Is marriage a contract, or a covenant? Is the love that lasts a lifetime a fiery passion of desire, or something else? Is divorce a necessary evil to “be true to yourself,” or a rupture of a deep union? Jesus’ teaching on divorce is based in his vision of marriage, which is as radical today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 19v1-10 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes ...
Aug 11, 2023•46 min
What do we do when other followers of Jesus fall into sin and wander away? John Mark explores Jesus’ teaching on dealing with sin in the church. Even though it's one of the most abused teachings of Jesus, John Mark show that, rightly applied, it has the potential to help the church become everything it's called to be. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 18v10-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to p...
Aug 04, 2023•40 min
Jesus’ call for his apprentices to become like children is one of his most misunderstood teachings. John Mark explores the cultural background to Jesus’ words and argues that living like a child -- dependent, humble, and servant-hearted -- is the the key to greatness in Jesus' Kingdom. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 18v1-9 Resources for this teaching: This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Thank you ...
Jul 28, 2023•39 min
At the fulcrum point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus goes up on a high mountain where he is transfigured before his apprentices. Over their fear, the apprentices hear a voice from heaven saying, “listen to him!” Thousands of years later, in our own fears, the call to find a mountain and listen to Jesus is greater than ever. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v28-17v13 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to pay i...
Jul 21, 2023•44 min
What if control is actually an illusion? What if yielding is actually the path to freedom and joy? John Mark explores Jesus' call to deny your self and take up your cross and follow Him. In a culture of hedonism, digital instant gratification, and postmodern propaganda, this call sounds bizarre. But in yielding control to God in trusting love, we enter the Kingdom. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v21-27 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly giver...
Jul 14, 2023•54 min
" How you answer the question, 'who do you say I am,' will define you." John Mark explores Simon Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. He shows us that in seeing Jesus rightly, we move from fear to faith. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 16v13-20 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Thank you all so much! If you’d like to pay it forward and contribute toward future resources, you can learn more at practicingtheway.org/g...
Jul 07, 2023•53 min
In this well known, but often missed-out-on story of Jesus walking on the water, we notice the writer Matthew’s key insights from Jesus’ life and teaching about becoming a “non-anxious presence” in a world caught in a vicious cycle of anxiety. We have faith and release control. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 14v22-36 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Natalie from Hays, Kansas; Matthew from West Pymb...
Jun 30, 2023•52 min
Jesus warns and encourages his disciples about what will come as they live into his Kingdom mission. What would it look like to live as a disciple, free of all fear, fully alive to his power? Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 11v1-15 Resources from this teaching: This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to Jenna from Rossmoor, California; Amelia from Homestead, Pennsylvania; Leandra from Tomball, Texas; Jordan fr...
Jun 23, 2023•48 min
What do we do the Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus ends his manifesto of life in the kingdom of the heavens, not with a pep talk or feel-good story, but with a warning about what happens when we don’t put his teachings into practice. John Mark argues that, in the “information” age, where things go in one ear and out the other, we need to be diligent to do what Jesus taught. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 7v24-29 Resources from this teaching: This podcast and its episodes are pa...
Jun 16, 2023•52 min
With so many voices claiming to be the truth, how do we discern what is from God and what isn't? John Mark examine's Jesus's warning to beware false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus's three "tests" for who to believe. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 7v15-23 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to Bryce from Austin, Texas; Brett from Mattoon, Illinois; Blake from Birmingh...
Jun 09, 2023•49 min
We all know the Golden Rule, but do we actually live by it? John Mark teaches on how this summary of the teachings of the Bible was familiar during the time of Jesus, but how Jesus makes it even more radical and powerful. He concludes by challenging us to actually try living by this rule and doing to others what we would have them do to us. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 7v12 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episod...
Jun 02, 2023•41 min
Are you tired of trying to earn other's approval? John Mark looks at the first of Jesus's teachings of practicing righteousness before others to be noticed by them in Matthew chapter six. He encourages us to break free from the bondage of seeking the approval (or disapproval) of others by doing good works in secret in order to be rewarded not by others, but by our Father in Heaven. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 6v1-4 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our communit...
May 26, 2023•50 min
Is it practical to love our enemy? John Mark exegetes from Jesus's final teaching in Matthew chapter five on enemy love. He challenges us to take this teaching seriously by showing historical and personal examples of Jesus's way bearing fruit, and encourages us to lean into our questions about this teaching with honestly before God and our communities. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 5v43-48 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special...
May 19, 2023•52 min
Is following Jesus really incompatible with violence? John Mark looks into Jesus's teaching about returning evil not with more evil but with good. He wraps up by acknowledging how many of us are resistant to Jesus's ideas on nonviolence, but encourages us to continue to follow and learn from Jesus and not let our conclusions become a source of disunity in the Body of Christ. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 5v38-42 Resource from this teaching (affiliate link): Fight, Preston Sprinkle This ...
May 12, 2023•46 min
When Jesus recounts the Laws from the Torah, he doesn’t simply address the behavior, he gets to the heart of sin. John Mark explores Jesus's commandments surrounding lust and divorce and highlights how God's heart is for us to honor one another as brothers and sisters in our we see and interact with one another. He concluded by challenging us to repent for the ways that we have dishonored one another and to step forward into Jesus's plan for human flourishing. Key Scripture Passage: ...
May 05, 2023•55 min
Is anger wrong? John Mark looks at Jesus's teaching on anger in the Sermon on the Mount, and argues that Jesus is teaching us to guard against nursing a grudge, harboring resentment, and partnering with contempt. Instead, Jesus offers a way forward: reaching out in love and a spirit of reconciliation. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 5v21-26 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for today’s episode goes to Anh from Dublin, Cal...
