Podcast
Grow In Faith
Hosted by Christ Church IL · EN
Life giving devotionals in under 5 minutes.
Pastor Mike Woodruff, Christ Church pastors, and others will guide you through the Bible and help provide insights into scripture and practical takeaways for your daily walk with God.
57episodes
Episodes
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How to Spot a Fake: The Jeweler's Secret to Knowing Jesus
6d ago00:07:21Tap to summarizeA young apprentice walks into a jewelry shop expecting to learn the trade. Instead, the master hands him a piece of jade and says, "Study this." Day after day, the same thing. Until one day, the master hands him a fake — and the apprentice instantly knows. Why? Because he had spent so much time with the real thing.That's the heart of today's devotional as we finally dive into Colossians 1:1 — verse by verse — in Day 4 of our series.In this devotional, we unpack:→ The powerful jade apprentice story and what it teaches us about discerning truth → Why Paul's introduction is FAR more important than you might think → The three key words that open this letter: apostle, grace, and peace → What it actually means to be an "apostle" in the New Testament (and why Paul claims this title) → How Paul was an "apostle untimely born" — encountering the risen Christ in Acts 9 → Why Paul is essentially "playing the trump card" right at the start of his letter → The dangerous phrase: "Jesus AND..." — and why you should be alert whenever you hear it → How modern people appeal to science, experience, tradition, and feelings — but Paul appeals to apostolic authority → Why staying close to the real Jesus is the only way to spot counterfeit truthKey takeaway: "If we're going to spot the difference between the real jade and a convincing fake, we have to stay close to the truth. That means we have to keep coming back to Christ Jesus, who is revealed in Scripture."This is where our verse-by-verse journey truly begins — and it sets the tone for everything Paul is about to teach us.📖 Scripture Focus: Colossians 1:1 🎯 Series: Colossians Chapter 1 Devotional ⏮️ Catch up on Parts 1-3 if you're just joining us! ⏭️ Coming Tomorrow: We unpack the words "grace" and "peace"Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss a single verse in this rich chapter. If this teaching encouraged you, share it with someone who's trying to discern truth in a confusing world.💬 Drop a comment below: Have you ever encountered a "Jesus AND..." teaching? How did you recognize it?#Colossians #BibleStudy #Devotional #Christian #ApostlePaul #Jesus #Truth #Discernment #NewTestament #DailyDevotional #Colossians1 #BibleVerse
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Money, Sex, and Power: The Real Problems Behind Colossians
1w ago00:05:33Tap to summarizeWhat were the real problems facing the church in Colossae? And why does Paul's response still matter for us today? In Day 3 of our Colossians devotional series, we set the stage for a verse-by-verse journey through one of the most theologically rich chapters in the New Testament.Before we dive into the text itself, we need to understand the world Paul was writing into — and the timeless issues he was confronting head-on.In this devotional, we explore:→ Why Colossae's location on a trade route made it a hub for competing ideas and influences → The three issues that have always plagued churches: money, sex, and power → Why early church leaders were often dangerously underprepared (they didn't know what they didn't know) → How Jesus introduced a radically countercultural model of leadership — built on humility, not strength → Why the return of the "strongman" mentality on the world stage stands in stark contrast to Christian virtue → How ancient historians point to Christ's incarnation as the moment humility and compassion became valued → Why evil is "the privation of good" — and why drawing theological lines is harder than we think → How Colossians helps us tell the difference between essential truths and secondary issuesKey takeaway: "The goal isn't just to spot error. It's to know Jesus more deeply and to be shaped by Him. The more we are shaped by Him, the less likely we are to be misled into theological error."This devotional is the perfect launching pad as we get ready to walk through Colossians 1 verse by verse — holding tight to Jesus and learning what to fight for and what to let go of.📖 Scripture Focus: Colossians 1 (Setting the Stage) 🎯 Series: Colossians Chapter 1 Devotional ⏮️ Catch up on Parts 1 & 2 if you missed them! ⏭️ Coming Tomorrow: We begin our verse-by-verse journey through Colossians 1Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss a single devotional. If this teaching encouraged you, share it with a friend who's trying to navigate hard theological conversations.💬 Drop a comment below: What "secondary issue" have you seen divide a church unnecessarily? How do we hold tight to Jesus through it all?#Colossians #BibleStudy #Devotional #Christian #ApostlePaul #Humility #ChristianLeadership #Jesus #Theology #NewTestament #DailyDevotional #ChurchHistory
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Why Every Church Has Problems (And Why That's Okay) | Colossians Devotional - Part 2
