More Than a Song is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to helping you discover the truth of Scripture hidden in today's popular Christian music. Each episode teaches you to connect portions of God's Word with the songs you're singing along with on the radio to help you meditate on Truths that will transform your way of thinking and, ultimately, your life.
Does giving your dreams and desires to God feel like giving up? Sarai Rivera sings about surrendering control of her life to God in her song "I Give You My Dreams." In this episode, I explore the alternative to letting God take control displayed in a song of David.
Dive into Psalm 37 with me to uncover how we can surrender our dreams and desires to God. With personal stories, Bible Interaction Tool Exercises (BITEs), and practical insights, you'll be equipped to trust God’s plan, even when it feels uncertain.
Episode Highlights
Your Next Steps
Key Scriptures
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Read Psalm 37 for yourself. Read it repetitively and in various translations before interacting with it further. Once you have the Psalm firmly planted in your mind, jot down some observations. Do you see any repetitive words or phrases? Consider the contrast of what action words David uses instead of fretting. As you give over your dreams and desires to the Lord — committing wholeheartedly to His ways — incorporate the actions you uncover into your day as you meditate on this Psalm.
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Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
Our hope in the Lord is that He will draw near to us if we draw near to Him (see James 4:8). Seph Schlueter sings about drawing near to God in his song "Running Back to You." But the song made me ask, "How do we get so far from God in the first place?" We gain insight when we search Scripture to see how it happened for God's chosen people in the Old Testament.
Join me in exploring the pages of the prophet Jeremiah, expecting God to reveal Himself to us (and hopefully either draw us back or keep us close).
In this episode, I discuss:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Read Jeremiah 1-6 Week's-33 (or Jeremiah 1-33 if you feel adventurous). Read or watch an overview of the book of Jeremiah. Examine the questions asked in Jeremiah 2-6, beginning with seeking to understand God’s character, conduct, and concerns. Then, move to make observations of the questions and the context around the questions. Finally, ask God to help you understand how you should respond to what you’ve learned.
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Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
Family is beautiful, frustrating, glorious, embarrassing, and diverse—even Christ's family line includes some characters and heroes. Christy Nockels' song " Amaryllis" inspired me to explore a few of the people in Christ's lineage. It seemed appropriate at this time of year when many of us have just made another year of Christmas memories with family and friends.
Whether your family is on the glorious side, the tragic, or somewhere in between, we see God weave all kinds of people into the lineage of the Savior of the world…so surely there's hope for us!
In this episode, I discuss:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Follow my lead and learn about Judah, Tamar, and Perez in Genesis 38. 2 Chronicles 29-31 tells much of the life of Hezekiah, but Isaiah 36-39 tells the "rest of the story." Zerubabbel, son of Shealtiel, has a major role in the rebuilding of the altar and the temple after the Babylonian deportation, and you can read all about it in chapters 3-6 of Ezra. All of these are in the lineage of Christ. It's an interesting network of people, some with sordid pasts and questionable choices, but woven into the family of Christ nonetheless. Our song says, "Through a fragile people, the Light of Life will come." He continues to use fragile people in HIS story today.
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Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
God, the Author, chose to show rather than tell us how far He would go to redeem His people. Consider the highest of highs, where Jesus came from, and the lowest of lows, where he descended to lay His head in a pile of straw. Josiah Queen sings about this in his song, "lowest of lows." This sent me to explore Scriptures that detail Jesus went to humble Himself and why.
We're going to spend some time on a letter from Paul. But don't worry. We'll swing back into the Christmas story in Matthew.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture – this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
Catch me on my podcast book tour!
Click here to see the full list of podcasts and interviews I’ve completed and upcoming events. Don’t forget to check out the exclusive freebies!
Don't forget to download the Episode Guide!
Exploring the Incarnation of Christ
Scripture References:
Theology in Focus
Application:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Read Matthew’s account of the birth of Christ in Matthew 1-2. Then read Paul’s letter to the Philippians and circle back to Philippians 2 to shore up your doctrine — your set of beliefs — about Christ. Meditate on what God really did, and in response, bend your knee and raise y
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
Scripture teaches us that the "message declared by angels proved to be reliable" (Heb. 2:2). No wonder the traditional Christmas carol instructs us to "hark" -- pay attention to -- what the angels are declaring. There's no better way to celebrate a time-honored hymn like "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" than by adding the fun Celtic version by We Are Messengers to your playlist.