Apr 28, 2023•52 min
"The Bible is how the authority of Jesus is mediated to His apprentices." John Mark examines Jesus's teachings on the Scriptures in Matthew chapter five. He argues that Jesus not only views the Bible as trustworthy, authoritative, and good, but also sees Himself as the climax of the biblical narrative. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 5v17-20 Resources from this teaching: This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for today...
Apr 21, 2023•44 min
Most people think of the Beatitudes as virtues, but what if that's not at all what Jesus was saying? John Mark looks at some of the ancient context around Jesus's opening of the Sermon on the Mount and argues that Jesus is not telling us virtues to aim for, but offering blessing to the downtrodden of the world in the midst of their pain. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 5v1-10 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for toda...
Apr 14, 2023•48 min
What can Jesus's origin story tell us about Him? John Mark explores Matthew's story of Jesus's conception and His calling to "save their people from their sins." He invites us to recognize where we need saving, healing, and rescue in our own lives. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 1v18-2v23 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for today’s episode goes to Lisa from Jackson, Tennessee; Jonathon from Vancouver, W...
Apr 07, 2023•37 min
"This genealogy isn't just a genealogy. It's an invitation to join the story of Jesus." John Mark explores the genealogy of Jesus found in Matthew and uncovers for us the hidden treasures of meaning found in this often-overlooked section. Key Scripture Passages: Matthew 1v1-17, Matthew 13v51-52 This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for today’s episode goes to Jordan from Lutz, Florida; Sylvia from Friday Harbor, ...
Mar 31, 2023•49 min
“What if there is a rich gift waiting for us in this new cultural moment of rising hostility?” John Mark discusses what it meant in the early church to be a witness and how that applies to how we share the Gospel. He argues that the call of Jesus isn't just to preach the good news, but it's also to become 'good news people.' Key Scripture Passage: 1 Peter 2v11-12 Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/preaching-the-gospel This podcast and its ...
Mar 24, 2023•53 min
How do we preach the Gospel in our cultural moment? John Mark examines Jesus’s practice of hospitality and how this practice can help us share the good news about Jesus with the lost and the least. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 19v1-10; Luke 7v33-50 Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/preaching-the-gospel A Meal with Jesus, Tim Chester This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for today’s episo...
Mar 17, 2023•48 min
What does it even mean to be saved? John Mark looks at four common articulations of the Gospel, and unpacks what’s good about each of them, and how they might fall short of the Gospel Jesus preached. He concludes with some thoughts on how we can examine our own views of the Gospel with our communities. Key Scripture Passage: Matthew 19v16-30 Resources for this practices: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/preaching-the-gospel This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, ...
Mar 10, 2023•53 min
“A lot of us are emotionally allergic to preaching the Gospel of Jesus.” In our post-modern culture, sharing the good news of Jesus can feel insensitive or unkind. John Mark shows us that everyone is believing a “gospel” of what they hope in, and through the Scriptures, unpacks how Jesus preached the Gospel and what it means to rethink and turn towards Jesus. Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/preaching-the-gospel This podcast and its episodes are paid fo...
Mar 03, 2023•54 min
"The more we have, the more we want." John Mark examines how our never-ending desire can lead to lives of discontentment and dissatisfaction, but how the practices of desiring less and generosity can help us practice simplicity and lay hold of Jesus’s promise of life to the full. Key Scripture Passage: 1 Timothy 6v2-19 Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/simplicity This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly g...
Feb 24, 2023•43 min
“The mouth is the main thoroughfare of evil in human life.” – Dallas Willard Simplicity of speech is a disciplined attempt to bring our speech into alignment with Jesus' heart. John Mark dives into what the New Testament’s author say about the power of the tongue and our words. Through it, he encourages us to simplify what we say in order to ultimately bring more blessing into the world. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 6v43-45; Mark 12v13-17; Mark 15v1-5; James 3v1-12 Resources for this practic...
Feb 17, 2023•43 min
Simplicity is about choosing a deep life over a simple one, a life of focus rather than a life of distraction. John Mark talks about how we need to simplify around something, and how our heart and values are essential for this practice. He reminds us that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to make Him the center of our lives, in the various ways that plays out for each of us. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 12v22-31 Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/simp...
Feb 10, 2023•40 min
Most of us don’t really believe that less money, stuff, or activities is actually the way to a better life. But Jesus’s teachings tell us that life doesn’t consist of our possessions. John Mark introduces the practice of simplicity, also called minimalism, by reviewing Jesus’s teachings on money and discussing how simplicity can lead to a better, happier life. Key Scripture Passages: Luke 12v13-21, Matthew 19v23-24, 1 Timothy 6v6-10, Hebrews 13v5 Resources for this practice: https://practicingth...
Feb 03, 2023•38 min
Why should I so what the Bible says? Authority is a negative word in our individualistic culture, making the idea of Scriptural authority feel scary for some of us. John Mark challenges us to approach the Bible as Jesus did: with trust and obedience. Key Scripture Passages: Genesis 3v1-7; Matthew 4v1-11 Resources: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/scripture Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Craig Keener & John Walton This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our ...
Jan 27, 2023•46 min
Why do authoritarian governments often ban the Bible? John Mark talks about the how the library of Scripture is an alternative story: one that points to Jesus as the center of reality. He challenges us to let this story shape our lives and engage with these writings, even through its confusing, difficult, or challenging aspects. Key Scripture Passage: Luke 4v14-22 Resources for this practice: https://practicingthewayarchives.org/practices/scripture This podcast and its episodes are paid for by T...
Jan 20, 2023•51 min
