When Prayers Seem Unanswered: Advent Week One, Hope
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Release Date: 12/01/2025
Integrated: The Royal Law
Open Door Church Official Podcast
What if the church's biggest problem isn't hatred, but the subtle ways we treat people differently? In this week's message from our "Integrated" series, Pastor Stephen Mizell confronts a truth that hits closer to home than we'd like to admit: we all have prejudices. Drawing from James 2, this sermon challenges us to examine how we show favoritism—whether based on wealth, appearance, motivation, or countless other factors. Pastor Stephen reminds us that every person who walks through our doors is created in the image of God and deserves the same mercy we desperately need. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ...
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Integrated: The Mirror of Reality | Week 2
Open Door Church Official Podcast
What if the biggest lie you'll ever hear isn't from the culture, the media, or even the enemy - but from yourself? In this week's message from the book of James, Pastor Stephen Mizell tackles one of the most common problems in the church today: we're information-rich but obedience-poor. Drawing from James 1:19-27, Pastor Stephen uses the powerful metaphor of a mirror to show how God's Word reveals who we really are. But here's the challenge: are we just glancing at our reflection and walking away unchanged, or are we allowing what we see to transform us? Why asking for "deep teaching" might...
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Integrated: The Testing of Integrity | Week 1
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Start your year with powerful insight into how God uses pressure to refine your faith! In this first message of our new series "Integrated," Pastor Stephen unpacks James 1:1-18 to reveal why trials aren't meant to break us—they're meant to complete us. Discover the difference between testing and temptation, learn why God allows difficulties in your life, and find out how endurance develops through patient faith. This message will challenge you to close the gap between what you believe and how you live. Key Takeaways: Pressure reveals your integrity—it doesn't break it God tests you to...
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Love: When God Moved In, Advent Week 4
Open Door Church Official Podcast
In this week's Advent sermon, Pastor Stephen Mizell challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about love. As we light the fourth Advent candle, discover why love isn't just a warm feeling or sentimental decoration—it's a Person you meet and a divine action that changes everything. Drawing from 1 John 4:7-12, Pastor Stephen unpacks the profound truth that God doesn't just love—He IS love. This means love existed before creation, before redemption, and before the incarnation. We don't manufacture love; we can only reflect it. We don't generate it; we can only distribute it. ...
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Joy: When Praise Becomes Prayer, Advent Week 3
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Are you struggling to find joy this Christmas season? In this week's message, Pastor Stephen Mizell cuts through the shallow happiness of the holidays to reveal what real joy actually is—and where it comes from. Through the lens of Mary's Magnificat prayer in Luke 1, discover how a teenage girl facing scandal, fear, and uncertainty chose to magnify God instead of her overwhelming circumstances. This isn't a feel-good Christmas message. It's a prophetic declaration that will challenge what you're focusing on in your own life. IN THIS EPISODE: Why joy is not a season, reaction, or...
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Peace: When Heaven Interrupts, Advent Week 2
Open Door Church Official Podcast
In this powerful Advent message, Pastor Stephen Mizell explores how God brought peace to shepherds in a field before bringing it to a palace. Discover why peace isn't the absence of chaos, but the presence of Jesus Christ—and why it requires pursuit, not passivity. The shepherds watching over sacrificial lambs were the first to hear the greatest announcement in history. Their story reveals profound truths about how God meets us in forgotten places, interrupts our ordinary moments, and transforms us from the inside out. If you're waiting for life to calm down before you can have peace, this...
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When Prayers Seem Unanswered: Advent Week One, Hope
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Have you ever prayed for something so long that you stopped expecting the answer? In this powerful Advent message, Pastor Stephen Mizell explores the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth—a faithful couple who waited 40 years for a child while continuing to serve God in the temple. Through their story found in Luke 1, discover a profound truth: God's silence isn't His absence. Sometimes heaven's delays aren't denials—God is preparing something bigger than what you're praying for. In This Episode: Why biblical hope is different from wishful thinking—it's confident expectation based on...
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The Power of Remembering
Open Door Church Official Podcast
In this Thanksgiving message, John Lassiter from Open Door Church's teaching team teaches about the spiritual discipline of remembering God's faithfulness. Drawing from Deuteronomy 8, John challenges us to slow down in our busy season and resist the cultural trap of comparison and entitlement. Through vulnerable personal stories—from his journey as a school principal to watching his daughters get baptized—John illustrates the critical difference between pride that says "look what I did" and gratitude that says "look what God has accomplished through me." He reminds us that gratitude...
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Stronger in the Fight: Winning Spiritual Battles | Ephesians 6:10-24
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or like you're constantly losing battles in your life? In this episode, Pastor Stephen Mizell discusses spiritual warfare and how to stand victorious in Christ. In the final sermon of our "Stronger" series through Ephesians, we uncover the truth about who your real enemy is—and it's not the people around you. Discover how the enemy uses deception, division, and distraction to keep you defeated, and learn the practical steps to put on God's armor every single day. IN THIS EPISODE: Why people are your mission field, not your problem The three tactics Satan...
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Stronger in Relationships | Ephesians 5:22-6:9
Open Door Church Official Podcast
Stronger in Relationships | Building on a Firm Foundation Series When Christ is at the center, relationships become stronger. When He's not, they become weaker. Pastor Stephen Mizell teaches from Ephesians 5-6 about how our faith should transform our closest relationships—in marriage, family, and work. Your relationships are the mirror that shows you how you're doing on the inside. If your faith doesn't work at home, does it really work? IN THIS EPISODE: Marriage: Moving from hierarchy to harmony Family: Why discipleship starts at home Work: Serving as unto the Lord How Christ transforms...
info_outlineHave you ever prayed for something so long that you stopped expecting the answer? In this powerful Advent message, Pastor Stephen Mizell explores the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth—a faithful couple who waited 40 years for a child while continuing to serve God in the temple.
Through their story found in Luke 1, discover a profound truth: God's silence isn't His absence. Sometimes heaven's delays aren't denials—God is preparing something bigger than what you're praying for.
In This Episode:
- Why biblical hope is different from wishful thinking—it's confident expectation based on God's character
- How Zechariah and Elizabeth's obedience positioned them for a miracle they'd stopped expecting
- The difference between faith that believes God "can" versus faith that serves Him even when He "doesn't"
- Why both Zechariah and Mary asked "how?" but received different responses from the angel
- What it means to "keep lighting the incense"—staying faithful in service while waiting for answers
- How God sometimes closes our mouth so He can open our understanding
Pastor Stephen challenges us with this question: What do you do when your prayers seem unanswered? The answer may surprise you—it's not to stop praying or stop serving, but to continue faithfully because hope is forged in consistency, not excitement.
This message kicks off Open Door Church's Advent series, preparing hearts for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting beginning January 4th.
Key Quote: "Sometimes the most righteous people carry the heaviest crosses. Faith is not just believing God can—it's continuing to serve Him when He doesn't answer the way you expect."
Scripture Focus: Luke 1:5-25