The Teaching Series (with Brad Gray and Brad Nelson) (Walking The Text)

David and Goliath is one of the most well-known underdog stories in the world. But what if it’s not an underdog story at all? A closer look at the context reveals David isn’t an underdog (shocking, I know!). In fact, a careful reading suggests the moment David grabs a sling, Goliath is in serious trouble. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how the context of ancient warfare completely changes the story of David and Goliath, and why it’s so important for you to do what God has uniquely gifted you to do.

When we’re not truthful, we become vulnerable. Paul’s description of the belt of truth corresponds to the cingulum that protected a Roman soldier’s most vulnerable parts. No matter how big or strong a Roman soldier was, a strike to the groin could bring him down in an instant. The cingulum provided protection so that didn’t happen. Likewise, when we’re not truthful, evil can drop us fast. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand why truthfulness is something we must incorporate every day in our struggle to stand firm against evil.

It’s really easy to focus on what’s not going well in our lives, rather than being grateful for what is going well. But what would happen if we allowed gratitude to be what grounded us? How would we then view the challenging things in our lives? That’s what this teaching addresses by looking at the astounding connections between the healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5) and Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers (Luke 17).

Were you aware that sheep won’t drink water if it’s moving? It freaks them out. Thus, when David mentions “still waters” in Psalm 23, it’s intentional. Water is life. And sheep need to drink. But as David is doing throughout the psalm, this isn’t about getting water; it’s about getting something much deeper – something we desperately long for and need in the midst of the hecticness of life. If you ever feel unsettled in all that needs to be done, this is a teaching you definitely need to hear.

There are multiple aspects to the shepherds and the Christmas story in Luke 2 that we’ve traditionally gotten wrong. By understanding first-century shepherding practices and the agricultural calendar, we’ll learn why Jesus almost certainly wasn’t born on December 25 (and how we got that date in the first place). We’ll also explore whether the shepherds were simple village shepherds or temple shepherds connected to Migdal Eder, and why shepherding was a despised trade in the New Testament era. Finally, we’ll discover what it means to us that the announcement of Jesus’s arrival was first given to lowly shepherds.

Before there was David and Goliath, there was David and Saul. The literary design of 1 Samuel reveals a tale of two shepherds that clash at the intersection with Goliath. One shepherd is fearful. The other is faithful. One backs down. The other steps up. One is rejected by God. The other is anointed by God. By the end of this episode, you’ll see how the writer of 1 Samuel was dropping hints about the difference between David and Saul, and more importantly, you’ll know what it takes to reflect the heart of God.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a crowd favorite! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Who wouldn’t want these plans? Prosperity, comfort (no harm), a hopeful future – sign us up! And then the bottom falls out, and our faith gets upended because we held God to a promise He never made. Jeremiah 29:11 is not about prosperity and protection. It’s about perseverance in the midst of hardship. Stripped of its context, this passage is catastrophic to our faith journey. But understood properly, it gives us the hope and perspective we need to navigate life’s challenges well. 

Easter isn’t a day we celebrate. It’s a way of being in the world. It’s a posture of heart that announces, “What Jesus accomplished at the cross and empty tomb changes everything!” In this resurrection episode, we’ll look at the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus—a story only Luke records in vivid detail—and see how Luke’s subtle use of Scripture makes the bold claim that, in Jesus, everything that had been torn apart was finally being put back together. This episode will help you see connections from the resurrection story that are often overlooked. But, more importantly, Jesus’s actions at Emmaus remind us that in a world of shattered hope, we can live as people who have burning hearts of hope because He is risen!

Brothels and pubs were fixtures in every city of ancient Roman society. Then, as now, people engaged in illicit sex and alcohol use to numb the pain of life. Brothels were staffed primarily by male and female slaves, some of whom were "exposed at birth" as unwanted children and then claimed by brothels to be raised as sex workers. Pubs were popular because most of the poor had no cooking facilities, so they spent much of their time in pubs, where gambling, fighting, prostitution, and drunkenness were the norm. The Apostle Paul, writing within the Roman world, addressed these issues with timeless warnings. This teaching will challenge you to identify ways you’re numbing out and filling yourself with deceptive temptations instead of emptying yourself and making room for God’s Spirit.

“Give us today our daily bread.” Sounds pretty straightforward, right? But what does it mean to ask for daily bread? How do we bring our requests before God? And what should we be asking for in the first place? These questions and more are the subject of this episode as we seek to understand what Jesus meant by the phrase, “our daily bread,” and what it means to faithfully live out this aspect of the Lord’s Prayer.

One of the most challenging things on the journey is trying to discern God’s will. How do you know if what you’re sensing is from God? For anyone seeking to follow God faithfully, this is the age-old question. This episode offers a 7-part framework for how to discern God’s will. It’s not a formula. It’s not 7 easy steps to discerning God’s will. Instead, it’s a framework to invite your heart and mind into deeper participation with God’s activity in your life. Because if your heart and mind are in the right place, actively seeking God’s face, God won’t play games with you. Instead, God will meet you and give you the courage to trust Him for what’s ahead. 

Our lives are incredibly busy, and most of us aren’t intentional about creating space to retreat from the hustle and bustle to find rest, restoration, and rejuvenation. And yet, without such spaces, we deteriorate and lose focus on what’s important. Jesus understood this. In this teaching, we look at Jesus’ rhythm of retreat, and get really practical on how we can do the same in order to live a vibrant and properly focused life.

