Shows
Bulwark+ TakesRon Johnson Has Gone Full 9/11 Conspiracy NutThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.comSenator Ron Johnson just floated a shocking 9/11 conspiracy theory, claiming the government might have been involved. Sam Stein, Sarah Longwell, and Will Sommer dive into this alarming trend of politicians promoting dangerous conspiracies, why these ideas keep spreading, and how they're impacting American politics.Watch, listen, and leave a comment.
2025-04-2206 min
The Odd YearsEpisode 9: Has Trump Locked Up The GOP Nomination? With The Focus Group Podcast Host Sarah LongwellAmy Walter catches up with Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark and founder of the Republican Accountability Project. Sarah also hosts The Focus Group podcast, which brings listeners into wide-ranging conversations with voters. Sarah and Amy discuss where Donald Trump is already showing his potential strength in a general election [6:16]. Sarah also reflects on what she’s heard in focus groups to explain where Ron DeSantis’ candidacy went wrong [10:04], why evangelical voters aren’t coalescing around Mike Pence, and what to expect from Tim Scott in the coming months [21:22]. Amy also asks Sarah whether a third...
2023-08-1148 min
The Munk Debates PodcastBe it Resolved, Ron DeSantis, not Donald Trump, will be the GOP nominee in 2024.With Nikki Haley entering the fray, The GOP primary contest has officially begun. Many more candidates are expected to announce here in the coming weeks. But of all the potential challengers, one has emerged as the odds on favorite to defeat the Republican standard bearer Donald Trump. Current Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis has proven himself a formidable political operator, many in the party elite think that the future of the party belongs in his capable hands. He is polling very well, he has the support of the establishment, is a fundraising juggernaut, and manages to channel the core of...
2023-03-0739 min
The Jesus SocietyHow Does God Feel About Me When I Screw Up?This is Episode 92 of the Jesus Society Podcast, and today, I want to talk about how God views us when we screw up. My sense, after talking to lots and lots of people, is that many, many people still imagine — even in this age where we all supposedly understand grace — that God is still peering down at us over the bridge of his spectacles, largely disappointed with how we’re living up to his standards, and wishing we’d all just try a little harder and do a bit better.
So I have some things to say about al...
2022-09-1947 minThe Jesus SocietyWhat Happens When We Die -- Part 3: Hell and Final JudgmentToday we’re going to continue talking about what happens when we die. We’ve talked about purgatory, and we’ve talked about paradise. Today I want to address the most difficult piece of this — hell.
And as I've said in each of the previous episodes in this series, it’s important that we get our thinking straight on all this, at least so we can quit worrying about what happens after death start paying a little more attention to what we do before death.
So join me today as we discuss:
1. Why the way we...
2022-08-0858 minThe Jesus SocietyWhat Happens When We Die -- Part 2: ParadiseThis is Episode 90 of the Jesus Society Podcast. Only ten more till we hit 100!!
Today we’re going to continue talking about what happens when we die. We talked last week about the concept of purgatory, which I definitely don’t believe in, and I laid out why last week. Today I want to talk about a word we don’t talk nearly enough about — paradise.
As I said last week, and which I’ll probably say again next week, it’s important that we get our thinking straight on all this, at least so we can quit...
2022-07-2632 minThe Jesus SocietyWhat Happens When We Die -- Part 1: The Problem With PurgatoryThis is Episode 89 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today I’m going to start a brief series talking about what happens when we die. Because I find that life after death tends to occupy an inordinately large place in our thinking. In fact, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most Christian mission tends to be largely focused on making sure someone goes to heaven when they die.
Frankly, I think a Christianity focused on what happens after death is a misguided focus. But nonetheless, there are things we can say (and should...
2022-07-1825 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 9: Self-Giving LoveThis is Episode 88 of the Jesus Society Podcast. Today, we’re going to conclude our series on Following Jesus in the 21st century, and in particular, looking at the importance and practice of love, particularly as we think about extending that love outward to the watching world.
I hope you'll join me today as we discuss:
1. Following Jesus in Love
2. Does love compel or invite?
3. Chasing a rabbit -- repentance
4. How love advances the kingdom
5. How the early church lived out Jesus' victory of love, and how th...
2022-07-1144 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 8: By This Everyone Will KnowThis is Episode 87 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today, we’re going to continue our series on Following Jesus in the 21st century, and in particular, looking at the importance and practice of love.
So join me today as we discuss:
First Corinthians 13 — the love passage to end all love passages.
How the list of love qualities in 1 Cor. 13:4-8 must be taken together; it’s a package deal.
Understanding how agape came to be THE word to define Christian love.
Love just isn't easy to cultivate.
Is love a rule, a principle, a calculated tactic...
2022-07-0433 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 7: Learning to LoveThis is Episode 86 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And with coffee firmly and lovingly embraced in my hands, we’re going to continue our series on Following Jesus in the 21st century, and in particular, our look at the importance and practice of love.
1. Last week we talked about the importance of learning to live both in, and from, the love of God.
2. We simply cannot give what we do not have, and loving others always grows out of and is fueled and energized by the experience and reality of God’s own love for us.
2022-06-2737 min
Reliable SourcesScrutinizing media coverage of abortion and the Supreme CourtKate Smith, Susan Matthews, and Sarah Longwell discuss how the overturning of Roe v. Wade is being covered by newsrooms. Plus, Brian Stelter connects the dots between recent episodes of political violence; Tom Nichols identifies some of the reasons why threats and violence keep occurring; and Ron Brownstein explains "the great divergence" between red and blue states.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2022-06-2639 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 6: Living LovedThis is Episode 85 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And continuing our conversation about following Jesus in the 21st century, I want to shift gears and start talking about loving like Jesus. And we’re gonna be camped out on this theme of love over the next 3-4 episodes.
