Podcast
Pursuing God with Gene Appel
Hosted by Gene Appel · EN
Gene Appel is the senior pastor of Eastside Christian Church, a multi-site church based in Anaheim, California. Since 2008, Gene has led Eastside into multiple seasons of rapid growth and as a result, Eastside has been consistently named among the 100 fastest growing churches in America. Gene’s recipe for success is simple: Pursue God, Build Community, and Unleash Compassion. Eastside’s explosive growth is rooted in a deep conviction that God’s heart and God’s grace is for everyone, resulting in a radically inclusive community of God-conscious “servant leaders” who serve both locally and globally. Join Gene Monday - Friday as he walks you through practical biblical teachings that will foster a deeper connection and awareness of God’s activity and presence in your life. No matter where you are at with your walk with God, this podcast is for everyone.
108episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 1304: The Two Ways to Write Your Next Chapter
Jun 1900:06:23Tap to summarizeTomorrow you're going to write a new chapter in your story, and the only real question is what kind of pen you'll be holding. All week in Exodus 14, we watched two million people stuck between the Red Sea and an army, caught in the cycle of fear, sarcasm, and worst-case thinking. But I've decided to throw in with Moses and plant my flag with the fear-not, stand-firm, expect-God's-help crowd. When I look back at everything God has already pulled off, parting waters and raising the dead throughout history, I can't find a single reason to believe He won't show up for me now. So what's the Red Sea in front of you, and which pen are you going to pick up?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1303: The One Step Most People Are Too Afraid to Take
Jun 1800:06:30Tap to summarizeWhen my back is against the wall and I'm out of options, what I really believe about God gets exposed. The Israelites found that out fast, pinned between the Red Sea and an army with nowhere to run. But notice what God told them in Exodus 14:15: quit crying out, quit circling the problem, and move. He didn't take them around the thing they feared. He took them through it. And that's usually where the miracle is, on the other side of the one step we keep refusing to take. So what's the thing you've been too afraid to step toward, and what would it look like to expect God's help and move today?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1302: What Fear Wants You to Forget
Jun 1700:06:42Tap to summarizeWhen fear takes over, it has a way of making me forget what's actually true. The Israelites felt it the moment they were trapped between the Red Sea and an army closing in, and I've felt it myself, lying awake at night wondering if I'd misread God on the biggest decision of my life. But in Exodus 14:13, Moses laid out a better plan: fear not, and stand firm. I can let go of my fear because I have a God who will never let go of me. So, where have you been circling in fear, and what would it look like to stand firm today?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1301: Fear, Sarcasm, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves
Jun 1600:06:34Tap to summarizeBe honest: do you make better or worse decisions when you're afraid? Yesterday, we named three things that show up when our backs are against the wall: fear, sarcasm, and worst-case thinking. Today, we slow down and look at how they feed each other into a cycle that never takes us anywhere. Jesus put it plainly in Matthew 6:27, asking who of us can add a single hour to our life by worrying. So what would it look like to name the pattern the moment it starts?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1300: When Your Back Is Against the Wall
Jun 1500:06:50Tap to summarizeWhat are we gonna do now? That's the question a lot of us are asking as financial pressure and uncertainty keep piling up. This week we're looking at the Israelites trapped at the edge of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, a moment where fear, sarcasm, and worst-case thinking took over. Here's what I keep coming back to: fear and faith are both about what we can't yet see. So when the pressure hits, which one will we let lead?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1299: The Most Tangible Way to Love the People Around You
Jun 1200:06:36Tap to summarizeLoving others compassionately is the natural overflow of loving God completely and seeing yourself clearly. And one of the most tangible expressions of that love is what you do with your money. Spending wisely, saving consistently, and giving generously aren't just financial habits. They're a living sermon about what you actually believe. When the people watching your life see all three working together, they learn something no class can teach. What financial habit do you want to build, not just for your own sake, but for theirs?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1298: Two Things Every Person Needs to Hear From You
Jun 1100:05:58Tap to summarizeBefore you can love your neighbor well, you have to love yourself accurately. That means holding two things in tension: understanding how uniquely made you are, and understanding how ordinary you are. When you affirm the people in your life for who they actually are, you free them from searching for acceptance in the wrong places. And when you help them see their ordinariness honestly, you open the door to the grace they actually need. Who in your life needs to hear both truths from you today?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1297: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Jun 1000:05:53Tap to summarizeThe most powerful legacy you can leave isn't a speech or a lesson. It's a life. When the people around you see faith woven into ordinary moments, generosity practiced consistently, and God treated as genuinely central, they're learning something no conversation could fully teach. Today we explore what it looks like to leave a legacy of loving God completely, not just by saying it, but by living it in ways the people watching your life can't miss. What is your life actually teaching them right now?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1296: What It Actually Takes to Break a Generational Pattern
Jun 900:06:10Tap to summarizeMost of us are carrying patterns we didn't choose, financial anxiety, broken trust, wounds we never named, inherited from the people who raised us. And if we don't deal with them honestly, we don't break them. We pass them on. Today we look at two myths that keep generational patterns alive and what Scripture says about the slow, intentional work of healing. Breaking a cycle isn't a dramatic moment. It's a decision to stop pretending and start dealing. What wound have you been waiting to heal?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
Transcribe →Episode 1295: Why the Most Powerful Legacy Isn't Financial
Jun 800:06:01Tap to summarizeLegacy isn't something you plan at the end of your life. You're building it right now, through the values you hold, the patterns you model, and the example you set for the people coming behind you. The way you handle money, faith, and relationships is already shaping the next generation, whether you're aware of it or not. Before you can change what you're passing down, you have to understand what you received. What patterns are you carrying forward, and which ones do you want to interrupt?Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.
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