The Unbroken Ground

Season 2: Ep.9 - Find Your Why

Do you know why you do what you do? What is the foundation of your life? Are you building on solid ground or sinking sand? 
 
Mark 10:17-22
 
English Standard Version
 
 
The Rich Young Man
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Books discussed
How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living by Rob Bell | Goodreads
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan | Goodreads
The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity & Diversity by Roger E. Olson | Goodreads

Season 2: Ep. 8 - Some

If you are a follower of Jesus then you are called. Some are called to be pastors (vocational ministry) and others are not. Regardless, you have been given gifts, talents, experiences, and provisions to do ministry. But don't get it twisted, doing for God is not the same as having a relationship with God. 
 
Ephesians 4:11-16New Revised Standard Version,11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Season 2: Ep.7 - Don't Be the Big Brother

Luke 15:11-32.
 
If God loves unconditionally, what does that mean for you? Jesus loved Judas and the people who would eventually nail Him to the cross. Do we tell people about that type of love? Do we need to ensure people know that God's love will call for change? Do we demand people change so that we can love them? 

Season 2: Ep. 6 -The Outside Doesn't Count

When the world touches Jesus, Jesus redeems the world. When we ask Jesus to be Lord, He changes our hearts. Our righteousness is found in His life and sacrifice. But what about the law - is there righteousness to be found in following Levitical law?

Season 2: Ep. 5- We Have Heard It With Our Ears

Thinking about Psalm 44 and what that means about following Christ. If your life isn't perfect, what is going on? Would God allow Himself to be seen as absent? 

S2: Ep. 4 - I Don't Want To Go To Hell

Growing up in the Evangelical conservative South, I expected altar calls at the end of every sermon. A good majority of those sermons focused on the condition of your soul after death. Often, the Gospel was unwittingly reduced to a way to be sure you made it to heaven and didn't go to hell. This is part two of my scattered ramblings on the Gospel and what Jesus meant when He talked about the good news. Is it all about hell? Or do we need to push further into the narrative to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?

S2-Ep.3: Pearls and Things

If you were to go back in time, how would you want to be taught the Gospel? What methods would you keep, and what themes would you bring forward? What might you skip or leave out? I think Jesus' teaching is all about being obsessed with loving God and loving people. If you do those two things, you will fulfill the Gospel. 

S2-Ep. 2: Let’s Flip Some Tables!

Picking up on the last episode's theme, the topic of this Podcast is Jesus' heart. Thinking like God must mean that we love like God. And we can look to Jesus' example of how to have the heart of God. Do you love religious rules and requirements more than you love people? Do you support your political party even when it marginalizes and dehumanizes groups of people? In his letter, why does John tell us that if you say you love God but don't love your brother, then you are a liar?