PODCAST · religion
St John the Beloved
by St John the Beloved
Sermon and teaching audio from St John Church in Cincinnati Ohio.
Episodes
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Pray In All Things
Prayer gets weirdly narrow for a lot of us. We pray when we’re desperate, but we go silent when we’re thriving. Or we sin, feel ashamed, and avoid God altogether. The closing passage of James refuses all three patterns with a clean, bracing command: in all things, pray. We start with James…
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Patient Endurance
Waiting can feel like wasted time, especially when you are hurting, stuck in conflict, watching injustice go unanswered, or living with a gap between what you prayed for and what you see. We lean into James 5:7-11 and get honest about what “be patient” actually means. Not chill vibes. Not denial....
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The Sins Of Wealth
Money is a lot like a massive rainstorm: it doesn’t always create the problem, but it will absolutely reveal what’s already clogged, cracked, or neglected. We start with James 5 and a real-world flooding picture to ask a hard question: when pressure hits your life through success, influence, and...
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Who is wise?
Everyone has access to more information than any generation in history, yet most of us still feel stuck when it comes to the decisions that actually shape a life: how to choose well, lead well, disagree well, and love people without losing the truth. James 3:13-18 gives us a simple but searching...
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Say Less
Words travel faster than ever, but they still land with the same old force. We start with James 3 and a blunt claim: talking is dangerous. Not because speech is bad, but because it is powerful enough to steer a family, a church, a friendship, or an entire online crowd. We walk through three big...
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Can That Faith Save?
Faith is easy to talk about until it asks something of you. James 2:14–26 presses on the gap between what we confess and what we actually do, and we don’t get to dodge the tension: “faith without works is dead.” We start with a vivid picture of trust from a tightrope crossing over Niagara, then…
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The Law of Liberty
A sharp chisel can build a beautiful gate or cut deep enough to need stitches, and that’s the picture we can’t shake as we open James 2:8-13. God’s law is powerful, good, and necessary, but it has to be handled with care. We start with a real neighbor story that turns into a lesson on providence,...
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Show No Partiality
We all say people matter more than status, but our instincts often tell a different story. James 2 puts a spotlight on favoritism and asks what happens when a “gold ring” guest and a poor, shabby visitor walk into the same church. Do we offer equal welcome, equal attention, and equal dignity, or…
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Creatures Of The Word
Your soul is taking in words all day long, and none of them are neutral. We start with a gritty, local image of the Ohio River, how a life-giving waterway can be corrupted by what gets poured into it, and how restoration begins by cutting off the source of pollution. James 1:18-27 uses that same...
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The Importance of Struggle
Hard seasons have a way of telling the truth about us. They reveal what we really trust, what we run to for comfort, and what shows up when the pressure is high. Walking through James 1:1–17, we make the case that trials are not random interruptions to the Christian life but a tool God uses to...
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Invited to the Party
A lavish wedding banquet is ready, the doors are open, and the invitation is free. Then the unthinkable happens: the guests shrug, make excuses, and wander off to their farms and businesses as if the King’s celebration is optional. We open Matthew 22 and sit with the weight of that moment…
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The Value of the Kingdom
The most dangerous spiritual mistake is confusing price with value. When Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as a hidden treasure and a pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44–46), he is not pitching a minor life upgrade. He is telling the truth about Christian discipleship: it can cost you…
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The Power Of Small Beginnings
Big promises are easy to market. Real change is harder to spot. We start with the story of the Fyre Festival, a spectacle that looked enormous and delivered disappointment, then pivot to Jesus’ surprisingly humble images for the kingdom of God: a mustard seed and hidden leaven. We unpack why the...
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Children of the Father
Father’s Day can be tender, complicated, or downright painful, so we start by telling the truth about what many of us carry into the day. Then we turn to 1 John 2:28 to 3:3 and ask a bigger question than “How do I feel about my dad?” What if the most defining thing about you is that you can be...
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Wheat Among the Tares
Counterfeits are easy to spot until the fake looks almost real. That is exactly why Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds in Matthew 13 still hits a nerve, especially when we look at the church and ask, “If God planted this, how did it get so messy?” We sit with Jesus’ answer, an enemy has…
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Entering the Kingdom
We treat the Parable of the Sower like it’s about sorting people, but Jesus uses it to train our attention and show us how the kingdom of God takes root. We connect Mark 4 to everyday life and walk through three doorway practices: curiosity, careful listening, and making space for the Word to…
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The Love of Money
Money can be a tool for good, but it becomes dangerous the moment we start treating it like a savior. We walk through 1 Timothy 6 and slow down on the phrase people misquote all the time, not “money is the root of all evil,” but “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” That shift…
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Pentecost And The Holy Spirit
Wind. Fire. A crowd that thinks the disciples are drunk at 9 a.m. Pentecost is one of the most misunderstood moments in the Bible, and it’s also one of the most hopeful. We walk through Acts 2:1–21 and show why Pentecost is not a random spiritual spectacle but God keeping His ancient promises and...
