{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Houston's First Baptist Church","title":"Come Back To God","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1450,"description":"The preacher opens by reading Genesis 13:1, noting Abram’s departure from Egypt and his return to Bethel, and uses this narrative to illustrate the spiritual journey of leaving and returning to God. He emphasizes that God’s grace, made possible through the blood of Jesus, offers restoration to anyone who has strayed, comparing the descent into sin to going down into Egypt and the ascent back to God to going up to Bethel. Personal anecdotes about the speaker’s own Bethels—places like False Creek, the hills of Oklahoma, and his grandfather’s grave—show how revisiting the sites of first faith experiences can rekindle devotion.\n\nThe sermon then outlines three practical points: first, the longing to return often precedes the actual step back to God; second, God may use painful or chastening experiences to prompt decisive action; and third, true repentance involves a complete turn, not a half‑hearted stop on “neutral ground.” The speaker warns against merely quitting sin without replacing it with positive spiritual habits, urging listeners to bring their whole lives—heart, possessions, talents—to Christ. He concludes by urging the congregation to make their own Bethel an attitude of the heart, reminding them that God remains waiting, ready to forgive and restore, especially in the Thanksgiving season.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/o5yzRQYlXr9ParDz0W15WXJmDEyj_QNDo8tzYNqSRoc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8wN2Ew/Yjg4MTI1YTdmNDVi/Mjc2NWZiNDkwYTBi/OTU4MS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}