The rod and the staff, comfort David. And likely the sling too! These are what the shepherd carries for various situations. Learning about these alone is utterly fascinating, especially when you find out how David uses them against lions, bears, and Goliath (which we discuss). But how these translate into what God does for us is in the midst of our deep valleys is where the power lies. And once we understand that, we’ll find comfort, courage, and hope just like David did.

More ink has been spilled over what happens between Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor than any other scene in the book of Ruth. That’s because Ruth 3 is loaded with sexually suggestive language. But the Bible is actually doing something incredibly beautiful and redemptive by inviting us to see Boaz and Ruth as models of integrity who don’t just pray with their lips, but also with action. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand what the Biblical writer was up to and will be inspired to put legs to your own prayers.

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul encourages his audience to mimic his life because he’s mimicking the life of Jesus. In essence, Paul says if you’re struggling to imitate Jesus, just do what I do. It’s a gutsy statement to make. The question is, “Could we say the same?” That’s what this teaching addresses as we look at the mimicking reality of life and why what we do matters so much.

We’ve all read stories in the Bible that leave us wondering, “Wait! What in the world does that mean?” Jesus’s cursing the fig tree is a prime example. As one of the signature features of the landscape of the Bible, the fig tree developed deep symbolic meaning for the people of Israel. Understanding how a fig tree produces fruit clarifies exactly what’s happening when Jesus curses the fig tree. By the end of this episode, you’ll discover not only how God responds to fraudulent faith but also how fruitfulness starts. 

Jesus spent an enormous amount of time in a tiny area of the Galilee we call today the “Evangelical Triangle.” Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida were home to a religious Jewish population that was passionate about following the Scriptures. And yet they proved to be some of the most resistant people to Jesus’s message and ministry. How can the very people who are so fiercely devoted to the Text miss the Messiah when he shows up in their midst? By the end of this episode, you’ll be challenged to examine what keeps you from following Jesus more fully, and why discipleship is way more than simply knowing about Jesus.

During Holy Week, people all over the world remember Jesus’s words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Did God really abandon Jesus on the cross? Or was Jesus quoting these specific words at this specific moment for a specific reason? In this final episode of “Out of Context,” we unpack Jesus’s use of a rabbinic technique called “remez” to make a bold claim about his supreme confidence in God’s faithfulness. Once you understand the context of these powerful words, you’ll be inspired by the knowledge that even in our darkest moments, God doesn’t leave us or abandon us! 

The New Testament uses all kinds of words and phrases to describe Jesus and his kingdom. Savior. Son of God. Gospel. Forgiveness of sins. But these aren’t just poetic, flowery phrases. They’re actually concrete ideas everyone in Jesus’s world was familiar with. But not because of Jesus. They were familiar with those ideas because of Caesar. What the New Testament, and especially Paul’s writings, do is they show us two competing narratives: The gospel of Caesar in which peace is imposed by a sword, and the gospel of Jesus in which peace is offered through a cross. One is strong. The other is weak. One dominates. The other is gentle. Which narrative will you allow to order your world? By the end of this episode, you’re going to hear all those poetic, flowery titles for Jesus through a completely new lens.

Welcome to the first episode in The Teaching Series! In this episode, you’ll be introduced to the purpose behind the series, how to utilize these short teachings, and what to expect in future episodes.

The New Year is underway and many of you have made resolutions, but do any of them pertain to the Bible? In this episode, we explore one of the coolest Hebrew expressions (that often gets lost in translation) that depicts our relationship with God and His Word in a way that inspires us to dig into His Word in order to truly thrive this next year. And it all has to do with a little man in the eye. Enjoy!

During the Christmas season, we join the angels in singing “peace on earth.” But earth doesn’t always feel peaceful. In fact, it often feels really chaotic. From personal challenges to family heartaches to friends who are suffering to wars around the world, the idea of “peace” can be confusing and elusive. Which is why we need to understand more fully what the angels were proclaiming, and how to obtain peace and stability when everything is swirling around us. As you’d expect, it has everything to do with one we celebrate in this season – the Prince of Peace. So as we unpack the angels’ song, may we join them in proclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among people!”

Romans loved the blood and gore of gladiators and beast hunts. These explosive spectacles were designed to recall great moments from Rome’s past and were deliberately sponsored by politicians who also distributed cash-handouts, donations for public banquets, and other gifts to secure the public’s favor. Knowing they were about to die, gladiators nevertheless sought to die well. The Apostle Paul seized on imagery and language from gladiators and beast hunts to illustrate what a life fully yielded to God looked like. This fascinating teaching by Dr. Randall Smith (a dear friend of the WTT community!) will spark your curiosity and challenge you to consider how to yield everything in your life to God, including your death. 

We say “yes” to a lot of things, but are they the things we should be saying “yes” to? Jim Collins has said that “the good is the enemy of the great.” We can get so caught up in doing “good” things that we miss out on the “best” things. Jesus understood this clearly. And in this teaching (shot on location in Israel), we look at how Jesus was totally fine disappointing people in order to stay true to his mission. He knew how to say “no” to the good things so he could say “yes” to the best things. Get ready to have your world rocked because this teaching will mess with you!

