MID WEEK MOTIVATION - April 29, 2026 (Grant Stegall)

You're listening to the Midweek Motivation Podcast from DeSoto Hills Baptist Church in Subhaven, Mississippi.

Here's your host, Mark Lewis, David Burgess, Laura Bullrich, and Pastor Grant Steagall.

Welcome to the Midweek Motivation Podcast for Wednesday, April the 29th, here at DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

I'm Mark Lewis sitting here with Grant Steagall.

We hope this programming can encourage folks throughout DeSoto County and beyond.

Be sure to subscribe and share our link on social media.

This is our last uh episode podcast for this particular season.

Now, of course, we will continue to do Sunday morning podcasts each and every week throughout the summer, but our midweek motivations run with the school year, and the school year is closing down really, really fast, Grant.

It is almost here.

Actually, we um I mean today my kids took finals.

Right.

Crazy, crazy.

And then Eli's Eli's finals, like college finals, for Mississippi College, they start uh Friday.

Right.

Yeah, so it's it's done the sixth.

Uh we counted down seniors have let's see, about five days, I think, in DeSoto County left because they get out way earlier, you know, five or six days, something crazy like that.

I can't remember exactly what the count was.

And uh so it's it's insane.

Seniors are will be out within the next week or two.

Um we've got our graduate service this Sunday.

Yep.

Uh here at church, and then the rest of the schools will be out right behind them.

I mean, we're talking another week or two, a couple of weeks, and then school kids will be out.

Graduation ceremonies are within a week or two, and it's just absolutely insane.

We have lots of stuff going on here at DeSota Hills, too.

Why don't you talk us through the calendar for me?

Lots of stuff going on.

Well, tonight, um, this Wednesday night, we took the Wednesday night off, and people have gotten tons of questions.

Why are we not meeting this Wednesday?

It's really just kind of a reset for us.

It um last week we finished our spring semester, and next week we start our summer semester.

So to just kind of take a break, take a breather, uh, in between those, um, we just because what you have to realize is there's lots of people here behind the scenes working who are not fixing to get ready to take a break for summer because we work through summer.

Right.

So they get tonight.

Yeah.

So uh we took the night off just to just so we can have a reset.

So next Wednesday night we start our uh summer Wednesday night schedule that's a little bit shorter uh time-wise, but not much.

I mean, during the year where we're in six to seven fifteen, we're going six to seven uh in the summer.

Um, you know, still programming for all age groups.

Now it may look a little bit differently.

Correct.

Um, we'll take advantage of some weather and be outside some and do some different things, but we're still gonna have Bible study, kids are still gonna be learning about the Bible, students are gonna be learning about the Bible, about God's Word, having things there, uh, preschool the same way, and then we will have adult classes.

Um I'll be teaching my class, continuing as we my class through this spring, and we'll just kind of continue that is looking at the Bible recap that we're reading through, uh having discussion questions through that.

There's a men's study.

Uh they are doing, they call it sermon recap, but they take the sermon um from the Sunday before and have some discussion questions about that, and then they discuss the the sermon just to kind of go deeper and talk about how to apply that to their lives.

Uh so the men's uh are men's are there's a men's class doing that.

Uh Katie Downs is teaching a women's study uh as well, and so we do have some some of programming for adults too.

So that should be good still, and everybody's favorite part, we still have meals.

Meals would be from 4 30 to 5 30.

So um it'll look very much the same in the summer, just maybe not as many classes and not as long, uh, but we'll still be having all of that uh during the summer.

We did that last summer for the first time, and um, it went well.

Um, enjoyed it, and so we're we're doing that again this year.

And remember that your kids are not getting to socialize and hang out with friends at schools.

Right.

So this is a really great opportunity to give them a chance for an hour in the middle of the week to come and hang out with friends and socialize as well.

So, yeah, and so that's good.

Um then on May the 17th, a lot a lot of things happening.

First of all, that'll be uh Hunter Smith's uh first um Sunday.

He's starting on May the 17th.

Uh so excited about Hunter uh being here, been doing things just to get him ready to go.

And so uh we're we want him to be ready when he gets here to rock and roll.

And so Hunter will be here on the 17th.

That is also um a night of worship.

We'll have night of worship on May the 17th with a short business meeting to follow.

So uh be sure and and plan for that.

What we got coming worship-wise that night?

Um, it is going to be I don't want to scare people off.

It's not well, it's not acoustic or country.

It is a little bit more contemporary, but we will have Alan on the B3.

