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This Sunday Is Online Only 🎥 Your Calendar Is Preaching a Sermon You Won’t Like

by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 29, 2026 | Empowerment

Happy Thursday, Mars Hill Family,

Last Sunday, I said something that made some of you uncomfortable: Your calendar is preaching a sermon your mouth does not agree with.

You say God is first. Your schedule says He’s an afterthought.

You say family matters. Your calendar says they get leftovers.

You say rest is important. Your time says you may be lying.

This week, we’re fixing that.

Overview of Sunday’s Message: Your Calendar Is Lying to You

Big Idea: Time is proof of your priorities. When you let God reorder your time, you move from constant hurry to intentional, peaceful progress.

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

Key Takeaways:

⓵ Your calendar is preaching a sermon your mouth does not agree with. Your time never lies. It records what you actually did, not what you meant to do.

⓶ Wise living is not about managing time. It’s about redeeming it. You cannot build a life of meaning with leftover minutes. Stop giving God your leftovers.

⓷ The way you schedule your time reveals what you actually worship. Fools fill their time. Wise people steward their time. Your calendar either proves or exposes your priorities.

This Week’s Practice:

Time-block your next seven days. Put God, rest, and your top priorities on the calendar FIRST. Then fit everything else around them.

🎥 Watch The Replay →

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Watch The Replay

This Sunday: NEW SERIES LAUNCH

A FEATURE, NOT A BUG: The Deliberate Design of American Inequality

For Black History Month, we’re launching a 4-week series that goes beyond the surface.

These crises aren’t accidents. They’re features, not bugs, the predictable result of choices made to protect racial hierarchy over shared prosperity.

Week 1 (Feb 1): The Color of Care

How healthcare segregation created today’s Medicaid crisis.

We’re tracing the line from blocked universal healthcare to Southern states refusing Medicaid expansion today.

Same political logic: racial hierarchy matters more than poor people’s health.

Core Scripture: Amos 5:24 (NLT) — “Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”

Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 10:30 AM CST

📺 Online only.

Watch on YouTube | Watch on Facebook

Podcast: Why Your New Year Feels Like a Remix of the Last One

You keep changing the calendar, but your patterns stay the same.

New year. Same problems. Same habits. Same results.

The issue is not your plan. It’s your mindset. Motivation fades. Mindsets stick. And you cannot outwork broken thinking.

In this 15-minute episode, I break down why patterns persist, why motivation will not save you, and the daily replacement practice that actually rewires your brain.

This year does not have to be a repeat. But only if you stop blaming circumstances and start changing the mental software you’ve been running.

Listen Now →

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

🗓️ Announcements

Here’s What You Need to Know This Week:

You’re Invited: In-Person Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM Central
Location: 7941 47th St., McCook, IL
Online: Live on YouTube and Facebook

We’re gathering this Sunday, and you’ve got two ways to be part of it:

✅ Pull up and join us in person at our McCook campus

✅ Log on and worship with us live online from wherever you are

However you show up, don’t miss this moment. God is speaking, and faith is being rebuilt.

Bring your family. Invite a friend. Get in the room or tap in online.

Let’s go after God together.

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Your generosity fuels every sermon, every livestream, every resource we create.Give Securely →

You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

See you Sunday (online)!

With love and expectation,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. I want you to be honest with yourself this week.

Look at your calendar. Really look at it.

What’s the one thing you keep saying matters but your schedule keeps proving doesn’t?

Prayer? Your marriage? Rest? Your calling?

Name it. Reply and tell me.

I read every response. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

More From This Week:

This Sunday Is Online Only 🎥 Your Circle Is Keeping You Stuck

by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 21, 2026 | Empowerment

Happy Hump Day Reader,

We are three weeks into 2026, and if you are still feeling the weight of what you carried out of last year, I want you to know something: it might not be you. It might be your circle.

You have been praying for breakthrough. You have been asking God for wisdom.

But you keep walking with the same people who drain your peace, mock correction, and pull you back to old patterns.

This Sunday, we went after the hard truth nobody talks about: the people you walk closely with are either lifting your faith or lowering your standards.