Traditionally known as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” this story of Jesus has captured the hearts and minds of people for two thousand years. It’s among his most famous teachings, and it highlights the essence of his mission. And like every story of Jesus (and of the Bible), it has a context that is often lost on readers. Which is why in this episode, we begin laying out that context by looking at the reason Jesus tells the parable in the first place. And as we’ll discuss, too many are content knowing the stories of Jesus. But we’re not just called to know the stories of Jesus; we’re called to live the stories of Jesus.

Hallowed be your name. What in the world does it mean to “hallow” someone’s name? And what is the significance of God’s name? Furthermore, why does Jesus tell us it needs to be hallowed in the first place? As with every aspect of the Lord’s Prayer, this one is loaded with meaning and rooted in Old Testament stories in order to help us understand the absolute necessity of God’s name being recognized in the world, and how our lives bear witness to the holiness of His great name.

Holy Week invites us to hold death and life in creative tension. We pause to consider Jesus’s death on the cross, but then we celebrate the new life bursting out of the empty tomb. In a similar way, the book of Ecclesiastes makes a helpful connection between our deathday and our birthday. In this special Easter Episode, we’ll explore what it means that our deathday is better than our birthday, and why connecting our death to Jesus’s death creates a life of greater meaning and purpose, here and now.    

Do you struggle to understand why God is asking you to do something, and hesitate to follow through? In this final episode of “3 Gifts of Christmas,” we explore the mysterious significance of the Magi's gift of myrrh, tracing its historical and symbolic meanings—from its use in ancient perfumes and burial rituals to its connection to Jesus’s sacrificial death.

It’s easy to forget how much we’ve been forgiven. And when we do so, our relationship with God and others suffers greatly. In this episode of the parable of the lost son, we key in on the younger son and unpack his journey of being lost and then found. And in doing so, we get to marvel at the extravagant grace of God who embraces us despite our faults and failures. But until we allow ourselves to be embraced and changed by this grace, we’ll seek to manipulate and connive in our relationship with God, and we’ll also fail to extend to others the kind of grace God expects from us.

Over and over again in the Bible, we hear the command, “Do not fear.” But what is this command really getting at? Is it simply that we’re never to experience fear, and if we do, we’re disobeying God in some way? Or is there more to it? Fear can be a paralyzing reality in our lives. But it can also be a gift. It all depends on how we engage it. That’s why in this episode, we explore the nature of fear, how it negatively impacts us, and how we can leverage courage to move through it to do what we know we need to do but have struggled to do so.

Who cares that it was a sycamore fig-tree that Zacchaeus climbed? Of all the details Luke could’ve included, why this one? Could it be the key for unlocking a substantial element to the story that is often overlooked? I believe so. And what it unlocks will push us all to think deeper and harder about how we live out the biblical concepts of justice and righteousness, and why the entire book of Amos addresses these issues and appears to ultimately inform Zacchaeus’s response. It was these connections that originally gripped by attention towards the Zacchaeus story, and I believe they will grip you as well.

In the first two episodes, we examined Zacchaeus’ actions and how utterly remarkable his responses were. But how were such responses even possible? The answer lies in Jesus’ actions. They’re shocking, perplexing, and infuriating to those in the crowd, but life-giving and healing to those in need of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. May we not only embrace Jesus’ actions, but emulate them to others as well.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the most significant event in human history, and each of the gospel writers tell the story in a way to highlight different aspects. This teaching explores how John records it, and how he employs the “8th Sign” and “garden” themes to boldly declare that sin, death, pain, brokenness, and chaos do not get the final word.

When things go wrong in life, one of the first things we feel is that we’re alone. And the social distancing and stay-at-home orders of the COVID-19 pandemic only amplify our sense of isolation. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the wilderness is the primary metaphor for challenging seasons of life. But what if the challenges and limitations of the wilderness actually call forth the richness of our creativity? This episode explores how creativity can help us overcome isolation so we can experience grapes in the desert.

We generally look for God in the big things, and yet, I believe God is most available to us in the everyday, humdrum activities of life. The problem is, we’re unaware as we speed through life, not slowing down long enough to notice the miracles in our midst and to encounter the divine in the daily. God woke Moses up to this reality, and I believe God wants to do the same for you and me.

It’s Christmas Eve! Which means it’s the perfect time to conclude our Genealogy Christmas by looking at Jesus being the Son of God, and how Matthew is helping us understand the magnitude of his identity and calling by using the names “Jesus” and “Immanuel.” As we explore these names, we’ll be reminded of why we celebrate Christmas and are able to have the hope that we have. God became man, and our lives will never be the same because of it. May you be overwhelmed with joy as you’re reminded of the significance of the coming of Jesus, who is Immanuel!

We often carry our burdens alone. Maybe we don’t want others to know what we’re going through. Maybe we don’t want to burden anyone with our burdens. Whatever the reasons may be, we don’t distribute them very well. And when we do this, the weight of carrying our burdens alone becomes an endeavor that leaves us weary and discouraged, with very little hope that anything will change. We cannot carry them alone. Indeed, we weren’t designed to.

The most monumental event following the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus was the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It was a day that changed things forever. And yet, most people don’t know how deep and significant this event was. For example, did you know that Pentecost wasn’t a new festival? Or that it didn’t take place in the Upper Room? Or that it was connected to the Exodus? These details and much more are the subject matter for this episode as we conclude our “Bread of Life” series and comprehend the implications of Acts 2 in light of the resurrection!

