Faith Episodes

When you hear your typical church service about Christmas, more often than not, the story jumps to Luke narrative, Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8 through 14. Linus recites this in the Charlie Brown Christmas! It's one of my absolute favorite readings of this scripture. But what many don't realize is that the History of the birth of Jesus has a narrative that goes back to the very beginning of the Old Testament and threads its way all the way to the Luke story we are so fond of. Stick around to the en...

We've walked with Jesus' first two and a half years in our red-letter journey, and we've seen the growth and evolution of his audience. Hopefully we've even added a few believers along this podcast journey. What is becoming plainly evident is the great divide within Judea. You could consider the great divide within our society as a parallel example and the context hints to reasons why that occurs. Here, we stick to the context of Jesus' ministry, but we do approach why people gravitate to "posit...

You hear this all the time, right? "I'm a Good Person". or "I have a Good Heart". or this one: "Well, I'm only human!" I have to be truthful, I've said these things! The fact is, most of us would consider ourselves to be pretty good people. Here's the thing. I used to think that every decision I made in life could be traced back to a decision leading to life or death, no matter how trivial the subject. That was just a core philosophy. That original thought was rooted in my secular lifestyle befo...

Feel like you're being a pest sometimes? God doesn't look at it that way. He loves your persistence! Never stop asking. I think if you read the notes today, you'll see how we like to read scripture. One might be inclined to just plough through a set of passages; but if you don't have thoughts and questions along the way, you probably are not reading scripture the way it was intended. As you read, let your mind wander into questions. If you're inclined to want to finish the passage, write down yo...

On its surface, the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is simple enough. But with it are some profound statements that will lead you down rabbit holes. And we love rabbit holes! It is here that we come to understand that Purgatory is not in scripture! With all deference to the faithful Catholics, you don't get a do-over! If you die in your sin, you stay in your sin. If you die in Christ, you're in paradise. Notes to You Don't Get a Do Over Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com...

Just when you think we were finished with the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus gives us the epilogue! We are back following Jesus on our Red-Letter journey with The Parable of the Shrewd Manager. This parable is often discussed and debated. We'll get into that confusion. Perhaps part of the confusion is the reader often reads this parable in isolation. I think that is a huge mistake. We left the Parable of the Prodigal son with many unresolved questions. We can look at this parable's relations...

It's a subject that comes up again and again. "Once saved, always saved". And inevitably, embedded in that argument is "They went out from us, because they were not of us…” (1 John 2:19) leading to the response that if someone leaves the faith they were never saved in the first place. So, we tackle that head on. Let your discerning heart guide your faith. Sometimes, when you hear something like this, your inclination is to remain quiet. After all that's your preacher saying that (and it often is...

This was such an odd request that we had to pay attention. The request was to act in response to the main character - the Demon - in the movie Nefarious. Nefarious is a psychological horror film centered entirely on an intense conversation between an atheist psychiatrist, Dr. James Martin, and a convicted serial killer, Edward Wayne Brady, in a prison on the day of Edward's scheduled execution. The psychiatrist must determine Edward's sanity to decide if the execution can proceed, but Edward cla...

We hop off the red-letter journey today. A brother approached me to look at this passage from 1John 5:16. If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. This turns out to one of those cases where you just have to walk it slowly and it all makes sense. The bottom line is two people can be do...

We have spent a lot of time on the prodigal and some of the interpretive ideas might not sit well with some people. Some of the feedback: "It sounds too Calvinistic", or your denying "Free Will". We touched on the idea that God grants repentance, it does not come from human will. God grants a new heart. I want to be very clear; I am not a theologian. I didn't go to seminary school. I'm really just one guy out here podcasting my way through scripture. You are listening to AI generated voices: "sa...

If someone asked me where to start in scripture, I would tell them to read and reread the parable of the lost son every day for a month. Read it, meditate on it, understand it in every aspect. If you sink your teeth into these few passages, not only will you understand the message of the Gospel, but you will come away exceedingly happy about who you are in Christ. Whenever you're sad, sorrowful or just feeling somehow disconnected. THIS is the passage. Write it down, print it and carry it with y...

I think this is the slowest we've ever walked through scripture, and I think what the journey has produced is some of the richest revelation we've seen in the process. Today, we look at what happens to the prodigal son at his very lowest point. We are seeing the very definition of "rock bottom" and this is not an accident. We're going to spend some time here because it is in this moment where a lot is happening spiritually. I will admit that I want to put how God operates into a linear timeline,...