And if you've not if you've not come on a worship night to see Alan play the B3, I mean I hate to say it's worth coming just to see a person play an instrument, but Alan eats the B3 alive.

So it's gonna be it's gonna be really good.

And we got some classic older, older tunes that night, which I'm looking forward to.

So good.

Uh and then uh on Wednesday night the 27th, this is our big summer event.

Time change on this, day change on this.

So look, just be aware.

Uh salute to summer.

Uh, we usually do that down in June.

Uh, but it's been so hot the past years, people have not been able to enjoy it.

It's been blistering.

Yes.

Um, and so we're moving that earlier, May the 27th.

We're also moving it to a Wednesday night as opposed to a Sunday and starting a little bit later.

Like we're starting at 5 30.

Usually starts early, I think around 5, maybe only 30 minutes, but that 30 minutes can make a difference, especially in May.

Right.

Um, and so um we'll do 5:30 to 7:30.

But that event is gonna look like it would in June.

We've got uh water slides.

I ordered the water slides, uh, Side Street Steppers is coming to be our entertainment uh that Wednesday night.

Uh we'll have barbecue nachos and hot dogs and ice cream and so the stuff that that you love about Salute to Summer.

We're we're having that.

We're just doing it on a Wednesday night in May as opposed to a Sunday afternoon in June when it's scorching hot.

So I love it.

Uh excited about that.

Um so that that'll be big.

And then uh the next week after that, we won't go much after that, but the next week after that is Bible school.

So mark your calendars, um, sign-ups if they're not already out.

Uh Laura's gonna have them out real soon.

They're gonna be out.

Um she said the first of May, so that would be this Sunday.

Yeah.

So um be ready to to sign up for Bible school to help us out there.

Uh always need lots of help uh with Bible school.

So um, yeah, so lots lots going on, but it's good, it's exciting.

Summers here.

Um, so let's let's get in it.

Yeah, let me ask you real quick, what uh what's something you're looking forward to this summer?

Not church.

What's something Grant Steegall is looking forward to on the homestead this summer?

Um, well, you say not church, but this is a fun thing for me, although it's kind of a church adjacent.

It's the Southern Baptist Convention, um Which happens to be in Orlando.

It does.

America's Playground, which is a great city to visit.

It is lots to do.

It is.

Although, like when you go to the Southern Baptist Convention, if you really go and attend, and Amber and I we Oh it's all it's it's all day.

I mean, you know, the pastor's conference is on Monday, that's an all-day event.

Um the Mississippi Baptists will have a fellowship on Monday night that we'll try to go to.

Tuesday, it's I mean, there's three sessions on Tuesday, so it's an all-day event.

And then Wednesday is Wednesday morning and Wednesday afternoon.

Um, so if if you if you do anything, you really kind of have to stay an extra day and do it on Thursday, which you just have one day.

This is a good forum.

This is a perfect forum for this because we never talk about this in depth.

But for those listening who may not know at all what goes on, the pastor's conference is the first day.

But when when you see all of the decision making and all that type stuff, the voting and all that stuff happen, is it just sprinkled throughout different presentations and and uh speakers?

Like how does it work?

Give people a sense of how the thing is broken up and how the programming works.

Yeah, it it it is.

You have so Southern Methodist Convention, um, I mean, it is it's different from any other denomination, although we wouldn't consider ourselves a denomination, we're a convention.

Um, but it is a it is a bottom-up led.

And so So explain that.

So while a lot of denominations they have like a a a board.

A board that's in charge, or sometimes a like the Catholic Church has the Pope, and then you have bishops and you go down from there.

You you kind of have the same thing in a lot of other denominations.

In the Southern Baptist, you don't like you do have the executive committee that kind of runs things throughout the year, um, but they really have to answer to the Southern to the convention that meets once a year.

And so you have a time and in the Southern Baptist too, you have entities that work, such as the we have six seminaries, uh, and they will all present a report of what's going on at their seminary.

Then you have entities such as the North American Mission Board, the International Mission Board.

So you'll hear presentations from everybody.

The Ethics and Rig Religious Liberties Commission, um, life way guidestone.

Like you you hear presentations from all of the and usually those are timed, those are you know, 10-15 minutes, they have to do that.

Are they multimedia these days?

Do they show videos?

They do, yeah, yeah.

So it holds your attention.

It's not just some guy standing up there in a monotone voice.

No, yes, right.

They do.

Um, you'll also hear um a presentation from uh the the chairperson of the executive committee who is Dr.