One of the most challenging aspects of faith is unmet expectations – that gap between what we thought/hoped God would do and what actually occurred. So how do we deal with those moments? That’s what this teaching addresses as we explore the bizarre exchange between Jesus and Peter at Caesarea Philippi.

We’re often oblivious to and annoyed by distractions and interruptions because we inhabit a culture obsessed with speed, efficiency, and productivity. But hurry is trouble for the soul. “Hurry,” said Dallas Willard, “is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” This teaching explores how Jesus led an interruptible life, and how our willingness to slow down and entertain the interruptions can allow us to do the same and not miss out on the “holy interruptions” that come our way.

Life can be gut-wrenching. And when the bottom falls out, we need people who know how to hold and honor our pain. Unfortunately, most of us don’t know how to respond well to the feeling of pain for others. In this episode we explore Jesus’s response to a desperate situation in Mark 9. His first impulse wasn’t to fix the pain, but to feel the pain. And if we can emulate this in our lives, we’ll understand how to serve one another well, especially in difficult seasons.

Many people struggle to feel truly welcomed, accepted, and secure—especially in a world that often feels isolating and adversarial. But Scripture reveals a God who is not distant or indifferent; He is a gracious host, inviting us into His presence with the radical hospitality of a Bedouin patriarch. In Psalm 23, Isaiah 42, and the life of Jesus, we see a God who prepares a table, offers provision, and extends protection—even in the presence of our enemies. This episode explores how God’s hospitality redefines belonging and how Jesus models a love that welcomes without compromise. Discover how embracing this divine invitation can transform the way you see God, yourself, and the people around you. 

Storms are a guarantee in life. We lose jobs. Relationships end. Money gets tight. All of this can leave us feeling anxious and fearful. Therefore, the reason we feel those things is because storms expose what we really trust. We may say we trust God, but a crisis here and a pandemic there, and we’re confronted with the hard truth that our trust lies elsewhere. Which is why Jesus addresses this with a brilliant metaphor in the Sermon on the Mount that will help you diagnose what you really trust in and how to start building on a firmer, more trustworthy foundation.

David and Goliath is a story we all know. But like all stories that stand the test of time, there’s more to it than we fully understand. As we launch this new series on this beloved story, we begin by carefully examinating the geography of the event, and understanding the location alone yields a whole new level of insight. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a new appreciation for the urgency of the David and Goliath story, and a helpful metaphor for guarding your heart and mind in our world today.

We’re kicking off a series on Zacchaeus from Luke 19 where over the course of several weeks, we’re going to look at this story from a number of different angles. In this particular teaching, we look at Zacchaeus’ desire to change and what he had to overcome in order to have an encounter with Jesus. It’s going to be quite a ride as this electric story is about so much more than just a wee little man.

When navigating a disorienting landscape, paths are essential. Sheep know this. Shepherds know this. And it’s why David highlights God leading on “paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” But what did David imply by this? What does righteousness even mean? Why is God’s name at stake? And what happens if we stray from the path? All of this and more are discussed in this next episode on Psalm 23.

When someone wants to encourage others to ask questions, they will often say, “There are no stupid questions.” But those who’ve been asked too many stupid questions will invariably reply, “Sure, there are no stupid questions – just stupid people who ask them.” It’s their way of humorously (or not so humorously) stating that there are clearly good questions and there are bad questions. In Luke 10, Jesus is asked by an expert, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s a bad question, but not for the reasons you may think. The underlying factors betray his question, and he’s seeking a bare minimum approach to obedience to God. The problem is, many of us do the same thing, but unlike the expert, we may have no clue we’re doing it. If we don’t address it, we’re going to miss the way of Jesus and fail to live the life Jesus is calling us to live right now.

We’ve all seen the Christmas Pageants where Mary and Joseph show up in Bethlehem within minutes of Mary about to birth. In their moment of greatest need, they’re rejected by family and then by the mean, old innkeeper who informs them “there’s no room in the inn!” Relegated to a stable on the far side of town, and all alone, Mary and Joseph give birth to the savior of the world. Sound familiar? But what if that’s not how it went down at all? What if our understanding of the Christmas story is inaccurate and we need to understand it anew in its original context? That’s precisely what we’re doing with the Christmas story in this new series. We’re beginning with the Bethlehem events recorded in Luke 2. As we’ll see, Bethlehem wasn’t a place of rejection, but of reception for Jesus, and how he was welcomed with wonder!

A flock thrives in the desert, so what could David possibly be talking about when he mentions “Green Pastures” in Psalm 23? The answer will likely shock you. I always thought it was a statement about God abundantly giving us what we need or want. And then I went to Israel, and everything changed. This teaching is geared towards doing the same for you.

When Paul connects the image of the helmet with the concept of salvation, he’s talking about deliverance. Standing firm in the midst of the battle begins with how we think. Our adversary, the evil one, loves to get us thinking in ways that are contrary to what God wants for us. Once planted in our minds, those thoughts wreak havoc on our lives. But spotting those lies and being vigilant about guarding what enters our minds are essential to withstand the assaults. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand just how important what you think really is, and why it matters so much to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

We all experience difficult times in our lives that cause fear, frustration, sadness and pain. In Psalm 23, these are the “valleys of deep darkness.” Once in, the only the way out is through. David understood this, and yet he boldly states, “Even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness (shadow of death), I will fear no evil for you are with me.” What exactly was David talking about? Once we grasp what David is saying, we’ll know how to navigate our valleys of deep darkness with hope and resilience and be able to say the same thing!

