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STUDIO is a place where God and people meet – where beautiful things happen, and beautiful things are created. With lead Pastors and Founders, Eric and Candace Johnson, our talks cover a wide range of topics on Faith, Creativity, Culture, and Community. STUDIO is located in beautiful Greenville, South Carolina. For more info, visit studiogreenville.com. Or better yet, come visit us for one of our gatherings or events.

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In this episode reissue, Pastor Eric reminds us that the birth of Jesus is not an isolated moment—it’s a pivotal chapter in the much bigger story God has been writing since the beginning. Scripture is full of hints and shadows pointing toward His arrival and His mission for humanity. But here’s something we often overlook: Jesus spent the first two years of His life in exile.Matthew 2:13 tells us:“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’”We talk a lot about the humble beginnings of Jesus, but we rarely pause to consider that He also lived as a refugee—away from home, outside of society, treated as a foreigner. From the very start, He experienced what it feels like to be on the margins. This shaped His heart and ministry, and it’s part of why He understood so deeply the pain of the outcast, the rejected, the shamed, the lonely, and the overlooked.So this Christmas, remember this: Jesus doesn’t just understand your story from a distance. He knows what it feels like to be alone and on the outside. Our prayer is that as we celebrate His birth, you would sense Him coming not only into the world but into your world—meeting you exactly where you are and bringing His presence, comfort, and hope into your life today.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
He is Our Feast

He is Our Feast

2025-12-0231:47

We pray you are filled with joy as we step into this month of celebrating Jesus - God born among us and changing our human story forever. We have so much to rejoice in and to give thanks for. The holiday season is often filled with gatherings, celebrations and yummy food, and we pray that in the midst of it all, you are able to enjoy the richness of life that we have in Christ! Psalm 23:5 (TPT) says, “You become my delicious feast.” David knew God deeply—he loved Him, followed Him, and trusted Him. He didn’t just worship God from a distance; he experienced God through His daily provision. We want to be like David—learning to feast on who God is. Because when we do, God forms a joy in us that no circumstance can steal.“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” —Psalm 36:7–9 NIVWhat better way to celebrate Jesus than to take time today to feast on who God is? His love is extravagant, His peace is abundant, and He is fully accessible to all who come to Him.Feasting starts with small choices:Pausing to thank HimOpening your BibleTurning your affection toward HimBreathing in His presenceTelling Him the Truth about your heartLetting Him meet you where you actually areFor more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
As you know, we can get scars on our bodies from injuries and medical procedures. There are other kinds of scars that no one can see but anyone around you will experience them. Let’s call them Mental Scars, these scars develop when painful and hard circumstances take place in our life. Science is showing us that mental scars actually build up scar tissue in our brain.When mental scar tissue develops in the brain essentially what is taking place is your brain rewires itself and becomes more rigid. It’s a self protective mechanism to reduce the odds of experiencing the pain again. When scar tissue develops in the brain it can make your brain hyperactive, leading to constant fear and anxiety. Part of your brain shrinks in ways that can cause problems with memory and learning. It also makes it more difficult to regulate emotions. Your brain creates protective mechanisms that can look like emotional numbness, distrust, perfectionism or avoidance behaviors.HOWEVER, DON’T WORRY! Do you want to know what you can do to help heal your brain!?! One of the most powerful tools for healing mental scar tissue is “GRATITUDE”. Gratitude from a scientific perspective can help “soften” the rigid defensive patterns that pain creates. Over time it creates new neural pathways that are more flexible, hopeful and trusting. It strengthens the part of your brain that regulates your emotions, calms the part that processes fear and danger. In a way it lays healthy tissue over old wounds.This we know is a strong biblical practice not only as an expression of worship but it also has healing properties to our brain. So my encouragement to you is to become ridiculously grateful and let’s watch what takes place in our bodies and our lives.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
This past Sunday, we had the great privilege of hosting Jonathan & Melissa Helser. Jonathan released a powerful word that invites us into a profound exploration of what it means to run the race of faith for the long haul. Drawing from Hebrews 12, we're reminded that we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—heroes of faith who have gone before us, cheering us on. The central challenge is clear: how do we keep running when blizzards hit our lives? When discouragement, comparison, and the enemy's lies threaten to make us lose our way? The answer lies in what Jesus himself did. In two critical moments—Gethsemane and the cross—we see Jesus reaching for ropes that would lead him back home to the Father. These weren't random acts of desperation, but well-worn paths he'd walked many times before. The Lord's Prayer and Psalm 22 became his lifelines in the storm. This teaches us something revolutionary: if the Son of God needed spiritual disciplines and ancient prayers to navigate his darkest hours, how much more do we need them? The Psalms aren't just beautiful poetry—they're 150 well-worn paths back to God's heart, written in every human emotion from the highest highs to the lowest lows. We're challenged to ask ourselves: what kind of worshiper do we want to be 40 years from now? Will we still be fascinated with Jesus, or will we have grown familiar and distant? The vision is to become like those saints who, at 91 years old, still weep with wonder at the Father's love—not because they're sentimental, but because they've stayed connected to the source of all life.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
This Sunday we embarked on a journey of raw truth and invitation: discovering how our personal preferences—the way we expect life and God to look—can quietly shape how we experience Him and sometimes limit what He wants to do. Through valleys and victories, we’ve seen God remain our constant; yet when storms hit and our timing didn’t match our expectations, our preferences often took center stage and our eyes drifted from Him. Using the example of the Israelites and the golden calf, Pastor Shayna reminded us that when we cling to our way, we leave less room for God’s way. But in His kindness, God invites us to notice where we’ve held too tightly, not to condemn us but to draw us closer and bring freedom. This week, let’s humbly lay down our preferences, surrender our need for control, and create space for God to be God in our lives. Let’s refuse to let our boxes define Him—and instead let His presence redefine our reality.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
Spirit Of The Mind