What does it mean to love like Jesus? Well, at one level, it’s pretty obvious — Jesus himself said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: that you lay down your life for your friends.”
Delightfully, most of us aren’t asked to do that — at least not l...
2022-06-2042 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 5: Resurrection, Hope, & PurposeThis is Episode 84 of The Jesus Society Podcast.
For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, this is a significant time of year because at this time of year, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. And because this coming Sunday is Resurrection Sunday — Easter — I want to talk again about the resurrection of Jesus.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. Putting yourself in the story of Jesus' resurrection.
2. Between Friday and Sunday: The disappointment, uncertainty, fear, despair, and hopelessness of the earliest Christians.
3. How the resurrection is THE...
2022-04-1134 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 4: New Creation & the Resurrection of JesusThis is Episode 83 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today we come now to the most important event in Christianity — the resurrection of Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead stands as the central, defining feature of the Christian hope. Paul says that very clearly in 1 Corinthians 15, which is the most thorough explanation of the resurrection in the Bible. He says:
1. If Christ has not been raised, then our message is in vain, and so is our faith (v. 14).
2. If Christ has not been raised, we are found to be false wi...
2022-04-0441 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 3: The Victory of the CrossThis is Episode 82 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today we’re gonna continue talking about following Jesus in the 21st century. And specifically we're going to unpack the cross. And I’ve done some of this before. But I’m going to approach it a bit differently today. There are four big, overlapping Old Testament themes that converge in the cross of Jesus, and they’re all hugely important. And we have to talk about all four of those today.
So join me today as we discuss:
1. The compelling story of the cross.
2. Wh...
2022-03-151h 01The Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 2: Discipleship and God’s Kingdom AgendaThis is Episode 81 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today we’re continuing our talk about what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century.
The first piece of this, which we got into last week, had to do with some of the biblical background to the kingdom of God, and Jesus’ statement in Mark 1 that “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Because if we’re going to follow Jesus, we’ve got to understand something about what he’s up to.
And the point that we tried to make last w...
2022-03-0737 minThe Jesus SocietyFollowing Jesus in the 21st Century — Part 1: The Kingdom of God is at HandThis is Episode 80 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today we’re going to begin a series that I think I’m gonna call Following Jesus in the 21st Century. And the first piece of that, which is today's episode, has to do with the call of Jesus to discipleship — what that means, what’s the biblical background to that, and what on earth Jesus intends both for us and what he intends to do through us.
And this, of course, touches on all sorts of things — purpose, hope, meaning — all things I think we’d all say we’d like...
2022-02-2833 minThe Jesus SocietyHow to Find Answers to Biblical QuestionsThis is Episode 79 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And on today’s episode, we're going to talk about how to find answers in the Bible to our questions.
Well, when he first asked me to do this, I thought it would be simple, but the more I've ruminated on it, the less simple it’s become. And that's true in part because there is a dizzying array of misinformation about the Bible out there. And that leave a lot of Christians terribly confused about what the Bible does, and doesn’t say.
So how do we sort...
2022-02-2150 minThe Jesus SocietyWhat the Church is Supposed to BeThis is Episode 78 of The Jesus Society Podcast, and today’s podcast is something I’ve been thinking about and working on for a very long time.
Now, before you listen to today’s episode, I highly encourage you to go back and listen to last week’s episode, which is an episode I did early in 2020, but which I re-released last week because it provides some important background for what I’m going to be talking about today. I think this episode will have more impact if you listen to last week’s episode first.
So with th...
2021-11-0846 minThe Jesus SocietyTJS Rewind: The Attraction of ChristianityToday's episode is a TJS Rewind episode, originally recorded last year. I'm republishing it today because it provides some important background material for the episode I'm planning to release next week.
Today I want to delve into early church history a bit. I think studying church history is important. And here’s why: If you don’t understand where you’ve come from, you have no ability to critique where you are. So I want us to spend some time looking at what Christianity looked like and how it functioned within the broader society in the roughly 300 years...
2021-11-0145 minThe Jesus SocietyReformation Redux: Faith vs. WorksThis is Episode 76 of The Jesus Society Podcast, today I want to revisit a subject most Christians have fussed about since the Reformation. And that is the idea of faith and works. This is not an unimportant topic, but I believe it has been polarized by the issues of the Reformation, and that polarization has caused us to lose sight of some things and to see both of these things with the clarity that Scripture demands. Those things are what I hope to try and sort out today.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. The b...
2021-10-2550 minThe Jesus SocietyDealing with Difficult PeopleThis is Episode 75 of The Jesus Society Podcast, and today I want to talk about dealing with difficult people. And the reason I want to talk about this today is that I’ve been dealing with some difficult people over the last few weeks.
If you don't ever have any problems dealing with difficult people, then perhaps you can just skip this episode, but if, like many of us, you struggle to know how to deal with difficult people, then you might just find a few things in this episode that'll help.
Join me today as...
2021-09-2041 minThe Jesus SocietyDiscovering God's Plan for Your LifeThis is Episode 74 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And I’m still not ready to pick up our discussion of the Lord’s Prayer again. I apologize for that — I don’t like to start stuff and not complete it — but I’m not getting traction there, and until the Lord and I find a way to get some traction, I’m just going to lay it aside for a while.
But what I do want to talk about today is discovering God’s plan for your life. And to do that, I want to start by looking at possib...
2021-08-3027 minThe Jesus SocietyWhen Life Overwhelms YouThis is Episode 73 of the Jesus Society Podcast (NOT Episode 3 as I say in the recording). And we are NOT continuing our discussion today of the Lord’s Prayer. Frankly, I've been a little overwhelmed by life lately. So that's what we're going to talk about today -- WHY I've been feeling overwhelmed, and what to do to maintain sanity, connection, and peace during the all-too common times life this.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. What's going on in my life and why I'm feeling overwhelmed.