Let's follow the call to action in our song and pay attention to what Scripture teaches us in Luke's narrative of Christ's birth.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Take this as your call to read the birth of Jesus narrative as recorded by Luke. The second (or third, or fourth) time you read through Luke 1 and 2, watch for what you learn about angels by what is shown and said in the text. Make a list of what you learn about angels. Then, head over to Hebrews 1 and 2 and compare your list to what you learn there. You’ll uncover additions to your list. And while you may not be in danger of worshipping angels, you will now know what the Bible actually says about these important — and very real — beings.
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
There’s a phrase I often use in my prayers for others. I pray that God will go before them, behind them, and that His hand of blessing will be on their heads. Little did I know that Leanna Crawford's song "Still Waters (Psalm 23)" would guide me to a place that beautifully depicts our Father's conduct. Nor did I know how refreshing God‘s words would be during turbulent times.
Writing Scripture on your heart for when you need it is good advice. And Psalm 23 is the perfect place to start.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Read Psalm 23 and then take the challenge to internalize the words. Memorize them with the goal to know the Word not just the words. Repeat the words aloud until you have them down pat. Then, transition to imagination and meditation. Perhaps I share something in this episode you hadn’t known before that will enhance your meditation efforts. Grab the Episode Guide because there are a couple of things I wanted to go over in this episode that I couldn’t fit in but are helpful as you study/internalize this Psalm.
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
In a day and age where you can't seem to trust anyone, Cody Carnes and Benjamin William Hastings sing an anthem that resonates with me. "Take You At Your Word" caused me to explore why we can take God at His Word and how to do it.
Let's take our cue from a group of people in Acts and examine the Scriptures together.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Recognize that we can take God at His Word because Jesus did. As disciples of Christ, we are to follow His instruction to abide in His Word and His example. Consider the example of the Bereans in Acts 17. Meditate on the example of Christ in Matthew 4. Bring all of the voices in your life under the standard and authority of Scripture.
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
Some truths we use in our everyday language might change how we think and respond to life if we think deeply about them. Forrest Frank has a song out, "Good Day," that I've used as the celebration theme song for the release of my new novel, "A Seat at the Table." However, the lyrics inspired me to meditate on Scripture in a new way.
Lift your eyes to the heavens as we meditate on the God who made the universe.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Meditate on our God who made the universe. Treat this idea like you would something you worry about. Read about what the Bible says about it, talk about it with a friend, listen to a podcast to get a fresh perspective, roll it around in your mind a bit, and let what you’ve learned to change the way you pray. If you need help incorporating all of this, download the episode guide at michellenezat.com/502download.
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
When my mom shared Jonathan Traylor's song "The Table" with me, I knew I wanted to use it as a launching point on the podcast closest to my debut novel release, "A Seat at the Table." I contend that the world sees a "seat at the table" as an opportunity for power and influence. But what does Scripture say about having a seat at the table of Christ? That is what we'll explore in this episode.
Let's examine a table in the Old Testament and the table of the Last Supper in the New Testament.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
This Week's Challenge
Learn about the Table of the Bread of Presence by reading Exodus 25-31. Read about the Bread of Presence in Leviticus 24. Then consider the Bread of Life, Jesus, at a table described in all four gospels—Luke 22, Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 13.
I hope you take advantage of the free video series I created for you-- Story Sessions: A Seat at the Table. In it, we harness the power of story to unlock God’s Word. Do you have to read the novel to complete these online studies? Absolutely not. I use the book as a parable—a story to point back to—to teach truths. The story can act a
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
Grab the Episode Guide HERE.
The enemy of our souls has many names in Scripture. One verse often attributed to him describes him as a thief. Tauran Wells, in his new song "Take It All Back," declares he's taking back what the enemy stole. That thief's schemes to destroy us stand in direct opposition to the abundant life Jesus offers.
Let's journey back to the enemy's first scheme to see what he stole in the beginning and take THAT back.
Additional Resources
The Week's Challenge
Read Genesis 3 in context. As you read the details of the fall of man, look for the enemy's strategy. Be quick to confess your guilt, allow God to forgive your sins, and purify you from all unrighteousness. Resist the temptation to slip into shame that leads to fear, hiding, and blame. Once you recognize the enemy’s go-to schemes, they will be easier to identify in your own life.
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
It's time to meditate on how amazing Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega and Lamb of God really is. And when you do, it should cause you to jump up and tell everyone what CeCe Winans sings about in her song, "That's My King."
We're headed back to Revelation in this episode, looking to see what we can learn from the worship responses to our King of kings.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Additional Resources
This Week's Challenge
Read the book of Revelation for yourself. As you read it, when you come to a worship response, write out the worship response by hand. Consider reading in a translation other than what you’re most familiar with. Make observations of who, what, where, when, and why the worship responses are inspired. Meditate on God’s Word and
Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!
Change your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.
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