Are you feeling more lonely than ever, even with all those digital connections? Why is it that God seems to do His best work when there’s food involved? This week, we’re exploring why “pulling up a chair” is a radical act of spiritual warfare against the isolation of our age. We’re diving into the “bread of presence,” Jesus’ scandalous dinner parties, and that incredible moment on the road to Emmaus where the breaking of bread changed everything. Whether it’s a “stinker” of a wedding or a cozy, imperfect “pitch-in,” the table is where we move from performance to presence. It’s time to drop the digital veil and get back to the “baked bean supper“ connection!

The Big Idea: God uses shared meals to break loneliness, build community, and reveal His presence in our lives.

This Week's Challenge: Invite someone you only know digitally to share a simple meal in your home this week.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 281 (VIDEO)
• "The Breaking of Bread" by Bryan Schiele (SERMON)
• "Food — Ordinary Holiness"”" by Ryan Joy (SERMON)
• “Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus” by L. Michale Morales (BOOK)
• Fellowship Offerings (PASSAGE)
• The Bread of Presence (PASSAGE)
• Dining with Jesus (PASSAGE)
• Fellowship in the Early Church (PASSAGE)
• Eyes Opened at the Table (PASSAGE)
• Marriage Supper of the Lamb (PASSAGE)

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Do you find yourself believing God’s promises, but always with an asterisk attached? This week, we're diving into those common "Yeah, but" moments — like wondering if you can really know you're saved, feeling like you don't deserve grace, or worrying that God is still angry about your latest struggle. We'll walk through why your "faith-o-meter" isn't the point and why the "tingle" of struggling with sin might actually be a sign of growth. Join us as we stop trying to manage the conditions of God’s gifts and start resting in a grace that is, quite literally, too good to be earned.

The Big Idea: We find freedom and peace when we trust the Bible’s words about God’s grace.

This Week's Challenge: Identify a personal "Yeah, but" about grace and replace it with a specific scripture truth this week.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 280 (VIDEO)
• Knowing You Have Eternal Life (PASSAGE)
• Grace While We Were Sinners (PASSAGE)
• Saved by Grace through Faith (PASSAGE)
• No Condemnation in Christ (PASSAGE)
• God's Character of Mercy (PASSAGE)

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Ever feel like your spiritual life is just a never-ending construction site full of sweat and long to-do lists? What if the Bible's real model for change isn't a renovation project, but a mirror? This week, Ryan’s playing “Diane Sawyer” and interviewing Bryan about his recent “Unveiled” preaching series in Plainfield, Indiana. We’re digging into why we're so obsessed with “image management” and why we keep snacking on the world's junk food when we’re spiritually bored. It turns out, we don't have to knuckle down to grow — we just have to take the veil off, stop pretending, and become what we behold.

The Big Idea: Transformation isn't a project we’ll complete, it’s the image we reflect as we keep turning our faces toward Jesus.

This Week's Challenge: Identify an area where you are performing or wearing a “mask” and take the veil off by being honest with God about that struggle.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 279 (VIDEO)
• The "Unveiled" Series in Plainfield (SERMONS)
• The Unveiled Face (PASSAGE)
• Satisfied with Rich Food (PASSAGE)
• Darth Vader’s "Master" Mistake (VIDEO)

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What if the most important person in your favorite Bible story didn't even have a name? We’re wrapping up our regional deep dives by celebrating the "Nameless Notables" — the background actors and extras who ended up stealing the show. From a little girl pointing a powerful general toward healing to wise women saving entire cities just by speaking up, we’re seeing how small acts of faith create massive domino effects. We even dive into the "Hot Seat" to ask why Jesus used the word "dog" with a Canaanite mother and what really happened with Jephthah’s daughter. Grab your bracket and let’s remember that in God’s story, there really are no small parts!

The Big Idea: In God’s kingdom, there are no insignificant roles, as even anonymous acts of faith can trigger a life-changing domino effect.

This Week's Challenge: Look for an opportunity this week to speak up or step into the gap like the nameless heroes of Scripture.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 278 (VIDEO)
• Vote in the Bible Bracket (LINK)
• Naaman and the Young Hebrew Maid (PASSAGE)
• The Canaanite Woman's Faith (PASSAGE)
• Jephthah's Vow and His Daughter (PASSAGE)
• The Wise Woman of Tekoa (PASSAGE)
• The Wise Woman of Abel (PASSAGE)
• The Widow of Nain (PASSAGE)

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Ever wonder how thirteen guys without jobs traveled around for three years without starving? We’re diving into the "shadow cabinet" of Jesus’ ministry to meet Joanna, the wife of Herod’s own household manager. It’s a story of "The Spy Who Funded Me," where we see God’s brilliant irony at work — using Herod’s resources to sustain the very Gospel he tried to suppress. But as we’ll see, Joanna wasn’t just a distant donor. She was a devoted disciple who stood by the cross and was among the first at the empty tomb. Let’s explore what it looks like to leverage our status for the Savior and find our true identity in following Him.

