Send us a text

Preaching: Leslie Loyd, President & COO of A Simple Gesture

What if the miracle starts before the bread ever breaks? We open with a prayer for wisdom and peace, then move through Psalm 100 and Philippians 4 to ground a timely, human conversation about hunger, dignity, and the quiet borders that shape who we consider “ours.” Drawing on Claude Lévi-Strauss, we explore how the “edge of the village” still shows up in grocery lines, policy limits, and the moments we look away—then we challenge ourselves to notice, name, and widen those edges.

From the hillside of the Sea of Galilee to a local market where a child cheers for pasta and applesauce, we trace a throughline: compassion begins with seeing. The feeding of the five thousand becomes a pattern for today, not as a spectacle of multiplication, but as a practice of participation. One person opens their bag, another follows, and abundance grows where fear of scarcity once stood. Along the way, we confront the reality of SNAP cuts that turn six dollars into the price of a latte or a day’s meals, and we refuse to let numbers eclipse neighbors.

Together we lay out concrete, hopeful ways to join the work: donate food because meals are urgent; give money because infrastructure matters; volunteer because presence restores dignity; advocate because policies have faces; pray because attention tunes our hearts to act. Gratitude deepens when it meets need, and the truest Thanksgiving table may be wherever food is shared, circles widen, and people hear the words you belong here. Listen, reflect, and then take one small step with us—subscribe, share this episode, and tell us how you plan to widen your village this week.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Text: Colossians 1:11-20

What holds when every other promise comes apart at the seams? We open Colossians 1:11–20 and hear a hymn the early church sang to steady their lives: Christ is the image of the invisible God, before all things, holding all things together. From that center, we explore how easy it is to crown the wrong king—political saviors, personal pride, even rigid doctrinal certainty—and why those thrones always collapse under the weight of our hopes.

We draw a line to the Christ hymn as we talk about desire, disappointment, and the subtle ways our loyalties drift. We revisit a sobering chapter of church history, when German Christians rewrote hymnals and blurred theology to serve authoritarian power, and we hold up the Barmen Declaration and Martin Niemöller as a necessary, courageous no. Along the way we consider why what we sing often shapes us more than what we hear once, and how worship becomes an act of resistance that trains the heart to love the true King.

This conversation invites you to audit your allegiances and reimagine kingship through the lens of Jesus—creator of all, reconciler of all, head of the church. Expect a clear portrait of a kingdom that refuses domination, rejects manipulation, dignifies neighbor, and makes peace through the cross. If you’re longing for a faith that can outlast cynicism and outlove fear, press play, sing with us, and let your heart be re-centered on the One who holds. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Presented by: Rev. Wes Pitts, First Presbyterian Church (Reidsville, NC)

A single nasal spray can turn a silent crisis into a second chance—and many of those chances unfold in everyday places like sanctuaries, parking lots, and fellowship halls. We walk through a practical, compassionate training for faith leaders and community members on recognizing an opioid overdose and using naloxone (Narcan) to save a life, weaving a clear moral call—do good when someone is in the pit—with concrete steps anyone can follow.

We start by demystifying opioids and naloxone: what these drugs do in the body, why fentanyl changes the risk picture, and how an opioid antagonist quickly restores breathing. From there, we map the response timeline in plain language: signs to look for, how to attempt to wake someone, when and how to call 911, and the exact technique for nasal administration, including when to deliver a second dose. We also explain rescue breathing, recovery positioning, and the critical importance of monitoring for 30 to 90 minutes after reversal since naloxone can wear off before the opioid does.

Legal clarity removes hesitation. We outline Good Samaritan protections for callers and patients, naloxone access laws that shield good-faith responders, and the standing orders that allow churches and nonprofits to distribute kits with basic instructions. You’ll hear practical tips on where to obtain naloxone—health departments, pharmacies, harm reduction agencies, and grants—how much it costs, how to store it, and why pairing kits with AEDs makes sense. Finally, we address the human moment after revival: withdrawal symptoms, safety, de-escalation, and connecting people to treatment and mental health support without judgment.

If you serve a congregation, volunteer in your neighborhood, or just want to be ready to help, this training offers step-by-step guidance, legal reassurance, and a hopeful path forward. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who could use it, and leave a review to help more communities learn how to save a life.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Preacher: Landon Bryant

Texts: Jonah 1:3-5, 15-17; 2:1, 10 & Matthew 14:22-33

What if the storm outside isn’t the real threat—and the storm inside is? We open with breath and prayer, then move into two sea-soaked stories that refuse to let fear write the ending. Jonah runs from a calling he judges impossible, only to find that God’s presence fills even the places chosen as escape routes. Inside the belly of a great fish, he discovers a hard-won resolve that leads to Nineveh’s surprising turnaround and a reminder that mercy can reach people we’ve already ruled out.

From there we step onto rough water with Peter. After a long night and a contrary wind, Jesus appears walking across the waves. Peter asks to join him, and for a few steps he does what no one expects. The moment the wind takes his focus, he starts to sink—until Jesus grabs hold and asks the question that lingers: why did you doubt? We explore why Jesus “made” the disciples board in the first place, and consider a perspective that Peter’s doubt may have been less about Jesus and more about his own capacity to live like his rabbi. Faith becomes more than belief; it becomes apprenticed confidence shaped by attention.

Across both passages, a single thread holds: where we place our gaze changes what becomes possible. Jonah learns that obedience can open the door to communal renewal. Peter learns that courage grows step by step, especially when the wind rises. Together they invite us to trust God’s nearness and also trust that, by grace, we can take the next faithful step. Listen for a grounded, hopeful take on fear, focus, and the kind of trust that carries you through the waves.

