Welcome to episode 219 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, Pastor Drew continues our study entitled Piercing Questions: From the one who was pierced. Today we will cover:

· A question on Fear.

· “Why are you so afraid?” Mark 4:40

Key Takeaways:

· Fear and anxiety are crippling things.

· Fear shows up when our focus shifts from faith to circumstance.

· We all face anxiety — but Jesus offers perfect peace.

· Peace is a Person, a Promise, and a Pursuit.

Quotable:

Without internal peace, there will never be external peace. Without eternal peace, there will never be internal peace.

Application:

• Humble yourself in the face of anxiety.

• Cast your anxieties on Him — because He cares for you.

• Feed your faith, not your fears.

• Anchor your mind on Jesus — the One who brings peace in the storm.

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Welcome to episode 218 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we will explore the forgotten doctrine of adoption.

Key takeaways:

• The word “adoption” is not common in the New Testament, being used only by Paul and that only five times (three times in Romans), and it does not occur in the Old Testament at all, since the Jews did not practice adoption. They had other procedures for dealing with the issues of widows and orphans and inheritance.
• Paul took the idea of adoption from Greek and Roman law.
• What is really involved is a set of new relationships—
• new relationships to other people, both believers and unbelievers,
• but above all a new relationship to God.
• No Old Testament Jew ever addressed God directly as “my Father.”
• Adoption means believers have:
• A new identity and security
• Access to the Father
• Inheritance rights
• Family responsibilities
• Confidence in prayer
• Security in trials
• Love for other believers
• Hope for the future

Quotable:

God's adoption of believers wasn't an afterthought—it was His eternal plan.

Application:

• We need to embrace our identity as God's adopted children. We don't have to earn God's love or prove we belong.

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Welcome to episode 217 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, Pastor Drew continues our study entitled Piercing Questions: From the one who was pierced. Today we will cover:

- A question on Identity.

- “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16

Key takeaways:

· Identity Comes from the Maker

· Our Identity before Christ

· Jesus gives us a new Identity

· How do I believe my God given identity when I feel like this….

Quotable:

“Who Jesus is determines who you are. If He is your Lord, then you are loved, forgiven, chosen, free, and His masterpiece. Your true identity is in what He says, not what you feel.”

Application:

· Identify Distorted self-beliefs

o Know the truth of who Jesus says you are!

· Replace Lies with Scripture

· Anchor Identity in Jesus

· GO TO THE MAKER ….GO TO JESUS

o God defines → I discover.

o God declares → I believe.

o God speaks → I align my feelings and choices to His truth.

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Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SBCKleinCampus (Klein Campus)

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Welcome to episode 216 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, Pastor Drew begins our study entitled Piercing Questions: From the one who was pierced. Today we will cover:

- The first question Jesus asked, as recorded in the gospel of John.

- “What are you seeking?”

Key takeaways:

· Andrew and the other disciple were seeking:

o The Lamb of God

o The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

o The Messiah (God’s promised deliverer)

o JESUS

· They knew enough about Jesus to know they wanted to follow Him!

Quotable:

· “You can pursue the right thing the wrong way.”

· “If Jesus is the prize than our other pursuits are instruments of worship.”

· “If our other pursuits are the prize then they are idols that steal worship.”

Application:

- Seek Jesus: Daily

· Seek His will: Does it go against His will for your life?

· Seek His righteousness: Does it lead to sin or idolatry?

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Welcome to episode 215 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we will explore the benefits of topical preaching.

• Addresses Immediate Needs

Topical preaching allows you to address pressing issues your congregation is facing—whether cultural, spiritual, or personal. It provides a way for you, as a shepherd, to be sensitive to the particular season or crisis your people are walking through and to show how God’s Word speaks directly into those circumstances.

• Connects Scripture to Everyday Life

Topical preaching often begins with the questions people are asking and then draws them to Scripture for answers. This makes God’s Word feel directly relevant and applicable to the struggles, relationships, and decisions of daily life.

• Reaches New Believers and Seekers

A topical approach can provide an accessible entry point for those unfamiliar with the Bible. Instead of beginning in the middle of a long, unfamiliar book, newcomers are guided into Scripture through themes that connect with their everyday questions and needs.

• Allows for Thematic Depth

Some biblical truths, like prayer, stewardship, or discipleship, appear across multiple books of the Bible. A topical series allows you to synthesize these themes and give your congregation a fuller, Scripture-wide view of how God unfolds a particular subject throughout redemptive history.

• Provides Seasonal Alignment

Topical preaching can align with church and cultural calendars—holidays, back-to-school rhythms, or times of national crisis—making the message more timely and impactful.

• Equips for Apologetics

Topical preaching allows you to engage cultural questions—about truth, morality, justice, or sexuality—through the lens of Scripture. It enables you to anticipate and answer the challenges your people encounter in conversations at school, work, or online.

• Reinforces Doctrinal Foundations

Topical sermons give you the ability to teach core doctrines systematically—God, sin, salvation, the church, and the future—ensuring your congregation has a balanced theological foundation.