Many of us struggle to trust that God is actively leading our lives, especially when things feel uncertain or difficult. But the Scriptures constantly liken God to a Good Shepherd who skillfully guides, protects, and provides for His people. In this episode, we explore the depth of this image, from the rugged realities of shepherding in the ancient world to Jesus's bold declaration,“I am the Good Shepherd.” This isn’t a passive or distant role; a true shepherd is both savvy and sacrificial—navigating harsh landscapes, fighting off danger, and laying down their life for the flock. By the end of this episode, you’ll see that trusting God isn’t wishful thinking—it’s a response to His skillful care and reliable voice. 

In the face of overwhelming loss, Naomi does what many of us do when we’re hurting: she isolates and cuts herself off from those around her. But Ruth embodies a dramatically different response. As we’ll see, Ruth’s response to the experience of loss becomes the core theme of the entire book and solidifies her place as one of the most inspiring characters of the Hebrew Scriptures. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the power of community to help you practice faithfulness in the face of adversity.

One of the most significant words in the Bible is shalom (“peace”). It’s what the entire Bible is all about. However, most of us have a limited view of shalom, and we miss out on God’s great desire is to bring every aspect of ourselves to wholeness. A critical time to invite His help is during this season that leads up to Easter. This teaching discusses how we enter well into this season and seek the shalom that we all desperately desire.

Most stories build to a climactic moment (Boaz redeeming Naomi & Ruth at the city gate) and then conclude with falling action. Not Ruth. Instead, the book of Ruth ends with a genealogy loaded with surprises that reverberate with implications not just for Naomi and Ruth, but for the people of Israel and the whole world. In the final episode of our series on Ruth, you’ll see how trusting God’s character rather than your circumstances will give you the ability to spot God’s hidden presence in your life.

Jesus interacted with all kinds of people. And when he crossed the Sea of the Galilee to “the other side,” it was to be with the pagans of the Decapolis. This league of Hellenistic cities was created to showcase Greco-Roman thought and culture in the region. But the cultural crusading of the Decapolis masked a spiritual starvation for something more. Like Jesus, we’re called to be salt and light in the cultures we inhabit, but influence is always a two-way street. By the end of this episode, you’ll be challenged to think deeply about “Who’s influencing who?” as you encounter the alluring cultures Jesus has sent you to influence. 

In Hebrew, the root word for midbar (desert) is the Hebrew word davar, which means to speak. While God is always speaking, we usually hear God best in the desert experiences of our lives. Why? Because in seasons of hardship and challenge, busyness and distraction are stripped away, and we become more present and open to God’s voice. When that happens, God often speaks exactly what we need to hear. What if the COVID-19 pandemic is a desert experience in which God is inviting us to pay attention and listen for His voice? If so, we might just receive a davar in the midbar that could change everything.

Two significant (but often overlooked) moments in the parable reveal there’s more than one way to be lost. It’s just as possible to be lost in the Father’s house as it is to be lost in the far country. Countless people end up lost not as prodigals, but by believing they’re earning God’s love and acceptance with their obedience. This is not how the Father runs the house. And this episode explores how joy is the litmus test that keeps us from getting lost on the inside.

You’re not where you were, and you’re not where you’re going to be. You’re in between. Welcome to the wilderness. It’s in these ambiguous spaces where we either become who God is inviting us to be or we shrink into the smaller, more manageable stories we write for ourselves. Because it’s easier to be a slave in Egypt than to trust God in the desert. But no one aspires to be the person who shrinks. We want to learn to trust well and become all God intended for us to be. This teaching will give you practical ways to grow your trust in God in hard times.

Too often, we live with divided hearts. On the one hand, our hearts are devoted to God. We want God’s best for our lives. We want God’s kingdom to come. On the other hand, we continue to allow places in our lives where evil and sin persist. This episode explores the life of King Asa and our deeply human tendency to be devoted to God without tearing down the high places in our lives. By the end of this episode, you’ll know how to identify the high places in your life and begin the process of demolishing them for good.

We all want to live fully and deeply, but in order to do that we’ve got to live as Jesus lived. The problem is we don’t always understand what Jesus’s life looked like. In this episode, we dig into the details of the itinerant rabbinic lifestyle and quickly realize that Jesus’s life as a traveling rabbi wasn’t glorious or easy. It was actually really, really difficult. It came with a cost. But according to Jesus and the rabbis of the day, it was worth it – costly, but worth it. It’s a message we all need to hear or be reminded of, as we seek to faithfully follow Jesus and experience life that is truly life.

As soon as David mentions “preparing a table,” “anointing with oil,” and “cup overflowing,” we know he’s no longer communicating a shepherding imagery. You don’t do any of these with sheep. So why the shift? And what’s he conveying? This is one of the most fascinating cultural aspects of Psalm 23, and understanding the imagery shift and its implications will help you see your relationship with God and His world in a renewed, compelling, and gratitude-inducing way.

The season of Lent is upon us! We are on a journey towards Resurrection Sunday, and it is a season that will fly by if we’re not intentional about how we’re going to engage it. In John 6:35, Jesus called himself the “Bread of Life.” In this teaching, we explore the imagery of bread, its significance in the Bible, and how it can be a grounding image for us in this season. Furthermore, it challenges us on who or what is the source of our sustenance in the world. May this be a rich season for you, and may we all draw closer to the “Bread of Life” in it.

