Going to God in prayer is meant to disable all the signals coming from our culture, and even quiet the noise in our heads. It stops the outside voices clamoring for our attention, and forces us to be still. Why? Because we are not actually in control of our lives; and God wishes to communicate with us and even navigate our way in the world.The sermon today is titled "Does Prayer Do Anything?" It is the second installment in our series "Airplane Mode." The Scripture reading is from Ephesians 3:20 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on January 14, 2024. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under GROW: Spiritual Disciplines.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:Series title from Grace Church (Kansas City).I am grateful to Rick Atchley of The Hills Church (Richland Hills, TX) for several lessons (heard decades apart) where he offered material used in several key aspects of the sermon today. A sermon on revival preached 25 years ago (in Jackson, TN) included the opening story of the Golf Legend, and a telling of the escape of Peter from prison (Acts 12). More recently, he preached a sermon at The Hills church telling of his dream in the file-cabinet room of heaven, and challenging the church to ask for more.C. S. Lewis' response on prayer is found in his 1945 essay "Work and Prayer" and in his book Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer.A list of powerful prayers in Scripture used in this lesson can be found here.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Going to God in prayer is meant to disable all the signals coming from our culture, and even quiet the noise in our heads. It stops the outside voices clamoring for our attention, and forces us to be still. Why? Because we are not actually in control of our lives; and God wishes to communicate with us and even navigate our way in the world.The sermon today is titled "Is God Really Listening?" It is the first installment in our series "Airplane Mode." The Scripture reading is from 1 John 5:14-15 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on January 7, 2024. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under GROW: Spiritual Disciplines.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:Series title from Grace Church (Kansas City).Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make A Difference?Flight attendant speech modified from here."Get me to where it says on the ticket:" a modified Jerry Seinfeld joke.R. L. Wilson, "Does God Listen When We Pray?"I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Go back before time. Before all galaxies. There He is. The spoken word creates all things. Can you see him?That word became flesh. The incarnate one. The express image of gods glory. Can you see him?Beyond presents and trees. Beyond ribbons and reindeers.is the true reason for the season. God in the flesh, Majesty in a manger, who came for you.The sermon today is titled "After." It is the last installment in our series "Cosmic Christ." The Scripture reading is from Hebrews 1:1-4 (CEV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on December 31, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Go back before time. Before all galaxies. There He is. The spoken word creates all things. Can you see him?That word became flesh. The incarnate one. The express image of gods glory. Can you see him?Beyond presents and trees. Beyond ribbons and reindeers.is the true reason for the season. God in the flesh, Majesty in a manger, who came for you.The sermon today is titled "Holding All Things Together." It is the fourth installment in our series "Cosmic Christ." The Scripture reading is from Hebrews 1:1-4 (CEV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on December 24, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:NASA website's definition of gravity.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Go back before time. Before all galaxies. There He is. The spoken word creates all things. Can you see him?That word became flesh. The incarnate one. The express image of gods glory. Can you see him?Beyond presents and trees. Beyond ribbons and reindeers.is the true reason for the season. God in the flesh, Majesty in a manger, who came for you.The sermon today is titled "Exact Representation." It is the third installment in our series "Cosmic Christ." The Scripture reading is from Hebrews 1:1-4 (CEV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on December 17, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:The famous trilemma ("Lunatic, Liar, or Lord") is drawn from C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 2, Chapter 3: "The Shocking Alternative." For the organization of passages, I am indebted to William Lane Craig's Defender's podcast (Series 3): "Doctrine of God: Trinity (Part 3): The Deity of Christ."For the language of "in having to do with Jesus, we are having to do with God," I credit my Oxford tutor, Robert Morgan. For the claim that early Christians developed Trinitarian language as an outgrowth of their experience of God in Jesus Christ, I am grateful to readings and dialogue with my Cambridge supervisor, Janet Martin Soskice.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Go back before time. Before all galaxies. There He is. The spoken word creates all things. Can you see him?That word became flesh. The incarnate one. The express image of gods glory. Can you see him?Beyond presents and trees. Beyond ribbons and reindeers.is the true reason for the season. God in the flesh, Majesty in a manger, who came for you.The sermon today is titled "Radiance of God's Glory." It is the second installment in our series "Cosmic Christ." The Scripture reading is from Hebrews 1:1-4 (CEV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on December 10, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:The opening quote ("I believe in God as I believe in the sun") is from C. S. Lewis.On the wonder of light, I summarize findings here: Astrum, “The Attribute of Light Science Still Can’t Explain.” For exegesis of Hebrews 1:3, see Alan C. Mitchell, Hebrews (Sacra Pagina).On the Transfiguration, see Tim Keller, "Jesus the King."The concluding observations--that light is the basic source of life, truth, and joy, but also what can take all these away--are from Tim Keller, "I Am The Light."I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Go back before time. Before all galaxies. There He is. The spoken word creates all things. Can you see him?That word became flesh. The incarnate one. The express image of gods glory. Can you see him?Beyond presents and trees. Beyond ribbons and reindeers.is the true reason for the season. God in the flesh, Majesty in a manger, who came for you.The sermon today is titled "Before All Galaxies." It is the first installment in our series "Cosmic Christ." The Scripture reading is from Hebrews 1:1-4 (CEV) and John 1:1-14 (CEV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on December 3, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:Video Montage from three sources:Source 1: Rocket lift-off. (0:45-1:17)Source 2: Rocket leaving earth. (0:00-0:37)Source 3: Space loop.Earendel from various sources.Alan C. Mitchell, Hebrews (Sacra Pagina).Craig Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

There are days we wish to remember forever, and there are days we hope to forget. This is a story about loss and gain, and a God who never forgets the good stuff.The sermon today is titled "A Thanksgiving To Remember." It is a stand-alone sermon for Thanksgiving and a reflection on the death of my father-in-law and the birth of my son in the same week. The Scripture reading is from Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV) and John 16:20-22 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on November 26, 2023.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:"A preacher learns the song in your heart." Revd. Dr. Sam Wells, final sermon at Duke University Divinity Chapel (May 6, 2012). Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (Nov 19, 1863)I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

Beyond rules and moral ideals. Read the Sermon on the Mount as every day, in every way, learning to practice the presence of God.The sermon today is titled "Practice Makes Perfect." It is the thirteenth and last installment in our series "One Sermon That Changed The World." The Scripture reading is from Matthew 7:24-29 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on November 12, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under DISCOVER: A New Lifestyle.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Click here if you would like to download "Living the Sermon on the Mount," a free teachers guide and workbook resource for class and small groups.Click here for the "Outside the Walls" podcast discussion of this sermon.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:James Bryan Smith, The Good & Beautiful Life.James Clear, Atomic HabitsChristianity Today article: 26 million Americans stopped reading the Bible…American Bible Society 2002 Report: The State of the Bible.Brother Lawrence, Practice of the Presence of God.Lee Daniel's The Butler "Sit In" scene.Craig Keener, Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary.Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew (Brazos).Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.

If you want to know who the hurting trust, find out who heals them, feeds them, and welcomes them.The sermon today is titled "Who Do You Trust?" It is the twelfth installment in our series "One Sermon That Changed The World." The Scripture reading is from Matthew 7:6-23 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on November 5, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under DISCOVER: A New Lifestyle.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Click here if you would like to download "Living the Sermon on the Mount," a free teachers guide and workbook resource for class and small groups.Click here for the "Outside the Walls" podcast discussion of this sermon.Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:David Garland, Mark (NIV Life Application Commentary)LaGard Smith, Who Is My Brother?Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew  (Brazos).Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship.James Bryan Smith, The Good & Beautiful Life.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide and even kids notes on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.