Could the monster in the closet be real? How can we help children who see scary things?

How does our worldview inform what we believe is possible?

Today we’re continuing our prequel discussion of spiritual warfare before launching our next book study.

Last episode we addressed the reality of so many Christians who think spiritual warfare is not something to concern everyday believers. And it’s understandable. For many people, normal life doesn’t seem to be infested with demons. And honestly, others find it easy to see a demon or nephilim behind every rock. So we’re trying to help contextualize what we mean by “spiritual warfare.”

In this On the Trail episode, we get into some niche topics like sleep paralyis, haunted houses, and UFOs. We're also talking about how to help children when they experience spiritual warfare and looking broadly at the impact of worldview on how we interact with life and spiritual realities.

Next week we start a new book study: What Every Believer Should Know About Spiritual Warfare. You don't need an advanced degree in spiritual warfare. But just like knowing that washing your hands helps against germs or how to put on a bandaid, there's some spiritual first aid every Christian should understand.

📸 Follow OTT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

📕 NEXT BOOK STUDY: https://deeperwalk.com/product/what-every-believer-should-know-about-spiritual-warfare-2nd-edition-book/

⚔️ BATTLE READY CONFERENCE: https://deeperwalk.com/product/battle-ready-spiritual-warfare-conference-2026/

⚔️ FREEDOM COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/sp/freedom-course/

👑 HEART-FOCUSED COMMUNITY COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/heart-focused-discipleship/#heart

💝 DONATE: https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

🎓 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: https://deeperwalk.com/school

🙏 PRAYER MINISTRY REFERRALS: https://deeperwalk.com/ministry-referrals/

GO DEEPER:

🎧 Biblical Foundations of Spiritual Warfare Series: S4E10 (What's Happening in God's Throne Room?): Deeperwalk10: What's Happening in God's Throne Room? - Deeper Walk International

Thank you for joining us – father-daughter duo Marcus Warner and Stephanie Warner – on the trail to a deeper walk with God!

Chapters -

00:00 Welcome & Recap

1:14 Sleep Paralysis Demons

5:27 Maybe the Monster in the Closet Is Real

11:10 Equipping Your Child Appropriately

13:55 The Impact of Worldview

23:15 Haunted Houses

24:31 Are UFOs & Aliens Demons?

25:15 A Normal Life with an Advantage

Is spiritual warfare an elective for advanced Christians?

Maybe you hear "spiritual warfare" and think "paranormal activity." Maybe you've been a Christian for a long time and haven’t had to deal with spiritual warfare. How important is it really?

Many Christians feel like they see no evidence of spiritual warfare around them. They might undersand that cosmic realities exist and intercessory prayer can work, but otherwise, Christians who believe in spiritual warfare are just cooky or overly mystic. How does a person's life actually change at all by knowing about spiritual warfare?

In this On the Trail episode, we look at this question: Is Spiritual Warfare Optional? This episode starts a two-part intro to our next book study: What Every Believer Should Know About Spiritual Warfare. You don't need an advanced degree in spiritual warfare. But just like knowing that washing your hands helps against germs or how to put on a bandaid, there is some spiritual first aid every Christian should understand.

Thank you for joining us – father-daughter duo Marcus Warner and Stephanie Warner – on the trail to a deeper walk with God!

📸 Follow OTT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

📕 NEXT BOOK STUDY: What Every Believer Should Know About Spiritual Warfare: https://deeperwalk.com/product/what-every-believer-should-know-about-spiritual-warfare-2nd-edition-book/

⚔️ FREEDOM COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/sp/freedom-course/

👑 HEART-FOCUSED COMMUNITY COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/heart-focused-discipleship/#heart

💝 PAY IT FORWARD: https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

🎓 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: https://deeperwalk.com/school

🙏 PRAYER MINISTRY REFERRALS: https://deeperwalk.com/ministry-referrals/

GO DEEPER:

🎧 Biblical Foundations of Spiritual Warfare Series: S4E10 (What's Happening in God's Throne Room?): https://deeperwalk.com/podcast/10-whats-happening-in-gods-throne-room/

Stay On the Trail toward a Deeper Walk with God with father-daughter duo Marcus Warner & Stephanie Warner. Listen in on conversations about important models and concepts that inform the way we live the Christian life. We talk philosophy, theology, and practical issues related to heart-focused discipleship. This podcast is presented by Deeper Walk International.

Chapters -

00:00 Our first Spanish edition resource!

1:17 Is spiritual warfare an elective for advanced Christians?

