The Journey Church Houston Podcast

What does it really mean to be blessed?
In this episode, Pastor Steven Hiller unpacks a complicated and often-overlooked section of Jacob’s story in Genesis, one full of striving, scheming, and spiritual confusion. Laban treats God like a vending machine. Jacob thinks clever strategies will secure his future. And yet, through it all, God is faithfully at work.
This message challenges us to re-evaluate the foundation of our faith. Is God just a means to get what we want, or is He the blessing Himself?
With insight from The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, we explore what it means to reject the heavy, fleeting blessings of the world and receive the real thing: life with God in His eternal Kingdom.
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📍 Join us Sundays at 10:30 AM1703 Heights Blvd, Houston, TX 77008

The Sons of Jacob: Born of Envy, Strife, and LongingGenesis 29:31–30:24 | The Journey Church Houston
What do envy, rivalry, and the longing to be loved have to do with the gospel?
In this episode, Pastor Mace Perez helps us explore one of the messiest family stories in the Bible: Leah and Rachel competing for love, bearing children through schemes, and hoping each time, “Maybe now he will love me.” It's raw. It's emotional. And it’s incredibly relatable.
This passage shows us what happens when our deepest ache—to be seen, valued, and loved—leads us to strive and control rather than trust. But it also reveals something beautiful: God’s grace works in and through the mess. The story of Jacob’s sons isn’t just the origin of the 12 tribes of Israel, it’s part of Jesus’ story. And it invites us to stop striving for love that’s already been offered to us in Christ.
If you’ve ever tried to earn approval, measure up, or control outcomes to feel worthy, this is for you.
🕊️ Key themes:
The ache to be loved and the drive to earn it
How God’s grace meets us in our striving
Why the gospel frees us from performance
The surprising beauty in a broken origin story
📌 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who’s wrestling with identity, purpose, or feeling “enough.”
💬 We’d love to connect!Join us Sundays at 10:30 AM📍 1703 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008
More info: www.thejourneyhouston.org

Jacob: The Deceiver Deceived, Yet RedeemedGenesis 29:1–30
What do you do when the consequences of your own actions come full circle? In this episode, we look at how Jacob—the deceiver—is himself deceived, and yet how God's providence turns even painful justice into redemptive grace.
You'll hear:
Why “you reap what you sow” is both true and not the end of the story
How God’s discipline differs from punishment
What Jacob, Edmund from Narnia, and we all have in common—and how Jesus meets us there
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🕊️ Join us in person:Sundays at 10:30 AM📍 1703 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008🌐 Learn more at thejourneyhouston.org

What kind of God meets us in our wandering, even when we’re not looking for Him?
In Genesis 28, Jacob is running for his life when he unexpectedly encounters the grace of God in a dream at Bethel. In this message, Pastor Mace Perez explores three powerful truths about God’s grace: it initiates, it confounds, and it transforms. You’ll hear how this ancient story still speaks to our struggles today, especially when we’re broken, tired, or trying to put the pieces of life back together.
Whether you're exploring faith or following Jesus, this episode will encourage you to stop running, stop striving, and start resting in the Rock, Christ Himself.
💡 For more information or to plan a visit, head to www.thejourneyhouston.org

In Genesis 27, we witness one of the most dysfunctional family moments in the Bible. Deception, favoritism, sibling rivalry, and misplaced trust.
And yet, in the middle of all the chaos, God’s sovereign grace shines through. He doesn’t bless the worthy. He blesses because He chooses to love, even when we are at our worst.
In this sermon, Pastor Steven Hiller unpacks how God preserved His promise through the brokenness of Isaac’s family and how that same grace is extended to us today. If you’ve ever felt like a failure, like you don’t have it all together, or like you’ve missed your chance with God, this message is for you. God doesn't wait for us to be perfect. He blesses us in our brokenness.
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🌐 Learn more at www.thejourneyhouston.org

What do you do when your best isn’t enough?
Life is a lot like baseball. Full of wins and strikeouts, success and failure.
In Genesis 26, we watch Isaac get it right one moment … and completely blow it the next. But what’s more surprising than Isaac’s inconsistency is how God responds: not with rejection, but with grace.
This sermon from Pastor Mace Perez explores the story of Isaac’s success, sin, and the unshakable faithfulness of God.
Whether you’re trying to follow God but keep falling short, or you're not even sure what you believe, this passage offers honest hope for people who are tired of trying to measure up.
🔑 In this message, you’ll discover: - Why failure isn’t the end of your story - The difference between proximity to God’s promises and surrender to them - What it means to “fail forward” in the Christian life - Why Jesus is our only hope, when we succeed and when we stumble
🕊️ Looking for a place to explore faith or grow in grace? Join us for worship on Sundays at 10:30 AM 📍 1703 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008
We’d love to meet you and walk with you as we discover the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Christian Story.
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🌐 Learn more at www.thejourneyhouston.org

Are you what you repeatedly do? Or is there a better way to define who you are?
In Genesis 25, we see a shift in the story of redemption: from Abraham, who finishes his race in faith, to Jacob, who’s just beginning his journey.
Jacob wants the right thing, the blessing, but he goes after it the wrong way. He trusts in his schemes instead of God’s promise.
That tension between promise and performance is still alive in us today. In a culture where your value is often measured by what you do, how much you produce, or how you compare, the gospel tells a different story: your worth doesn’t come from your performance but from God's promise in Christ.
If this message encourages you, please rate, review, subscribe, and share to help us reach more people with the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Christian Story.
Join us Sundays at 10:30 AM 📍 1703 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008
For more info, visit: www.thejourneyhouston.org

In this message from Genesis 24, Pastor Steven unpacks the remarkable story of how God’s hesed—His steadfast, covenant-keeping love—is on display in the search for a wife for Isaac. As Abraham’s life draws to a close, God’s promises of land, offspring, and blessing continue to unfold—not through flashy miracles, but through His quiet, providential guidance. From Rebekah’s perfectly timed arrival at the well to her courageous “yes” to the unknown, every detail reveals a God who is never absent, never indifferent. If you’re in a season of waiting or wondering where God is, this story reminds us: God is not lazy—He’s lovingly at work in the details.
If this message encouraged you, make sure to subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share it with someone who might need to hear it. For more resources or to connect with our church family, visit www.thejourneyhouston.org.

"Now it is your turn." These can be five of the most thrilling and terrifying words a person can hear. When the moment comes where God says, "It is your turn", what hope will help us follow in the footsteps of the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12? Pastor Russell Cravens, our guest preacher from one of our sending churches, Neartown Church in Houston, TX, shares in his message today that we can trust in Jesus, our Unrivaled Hope.

Why does death feel so wrong—even when we know it’s inevitable? In this powerful sermon from Genesis 23, we explore the deep and ancient tension between death and hope. From Homer’s Iliad to the promises of Scripture, humanity has always asked: Is this life all there is? Join us as we look at the death of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and uncover how this moment is far more than tragic—it's filled with profound hope in the resurrection. Abraham’s choice to bury his wife in the Promised Land is not just a cultural act; it’s a bold declaration of faith in God’s future promises and the bodily resurrection of the dead.