Jeff Orge.

Um he will he will make a couple of presentations, probably.

One will just kind of be this is what we did last year, the other will be this is what we're looking to do this year.

There will be a budget presentation where we'll vote on the budget.

Um and then you you do have times for resolutions uh where you people have submitted resolutions to to make, and then you have a resolutions committee that'll work through those, bring those, but every resolution that is brought up, because we are a bottom-up organization, every resolution from the floor can be amended or spoken to.

Oh, so time could go on forever.

Yeah, and and those are usually time, like you, like you have this much time to make your amendments or whatever.

So that's why they got mics sprinkled throughout the thing.

Yes.

And then you have I mean you every entity that presents, people have opportunities to question the presenter.

Does it happen?

Yes.

Every time.

Every time.

And some of them you're going, great question.

Some of them you think, why are we talking about this?

But again, it it speaks to the nature of the convention of we want the it is a congregation-led.

It's it's hard to hide anything in that type of structure.

It is, it is.

Which is why we land in the news sometimes because it's all out there.

And then there's also so you have resolutions, but you'll have amendments to our constitution and bylaws that um people will usually amendments have to be presented ahead of time.

Um, but then from the floor, every amendment that's made can be amended more.

You can make amendments to the amendment, uh, and it never fails.

Somebody and it sometimes it's just can we change that um we today?

Or I mean like, you know, just it's just a small little little thing like that.

Um, but um, you know, it's and those things are interesting, like they're they are interesting.

Sometimes you can be like, what, why are we doing this?

But they are interesting.

And then I mean, uh, you also just I what I love the most about it, while I enjoy those things, yeah, I see people that I see once a year at that convention.

And uh so it's just a great opportunity to catch up with people and and you see people that you know that aren't in Mississippi.

I have friends other places and and know people at other places, and one the one place that you kind of all go is the is the Southern Baptist Convention.

So a lot of Mississippi boys go over there?

Yeah, yeah, there's a lot, a lot of a lot of Mississippi folks.

Like I said, they're Monday night, they typically have a um Mississippi Baptist Fellowship, so it's an opportunity there for all the Mississippi guys to get together and see each other.

But um is that normally on the grounds of wherever the convention's at?

Mm-hmm.

Or or real close.

Everything's usually typically like you get a convention center that has a ton of rooms, breakouts, and all that kind of stuff.

Yeah.

And so and if it does, if the convention center doesn't, it's attached to a hotel like Indianapolis when it was in Indian in Indianapolis.

The convention center in Indianapolis is connected around by hotels and you get there by crosswalks to the convention.

And so the Mississippi Baptist Fellowship was in one of the hotels that you just walked across the crosswalk to get to.

Um so it yeah, I I enjoy that.

It's a lot of fun.

Um that's in I know that's church adjacent, right?

But it's still it's it's a lot of fun too.

Okay.

So but yeah, it just it's a it's a tons of stuff going on, and I'll make a report in our last year I did that in our July business meeting.

Which I believe that's the very end of July.

It's the very end of last Sunday July.

Um I made a report from the convention.

I'll probably do that again uh this year.

Um so um, yeah, there's some interesting things that go on, and it's just I feel like if we're gonna be Southern Baptists, let's let's be Southern Baptist and know what's going on and know the um challenges that face us, but know the good things at what as well.

Like there's a lot of good things.

One one one of the most awesome things in the convention is we have a commissioning ceremony for international missionaries.

So missionaries that are being they they have a training that they go through as well.

Much like the BSU has for their summer missions in Mississippi.

And then at the end of the training, those those f people who are about to leave to go do international missions, they're they're at the convention.

And so they'll come up like one by one and say, I'm this is Joe and Jill, and we're going to wherever to work with this people group.

And sometimes, sometimes, and in that security risk.

Well, they they will have them, but they will have a s uh like a screen, so they're standing behind the screen.

So you can't see.

You can't see them, you can just see their shadows, and they won't give full names and don't give necessarily exactly where they're going.

That's crazy.

Uh, but uh yeah, it's it's it's pretty neat.

Pretty neat.

Awesome, man.

All right.

Well, that's right after VBS, by the way.

Right, the week after the week after VBS.

Which which is good to say, like that Sunday morning after VBS, uh Brother James is preaching.

Awesome.

So he's coming to to do that service.

So that will be um right the that's I mean, this I think that's the second Sunday in June, actually, maybe.

Because the first week is right before VBS starts.

That's right.

The first Sunday of June is I mean, is June first.