• Offers Pastoral Flexibility

Not every season in church life is best suited to moving verse-by-verse through one book. Topical preaching allows you to pivot when pastoral needs, cultural circumstances, or church-wide initiatives require a different emphasis..

• Engages Different Learning Styles

Expository preaching builds understanding systematically, while topical preaching organizes truth thematically. This variety can engage different types of listeners—those who prefer logical, verse-by-verse flow and those who connect best with themes and categories.

• Models Biblical Integration

Topical preaching shows your people how to connect passages from across the canon. It demonstrates how to think biblically about life by pulling truth from Genesis to Revelation into one unified theme.

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Welcome to episode 214 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we will explore the art of biblical friendship by examining the relationship between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel.

Key takeaways:

• Even best friends don't always understand our struggles immediately.
• Jonathan voluntarily demoted himself from first to second in line.
• Jonathan chose David's life over family harmony.
• Jonathan repeatedly put himself one step away from death to protect his friend.
• When your hands are weak and trembling, a friend comes alongside and helps you hold on.
• True friendship requires regular renewal, not just one-time commitments.
• When a friend wounds you with truth, that wound is faithful—completely reliable and trustworthy. This isn't about friends being cruel or harsh—it's about friends caring enough to do spiritual surgery when necessary.
• True friends present evidence of our blind spots with the goal of restoration.
• We need friends who:
  • Share our commitment to spiritual growth
  • Approach us with wisdom and humility
  • Stay engaged through difficult conversations
  • Exercise patience and grace in the process
• We each carry our own backpack, but when someone faces a crushing weight, the community helps carry it.
• Godly friendship creates supernatural strength because God Himself joins the relationship.

Quotable:

God didn't design you to do life alone. The same God who said, 'It's not good for man to be alone,' about marriage also created us for deep, life-giving friendships.

Application:

• Be the friend you want to have. Instead of waiting for others to be good friends to you, start by being the kind of friend you wish you had.
• Invest time and vulnerability. Friendship requires both quantity and quality time.
• Share your struggles, not just your successes
• Ask deeper questions beyond "How are you?"
• Be present during both celebrations and crises
• Create regular rhythms of connection

Connect with us:

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Welcome to episode 213 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we kick off our Fall series. Today, we talk about those times when God does not make sense.

Key takeaways:

• The covenant God seems to be breaking covenant obligations.
• Habakkuk continuously cries, but God continuously doesn't respond. The prophet feels trapped in a cycle of unanswered prayer.
• If God sees everything and has power to stop evil, why does He merely observe without acting?
• God doesn't just rescue Habakkuk from low places; He elevates him to positions of spiritual authority and perspective that belong to Him.
• Habakkuk chooses joy before he sees any change in circumstances.
• Job 13:15 captures the tension between sovereign suffering and persistent faith. Job's statement isn't passive resignation—it's active, defiant trust. He's saying his relationship with God transcends even life and death. Whether God preserves or destroys him, God remains his God.
• Job understood something profound: his relationship with God wasn't based on what God did for him, but on who God is. This moves beyond transactional faith (serve God to get blessings) to transformational faith (serve God because He's worthy).
• Faith isn't blind optimism—it's confident trust based on God's proven character.
• ·Choosing trust over understanding doesn't mean pretending everything is fine when it's not. Trusting God means bringing your real emotions to Him, not hiding them from Him.

Quotable:

• God has already proven His love at a cross, and that love doesn't change based on your circumstances.

Application:

• Habakkuk shows us that faithful people can question God's methods while remaining committed to God's character.
• We don't live based on what we can see right now, but on what we know to be true about God's character and promises.
• How to pray when confused: Follow biblical models:
  • Use the Psalms as prayer templates (especially Psalms of lament like 13, 22, 88)
  • Be honest about your feelings while affirming God's character
  • Ask for wisdom (James 1:5) rather than demanding explanations
  • Pray with others who can help bear your burden
• I want to give you three specific steps to choose trust over understanding this week:
  • First, write it down. Write down one specific situation where you're demanding answers from God instead of trusting His character. Maybe it's a relationship, a health issue, a financial pressure, or a prodigal child. Please write it down.
  • Second, declare it out loud. This week, I challenge you to speak Habakkuk's words over your situation. Stand in your kitchen, sit in your car, wherever you are, and say: 'Though _____ may not happen the way I want, though _____ may not change, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Fill in those blanks with your specific situation.
  • Third, share it with someone. Don't carry this burden alone. Before Sunday comes again, I want you to text, call, or meet with one person and say, 'I'm struggling to trust God with _____. Will you pray with me?'

Connect with us:

Web site: https://springbaptist.org

Facebook:

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https://www.facebook.com/SpringBaptist (Spring Campus)

Need us to pray for you? Submit your prayer request to https://springbaptist.org/prayer/

If you haven’t already done so, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast provider.