Daily Thunder Podcast

In Solomon’s introduction to the book of Proverbs, he gives three key purposes for the book but gives a central premise: the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge. In this study, Nathan explores Proverbs 1:1–7 and expounds upon wisdom, discipline, understanding, and how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (and what that even means). In short, the fear of God is the beginning (starting place) of an intimate relationship with Him!

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» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Nathan, Eric, Leslie, and the team at Ellersl...

The Wright Brother’s achieved flight on December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, NC. The problem was, no one believed them. It wasn’t until nine months later (September 20, 1904), back in Dayton, Ohio that the brothers were able to demonstrate to the world that their Kitty Hawk claims of 1903 were actually true. But, outside their intimate team, there was only one witness there at Huffman Prairie on that day to actually behold the amazing feat. His name was Amos Root. Root was known as The Bee Man of Ohio. The Wright Brothers entrusted this humble eccentric man with the privilege of maki...

In the Wright Brother’s story of flight, wind was an essential ingredient. First it was the natural winds of Kitty Hawk—they learned to master the gusting winds, gain lift, and soar. But, then, in 1904, they needed to figure out how to fly even when there wasn’t any wind. And this challenge proved to be an even greater problem. Like Wilbur and Orville, we, too, must learn to “fly” when the first winds fail. We must gain a second wind.

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» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and t...

In Psalm 34, David invites his listeners to learn the fear of Yahweh. But far more than an intellectual pursuit, David reminds us that to fear of the Lord, it demands that our lives come into alignment (conformed) with the God that we stand in awe and tremble before. In other words, to fear God means to have His righteousness, holiness, purity, and life demonstrated in and through our own. In this message, Nathan walks through Psalm 34, and encourages us to not only learn, but to experience and live the fear of Yahweh.

In this special Daily Thunder, Eric and Nathan reflect upon their current series and mention that we are currently taking a three week break from Daily Thunder. We jump back into Spiritual Lessons from the Wright Brothers and the Awful Fear of the Lord on September 10.

Huffman Prairie represents a significant chapter in the Wright Brother’s story, but a “Huffman Prairie” chapter is certainly not unique to them. It’s a chapter that each of us must pass through. And how we pass through it defines whether or not we fulfill our high calling and actually fly.

The Wright Brothers accomplished something on December 17, 1903 that changed the course of history. And yet, no one believed them. Their hometown of Dayton didn’t pull together a big parade to welcome the boys home from Kitty Hawk—no one was in a celebratory mood. In fact, one in every hundred Daytonians believed the brothers had actually accomplished what they said that they had accomplished. Moments like this are not uncommon in the landscape of the Christian experience. Often the very things we are laboring overtime to see accomplished in our life by the Holy Spirit are not understood, beli...

“Wow!” It’s a word that expresses astonishment or admiration or to excite someone greatly. Yet that state of awe and wonder should be how stand before God and His Word. In this study, we examine what it means to have “holy fear” (reverence marked by awe and a tremble) in light of awe, wonder, and living with a “wow” before who our God is and the authority of His Word. By examining Isaiah 40, we will behold and be led into worship of the Everlasting God—for He is worthy and worthy to be praised. Let’s us stand in awe of Him!

The Christian life is all about faith. But, what many Christians don’t realize is that it is not just the presence of faith that causes the Christian to triumph. It’s the testing of that faith; the proving of that faith as genuine that showcases the power of heavenly triumph. December 17, 1903 was a day of triumph. It was the first day of human controlled flight. And that triumph only lasted twelve short seconds. But those twelve seconds were the first twelve seconds of the trillion seconds of triumphant flight to follow. Often the first breakthrough in the living out...

When we think of the Wright Brothers, we think of two extraordinary men that pulled off an impossible feat all by their lonesome. And that is correct . . . sort of. There was actually a third person involved in this amazing accomplishment, but he is rarely ever discussed and, still to this day, is relatively unknown. His name was Charlie Taylor. It was Charlie that built the first plane engine. And without that miracle engine, human controlled flight simply would not have taken place. In the work of salvation, the Father and the Son get a good deal of our focus...