If this moved you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Presenter: Dylan Lewellyn

What if prayer wasn’t a task on a checklist, but a way of coming to the table where God already waits? We dive into the living rhythm of prayer—how presence is formed in ordinary habits, why intention matters more than perfect words, and how simple practices can reshape the day from the edges inward.

We start with the big question of “when” and find the surprising answer: there’s no bad time to pray, only different ways to adapt for the moment. From the Book of Common Prayer’s daily office to humble bookends at bedtime and waking, we share tangible routines that make prayer doable. We unpack the ACTS framework—adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication—and show how the Lord’s Prayer naturally holds each movement, becoming a durable template for honest, balanced prayers. When it comes to enemies, we shift from “make them like me” to “lead them toward peace and the good of all,” reframing intercession as love in action rather than control.

We also face the modern attention crisis. With phones, feeds, and nonstop alerts, stillness feels rare. That’s why we offer gentle, practical tools: breath prayers that link body and spirit, prayer beads for tactile focus, walks that turn nature into a sanctuary, and Lectio Divina to pray with Scripture like a meal savored and digested. We explore imaginative prayer, finding theology in media, and the power of candles and icons as visual anchors that cue the heart to quiet. Community ties it all together through prayer partnerships and circles that keep us faithful, especially when words fail and the world’s pain—war, poverty, cold nights—feels heavy.

If you’re longing to pray with less pressure and more presence, this conversation maps a kinder way. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to tell us which practice you’ll try first. Your voice helps others find this space—and might be the nudge someone needs to return to the table today.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Text: Job 19:23-27a

What if the most faithful move in a season of suffering isn’t finding the right answer but recovering a sense of awe? We turn to Job’s defiant confession—my Redeemer lives—and follow it through hard questions, imperfect counsel, and the unsettling moment when God speaks from the whirlwind. Instead of a tidy explanation for pain, we receive a summons to amazement that reshapes how we see ourselves, our neighbors, and the world’s wounds.

We sit with the honest ache of “why do bad things happen to good people,” dismantling easy versions of retributive theology and naming how denial masquerades as faith. Job teaches us to keep praying and keep protesting, even to the point of “suing” God, because covenant can carry lament without breaking. A Holocaust account of believers who put God on trial and then rose to pray grounds this theme: faith can argue with God and still choose fidelity. Along the way, we hear from Walter Brueggemann on the limits of moral certitude, and we explore how being right often crowds out being amazed.

From there, the path turns practical. Wonder is not escapism; it is fuel. Attention leads to astonishment, astonishment to gratitude, and gratitude to generosity that feeds neighbors, confronts harmful ideologies, and builds repair in public life. Cultural touchpoints from Wicked help us picture how unlikely conversation partners can change us for good. If you’re weary of thin answers but hungry for a living hope, this conversation offers language, courage, and a sturdy practice of awe.

If this resonated, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review so more seekers can find the show.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

A roomful of voices, a handful of scriptures, and a stack of hymns become something larger than a program: a living prayer. We open with Psalm 100 and Colossians 3, then move through beloved songs—some requested in hard seasons, others tied to service and family—each one carrying a name, a story, and a reason to keep singing. The energy is simple and human: sing a verse or two, honor a life, remember why the words matter, then keep going.

As we trace the thread from “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to “Eternal Father Strong to Save,” the memories fill in. A marching cadence from military training turns into courage for the present. A father who let his kids help pick the evening hymns teaches us that worship is participatory and joyful. We revisit John 3:16 and the Great Commandment, not as abstractions but as a lens for why music sticks—melody turns belief into muscle memory. The hymns become a portable prayer book you can carry anywhere: Blessed Assurance, He Lives, In The Cross of Christ I Glory, and the ever-steady Amazing Grace.

We also celebrate the writers who gave us language for faith—Fanny Crosby’s clear-eyed hope, Isaac Watts’ sturdy lines—and we make room for a new voice from our own community, a resident hymn writer offering fresh words grounded in Scripture. By the time we link hands for God Be With You Till We Meet Again, the setlist has become a circle. The takeaway is quiet but strong: singing binds us, teaches us, and holds space for sorrow and joy at once. If these songs have shaped your story, press play, sing along, and share the hymn you’d dedicate to someone you love. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell a friend who needs a song tonight.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org

Send us a text

Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Text: Ephesians 1:11-23

The question keeps returning in whispered prayers and hallway check-ins: where do we find hope when grief is heavy and the world feels unsteady. We take that question to Ephesians 1 and to the tradition of All Saints, where names are spoken, bells ring, and the church stands together at the crossroads of lament and resurrection. Rather than polishing pain, we name its complexity—how sorrow can walk with numbness, how love can sit beside anger—and we explore what it means to place our hope on Christ, not merely in Christ, as a living foundation that does not sink when life does.

We reflect on the echoes between modern stories of loss, like the song Requiem from Dear Evan Hansen, and the ancient cadence of the church’s prayers. That contrast helps us see how requiems are more than sad songs; they are acts of surrender, entrusting those we love to a larger story. Paul’s words lead us to the heart of that story: the power of God at work in Christ, raising him from the dead and setting him above every rule, authority, and name. From there we talk plainly about false hopes—money, status, personalities, and politics—and why they cannot carry the weight of our longing. The resurrection can, and does.

Out of that foundation comes courage: to preach life where violence is loud, to feed neighbors where scarcity speaks, to sing when the words catch in our throats. We honor ten saints by name and hold space for every untold name our listeners carry. Together we remember that eternal rest is promised and that our loyalty to Christ frees us for love that lasts. If this conversation meets you in the ache and invites you to stand on steadier ground, share it with someone who needs that ground too, subscribe for more thoughtful theology and practice, and leave a review with the moment that gave you courage.

Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch
Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc
Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch
Website: www.guilfordpark.org