Episode Transcript
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
Hebrews 1:1–3 NIV
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
CONSIDER
Now that the Gospel series is over, could we just talk together a minute? Would you permit me a few bits of housekeeping? I feel like we are friends—or at least becoming so.
We begin our Advent series on Monday here on the Wake-Up Call. Anna Grace Legband, who is on our Farm Team at Seedbed as director of New Room Conference and our other events, will lead us through Brought to the Light: Advent For All Who Need It. Between Christmas and New Year's Day we will be led by our friend, Tara Beth Leach, who pastors Good Shepherd Church in Chicagoland. She will walk us through her new Seedbed release, The Great Morning Revolution: Daily Spiritual Practices for Meaningful Moments with God.
Here's a preview of how we will begin 2026 on the Wake-Up Call. Beginning January 1, I will lead us in a series I am calling, Waking Up to Wisdom—Ancient Wisdom for a New Year—31 days through the 31 chapters of Proverbs. I can't wait! I will lead us through the forty days of Lent with Jesus Asking: The Three Transformational Questions of Lent. Following that, I will be at the helm for a seven-week journey through Ephesians. In the meantime, I will be resting from daily writing through December and working on other fronts.
I also want to encourage you to begin asking Jesus to give you a word from Scripture (verse or passage) as your New Word for the New Year 2026. More on that to come in January.
I want to thank you for praying me through the Gospels series. I don't even think I ever told you that I have stepped back into the CEO role for Seedbed. Of course you know I am the pastor of the Gillett Methodist Church as well. It's been a fuller than full season and, yes, God's grace through your prayers have sustained me. Now that I have some breathing room, I intend to write you a fuller letter detailing this story.
We are friends in the making. I want you to know I consider this relationship a sacred trust. Our daily meetings with Jesus are changing me. We have miles to go before we sleep and, by God's grace, we will go them together.
PRAY
Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus, who has led us all the way from Matthew 1 through John 21 and beyond. Lord Jesus, you are our teacher. Thank you for always teaching us. Come, Holy Spirit, and flow through us with the anointing of abiding to do the will of God in our life and times—from washing feet to working miracles as though they were the same thing; because in your kingdom they are. It will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for our good and all in Jesus's name, amen.