Spirit Of The Mind

2025-11-0538:37

Last Sunday, I shared how the mind is the meeting place for heaven, hell, and earth—not because they all live there, but because that’s where they all compete for your agreement. Every thought that passes through your mind carries an invitation: some from God, some from fear, and some from your own story. What you agree with determines the reality you live from.When Paul writes in Ephesians 4:23 to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” he’s describing something deeper than just thinking better thoughts. He’s talking about the atmosphere within you—the spiritual air your thoughts breathe. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just give you new ideas; He changes the environment where those ideas are born. He renews the wind inside your thinking until peace becomes the natural climate of your inner world.So this week, when your thoughts feel loud or scattered, pause and invite Him in. Ask the Spirit to renew the atmosphere, to change the air in your mind. Slow down long enough to let Him breathe truth where fear has been, clarity where confusion lingers, and peace where pressure once ruled. Renewed thinking rarely happens at the speed of emotion. It happens at the speed of attention. It is a slow and sacred work. Renewal starts not with striving to think differently, but by letting the Spirit transform the space where your thoughts begin.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
Intrusive Thoughts

Intrusive Thoughts

2025-10-2835:44

Did you know the average person has over 6000 thoughts per day? This means you are having four thoughts every minute. If even 10% of those thoughts are negative, anxious, or intrusive, that’s 600 mental interruptions a day competing for agreement. In the talk titled Intrusive Thoughts, Pastor Eric helped to identify and recognize not all of our thoughts are coming from us and not all of them are demonic. There are multiple factors and dynamics that create the thoughts that enter our mind. He brought some clarity and understanding to why it is often easier to have thoughts of fear, anxiety, and despair. Listen to this talk to learn some practical ways to do the slow sacred work of renewing your mind. The goal isn’t to have no thoughts, the goal is to learn how to make truth your new default in your universe of thoughts. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
Give Us Wisdom

Give Us Wisdom

2025-10-2130:56

This Sunday, Pastor Rheva shared a powerful message from 1 Corinthians 1 titled “Give Us Wisdom.”Paul wrote to the young church in Corinth—a diverse, fast-growing community struggling with division. Pastor Rheva reminded us that, like them, we sometimes let personalities, opinions, or cultural trends pull us apart. But Paul calls us back to unity in Christ, the One who was crucified for us.The message of the cross may seem foolish to the world, but it is the very power and wisdom of God. Human wisdom—no matter how intelligent or advanced—can’t replace what only God reveals through His Spirit.Pastor Rheva encouraged us to:Stay united around Christ, not divided by differences.Seek God’s wisdom, not the world’s opinions.Remember that if we lack wisdom, we can ask—and God gives it generously (James 1:5).Let’s continue to walk in the power of the cross and the wisdom that comes from above.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
You Have My YES