2. Some steps to take to help ma...
2021-08-1635 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Lord's Prayer Part III -- Our Father . . . Hallowed Be Your NameThis is Episode 72 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And we’re continuing our discussion today of the Lord’s Prayer, focusing today in on the first phrase — “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
As I’ve said, the Lord’s Prayer is much more than just a quaint little, easy-to-memorize do-all prayer that’s useful to teach children. It’s deeply connected to the story of Israel and Jesus’ mission to rescue God’s people from evil for the sake of the world.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. The Jewish roots of un...
2021-08-0225 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Lord's Prayer Part II -- The Father Heart of GodLast week I introduced a new series on the Lord’s Prayer. For several reasons, I’ve decided to do a rewind episode this week because it fits what we’re going to be talking about in the first part of the Lord’s Prayer. So what you’re about to hear originally aired as Episode 28, which was part of a Freedom series I did last year, this episode titled “The Father-Heart of God.”
As we address God as Father in the Lord’s prayer, we’re addressing him as a father. It’s important that we understand what that...
2021-07-2645 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Lord's Prayer Part I -- Teach Us To PrayThis is Episode 70 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And today we’re going to begin a short series on the Lord’s Prayer.
I was told years ago by one of my early Bible instructors that the last great discipline a Christian masters is the discipline of prayer. I don’t think that’s a helpful statement, and here’s why: Because it portrays prayer as a task to be mastered, and by implication, that it’s not as effective as it’s supposed to be until we master it; or until we do it right.
We’ve got to...
2021-07-1923 minThe Jesus SocietyParenting in the Kingdom of GodToday, one in five children has mental health problems.
Within the last 15 years, there has been a 43% increase in ADHD in kids.
Within the last 15 years, there has been a 37% increase in teen depression.
Within the last 15 years, there has been a 100% increase in the suicide rate in kids 10-14 years old.
This is the world we live in.
Today in Episode 69 of the Jesus Society Podcast, I want to follow-up on our Men of God series and talk about parenting in general, not just as it pertains to men and boys, but parenting in general.
2021-07-1247 minThe Jesus SocietyMen of God - Part 5: The Needs of a BoyThis is Episode 68 of the Jesus Society Podcast, and we’re continuing our Men of God series here, and today I want to talk about what boys need from their fathers, what happens to the heart of a boy when he doesn’t get it, and how God will step in to heal and restore the heart of the boy — or man, as it were — if we’ll just let him.
So many of us men need to experience God as a loving Father, to know that we’re valued and loved and treasured. And to rediscover — maybe for the f...
2021-06-2836 minThe Jesus SocietyMen of God - Part 4: Unfinished MenToday, we're continuing our conversation with Brenden Taylor from last week. This week, part of our conversation includes a discussion of part of John Eldredge's Book "Fathered by God."
We'll also be hearing part of Brenden's story about making peace with his father (who's now passed on).
I think you're going to enjoy this!
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate and review us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or whoever you get your podcasts.
2021-06-2147 minThe Jesus SocietyMen of God - Part 3: Brenden's StoryToday we're continuing our conversation about men and fathers, and the issues that conspire to keep us from being the men that God wants us to be in the world and for our families. And we're having a conversation today with my friend Brenden Taylor.
The truth is that almost every man I know will admit privately that they've got a complicated relationship with their father, and that because that's true, they've had a difficult time adjusting to adulthood, family life, fatherhood, work life, and the world in general. My friend is one of the few men...
2021-06-1458 minThe Jesus SocietyMen of God - Part 2: Fathered by GodBuilding on last week's episode, I'm going to spend some time today telling you a little about how God himself stepped into the void of my life and has fathered me over the years. And if you’re a man listening to this who didn’t have the father you wish you’d had, I think — I pray — that maybe my own story here might be helpful to you.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. The power of surrogate fathers.
2. Being fathered by God himself.
3. The hard lessons of independence.
4. Impor...
2021-06-0740 minThe Jesus SocietyMen of God - Part 1: Growing Up Without a (Good) FatherThis is Episode 64 of The Jesus Society Podcast. Today I want to start a conversation about Men and Fathers and Families. This is something that’s been on my heart for a long time, and it’s probably something we’re going to talk about for the next few weeks. And as I look back on my life, most of my ministry has been men’s ministry. And in part, that’s because of my own journey as a man. And there’s a lot involved in that statement “my journey as a man.” I’m talking about becoming a grown-up, adult m...
2021-05-3149 minThe Jesus SocietyWhat It Means To Reign in Life (Rom. 5:17)Today I want to try, in as succinct a way as I can, to explain a phrase Paul uses in Romans 5:17 that I think has caused a lot of confusion for folks.
Paul talks there about how Christians will “reign in life.” Now, if we just pull that phrase up off the page, and out of the context of Romans, not to mention out of the context of the whole rest of the Bible, and start thinking about what that phrase might mean (which is the way I think most of us usually try to understand unusual phra...
2021-05-2426 minThe Jesus SocietyHow to Live Like Jesus in 2021Today, we're gonna talk about what it means to live like Jesus in 2021. Because remember — we are his body. He lives in us, and so we are his hands, his feet, his lips in this world. That’s what Paul says in 1 Cor. 12:12-27 - "you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
That means that the way the Lord wants to bless and redeem and heal the world will largely be through us.
So, since that’s true, what sort of people ought we to be in the...
2021-05-1732 minThe Jesus SocietyGod and Violence in the Old TestamentToday, we’re going to try and tackle a big old hairy tough subject — the idea of violence at the hand of God, particularly in some of the Old Testament passages.
