My Vision for This Podcast

Gregory: 00:00

Welcome back to Understanding Hymns for Everyday Life. I'm super excited to get back to our normal schedule next week of uncovering the songs of our faith and the meaning behind them. But I wanted to finally make an episode about the vision that I have for this podcast and how you can most benefit from it. 


Gregory: 00:31

The goal of this podcast is to be an " anyone's welcome" resource for pointing people to Christ. Regardless of someone's current spiritual maturity, this show is designed to help orient people to Christ and to see him as he is, as well as seeing ourselves as we truly are. In no way is this show a replacement for church or personal Bible study. Rather, it's a supplement for your spiritual growth to help bring you closer to God. 


Gregory: 01:06

The reason that I chose covering hymns and scriptural truths, is primarily because I understood that I don't appreciate the hymns of our faith as much as I want to. It is so easy to sing songs from routine rather than actually praising God from a heart filled with joy and one that is in awe of him. I want to do what I can to combat that in my own life while paving a way for you to join me in this effort. 


Gregory: 01:35

So let me share with you the general structure of each episode, as well as some of the resources you might not have realized are available for your profit. 


Gregory: 01:43

Each week we'll begin by considering the relevant historical context of the song, who wrote it and why they did so, but then we'll quickly jump into the themes that the song is expressing and most importantly, how those words are expressing real Bible truths. And we'll always finish out with a personal application where I challenge you to apply those Bible truths to your own life so that you don't walk away the same. . 


Gregory: 02:12

Chapters are built into each episode. Each platform does it a little differently but you'll be able to go back and review each episode and jump to whichever point you'd like to as efficiently as possible. 


Gregory: 02:25

Now let me tell you about some of the extra features that are available. In the show notes for each episode, you'll first see a short description about the episode, perhaps a little hook about the story behind the song that we're covering that day, and then you'll see a series of links to different resources that are for your benefit. 


Gregory: 02:45

I have a simple website set up to link out to various Christian resources including my favorite format for reading the Bible , information for my local church, and a new podcast that I'll be telling you about in just a moment. 


Gregory: 02:58

After those series of links, there are timestamps that are complementary to the chapters I just mentioned. And those are another way for you to know what's coming up in the episode and be able to skip to the portion that's your most interested in. 


Gregory: 03:11

Following that is a list of the Scripture references that I've used in the episode. Every single Bible verse that I use is available in this list, typically with even more context versus included. And I often will also include extra verses on that topic that I don't reference specifically, but are there for your benefit. So use those as a quick shortcut to see not only that what I'm telling you is actually found in Scripture, but use it as a launching point for you to study that topic yourself and see how God's Word is designed to bless you in teaching you about these different things. 


Gregory: 03:50

Finally, there's the research sources where you'll be able to see the books or websites that I use to give you the biographical information about the author and any quotes that I referenced in the episode. 


Gregory: 04:02

I'd now like to share my personal testimony of how I came to Christ. I was raised in church. I was raised being taught the things of scripture, but it was just a head knowledge. And I realized that at a very young age. 


Gregory: 04:15

In fact, I was on the way home from a vacation Bible school and I was telling my mom all about the lessons that they had taught us: how Jesus Christ is God, how he died for our sins and how he rose again and conquered death to offer salvation. And I had a cognitive understanding of all of these things, but I had not chosen to receive them for myself. 


Gregory: 04:41

And so my mother asked me something like, " have you done that for yourself yet?" Meaning, have you made the decision to trust Jesus to count on him to take you to heaven? And at that moment, my answer was no. And I realized that there is a tremendous difference, in fact, an eternal difference, between knowing about God and knowing God. 


Gregory: 05:09

There are many people in this world who are very academically minded, and they could tell you many more things about Scripture than I can from an academic standpoint. And yet, they haven't actually received it for themselves. Perhaps you know the gist of the story behind Jesus coming to this earth, behind him dying on the cross, behind him being buried and rising again. 


Gregory: 05:38

Knowing the story does not mean you're going to go to heaven when you die. People were present watching Jesus be crucified on the cross. They saw him be put in the grave. Some of them even saw him after he had risen from the dead and yet they were not trusting him for salvation. They knew the story, they'd seen it with their own eyes, but it hadn't changed their heart. 


Gregory: 06:02

They hadn't let him in. Don't be one of those. Don't be someone who knows about God, but refuses to know him. Don't make excuses about how busy you are and how you'll think about what to do about Christ later. Choose to trust him today. And let me tell you something. Receiving Christ is just a wonderful beginning of a new relationship with God. 


Gregory: 06:27

Years after I had gotten saved, I had my first experience of going to teen camp, a Christian camp for a week, where there were all kinds of crazy games and awesome snacks and meals and things, but also, most importantly, where the preaching of God's word was deeply emphasized. And it was a time for us to get away from our regular routine, to get away from so many distractions of life, and to hone in on what God was trying to tell us. 