1w ago00:06:47Tap to summarizeHave you ever been disappointed by the church? Discouraged by failures, scandals, or broken people in leadership? You're not alone — and as we continue our journey through Colossians, we discover that the church has been wrestling with problems from the very beginning.In Day 2 of our Colossians devotional series, we step back to look at the bigger picture behind Paul's letter and uncover a truth that's both humbling and incredibly freeing: God has always worked through broken people.In this devotional, we explore:→ Why Paul wrote Colossians around 60 AD — and what was going wrong → The Apostle Paul's wild missionary "MO" (preach, riot, jail, repeat 😅) → Why brand-new believers were often left to lead entire churches → The hard truth about church history — from the Crusades to modern moral failures → The "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11 and why it's filled with deeply flawed people: Abraham the liar, Moses the murderer, David the adulterer, Rahab the prostitute → Why the church is a community of broken people following a perfect SaviorKey takeaway: "If you find a perfect church, don't join it — because as soon as you join it, it won't be perfect."This is an encouraging, honest conversation about why we shouldn't be shocked by failure in the church — and why we should never give up on what God is doing through imperfect people like you and me.📖 Scripture Focus: Colossians 1 (Background) + Hebrews 11 🎯 Series: Colossians Chapter 1 Devotional ⏮️ Missed Part 1? Check out the first video in this series! ⏭️ Coming Up: We dive deeper into Paul's celebration of JesusSubscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the rest of this powerful journey through Colossians 1. If this encouraged you, share it with someone who's been hurt or discouraged by the church.💬 Drop a comment below: Has God ever used YOU despite your flaws? We'd love to hear your story.#Colossians #BibleStudy #Devotional #Christian #ApostlePaul #BrokenButLoved #ChurchLife #Faith #Jesus #HallOfFaith #Hebrews11 #DailyDevotional
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The Letter That Could Save Your Faith | Colossians 1:1-8 Devotional
1w ago00:06:06Tap to summarizeWelcome to Day 1 of our brand-new devotional journey through Colossians chapter 1 — one of the most theologically rich passages in the entire New Testament. We're going slow, digging deep, and discovering why this short letter from the Apostle Paul still speaks powerfully into our lives today.In this opening devotional, we unpack Colossians 1:1-8 and explore:→ Why Paul wrote this "occasional letter" to the church in Colossae → The fascinating backstory of Epaphras — the unlikely church planter who carried the gospel home → How faith, hope, and love are woven together from the very first verses → Why the problems facing the early church might feel surprisingly familiar today → The beautiful truth that the gospel is still "bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world"As John Calvin reminded us, to move forward in life we must truly know God — not just know about Him, but know Him personally through Jesus Christ. This chapter is a celebration of Christ, and we can't wait to walk through it with you.📖 Scripture Focus: Colossians 1:1-8 🎯 Series: Colossians Chapter 1 Devotional ⏭️ Next Up: We continue unpacking Paul's greeting and the foundation of gospel-centered faithSubscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss a single devotional as we journey through this incredible chapter together. Share this with a friend who needs encouragement in their walk with Christ!💬 Drop a comment below: What stands out to you most from these opening verses?#Colossians #BibleStudy #Devotional #Christian #ApostlePaul #NewTestament #DailyDevotional #Faith #Jesus #Gospel
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Choose This Day: Making Your Declaration to Serve the Lord
3w ago00:03:08Tap to summarizeIn this final devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff brings the journey to a close with one of the most famous declarations in all of Scripture — and one of the most personally searching invitations in the entire Bible.Joshua is an old man now. He has led the people through the Jordan, through Jericho, through victory and defeat, through failure and restoration. And as he gathers the people for his final address, he doesn't ease into a gentle farewell. He recounts God's faithfulness from Abraham all the way through the Promised Land — and then he looks the people in the eye and calls for a decision."Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." — Joshua 24:15As Tim Keller once observed, faith always demands a decision. We cannot drift into discipleship. We must choose to follow — not just once, but over and over, day by day.Joshua isn't calling for vague religious sentiment or borderline ritual observance. He's calling for wholehearted, all-in devotion. Throw away the idols. Stop hedging your bets. Plant the flag. He knows firsthand what divided hearts produce — he's seen the wavering, the consequences, the chaos. And so he presses the point with the urgency of a man who has walked with God long enough to know it's worth everything.Pastor Mike closes the series by turning that same challenge toward us. Not as a sentimental bumper sticker moment, but as a genuinely practical question: What would it actually look like for you to say "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord"? What habits would you need to build? What compromises would have to end? What conversations would need to happen?God has brought you through battles, setbacks, and redemptive moments throughout this series — and throughout your life. He has provided, corrected, and led. Now, like Israel standing at the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, the invitation is the same.Choose this day. Not because it's easy or trendy. Because God is faithful — and He is worthy.📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 24:15Subscribe and follow along as we continue our journey through Scripture together.
