The Wake-Up Call

Latest Episodes:

HSS: A Holy Spirit Appointment Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

This episode tells the story of Cheryl Willoughby, a church volunteer in rural Georgia who helps serve a monthly free community lunch. One day, she met a young woman living with stage four cervical cancer who opened up immediately about her diagnosis and her fear of death. Cheryl prayed with her, but left the encounter feeling burdened that she had not asked more about her faith. When the woman returned the next month, Cheryl asked if she knew Jesus, and learned that she had come to faith years earlier. Soon after, Cheryl later read her obituary and came to believe the encounter was a “Holy Spirit appointment” — a divinely timed moment of prayer, reassurance, and grace.

The episode reflects on how God works through timing, not just through actions, and how believers are often called to play only a small part in a much larger story. Dan Wilt emphasizes that we do not have to do everything perfectly; we simply need to be available when God prompts us. The closing prayer and journaling prompt encourage listeners to notice people around them who are hurting, to pray for discernment, and to take one loving action in response. Overall, the episode is a gentle reminder that God’s grace is present.

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Get the Wake-Up Call in your email each day ► https://seedbed.com/wakeupcall ⛪️ Are you a pastor? We'd love to connect ► https://seedbed.typeform.com/to/dymjFhUB Join the Field Team and help us sow the Wake-Up Call into new hearts ► https://seedbed.typeform.com/fieldteam Join the conversation: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seedbedwakeupcall/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewakeupcall/ Listen to the podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wake-up-call/id1040184070 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7t5qb5dpC7n0yxdyNsTKzTsi=e87495c982f145f6

The Story That Really Matters Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

P.S. Are You Coming to the New Room Conference? I’d love to see you at the New Room Conference, coming up next month on Sept 30–Oct 2 in Montgomery, AL, at Frazer Church. New Room is always an inspiring and refreshing gathering where we get to connect with fellow sowers. It is a meeting with Jesus, where we are equipped, empowered, and sent out to sow for a great awakening.

Today, the Wake-Up Call and Seedbed are offering a special discount code for registration. If you have already registered, pass it on to someone else who needs to get there. I look forward to seeing you there! Register here (https://seedbed.com/newroomconference2026/) and use the promo code: NRCWAKEUP

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What if the Great Commission is not a burden to carry, but the next step into the story Jesus is already writing? This reflection on Matthew 28 reframes disciple-making as invitation, not obligation, and shows why you are never sent alone.

Walking through Jesus's final words to his disciples, Matt LeRoy connects the resurrection to a bold, practical call: receive the good news, then give it away. He unpacks the subversive meaning of "gospel" in the Roman world, contrasts Caesar's counterfeit good news with the kingdom of Jesus, and shows how the early church turned a political slogan into a radical declaration that Jesus is Lord.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction and Community Reflection
02:02 Exploring the Great Commission
05:09 The Invitation to Join the Story
09:52 Empowerment and the Ripple Effect of Discipleship
10:52 Closing Thoughts and Community Engagement
15:00 Introduction to Faith and Belief
17:48 Exploring the Nature of Jesus
19:06 Personal Reflections on Spirituality

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The Scandal of the Canaanite Woman Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Join Matt LeRoy as he takes listeners through this controversial story involving Jesus and a Canaanite woman. Our story today appears to show Jesus insulting an outsider and comparing her to a dog. What did Jesus mean? Are readers supposed to assume that there are outsiders in God's kingdom, like the original Christians believed? Matt LeRoy gives a thoughtful alternative theory to what is really going on. Might Jesus be using this story to illustrate wrongness in his disciples' hearts and our own hearts today?

CHAPTERS:
09:17 Understanding Jesus' Controversial Words
12:11 The Canaanite Woman's Insight
15:02 Miracles of Abundance: Twelve and Seven
18:17 Wrestling with Difficult Passages
21:01 The Love of God: A Hymn Reflection

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Get the Wake-Up Call in your email each day ► https://seedbed.com/wakeupcall ⛪️ Are you a pastor? We'd love to connect ► https://seedbed.typeform.com/to/dymjFhUB Join the Field Team and help us sow the Wake-Up Call into new hearts ► https://seedbed.typeform.com/fieldteam Join the conversation: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seedbedwakeupcall/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewakeupcall/ Listen to the podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wake-up-call/id1040184070 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7t5qb5dpC7n0yxdyNsTKzTsi=e87495c982f145f6

On the Other Side of the Lake Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Will you answer the call when Jesus asks you to lay everything down to follow him? Join Matt LeRoy as he gives a thoughtful explanation on the response Jesus gives that, at first glance, appears cold, but upon further explanation gives the clearest explanation of the commitment we must make as followers of Jesus: to surrender all.

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The Future of Love Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

This episode centers on Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, with a focus on the Beatitudes and the call to be salt and light in the world. Matt LeRoy presents the sermon as a revolutionary vision of kingdom life—one that upends worldly power, challenges status quo thinking, and invites listeners into a countercultural way of living marked by humility, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and courage under persecution.

It also connects that teaching to real-world witness, drawing on the imagery of the civil rights movement and the everyday influence of ordinary people who quietly bring change. The episode ends by emphasizing practical discipleship: becoming a visible sign of God’s kingdom through daily faithfulness, and it frames the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” as a fitting response to that invitation.

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Follow Jesus Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Matthew 4, where Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave their nets and follow him. He connects that passage to a story from his own life about a friend whose repeated “not yet” became a public yes through baptism, using it to show how surrender can become faith in action. The main message is that discipleship is not just believing ideas about Jesus, but reorienting your whole life around him.

