Just when we expect an elderly Nehemiah to walk away from trouble and reach for the rocking chair, he thrusts himself right back into ministry. Those who think we should retire from God's work at a certain age should read Nehemiah 13 and think again!
Revival is like remodeling your kitchen. It takes longer than you planned, makes a bigger mess than you thought possible, and costs more than you hoped! But as Stephen reminds us in this message, the outcome is always worth the effort.
Revival is the natural result of an encounter with God. Whenever God's Word exposes us for who we truly are and we respond by confessing our sins to Him, that is when our hearts find restoration. As Stephen will remind us today, repentance is the road to revolution . . . and there is no alternate route.
The Church has lost her moral courage to communicate the message of Jesus. Believers today are just as materialistic and promiscuous as unbelievers. At the moment when our generation is desperately asking life's most important questions, Christians aren't standing up to give the answer. We, like the people in Nehemiah's day, need a revival. Join Stephen now to find out how to start one.
Every believer is a gate-keeper, and gates are only as good as the character of the guards. In this message Stephen warns us to guard carefully what we allow through the gates of our life knowing that what we take in through our minds will ultimately effect our souls.
The Devil is a whisperer, a schemer, and a blasphemer. Remember what happened in the Garden of Eden? He merely posed a question to Eve; that's all. He placed a shadow of doubt in her mind and it was enough to lure her into disobedience. What is Satan whispering into your ear today? Is it working?
The greatest opponent of the church is often the church. The thing that keeps the church from reaching the world is the world inside the church. We might sing songs to God on Sunday mornings but our theme song every other day of the week is often "Me, myself and I." How do we change that? Nehemiah chapter 5 gives us some clues.
Stephen and Scott discuss questions phoned in by listeners. Please note that there is NO transcript available for this program. Also, due to weather this time, which prevented our studio recording from taking place, this program is a repeat of QA20, which aired in June of 2016.
As believers we sometimes wage war against the devil unarmed and unprepared, like soldiers on horseback fighting against a tank! We forget that Satan is on a search and destroy mission and he'll stop at nothing to hinder God's work in us. So join Stephen in this message as he shows us how to defend ourselves against the never-ending attack of the enemy.
The old nursery rhyme goes, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' If only that were true! But the fact is, ridicule does hurt, and it can cripple a person's self-esteem. So how can we make that rhyme come true in our lives? Like Nehemiah, we have to rely on God's Word. No matter what the world tells you, keep listening to what God tells you.
In Extravagant Grace, Part 2 (Philippians 4:4–5), Stephen Davey teaches that believers are called to display grace in a disappointed and self-centered world through two qualities—a resolution to be joyful and a reputation for gentleness. Joy, he explains, is not dependent on circumstances but flows from the Holy Spirit, the gospel, and trust in God’s sovereignty—even in suffering. Gentleness, often misunderstood as weakness, is strength under control—a willingness to yield, be courteous, and respond to hostility with grace. Using vivid examples from history, culture, and personal experience, Davey challenges believers to demonstrate joy and gentleness as living testimonies of Christ’s presence. Because “the Lord is near,” Christians can embody supernatural calm and kindness, showing a frustrated world the reality of God’s transforming grace.
In Extravagant Grace, Part 3 (Philippians 4:6–7), Stephen Davey teaches believers how to conquer anxiety through prayer and trust in God. He compares worry to a deadly anaconda that strangles faith, urging Christians to “be anxious for nothing.” Instead of allowing fear to consume them, they are to replace worry with prayer—bringing every concern to God with gratitude. Davey explains that worry pulls believers apart, while thankful prayer realigns their hearts toward God’s power and presence. The result is a supernatural peace that “guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” a peace flowing directly from God’s own character. This peace doesn’t come from understanding circumstances but from trusting the God who controls them all. Through continual, thankful prayer, believers display the extravagant grace of God by living free from fear and full of peace.
In Father Abraham, Part I (Romans 4:1–3), Stephen Davey introduces Abraham as Paul’s prime example of justification by faith, not works. He explains that Abraham lived 2,000 years before Paul, proving that salvation by faith is not new but has always been God’s plan. Abraham, the forefather of Israel and “friend of God,” was revered for righteousness, yet Scripture reveals his flaws—fear, deceit, and unbelief—showing that his justification came by faith alone. Davey warns against relying on human reasoning or cultural religion, urging believers to ask, “What does the Bible say?” Like Abraham, sinners are declared righteous not by merit but by trusting God’s promise of redemption through Christ. God credited righteousness to Abraham’s account by grace, illustrating the same salvation available to every believer today.
Stephen Davey’s sermon “Reconcilable Differences” (Philippians 4:2–3) explains that real church and family life are messy, which is exactly where extravagant grace must be practiced. Using humorous and honest stories, he shows that grace is more than a doctrine we receive from God—it’s a costly, deliberate way of stooping low in attitude and action toward difficult people. Paul’s appeal to Euodia and Syntyche models gracious confrontation: he names them, refuses to take sides, reminds them of their shared labor in the gospel, and urges them to “live in harmony in the Lord,” enlisting a trusted “true companion” to help them reconcile. Stephen Davey draws out principles that disagreements are inevitable, even mature believers don’t always disagree agreeably, and small conflicts—if unchecked—can damage an entire church. Instead of taking sides, spiritually mature believers should step in to untangle issues and protect the unity of the body, remembering that everyone’s name is written in the book of life. He concludes with the example of a Christian bus driver whose daily, practical kindness creates a community of grace, urging believers to let that same grace characterize their relationships in the church.
In his sermon on Ecclesiastes 7:1–14, Stephen Davey explains how Solomon shifts from raising life’s troubling questions to offering God-given wisdom for living well. Davey highlights four truths Solomon teaches: contemplate your mortality, because facing death cultivates serious thinking and a life of purpose rather than pretense; choose wise companions, since the rebuke of the godly is far more valuable than the shallow laughter of fools; cultivate godly character, resisting the pull of anger, corruption, impatience, and nostalgic fantasies about “the good old days”; and consider your Creator with humility, recognizing that God ordains both prosperity and adversity, the straight paths and the crooked ones, to deepen trust in Him. Davey concludes that Solomon’s inspired counsel urges believers to live with sober perspective, intentional relationships, steadfast integrity, and humble dependence on the God who shapes every season of life.
