Ponca City Life Center

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

📖 WAKE UP
I Didn’t Know I Fell Asleep
By Pastor Robert Madu
Notes by Life Center Church

“Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.” — Acts 20:9 NIV

📖 Biblical Truth

Nobody plans to fall asleep.

You don’t normally sit down and say, “In about ten minutes, I’m going to completely pass out.” It happens gradually.

Your eyes get heavy.
Your attention starts drifting.
You become less aware of what’s happening around you.

And before you know it—you’re asleep.

That’s what happened to a young man named Eutychus in Acts 20.

Paul was preaching late into the night. The room was full. Lamps were burning. People were listening. Eutychus was sitting in a window when he slowly began drifting off.

Then Scripture says he fell into a deep sleep, fell three stories to the ground, and was picked up dead.

That sounds like a strange story to include in the Bible.

But I believe there is something powerful here for us.

✏️ Devotional

Sometimes the most dangerous spiritual condition isn’t rebellion.

It’s sleepiness.

You can still attend church.

Still know the songs.

Still know the Scriptures.

Still look like everything is okay.

And yet somewhere along the way, your heart stopped being fully awake to God.

Spiritual sleep usually doesn’t happen overnight.

It’s gradual.

Engaged becomes distracted.
Distracted becomes tired.
Tired becomes asleep.

There was probably a time when you couldn’t get enough of God’s Word.

You prayed because you wanted to pray.

You were excited about church.

You wanted to serve.

You wanted to tell people about Jesus.

You felt conviction quickly when something wasn’t right.

But life gets busy.

Distractions grow.

Disappointment comes.

We get tired.

And without realizing it, something inside us starts drifting.

That’s why Scripture repeatedly tells us:

“Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:6 NIV

Wake up.

But there’s another important detail in the story.

Eutychus wasn’t just sleepy.

He was sleepy while sitting in an open window.

That matters.

Everybody gets spiritually tired sometimes. Even Jesus’ disciples fell asleep while He was praying in Gethsemane.

The problem is when we’re tired and we position ourselves somewhere dangerous.

Maybe the question isn’t only:

“Am I getting spiritually sleepy?”

Maybe it’s also:

“Where am I sitting?”

What relationships are influencing me?

What am I allowing into my mind?

What compromises have I started becoming comfortable with?

How close am I trying to get to the edge while still convincing myself everything is okay?

Don’t fight sleep sitting in an open window.

Pick another seat.

Put yourself around people who strengthen your faith.

Stay close to God’s Word.

Stay connected to the church.

Stay accountable.

Stay around people who love you enough to say:

“Hey, I see you drifting. Wake up.”

We all need people like that.

Because one of the frightening things about falling asleep is this:

You usually don’t know exactly when it happened.

You recognize it when something—or someone—wakes you.

Maybe this devotional is your wake-up call.

Ask yourself:

Has my appetite for God’s Word grown weaker?

Has prayer become an afterthought?

Are things I once felt convicted about becoming normal?

Am I avoiding people who might challenge me?

Am I isolating myself from godly community?

Those aren’t reasons for condemnation.

They’re warning lights.

Wake up.

But I love what happens next in Eutychus’ story.

When he fell, Paul didn’t stay upstairs criticizing him.

Paul went down.

“Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him.”
— Acts 20:10 NIV

That is such a picture of real ministry.

When someone falls, we shouldn’t stand above them pointing out everything they did wrong.

We go down.

We get close.

We help.

We pray.

We remind them:

Your story isn’t finished.

Paul looked at this young man everyone thought was dead and essentially said:

There’s still life in him.

Somebody needs that reminder today.

There’s still life in you.

There’s still life in that marriage.

There’s still life in that dream.

There’s still life in that calling.

There’s still life in that son or daughter.

There’s still life in that ministry.

People may have written the situation off, but God gets the final word.

And ultimately, this story points us toward Jesus.

Humanity had fallen.

Sin had left us spiritually dead.

God didn’t look down from Heaven and simply condemn us.

Jesus came down.

He stepped into our brokenness.

He took on flesh.

He lived the life we could never live and died the death we deserved to die.

And through His resurrection, He offers us life.

So if you’ve been drifting…

If you’ve been distracted…

If you’ve gotten tired…

If somehow you fell asleep spiritually and didn’t even realize it…

Hear the voice of God calling you today:

Wake up.

Get out of the window seat.

Move away from the edge.

Get back into His Word.

Start praying again.

Get around godly people.

Start serving again.

Start believing again.

Start expecting again.

And remember this:

Faith prepares for what it is praying for.

The people in that upstairs room had lamps prepared with oil because they expected God to do something.

What are you preparing for?

If you’re praying for God to move, prepare your heart for the movement.

If you’re praying for God to use you, make yourself available.