In this final episode of Characters of Christmas, we explore a subtle, yet powerful distinction Matthew makes between Jesus and Herod that many people completely miss. Despite being appointed “king of the Jews,” Herod was religiously Jewish, culturally Greek, politically Roman, racially Arab, and ancestrally Edomite. Talk about an identity crisis! As we’ll see, Herod may have possessed the title “king of the Jews,” but he wasn’t the true king, and he knew it. Once you grasp what Matthew is really saying, you’ll see how the Christmas story challenges us to ask whether our allegiance is to Jesus, and to him alone.

Many people believe that the point of Jesus was to rescue us from our sins so that we can leave earth and go to heaven. But the problem is that Jesus doesn’t spend his time teaching about how we from here (earth) to go there (heaven), but about getting there (heaven) to come here (earth). Hold on tight because without question, the content of this episode is the most paradigm shifting aspect of the Lord’s Prayer. And my hope is that we may finally understand what we’ve been praying all along when we’ve said, “your kingdom come, your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven!”

We’re kicking off a brand-new series on Jesus and His Parables. Nearly one-third of Jesus’s teachings are in the form of parables. Jesus knew how to tell a good story. And he leveraged the power of story because he knew it was the most effective strategy for spreading a message. When we understand the power of story, and how Jesus utilized it, we’ll not only better understand his parables, but we’ll also be convinced that we must tell more stories if we want our most significant messages to spread.

In a world that rarely slows down, many of us carry a constant undercurrent of anxiety, restlessness, and fatigue. Deep down, we long for more—for peace, stability, and a place of refuge where our souls can breathe and find rest. When David was fleeing from Saul, he found such a place in one of Israel’s most breathtaking and iconic locations—Masada! As we trace the biblical connections to David and the rich imagery of God being a fortress throughout Scripture, you’ll discover the powerful invitation to find a place of refuge to daily experience His presence, settle your soul, and remember who you are. 

Christmas is a season of hope. 2020 has been a season of grief. How do we hold hope and grief in creative tension? Because when things get hard, we feel overwhelmed. And when we’re overwhelmed, our tendency is to check out, numb out, and wish the moments or seasons away. But in our confusion, heartache, and disorientation, God is working in subtle and often unseen ways. By the end of this episode, you’ll be inspired to hold the gratitude and grief of 2020 in tension so that you don’t numb out, but instead embrace this season and the God who is with us in it.

Arguably the most recognizable tree in the land of Israel, the olive tree is known for its legendary longevity and fruitfulness. As such, it’s referenced repeatedly in the Scriptures. Most notably, the Apostle Paul uses it in Romans 11 to navigate a delicate situation between Jewish and Gentile believers in the church in Rome, and to communicate an authoritative point that has lasting implications. By the end of this episode, you’ll discover why the olive tree is a powerful illustration on how to sustain a fruitful life by making room for others. 

Thus far, we’ve been talking about the Sabbath in the context of the Older Testament. And now, we get to hear from Jesus! And my oh my, hang on tight. The Sabbath was ridiculously important to Jesus and he addressed it at every opportunity. He knew what an unbelievable gift it was, and emphatically demonstrated in word and deed what it was intended to do for our lives. May you unleash and experience the freedom that Jesus taught, and may you truly take his “yoke” upon you!

Things are heated right now. Tensions are high. People are on edge. And justice is the battle cry of so many. “We want justice for ________!” But what is justice? How does the Bible portray it? And who is responsible for pursuing it? Welcome to the essence of this episode. Justice and Righteousness are two of the most explosive themes in the Bible, and they’re always attached at the hip. But when we fail to understand what they mean, how they relate to one another, and why they’re at the core of Jesus’s ministry, we begin to think they’re optional. For followers of Jesus, they’re not an elective; they’re core curriculum. And they’re what’s needed to heal a broken world. Watch this episode to find out why.

The idea that we don’t have enough permeates our lives. We don’t have enough money. We don’t have enough sleep. We don’t have enough time. We’re constantly looking for ways to acquire more. But “more” rarely delivers the contentment we’re looking for. And the wilderness is the place where God strips away the faulty distractions and excess that increasingly define our lives. In the wilderness, God recalibrates our understanding of what’s essential and what’s enough so we experience the contentment we were made for.

The Sea of Galilee is bursting with life and vitality. The Dead Sea is toxic and nothing can survive. And yet they’re both fed by the same source – the Jordan River. How can this be? The answer is utterly fascinating, and its truth speaks to one of the most significant realities of how we flourish in life.

Despite being dead to sin and alive to Christ, many followers of Jesus inevitably fall prey to excusing or rationalizing our failures. “I’m a sinner saved by grace.” This is true, but not entirely in the way we often use it. According to the Apostle Paul, in Christ, you are dead to sin. Lent is a season of preparation and refinement where we pay attention to the ways we’re making a mess of ourselves and may not even know it (the episode illustration won’t be soon forgotten). By the end of this episode, you’ll be challenged to ask, “What in my life needs to die so that I can step out of the darkness and into the light of Christ?”  

