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CROWD Church LivestreamA place to explore the Christian Faith Author: Crowd Church
If you're looking to grow in the Christian faith, or even explore it for the first time, then come and be part of the CROWD podcast. Each week we post our online church live stream which explores the big questions of life from a Christian worldview. We dig into your questions about meaning, faith and identity. We also add interviews with everyday people about their faith journey, what challenges they have faced and how they overcame them. Regardless of where you are on your faith journey, you are sure to find glimpses into the amazingness of Christ. Crowd Church is a non-denominational church and our commitment is not just to believers but also to those that might not see the point of church. Our commitment is to those who worship and those that are looking for answers to their questions. Everyone is welcome here, no matter where you are on your faith journey. For more information about Crowd Church visit: www.crowd.church. Subscribe to the Crowd Church podcast today. Language: en Genres: Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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When Trying Harder Isn't Working
Episode 150
Sunday, 11 January, 2026
Feeling like you're doing everything right and still going nowhere? You've got the skills, the experience, the morning routine that used to work - but lately it all feels like rowing through a storm at three in the morning.In this refreshingly honest conversation, Matt Edmundson shares about hitting that wall - the kind where your expertise runs out and your usual strategies stop delivering. Through one of the most dramatic stories in the Gospels, we explore what happens when trying harder simply isn't the answer anymore, and why that might actually be the beginning of something better.Matt doesn't sugarcoat his own experience: struggling to get out of bed, Bible reading that felt like reading Chinese, workouts at six out of ten intensity. But through Peter's impossible request to walk on water, we discover why exhausting our competence can open us to something beyond it.[02:19] The Nine-Hour StormProfessional fishermen - men who've worked the water since boyhood - find themselves completely stuck. They've been rowing for nine hours through a storm. The crossing should have taken four."These guys were professional fishermen...but right at this point, their expertise, their knowledge, their insider trading - all that sort of stuff is not making one little bit of difference."What we explore:Why expertise reaching its limit isn't failureThe project manager parallel - six months in, still slippingThat voice that whispers 'You should be able to handle this'Matt's honest experience of rowing through his own storm in 2025Key takeaway: Sometimes our competence has to run out before we're open to something beyond it.[13:15] Peter's Ridiculous RequestAt three in the morning, Jesus appears walking on water. The disciples think it's a ghost. And Peter, exhausted and bleeding, asks the most ridiculous question imaginable: Can I come out there with you?"The boat was safety, absolutely. But the boat was also the limitation. The boat was keeping him alive, but the boat was also keeping him stuck."What we discover:Peter wasn't asking for the storm to stopHe was asking to be with Jesus in the miraculousWhy his failure in faith put him further ahead than the others' success in self-relianceThe moment heart recognises truth before the mind has evidenceKey takeaway: When you've exhausted your competence, you finally get to a place where you're open to something beyond it.[22:29] Jesus Gets in the BoatJesus doesn't teleport them to the other side. He doesn't drag them with a rope. He climbs into the boat - the very boat that had become their prison."Sometimes God's grace when he gets in the mess with you doesn't mean you stop working. Peter had to pick up that oar again. But somehow it probably didn't feel like defeat anymore."What this means:They still had to row to shore - but now Jesus was with themThe difference between pointless exhaustion and purposeful struggleHow presence lifts the shame enough to finally talk to othersGrace adds his ability to yours - same work, but not aloneKey takeaway: Grace doesn't make you stop rowing. But it means you're rowing towards something, not in circles.[28:16] Conversation Street Highlights"I saw myself in that boat"Jan shared how vividly Matt's description landed - cold, wet, and miserable. But she admitted: "I don't think I would ever have been the person to say, 'Can I come out?' I'd have been watching. And that makes me feel sad." How many times have we watched others in awe, thinking: why didn't I do it?This was their area of expertiseDan highlighted something...