June 1st, I believe.

Let me look at my sorry, we're we're uh No, Monday is June the first.

So it'll actually be the first Sunday in June is when the seventh.

Yeah, we'll leave that afternoon to go to the convention.

And um I'll actually be out of town that week and then I think Dave is going to the convention as well.

But uh we'll be around Sunday and then we'll all be hitting the road.

When when you said Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, when's the convention over?

It's over Wednesday.

Okay, so it's just like the Baptist one, it runs three days.

So awesome.

We'll be uh definitely praying for that.

Hey, we're gonna transition to our midweek moments segment.

Excuse me.

Sorry about that, folks.

So this week um we are going to I I wanted to do something a little bit different and look at our theme verse uh for our church.

I talk about it uh at least every year during um our November business meeting, but it's something I want to start putting out there more and more.

So our theme verse for for the Sota Hills, the kind of what we're working off right now is is from Acts chapter one, verse eight.

And it says this, you hear me say it almost every Sunday, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria until the end of the earth.

And so our goal for us is to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and be witnesses, and what we say is witnesses of the kingdom of God.

The reason we say that is back in Acts chapter 1, verse 3, it says, Jesus presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking to them about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:3

So what Jesus did from the time of the resurrection to the forty days that he ascended, what he did was speak to them about the kingdom of God.

And if we're going to be witnesses of him, let's speak about the things that he spoke about.

So we want to be witnesses to the kingdom of God, what that looks like in our lives, who that is in our lives, and how that that looks in our lives.

And so you hear me say it almost every week in Acts, challenging us to be witnesses to the kingdom of God.

Um, and so let's break that down just real quickly, what that means.

A witness is, I mean, don't don't don't make it anything big.

Think courtroom setting, right?

So when if you're called to a courtroom, I've never been to court, I've never had to do this, but I've seen enough court shows that I know what it is, right?

So a witness is someone who has who has information and they are brought in and they are questioned to tell what they have seen, to tell what they have known.

If you're a character witness, you tell about the person who you tell about the character of that person.

If you're an eyewitness, you tell about what you've seen.

If you are an expert witness, you come and tell about what you know about a certain topic.

So to say we're witnesses of the kingdom of God, all we're doing, all I'm asking, all we want to do as a church is tell about the things that we know about the kingdom of God.

One, that Jesus lives in our hearts and he rules and reigns.

He is king and lord of our lives.

So we tell how he became the king of our lives, how he rules in our lives.

How even sometimes that is telling how we fail as people who live in the kingdom and how we mess up, but how we find forgiveness and repentance.

I mean, we don't have to be perfect to live in the kingdom of God.

We just need to live there and seek forgiveness and repent when we fail, but we also receive the blessings of just living in that kingdom.

And so in Acts chapter 2, verse 42, what we see in that chapter is Peter has just preached this awesome message.

Acts 2:42

Many people have come to know Christ.

And what in verse 42 it tells it says this and they that's talking about the believers who have who've trusted Christ and believed in him, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

And so what we want to do here in bearing being witnesses of the kingdom of God and looking at how the the first church do did that, is first of all, we want to devote ourselves to scripture.

That's why we challenge you to do things like read through the Bible together in the Bible recap.

That's why this year we're we're really we have a staff meeting this summer, and we're really going to talk about what are things that we can do in each of our respective ministries to encourage people to be devoted.

It's I know it says the apostles' teaching here, but that's scripture.

That's what we have is the apostles' teaching.

So, how can we devote ourselves more and more to that?

And then devote ourselves to the fellowship.

Uh, that is to each other, and we can devote ourselves to each other through serving each other, through supporting each other, through sharing with each other, and through equipping each other.

And so we Are we going to start begin to focus on how we can be witnesses to the kingdom of God through scripture and through fellowship?

And so I challenge you as church members, I challenge us as church leaders.

I'm going to challenge us, challenge us all to let's be witnesses of the kingdom of God by devoting ourselves to scripture and to each other.

Man, Grant, what a great way to end this season.

Thanks for listening.

If you don't have a church home, we'd love to see you here on Sunday mornings.

You can catch our services online at DeSotaHills.com, our YouTube channel at DeSota Hills Baptist Church.

For all of our church family, we love you so much, and we cannot wait to see you back here on the podcast in the fall.

In the meantime, we hope to see you here at church.

God bless.

This has been your midweek motivation.

We'd love to have you join us in person on Sunday mornings.

Our services are at 9 and 10 30 a.m.