This is a stumbling block for a lot of people. And there are all sorts of thorny points around this issue. But the crux of it involves a number of Old Testament passages that give us pause. We read, for example, about the total annihilation of Sodom and Gommorah (Genesis 19:23-29). We read about God’s command to Saul to destroy Amalek including “both man and woman, child...
2021-05-1027 minThe Jesus SocietySweet FellowshipOur tagline for the show is “exploring relationship, renewal, and purpose in the Kingdom of God.” So today we’re gonna focus on the “relationship” piece of that. My conviction is that the Kingdom of God is God’s society on earth. God’s family. And the big question is what kind of family is God's family? How do we relate to one another, and to the world?
Join me today as we discuss:
1. Abraham and the start of the earthly family of God
2. The important idea of koinonia in the New Testament
3. How w...
2021-05-0330 minThe Jesus SocietyYou Are A Gift!I had coffee with a dear friend yesterday, and we both said that throughout most of our lives, we've felt inadequate. Different from other people. Inferior. I no longer feel that way, and I’ll get to that part of the story in a bit. But as it turns out, I’m not alone. In fact, many of the people I talk with week in and week out live in that same space.
Join me today as we discuss why that is and why, instead of being square pegs in a round world, each of us is exactly...
2021-04-1942 min
The Jesus SocietyLeaving the Church for Jesus? - AUDIO FIXWe released this episode last week, but just a few days ago, we discovered that the audio was corrupted in the last 25% or so of the episode. So . . . we're re-releasing it again this week. Sorry for the mess-up last week. I hope you enjoy the full episode this week.
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On Monday (March 29, 2021), Gallup published an article titled “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time” (link below). The article reports on the 2020 religious survey that Gallup has conducted every year, I think since 1937. According to Gallup, “U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first...
2021-04-1252 minThe Jesus SocietyLeaving the Church for Jesus?On Monday (March 29, 2021), Gallup published an article titled “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time” (link below). The article reports on the 2020 religious survey that Gallup has conducted every year, I think since 1937. According to Gallup, “U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.”
The gist of the article is that for the first time in American history, church membership has fallen below 50%.
And the three big takeaways from the artic...
2021-04-0552 minThe Jesus SocietyResurrection PeopleThis is Episode 57 of The Jesus Society Podcast, and because this coming Sunday is Resurrection Sunday (Easter), I thought we should talk a bit about the resurrection of Jesus.
This coming Sunday, throughout the world, Christians will celebrate what we’ve come to know as Easter, and event that centers around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But most of us really don’t understand the significance of that event. But the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead stands as Christianity’s most remarkable and most important event. In one act, Christianity is transformed from a...
2021-03-2940 minThe Jesus SocietyJSP Rewind -- What Really Happened on the Cross?Today's episode is a rewind episode that I originally recorded early in 2020 as Episode 9. Because we're getting close to Easter, I thought it'd be useful to revisit the crucifixion of Jesus before we talk (as we will) about the Resurrection. The truth is that Jesus' death accomplished everything we probably think it did, but it also accomplished a whole lot more than we usually imagine. So join us today as we talk about all of it.
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the show, plea...
2021-03-2233 minThe Jesus SocietyCan I Be Blameless Before God?Today I want to address the subject of perfectionism in Christianity and the idea of being blameless before God.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. The flawed paradigm of perfectionism through which we imagine God views us.
2. When we started thinking the way we do about perfectionism.
3. Is our imperfection really the problem God's trying to fix?
4. Some examples of people in the Bible who are said to be "blameless."
5. Is blameless the same as sinless?
6. How John and David help us understand what it...
2021-03-1529 minThe Jesus SocietyA Royal PriesthoodThis is Episode 54 of The Jesus Society Podcast, and today I want to delve into Israel’s identity and assigned vocation in the world — who they were and who they were to be.
This is important. Most of us Christians have been led to believe that Israel is a people group the Lord has washed his hands of. And that belief has allowed us to kind of wash our hands of Israel’s Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. And that is terribly unfortunate, because Israel’s story is our story, because Israel’s God is our God....
2021-03-0837 minThe Jesus SocietyThe God of the Exodus - Part 2Today, on this first episode of our second year (YAY!), I want to think a little bit more about the Exodus, and what God revealed to his people Israel about himself and his nature immediately following their departure from Egypt. AND, how those things carried on through the New Testament, Jesus, and the church.
Join us today as we discuss:
1. The three symbols which conveyed to Israel who God is.
2. The central idea in the tabernacle (it's much more than just a place to offer sacrifices).
3. The relation of the temple...
2021-03-0135 minThe Jesus SocietyThe God of the Exodus - Part 1Today, on the one-year anniversary of the start of The Jesus Society Podcast, I want us to think a bit about the Exodus, and in particular, what it revealed to Israel, and what it continues to reveal to us today about God.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. Some background to the Exodus
2. What it means for Israel to be the firstborn of God
3. Seeing God as a parent
4. The focus of the ten plagues
5. The centrality of the Passover to Israel's identity
6. What the b...
2021-02-2230 minThe Jesus SocietySin, Death, and ExileContinuing our conversation from last week, we're taking a deep-dive into the biblical idea of sin. My contention is that most of us in the west have a truncated view of sin, and we need to sort that out, not least because a diminished view of sin leads to a diminished view of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
Join us today as we discuss the related concepts of sin, death, and exile throughout the Bible.
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the s...
2021-02-1543 minThe Jesus SocietyBack to the GardenThis is Episode 50 of The Jesus Society Podcast, and as we approach the start of our second year of the podcast, I want to start something a bit new. I want to lay out a crystal clear view of the God of the Bible — who he is, what he’s been up to, and what his ultimate goal of the world is. I did a little of this early on last year in the “Story of the Bible” episodes we did. But I also know that in trying to give an overview, I sketched things out so thinly in some area...
2021-02-0846 minThe Jesus SocietyWorship, The Assembly, and Music - Part IVToday is the final episode of our discussion about worship, the Christian assembly, and music.
