Today, Emily and Anna unpack the test God places before Abraham, exploring what it means to trust without clarity, choose faithfulness over control, and keep our idols in their rightful place.

Today Emily and Anna read and discuss the story of Isaac’s birth. God’s promise is finally fulfilled and it’s not about Abraham and Sarah or the “goodness” or “badness” of their faith. This story and this miracle is about God’s greatness and His faithfulness. God transforms Sarah’s laughter from cynical and self-critical to a joyful laugh, full of faith in God. Are we allowing God to transform our lives or are we holding on too tightly to our own plans, hopes and dreams?

Today we’re discussing Genesis 18-19. This is the story of Sodom & Gommorah and of Lot’s wife looking back. We will see God’s definition of Sodom’s sin, Abraham’s priestly intervention, and a reminder to allow God to lead us forward rather than looking back.

Today we talk about Abram and Sarai’s decision to take matters into their own hands to have an heir. Our ability to look at their story from a 10,000 foot view helps us look at the important questions - are we really trusting God or are we trying to take control?

We’re looking at Genesis 12-15 today, examining the life of Abraham as he follows God’s call. God told Abraham that he would be a father to many and that God would bless all the people in the world through his descendants. The problem was that Abraham was very old and didn’t have any kids. PLUS his wife wasn’t able to get pregnant. But Abraham believed God’s promise. We see Abraham struggle to find a faithful way to walk in God’s calling - moments where he tries to take matters into his own hands, and moments when he is honest with God about how he feels.

How do you feel about waiting for an answer from God? If you’re anything like us you hate the waiting. Today we learn from Abraham’s story and God’s faithfulness.

(Genesis 12). Today we’re reading Genesis 12 and taking a closer look at the moment when God calls Abraham to leave his family and their land and follow Him. Where you might ask? “To a land I will show you,” says God. So basically God has called Abraham to leave everything he knows to go somewhere he will find out about later. Could you do it? Well, Abraham DID. And his faith in God blessed him and it blessed all people, just like God promised. This is the beginning of a very important family story and it will be a wild ride. We also spent some time today talking about idol worship and things that take our eye off God, what God intends when He blesses people, and asking ourselves what it looks like to build the kind of trust that acts the way Abraham does.

We’re sharing Anna’s talk from the spring worship nights (2026). This talk is so insightful - she leans into the story of Joseph (which you can read in Genesis 37-50), and how God can use every single thing - good or bad - for His purposes. Waiting is not wasting when you trust and serve God. Hope you enjoy!

AYA alumni Bible study leader Kate Lalley shares her story and an encouragement to pursue the Lord in all things. This is such a real and encouraging talk, hope you enjoy!

Today Emily and Anna dive into Genesis 10-12. They’re mainly focusing on chapter 11, which is the story of the Tower of Babel. You may have heard about this moment in Genesis before, but we want to talk less about the actual event, and more about what it shows us about the human heart, about God, and about our path forward.

Today we are looking at the story of Noah! It’s the ark, God’s commitment to keeping His beloved creation on the right path, the flood, and God’s covenant with Noah (and all living creatures). This week challenges our Sunday school knowledge of a scary and vengeful God and reveals a side of our creator that is tender, and even chooses to be vulnerable in His love for us.

Today Emily and Anna dive into Genesis 4 - the story of Cain & Abel. This is the first murder in the Bible (yikes), and the story really demonstrates how sin can take hold of us before we even realize it and take us way off course.

We’re back in the book of Genesis, this time chapters 2 & 3. These chapters talk about the Adam & Eve, God’s original plan, the serpent, the first sin, and the fall of man resulting in the consequences of pain and death in this world. These are all things you’ve probably heard about before, but we want to invite you to engage with these chapters with fresh eyes today. These words are about much more than just what happened in the garden - they tell the story of who God is, what it means to be made in His image, and what sin really is.

Today, Emily and Anna are beginning a journey through the book of Genesis. This book is rich with meaning and foundational to our faith—it’s where the story truly begins. If you’ve ever listened to a sermon that referenced Abraham or the Old Testament and felt a little lost, this series is for you. We’re going back to the beginning to better understand the larger story of Scripture and how it all fits together, and how it all so beautifully points to Jesus.

Happy New Year! Emily and Anna kick off 2026 with some reflections on last year and prayers for the coming year. Hope you enjoy!

This is the final week of advent and the final podcast episode of 2025! Today Emily and Anna zoom in on the culmination of the advent season - love. Why did God send his son to save us? Because he loved the world. The hope is to spend this week meditating on that love - how undeserved it really was, and how it calls us to a higher standard of loving others.

We’re in the third week of the advent season, and this week we’re focusing on joy! Emily and Anna read through two stories from the Christmas narrative that highlight two different types of joy - joy that waits and joy that seeks - and talk about what it looks like to practice that joy this Christmas season.

This is the second week of advent and we’re talking all about peace. What does advent peace mean as opposed to worldly peace? How can we walk in our calling to be a people who create peace around us as an extension of our relationship with God? Emily and Anna read through the prophesy in Isaiah 9:5-7 about the Messiah, and then His birth in Luke 2:1-20. Praying peace over your week!

This week, Emily and Anna kick off the Advent season—four weeks leading up to Christmas when we slow down and sit in the longing, waiting, and expectation of God’s promised Messiah. Each week we’ll lean into a different theme of the story, and this week we’re beginning with hope.

What actually sets Advent hope apart from ordinary, worldly hope? And how does the story of Elizabeth—the mother of John the Baptist—help us see God’s intentionality and faithfulness in a fresh way? John, a relative of Jesus, was born to prepare the way for the Messiah, and his story reminds us that God is always at work, even in the waiting.

Today we’re talking about Hannah - a woman who went through years of waiting and suffering, called out to the Lord, and had her prayer answered. She is the mother of Samuel - who goes on to become an important figure in the bigger picture of the Bible. We also focus in today on what it looks like to practice gratitude as an act of worship to God. Hope you enjoy!

After Jesus healed Mary Magdalene from her seven demons (yikes), her entire life was transformed. She was there at Jesus’ death, burial, and the first one to see Him resurrected. She traveled with Jesus and the disciples and she even helped fund Jesus’ ministry. We are taking a closer look at her life today and seeing what we can learn from her.