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Investment
Doing nothing can feel safe, but it’s often the most dangerous investment we make. We open with Scripture from Ecclesiastes 11, Galatians 6, and 2 Corinthians 9 to show how the Bible talks about money, work, and spiritual growth through one steady image: sowing and reaping. If grain is capital,...
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The Industrious Woman
Economics usually makes us think about suits, spreadsheets, and stock prices, but Proverbs 31 starts somewhere far more ordinary and far more powerful: the household. We walk through the famous portrait of the “industrious woman” and ask a direct question with real consequences for marriage…
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Building Wealth
Wealth can make us defensive, jealous, proud, or anxious, sometimes all in the same week. We want a clean answer: is money the root of all evil, or the proof that we’re finally secure? Proverbs and Jesus give a better story, one that honors wisdom and also exposes the heart. We work through...
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Profit And Fruitfulness
Profit is a loaded word, but Proverbs treats it with surprising honesty and hope. We want our work to matter, our hours to count, and our effort to produce real fruit not just more exhaustion. So we ask a blunt question: what if the missing ingredient isn’t more hustle, but better efficiency? We...
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The Poor You Will Always Have Among You
Scarcity is not just an economics term, it is a daily pressure that shapes housing, wages, debt, and the quiet fear of not having enough. We start with a simple story about buying a home after the 2008 collapse and watching the same neighborhood become nearly impossible for new buyers. That shift...
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Stewards in God’s Economy
God has put something valuable in your hands, and it’s not actually yours. That’s the tension Jesus targets in Luke 19’s Parable of the Minas, where servants receive a small sum, a clear command to “engage in business,” and a coming day of accountability when the King returns. We kick off our...
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The Empty Tomb Invitation
A moved stone, folded grave clothes, and a woman who refuses to go home. John 20:1–18 is more than a resurrection account, it is a turning point that forces a decision: will we treat Easter as interesting information, or as an invitation into a new reality opened by the risen Jesus? We start with...
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Our Hope Must Be in God
A powerful king loses sleep because he can’t undo his own law. Daniel is faithful, the verdict is sealed, and the lion’s den waits. That tension is exactly where we live when we realize the people we depend on can’t carry the weight we place on them. We walk through Daniel 6 on Palm Sunday and…
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10,000 Hours
The lion’s den isn’t where Daniel becomes faithful, it’s where his lifelong training finally shows. We walk through Daniel 6 and keep coming back to one simple line: he prayed “as he had done previously.” That quiet consistency reframes everything. Daniel’s public courage is built in private...
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The Dangers of Arrogance
A thousand guests, sacred cups stolen from God’s temple, and a king so sure of himself he throws a party while Babylon is under siege. Then it happens: a human hand appears and writes on the palace wall. Daniel 5 isn’t just a famous Bible story, it’s a mirror, and we spend this message asking…
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He Is Able to Humble
Pride whispers that we’re in control; Daniel 4 shows what happens when heaven answers back. We walk through Nebuchadnezzar’s sweeping testimony—from ease and prosperity, to a troubling dream, to a warning delivered by Daniel, to a hard fall, and finally to restoration that only began when he…
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Who Is The God Who Will Deliver?
A fiery furnace, a furious king, and three young men who refuse to bow—yet the heart of the story isn’t heat or heroism. It’s the way God saves. We walk through Daniel 3 to uncover a pattern we can live by: God rescues with precision, turns deliverance into public witness, and draws near in the...
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Faith in the Heat of the Moment
A furnace roars, a crowd bows, and three quiet men stay standing. We step into Daniel 3 to explore how pressure exposes the difference between the appearance of faith and the reality of it—and why the strongest convictions often speak in a whisper rather than a shout. Our focus lands on a simple...
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Burning Fiery Furnace
A 90‑foot idol, a blast of music, and a furnace roaring in the background—Daniel 3 reads like spectacle, but it’s really a mirror. We walk through Nebuchadnezzar’s ceremony to expose four marks of godless power: it demands ultimate allegiance, reaches into belief, prizes what works over what’s...
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The Rise and Fall of Nations
We trace Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from glittering statue to heaven-cut stone and explore why empires fade while God’s kingdom grows. History, politics, and daily life converge in a call to shift from grasping for control to practicing near faithfulness with durable hope. • the rise and fall of…
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Credibility Is Everything
A crisis can expose the limits of every system we trust—whether that’s money, institutions, or our own cleverness. When Nebuchadnezzar demands the impossible, the court experts stall and credibility collapses. Daniel steps into that void with a different kind of capital: calm, courageous faith...