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A New Beginning: Crossing Into the Life God Has for You
3w ago00:06:09Tap to summarizeIn this devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff launches a brand new series through the book of Joshua — and the timing couldn't be more fitting. Coming off the heels of Easter, there's a natural sense that it's time to turn the page, take stock, and step into something new.The book of Joshua opens with a stark, emotionally loaded statement: Moses is dead. For forty years, Moses had been the towering figure — the one who stood before Pharaoh, delivered the Ten Commandments, and met with God face to face. And now he's gone. In his place stands Joshua, his former assistant, with no fanfare and no resume introduction. Just a calling and a river to cross.But this moment is about more than a leadership transition. The people of Israel are standing on the same riverbank where their parents had stood forty years earlier — and their parents had turned back in fear. Now it's their turn. And this time, the two spies come back with a different report: We can do this. God is in charge.That's the heartbeat of Joshua — and Pastor Mike makes clear it's our story too. Wherever you find yourself right now, whether you've been wandering, stuck in the same spot for too long, or facing something that feels like flood-stage waters — this book is an invitation. God is in the business of new beginnings. His mercies, we're told, are new every morning.But second chances aren't automatic or effortless. The Jordan is at flood stage. The step of faith comes before the waters part. God calls us to move before things feel safe or certain.So the question Pastor Mike leaves us with is simple and searching: What riverbank are you standing on — and what new ground is God asking you to take?📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 1 | Lamentations 3:22–23Subscribe and follow along as we journey through the book of Joshua together.
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Sin in the Camp: What the Defeat at Ai Reveals About Hidden Disobedience
3w ago00:03:54Tap to summarizeAfter Israel's stunning victory at Jericho, the defeat at Ai catches Joshua off guard — and God's response reveals that the real issue wasn't military strategy, but hidden sin in the camp. In this devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff walks through the difficult judgment of Achan and what it teaches us about holiness, confession, and the corrosive nature of unaddressed sin. The freedom Christ purchased isn't license to do whatever we want; it's freedom to walk closer to God.📖 Passage: Joshua 7Key themes:Why God treats sin more seriously than we doHow hidden disobedience affects an entire communityJohn Owen's warning: "Be killing sin, or it will be killing you"Confession, humility, and walking in the lightHow the cross upholds both mercy and holiness"Light is a great disinfectant. Is there anything that needs to be brought into the light?"🙏 Take a moment today to invite the Spirit to examine your heart. Owning our sin is the doorway to experiencing God's mercy and grace.—Pastor Mike Woodruff serves as the Lead Pastor at Christ Church in Lake Forest, IL. These daily devotionals are released Monday through Thursday on YouTube and as a podcast.🎧 Subscribe to the podcast on BuzzSprout 🔔 Subscribe to this channel for daily devotionals#DailyDevotional #BookOfJoshua #BibleStudy #Faith #ChristianPodcast #SinAndGrace #Achan #ChristChurchLakeForest
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The Danger After the Victory: Why Success Demands Greater Humility
3w ago00:02:59Tap to summarizeIn this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff turns to one of the most sobering chapters in the book — the surprising and costly defeat at Ai.Jericho had just fallen. The walls came down, the victory was miraculous, and the momentum was real. So when Israel turned its attention to Ai — a much smaller city with a much smaller army — confidence was high. Too high. They went in without seeking God first, underestimated their enemy, overestimated themselves, and came away defeated.Joshua 7 tells us why: there was sin in the camp. A man named Achan had taken items God had commanded be set apart, and that hidden disobedience rippled outward into chaos and defeat for the entire community.But Pastor Mike draws out a deeper pattern that goes beyond Achan. As Dallas Willard observed, spiritual success is far more dangerous than failure. When things go well, we subtly begin to believe we've earned it. Prayer becomes less urgent. Humility quietly gives way to self-reliance. We start calculating risks and returns instead of listening for God's voice. Israel didn't lose at Ai because they tried and failed — they lost because they succeeded at Jericho and forgot.It's a pattern most of us recognize. A good season, a string of wins, and then — almost without noticing — spiritual complacency sets in.The lesson from Joshua 7 is clear: we need God just as much after the victory as before the battle. In fact, perhaps even more. Because the danger isn't in trying and failing. The danger is in succeeding and forgetting.📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 7Subscribe and follow along as we journey through the book of Joshua together.
