Episodes

On September 23, 1857, Jeremiah Lanphier climbed the stairs to a room in lower Manhattan and prepared for a noon prayer meeting. He had printed invitations, posted a sign, and made the room ready. At noon, no one came. For thirty minutes, Lanphier prayed alone. Then one man arrived. By the end of the hour, there were six. The next week there were twenty, then forty, and soon the meetings became daily. What began in an almost empty room grew into the Prayer Meeting Revival of 1857–58, spreadin...

Beneath the Shepherd’s Care From green pastures to deep valleys, from overflowing tables to the darkest shadows, Psalm 23 reminds us that the one constant in every landscape of life is the presence of the Shepherd. This original song grew out of the Scattered Moments Psalms Reflection on Psalm 23. It is a meditation on what it means to be held, provided for, protected, pursued by goodness and grace, and led by Someone who already knows the way home. There are seasons when we clearly recognize...

On September 22, 1776, twenty-one-year-old Nathan Hale was executed by the British as an American spy. Tradition remembers his final words as a declaration that he regretted having only one life to give for his country. More than a century later, missionary C. T. Studd would write another unforgettable line about the brevity of life: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” In this episode of Moments Almanac, we look beyond the question of what we would be w...

Psalm 23 — The Scenery Changes. The Shepherd Doesn’t. Few passages of Scripture are more familiar than Psalm 23. Its words have followed generations of believers through hospital rooms, gravesides, seasons of uncertainty, and quiet moments of worship. But familiarity can sometimes cause us to miss just how much is happening in these six verses. Psalm 23 is not a stationary picture of a shepherd and his sheep. It is a journey. David moves from pasture to water, from path to valley, from valley...

On September 21, 1522, Martin Luther’s German New Testament—known as the September Testament—was published, placing the words of Scripture into the hands of ordinary people in language they could understand. Luther believed the Bible should not sound distant or academic, but like the language spoken in homes, marketplaces, workshops, and everyday life. His translation would help shape the German language and dramatically expand access to Scripture. But five centuries later, the challenge has c...

William J. Kirkpatrick gave the church some of its most beloved gospel music, including the melodies associated with “Jesus Saves,” “He Hideth My Soul,” and “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” But one of his most remarkable songs began with a burden for a young soloist who could sing the gospel beautifully—yet always left before the preaching began. Kirkpatrick prayed for him and wrote a song: “Lord, I’m Coming Home.” The young man sang it, stayed to hear the message, and according to the story,...

Ever notice how you search for one thing online and suddenly it follows you everywhere? Apparently, the internet isn’t the only thing that knows what gets our attention. In this episode of Scattered Moments, Matt explores what the Bible calls the flesh—that fallen part of us that remembers what brought pleasure, comfort, escape, or relief and keeps running the commercial: You deserve this. You need this. Just this once. You’ll feel better. Drawing from Romans 7–8 and Galatians 5, we’ll look ben...

Three generations. Three journeys. One calling. On September 19, 1853, twenty-one-year-old Hudson Taylor sailed from England for China. Decades later, Jonathan Goforth carried that same missionary burden deeper into the Chinese interior. And on September 19, 1955, Nate Saint flew over the Ecuadorian jungle searching for the Waorani people — a journey that would soon cost him his life. Their stories were separated by years, continents, and methods, but each was marked by the same simple realit...

Why Have You Forsaken Me? is a musical reflection inspired by Psalm 22—the Psalm that begins with an anguished question and ultimately moves toward hope. From David’s cry to Jesus’ words from the cross, this song explores those seasons when God seems distant, wounds remain, and answers refuse to come. Yet beneath every question remains a stubborn confession of faith: Still, You are my God. A song for the questions, the wounds, and the hope—and for anyone discovering that even in the darkest pl...

On September 18, 1905, Scottish minister, novelist, and fantasy writer George MacDonald died—never knowing how far his stories would travel. Years later, a young C. S. Lewis discovered MacDonald’s Phantastes and said it had “baptized my imagination.” That seed would eventually bear fruit in one of Christianity’s most influential writers. Today on Moments Almanac, we explore the remarkable legacy of a man whose pulpit may have disappeared—but perhaps only because it got larger. It’s a reminder t...

Psalm 22 — He Has Been Here Too “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” — Psalm 22:1 Few passages of Scripture bring human suffering and the suffering of Christ together as powerfully as Psalm 22. David begins with one of the most anguished prayers in the Bible. God seems distant. His cries appear unanswered. His enemies surround him. His strength is disappearing, and yet he continues to address the One who seems absent as “My God.” Centuries later, Jesus would take these words upon His o...