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Winning Friends and Influencing People
Ever feel powerless in a system you can’t shape? We walk through Daniel 1:8–21 and trace how a young exile with no authority became a trusted voice in a foreign court. The shift is jarring and hopeful: control isn’t the gateway to impact. Faithfulness is. From Daniel’s quiet refusal of royal...
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New Resolutions
We open a new series in Daniel by facing catastrophe, exile, and the quiet power of God’s severe mercy. Daniel 1 shows how resolve, small communities, and public accountability help us resist assimilation and live with holiness and influence. • Judah’s collapse and the claim that God is at work •...
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Disturber of the Peace
A caravan from the East rolls into Jerusalem and asks a question no one is ready to answer: where is the newborn King? That simple inquiry cracks the city’s calm, exposes Herod’s fear, and reveals a deeper truth about real peace. We open Matthew 2 and trace how Jesus first unsettles us—our plans,...
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Safety Second
A quiet betrothal, a shocking pregnancy, and a dream that changes everything—Joseph steps into a life he didn’t plan and shows us what real courage looks like. We walk through Matthew’s account to explore three hard truths we often avoid: mercy that humbles the ego, obedience that risks…
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I’m The Problem
We trace how the conflict of Christmas moves from a cosmic battle to a personal struggle, using Zechariah’s story and a mini ramp to show why fear, unbelief, and the need for control block grace. Exposure hurts, but it is the wound that heals when we trust God’s word. • dropping in as a picture…
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This Means War
We trace Revelation 12 to show Advent as a story of conflict and hope: a child pursued by a dragon, the church sustained in the wilderness, and accusation broken by the blood of the Lamb. Light is winning, not because life is easy, but because Christ has already won. • Revelation 12 read and…
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Our Eyes Are On You
A vast army gathers, panic rises, and a king makes a surprising move: he admits he’s powerless and points an entire nation to fix their eyes on God. We walk through 2 Chronicles 20 and the story of Jehoshaphat to uncover a counterintuitive strategy for moments when life feels baffling: seek...
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Act Like Men (Ordain Yourself!)
A grown-up church doesn’t just get older; it takes responsibility. We wrap our 1 Corinthians journey by focusing on Paul’s final charge in chapter 16—organize tangible generosity, persevere in contested mission fields, and honor the unseen people who make church life sing. We start with the...
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Praise the Lord
What if your loudest cheers are aimed at the wrong throne? We dive into Psalm 98 and make a bold case: worship isn’t about musical style or mood, it’s about worth. From the first line—sing to the Lord for he has done marvelous things—we trace how songs shape hearts, why instruments and even…
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Not Moveable - Christian Stubbornness
What if the life you’re built for can’t be lived in the body you have now? We open 1 Corinthians 15:35–58 and follow Paul’s sweeping claim: to inherit God’s kingdom, we must be changed. Not polished. Not upgraded. Transformed. We start with the contrast between Adam and Christ—dust and glory,...
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If Christ Be Not Raised
What if one claim could carry the whole weight of Christian faith—body, soul, public life, and private sacrifice? We follow Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 to the sharp edge of that question: if Christ is not raised, faith is empty; if he is, then death is a defeated enemy and the whole world opens…
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The Greatest Story Ever Told
Start with the biggest claim imaginable: everything’s going to be okay—not because life is easy, but because Jesus died for our sins and rose again. We open 1 Corinthians 15 and walk through Paul’s tight summary of the gospel, why it’s of first importance, and how the resurrection functions like…
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Order Brings Peace
Peace never shows up by accident. It grows where lives, homes, and churches are arranged with purpose, and that’s the journey we take through 1 Corinthians 14—pulling order out of abstraction and into everyday practice. We start with a muddy backyard and a deck build that only moved forward once...
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Famous Last Words
A letter written under the shadow of the scaffold can change how we live under everyday shadows. Today we walk through 2 Timothy 1:1–12 as Paul urges Timothy—and us—to fan the flame, resist shame, and remember the holy calling rooted in grace, not performance. We explore how legacy shapes…
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Reflections on the Life and Assassination of Charlie Kirk
The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10th has fundamentally altered America's spiritual and political landscape. This wasn't merely a political murder—it was Christian martyrdom on American soil, as Kirk was targeted specifically for ideas rooted in his Christian faith. Unlike...
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The Gift of Prophecy
The power of words cannot be overstated. Just as Churchill's speeches rallied Britain against seemingly impossible odds, prophetic words have the extraordinary ability to transform lives, clarify confusion, and point people to Jesus Christ. In this compelling exploration of 1 Corinthians 14:1-25,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Sermon and teaching audio from St John Church in Cincinnati Ohio.
HOSTED BY
St John the Beloved
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