This week on Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast), I share one of the most unexpected chapel services I've ever led.

Our scheduled speaker didn't arrive. I had no sermon prepared, no notes, and not even a Bible in front of me. As I played the opening worship song, I found myself praying, listening, and trusting that somehow God would provide a message.

Out of that moment came an impromptu reflection on the friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and a fresh hearing of the words of John 3:16-17. What if, instead of hearing, "For God so loved the world," we imagined the name of someone we love in that verse? And then, what if we put our own name there?

Recorded live in our hospital chapel, this episode is a reminder that God's love is deeply personal, Jesus' invitation is still open, and sometimes the messages that touch us most are the ones we never planned to preach at all. Sometimes all we can do is show up, trust the Spirit, and begin with a song.

Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa

Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link

Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com

Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

This week on Voices in My Head, I'm sharing a chapel service I recently led at Springfield Regional Medical Center. Using the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina and reflecting on Romans 12:9–21, I explore what it means to offer the gift of presence to those who are suffering, drawing inspiration from Henri Nouwen’s A Spirituality of Caregiving. Along with prayer, scripture, and music—including a closing rendition of “Trust in God”—I invite you to join me in considering how God calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, and walk alongside one another with compassion and grace.

Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa

Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link

Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com

Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast

In this episode of Voices in My Head, Rick Lee James welcomes back author, pastor, and theologian Brian Zahnd to discuss his newest book, Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things. Together they explore heaven as a present reality rather than merely a future destination, the “serpentine spell” of modern materialism, the lifelong pilgrimage of conversion, and what it means to journey toward our true home in God. Brian also shares insights from his own experiences walking pilgrimage routes such as the Camino de Santiago, reflects on grace, judgment, and the formation of the soul, and discusses The Reverend, a companion piece to the book that was ultimately left out of publication. This conversation is an invitation to recover wonder, embrace mystery, and learn to see the world as charged with the presence of heaven.

Follow Brian Zahnd on Substack:

The Reverend: Narrated by Boyd Barrett

Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things Unseen Existences (Book)

Brian Zahnd Books

• Unseen Existences

• The Wood Between the Worlds

• Postcards from Babylon

• When Everything’s on Fire

• Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God

• Beauty Will Save the World

Website: RickLeeJames.com Email: RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com Streaming: Search “Rick Lee James” on your favorite music platform or on Spotify https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa

Audiobook Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms (Audible): Audiobook Link

Special Offer 10% off at Bandcamp: use code 10off at checkout RickLeeJames.Bandcamp.com

Hosted by Rick Lee James — Voices in My Head Podcast