You Have My YES

2025-10-1432:48

At Studio, we’re a passionate community of Jesus followers on a journey of being shaped and formed into His likeness. Every time we gather, we’re reminded that we’re humans living in one culture, while learning to live in the values of another — the culture of God’s Kingdom.Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. - Mtt 6:9-10Kingdom culture is the way of life that reflects the rule and reign of God — His priorities, values, and heart. It’s a life rooted in love, living in surrender, and one that requires bold trust.The truth is, we all live in a world that celebrates the “kingdom of self.” We hear messages like “You do you,” and “Live your truth.” Our culture celebrates autonomy — the right to define meaning and happiness on our own terms. But the way of Jesus is radically different. In His Kingdom, true freedom isn’t found in asserting control, but in yielding it.“Modern culture exalts the sovereignty of self; the Kingdom calls us to the surrender of self.”As we continue this journey together, let’s be people who choose to say yes — to trust, to obey, and to surrender to God’s ways. The bible is full of crazy stories of deliverance, provision, healing and even the salvation of humanity because of the power of a YES to God. We are full of hope and faith in what God will do with our yes and surrender to Him.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
A Echo Chamber is an enclosed space where sound reverberates / an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.We create these places as they are comfortable and are re-assuring. However if we want to truly mature as humans we must exit the echo chambers and commit to a life of building something that is very hard to build - Personal Character.Pastor Eric took us through Luke 9 and we learned about the journey of the disciples who have been given power and authority and by the end of the chapter we see some significant character flaws get revealed: pride, arrogance, and the desire to wipe out a city with fire.“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,”It’s so much easier to talk and dream about spiritual gifts and it is so much harder to talk and dream about building character. The development of your character is something you are in control of while calling and destiny is something that was a gift to you from God. Listen to this week's talk to learn the 3 ways you can begin to build and develop your character.For more info you can go to our website and also check us out on instagram and Facebook. We are also on YouTube. If you want to support STUDIO financially you can do so here. Have a great week!
Studio has always been, and continues to be, a place where God and people meet. This is a sacred space where healing happens, where belonging is discovered, where creativity and faith intersect, and where the future and dreams are stirred inside of us. It’s not just a church—it’s a community. It’s not just a gathering—it’s a story being written.Here’s the beautiful part: you are integral in helping to write and carry that story. Not because there are empty slots to fill, but because this is all of our house. Just like you cook, clean, or tend to your own home—not out of duty but because it’s yours—we take pride in creating and stewarding this space together. Serving isn’t about covering holes, it’s about building something lasting. It’s about creating the kind of environment where we host people really well. We clean, organize, and tend to things that make it a great experience for all who step inside our doors. It’s being a part of creating a space for many to encounter God, to belong, to grow in their faith, to take pride and ownership, and to say - this is my house, and I’m part of the story God is writing here. Together, with strength in numbers, with generosity, and with joy, we will keep building.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
We are full of gratitude and humility as we reflect back on these past weeks. Processing the devastating events has been weighty and we are thankful as we watch our community (YOU) walk graciously with one another. This is stunning to watch! In the face of pain and grief, we are figuring out how to live, walk, value and honor each other when we are all uniquely different. Jesus prayed that we would be one—not because we all think, feel, or act the same—but because we are united in His love and mission. That kind of unity doesn’t just happen. It requires humility, surrender, and a willingness to lay down our opinions and preferences so that His heart and His will shape us.We are living in days where division is loud and easy. But God is inviting us into something higher: to grow in awareness, humility, curiosity, and above all—love. This is the way forward.Col 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.Let’s be bold, Studio. Let’s mature in love and become the kind of community Jesus prayed for.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
It has been quite a week. My heart has been heavy with sadness, shock, grief, anger, confusion—and also with a resolve. Once again, tragedy has shaken our nation and reminded us of the brokenness in our culture. As Psalm 120 says, “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me… I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.”In moments like this, the temptation is to turn inward—to blame, to divide, to harden our hearts. But as followers of Jesus, our first response is to turn upward. This is a moment for prayer. It’s a time to seek God’s presence, to humble ourselves, and to remember that our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1–2).So how do we respond? We pray. We care for those around us. We stay tethered to a Kingdom that is above politics, culture, and rhetoric—a Kingdom that carries peace in the storm and hope for the future. We choose humility and boldness, and we let joy be our strength.Prayer Focus This Week:Pray for our nation and for God to pour out His Spirit.Pray for eyes, ears, and hearts to awaken to truth.Pray for comfort for those who mourn and grieve.Pray that despair will lift and hope will fill hearts.Pray for an awakening in the Church, full of the Spirit and boldness.Pray for God-given creativity and solutions to bring healing.Pray for this to be a true turning to God moment across our land.Let’s be a people who grieve without it turning into bitterness and hate, who hold hope and who believe that unity grows where pride and fear die.-Eric J.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
On Sunday we continued our study in the Songs of Ascent. Psalm 133 paints a stunning picture: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Surprisingly, Unity isn’t the starting point—it’s the result of our journey of walking and doing life with people towards God. Culture often shouts for “unity” but what it really means is agreement, control, or sameness. Scripture shows us something different: unity that flows from God’s Spirit, like oil that consecrates and dew that refreshes.True unity is not uniformity—it’s diverse people, different backgrounds, one covenant, one God. It’s not forced from the top down; it comes as we humble ourselves, walk together, and let God pour out His blessing. The highest point of worship isn’t “me and God,” but us and God together. That’s the kind of unity that lasts, and the world is longing to see it. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
The Choice is Yours