I’ve been defining the “fear of the Lord” as having reverence for God mixed with tremble and awe. Over the past few studies we’ve looked at the idea of “tremble” and defined “reverence,” but what does it mean to stand in awe of God? In this study, we explore the idea of wonder, what it means to be lost in the wonder and greatness of our God, and seven ways we can do so.

The Wright Brothers were not dashing, debonaire men. They were not highly educated nor were they confident with the lady folk. They were simple men. And the adjective used to describe them more than any other was “humility.” The other leading aeronautical geniuses at the time were highly financed, highly educated, and highly snooty. Samuel Langley, the director of the Smithsonian Institute had one goal: to beat the Wright Brothers. Langley had everything needed for success. He had loads of money, loads of intelligence, and loads of scientific helpers. But, the one thing he lacked was humility. And that cost...

The extraordinary work and discoveries of the Wright Brothers have changed the world over this past century. But one of their most understated achievements was the record they left behind them in both journal entries, drawings, and photography. Because of their record keeping, we are able to literally open a time capsule and smell the air they smelled and stick our toes in the sand that they traversed. Remembrance is a key function of the healthy Christian life. If we chronicled God’s working in our lives the way the Wright Brothers chronicled their discoveries, we would be Christian’s ri...

To live with a holy fear of God requires that we revere Him. But what is reverence and how do we live before God with a deep humility, respect, and honor? In this study, Nathan explores the biblical concept of reverence, what it means to “hallow” (keep and honor as holy) God’s name, and explains how taking God’s name in vain is far more than swearing. If you desire to grow deeper in your relationship and intimacy with Christ Jesus, then we as Christians must live with holy reverence before Him and His Word.

The Church today is missing its cowboy bravado—it’s willingness to hop on the back of a bucking bull and ride it. Instead there is a passivity, a reticence, and a self-preservation that is controlling the actions of a high percentage of believers today. Wilbur and Orville Wright had cowboy bravado, and, as a result, learned to ride the bucking Wind—something all the experts believed was an impossibility in their day. For the strength of heaven to return to the Church, the cowboy bravado must once again return, too.

Our ancient enemy, the devil, has been around for the past 6,000 years working over the people of this earth with his devious tactics, schemes, and assaults. But, though we can readily admit that he is really good at his evil craft, we must remember that Satan was not just defeated 2,000 years ago at the Cross, but his methods of malevolence have been completely exposed in and through the Word of God. The Apostle Paul says, “We are not ignorant of the enemy’s devices.” In this study of the Wright Brothers, the devil’s tactics are powerfully exposed along with an...

The mighty voice of the Lord is powerful and thunderous … and so is His voice through His Word. Too many in our modern day treat the Bible casually or passively, but as Christians, we must humble ourselves, bend our knee, and tremble beneath His Word. In this study, we discuss the mighty-authoritative voice of God’s Word, why we can believe and stand firm upon it, and what it means to tremble before His Word (with some help from Charles Spurgeon). Let us be the people to whom God intently gazes—people who are humble, contrite in spirit, and who tre...

The Apostle Paul submits a challenge to the psyche of every believer when he describes the idea of becoming a “fool for Christ’s sake.” After all, the reason we as believers “believe” in Christ in the first place is because such an action is deemed the wisest and most reasonable conclusion to the dilemma of Sin and Death. So, to choose wisdom only to become a “fool” in the world’s eyes poses a unique psychological hurdle to the young believer. But, the path of Christ’s Fool is the path of power, it’s the path of profound impact. Wil...

As humans we have a proclivity towards the easiest route, the most comfortable way. We will purposely avoid difficulty, pain, and suffering and steer clear of inconvenience. And in so doing we are missing out on the best life has to offer us. For it is through these various trials that we exponentially grow and strengthen. These difficulties are our best friends and they work to build in us the necessary character, strength, and fortitude to change the world. Wilbur and Orville embraced this philosophy, packed up their belongings, and headed out to Kitty Hawk, NC. And there, amidst...