I think most American's have read the Prodigal son and many fall into this trap: I certainly did. We see his failure and we think: "Well, that's not what I would have done.". Beyond the complete disrespect of his father, which we tend to skip right over - we leap to the American jugular and think: "You idiot!" - You had all that money and you didn't invest it? C'mon, own up to it. You were thinking that! I hope this podcast is as convicting to you if you had that thought as it was to me in doing...

It's probably the most well-known of all the parables. The Prodigal Son is often reduced to a story about the youngest son. If you do that, or understand it that way, you miss so much about what Jesus is teaching. We are going to slow way down. In fact, today, we only got through the first three verses. And as we zoom out a little bit, we see a much bigger picture emerge. We learn not just who the prodigal son is but who all the players are. We step into the context to consider who Jesus is spea...

You know it as the parable of the lost cost. The title of the podcast will become more clear as we continue with these three parables: 1. The Lost Sheep, 2. The Lost Coin, 3. The Prodigal Son. You may never look at a found penny the same way. In fact, I would urge you to consider this. Start to create prayer prompts. This one is simple. The next time you see a penny on the ground, pick it up and whisper a prayer of gratitude to the one who found you. https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ii3v88338wt89...

I'm betting if you look back at your own redemptive history you can recognize when it was that you got off track. I know I can. Perhaps if you're listening to this podcast and you can't think of a time when you strayed, you might want to reflect on where you stand today and make sure you are not on the Pharisaic side of the equation. In the modern sense, that person is one who says something like: " I'm a good person" with no caveats to your own depravity. That is one of the most dangerous posit...

So much has transpired in Luke 10. In this episode, the 70 disciples have returned exceedingly joyful. This section of Luke really covers complete gospel theology including: Sovereign sending — Christ initiates the mission. Sovereign harvest — only God prepares hearts. Kingdom authority — delegated power over the enemy. Satan’s fall — the kingdom invades the domain of darkness. Correction of joy — salvation, not success, is the foundation. Sovereign revelation — the Father reveals to whom He wil...

We are in Luke 10: 1-16 On its face, Jesus sending out the 70 is a straightforward mission. Or so I thought until I started asking questions! This is one of the deepest rabbit holes I've ever been down. I'm far from digging my way out of this one. However, what we are commanded as believers is obedience. You may not aways understand the why. It's kind of like when you were a kid and your dad told you to do something. Sometimes, you just did it. Sometimes, you wanted to know why. And sometimes th...

Luke 14:25–33 stands among the most penetrating and demanding teachings of Jesus. After decades of studying this concept (not always in the Bible - I lived most of my adult life as an atheist), its weight still presses deeply, not because the English is startling or abrupt—though it is—but because the concepts Jesus sets forth cut to the very structure of human existence. The pivotal realization is this: Scripture permits no such thing as a “free spirit.” The notion of the untethered, self-gover...

We posted a debate on "Once Saved Always Saved" (OSAS for short) a while back and I'm not sure it resolved the tension. Today, we put on our Berean hats and jumped back into the scriptures to determine the validity of this popular doctrine. We decided to be more direct in this podcast, flush out the appropriate and debated scriptures, put on our Berean hats and dissect the issue with scriptural clarity. We also had to determine where this doctrine comes from. Knowing the history, and the "why" ...

I think we fall into this trap more than we're willing to admit. Factions within the church is one thing but we all want to believe that we are in the "right" church. As we jump back on the Red-Letter journey today, we see the disciples worrying about someone who is not in their group casting out demons in Jesus' name. They are put off by this. That same bias creeps into our own churches. Paul had to confront it directly. So, while the topical subject of these passages is casting out demons, the...

We step off our Red-Letter journey for a second. We may do more of this depending on feedback. In today's world, we learn through a variety of different media. Some think watching the Chosen is akin to reading the Bible! It is not but I won't begrudge anyone watching that series. There are far worse places you can go and hear what sounds like Biblical knowledge. But the media-scape pays attention to what you pay attention to. So it is not hard for other disinformation to cross your path. YouTube...

As we continue following the Red Letters chronologically, we arrive at Peter asking Jesus how many times he must forgive his brother. How Jesus responds is profound and as we dig into this, we start to see real evidence of how the Gospel and Jesus replaces the Law. It seems everything associated with the Law was a shadow, provisional even. In Jesus answer to this question, we see the transition of what was understood by the law to the permenance that Jesus covers. Notes for The Forgiven Episode ...

After Jesus has held a child up as an example of who is the greatest in the kingdom, he expands the meaning of "child" to cover all believers. You are indeed a child of God. We're reading Matthew 18:6, Matthew 18:10, Matthew 18:14, Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:1-2. There's an interesting mention of angels in Matthew 18:10 and we dig a little bit into the role of angels in our lives. The passages focus on those that would cause one of His children to stumble. That got us to ask the questions. Who makes ...