Grow In Faith
by Christ Church IL
Latest episode
What Is Your Life Built On? - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike…
What Is Your Life Built On? - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike…
About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 588 episodes
- What Is Your Life Built On? - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 20What is your life built on? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church wraps up a devotional series on Psalm 62 by connecting David's repeated cry, "God is my rock," to Jesus' famous…
- What Are You Really Chasing? - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 19What are you really chasing? Money, a promotion, a bigger boat, a better reputation? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church continues a devotional series on Psalm 62, looking at…
- How to Stay Steady When Life Is Shaking - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 18What do you do when life feels like it's falling apart? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church continues a devotional series on Psalm 62, looking at verses 3–8, where David feels…
- How to Find Rest for Your Soul - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 17Where does your soul find rest? With so much noise around us and inside our own heads, Psalm 62 offers a powerful answer. Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church begins a…
- Does Happiness Lead to Gratitude? - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 16It may not be Thanksgiving quite yet, but gratitude is something we can practice any day of the year. You don't have to wait for the turkey and pumpkin pie to start giving…
- Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 15It may not be Thanksgiving yet, but this message is worth hearing any time of year. Gratitude isn't meant to be saved for one Thursday in November. Psalm 100 invites us to give…
- Why We Worship and What “LORD” Really Means - Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 7 min · Season 18 Episode 14Why do Christians sing in church? What does it mean that "the LORD is God"? And why does the Bible call us sheep? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church continues a Thanksgiving…
- Why Gratitude Is a Command, Not a Feeling | Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 13Is gratitude a feeling or a choice? As Thanksgiving approaches, Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church begins a devotional series on Psalm 100, one of the most beloved psalms in…
- How to Pray the Psalms | Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 4 min · Season 18 Episode 12Why have Christians prayed the Psalms for centuries? And how does Psalm 1 point to Jesus? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church wraps up a devotional series on Psalm 1 with a few…
- How to Stand Firm When Life Gets Hard | Best of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 11What does it mean to be "like a tree planted by streams of water"? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church continues a devotional series on Psalm 1, looking at verses 3–6 and the…
- What Is Christian Meditation? | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 7 min · Season 18 Episode 10What does it mean to meditate on God's Word "day and night"? Is Christian meditation the same as Eastern meditation? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church continues a devotional…
- Psalm 1 Explained: Which Path Are You On? | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 9What does it mean to be truly blessed? Psalm 1 opens the book of Psalms with a choice between two paths, one that leads to life and one that leads to destruction. Pastor Mike…
- Why Did God Reject Cain’s Offering but Accept Abel’s? | Genesis 4 Explained · 6 min · Season 20 Episode 8Why did God accept Abel's offering but reject Cain's? Cain worked the soil and Abel kept flocks, two honest jobs, so was God being arbitrary? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ…
- Why Did God Give the Ten Commandments If No One Could Keep Them? | Purpose of the Law Explained · 5 min · Season 20 Episode 7Why did God give Israel the Ten Commandments and all those Old Testament laws when He knew no one could keep them? Was He setting a trap? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church…
- What Does It Mean to Be Made in the Image of God? | Imago Dei Explained · 5 min · Season 20 Episode 6What does it actually mean that humans are made in the image of God? Does it mean God has a body like ours? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church explains Genesis 1:26, which may…
- Where Did Cain Get His Wife? A Classic Bible Question Answered | Genesis 4 Explained · 4 min · Season 20 Episode 5Where did Cain get his wife? If Adam and Eve were the first people, who did Cain marry, and who was he afraid of after he killed Abel? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church…