The voice of our God is described as powerful, mighty, and thunderously loud. It is compared to the roar of a lion, the clap of thunder, and the sound of a waterfall. In short, the voice of the Lord produces a tremble within our lives. In this study, Nathan explores the different descriptions of God’s voice and what our proper response should be toward His voice should be as believers.

Too many of us live life from task to task, from paycheck to paycheck, and from duty to duty, instead of taking in the wonder, the beauty, and the awe of living? Wilbur and Orville Wright specialized in drinking in the beauty of God’s creation about them—they were avid bird-watchers. And in learning to lift their heads out of their tasks, paychecks, and mundane duties—they saw things that no one else saw and had ideas that no one else had ever had.

In 1899 there were two diametrically-opposed approaches to solving the mystery of flight. The most common and popular view involved the absence of wind—it was believed that a total calm was necessary for flight. And the second involved embracing the wind—believing a gust of wind to be a benefit and not a hindrance to flight. Interestingly enough, these same two approaches exist today in Christianity. The most common and popular view today is that suffering, challenge, difficulty, and inconvenience must be avoided at all cost for an effective Christian life to be lived. And, course, there is the oppo...

As we dive more into what it means to live with a holy fear, there are two key aspects we need to discuss: tremble and awe. In this message, Nathan talks about the importance of trembling before the Lord, what that means, and gives several biblical examples of people throughout Scripture who trembled. If we are going to properly understand the fear of God, this concept is absolutely crucial to not only understand, but begin to prayerfully live out.

God designed mighty oak trees to grow out of small acorns. The same is true in our lives. Our small decisions in life are the acorns that form the basis of our growth, our direction, and our trajectory. The Wright Brothers laid the foundation of their lives in humble, hidden, hard work in a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. This “acorn” grew up to be a mighty oak tree of impact in the world. God’s Kingdom pattern is just like this—take the little you have and invest it well—for if you are faithful with little, then God will e...

It’s an interesting question to ponder—would Wilbur Wright have been able to invent the airplane without the help of Orville? Of course, it can’t be proved, but most would say, “No. Wilbur could have never pulled off the feat on his own!” For the mystery of controlled flight to be solved, Wilbur needed Orville and Orville needed Wilbur. The same is true in our spiritual lives. God designed us to do big things—impossible things. But to accomplish these big and impossible things, we need Orvilles in our life—people that challenge us, test us, and speak frankly...

If we are going to properly understand the "Fear of Lord," we must discuss the difference between different kinds of fear. In this message, Nathan talks about four kinds of fear, how one of them can be good, two are always bad, and one (the Fear of the Lord) is commanded. The profound reality is that of the two main fears of God, one causes you to run from God whereas the other draws you to Him.

In 1886 Orville Wright died . . . sort of. We don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the simple fact that Orville invented (with his brother, Wilbur) the first operational airplane in 1903, it maybe goes without saying that his death in 1886 must have been short lived. But so are all the deaths that we have along the way in our Christian life. Like Orville’s death in 1886, God will bring us to our end so that He can work a wonderful new beginning in us. This is what happened in Orville’s life. And this is what will certainly happen in our...

At the conclusion of the 19th century it was determined by the intellectual elite that human controlled flight would NEVER happen. In fact, it was officially declared to be “impossible.” Such was the challenging soil in which the Wright Brother’s miracle discovery of “human controlled flight” was fostered. Whereas, most human’s dream, dream, and dream only to ultimately succumb, and forsake their dreams, due to the counsel of the wise teachers of their age that declare their dreams to be inconceivable—there are a few men and women in history that haven’t stopped dreaming, even when the pressure to...

Very few men in history have impacted the course of history as did Wilbur and Orville Wright from Dayton, Ohio. They were every day men—simple men—but men with a childlike confidence that they could pull off an impossible task. There is a spark in every child—a spark that shouts, “Do something amazing!” But in 99.9% of children, that spark is dowsed by the cynical adults surrounding them. This is a message that invites each and every one of us to return to the age of six and start dreaming big again. 