If you’re praying for growth, create room to grow.

If you’re asking God to pour more into your life, make sure you have the capacity to receive what He wants to pour out.

Don’t sleep through what God is trying to do in your life.

Wake up.

Because what God has ahead of you may be greater than anything you’ve left behind.

🙏 TODAY’S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, wake up anything inside me that has become spiritually sleepy. Show me where I have become distracted, comfortable, or too close to things that could pull me away from You. Give me a fresh hunger for Your Word, a renewed desire to pray, and people around me who will strengthen my walk with You. Help me stay spiritually awake, alert, and ready for everything You want to do in my life. And when I see someone else falling, help me not judge them from a distance, but have the compassion to go to them and help them back up. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

⭐ GREATEST TAKEAWAY

You may not know exactly when you started falling asleep spiritually—but when God gives you a wake-up call, don’t hit snooze.

God bless y’all!

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

🔥 WAKE UP! 🔥

Have you ever suddenly realized, “I didn’t even know I had fallen asleep”?

Spiritual sleep can happen gradually. We get distracted, tired, comfortable—and before we know it, we’ve drifted from God.

This Sunday at Life Center, we’re talking about “Wake Up: I Didn’t Know I Fell Asleep.” It’s time to wake up, get out of the “window seat,” and wake up to what God has for you!

“Let us be awake and sober.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:6

🕙 10:00 AM & 11:30 AM
📍 Ponca City Life Center

Come ready to WAKE UP! 🙌 Invite a friend!

09/05/2026

📖 WORK IT OUT WITH GRACE
By Larry Kitchell/Campus Pastor

📖 Biblical Truth

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” — Matthew 18:15

✏️ Devotional

Conflict is part of life.

Even in the family of God, there will be moments when people misunderstand us, disappoint us, hurt us, or simply get things wrong.

The question isn’t whether conflict will come.

The question is: How will we handle it when it does?

Jesus gave us a way.

Go directly to the person.

Not to everybody else.
Not to Facebook.
Not to the prayer chain disguised as gossip.

Go to the person—with love, humility, and a genuine desire to make things right.

If they won’t listen, Jesus says to bring one or two trusted people into the conversation. Not to gang up on them, but to help bring wisdom, truth, and accountability.

If reconciliation still doesn’t happen, the church may need to become involved.

But through every step, the goal remains the same:

Restoration.

Biblical confrontation is never supposed to be about embarrassing someone, proving we are right, or winning an argument.

It is about loving someone enough to pursue peace.

And grace does not mean ignoring unhealthy behavior. Forgiveness does not mean removing every boundary. Sometimes love requires truth, accountability, and distance.

But even then, we refuse to let bitterness take over our hearts.

Jesus calls us to something better.

When conflict comes, don’t build a case.

Build a bridge.

Because the goal isn’t to win the argument.

The goal is to win back the relationship whenever possible.

🙏 TODAY’S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, give me the courage to confront in love, the humility to listen, and the grace to forgive. Guard my heart from gossip, pride, and bitterness. Help me pursue peace the way You have pursued me—with truth, mercy, patience, and love. Amen.

⭐ GREATEST TAKEAWAY

Conflict is inevitable, but division doesn’t have to be. Go directly, speak truthfully, love deeply, and always leave room for grace.

God bless Y’all! 🙌

09/04/2026

📖 HOLY POWER
By Larry Kitchell/Campus Pastor

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.”
— Acts 1:8

On September 3, 2016, Oklahoma experienced a powerful 5.6 magnitude earthquake. In a matter of seconds, peaceful ground began to shake.

It’s a reminder of something even greater: God has the power to shake things in our lives too.

🔥 The Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out.

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, God doesn’t call us to remain the same. His Spirit begins working in us—changing our attitudes, strengthening our faith, helping us leave childish ways behind, and shaping us to become more like Christ.

And the Holy Spirit doesn’t simply give us power so we can feel something.

He gives us power for a purpose.

Power to overcome.
Power to grow.
Power to love people.
Power to serve.
Power to stand firm.
And power to tell others about Jesus.

Sometimes we need a holy shaking—something that wakes us up spiritually and reminds us that God wants to do more than make us comfortable.

He wants to transform us.

Maybe today your prayer simply needs to be:

“Holy Spirit, shake up anything in me that is keeping me from becoming who Jesus has called me to be.”

🙏 TODAY’S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit. Fill us with Your power and continue changing us from the inside out. Give us courage to live for Jesus and to be faithful witnesses wherever You have placed us. Shake us awake spiritually and use our lives to make a difference for Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

⭐ GREATEST TAKEAWAY

The Holy Spirit doesn’t just give us power to experience God—He gives us power to live differently and help others find Him.

God bless Y’all! 🙌