10:05 Is spiritual warfare in the Bible?

14:01 What is spiritual warfare?

17:16 Battle for the Mind & the Power of Interpretation

29:50 Spiritual First Aid

"Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship." What does this adage actually mean?

John 15 gives a picture of this when Jesus describes our relationship to Him as branches attached to a vine. Relationships are attachments. Christianity is about forming an attachment with Jesus Christ, then spending the rest of our lives walking deeper with Him. And if we want to be relationally engaged with God, it makes sense that we'd want to know and cooperate with how He designed us to function relationally.

In this On the Trail episode, we discuss Building Bounce Chapter Eight: Connecting with God, where we talk about our faith being in God not the process, listening prayer, discernment, and lifestyle. We also unpack the V.C.R. tool (Validate, Comfort, Recover).

This episode wraps up our Building Bounce book study. Next week we're asking the question, "Is Spiritual Warfare optional?" with a two-part prequel series before launching our next book study: What Every Believer Should Know About Spiritual Warfare!

Thank you for joining us – father-daughter duo Marcus Warner and Stephanie Warner – on the trail to a deeper walk with God!

🎁 FREE DISCUSSION GUIDE: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

Access through the button that says "Free Discussion Guide" in the top description block for the book. This is also next to the "free webinar" button.

📖 BUILDING BOUNCE BOOK: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

🎨 LEARN MORE ABOUT STEFANIE HINMAN: https://www.bounceproject.org/

📸 Follow OTT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

👑 THE HEART-FOCUSED COMMUNITY COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/heart-focused-discipleship/#heart

🕊️ THE SPIRIT & SCRIPTURE COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/sp/spirit-course/

💝 PAY IT FORWARD: https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

🎓 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: https://deeperwalk.com/school

🙏 PRAYER MINISTRY REFERRALS: https://deeperwalk.com/ministry-referrals/

Stay On the Trail toward a Deeper Walk with God with father-daughter duo Marcus Warner & Stephanie Warner. Listen in on conversations about important models and concepts that inform the way we live the Christian life. We talk philosophy, theology, and practical issues related to heart-focused discipleship. This podcast is presented by Deeper Walk International.

Chapters -

00:00 "Numbers are fun..."

1:11 VCR: Validate, Comfort, Recover

10:35 Relational Prayer

15:12 The Passing the Peace Model

18:25 Listening Prayer: Fears & Practice

23:54 Discernment Tests & Pitfalls

27:28 Legalism vs. Relationship

30:13 John 15

33:24 There Is a Path that Leads to Resilience

Does it ever look "awfully peopley out there"? Community is one of the great gifts of being human, but it comes with its share of hurt and problems...

Belonging is a transformation agent crucial for cultivating emotional resilience. In this On the Trail episode, we discuss Building Bounce Chapter Seven: Connecting with People, where we talk about relationships in the Bible, vulnerabilty and authenticity and a continuum of trust, relational skills tools, and more.

Thank you for joining us – father-daughter duo Marcus Warner and Stephanie Warner – on the trail to a deeper walk with God!

🎁 FREE DISCUSSION GUIDE: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

Access through the button that says "Free Discussion Guide" in the top description block for the book. This is also next to the "free webinar" button.

📖 BUILDING BOUNCE BOOK: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

🎨 LEARN MORE ABOUT STEFANIE HINMAN: https://www.bounceproject.org/

👑 THE HEART-FOCUSED COMMUNITY COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/heart-focused-discipleship/#heart

📸 Follow OTT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

💝 PAY IT FORWARD: https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

🎓 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: https://deeperwalk.com/school

🙏 PRAYER MINISTRY REFERRALS: https://deeperwalk.com/ministry-referrals/

Stay On the Trail toward a Deeper Walk with God with father-daughter duo Marcus Warner & Stephanie Warner. Listen in on conversations about important models and concepts that inform the way we live the Christian life. We talk philosophy, theology, and practical issues related to heart-focused discipleship. This podcast is presented by Deeper Walk International.

Chapters

00:00 It's looking awfully peopley out there...

02:00 Ch 7 Intro

4:54 Relationships in the Bible

7:47 Belonging, Vulnerability, & Emotional Health

11:50 Authenticity & Appropriateness

16:24 Continuum of Trust

21:09 Relational Circuits Tool: C.A.K.E.

29:27 You Can Grow Relational Skills

Did you know your brain has its own propaganda department? The left side of your brain can be thought of as your narrative engine. Part of its job is to explain life.