Join myself, Nathan, and Ashley today as we discuss:
1. Pros & Cons of "Traditional" Worship Music
2. Pros & Cons of "Modern" Worship Music
3. Keeping the main thing the main thing -- God must be at the center, not us. That said, whatever we do in the assembly should foster unity, not self-centeredness; Giving, not receiving.
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the show, pleas...
2021-02-011h 35The Jesus SocietyWorship, The Assembly, and Music - Part IIIWe're back again today with Part 3 of our discussion with Nathan and Ashley about worship, the assembly, and music. And by the way, for the purposes of this discussion, I want to make it clear that when we talk about “music,” we’re not talking here about contemporary Christian “radio” (or for the non-geriatric folks like me, “streaming”) music. We're talking exclusively about church assembly music.
Join us today as we tackle the following questions/issues:
1. Is worship about us or God?
2. How does music function among humans? What does it do to us? Is it importa...
2021-01-2549 minThe Jesus SocietyWorship, The Assembly, and Music - Part IIThis is our second episode in what is shaping up to be a four-part discussion about worship, the assembly, and music.
I’d invite you, if you haven’t listened to last week’s episode (Part I), to go back and listen to that before you listen to today’s conversation, because these episodes build on each other, and I think you’ll follow our conversation today a bit better if you’ve heard last week’s episode first.
Many of us have strong feelings about what goes on in the assembly music-wise and how that all works...
2021-01-1855 minThe Jesus SocietyWorship, The Assembly, and Music - Part IToday, I'm joined by my son Nathan, and we’re gonna kick-off a two or three-part little series here today. And we're going to be talking about over the next few weeks is the subject of worship, music, and the Christian assembly.
Nathan and I cooked up the idea of this series together, and a lot of it has grown out of a whole host of conversations we’ve had over the last five or six years about this issue.
But today, I really want to lay some theological groundwork for this discussion, because theological grou...
2021-01-111h 12The Jesus SocietyRelationship Habits For A New YearLast week we talked about some spiritual habits to work on developing in 2021. Today I want to talk about some relationship habits to work on developing.
Let’s face it — we all want better relationships. And I am of the conviction that as followers of Jesus, we ought to have the best relationships on earth. AND, because of the way I view the Kingdom of God, one of the big draws to God’s way of living is the way we relate to one another. Christians should be the most attractive people on earth, and a big part of...
2021-01-0439 minThe Jesus SocietySpiritual Habits for a New YearWe’re a nation of goal setters, and at this time of year, just about everyone starts thinking about setting goals or making resolutions for the new year. So in today's episode, the last episode of 2020, I want to talk about getting the most out of 2021 spiritually. In particular, I want to talk about how we can improve our relationship with God in 2021. Because really, the relationship you have with God fuels every other part of your life.
But before you listen to this podcast, I highly recommend you head on over to our Patreon site and re...
2020-12-2830 minThe Jesus SocietyGod With Us - A Christmas MessageIn the midst of all the hustle and bustle of shopping and cooking and traveling associated with Christmas, all of which I participate in fully, I wanted to talk in this episode about the birth of Jesus, and what it represents to me.
Join me today as we discuss the importance of an ordinary Jesus. When God chose the name his son would carry, he chose a common human name. He chose a name so typical that it would appear two or three times on any class roll. That’s what John meant when he told us in...
2020-12-2120 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Worst Fundraiser in the WorldToday’s a “Just Ron” episode, and I want to talk to you briefly about a subject that makes most Christians I know (me included) roll their eyes just a bit. The subject is money. And the impetus for this, which I’ll tell you about up-front in case you want to just skip this episode is that I started a Patreon page this week.
So join me today as we discuss ministry, money, why I don't think those two things mix very well, and why I really am the worst fundraiser in the world.
I want to...
2020-12-1432 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - I Am HeToday on TJSP, Brenden and I are concluding our discussion of the miniseries "The Chosen" with a conversation about Episode 8, titled "I Am He." The big scene that this episode is building towards is Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, which you can read about in John chapter 4.
I LOVE the way they tell this woman's story in this episode, and I think you will to! Join us and find out why.
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the show...
2020-12-071h 47The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - InvitationsOn today's episode, Brenden and I are discussing Episode 7 of The Chosen, titled "Invitations." This is the centerpiece episode of Season 1 of The Chosen and features Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus as recorded in John chapter 3. This is a powerful scene, and I think you'll enjoy our take on it!
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As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d tell others about the podcast. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate and review us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, AND now also on Amazon Music.
Please visit us on our Facebook group for the Jesus...
2020-11-231h 18The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - Indescribable CompassionJoin drama guru Brenden Taylor and myself as we discuss Episode 6 of The Chosen. This epsode is titled "Indescribable Compassion, and gives us an up-close-and-personal look at the compassion of Jesus. This is a key episode in season one, as Jesus is growing in popularity and notoriety. Crowds are beginning to gather around him, which of course attracts the attention of both the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans. As in Scripture, not everyone receives Jesus in the same way, but "those who have eyes to see and ears to hear" see Jesus as the winsome, loving, and authoritative...
2020-11-161h 28The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - The Wedding GiftToday, myself and my friend and ace drama dude Brenden Taylor are discussing Episode 5 of the miniseries The Chosen. This episode centers around Jesus' first miracle, the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12).
According to Dallas Jenkins, the show's creator, this episode is his second favorite episode.
There is so much to discuss in this episode, I can't possibly list it all. Shame, embarrassment, feelings of not being good enough, and how Jesus accomplishes more in a miracle than just the miracle. You'll enjoy this one!
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As always, we’d appreciate it...