- Was Noah’s Flood Global or Local? Did It Really Happen? | Genesis 6–9 Explained · 6 min · Season 20 Episode 4Was Noah's flood a worldwide event or a local one? Is the story of Noah's Ark even real history? And how could a loving God send a flood at all? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ…
- How Old Is the Earth According to the Bible? Were the 6 Days of Creation Literal? · 6 min · Season 20 Episode 3How long were the days of creation in Genesis 1? Does the Bible teach that the Earth is only 6,000 years old? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church walks through the major…
- Where Did Evil Come From? If God Is Good, Why Is There Evil? | Genesis 3 Explained · 6 min · Season 20 Episode 2If God is good and everything He made was good, where did evil come from? How did the serpent get into the garden? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church takes on what may be the…
- Were Adam and Eve Real People? (And Did the Snake Really Talk?) | Genesis 3 Explained · 6 min · Season 20 Episode 1Were Adam and Eve real people, or just a symbolic story? And did the serpent in Genesis 3 really talk? Pastor Mike Woodruff of Christ Church answers two of the most common…
- How to Share Your Faith and Invite Someone to Church | Made for Something, Part 16 · 6 min · Season 19 Episode 16What if the biggest barrier to sharing your faith isn't the other person's hostility, but the fact that nobody has ever asked them? In Part 16, the finale of our "Made for…
- What Is My Purpose in Life? You Were Made to Serve | Made for Something, Part 15 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 15A man travels all the way to India searching for the meaning of life, comes home empty-handed, and starts asking gas station attendants what he's supposed to be doing. The reply…
- What Is Prayer and How Do I Pray? "Devote Yourselves to Prayer" | Made for Something, Part 14 · 4 min · Season 19 Episode 14We agonize over whether to take this job or that one, go this way or that way. But some of God's will isn't a mystery at all. In Part 14 of our "Made for Something" series…
- How to Grow Spiritually as a Christian: What Is Sanctification? | Made for Something, Part 13 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 13Babies are adorable. But if a baby never grows, it stops being cute and becomes tragic. In Part 13 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff turns to a question…
- What Is Agape Love? The Biblical Meaning of Love (1 Corinthians 13) | Made for Something, Part 12 · 4 min · Season 19 Episode 12When one word covers your commitment to your spouse and your love of deep dish pizza, it's been spread a little thin. In Part 12 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike…
- Why Do Christians Need Community? Why "Just Me and Jesus" Isn't Enough | Made for Something Part 11 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 11Some advice is easy to understand and nearly impossible to follow. In Part 11 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff opens with a story from a jog through a…
- Your Phone Is Stealing Your Focus From God: 2 Old Habits That Fix It | Made for Something Part 10 · 4 min · Season 19 Episode 10We are not auto-focus cameras. In a world engineered to capture every ounce of your attention, how do you keep your focus on God? In Part 10 of our "Made for Something" series…
- Loving God With All Your Strength — How to Do Your Work as Worship | Made for Something, Part 9 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 9Is your work just work, or can it be worship? In Part 9 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff wraps up the Greatest Commandment with the most down-to-earth…
- Loving God With All Your Mind — Why Your Faith Needs to Think | Made for Something, Part 8 · 6 min · Season 19 Episode 8Does studying your faith too deeply put your heart at risk? In Part 8 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff pushes back on a myth he's heard for years —…
- Why Nothing Satisfies You — Loving God With All Your Soul | Made for Something, Part 7 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 7Money, success, romance, celebrities, your kid's team, your golf game — deep down, we're all worshiping something. In Part 7 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike…
- Worship Is Not Singing for 20 Minutes — It's Your Whole Life | Made for Something Part 6 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 6If worship is just the 20 minutes of singing before the sermon, we've shrunk something enormous down to something manageable — and worship was never meant to be manageable. In…
- What Does It Mean to Love God With All Your Heart? | Made for Something, Part 5 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 5Remember the first time you fell in love — how you thought about that person the moment you woke up, all day long, and as you fell asleep, without anyone telling you to? In Part…
- What Is My Purpose in Life? Jesus' One-Sentence Answer | Made for Something, Part 4 · 4 min · Season 19 Episode 4What's your purpose in life? Someone actually asked Jesus that question — and his answer fits in a single sentence. In Part 4 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike…
