📖 Micah 2:12–13 | A Call to Return

This week on Rooted in God’s Word, we step into Micah 2:12–13 as the Lord calls His people back.

It’s Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent.
And the message is simple — but not shallow:

Return to Me.

What’s the difference between apology and repentance?

An apology addresses the what.
Repentance confronts the why.

You can say “I’m sorry” and never change.
You can cover the warning light and ignore the engine.
But God is not after surface correction — He is after the heart.

“Rend your hearts and not your garments.”

In this episode we explore:

• Why repentance begins with God’s invitation
• The difference between conviction and condemnation
• Why guilt is not God’s goal — restoration is
• How to actually repent (step by step through Psalm 51)
• Why repentance brings freedom, not shame
• How churches sometimes mishandle repentance
• And why returning to God is not damage control — it is relationship

Repentance is not groveling.
It is not punishment.
It is not self-condemnation.

It is coming back to a gracious, merciful Father
who is slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love.

Healthy Christians are not those who never fail —
they are those who repent quickly and deeply.

As we enter this Lenten season, the question is not:
“Have I apologized?”

The question is:
“Have I returned?”

🎧 Listen now and join us as we walk through what real repentance looks like — and how it leads to restoration and peace.

#RootedInGodsWord #Micah2 #AshWednesday #LentSeason #BiblicalRepentance #ReturnToTheLord #ChristianPodcast #BibleTeaching #FaithAndGrowth #ConvictionNotCondemnation #SteadfastLove #ChristianLiving #HeartChange #GospelHope

🎙️ New Episode – Rooted in God’s Word Podcast

We’ve completed John Chapter 1 — and today we begin in verse 35 as Jesus calls His first disciples.

What does it really mean to be called?

A calling is not the same thing as an interest.
An interest excites you when it’s convenient.
A calling compels you — even when it costs you.

In this episode, we walk through John 1:35–51 and watch what happens when ordinary men hear the simple words: “Follow Me.”

These fishermen weren’t invited to admire Jesus.
They were called to leave security, submit to His authority, grow through correction, join His mission, and embrace the cost.

We explore:
• What true discipleship looked like in first-century Roman-occupied Israel
• Why John highlights Jesus as Lamb of God, Son of God, and King of Israel
• The powerful moment Nathanael confesses Christ
• The difference between being a “Christian” and being a disciple
• What it means to deny yourself and surrender lordship to Jesus

Discipleship is not passive belief.
It is active allegiance.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Get your life together and then follow Me.”
He says, “Come and see.”

The question is not whether we identify as Christians.
The question is whether we have truly surrendered to follow Christ as Lord.

🎧 Listen now and consider:
What has God entrusted to you that you cannot ignore?

#RootedInGodsWord #GospelOfJohn #John1 #FollowMe #Discipleship #ChristianPodcast #BibleTeaching #JesusIsLord #SonOfGod #KingOfIsrael #LambOfGod #ComeAndSee #CountTheCost #FaithInAction #BiblicalTeaching

This week’s message is titled “Behold the Lamb of God” as we continue our study through the Gospel of John, focusing on John 1:29–34.

Last week we stood with John the Baptist as religious leaders questioned his authority. He refused the spotlight. He refused to claim titles that were not his. He called himself a voice — a witness — preparing the way.

This week, he does something even greater.

He sees Jesus and declares:

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

John does not call Him teacher.
He does not call Him miracle worker.
He does not even begin with Messiah.

He says, Lamb.

To a Jewish audience, that word was loaded with meaning. Lamb meant sacrifice. Lamb meant blood. Lamb meant atonement. Every morning and every evening, lambs were sacrificed at the temple. Generations grew up watching the cost of sin laid on the altar.

And now John points to a Person.

Not another animal.
Not another temporary covering.
But the fulfillment of every sacrifice that came before.

In this episode we walk through:

• Why sin is not small, but deadly serious
• Why justice demands payment
• Why Jesus had to be both fully man and fully God
• What it means that He takes away sin, not merely covers it
• The eternal plan of the Father, the willing obedience of the Son, and the revealing work of the Spirit
• Why the cross reveals both the severity of sin and the depth of God’s love

Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death. That is not symbolic language. Sin separates. Sin corrupts. Sin brings judgment.

But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lamb was not an afterthought.
The cross was not an accident.
Redemption was the plan from the beginning.

The Father sent the Son.
The Son embraced the cross.
The Spirit bore witness.

This is unified rescue.

If you grasp this, you grasp the Gospel.

“Behold” means look. Fix your eyes. Don’t glance casually at Christ. See Him for who He is. The Lamb who stood in your place. The One who absorbed the sentence you earned. The Savior who stepped into death so you could step into life.

This is not just theology.
This is worship.
This is salvation.
This is the center of our faith.

Listen now to this week’s episode of Rooted in the Word of God and consider again the seriousness of sin and the greatness of our Savior.

🎧 Rooted in the Word of God

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This week’s episode is titled “John’s Testimony and Baptisms”, as we continue our study through John 1:19–28 and step into the opening moments of Jesus’ public ministry.

In this message, we move from John’s theological introduction of Jesus to a real historical moment where John the Baptist is questioned by priests and Levites about his identity and authority. Who is he? Is he the Messiah? Elijah? The Prophet?

John’s answer is clear and unwavering: he is not the Christ. He is a witness. A voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord.