Identity is a big deal. It breeds mission and behavior. It’s why God called His people to be a “kingdom of priests,” and why the Apostle Peter confirms this for all followers of Jesus in one of his letters. It’s a central identity of God’s people and yet most of us have no idea what it means or entails.

But once we’re cognizant of its implications, we live more focused, aware, and intentional in the work we do and the people we interact with because we now know what’s at stake (and there’s A LOT at stake!).

This next teaching in The Teaching Series helps us understand the significance of this identity and how transformational it is in our daily lives.

According to Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Perhaps you’ve heard this before, and maybe, like me, you’ve wondered, “Are we supposed to be scared of God?” Is this what this verse means? Or as some of us have no doubt learned, the “fear” here is really a “reverent fear.” But is that true? In this episode we unpack this passage to understand what “fearing the LORD” entails and how a proper understanding enables us to trust God more in our lives.

Over the last six episodes, we’ve been digging into the Zacchaeus story, and I’ve been encouraging you to ask your questions. In this episode, I seek to answer those questions. The discussion entails everything from what salvation meant for the Jewish people in the first century to how we steward our hearts with respect to our money to how Jesus addressed the religious leaders who though they had it all together (and clearly didn’t), and more. May this discussion help round out some additional aspects of the Zacchaeus story as we seek to live out the truths of this story in our lives.

Most people have heard the axiom, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” According to the apostle Paul (in Acts 20), it was Jesus who coined this. He knew this truth more than anyone else, because his entire life was devoted to loving and serving people well. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to do the same. But how can we grow in our ability to do so? I recently had a monumental conversation that gave me a new angle on how to serve people well, and I can’t wait to share it with you. As you implement this strategy into your life, I believe you will experience anew the reality that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

It’s easy to tell others what they should do. It’s more challenging to lead the way first. But we must. In this teaching, we look at how Paul demonstrates this powerful truth in his letter to the Colossians and his reference to John Mark, who deserted he and Barnabbas at the most inopportune time and caused a tremendous amount of pain and friction. Paul knew he couldn’t ask someone to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself. The same is true for us as well.

Sometimes the Bible speaks right to our hearts by encouraging or challenging us in just the right way. Other times, we walk away uninspired and discouraged, feeling like we didn’t get anything out of it. What do we do in those moments? In this episode, we explore the practice of placing God’s Word upon our hearts, so that when the time is right, and our hearts are ready, they will be available to us. Because the Bible wants to do something in us. It wants to challenge us. It wants to confront us. It wants to help us. But if we get discouraged and disengage, we will miss out on what God’s Word wants to do in our lives. And none of us want that to happen.

At Christian gatherings, you’ll often hear a leader say, “Jesus is present because he promised that ‘whenever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.’” Now, there’s nothing wrong with reminding people of Jesus’s presence.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is believing that what we have, we actually own. In God’s eyes, we don’t own anything. Everything we have – our accomplishments, our possessions, even our lives – all belong to God. We’re simply called to steward what we have on God’s behalf. The rich man in this parable failed to see this, and many of us do as well. Until we recognize this, we’ll struggle with our possessions and we’ll fail to live as generous as God would like. As we move into this Christmas season of giving, this is a teaching we all need to hear.

In John 5, Jesus makes the claim that since his father is “working” on the Sabbath, so is he. Does this undermine everything we’ve explored in this Sabbath series, or is there something deeper going on here? And what is a Christian’s relationship to “The Law?” Does one keep Sabbath out of commandment obedience or because it’s great wisdom? These are the main questions we address in this final episode on the Sabbath. May you continually find freedom and joy in celebrating this amazing gift from God!

Being intentional with God’s Word is essential to living a deep and meaningful life. In the biblical period, God’s people were called to not only dig into the Scriptures but also to have an ongoing discussion with their friends and family about them. Formany of us, our time with God’s Word often stops with reading it and we miss out on the critical responsibility of discussion. In this episode, we explore why it’s so crucial to be intentional about our relationship with the Bible so that it permeates every facet of our lives.

Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and beloved passages in the entire Bible. And over the next several weeks, we’re going to tackle this culturally-rich psalm, unpacking all the ways it’s as relevant today as it was when written three thousand years ago. In this particular teaching, we learn what it takes to be a great shepherd, and how astounding it is for David to proclaim, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is one of the New Testament’s most beloved books, yet its brilliant structure and deeper meanings are often overlooked. Throughout the letter, Paul draws on everyday imagery from the “Roman Street” in Ephesus – the slave market, victory parades, bathhouses, theatres, night watchmen, and pubs – to illustrate how a believer’s conduct should stand in stark contrast to the culture around them. In this final episode of “Life in the Roman Empire,” you’ll be equipped with rich and relatable ways to live as a faithful citizen in God’s Kingdom in the midst of our culture today. 

The climactic scene in the book of Ruth takes place in the city gate. Two kinsmen are poised to provide the rescue Naomi and Ruth desperately seek. The first steps in and says, “I’ll do it,” but immediately changes his mind when Boaz mentions Ruth. It’s a confusing moment without the cultural context. But once we have that, it unlocks the story in a powerful way to see why the first one declines, and why Boaz redeems the women at a cost to himself. After watching this episode, you’ll be challenged to share in this costly and compelling love, and to consider how God’s redemption for someone else might just look a whole lot like you.

