Podcast Summary: TURN IT INTO PRAISE | Paul Daugherty | Worship Series Pt. 4

Podcast: Victory Church: Paul Daugherty
Date: December 28, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode, the fourth in Victory Church’s worship series, is a powerful exhortation by Pastor Paul Daugherty to “Turn It Into Praise.” As the year ends, Pastor Paul encourages listeners to reflect intentionally—no matter the hardships or victories—seeing every experience as a reason to praise God. He underscores that praise is not a feeling, but a transformative choice that positions believers for victory, healing, reconciliation, and a hope-filled start to the new year.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Praise as a Choice and Act of Humility

• Scripture Foundation: Psalm 149 and Psalm 103.
• Main Point: Praise is not about feelings or circumstances; it’s a deliberate, humble act that “postures us for victory.”
• “Humility is the pathway to victory. We’ve been in a series on worship and worship is an act of humility… the glory does not go to me.” (Pastor Paul, 02:00)
• “Praise is a choice. Like, you talk to these professional athletes… Do you always feel like suiting up? No. It’s a choice to give it your best… It’s a choice to praise.” (Pastor Paul, 03:32)

2. How You End the Year Sets the Tone for the Next

• “How you finish a year is how you start the next year.” (Pastor Paul, 04:19)
• The way we process and talk about the year—focusing on complaints or choosing praise—determines the spiritual direction for what’s ahead.

3. Remembering God’s Benefits

• Our minds naturally focus on the negative—Pastor Paul challenges listeners to intentionally remember God’s faithfulness.
• “We remember the stuff we should forget, and we forget the stuff we should remember.” (Pastor Paul, 06:11)
• Action: End the year reflecting not just on what happened, but specifically on what God has done, to foster gratitude.

4. Turn Everything Into Praise—Don’t Let Struggles Go to Waste

• Powerful story of setting out all old food and leftovers for family, tying it to the idea that what isn’t turned into praise turns into waste.
• “Whatever you don’t turn into praise turns into waste. You get to the end of the year… if you carry a wounded spirit into a new year, it’s a new year, but it’s the same you.” (Pastor Paul, 07:21)
• Action: Bring every experience—good or bad—out into the open before God, and transform it through praise.

5. Praise as a Secret Weapon

• Praise not only acknowledges God’s role in our victories, but it also shifts atmospheres and defeats the enemy.
• Basketball anecdote: “The devil wants you to think you’re losing, but you need to look back at the scoreboard and go, hold up, devil. We’re winning… Jesus has already conquered death, hell, and the grave.” (08:55, 09:55)
• “Praise changes the outcome of the problem… Praise is a secret weapon.” (Pastor Paul, 14:32)

6. Benefits of Praise:

i) Rewires Your Brain & Outwits the Enemy

• Praise impacts mental, physical, and emotional health (less anxiety, better sleep, reduced pain, etc.).
• “Doctors and scientists have studied [that] praise actually leads to better health… lower blood pressure… reduce depression and anxiety in your life. That right there is just a reminder, man—I need to praise the Lord every single day because stress comes up, anxiety comes up, fear comes up, right?” (16:33)

ii) Pathway to God’s Presence

• “Praise is an open door… When I begin to praise, it opens the door to God’s mercy, God’s grace.” (17:39)

iii) Strengthens Faith

• “The only way you’re gonna have faith is when you begin to put your trust back in the Lord... When you begin to praise, it paves the way for your future.” (19:53)

iv) Positions You to Hear God’s Voice

• “Praise positions you to hear what God has to say about us.” (22:43)
• Beware of making life decisions based solely on shifting feelings; praise roots identity and direction in God’s word.

7. Reflecting Before Moving Forward

The Mary Principle:

• Before leaving for Egypt, Mary “pondered and treasured” all she had been through.
• “Look back, but don’t live back. The past is an education, not a destination.” (26:49)
• Four reflection questions to help turn the year into praise:
  • What happened to you this year?
  • What happened for you this year?
  • What happened in you this year?
  • What happened through you this year?
• Action: Audit your year, month-by-month, writing down memories and specific things God did.

8. Storytelling: Personal & Congregational Reflection

• Pastor Paul shares personal moments—moving his grandmother, overseas missions, loss, reconciliation, ministry in prisons—with each story modeling how to process both pain and victory through praise.
• God-worked-through-me testimony: Prison ministry encounter with a graduate from his parents’ Bible college.
  • “Sometimes God births vision during your deepest valley moments.” (39:29)

9. Release, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

• Joseph’s story: Releasing grudges and interpreting pain as preparation for a bigger purpose.
• “You intended to harm me, but God used what you sent to harm me for good... God used my trouble as transportation towards my destiny.” (54:35, 55:04)

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the power of praise:
  “Praise is a choice. I don’t just praise the Lord because I’m feeling it… I praise the Lord because He is worthy of praise, and praise postures me for victory.” (03:34)
• On leftovers and using life’s trials:
  “Whatever you don’t turn into praise turns into waste.” (07:21)
• On the year’s end:
  “How you finish a year is how you start the next year.” (04:19)
• On turning pain into purpose:
  “Sometimes God births vision during your deepest valley moments. Sometimes the greatest vision for your future comes from your hardest seasons.” (39:29)
• On gratitude and remembering God’s faithfulness:
  “If you live based on your feelings, you’re going to be on a roller coaster. You gotta come back to your identity as in who God says you are. This is what praise does.” (22:41)
• On praise as a weapon:
  “Praise rewires your brain and rewrites the script. Praise outwits the enemy.” (15:55)
• On forgiveness and moving forward:
  “To forgive was to set a prisoner free, and that prisoner was him… God used my trouble as transportation towards my destiny.” (54:22, 55:05)

Notable Segment Timestamps

• Introduction & Humility in Praise – [00:00-05:45]
• Remembering God’s Goodness Amid Negatives – [06:00-08:06]
• ‘Whatever You Don’t Turn Into Praise Turns Into Waste’ Illustration – [07:21]
• Encouragement to Finish Strong and Not Waste the Year – [08:06-14:16]
• Personal Stories: Family, Loss, Reconciliation – [32:46-39:29]
• The Four Reflection Questions – [25:34-32:46]
• Benefits of Praise (Science & Scripture) – [15:55-20:43]
• Praise as Pathway into God’s Presence and Direction – [17:39, 22:43]
• Forgiveness and Joseph’s Story – [53:44-56:14]
• Group Prayer and Declaration – [56:20-57:02]

Flow and Tone

The episode is delivered in Pastor Paul’s warm, direct, and dynamic “preaching-teaching” style. He uses humor, personal anecdotes, biblical stories, and interactive moments with the congregation (“Turn to your neighbor and say, ‘Turn it into praise’!”). The mood is uplifting and honest, blending vulnerability about pain and failures with contagious optimism rooted in Christian faith.

Action Steps & Reflections for Listeners

• Audit the year: Month-by-month, jot down what happened to, for, in, and through you.
• Reflect and turn every experience—even disappointments and pain—into praise.
• Release unforgiveness and resentments as you move into a new year.
• Declare, as a community, gratitude for God’s faithfulness, expecting victory ahead.
• Repeat: “Blessed be the name of the Lord. Thank you that you brought me through another year. I’m finishing this year in praise, turning everything into praise.” (56:20-57:02)

For Anyone Who Missed the Episode:
This episode is a call to deeply reflect on both the blessings and trials of the year, to “turn it into praise”—recognizing the power of gratitude and worship to reshape hearts, position for God’s presence, release healing and reconciliation, and launch into the future with expectancy.