Growing Closer to God with Guided Meditation
Welcome to the new season of the podcast, now titled "Growing Closer to God with Guided Meditation"!
Join your host, Pastor Robert Young, as we embark on a journey of spiritual exploration and renewal. This podcast is designed to help you deepen your faith and find inner peace through calming, reflective, and transformative meditative practices inspired by scripture.
Our Evolution
While the podcast, formerly known as Not Your Parent's Religion, focused in Seasons 1 and 2 on correcting misinformation and myths about religious beliefs and the teaching of Jesus Christ, the program has evolved. In Season 3, we began drawing closer to God with guided meditations, exploring all the details of why and how to meditate, and discussing the Biblical origins of Christian meditations.
With over 30 years of experience in Church planting and mentoring other Pastors, and 30+ years of training leaders in evangelism/discipleship, Pastor Young is here to guide you through these moments of stillness and connection with God.
What to Expect in Season 4
We are excited to return with Season 4 starting Sunday, October 5. We will continue to offer a structured weekly schedule:
- Sundays: Our weekly guided meditation episode.
- Monday through Friday: Daily devotions and reflections that expand on the topic of the Sunday meditations.
- Wednesdays: Audio episodes of our House Church series. This series reflects the Bible's teaching that believers should gather together for corporate worship, fellowship, encouragement, and even admonishment.
For those seeking an enhanced experience, we are adding video versions of the meditations and devotions to our Patreon page. These videos are designed to give you a more immersive experience as you meditate on the Father, His teachings, and His presence.
Tune in each week as we lead you on this path to connecting more deeply with God.
Growing Closer to God with Guided Meditation
Daily Devotion: Stillness of the Holy Night | Monday
A night watch becomes a turning point when an angel breaks the silence with a charge to fear not and a promise of great joy for all people. We open Luke 2:10–20 and walk the path from announcement to encounter, watching shepherds move from hearing to going, from seeing to sharing. Their story is a map for anyone who longs for peace that holds in the dark and courage that outlives a single moment of wonder.
We linger with the sign that God chooses: not a palace, but a child wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. That detail reframes how we look for glory in our ordinary places—work shifts, family rooms, quiet corners where worry whispers. The heavenly host ties heaven’s praise to earth’s peace and shows that goodwill is not just a feeling but God’s posture toward a weary world. Alongside the shepherds’ haste, Mary’s holy stillness teaches another way of faith: to keep and ponder, to treasure what we do not yet fully understand, and to let mystery do its patient work.
By the time the shepherds head back, their fields have not changed, but they have. They return glorifying and praising God, carrying good news into the same routines with a different spirit. We ask the question that frames the whole reading: what does the birth of Christ mean in your life—your fears, your choices, your relationships, your work? Join us as we seek a faith that moves, sings, and reflects. If this reflection stirred you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find the message.
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Today's scripture is coming from the book of Luke, chapter two, verses ten through twenty. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven. The shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. Our question for reflection What does the birth of Christ mean in your life?