Full Audio Episodes

In this 3rd and final bonus episodes recorded during my summer RiseU class series, I discuss some of the key cultural values that distinguished people in the Greco-Roman world from how so many of us think today, shedding light on how those different values shaped how they heard and understood the message of Jesus and His followers. Specifically, we focus on the nature of a Group-Based culture (verse our current In...

In this 2nd of 3 special bonus episodes recorded during my summer RiseU class series, I discuss the religion of the Jewish people, what their core beliefs were and how that related to their interaction with their pagan neighbors, as well as how they would have perceived (and often disagreed) with Jesus and His teachings. We also discuss some of the different religious sects among the Jewish people, like the Sadduc...

In this 1st of 3 special bonus episodes recorded during my summer RiseU class series, I walk through the history of the Jewish people all the way throughout the Old Testament as well as what is known as the Inter-Testamental period - the 450 years between Malachi and the arrival of Jesus. The goal of this first class is to set the stage for understanding what the first hearers of the Gospel message would have been...

It's been a while since I've been able to do a new Like Stars Episode, but I thought this discussion on reading and interpreting the book of Revelation and how that applies to the way Christians approach politics might be a fun listen for you. Enjoy!

Among the most difficult issues people often have with the Bible is the way in which is appears to support the of institution of slavery. The Old Testament Law makes clear allowances for it, Jesus often spoke about slaves without ever condemning the practice, and some New Testament authors, like Paul even seemed to go as far as to encourage the behavior, blatantly calling for slaves to submit to their masters and fo...

Should Jesus have been cancelled for being racist when calling a Canaanite woman a dog? This is just one more example of some the more “difficult” aspects of Jesus’ words and ministry that can sometimes lead people to think he wasn’t always a very good or nice person…at least, until we dig deeper and explore more of what’s happening behind the scenes.  In this second of a 4 part series looking at some of the most ...

For some people, the picture of Jesus they have in their head is of a super nice, friendly guy who smiled all the time and went around hugging everyone. He would never say anything harsh, critical, or offensive and would most certainly never hurt anyone’s feelings … and then they actually read the Bible. Suddenly they read Jesus saying some pretty harsh stuff and aren’t sure quite what to do with it? Did he really...

Is going to church a necessary, required part of being a Christian? Church attendance has been in a steady decline over the past decade (and even more so following COVID) but surprisingly this isn't necessarily a reflection of people's beliefs. In fact, a vast majority of those who no longer regularly attend a church continue to say they still "believe" and generally think of themselves as Christia...

My friend Michael joins me again with some of his questions from the Old Testament prophets - why did they do and say some of the odd and strange things we read about and sometimes ask others to as well? We also dive back into the question of signs from God and spend some time discussing what Isaiah and others meant when referring to the "Day of the Lord".

The book of Job is one of the more complex, confusing, and often misunderstood writings in the entire Bible. Because of it's poetic style, flowery language, and use of multiple voices it can be hard to decipher exactly what the story is trying to communicate. In this bonus episode from a recent message I gave at Rise City Church, I unpack the book's main theme regarding the Retribution Principle (Karma) an...