Gregory: 06:55

During that week, God spoke to me so clearly, not audibly, but through the preaching of his word. Through the preaching of the truth, I came to understand that God's plan for me was so much bigger than me just being saved. I came to understand that it's so much bigger than just showing up to church on a regular basis. 


Gregory: 07:18

God wanted a personal, real relationship with me. Not just one where I know I'm saved but one in which he calls me to closeness with him. Not to see him as a far off, uninvolved God, but that he is the personal creator and father that wants to spend time with me and to work through me every single day. I am by no means perfect, but that week of camp changed the trajectory of my life, and I went from being a good kid out of personality to being a godly kid who is seeking God. 


Gregory: 07:59

And that has put me on the path that I'm on today. One in which ministry is not something I see as something I'm having to do. Not something that I'm trying to do to earn my way to heaven, but being involved in God's work is something that I get to do, to share his love with other people, and to see him work and change others lives just like he's continuing to do mine. 


Gregory: 08:22

I don't know where you're at on your own relationship with God, on your own journey towards Christ, or away from him. But could I challenge you? Never just sit down and be satisfied with where you are. If you've already trusted Jesus for salvation, don't stop there. That's just the beginning. Maybe you attend church three times a week. That's wonderful, if it's a Bible believing Bible preaching church, but that's not the end game . 


Gregory: 08:49

God calls you to a relationship with him each and every day. One in which you get to explore his word yourself for him to speak to you. One in which you can go to him anytime in prayer and approach his throne boldly and yet humbly to obtain his mercy and his grace. One in which you can be used by Him to turn this world upside down for the cause of Christ. Seek to grow closer to God in a real relationship with Him every single day. I hope that this becomes and continues to be your heart's desire . 


Gregory: 09:29

Some of you are wondering how to support this podcast and let me say right out the gate that I am not asking for your money because I do not need your money. My God supplies all my need according to his riches not man's. The effort going into this podcast is not to generate a source of income for me. It's to be a source of spiritual growth for you. That is why you will never be bombarded with ads on this podcast. There is no place for such interruptions when God's work is being done in the hearts of his created people. 


Gregory: 10:09

I will never ask for your money, but here is what I will ask you for. First and foremost, I will ask for you to pray for me. If you are a saved child of God, would you pray specifically for God to give me wisdom as I select the song for each week and as I do Bible study to help exposit God's truths to the listeners, to you, that I would do so clearly and effectively? Would you pray for me to have boldness, to say what needs to be said, even when that goes against culture, and yet do so with a compassionate and zealous heart for God, not of one that lifts myself up? Above all, would you pray for me that I personally would let nothing between myself and God, that I would not get caught up in the things of this world, but that I would offer my Savior all of me, day after day. He is worthy and deserving of such devotion. 


Gregory: 11:10

Secondly, I will ask for you to leave reviews for the podcast. For feedback, email me at UnderstandingHymns@outlook.com but reviews on the other hand, are an opportunity for you to publicly share what you enjoy about the podcast and how it's helped you. By doing so, it will be promoted in front of strangers, and they'll be able to join our podcast family. If you don't know what to say, don't worry about being overly detailed or eloquent, just share an insight you gained from the show, or perhaps a feature you particularly appreciate. 


Gregory: 11:46

As for where to leave these reviews, you can do so on whatever your listening platform is, whether that's Apple Podcasts or Spotify or something else. But there's also a community standard podcast review site called Podchaser, and I would be thrilled if you would leave a review there for me to help share this resource with other people. And I'll have that link in the show notes for you. 


Gregory: 12:11

The last thing that I would ask for you to do is to specifically share it with some of your own friends. Right now, think of two people that you know that could benefit from this content and then make a plan to send them a link and invite them to listen to your favorite episode. Who knows? Maybe you'll gain a new podcast buddy to discuss the show with, but either way, you'll be able to help other people be exposed to the truths of God's word and also the inspiring stories behind these songs that we sing. 


Gregory: 12:44

Some of you cannot get enough of this quality Christian content. And so there's a new podcast I would like to point you to that is focusing on the fundamentals of our faith. The show is entitled, Truths Every Christian Needs to Know. Their trailer is already out and this Saturday, the first episode will launch to show you 10 reasons that you can trust the Bible as the Word of God. I am certain that it will be another encouraging resource for you as you grow in Christ. You'll find the link to their website in the show notes as well. 


Gregory: 13:21

There are some other things I'm working on behind the scenes that I hope to share with you one day, but for now, I'm just glad that you're a part of this ministry. Thank you for tuning in and for allowing me to be a part of your day. It is truly a blessing and a privilege to put the effort into this podcast: to produce content for you to help you grow closer to God. I look forward to seeing you next week as we'll continue our journey into understanding hymns for everyday life.