This episode explores:
• Why John the Baptist’s ministry deeply unsettled religious leaders
• The meaning of testimony and witness in Scripture
• Why repentance, not heritage or outward religion, was required
• The shocking reality of John baptizing Jews as a call to true repentance
• How John’s baptism differs from Old Testament washings and points forward to Christ
• Why the real issue was never John’s authority, but Jesus’
• What baptism truly testifies to today: forgiveness, new life, and union with Christ

At the heart of this passage is a simple but powerful truth:
“This isn’t about me. This is about Jesus.”

John points away from himself and toward the One already standing among them—the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the true authority.

This episode also connects John’s baptism to Christian baptism today, showing how baptism testifies to a finished work: sins forgiven, hearts renewed, and lives made new through Jesus Christ.

Listen in as we slow down, dig deep, and behold how Scripture calls us away from surface religion and into real repentance, real faith, and real life in Christ.

🎧 Rooted in the Word of God

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#ChristianPodcast

This week’s episode is titled “The Word Became Flesh”, as we continue our study through the Gospel of John.

A few weeks ago, we opened John’s Gospel and were immediately confronted with realities that shape all of life:
God exists. Eternity is real. Truth is not subjective. Creation is intentional. Light and darkness are real—and their conflict matters.

John doesn’t offer shallow answers. He presses us deeper and points us to the perfect Thinker: Jesus.

In this episode, we walk through John 1:6–18 and explore how the eternal Word enters history. John the Apostle connects Jesus to creation, to Old Testament promise, and to the prophetic witness of John the Baptist. We see Jesus revealed as the true Light, rejected by many, yet fully sufficient to save all who receive Him.

This sermon unpacks:
• Jesus as the eternal Word, God Himself• Why the world did not recognize its Creator• The role of John the Baptist as prophetic witness• Spiritual blindness, darkness, and humanity’s need for grace• What it truly means to believe in the name of Jesus• Adoption as children of God• “Grace upon grace” through Christ alone• Why the Word becoming flesh changes everything

This Gospel is not just informing us about Jesus; it is calling us to respond to Him.

Listen now and join us as we behold the Light, the Life, and the glory of the Word made flesh.

🎧 Rooted in the Word of God

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In this episode we look at how each Gospel shows a different facet of Jesus—and why John writes so clearly to show that Jesus is not just a teacher, prophet, or example, but God Himself.

We walk through John 1:1–5 and unpack what it means that:

• “In the beginning was the Word” – Jesus existed before creation

• “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” – distinct from the Father, fully God

• “All things were made through Him” – He is the Author of life, not part of creation

• “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” – He is our true life and light

• “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” – His light wins

If you’ve ever wrestled with who Jesus really is, or how to explain from Scripture that Jesus is truly God, this episode is for you. We’re not just admiring deep theology—we’re asking what it means to actually step into the light instead of just observing it from a distance.

Listen in, share it with a friend, and let’s discover Jesus as GOD together.

#RootedInGodsWord #TheWordWasGod #GospelOfJohn #John1 #JesusIsGod #LightInTheDarkness #BibleTeaching #ChristianPodcast #KnowWhatYouBelieve #Hightstown #FaithInAction

This week’s message is “The King Has Come,” as we look at Matthew 2:1–2, 9–11 and celebrate Epiphany Sunday.

We walk with the Magi from the east as they follow the star, arrive in Jerusalem asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”, and are finally led to the true King—not in a palace, but in a house with His mother Mary.

In this episode we unpack:
• Why Epiphany is about Jesus being revealed to the nations, not just Israel
• How Herod and all Jerusalem were “troubled” by the news of a rightful King
• How God guided Gentile seekers by a star, Scripture, and dreams
• What true worship looks like as the Magi fall on their faces and offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh

Epiphany doesn’t make Jesus King; it makes His kingship visible. The King has come. He is revealed as Son of David, Savior of the world, and worthy of our worship.

Listen in, share with a friend, and let your heart be drawn again to bow before the King who cannot be threatened, displaced, or stopped.

#RootedInTheWordOfGod #TheKingHasCome #EpiphanySunday #Matthew2 #Magi #KingOfTheJews #LightToTheNations #JesusIsLord #WorthyOfWorship #BibleTeaching #ChristianPodcast #Hightstown #FaithInAction

This week’s message is “From the Manger to the Magi,” as we walk through Luke 2:21–38 and look at what happened after the manger scene we’re so familiar with.

Christmas isn’t just one night and a nativity set. In this episode we trace the quiet but powerful steps of Jesus’ early days:
• His circumcision and naming on the eighth day – obedience before recognition
• Mary’s purification and Jesus’ presentation at the temple – a family walking faithfully under God’s Law
• Simeon, who had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” finally holding the Lord’s Christ in his arms
• Anna, the elderly prophetess, giving thanks and speaking of Him to all who were waiting for redemption

We see how God’s promises in passages like Numbers 24 and Daniel 7 are converging in this tiny Child… and how, from the very beginning, the cross and the Kingdom are already in view.

This episode sets the stage for the coming of the Magi and reminds us that God’s plan is never random: the right Child, in the right family, in the right city, at the right time—for Israel and for the nations.

Listen in, share with a friend, and let the wonder of Christ’s coming stretch beyond a single night into a deeper walk with the King.

#RootedInTheWordOfGod #FromTheMangerToTheMagi #Luke2 #SimeonAndAnna #ConsolationOfIsrael #JesusOurKing #Advent #ChristmasSeason #GodWithUs #FaithfulObedience #BibleTeaching #ChristianPodcast #Hightstown