2020-11-091h 25The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - The Rock on Which It Is BuiltToday, Brenden Taylor and I are discussing Episode 4 of The Chosen, titled "The Rock On Which It Is Built." It's a fantastic episode and tells an extremely important story - the story of Peter's "conversion," if you will. The miraculous catch of fish is what does it for Peter, as told in Luke 5:1-11.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. Dealing with life on your own
2. Unity among the people of God
3. Accusing God of not doing his job
4. What it must be like for Jesus to watch us...
2020-11-021h 16The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - Jesus Loves the Little ChildrenToday, Brenden Taylor and I continue our conversation about the miniseries The Chosen. Episode 3, which we will discuss today, is titled "Jesus Loves the Little Children, and it's a great episode. Join us today as we discuss:
1. Jesus the Carpenter-Outdoorsman
2. The human side of Jesus and being a fun guy to be around
3. The insightful questions of children and Jesus' revealing answers
4. Praying the Shema
5. The idea of Christian vocation
6. Justice for children and living differently than others
7. Seeing God and his heart and not l...
2020-10-261h 08The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - ShabbatWe're talking about the miniseries "The Chosen" for the third week now. Today we're talking about Episode 2. And so much of Episode 2 revolves around the idea of Shabbat (what we call the Sabbath). There's so much in this episode to talk about, so I hope you enjoy it. In part, Brenden Taylor and myself will be talking about:
1. How we've typically understood "Sabbath" in Christian circles.
2. What Shabbat really means and why it's such an important event in Jewish and Christian circles.
3. What a Shabbat meal looked like.
4. The three (really 4...
2020-10-191h 10The Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - I Have Called You By NameOn today's episode, myself and Brenden Taylor will be discussing Episode 1 of the miniseries "The Chosen." The Chosen is an 8-part dramatic representation of the life of Jesus. According to the show’s creator, Dallas Jenkins, the goal is “to show Jesus through the eyes of those who met him.”
Last week we started talking about the series with kind of a series overview. If you haven't already listened to last week's episode (Episode 33), I'd encourage you to go back and listen to it before you listen to today's episode.
If you have any questions about T...
2020-10-1254 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Chosen - Series OverviewToday we're beginning a series in which myself and my friend and drama professor Brenden Taylor will be discussing the miniseries "The Chosen."
According to their website, "The Chosen is the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus. Created outside of the Hollywood system, The Chosen allows us to see Him through the eyes of those who knew him. No matter where you are at in your journey with Jesus Christ, this TV show is for you."
If you haven't seen it yet, I highly encourage you to watch it. You can watch it...
2020-10-0541 minThe Jesus SocietyA Pandemic Church ModelImagine you’re one of the Christian families in Acts chapter 8 who are forced to flee Jerusalem because of persecution. You end up in a new town. You’re now the only Christians in that town. If a church is going to be formed there, you’re gonna have to do it. What do you do? What would that look like?
Also, imagine — and this will be much easier for most of you — that a pandemic has just hit and churches have closed their doors for two months. What are you going to?
And while you're ima...
2020-09-2847 minThe Jesus SocietyFreedom Part 5 - Freedom From FearWe all have our fears, don’t we? Maybe you’re afraid of being alone. Maybe you’re afraid of being rejected. Perhaps your greatest fear is the fear of the unknown; of the future; of dying. The point is, we all have our fears. We all have those things that make us afraid.
But for some of us, fear can become crippling. Debilitating. Paralyzing. Some common fears I've encountered in myself and others are:
Fear of embarrassment
Fear of never getting married/being alone
Fear of being worthless/useless/hopeless
2020-09-2141 minThe Jesus SocietyReading the Bible Like Jesus and PaulIf you read the Bible the way Jesus read the Bible, or you read the Bible the way Paul read the Bible, or if you read the Bible the way the writer of Hebrews or Peter or any of the apostles read the Bible, you will fail seminary classes.
That’s your Paul Harvey teaser. Join me today to get the rest of the story.
I want to talk briefly today about how we read the Bible and how we should read the Bible.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. The di...
2020-09-1430 minThe Jesus SocietyFreedom Part 4 -- The Importance of IdentityToday we're talking about another part of freedom, and that’s the idea of identity. And this ties in closely with last week’s episode. You have two choices in life: You can see yourself as a son or daughter of God. Or you can see yourself as an orphan. And it matters greatly how you see yourself. Because if the enemy or the world can convince us that we’re something other than what God says we are, we will never make it.
And Satan will try and attack us either by casting doubt on the nature o...
2020-09-0748 minThe Jesus SocietyFreedom Part 3 - The Father Heart of GodThe big thing we have to understand about spiritual freedom is that it’s rooted, not in an event or a process, but in a person — Jesus Christ. And we see this in two passages in the gospel of John (John 15:4-5, and John 8:31-36)
Jesus couldn't be clearer. It’s only by clinging to him — abiding in him — that we become free and remain free.
And because that's so, one of the first things we’ve got to get settled in all this is our belief in who God is. Not our belief in God, but our...
2020-08-3147 minThe Jesus SocietyFreedom Part 2 - Brokenness & BondageSo we’re gonna be talking over the next few weeks about the idea of freedom — what it is, why we need it, and how to get it. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The truth will set you free. Well . . . free from what? The easiest answer here is free from sin. But I think Jesus’ concept of freedom is bigger than that. I think he’s envisioning a freedom from anything that holds you back from becoming Christ...
2020-08-1740 minThe Jesus SocietyFreedom Part 1 -- Deep HealingToday I’m going to introduce what we’re going to be talking about for the next few weeks. There’s a story in the New Testament that I think introduces our subject beautifully. And that is the story of the woman at the well in John 4. So today, we’re going to walk through that story and notice some things about this interaction with this woman. And we’re going to pay particular attention to who this woman is, what her life has been like up to this point, the baggage she has been carrying around, and the ways she has...