September 17, 1942. In wartime Romania, a Pentecostal believer named Voicu Rusin stood before a military court and faced a devastating choice: compromise his convictions and go free—or remain faithful and pay an almost unimaginable price. This episode of Moments Almanac tells the little-known story of an ordinary Christian whose quiet refusal became an extraordinary testimony. It’s a story about conscience, courage, and the moments when faithfulness comes down to one simple question: What are ...

A doghouse in South America. Some confused disciples. And one forgotten loaf of bread. Sometimes we can hear every word and still completely miss the point. In this Scattered Moments episode, a funny misunderstanding becomes a reminder to slow down, listen carefully, and let Scripture do more than pass through our minds. Maybe the Bible isn’t something we’re supposed to get through. Maybe it’s something God wants to get through us. Share Your Thoughts

September 16 — Joseph Samuel Murrow: He Stayed On September 16, 1857, twenty-two-year-old Joseph Samuel Murrow was ordained to the ministry. Soon after, he headed west to serve among Native peoples in Indian Territory—and what began as a missionary appointment became a lifetime of service. Murrow helped establish churches, train Native pastors, strengthen schools, care for orphans, and share the gospel across generations. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about his story is also the simpl...

On September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNair. The tragedy came on a Sunday when the church’s Youth Day carried an almost unbearable theme: “A Love That Forgives.” In this installment of Moments Almanac, we remember four lives, a nation confronted by the horror of racial hatred, and a difficult question that still reaches across the decades: What does forgiveness...

Psalm 21 — Come Back I’ve noticed something about my prayer life. I can be incredibly detailed when I need something from God. When there’s a problem, I can give the Lord a complete briefing. Background information. Supporting documentation. Possible outcomes. People involved. Deadlines. And, occasionally, a few suggestions about how He might want to handle the situation. “Lord, here’s what’s happening. Here’s what I need. Here’s when I need it. And while I certainly don’t want to tell You ho...

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” — Mark 9:24 Sometimes faith and doubt live closer together than we’d like to admit. In this episode of Scattered Moments, we meet a desperate father who brings his suffering son to Jesus—and brings something else with him: a faith battered by disappointment. His prayer is one of the most honest in Scripture: “I believe; help my unbelief.” What if faith isn’t having all the answers? What if it’s deciding where to lean when the answers don’t come? We’ll spen...

On September 14, two remarkable lives meet across more than thirteen centuries. John Chrysostom — the famed “Golden Mouth” of the early church — died in forced exile in 407 after years of preaching with unusual courage against corruption, luxury, and indifference toward the poor. His words could fill a cathedral, but they also unsettled powerful people because he refused to let the comfortable forget the suffering around them. On that same date in 1736, Robert Raikes was born in Gloucester, E...

Jesus had an unusual prescription for worry: Go look at the birds. Birds don’t have retirement accounts. They don’t check the stock market, worry about a shortage of worms, or gather in support groups to discuss their fear of squirrels and power lines. They don’t spend sleepless nights wondering whether their children will ever leave the nest. They don’t worry. They just bird. In this slightly humorous Scattered Moments episode, we wander through Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 and discover what bi...

On September 13, 1865, a young Welsh missionary named Robert Jermain Thomas reached the coast of Korea carrying Chinese-language Bibles into a country largely closed to the outside world. He could not have known how costly that calling would become—or how far the seeds he planted would travel. Today’s Moments Almanac is a story about courage, Scripture, and faithfulness when you may never live to see the harvest. Share Your Thoughts

On September 12, 1846, Elizabeth Barrett slipped away from her family home and married fellow poet Robert Browning in secret. Their unlikely love story crossed boundaries of family, temperament, health, and expectation—and became one of literature’s great romances. Today on Moments Almanac, we remember a love that found understanding where others saw only differences, and consider the remarkable power of being truly known—and loved anyway. Share Your Thoughts

On September 11, 2001, evil left a terrible mark. But it was not the only thing present that day. In this solemn Moments Almanac, we remember the loss—and the courage, compassion, sacrifice, and grace that appeared in the darkness. Share Your Thoughts

On this day in 1819, Joseph Scriven was born in Ireland — a man whose private grief would one day give the church one of its most beloved hymns. In this episode of Moments Almanac, we trace the quiet, sorrow-shaped life of a man who endured deep personal loss, served others with unusual humility, and discovered that friendship with Christ was not sentimental language for easy days, but solid ground for hard ones. Sometimes the songs the church sings most confidently were first written through te...

What happens when you reach the end of your strength? Paul knew that place. In 2 Corinthians 1, he describes being under pressure “far beyond our ability to endure”—so overwhelmed that he despaired of life itself. Yet it was there, at the end of his own resources, that Paul discovered a deeper dependence on “God, who raises the dead.” Years later, poet Annie Johnson Flint would express the same truth beautifully: when our endurance is exhausted and our own resources are gone, God’s supply has...