Think of what Jesus was asking of His followers. He had just risen from the dead. That doesn’t happen every day. His ministry had been destroyed, so they thought. He wasn’t coming back. But then He did. Only days after being killed on a brutal Roman cross, Jesus was standing in front of his friends, looking very much alive. And He was telling them their futures were dicey. Mark 16:15 says, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Jerusalem at the time was ...
Apr 18, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1011
The Office’s Michael Scott once famously said that there’s such a thing as good grief, and it’s a funny line. But could there be some truth behind it? Christians today celebrate “Good Friday” every year, but what does it really mean? The date marks the day 2,000 years ago that Jesus Christ willingly died on a gruesome Roman cross for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The truth is, Jesus died after suff...
Apr 15, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1010
It’s not pretty watching the whole world lose its collective mind. A crisis is like that. As believers though, we have a duty to be different. We are supposed to stand out for Christ. John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This is one of the most beautiful verses in all of Scripture. It was meant for a time just like this. Jesus is telling us straight up that He has already...
Apr 14, 2022•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1009
The most influential ruler of all time, the greatest king to ever walk the face of the earth, is also mankind’s greatest example of humility. Jesus may have been born in a stable, but the Son of our Creator God was anything but ordinary. He lived a humble life, but performed miracles along the way, and showed us what it means to be a humble servant leader among men. Jesus selflessly took human form, God incarnate, to become a living sacrifice for our sins. He did not profess His innocence and de...
Apr 13, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1008
One reason people use for rejecting the claims of Christ is that there somehow isn’t enough evidence to prove that the events in the New Testament actually happened. In other words, some say the Bible isn’t true. We’re talking about the life of Jesus this week. So what is the true story? Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” There are more than 25,000 ancient copies of the books of the New Testament, in various languages. There are only a handful of acco...
Apr 12, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1007
Do you know Who Jesus is? Do you really understand His identity? We know from the Bible that He is many things: a child, a carpenter, a leader of men. We know that He is our Savior, the One who went to the cross to take on our sin. He is also our King. 1 Timothy 1:17, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.” In this letter to his young friend, Paul emphasized to Timothy that Jesus has dominion over everything and...
Apr 11, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1006
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be an original settler in America? As a person leaving the safety of England to come to the New World and start over? Those people came here for religious freedom and risked it all. When they landed in New England, they literally put down roots as they built and planted the beginnings of an amazing experiment that is still ongoing. Colossians 2:6–7 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,...
Apr 08, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1005
Humans often get things backwards, to the point of being comical. Case in point, the little story in the book of Jonah, about the plant God provided for the prophet’s shade. You’ve heard about Jonah and the great fish, of course. As a prophet and evangelist, God had sent him there to preach and when the people repented…Jonah was mad! He sat looking over the city after God had spared it and because it was hot, God provided a plant that grew up to provide relief from the sun for Jonah. But then th...
Apr 07, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1004
Roaming, travel, wandering…all have been part of the human psyche since the beginning. Because we all have that God-shaped hole in us, needing to be filled with Him, we search. Some find God, some don’t. The sense of aimlessness and lack of purpose haunts some. We think of the classic novel by Jack Kerouac, On the Road, which is the story of two characters traveling the country. At first the lure of freedom is fun to think about, but the truth is, if people don’t fill that God-shaped hole with G...
Apr 06, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1003
The giant redwoods of the American Pacific Northwest are among nature’s most beautiful scenes. As tall as skyscrapers, and big enough to drive a truck through. It is said that the redwoods are so powerful and strong in part because even these plants have a sense of community. Separated, or as a single tree, the root system is more vulnerable. But planted with partners all around, the picture changes completely. The redwood becomes tall and strong. Colossians 2:6–7 says, "So then, just as you rec...
Apr 05, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1002
You may have heard someone say before that they’ve put down deep roots, right? Usually, they’re not talking about gardening, but about the roots of their lives. Family. Friends. A career. A church home. We all want to belong. We want to be planted deep in the soil of community. Colossians 2:6–7 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."...
Apr 04, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1001
Spring is the season of new life. As we finish up our series on the Psalms, we come to the most famous one of all. Psalm 23:1,2 says, “The 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.” This psalm contains some of the most famous words ever written. It has everything: beautiful language, a man’s raw honest heart for God, and a universal theme of love that God has for all people. It echoes in the universe. Think...
Apr 01, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1000
One of the things that sets God apart from all others is His ability to tell us what is going to happen. We read about this in Isaiah 46, where He says only He knows the end from the beginning. An amazing example of this is found in Psalm 22, and it’s almost surprising how many people are not aware of it. Psalm 22:11 says, “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.” If you read the entire chapter carefully, you begin to realize that this is a conversation that Jesus...
Mar 31, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 999
From the time he was a young shepherd in the wilderness, David had deep relationship with God. He escaped enough dangerous situations to know that God was always with Him and was his deliverer. Psalm 91:1,2 says, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” This psalm is famous for its descriptive language. We can see a picture of this in our minds. And the specific th...
Mar 30, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 998
Nothing is more basic to life than creation itself. The Bible tells us that God alone has the power to truly create, and the beauty of language in Psalm 139 explains this fully. Some believe the psalmist was writing in part about the creation of Adam. Psalm 139:1–3 says, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” The writer marvels at the way...
Mar 29, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 997
One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the collection of songs known as “Psalms,” originally written as music for worship, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem. Today we celebrate them as prayers for the most part, and they give us a beautiful picture of who God is. Psalm 1:6 says, “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.” Traditional authorship is assigned mostly to King David, who loved to worship God with music and even danci...
