The Wake-Up Call

Romans is not just a book to study. It is a letter meant to awaken a people. J.D. Walt opens the doorway to a thirteen-week journey through Paul’s most consequential writing and shows why reading Romans as relationship, not just theology, changes everything.

As the Wake-Up Call shifts into a new season, J.D. invites listeners to see the church in Rome not as a tiny house-church in a massive city, but as a living letter to the world. He explains why Romans has so often been flattened into doctrine, commentary, or “Roman’s Road” shortcuts, and why that misses the pulse of Paul’s message entirely.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction to the Wake-Up Call
03:00 Preparing for Romans: Context and Significance
11:52 Understanding Romans as a Letter, Not a Book
15:03 Intentions for the Journey Ahead
20:00 Living Out the Message of Romans

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Sing along with us! ► https://seedbed.com/hymnal/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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

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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, Alabama, at Frazer Church. New Room is always an inspiring, 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/wp-admin/post.php?post=108622&action=edit&classic-editor) and use the promo code: NRCWAKEUP

P.P.S.
Order Your Banding Book If you would like physical copies of Discipleship Bands: A Practical Field Guide, you can find that here: https://my.seedbed.com/product/discipleship-bands/ -

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This episode focuses on the idea that Jesus modeled deep, life-giving community by having an inner circle—Peter, James, and John—and that we, too, are made for that kind of belonging. Using the Transfiguration as the central example, Mark Benjamin argues that we need to be known and loved not just in our strengths, but also in our struggles, and that healing often begins when we risk letting a few trusted people in.

The message then turns practical with the concept of a “band,” a small group that meets weekly for honest questions, prayer, and mutual support. It also explores the difference between public, social, personal, and intimate belonging, encouraging listeners to build intentional relationships that can help carry shame, foster growth, and deepen their walk with God.

CHAPTERS:
00:26 The Importance of Community in Jesus' Life
07:00 Understanding Our Need for an Inner Circle
14:13 Cultivating Deep Relationships for Healing

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Sing along with us! ► https://seedbed.com/hymnal/

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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

- - - - - - - 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, Alabama, at Frazer Church. New Room is always an inspiring, 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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This episode is a pastoral wake-up call about the danger of trying to do life alone. Mark Benjamin opens with a story about getting lost and dehydrated on a mountain in Haiti, using that experience to anchor the main message: human beings are not built to carry hardship, temptation, or pain in isolation. Drawing from Ecclesiastes 4, he argues that community is not optional but essential, especially when life becomes difficult and dangerous.

He then connects that lesson to his own spiritual formation, explaining how honesty with a few trusted men led to the development of band meetings and, eventually, deeper transformation in his life. The episode is both personal and practical: it calls listeners to admit their need for help, invite others in, and resist the urge to “climb mountains alone.” It closes with a prayer for courage, journal prompts for reflection, and a hymn, reinforcing the theme of dependence on Jesus and one another.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 Introduction and Setting the Stage
02:50 The Importance of Community
10:34 Personal Story: A Lesson from the Mountain
18:53 The Journey of Transformation and Invitation

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Sing along with us! ► https://seedbed.com/hymnal/

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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

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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Sing along with us! ► https://seedbed.com/hymnal/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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

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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Sing along with us! ► https://seedbed.com/hymnal/

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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