Excel & Reflect

09/02/2026

Everyone eventually stands before a verdict they never got to negotiate. Scripture is blunt about that. This week we ask why that single fact sends some people running and leaves others completely unshaken. We trace it from Paul's stunning calm at the edge of his own ex*****on, back through the cross that turned enemies into the reconciled, into the test John gives three times over for knowing whether we actually belong to God, and forward to the “crown of righteousness” waiting for anyone who has learned to anticipate Judgment Day instead of dreading it. Key verse: 1 Peter 2:9.

Article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/the-confidence-to-face-the-judge/

Podcast: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b30795fa-f4f9-42d0-98bd-a139ce37d14d

08/24/2026

This week on Excel & Reflect

Every choice you make is teaching somebody something, whether you mean it to or not. In this episode, we dig into what it really means that "everybody has the power to influence," from a little boy who's already learned to say "charge it," to the children who grow up mirroring what they were shown at home, to Saul of Tarsus, whose three days of blindness on the road to Damascus became the turning point for a lifetime of gospel influence. We unpack influence in four parts: character, development, behavior, and effect, and why distinctive living isn't optional for anyone who's been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Key verse: 1 Peter 2:9.

Article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/the-influence-you-cant-turn-off/
Podcast: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ebc0e56e-edc5-4335-8a30-bcad71f545e4

08/17/2026

Pursuing Distinctive Living Series: Making The Change

There's no neutral ground in the Christian life. Every day, in the small decisions no one else sees, we ally ourselves either with the flesh or with the Spirit, and Scripture won't let us pretend there's a bystander's seat. In this episode, part two of our Pursuing Distinctive Living In Our Lives series, we unpack what it actually costs to live out our identity as chosen, royal, holy, and God's own possession (1 Peter 2:9) and why that identity was never meant to stay quiet.

Read: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/distinctive-living-series-making-the-change/

Tune in: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/93a7a0fc-1d6a-4f1b-84f0-26d1de5965a0

08/10/2026

Pursuing Distinctive Living In Our Lives...Part 1

In the first class of a new series on distinctive Christian living, Excel & Reflect Weekly opens 1 Peter 2:9–12 to ask a simple but searching question: what does it actually mean to live differently in a world that expects us to blend in? Through the story of a persistent preacher in S***m, four words that define the believer's identity chosen, royal, holy, and possession and four practical thoughts for walking it out day to day, this episode makes the case that distinctive living isn't a performance. It's who we already are in Christ. Listen in as we dig into 1 Peter 2:9–12 (NASB), plus supporting passages from Titus, Deuteronomy, John, Romans, and Philippians, and ask the question every believer eventually has to answer: whose am I living for?

Article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/pursuing-distinctive-living-in-our-lives/

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ed191722-558c-4ee9-bb48-b9cdcd627868

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07/21/2026

"Can I Lose My Salvation?" tackles one of the most personal and unsettling questions in the Christian life. Rather than leaning on tradition or popular teaching, this episode goes straight to Scripture — examining what it truly means to be "in Christ," challenging the popular idea of Once Saved, Always Saved, and tracing the biblical pattern of covenant unfaithfulness from Adam and Eve to Israel, to direct warnings given to New Testament believers.

Along the way, we look honestly at what it looks like when a believer falls away — and more importantly, what it looks like to come home. This is not a message meant to frighten. It's a call to walk faithfully, stay anchored in God's Word, and never underestimate His patience and desire to restore.

Grounded in Hebrews 6:4-6 and drawing on Acts 2:38, Galatians 5:4, 1 John 3:6, 2 Peter 3:9, and more, this episode offers a clear, Scripture-first answer to a question far too many carry in silence.

View Article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/can-i-lose-my-salvation/

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07/06/2026

Excel & Reflect Podcast with Garrett Bernethy

Season 1 Episode 22 - "Can I Understand the Bible?"
Ever opened your Bible with good intentions, only to feel lost by chapter two? You're not alone, and you're not stuck there. In this episode, we tackle one of the most common doubts believers and skeptics alike share: can the Bible actually be understood, or is it just too ancient, too complex, too much? We'll look at what Jesus, Paul, Luke, and John all expected from their readers, why the Bereans were praised for digging into Scripture, and why "hard to understand" (yes, even Peter said so) never means impossible. We'll also name the real reasons people walk away confused, and none of them have anything to do with the Bible itself. If you've ever wondered whether God's Word was written for people like you, this episode gives you a clear answer: yes.