Mar 28, 2022•1 min•Season 1Ep. 996
No matter who you are, there has probably been some time in your life that loneliness closed you in like dark curtains in a cold house. Being alone can be healing, and it can be depressing. If you are experiencing the latter right now, we have good news for you. Your ‘alone’ feeling is an illusion. Psalm 139:7–8 says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” God’s Word tells ...
Mar 25, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 995
No one is immune from burnout. It comes in our jobs, friendships, and even our church life. Sometimes our hobbies become dry and tedious! But in Scripture, God gives us hope for the future. John 7:38 says, "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." Jesus is telling us that in Him alone is true life. He is always pointing us to the future, to a time when that dry creek bed will be filled forever. In Revelation 22, He showed John a river flo...
Mar 24, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 994
Jesus has great compassion for everyone. Especially for those society considers unlovable or worth nothing. One day he stopped by a well and had a conversation with a woman who had been married five times. When He spoke to her, He knew she was now living with another man. Yet Jesus spoke to her in a way that let her know He valued her as a person. He told her that people could drink the water from that well, but again they would eventually be thirsty. He said to her that the water He gives is a ...
Mar 23, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 993
Researchers have long known that even when exploring new worlds, water is the key to life. Without it, nothing can live. Water is an image used often in Scripture. When Jesus emerged from the River Jordan having been baptized by his cousin, John, He used the imagery to help people understand that by trusting in Him, they would live forever. John 7:38 says, "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'" Did you catch that? You must believe tha...
Mar 22, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 992
It’s no accident that Jesus chose as some of His apostles a group of fishermen from Galilee. These were men who could understand Him when Jesus told them He would make them “fishers of men.” He meant, of course, that they would share the Good News about Him with everyone they came in contact with. That’s exactly what each of them did, for the rest of their lives! John 7:38 says, "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'" Fishing requires ...
Mar 21, 2022•1 min•Season 1Ep. 991
Have you ever pondered what it means to be ‘born again’ as a Christian believer? When we give our hearts to the Lord, asking Him to forgive our sins and guide our lives, we are making God a promise: we no longer claim the right to follow our own paths, or to focus on our own agendas. We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross on our behalf so that we can be forgiven and live with the Lord for all eternity, when our temporary earthly lives are over. In Romans 14:8, the Apostl...
Mar 18, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 990
Are you the enviable sort of person who was born with an innate sense of direction? Some of us know instinctively whether we are traveling North, South, East, or West. And some of us...would be lucky to find our way out of a paper bag, even with a map in hand. If you’ve ever been lost on a country road at dusk, no road signs, no one to ask for help, and no idea which way to turn — you know how very useful it is to have directions. You’re burning daylight, and you aren’t sure how to get back to c...
Mar 17, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 989
A political science major at a major university was having coffee with a campus pastor. The pastor knew that the student was wrestling with doubt about the existence of God and said to him, “John, you know all of us wonder at some point if it's all real, or not. For example, there are quite a few stories in the Bible that are just hard to believe — Jonah and the whale and all that.” John smiled and said, “No, that's not my problem. What I wonder about is how God could care about me. I've done so...
Mar 16, 2022•3 min•Season 1Ep. 988
God does things on a big scale, but he’s also in the details. He knows our thoughts, hopes, dreams, and every detail of our lives. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” In Ecclesiastes, God spends considerable time speaking to our innermost needs. Through the stories of Paul and the apostles, we see that he cares about our physical needs, and comforts us in times of danger. The diversit...
Mar 15, 2022•1 min•Season 1Ep. 987
The Bible is full of stories of God doing amazing things for those He calls. One of the most famous seems to be good to be true, but it is! Daniel, God’s man in exile in Babylon, insisted on worshipping the Lord, and not a human king. This was against the law. When those who were jealous of him urged the king to punish Daniel, the prophet was thrown into a lion’s den overnight. And that was that. Or was it? Next morning, the king was so anxious about Daniel, that he ran to the den and called out...
Mar 14, 2022•1 min•Season 1Ep. 986
Someone has said that the entire Bible is really all about just one person. Jesus. We learn in the New Testament that He has eternal mercy and love for each of us. In the Old Testament, He is on every page. Remember the mysterious man seen in the fiery furnace with Daniel’s three friends? Jesus is everywhere, all the time. He is with you on the mountain when you feel awesome. He is also there with you in the dark valley, when you think you won’t live to see daylight. He is the true definition of...
Mar 11, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 985
Paul was a stubborn man. He was completely committed to his job. The very definition of a zealot. More than anything, he hated religious people. In fact, he worked every day to make their lives miserable. You’re probably aware of who we are talking about. Yes, this is the famous Apostle Paul, whose pen dominates much of the New Testament. Paul, or Saul as he was known when he was persecuting Christians, didn’t need anyone. He didn’t have friends. But then he found himself right in the middle of ...
Mar 10, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 984
Rebecca knew just what Craig needed when he lost his job. She knew he felt ashamed that his job performance was a major contributing factor. In other words, he had flat-out failed. In front of people. The hurried goodbyes and awkward pats on the back actually sort of made Craig feel worse. He threw the small box with his personal belongings in the backseat and drove as fast as he could away from the scene. Giving him some space for a day or so, Rebecca called to check on her friend; she was a li...
Mar 09, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 983
Bullying is a thing today. A big thing. With social media making such a surge in our culture, it has mushroomed in ways no one could have foreseen. The Bible tells us that at some point, love among people can grow cold. It’s then that humans display some of their worst traits. We can’t often fight bullies alone. And a bully can take many forms: a person, like a coworker. Maybe a job itself. A financial speed-bump. Or your own sense that you are just worthless. That last one is a real killer. Pro...
Mar 08, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 982