The Choice is Yours

2025-09-0230:38

This Sunday, we continued our journey through the Song of Ascents. We were reminded that in Psalm 124 that if the Lord had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed up by life’s storms. These ancient “Songs of Ascent” were survival songs—words sung by God’s people as they journeyed step by step toward His presence. They teach us something powerful: in every situation we face, we have a choice. We can descend into blame, pride, and entitlement—or we can ascend toward humility, gratitude, and faith. The songs we sing with our lives matter. Gratitude, thankfulness, and humility in the midst of suffering are what set followers of Jesus apart from the world.We live in a culture that when things get hard or difficult it is working to move you towards blame and victimhood, but God calls us to fight for a different algorithm—a way of living shaped by responsibility, gratitude, and dependence on Him. When we ascend, we discover God’s presence in the silence, His protection in the storm, and His power in our weakness. Let’s be a people who keep moving toward Him, singing songs of faith together as we go. As Psalm 124 closes, may this be our declaration: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
For a second week, we continued in the Psalms of Ascent, which the children of Israel sang while on pilgrimage journeys to the Temple. Psalm 127 reminds us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves.”Rest is not achieved by escaping all sources of anxiety. Rest is stepping back from the need to control them. With our free will, we choose to partner with God and trust the outcome to him. The Psalms of Ascent (120–134) are not just historic songs; they are a playlist for the future. They train our hearts to wait. The paradox of waiting and suffering is designed to move you into the presence of God. If the tension drives us away, we’ve missed the point. But if it draws us near, we are living as we were designed.Here are the lessons from this playlist: God has delivered you before. We still need deliverance now.Our work depends on His blessing, not our striving. Our families, cities and future are a gift from God. So keep singing! The road is long, but God is building something greater than our hands could ever hold.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week
This week we turned to Psalm 126, a Song of Ascents:“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad… Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.”These psalms were sung by worshippers on their way “up” to Jerusalem—pilgrim songs for people on the move with God. They remind us that following Him is both personal and communal, and it’s a journey marked by steps: leaving behind distress, walking together in trust, and drawing near to His presence.Psalm 126 captures the beautiful tension of the spiritual life: joy for what God has done and longing for what He has not yet done. It invites us to hold both thankfulness and expectation at the same time. Personally, this means carrying gratitude while still trusting God for future promises. As a community, it means learning to hold space for one another—rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep—without judgment, jealousy, or comparison.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
This past Sunday we looked at one of the most challenging and transformative truths of following Jesus: If your faith has no room for suffering or waiting, you may have a God you can control—but not the kind of God you can trust. We have been exploring the paradox of waiting and suffering—the “hallway” or “wilderness” seasons between past reality and future promise—and saw how these spaces aren’t punishment or failure, but holy places of preparation. We often look at the wilderness as a dry, barren and desolate place. However when we read about Moses, he found community, found a wife and had kids. He also learned where the water and food were which taught him how to sustain life in the wilderness. So perhaps the wilderness isn’t only dry and barren but also a place where you find life and things you long for. The truth is, God is not absent in the wilderness—He is loud in it. Waiting is not wasted when it becomes a place of surrender, honesty, and encounter. As we follow Jesus together, may we learn to trust Him not just for the destination, but in the wilderness itself—where provision is found, identity is forged, and His presence becomes our greatest treasure.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
If God is healer, why hasn’t He healed me yet?If God is comforter, why does it still hurt?If God is the provider, why does lack still linger?These aren’t questions of doubt. These are the questions of discipleship. On Sunday, Pastor Eric shared his journey of still waiting for his healing for his entire life. It was raw, vulnerable and a sprinkle of comedy. He wrestles with the paradox of knowing God as healer and provider while still waiting for healing himself. The talk honestly wrestles with the questions that emerge when healing, comfort, or provision are delayed: not as signs of doubt, but as essential questions of discipleship. Through the lenses of the theology of waiting and the theology of suffering, Eric invites listeners to consider how God forms us not in spite of delay and pain, but through them. Drawing from personal stories and scripture he emphasizes that waiting is not passive but sacred; suffering is not meaningless but formative. Ultimately, the talk anchors in a powerful truth: If your faith has no room for suffering or waiting, then you may have a God you can control—but not the kind of God you can trust. Instead, let the waiting and the suffering be places of encounter, honesty, gratitude, and transformation. Listen to this talk to learn how all of this is an invitation to invite Jesus to disciple you.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
As we are growing, God is revealing things in us—beautiful things, surprising things, and sometimes things that need to be surrendered. It’s all an invitation to go deeper into His love and delight… to be formed in that space, learning to trust, and to release control.Let’s lean into who He is and what He’s providing. He is our Provider. Our Good Shepherd. And we can rest knowing He has already prepared everything we need.He is the God of Psalm 23The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.We’re praying that this week, you’ll encounter everything Jesus gave His life for—His love, His healing, His forgiveness, and His peace.Even in uncertain spaces, may you recognize His provision… and may you have an appetite for the table He’s prepared just for you.For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here.Have a great week!
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