Our beliefs can have a profound impact on our bodies, our emotions, and our behavior. It is no wonder that the Bible has so much to say about meditating on God’s Word, renewing the mind, repenting, thinking about what is true, practicing gratitude, studying, and guarding what our minds think and believe.

In this On the Trail episode, we discuss Building Bounce Chapter Six: Beliefs, where we talk about the art of propaganda and the battle for our minds, processing how to resist the devil, replace thoughts, and rhyme our thoughts with God's.

Thank you for joining us – father-daughter duo Marcus Warner and Stephanie Warner – on the trail to a deeper walk with God!

🎁 FREE DISCUSSION GUIDE: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

Access through the button that says "Free Discussion Guide" in the top description block for the book. This is also next to the "free webinar" button.

📖 BUILDING BOUNCE BOOK: https://deeperwalk.com/building-bounce/

🎨 LEARN MORE ABOUT STEFANIE HINMAN: https://www.bounceproject.org/

💝 TAKE A STEP CAMPAIGN: https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

📸 Follow OTT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

👑 THE FREEDOM COURSE: https://deeperwalk.com/sp/freedom-course/

🎓 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: https://deeperwalk.com/school

🙏 PRAYER MINISTRY REFERRALS: https://deeperwalk.com/ministry-referrals/

🎧 GO DEEPER:

• S4E1 - "The Bible Is Biased ... and That's a Good Thing" - https://deeperwalk.com/podcast/1-the-bible-is-biased-and-thats-a-good-thing/

Stay On the Trail toward a Deeper Walk with God with father-daughter duo Marcus Warner & Stephanie Warner. Listen in on conversations about important models and concepts that inform the way we live the Christian life. We talk philosophy, theology, and practical issues related to heart-focused discipleship. This podcast is presented by Deeper Walk International.

Chapters

00:00 DW in the Wild, Ch 6 Intro

02:54 Beliefs & Propaganda

12:01 The Father of Lies

15:11 Resisting the Devil

22:15 Taking Thoughts Captive & ANT-eaters

25:07 Listening Prayer & Rhyming Thoughts

29:20 Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

God loves you so very much, and He has a plan for your life and your relationship with Him that He has had in the works since the foundations of the world, when you were only a twinkle in His eye. Join us as we celebrate the remarkable Love of God.

On the podcast, we've been walking through the Abrahamic Covenant of Promise as a meditation on the four themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and now Love.

On the fourth Sunday of Advent (Dec 21), we light all four candles. Christmas is almost here!! On Christmas Day, we encourage you to complete the Advent celebration with the lighting of the Christ Candle, which you can place at the center of your wreath.

Join us on the trail as we wrap up the Advent series with a look at the remarkable love of God and as we celebrate some 2025 highlights and pray for our community.

Grab your Bible and linger with us over the Binding of Isaac and the Message of Christmas (Gen 22) and meditate on the Gospel of Love given to us (Gal 3:8; Jn 15:13; Rom 8:32).

Finally, wow, what a robust year 2025 has been! Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the journey – from prayer partners, to financial partners, to volunteers and beyond! Thank you for prioritizing your heart and the hearts of those around you as you cultivate a deeper walk with God.

May you, being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ who dwells in you, be filled with all the fullness of God. (See Eph 3:14-20.)

Merry Christmas!

Soli Deo Gloria

Stephanie Warner

P.S. This is the last episode of 2025. We’ll be taking a break over the holidays and be back with you in January. The plan is to kick off the OTT year on January 12th, but stay tuned to our socials. Stephanie will communicate via OTT’s Instagram (@onthetrail_podcast) especially if there are updates for the release schedule and such.

💝 Pay It Forward | End of Year Giving:

https://deeperwalk.com/donate/

🙏 EXTENDED DEADLINE for January's Cohort!! Apply to the School of Ministry:

https://deeperwalk.com/school-of-ministry/

😎 Learn More About Heart-Focused Discipleship:

https://deeperwalk.com/heart-focused-discipleship/

📸 Follow Deeper Walk AND On the Trail (NEW) on Instagram!

https://www.instagram.com/deeperwalkinternational/

https://www.instagram.com/onthetrail_podcast

🎁 BOOKS: https://deeperwalk.com/books

Stay On the Trail toward a Deeper Walk with God with father-daughter duo Marcus & Stephanie Warner. Listen in on conversations about important models and concepts that inform the way we live the Christian life. We talk philosophy, theology, and practical issues related to heart-focused discipleship.