Winning People, Not Arguments

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

July 5th Sermon, Day 3

There is a temptation that is especially strong right now. It is the temptation to be right. To win the debate. To score the point. And honestly, sometimes it feels justified, especially when someone has been unkind or unfair to you. But here is the hard truth. You can win an argument and lose a person at the same time. You can be completely correct and still push someone further from Jesus in the process.

Paul understood this tension deeply. He had every reason to argue, to defend himself, to fight back. Instead, his heart was fixed on one question: how can they come to know Jesus? That question changed everything about how he responded to opposition. Kindness does something that a perfectly crafted argument never can. It creates curiosity.

Grace opens doors that logic alone cannot unlock. When someone sees you respond to hostility with patience and genuine care, they start asking questions they did not know they had. Your goal was never to defeat the people around you. It is to see them redeemed. That shift in perspective, from winning to loving, is one of the most freeing things you can experience. You are not called to be a debater. You are called to be a witness. And the most compelling testimony is a life that looks like Jesus.

Bible Verse

"Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved." - Romans 10:1

Reflection Question

Is there a relationship in your life where you have been focused on being right rather than being redemptive? What would it look like to shift your goal from winning to loving?

Quote

"We can win debates and lose people, right? We can score points online, but actually push people farther away from Christ."

Prayer

God, forgive me for the times I have cared more about being right than about the person in front of me. Redirect my heart toward what actually matters: seeing people come to know You. Amen.

Grace We Did Not Earn

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

July 5th Sermon, Day 2

Think about this for a moment. God did not wait until you had your life together before He loved you. He did not hold off until you were kind enough, faithful enough, or good enough. He loved you while you were still walking away from Him. That is not a small thing.

That is the entire story of the gospel. When Jesus calls us to love our enemies, He is not asking us to do something He has not already done for us. He is inviting us to reflect the same grace that found us when we were at our worst. Every time you choose kindness over retaliation, you are putting that grace on display for someone who may never pick up a Bible but will absolutely read your life.

This is not about being a pushover. It is about being a mirror. When people see you respond to hostility with genuine kindness, they see something they cannot explain on their own. They see Jesus. You were loved before you deserved it. That love changed everything for you. Now imagine what it could do for someone else if they experienced even a small reflection of it through you. Grace is not something you earned. It is something you received. And the most natural response to receiving it is to give it away.

Bible Verse

"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:43-45

Reflection Question

When you think about how God loved you before you deserved it, does that change how you see the person in your life who feels hardest to love right now?

Quote

"God never waited until we somehow became lovable. He loved us and he loves us even when we are his enemy. And that’s called grace."

Prayer

Father, thank You for loving me before I ever turned toward You. Give me the courage to extend that same undeserved grace to someone who needs to see it today. Amen.

People Who Are Hurting, and the God Who Knows It

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

July 5th Sermon, Day 1

Let's be honest. Someone has hurt you. Maybe it was a family member, a close friend, or someone you trusted deeply. The wound is real, and the instinct to protect yourself or want justice is completely natural. You are not alone in that.

Here is what is remarkable though. Jesus does not dismiss that pain. He sees it. He knows it. And He does not ask you to pretend it never happened. What He does invite you to is something far more powerful than revenge or bitterness. He invites you to trust Him with it.

The Apostle Paul knew what it felt like to be rejected and beaten by the very people he loved. Yet his deepest prayer was not for their punishment. It was for their salvation. That kind of response does not come from gritting your teeth and trying harder. It comes from a heart that God has already been working in. You do not have to have it all figured out today. You just have to be willing to bring your hurt to the One who can actually do something with it. God is not asking you to minimize your pain. He is asking you to let Him carry it with you. That is where healing begins. Not in revenge, not in silence, but in surrender to a God who is trustworthy with every broken piece of your story.

Bible Verse

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Reflection Question

What would it look like for you to bring your deepest hurt to God today, rather than carrying it alone or trying to resolve it on your own terms?

Quote

"Jesus never asks us to pretend those things never happen. He simply invites us to surrender our right to revenge and to trust him with justice."

Prayer

Lord, I bring You the pain I have been carrying and the wounds that still feel fresh. Help me to trust You with what I cannot fix on my own. Amen.

Trust Him With This

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 5

Over the past few days, we've looked at what it means to love our enemies, release the desire for payback, pray for those who have hurt us, and trust God with outcomes we may never see. Today, it all comes down to one word: trust.

The same God who transformed Paul from a persecutor into a preacher, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and who heard Stephen's final prayer in His final moments is still at work today. Right now. In your situation. With that person you've been thinking about all week. He hears. He works. He judges justly. And He is faithful. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to feel ready. You don't have to manufacture emotions that aren't there yet. You just have to take one step. Maybe that step is a simple, honest prayer. Maybe it's choosing not to rehearse the offense one more time. Maybe it's extending a hand, like Corrie Ten Boom did, and asking God to supply what you cannot. Whatever your next step is, take it. God is already there, and He is more than able to handle what you place in His hands.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

Looking back at this week, what is one concrete step you can take today to trust God with a person or situation you have been holding onto?

Quote

"Most of all, trust God. That's the message. Trust him that he'll do the right thing."

Prayer

Father, I choose to trust You with what I cannot control and with people I cannot change. You are faithful, and that is enough. Help me to take the next step with courage. Amen.

The Ripple You’ll Never See

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 4

Stephen was being stoned to death. In his final moments, he didn't curse his killers. He prayed that God would not hold their sin against them. It was a prayer of extraordinary faith, and Stephen never lived to see the answer. One of the men watching that day was Paul, a fierce persecutor of Christians. But God was already at work. That moment, and the grace Stephen displayed in it, was part of a story much larger than Stephen could have known.

Paul eventually became one of the most influential voices for the gospel in all of history. Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined. This is one of the most encouraging truths about praying for your enemies. You may never see the outcome. The person may never change in front of you. But your prayer declares to God that no one is beyond His reach. It is a prayer of faith, and God takes those seriously. You are not responsible for the results. You are responsible for the faithfulness. Trust God with what happens next. He has a track record of doing the impossible.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

Is there someone in your life you have stopped praying for because you haven't seen any change, and what would it look like to trust God with the outcome one more time?

Quote

"Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined."

Prayer

God, help me to be faithful in prayer even when I cannot see what You are doing. Remind me that You are always at work, even in the moments that feel silent. Amen.