Matt emphasizes the cost of following Christ, the need to loosen our grip on the things we trust more than Jesus, and the invitation to live with courage, trust, and obedience. The episode closes with a prayer, journal prompts, and a hymn selection, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” chosen to reinforce the call to choose Jesus above everything else.

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HSS: Jesus at the Red Light Aug 15, 2026

Show notes

This episode centers on a Holy Spirit story from Dan's wife, Anita Wilt, who describes feeling prompted to respond to an older man selling a newspaper for homeless neighbors at a parking lot red light. Instead of staying in the car and dismissing the inconvenience, she turned around, parked, walked over, bought the paper, and gave him extra money. What stood out most to her was not just the act of kindness itself, but the wave of joy that followed and the sense that obedience opened her heart to God’s compassion for the man.

The episode then widens into a teaching on presence, intercession, and Matthew 25: seeing and caring for “the least of these” through ordinary moments of Spirit-led responsiveness. Dan reflects on how small acts of obedience can become a doorway to prayer, compassion, and ongoing concern for vulnerable people. The closing challenge is to stay attentive to the Spirit’s promptings, care for others in practical ways, and let Jesus’ ministry continue through everyday believers.

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Why Prayer Doesn't Work and Who Does Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

P. S. Remember Luann Riley and James. . . . ??? ❗️ I know! I'm hearing from so many. When can we have Luann Riley back on the Wake-Up Call? I'm working on it. Meanwhile have I got a deal for you. We really want to see her James Bible Study for Women land in as many groups as possible. To the end, we have a special offer. Order a minimum four books and use the code WOMEN and we will give you 50% off (through end of August). And, remember, the weekly teaching videos come with the purchase of the book. The verdict is in. This study changes lives. ORDER HERE: https://my.seedbed.com/product/growing-up-james/

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This episode is a reflective prayer teaching centered on Genesis 1, where J.D. Walt explains that prayer is not just asking for things but participating in God’s creative work. He contrasts God speaking light into existence with God speaking and then making, using the image of a dark, cluttered room to show how prayer can reveal chaos, bring order, and open up new possibilities. The message is that prayer is a form of creative communion with God—speaking, acting, and cooperating with the Spirit as God brings shape to what feels formless and overwhelmed.

The second half becomes more personal and pastoral, with a testimony about turning a neglected room into a prayer room, now described as an “antechamber” between the inner life and the outside world. That space becomes a symbol of how the kingdom of God is worked out in daily life: through small acts of obedience, honest prayer, and repeating “let there be” over places of anxiety, loneliness, and discouragement. The episode closes with worship, singing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” emphasizing that God—not prayer itself—is the power, and that believers meet with Jesus each morning with confidence in his goodness and faithfulness.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction and Invitation to Join
03:14 Understanding Prayer and Its Dynamics
06:06 The Power of Creative Speech in Prayer
08:57 Personal Reflection on Chaos and Order
12:12 Transforming Chaos into a Prayer Room
14:09 Introduction to Prayer Series
17:04 Celebration of God's Faithfulness
19:56 Looking Ahead: Upcoming Guests and Themes
22:54 Introduction to the Good News Briefing
24:29 Upcoming Webinar on the Book of James

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The Three Most Powerful Words of Prayer Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

This episode is centered on a short teaching about prayer as “speaking like God speaks,” beginning with Genesis 1 and the phrase “let there be.” J.D. Walt argues that prayer is not only asking God for help, but also joining God’s creative speech over dark, empty, or difficult situations. He encourages listeners to pray with simple, faith-filled words like “let there be light,” “let there be peace,” and “let there be healing,” framing prayer as a Spirit-led way of calling forth what is good, true, and life-giving.

The episode also includes a warm, reflective conversation with the David Walt and a hymn performance of “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Together, they reinforce the idea that prayer is something ordinary people can practice daily, especially on behalf of family and others they love. The tone is pastoral and encouraging, with a strong emphasis on consistency, trust, and letting God help shape the words as you pray.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction and Community Engagement
03:03 The Essence of Prayer
05:50 Speaking Like God Speaks
09:03 Practical Applications of Prayer
11:59 Reflection and Experimentation
13:31 Introduction to Prayer and Its Importance
16:36 The Power of Prayer as Speech
19:43 Praying for Loved Ones
21:38 Developing a Habit of Prayer

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In the Beginning: Prayer Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

This episode is a prayer-centered reflection on Genesis 1:1–3 and the idea that prayer begins with faith in God’s creative action, not with rehearsing problems. J.D. argues that people often magnify what is “formless, empty, darkness, deep,” while Scripture starts with God’s ordering presence and the Spirit hovering over chaos. From that foundation, he presents prayer as “world-making speech”—speaking with God’s perspective rather than simply describing limitations.

The second half shifts into a warm, father-son conversation and song, using “Spirit of the Living God” as a prayer for the Holy Spirit to “fall afresh.” They connect that image to farming, irrigation, and “gut pipe,” illustrating prayer as a channel through which God’s life flows into dry places. The episode closes with a practical vision of prayer for rain, mercy, healing, joy, and peace, emphasizing trust that God knows what each situation needs.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction and Personal Remembrances
01:57 In the Beginning Prayer: Genesis 1 and Creation
02:51 The Problem of Formless, Empty, Dark, and Deep
05:18 Beginning with Faith: Divine Action and Reality
07:17 The Unseen Realm and the Inauguration of a New Age
08:59 Prayer as World-Making Speech
09:11 The Power of Speaking God's Words in Prayer
10:07 Journal Prompts for Deepening Prayer Practice
11:20 Exploring the Percentages of Seen and Unseen Reality
11:47 Learning to Speak as God Speaks in Prayer
12:24 Closing and Reflection

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