To view the article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/can-i-understand-the-bible/

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a6971c44-81ba-4e20-b099-505f723a7d9d

Quickly and easily listen to Excel & Reflect for free!

06/29/2026

Excel & Reflect Podcast with Garrett Bernethy

Season 1, Episode 21 — "Seeing Jesus Clearly"
Mark opens his Gospel with one bold sentence and never looks back. In this episode, Garrett asks the question that matters more than any other: do you actually know Jesus, or do you just know about Him? Even demons could name who He was — but recognition was never the same as relationship. Walking through Mark 1:1, Garrett unpacks the difference between knowing the route and taking the journey, and lands on the question every disciple has to answer again tomorrow: who is ruling your life?
"You are My beloved Son... listen to Him." — Mark 9:7

To view the article: https://articles.excelstillmore.net/seeing-jesus-clearly/

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/21f28ce9-a80f-4037-ad27-a9ad8db46745/

Quickly and easily listen to Excel & Reflect for free!

06/22/2026

H.G. Wells, Lord Byron, Henry David Thoreau, and cartoonist Ralph Barton — brilliant, accomplished, admired men — all confessed the same hollow ache: a void that success, friendship, and achievement could never fill. In this episode, we ask the question every person eventually faces: Why am I here? Opening God's Word to Paul's sermon on Mars Hill in Acts 17:22–31, Garrett unpacks how science and philosophy can only wrestle with where we came from and why we exist, but Scripture alone answers a third question neither has ever dared to ask: where we're going. From Genesis 1:26 to Isaiah 43, this episode traces the truth that you were made on purpose, by a God who has been seeking you long before you ever thought to seek Him. If life has ever felt like an unanswered question, this episode is your invitation to finally find the answer.

"He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth... that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." — Acts 17:26–27

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06/10/2026

What does it really mean to be blessed? In this episode, Garrett Bernethy invites us to pause and reconsider where we're looking for God's goodness in our lives.

Drawing from Psalm 118 and Paul's sweeping declaration in Ephesians 1:3–4, Garrett unpacks a truth that reorients everything: the greatest blessings God gives are not found in circumstances, achievements, or milestones — they're found in Christ Himself. To be "in Christ" is to stand at the center of grace, purpose, and divine provision.

From there, Garrett walks through three blessings that stand out above the rest: Jesus and His risen, living presence that secures our hope; the Church as the living body of Christ — not an institution, but a Spirit-filled family sustained by His blood and reconciled by His peace; and our families, both earthly and spiritual, shaped most powerfully when our relationship with God comes first.

This episode is a call to see clearly — to recognize that life in Christ is marked not by fear, but by freedom. Not by what we've built, but by what He's given.

"This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." — Psalm 118:24

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06/01/2026

What if the most powerful step you could take toward a stronger spiritual life cost you nothing but your pride?

In this episode, we dive into one of the most essential — and most overlooked — foundations of spiritual health: humility. Not as a concept to admire, but as a real, intentional step you can take today.

We walk through three movements of humility drawn from Scripture:

1. Humble yourself in your own sight — Change begins internally. There comes a moment when you have to face what's there, stop making excuses, and say, "I have done this." That's not weakness. That's clarity.

2. Humble yourself before others — The church is family. It should be the one place where you can speak your hardest truths and express your deepest hurt. Don't let someone else's reaction determine your obedience to God.

3. Humble yourself before the Lord — God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. When you humble yourself under His mighty hand, He promises to lift you up at the proper time.

Scriptures Referenced:

Proverbs 23:7
1 Peter 1:22
1 Peter 5:5–6
Key Takeaway: Spiritual health begins with humility. When we humble ourselves — before ourselves, before others, and before God — we allow Christ to shape our hearts, we put on the armor of God, and we lay down the enemy's tools. And in due time, He lifts us up.

If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who needs it today.

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