Today, Mike and Abby shared some Scripture relating to this year’s upcoming Lifeline theme, “I Believe It.”
Abby read a passage starting with her favorite verse, Hebrews 11:1— “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” By declaring our belief in Christ, we are also making a statement of faith. We can be convicted of something we know is true, even when we don’t see it with our eyes.
Mike read John 20:31, which says, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This verse points out the wonderful guarantee that we have as a result of our belief–life in Jesus’s name! This is a guarantee that we can rest in as believers, no matter the circumstances.
Shout out to Alyssa for correctly guessing today’s Name That Tune, Jesus Can by Austin French! She wins TWO gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant, since last week was a stumper.
For today’s Praise Thursday, Mike and Abby praised God for the beautiful sunshine outside, and shared some Scripture from Psalm.
Mike talked about Psalm 46:11: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” If we build our lives on the foundation of worldly comforts, those walls can eventually come crumbling down. God is a secure, mighty foundation to build upon– He will never fail us!
Abby shared Psalm 84:10, which says, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” Being a part of God’s family and looking ahead to our heavenly home is 1,000 times better than anything the world could offer. He provides us with His light and protection eternally, so why would we want to be anywhere else?
For today’s Praise Thursday, we shared Acts 14:17, which says, “Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Rather than seeing the weather as dull or dreary, let’s remember that it bears witness to God’s glory. He blesses us with fruitfulness and growth with the rainfall!
We also read through the Our Daily Bread for today, which you can check out here. This devotional references Esther’s story with the key verse Esther 4:14— “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Even while we are navigating strange and confusing times in our lives, God has a larger plan and will work through those moments.
Shout out to Annabelle from Mount Vernon for correctly guessing… Love Me Like I Am — for KING & COUNTRY. She wins a $5 gift card to Watt’s Restaurant!
For today’s Praise Thursday, students were back to classes, so Mike and Abby focused on sharing encouragement and praise reports!
Mike shared 1 Peter 5:7, which says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” It’s a great reminder that God wants to take that stress away from you! He also shared 1 Thessalonians 5:11, which says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” He talked about the importance of building up other believers
Abby shared today’s Our Daily Bread devotional called “A Simple Request” that focuses on Peter’s interaction with Jesus in John 21:22. You can read it HERE!
Congratulations to Linda from Utica for correctly guessing The God Who Listens by Chris Tomlin and Thomas Rhett! She wins 2 $5 gift cards to Watts’ restaurant in Utica!
For today’s Praise Thursday, Mike and Dylan shared encouragement to help you finish out the week strong! They shared the new Food for the Hungry total, which is now at $319,158.17 and 12 truckloads of food!
Dylan shared a recent devotional from Our Daily Bread, which covers being a new creation for this new year. You can read it HERE!
Mike shared Psalm 98:1 which says, “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” It’s a great reminder that God is doing new things in this New Year!
Congratulations to Robin for winning two tickets to The Woodward Opera’s Houses performance of the Cleveland Keys!
This NTT was a stumper! Tune in next week to win two $5 gift cards to Watts’ restaurant in Utica!
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!
For Praise Thursday, Mike and Abby shared encouragement and talked about the upcoming Fredericktown Christmas Walk! They also talked to Shawn Dugan, the Collections Coordinator who focuses on collecting donations from high schools in the county.
Mike shared Hebrews 12:3, which says, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” He talked about how even when it can be hard to stay motivated in our daily lives, we can look to God as our source of motivation!
Abby shared a similar message from Isaiah 40:28-29– “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” It’s so comforting to know that we have a mighty God on our side, who will strengthen us when we feel weak or weary.
Today’s Name That Tune was a stumper! So… next week’s will be worth TWO gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant.
The annual high school collection for Food For The Hungry is underway. WNZR’s Alyssa Sidle talked with Collection Coordinator, Shawn Dugan. He shared the collection dates for all the Knox County high schools. He also shared some of the special challenges that are helping to motivate our local students to get involved. Shawn told us how the outstanding students and classes will be recognized on the annual broadcast on 12/8. He also shared the exciting news about a new partnership with the Mount Vernon Rotary Club. Check out our conversation with Shawn on Soundcloud below!