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Faithful in the Next Step: Rahab, Jericho, and God's Bigger Plan
3w ago00:04:01Tap to summarizeIn this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff opens the final week of reflections from the book of Joshua by weaving together two of its most powerful threads — the long, silent march around Jericho and the unlikely faith of Rahab — into a single, sustaining encouragement for anyone who feels stuck, stalled, or unable to see where God is taking them.The march around Jericho didn't look like progress. It looked ridiculous. And yet it was obedience — what Eugene Peterson called "a long obedience in the same direction." God asked His people to trust, obey, and wait. And waiting on the Lord, Pastor Mike reminds us, is never passive. It is one of the most active things we can do.Then there's Rahab. A Canaanite. A prostitute. A woman with no resume of faithfulness — just one moment of it. And God weaves that single act of trust into eternity, placing her in the genealogical line that leads all the way to Jesus. As A.W. Tozer observed, God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. The problem is that we tend to only plan for what we can manage on our own.Pastor Mike closes with a word for anyone who can't see how the pieces fit together right now. We don't get to see the full tapestry — only the underside, with all its knots and loose threads. What's on the other side may be richer than we can imagine, but it won't always be obvious. Not now. Maybe not for years. Maybe not in our lifetime.But our job was never to see the whole picture. Our job is to be faithful in the next step.Like Rahab. Like Joshua. Like the Israelites circling a wall that hadn't fallen yet.📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 2 | Joshua 6 | Hebrews 11Subscribe and follow along as we journey through the book of Joshua together.
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Circling Jericho: What Marching in Silence Teaches Us About Faith
4w ago00:03:34Tap to summarizeIn this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff arrives at one of the most iconic moments in all of Scripture — the walls of Jericho — and invites us to look past the miracle itself to what this strange, silent march reveals about the nature of faith.Four things stand out from this remarkable account.First, obedience to God can look genuinely odd. Marching around a fortified city in silence for six days isn't in any military handbook. And yet that's exactly what God commanded and exactly what Joshua did. As Eugene Peterson's famous phrase captures it — drawing on Nietzsche of all people — this is what "a long obedience in the same direction" looks like. Faithfulness that shows up even when the results aren't visible yet.Second, Jericho is less a military campaign than a worship act. The priests lead the way. The Ark of the Covenant follows. Victory doesn't come through strategy or strength — it comes through spiritual surrender and alignment with God.Third, there's the silence. In a world of constant noise, screens, podcasts, and distraction, silence feels threatening to most of us. But as Dallas Willard observed, it's often in silence that we finally hear the voice of God. The march around Jericho is a reminder that stillness isn't emptiness — it's space for God to speak.And fourth, the battle belongs to the Lord. The walls don't fall because of clever tactics. They fall because God is faithful. Our job is to walk in obedience and trust Him to do what only He can do.If you find yourself circling your own Jericho right now — staying faithful, staying silent, waiting on a breakthrough that hasn't come yet — this story is for you. God's timing is perfect, and He is faithful to bring the walls down.📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 6Subscribe and follow along as we journey through the book of Joshua together.
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