The Big Idea: Joanna’s story reveals how God uses even the most unlikely political and financial connections to sustain and advance the work of the gospel.

This Week's Challenge: Identify and reach out to an "unseen MVP" in your community whose behind-the-scenes service makes the mission possible.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 277 (VIDEO)
• Vote in the Bible Bracket (LINK)
• Joanna and the Supporting Women (PASSAGE)
• Joanna at the Empty Tomb (PASSAGE)
• Women at the Crucifixion (PASSAGE)
• Plainfield Ponderings: Women in 1 Timothy (PODCAST)

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Ever felt like a background character in your own life, reduced to a role or pushed to the edges by someone else’s choices? This week, we’re looking at Hagar — the servant and foreigner who was treated like a shortcut but became the first person in the Bible to encounter the "Angel of the Lord". We explore how God calls us by name when others only see our status, and what it means that He "sees to provide" even in our driest wilderness seasons. From the meaning of Ishmael ("God hears") to the comfort of El Roi ("the God who sees"), we’re finding hope in the truth that God isn't just watching us — He’s looking after us.

The Big Idea: The God who saw Hagar in the wilderness sees and hears us in our wilderness seasons.

This Week's Challenge: Sing “I Am His Child” (link) and enjoy the assurance of his presence.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 276 (VIDEO)
• Vote in the Bible Bracket (LINK)
• Hagar’s First Wilderness Encounter (PASSAGE)
• Hagar and the Well of Life (PASSAGE)
• The God Who Searches and Knows (PASSAGE)
• Emmanuel: God With Us (PASSAGE)
• I Am His Child (SONG)

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We're coming to on location (and a little disoriented) from the Pondering Studio in Plainfield, Indiana! Ever felt like Proverbs 31 was just a crushing checklist of impossible standards? We’re reclaiming that famous passage and looking at the "valiant warrior" heart behind the "excellent wife" persona. We also dive into the high-stakes drama of Exodus 1-2, where God used a bunch of courageous daughters to totally flip the script on Pharaoh’s murderous plot. Since when does a tyrant get outmaneuvered by a few midwives and a baby in a basket? Join us as we celebrate how daily diligence and quiet strength are actually God’s chosen weapons.

The Big Idea: Scripture celebrates “women of valor” whose daily diligence and quiet strength become God’s chosen weapons to transform their communities.

This Week's Challenge: Find a way to honor a woman in your life that reminds you of the Proverbs 31 woman.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 275 (VIDEO)
• Ryan’s Sermon “Woman of Valor” (SERMON)
• Ryan’s Sermon “Providence & Parenting” (SERMON)
• Vote in the Bible Bracket (LINK)
• The Valiant Woman (PASSAGE)
• God's Deliverance Through Daughters (PASSAGE)
• Plainfield Ponderings: Women in 1 Timothy (PODCAST)

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Voting is officially open! Before you cast your ballots in the Favorite Bible Women Bible Bracket, we're' wrapping up our draft with the final two regions. In Part 2, we tackle the "Friends and Followers" (the devoted inner circle of the early church) and the "Nameless Notables" (the anonymous women whose faith left a permanent mark on Scripture). We debate whether Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany deserves the overall #1 seed, and we marvel at how many of our most frequently preached sermons feature women whose names we don't even know. We finalize the bracket, share a few honorable mentions who almost made the cut (sorry, Gomer and Mary of Clopas!), and invite you to join the fun.

The Big Idea: The stories of biblical women — from famous matriarchs to unnamed women of valor — are foundational examples of courage, leadership, and faith that still shape us today.

This Week's Challenge: Pick one woman from the bracket whose story you aren't familiar with and read about her this week.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 274 (VIDEO)
• Vote in the Tournament: Bible Bracket: Women of Faith
• Mary Magdalene at the Empty Tomb (PASSAGE)
• Mary of Bethany Chooses the Better Part (PASSAGE)
• Martha's Confession of Faith (PASSAGE)
• The Woman at the Well (PASSAGE)
• The Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus (PASSAGE)
• The Widow's Two Mites (PASSAGE)

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