has been answered…but…now, I’m turning my prayers to another specific request – peace. The end of the war. That Russia ends hostilities. That the world steps in and helps Ukraine rebuild.
Author Jeff Poor asks us to pay attention to the progression in this verse, from hope to patience, to persistence to prayer. Prayer is our great resource whenever we are facing the trials of this life.
Poor writes, “Prayer should be of the highest priority for each follower of Jesus. This is what Jesus modeled for us; he frequently withdrew from the crowds to pray. And we would be better off if we simply persevered in prayer.”
Through devoted and yes, persistent prayer, we connect with Jesus and find hope and joy. Even in the shadow of what may seem to be unsurmountable odds.
Danny Gokey – The Comeback
Congratulations to Bonnie from Mount Vernon, who guessed correctly and wins the TobyMac CD. ‘Life After Death.’
Today I shared Mike Wittmer’s devotional ‘Little Foxes,’ based in Song of Solomon 2. It reminds us to be wary of the small comments here and there that can weaken strong relationships.
Congratulations to Flo from Howard for winning this week’s Name That Tune! She wins a deluxe CD of Rescue Story from Zach Williams! This week’s song was “Sunday Sermons” from Anne Wilson.
Driving Notes 