2020-08-1031 minThe Jesus SocietyFinding Your Calling - A PrimerToday I’m going try and tackle, in an introductory way, the subject of calling, what it means to find your calling, and some suggestions on how to do that. And the reason I say this is introductory is that calling is something that unfolds over time in the context of a relationship with God. And neither I nor anyone else can help you sort out your calling in a 30-60 minute podcast where it’s just me talking to you.
So this is us dipping our toes into the water, hopefully getting ourselves sorted out an...
2020-08-031h 04The Jesus SocietyThe Christendom Shift - Part 2NOTE: If you haven't listened to last week's episode, you should listen to it before you listen to this episode. There is some useful background material there, and you will understand this episode better if you listen to last week's episode first.
Last week we started talking about series of shifts that took place beginning in the early 300s AD that changed the nature of the way churches functioned in the world pretty much from then on, and not necessarily for the better. Church historians call this the Christendom Shift. It's a shift that took pl...
2020-07-2757 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Christendom Shift - Part 1Today and next week, we’re going to talk about a seismic shift that took place in early Christianity, beginning in the early fourth century AD (300s) that changed the way churches functioned from then on, and not necessarily for the better. Scholars call this the Christendom Shift.
It is a shift that took place from the period of pre-Christiandom (the early church of the first three centuries), to Christendom (everything after the early AD 300s). And like most societal changes, this didn’t happen overnight; it actually took about 100 years, but if we were going to try t...
2020-07-2053 minThe Jesus SocietyGoing to Church in the First CenturyToday, I want to try and give you a picture of what going to church in the first century was like — what it looked and felt like, and how it embodied everything we’ve been talking about. But we have to start with a word or two about the phrase “going to church” and a few of the other phrases we use to talk about gathering together with other Christians — like “attending church” or referring to our gatherings as “services.” I find those terms inadequate and unhelpful, BECAUSE those terms fail to capture the intent of Christian assemblies AND what I think the ear...
2020-07-1349 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Attraction of ChristianityToday I want to delve into early church history a bit. I think studying church history is important. And here’s why: If you don’t understand where you’ve come from, you have no ability to critique where you are. So I want us to spend some time looking at what Christianity looked like and how it functioned within the broader society in the roughly 300 years after Jesus. AND how all that informs our faith and our lives with Jesus today.
Join me today as we discuss:
1. Christianity by the numbers - how much the ear...
2020-07-0644 minThe Jesus SocietyEngaging God in Discernment & Decision MakingDiscernment and decision-making are things that always challenge us as we try to live our lives before God. Discerning his will, discerning our own roles in God's world, making decisions, keeping our own motivations in check -- all these things challenge us. Sometimes we do it well, and sometimes we don't. Today I want us to think a bit about engaging God more deeply in discernment & decision-making. It's a big subject, but I think you'll find some things here helpful.
Join me today as we discuss . . .
1. The two paradigms to discernment and decision-making (one is...
2020-06-2945 minThe Jesus SocietyNurturing People in the Kingdom of GodPart of the journey God has called us all on is to invite others into the journey and to help them learn to live lives of increasing surrender to and intimacy with God. We have some Bible words for those kinds of “inviting” activities: evangelism and discipleship. And there are more modern church-words that try to get at the same thing: conversion, proselytization, soul-winning, etc.
The problem is that most of those words have become a bit tainted for a lot of us. We’ve seen people engaged in those activities who are manipulative, aggressive, forceful, relentless. And we’...
2020-06-2241 minThe Jesus SocietyA People of PeaceAfter talking last week about justice in the Kingdom of God, and continuing to think about all the rancor and hostility and aggression we’ve been seeing in our country, I thought it’d be useful to talk about another word that is important in the Kingdom of God, and that's peace.
Join me today as we discuss . . .
1. The biblical concept of peace.
2. The fact that peace is not a goal but a result.
3. What peace looks like.
4. The problem of peace in our world.
5. Some suggestions on ho...
2020-06-1522 minThe Jesus SocietyJustice in the Kingdom of GodOn today's episode, I wanted to because I want to talk about all the stuff going on in our country right now, particularly involving the death of George Floyd and its aftermath, all of it on the heels of the coronavirus, and the two-month lockdown and widespread unemployment that has caused. I think most of you will agree that things are an absolute mess right now, mostly concentrated in the big cities. So for those of us who are Christians, how do we come to terms with all of that, and how do we respond to it?
Thi...
2020-06-0855 minThe Jesus SocietyJesus-Style RelationshipsWhat is the church? Have you ever thought about that? Really thought about it?
Maybe you'd say it's the collection of saved people? And you'd be right.
Maybe you'd say it's the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27)? Right again.
Or maybe you'd use Paul's language in 1 Tim. 3:15 and say the church is the pillar and support of the truth. Well who's gonna argue with Paul. Of course.
All those things are true, but I’d like to suggest there’s something even more basic. AND, I’m gonna suggest that if we don’...
2020-06-0146 minThe Jesus SocietyGrowing in Intimacy with God - Where Is God When I Hurt?We’ve been talking for the last few weeks about learning to live in intimacy with the Father and learning to live in the reality of his love. I think it's the most important part of our transformation. And our transformation is essential if we’re to be salt and light to the world around us, and bear the image of God to the world. But the thing that will derail all that quicker than anything, in my opinion and experience, is pain and suffering.
In Psalms 10:1, the Palmist asks a familiar question: “Why, O Lord, do you sta...
2020-05-2540 minThe Jesus SocietyGrowing in Intimacy with God - Learning to Live LovedWe live at the mercy of our ideas. And that is never more true than when it comes to our ideas about God. If we think of him one way, it will color all of our expectations of him, and taint all of our reactions to what we perceive him to be doing — or not doing — in our world.