- The Narrow Road vs. The Broad Road — Are You on the Right Path? | Made for Something, Part 3 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 3You're on a road right now — and it's taking you somewhere, whether you've thought about it or not. In Part 3 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff unpacks one…
- It's Not About You — Finding Purpose When God Is the Center, Not You | Made for Something, Part 2 · 6 min · Season 19 Episode 2What if the reason life feels exhausting isn't that you're not trying hard enough — it's that you were never meant to be the main character? In Part 2 of our "Made for Something"…
- What Was I Made For? Finding Your Purpose in Ephesians 2:10 | Made for Something, Part 1 · 5 min · Season 19 Episode 1Have you ever stood in a moment so humbling you had to ask, "What on earth am I doing here?" Pastor Mike Woodruff kicks off a brand-new devotional series, Made for Something…
- You Can't Cram Your Way to Spiritual Growth — Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 3 min · Season 18 Episode 8You can cram for a final exam. You cannot cram a harvest. In the final part of this "Best Of" devotional series on the Parable of the Sower, Pastor Mike Woodruff wraps up the…
- I Built a Worm Compost Bin & It Taught Me About My Soul — Best Of Devotionals Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 7What does a homemade worm compost bin have to do with your spiritual life? More than you'd think. In Part 3 of this "Best Of" devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff tells a story from…
- What I Learned Standing in a First-Century Farm Field — Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 6 min · Season 18 Episode 6Have you ever wondered what farming actually looked like in Jesus' day — and why it makes the Parable of the Sower hit so much harder? In Part 2 of this "Best Of" devotional…
- Which Soil Are You? The Parable of the Sower | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 5 min · Season 18 Episode 5Same seed. Different soil. Wildly different results. In Part 1 of this "Best Of" devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff opens up one of Jesus' most well-known parables — the Parable of…
- Jesus Isn't Just the Good Samaritan | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 3 min · Season 18 Episode 4You've heard the Parable of the Good Samaritan a hundred times. But have you ever noticed you're actually the man left for dead in the story — and Jesus is the one who stops to…
- What Jesus Really Asked in the Good Samaritan Parable | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 3 min · Season 18 Episode 3Jesus doesn't ask the question you'd expect. In Part 3 of this "Best Of" devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff finishes walking through the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke…
- Why Jesus Made a SAMARITAN the Hero (Not the Priest) — Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 3 min · Season 18 Episode 2Why did Jesus make the Samaritan the hero of his most famous parable — and not the priest, and not the Levite? In Part 2 of this "Best Of" devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff walks…
- The Good Samaritan Parable Isn't About What You Think | Best Of Devotionals w/ Pastor Mike Woodruff · 4 min · Season 18 Episode 1Most people think the Parable of the Good Samaritan is just a story about being kind to the poor. It's not — and Pastor Mike Woodruff breaks down what's really happening in Luke…
- How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell? · 5 minWe've reached the final devotional in our journey through Paul's letter to the Colossians — and we're closing with one of the hardest questions people ask about the Christian…
- Do All Religions Lead to God? · 6 min · Season 17 Episode 43"All roads lead up the same mountain." You've probably heard it. Maybe you've even wondered if it's true. In today's Colossians devotional, we address one of the most common —…
- What Does "Season Your Speech With Salt" Mean? · 5 min · Season 17 Episode 42What if a single sentence could make someone thirsty for something more? In today's Colossians devotional, we take a close look at Paul's beautiful, practical instruction to let…
- Buy Up Every Opportunity · 5 min · Season 17 Episode 41The Christian life isn't a retreat from the world — it's an invitation into it. In today's Colossians devotional, we look at how Paul urges believers to move through daily life…
- How to Share the Gospel Boldly and Clearly · 5 min · Season 17 Episode 40We often think of gospel proclamation as something pastors do on Sunday mornings — but Paul had something bigger in mind. In this devotional, we look at how every follower of…
- Before You Talk to People About God, Talk to God About People · 5 min · Season 17 Episode 39Paul is chained to a Roman guard in a prison cell. If you could ask a church anywhere to pray for you, what would you ask for? Release? Comfort? Better conditions? An early…