As we begin our new series on the awful (awe-filled) fear of the Lord, we examine the “why” behind the series, our misunderstanding of the fear of God, and why it is so important for Christians to have a proper fear of the Lord in our lives. Nathan also gives a broad overview of the word “awful” and why he chose to include in the series title. In short, this session lays a foundation for the entire series and calls us all to take a step forward into the wonder of who our God is. 

In this special episode, Eric and Nathan talk about the previous season of Daily Thunder series and the two new series starting mid-June. And Eric gives a special sneak-peak at a new content series and format that is releasing this summer. As a reminder, we are taking two weeks off between now and the start of the new season of Daily Thunder.

We all wish we could travel back in time and give some advice to our younger selves. In this message, that is exactly what Eric and Leslie do. Mining the gold nuggets from their first thirty years of marriage, they share the stuff they wish they had known when they were first starting out in marriage and ministry.

There are two distinct kingdoms—the Kingdom of God (Light) and the Kingdom of Darkness. As Christians we have been purchased and rescued from the Kingdom of Darkness and now are citizens and ambassadors of the Kingdom of Light. In this study, Nathan discusses three key contrasts between the two kingdoms and how we are not to participate in the deeds of darkness, even though we are called to proclaim light and truth amidst this dark world.

The previous president's "autopen" is under scrutiny—executive orders singed by someone other than the president. In a similar manner, in our lives, our relationship with Sin is kind of like handing over the autopen our our lives to a maniac. A whole bunch of binding decisions are made and all the while you are kind of stupefied how they happened. But when Christ is entrusted the Pen of our lives, suddenly our life begins to work. In this discussion, Eric and Nathan talk about the contrast between the power of Sin and the power of the Spirit in ou...

There are two ways to do ministry. You can either do in it your own strength or in God’s strength. Most of us theologically know that the “God strength” option is the superior way, but that doesn’t mean we know how to employ it. It’s not unusual for young Christians to explode out from the starting blocks in a full-on sprint only to run out of steam 100 yards down the track, because they were looking to run the great race in their own human strength. But as Eric and Leslie share in this episode, learning how to work ou...

Paul makes a grand statement in Ephesians 5:8–10 that while we were once of the darkness, now we are light in Christ Jesus, the Light Himself. And as children of the light, we bear the fruit of His life (namely goodness, righteousness, and truth). Then Paul says that we are to discover what is pleasing to the Lord. In this study, we examine what it means to discern and test things to see if they are pleasing to the Lord, two ways our lives are proven as pleasing, and how we are to live in this incredible new reality.

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Christians are called people of the light—we have been transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness and brought into the Kingdom of Light, where Jesus Himself is the Light. And as people of the light, we bear fruit in accordance with the Light—specifically goodness, righteousness, and truth. In this study of Ephesians 5:9, we talk about what it means to live in the light and bear the fruit of the light in every area of our lives.

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» Take these studies deeper and be discipled in person by Nathan, Eric, Leslie, and the team at Ellersl...

Congress is presently attempting to pack a lot into one big beautiful bill and get it on the President’s desk for a signature. It would be a bill that cuts taxes, funds military strength, builds a strong border, kicks out the dangers in our country. All this in one bill. The work of the Cross was "One Big Beautiful Work." It accomplished everything needed for life and godliness in ONE singular action of ONE singular Man. In this discussion, Eric and Nathan talk about how amazing the cross is, how Jesus accomplished far more than merely forgiveness, and wh...

To some it might seem a risky thing to teach your children to start praying impossible prayers—prayers that could only be answered by an All-powerful God. After all, what if God chooses to not respond? What if your kids are left dangling in their young faith because God fails to show up? Of course, those that have walked the triumphant heavenly path of faith lined with the golden bricks of divine faithfulness know that God ALWAYS responds to prayers of genuine faith, especially those that are God-sized and wholly impossible.