The thing that has changed the trajectory of my life the most — moving me from trying to appease God by my efforts and by trying to have everything figured out and being “right,” to learning how I could live inside th...
2020-05-1841 minThe Jesus SocietyGrowing in Intimacy with God - Prayer as DialogueToday we're going to talk about reimagining prayer as dialogue as opposed to monologue. Prayer is communion with God, which is relationship-building. Prayer is where intimacy with God is forged. And as such, prayer is meant to be a two way communication with God. And that’s really different from what I had always thought and from what I’d always been taught. And what I’m gonna describe here is what’s called contemplative prayer. And Christians have been practicing contemplative prayer for well over a thousand years. But you hardly ever hear about it in evangelical circles.
The...
2020-05-1148 minThe Jesus SocietyGrowing in Intimacy with God - Does God Talk To Us?How do we learn to lean into God, to experience him more fully, and to come to rest in his love for us? To relate to God not just as a distant King who we’ve read a book about, but as a real, present, loving Father who “walks with us and talks with us and tells us we are his own.” Because for me, everything God wants to do in us and through us hinges on an unfolding relationship and growing intimacy with God. That's the subject of today's show, and in particular, we're going to talk about what com...
2020-05-0447 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 8: Letting God Have His Way With UsWe;'ve been talking about how in the Kingdom of God that Jesus inaugurates in the New Testament, God is restoring Israel (and that includes all those who align themselves with and follow Israel’s new King Jesus). And she is now to be God’s representatives on earth, mediating God’s love and peace to the world around us, being a light to the nations and inviting people to taste and see that the Lord is good, and to live in fellowship with God and his people.
So this week, we start with a question, and that is...
2020-04-2742 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 7: What REALLY Happened on the Cross?So we’ve been talking about the story of the Bible, and we started with the premise that God’s goal in creation and everything that follows is to draw people into fellowship with himself so that they could experience his love in the fullest possible way. And we traced the contours of the Old Testament to see how the big pieces of the story fit within that overarching goal.
We’ve now arrived in the New Testament where Jesus announces that the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. We talked last week ab...
2020-04-2034 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 6: The Kingdom Society of JesusLast week we talked about the restoration of Israel. And that's a concept that we find in a lot of Old Testament passages. For instance, Amos 9:11-15, where God talks about a day when he “will restore the fallen tent of David.” He says, “I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” And again, language like this is all through the prophets. And I want to suggest that the restoration of Israel is linked to Jesus’ announcement that the Kingdom of God has come.
On today's episode, we're going to lo...
2020-04-1342 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 5: Did God Give Up on Israel?Today, we’re back looking at the Story of the Bible and the Kingdom of God. And the piece we need to give some attention to next is the idea known as the Restoration of Israel. We’ve seen what Israel was supposed to be in the world — a people that would function in the world as a kingdom of priests, mediating God’s blessings to the world and showing them what life as a community of people under the reign of God looked like. Sadly, Israel didn’t always do that as well as they could have. They repeatedly...
2020-04-0626 minThe Jesus SocietyFinding Peace in the Midst of FearOn today's episode, I wanted to take a break from our look at the Story of the Bible to talk about what I suspect some of you are feeling today. Word just came out that there are over three million Americans unemployed due to Covid-19. Several people I know are either among them or have family members who are struggling with coming to grips with this new reality and the financial uncertainty it brings on their families. And as is true during any period of fear and uncertainty, we usually find our ourselves with questions about God. Where is...
2020-03-3034 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 4: What's the Big Deal With Israel?On today's show, we're talking about Israel: Who they are, why they are, and what their role is in the world. And we'll also talk a bit about the purpose of the Law of Moses in Israel's history. It's probably not what you think. And in so doing, I'm going to give you some thoughts that should help you read the Law more profitably.
We'll be talking about Israel's role as a light to the nations and as a kingdom of priests. All of this is preparing us for Jesus' Kingdom announcement in the gospels.
O...
2020-03-2338 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 3: Blessed To Be A BlessingOn today's episode, we’re going to begin to trace the story of Israel. Understanding Israel's role in God's purposes in this world is foundational for understanding Jesus and the Kingdom of God. We can’t just jump from Genesis 3 to the Gospels and think that once we understand the sin problem we can move straight away to the solution, which is Jesus. There is a story going on, and in God’s plan, it was always his intent that a transformed Israel would transform the world. And what we're trying to do here over these first few weeks is sket...
2020-03-1626 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 2: Creation & ChaosOn today's episode, we’re going to continue unpacking my understanding of the Story of the Bible and the Kingdom of God. Last week, we talked about how God created you you and me that he could love us. That is his purpose in creation. And as we said last week, as the story of the Bible unfolds throughout the Old Testament and into the New, that journey will take a lot of twists and turns. But that is always the direction God is moving.
Today, we're going to talk through the first three chapters of Genesis - Cr...
2020-03-0948 minThe Jesus SocietyThe Story of the Bible - Part 1: Why God Created UsToday, we're going start unpacking my understanding of the Story of the Bible and the Kingdom of God. Everything we’re going to talk about in this podcast flows out of an understanding of who God is and what he’s trying to do in the world, so we’ve got to start there. We'll be looking at Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-26. At the end of his life, what were his hopes and dreams for his followers & how does that grow out of the Father's own hopes and dreams for the world?
2020-03-0224 min
The Jesus SocietyThe Jesus Society - IntroductionThe inaugural episode of The Jesus Society podcast - an ongoing conversation about relationship, renewal, and purpose in the Kingdom of God. On this first episode, we are discussing my intent for the podcast, why I'm doing it, and a bit about what you can expect in future episodes, with some specific teasers for some of the early episodes I've got planned. I hope you enjoy the podcast. If you do, please subscribe and tell others about us. Remember . . . you are greatly loved!
2020-02-2122 min