There is no neutral.

Week 3 of THINK DIFFERENT, “Your Circle Is Keeping You Stuck,” is one of the most important messages in this series.

Because you can think differently all you want, but if your circle thinks small, you will stay small.

Overview of Sunday’s Message: Your Circle Is Keeping You Stuck

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 13:20 (NLT) – “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

In this message, you will learn:

⓵ Why your future is shaped by your circle, not just your choices

⓶ How to identify draining relationships that weaken your faith

⓷ The biblical framework for choosing wise companions

⓸ Practical steps to create loving distance from toxic influence

⓹ How to intentionally build a circle that calls you higher

This Week’s Practice

Identify one draining, unhealthy connection you need to create distance from, and one wise, faith-filled person you will intentionally move closer to this week through a call, text, or meeting.

Missed Last Week? Catch the Replay

If you missed Week 3 or want to watch it again, the sermon-only version is live now:

🎥 Watch the Replay: Your Circle Is Keeping You Stuck

📖 5-Day Devotional: Deepen this message all week with the companion devotional. Get it here

📲 Catch the Replay & Devotional

I strongly encourage you to spend time with this timely message this week! You can catch the full replay and continue studying this theme:

Study Deeper: We made a special 5-Day Devotional based on this message. It is available now on our church app, our website, and our YouTube channel.

▶️ Missed it? You can watch it here

video preview

Watch The Replay

Begin Your 5-Day Devotional

New Podcast Series Launched for 2026

I’m dropping a new episode every week on The Clarence Stowers Leadership Podcast, and we’re starting strong with a focus on self-leadership in the attention economy.

Already Live:

Your Phone Is Not the Problem. Your Standards Are. (Jan 7) — The real issue isn’t your device. It’s the internal standards you’ve accepted for your attention.⁠⁠
Decision Fatigue Is Stealing Your Best Hours (Jan 13) — You’re not tired because you worked hard. You’re tired because you decided too much.⁠⁠
Your Attention Is Your Real Bank Account (Jan 20) — How you spend your minutes determines the quality of your life.⁠⁠

Coming Soon:

Focus Is Not a Mood. It’s a System. (Jan 27) — Stop waiting to feel focused. Build the system that makes it automatic.⁠⁠
Stop Saying You’re Busy. You’re Overcommitted. (Feb. 3) – Busy isn’t a badge; it’s overcommitment, and one calendar cut this week proves you’re not trapped.
Why Your New Year Feels Like a Remix of the Last One (Feb. 10) – Your new year feels like a repeat because you changed the calendar but not your thinking. Name one pattern daily and replace it with new truth.

These are 15-minute episodes built for high-capacity people who need clarity without the fluff.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

New Substack Articles You Need to Read

I’m now writing weekly on Substack, diving deeper into the invisible decisions that shape how you work, lead, and live.

This week’s articles expand on the podcast episodes:

Decision Fatigue Is Stealing Your Best Hours. — Your brain has a daily decision budget, and recurring negotiations drain it before you get to work that matters.
Your Phone Is Not the Problem. Your Standards Are. — Two people can have the same phone. One uses it as a tool. The other feels owned by it. The difference? Their standards.

Both articles include key takeaways and one clear practice you can implement this week. Read them on Substack.

Also Worth Noting:

✍🏽 Latest article on Substack:

This one hit a nerve. If you’re always holding it together for everyone else, this is for you.

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

🎥 Short on Time? I Got You

Check out my new YouTube Shorts. These are quick, honest, and built for real life.

Leaders Are Readers: My Fall Reading List

5 Reasons Helping The Wrong People Is Bad For You

Stop Reopening a Door Life Already Closed

📲 Have You Heard About Our App?

Everything you need to grow spiritually is right on your phone. We call it #ChurchInYourPocket.

Download The App

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready: 5-Day Devotional

🗓️ Announcements

Year-End Giving

As we close out the year, please remember that your consistent generosity allows us to continue reaching families around the world. You can give securely through our app, website, or text platform at any time.