The breastplate was the piece of armor that protected a soldier’s vital organs. And when Paul pairs the word breastplate with the word righteousness, he’s drawing on the Hebrew understanding that righteousness is relational. In other words, relationships are at the very core of who we are, and the enemy’s number one purpose is to wreck relationships. By the end of this episode, you’ll appreciate just how important it is to be vigilant about pursuing and preserving right relationships so the enemy doesn’t take out your heart!

Zacchaeus is a “chief tax collector,” which means he’s incredibly wealthy – something everyone would’ve known. So why does Luke go out of his way to include the detail that he was “wealthy” as well? I believe he’s helping his audience connect into a larger theme of “wealth” that has been threaded throughout his gospel. In doing so, he’s encouraging us to see just how revealing and redemptive Zacchaeus’s response of using his wealth appropriately was to the advancement of Jesus’s kingdom movement. This is a teaching that will challenge us all in how we utilize the resources God’s given to us.

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted a statement known as “The Declaration of Independence,” announcing that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states – no longer a part of the British Empire – and calling themselves, “The United States of America.” The most well-known line within the Declaration indicates that Americans have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberty is freedom. But what does the Bible have to say about freedom? That’s what’s tackled in this teaching as we learn the paradoxical truth that in order to find true freedom, we must seek slavery.

During the height of the Roman Empire, the world experienced an unprecedented era of stability that allowed people to travel freely. Most did so by land and sea, and few logged more miles than the apostle Paul. During his missionary journeys, the Apostle Paul traveled thousands of miles by land and sea! Along the way, he experienced fear repeatedly: beatings, robberies, imprisonments, shipwrecks. But he never allowed fear to become a barrier to his faith. This episode will inspire you to face your fears with greater courage and to live with dangerous faithfulness.

92% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Clearly, there’s something wrong with the way we execute our goals. But the biggest problem isn’t with the execution; it’s with the goals themselves. Many of us are setting bad goals, and we don’t even know it. They’re having a negative impact on us, and we’re totally unaware. In this final part on the Parable of the Rich Fool, we’re going to challenge the way we think about goals, assess the ones we have, and ensure that we’re setting the right kind of goals. Because if we don’t set the right goals, we’ll pursue the wrong ones, and find ourselves in poverty to the purposes of God.

I’m a really hopeful person, especially on the heels of celebrating the resurrection. But at times, I despair about the condition of our world and the struggles of life. Perhaps you do as well. That’s why I share a fascinating story that has helped me tremendously in addressing these moments and finding the courage to press on.

What happens when our expectations and our realities do not align? How do we respond when there’s a gap between what we hoped God would do and doesn’t? Answering that is the essence of this episode as we explore Jesus’s bold proclamation in John 6 that he is the “Bread of Life” and that he desires to provide for us in the midst of our circumstances, especially when there is a gap between our expectations and realities.

Despite what we may think, many people didn’t believe Jesus’s ministry was all that impressive. In fact, they questioned whether or not God’s kingdom was really advancing through him. In response, Jesus told a parable about a mustard seed. Even though it’s incredibly small, its capacity for growth is massive. Jesus challenged his audience to recognize that even though things may not be unfolding the way we think, that doesn’t mean God isn’t at work. Quite the opposite. And what may appear to be small and seemingly insignificant may be germinating into something substantial.

Understanding the original context of a passage unleashes the power of Scripture to transform our lives. “Out of Context” is a new series designed to help us train our minds to ask better questions when we read the Bible by exploring famous passages that are frequently taken out of context. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand why Philippians 4:13 isn’t about God empowering us to do whatever we set our minds to, but rather unlocking the secret of contentment in any situation! 

Roman military sandals were all about traction. They stabilized and grounded soldiers so they could stand firm in the field of battle. According to Paul, the gospel of peace is what stabilizes and secures a follower of Jesus. Unfortunately, many of us fall into the destructive habit of locating our identity in unstable things: jobs, relationships, performance, the approval of others, etc. When we do so, it’s nearly impossible to stand firm against the forces of evil. Which is why this episode will help you spot the ways you’re seeking your identity outside of Jesus and know what to do about it.

In this final episode of our Flora & Faith series, we meet two biblical characters who come to the end of themselves in the same wilderness south of Beersheba. “Wilderness” is more than just a place on a map. It’s also a territory of the soul where all our safety nets get removed, and our only hope is to depend on God. It’s here that God uses a small desert shrub to deliver a potent message of hope. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a new appreciation for the way small graces become huge gifts when we come to the end of ourselves.

Every day we make decisions, and those decisions are based on trust – trust in ourselves, trust in others, and trust in God. But what happens when our trust is misplaced? What happens when the trust we place in ourselves is actually supposed to be in God? For one, it will prevent us from taking a Sabbath because we’ll believe that if we take a break, our needs won’t be met – financially or otherwise. And yet, this was precisely what God sought to address with the Israelites when we instituted the Sabbath following their slavery in Egypt. And God pressed them, and by association, us, with the question, “In whom do you really trust?”

The Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father.” Whoa! In Jesus’s day, you couldn’t begin a prayer more explosively than that. It’s been said that when Jesus told us to address God as “Our Father” that he was introducing a new way to approach God. Nope! The notion of God as “Father” had been deeply rooted in Israel’s story for fifteen hundred years. What Jesus was doing was calling for revolution, and that revolution would begin as a result of his ministry. The revolution is still underway, and Jesus’s invitation for us is to join it. And it all begins by saying the words, “Our Father.”