God Shows Up In Our Stories, Especially at Christmas: Danica McKellar & Matt Rawle
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2022
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Whether you’ve been a Christian your whole life because you were raised in the faith, or you’re just curious about what Christianity is all about, there are many ways we can come to know God, sometimes when we’re not even looking for Him. In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah tells us in Romans 10:20 that “[God] is found by those who did not seek [Him], [He] became manifest to those who did not ask for [Him].” As we all enjoy our favorite stories of Christmas this year, and as Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, everyone can pause and reflect on the ways God might show up in our lives and look forward to new ways we might uncover His goodness in the coming year as well.
Actress Danica McKellar always felt a tug at her heart that there was something out there she hadn’t quite uncovered yet. Not long ago, when her friend and fellow actress Candace Cameron Bure sent her a Bible, the switch flipped and she came to the realization that it had been God tugging at her heart all along. Now, she’s embarked on a new-found journey of faith and is eagerly anticipating this Christmas season with a new lease on life. Author and pastor Matt Rawle loves digging deep into our culture to find traces of God in places we’d least expect. He’s uncovered themes in beloved Christmas classics like The Grinch and has found joy and a new understanding of God and the way He presents Himself in the world.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Past interview: Mark Lowry
Upcoming interview: Harris Faulkner
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Asbury United Methodist Church
The Heart That Grew Three Sizes
Interview Quotes:
“Jesus is something that I wanted my whole life, or had my whole life and just didn't realize it.” - Danica Mckellar
“Of utmost importance is not the religion, it's the relationship. And that is precious to me. And it's a journey of discovery.” - Danica McKellar
“I can let go and let God. I can find that peace that surpasses understanding, because I know it doesn't matter what's going on in this world now that I have this connection to True Peace." - Danica McKellar
"You know that childhood joy when you see how excited they are for Christmas? This year there's a whole new layer for me. It's the actual meaning behind the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ." - Danica McKellar
“We don't always use culture beneficially, but culture in and of itself certainly isn't bad, but it can, I think, powerfully communicate to us who God is." - Matt Rawle
“If we believe The Incarnation [of God in the form of Jesus] to be true, then culture is a vehicle through which we can discern God…Scripture says that God created all things through Christ and God was pleased to reconcile all things through Christ. Therefore, there is a hint of God in everything.” - Matt Rawle
“Jesus taught using pop cultural references of the time. Of course, we're 2,000 years removed from that, so they don't seem to be so popular in terms of pop culture today. But in Jesus's time, they absolutely were.” - Matt Rawle
“Christmas in particular is a great time to explore that intersection between culture and our shared lives together in spreading the gospel.” - Matt Rawle
________________________
Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This holiday season, give a present to your loved ones that has lasting impact on their |
| 0:03.9 | spiritual lives. |
| 0:05.0 | The Jesus Listen's gift set. |
| 0:07.0 | This one-of-a-kind purchase includes a hardcover version of Jesus Listen's, a spiral-bound |
| 0:12.4 | journal, 30 prayer cards, a magnetic note pad, a matching scripture pen, a set of ten |
| 0:18.4 | note cards and a matching gift bag. |
| 0:20.9 | Make gift-giving easy this year, or today from Christianbook.com. |
| 0:28.3 | I'm on this path now and I'm studying the Bible and I'm going to church and I'm just |
| 0:33.7 | basking in all of the discoveries in this. |
| 0:37.1 | But when it comes down to it, it's really about the relationship with Jesus and the relationship |
| 0:41.6 | with God and the Holy Spirit and the beautiful, beautiful gift that that has been giving |
| 0:46.3 | me that I'm just so grateful for. |
| 0:49.1 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast, whether you've been a Christian your whole life because |
| 0:53.0 | you were raised in the faith or if you're just curious about what Christianity is all |
| 0:56.7 | about. |
| 0:57.8 | In many ways we can come to know God sometimes when we're not even looking for him. |
| 1:01.8 | In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah tells us in Romans 10-20 that God is found by those who |
| 1:06.7 | did not seek him. |
| 1:08.0 | He became manifest to those who did not ask for him. |
| 1:11.4 | As we all enjoy our favorite stories of Christmas this year and as Christians celebrate the |
| 1:15.6 | birth of Christ, everyone can pause and reflect on the ways God might show up in our lives |
| 1:20.6 | and look forward to new ways we might uncover his goodness in the coming year as well. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jesus Calling, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jesus Calling and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.