The Austin Stone Podcast

Halim Suh digs into Hebrews 10:1-18 which boldly declares the truth that God is not just with you, but His Spirit is active and working in you.

Ross Lester explores Hebrews 9:15-28 to answer three questions: What do you do with a Messiah who dies? Why did He have to? How does that death enable life in His followers today?

In 2020, everything in Tobin’s life changed. In God’s kindness, he was blessed with a wife. And then the whole world changed. During the pandemic, many dreaded that certain text—the one where you learn that someone you were with has tested positive for COVID-19. In the summer of 2021, after a fun night of socializing with a few friends, Tobin got that text. Within a few days, he started to feel sick and continued to worsen until two weeks later, Tobin was unable to breathe and was admitted to the hospital. Even as a chaplain came to perform last rites and Tobin said goodbye to his wife over the phone, the Lord was with him, and he recalled John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” What a powerful reminder. What a powerful testimony. And what a powerful and sovereign God we serve. Today, Tobin’s life is forever changed, and we’re grateful to share Tobin’s message today that “God’s not finished with us yet, because we’re still here.”

Will Bostian digs into Hebrews 9:1-14 which relays a beautiful truth—that Jesus is the perfect High Priest who deals perfectly with our guilt and gives us perfect freedom to draw near to God.

“So, what are you going to do next?” This seemingly simple question was nearly impossible for Peter to answer. After two years on the mission field, it was like trying to answer, “Who are you, and who are you going to be?”Peter and his wife left to be goers in Southeast Asia with the deep conviction from Scripture that God wanted all tribes, tongues, and nations to worship Him. But those first two years in the field were tough; in fact, they were two of the hardest years he and his wife had ever experienced. When they returned, Peter felt God urging him to reprioritize his marriage and something else too—God began showing Himself to Peter in a fresh way. After a season of exhaustion, God met Peter and his wife with the care that they needed, as their Austin Stone community stepped in to care, empathize, and give them the space to rest and recover.Peter’s story is ongoing. Through his life and his testimony, we see a God who’s not shy about changing our plans and setting us on new paths—all to see His name made great in our lives and the lives of others!

“If You’re putting pause on an area of my life, that doesn’t mean that I’ve failed. It doesn’t mean that You’re withholding anything from me. It means that there’s something new for this season that I’m in.”During her residency at The Austin Stone, Lauren became more deeply rooted in the firm foundation of Christ. But it didn’t happen overnight. Her journey to grow those deep roots started in 2016 when she started attending The Austin Stone. Her heart for ministry quickly grew, and Lauren began discerning whether or not God was calling her to full-time ministry. Through fear but plenty of faith in God’s hand on her life, Lauren left the comfortable world of students and college ministries to apply for the worship ministry.But Lauren’s residency didn’t end in the worship ministry. The Lord walked with her through a surprising ministry career shift, producing more faith and holiness along the way.

Ross Lester digs into Hebrews 8:1-13 and important parallels with the current and early church in how we view, value, and love Christ.

“We serve a God who meets us where we are and takes us where He wanted us to be.” When Carmen got married, she never imagined where she’d be in 2018. That raising kids would be so challenging. That her husband would get sick. That he would pass away.When Carmen’s husband passed away six years ago, she began attending The Austin Stone. At that time, she was struggling with a growing reliance on alcohol. Carmen felt burdened with responsibility, and like many of us, and used alcohol to find some peace. But the Lord used a sermon about idolatry to explicitly call her back to Himself, and from that day forward, despite ups and downs, she was never the same.Carmen’s is a story of God’s relentless love for us. It’s a story of relapse and recovery. Of a mother who wanted a brighter future for her children. And it’s a story of God’s unending pursuit of His children and His children’s children.

No one anticipates their marriage will face deep hardships. Even more so, no one expects a sermon on divorce to draw them deeper into the body of Christ.In 2014, Candy and her husband separated, and shortly after, a friend invited her to The Austin Stone. Transitioning churches is always hard, but Candy was committed to link arms with a body of believers that aligned deeply with her love for truth. So she gave The Stone a try, first by listening to a Matt Carter sermon on divorce. “It was probably one of the hardest messages I’ve ever listened to, but also one that felt the most true to me,” she remembers.In the months to come, Candy experienced the deep loss and pain of divorce. But in God’s kindness, she also experienced countless examples of God’s love for her through her small group and leaders who were active and present with her and her daughters as they searched for hope after divorce. Through all of it, Candy heard the Lord share a consistent message she’s now sharing with all of us:  “Nothing you go through is wasted. Even the hard things we walk through, God uses all of it. No matter how hard it is, God uses all of it for His glory.”

Halim Suh spends time looking at what it means that Jesus is an intercessor, a better hope, and our forever priest.