PODCAST · religion
The TakeAway
by Pastor Harry Behrens
Teaching believers how to have a more intimate relationship with Jesus as we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/harry-behrens/support
Episodes
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John 13:21–30 What I Am Doing You Do Not Understand
Send us Fan Mail Something about the hardest seasons of faith is how disorienting they feel: you’re genuinely sure God led you here, but you can’t see what he’s doing with it. We pick up in John 13 at the table where Jesus drops a sentence that stuns everyone in the room, “One of you will betray...
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John 13:1-21 Why Did Jesus Wash His Disciples’ Feet?
Send us Fan Mail A towel and a basin don’t look like power until you watch Jesus pick them up. Pastor Harry Behrens walks through John 13 on the night before the crucifixion, where Jesus shocks His disciples by taking the lowest role in the room and washing their feet. That single act exposes a...
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John 12:44-50 Has God Shown Enough?
Send us Fan Mail You can spend your whole life telling yourself, “If God would just give me one undeniable sign, I’d believe.” John 12 tells a harder story: people who had Scripture, public teaching, and even a man raised from the dead still refused Jesus. So we slow down at John 12:44-50, the...
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John 12:37-43 When God Hardens Hearts
Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever read “God hardened their hearts” and felt your stomach drop, you’re not alone. We sit in the tension of John 12:37–43 where the crowd watches extraordinary signs from Jesus, yet John says they not only do not believe, they cannot believe. That single line forces a...
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John 12:34–36 If God Chooses Us, Do We Still Need to Respond?
Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “If God already chose who He will save, then my choice doesn’t really matter,” you’re not alone and you’re not the first. We take that pressure point head-on and open John 12:34–36, where a confused crowd presses Jesus with sharp questions...
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John 12:20-33 What Did Jesus Mean by ‘I Will Draw All People’?
Send us Fan Mail “I will draw all people to myself” sounds simple until you try to define “all.” That’s where we start, with John 12:32 and the question many of us either avoid or fight over: does Jesus draw everyone to salvation, draw some, or only make salvation possible if we choose it? I keep...
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John 12:12-19 Why Can't I See What God Is Doing?
Send us Fan Mail You can be standing in the middle of God’s work and still have no idea what He is doing. That’s not a character flaw, and John 12 proves it. As we walk through John 12:12-19, we watch Palm Sunday unfold with palm branches, Scripture-soaked shouts, and a King who chooses a donkey...
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John 11:55-12:11 Why do you come to Jesus?
Send us Fan Mail Why do you come to Jesus? Not the church answer. Not the answer you were taught to say. The real one that shows up in your life once the sermon ends and the week begins. We open John 11:55 through John 12:11 and watch a room fill with very different motives around the same…
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John 11:38-54 If God Is Love, Why Does He Allow Suffering? Part 3: The Resurrection
Send us Fan Mail A dead man walks out of a tomb, and the most startling detail is that Jesus is still visibly grieving while he does it. We sit in John 11:38–54 at the exact moment this three-part series has been moving toward, and we face the question behind the question: if God is love, what…
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John 11:17-37 If God Is Love, Why Does He Allow Suffering? Part 2: The Grief
Send us Fan Mail Grief doesn’t wait for a convenient time, and neither do the questions it brings. When tragedy hits, we instinctively ask: If God is love, why does He allow suffering, and if God is sovereign, how can evil exist without making Him its author? Pastor Harry Behrens keeps those...
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John 11:1-16 If God Is Love, Why Does He Allow Suffering? Part 1: The Delay
Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever prayed for God to step in and felt the silence stretch on, John 11 can feel almost unbearable. Jesus hears that Lazarus, His dear friend, is dying. He loves Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He has the power to heal. And He still waits. That one detail forces a question...
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John 10:23–42 Can You Lose Your Salvation?
Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your faith feels real, but your track record makes you wonder if God will eventually let go? We sit with one of the most comforting promises Jesus ever gives and one of the most confronting claims He ever makes. As Pastor Harry Behrens finishes John 10:23–42,...
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John 10:22 The God Who Works in Silence
Send us Fan Mail Silence can feel like the cruelest answer. You pray, you wait, you try to stay faithful, and heaven feels quiet while real life gets louder. So we slow down and sit with one “blink and you miss it” verse, John 10:22, where John tells us it’s winter and Jesus is at the Feast of...
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John 10:11-21 Why Does God Love You?
Send us Fan Mail The most dangerous assumptions are the ones we never name, and few are more common than this: God loves me because there is something in me worth loving. We open with a single question that exposes it: why does God love you? Then we walk straight into John 10:11-21, where Jesus...
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John 10:7-10 What Did Jesus Mean by "I Am the Door"?
Send us Fan Mail “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.” John 10:9 might be the most familiar line many of us have heard used to prove that salvation begins with a human choice. But when we stop treating it like a standalone slogan and follow John’s argument from the beginning,...
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John 10:1-6 The Shepherd Calls His Own
Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever felt quietly confident because you’re near Christian community or quietly anxious because you’re not sure you “measure up,” John 10 puts its finger on the real issue. We keep hearing a familiar question in church life: does being in the right place with the right...
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John 9:35–41 Why God Saves - The Purpose of Salvation
Send us Fan Mail Salvation is bigger than rescue from guilt. It has a destination. Walking through John 9:35-41, we watch the story of the man born blind reach its final outcome, and it answers a question most of us do not ask often enough: what is God ultimately accomplishing when He saves a...
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John 9:24-34 Praise Under Pressure
Send us Fan Mail A man with no credentials walks into a room full of experts and refuses to edit a single line of his story. John 9:24–34 captures the moment the healed man born blind is called back for a second interrogation, and the stakes are no longer theoretical. The religious institution...
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John 9:8-23 How God Works to Produce Praise
Send us Fan Mail The moment suffering hits, the human heart reaches for a courtroom: Who did this, and who’s to blame? I start in John 9 with that exact question, then show why Scripture so often refuses to play along. The disciples see a man born blind and assume there must be a moral cause.…
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John 9:1-7 - We Are All Born Blind
Send us Fan Mail You can be given a clear direction and still feel lost when there’s no visible destination. That’s the pressure point we sit in as we open John chapter 9 with Pastor Harry Behrens: Jesus leaves the temple after rejection, “passes by,” and sees a man born blind. The religious...
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You Cannot Climb To A Holy God
Send us Fan Mail Holiness can sound like a church word until you feel what Scripture is actually asking: how can unclean people live near a God who is entirely other. That question sits underneath Leviticus, and Pastor Harry Behrens shows why it is also the weight-bearing beam that holds up John…
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John 8:48–59 Before Abraham Was, I Am
Send us Fan Mail Stones in their hands. A single sentence on Jesus’ lips. And a question none of us can dodge: what do we do when the truth goes far enough that it demands surrender? We walk through John 8:48–59 where the conversation reaches its breaking point, not because the evidence is…
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John 8:31–47 The Truth That Sets You Free
Send us Fan Mail “The truth will set you free” might be the most quoted line in John 8, but Jesus doesn’t leave freedom up to our imagination. I’m Pastor Harry Barons, and we slow down in John 8:31–47 to watch Jesus do something surprising: He turns to people who’ve just said they believe and...
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John 8:21-30 The Belief That Doesn't Save
Send us Fan Mail You can spend a lifetime around Jesus and still keep Him at arm’s length. That’s the unsettling tension in John 8:21-30, where Jesus moves from “I am the light of the world” to a warning with real finality: “You will seek me and die in your sins.” If you’ve ever wondered why some...
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John 8:12-20 I Am the Light Of The World
Send us Fan Mail He says it out loud in the brightest place in Jerusalem: “I am the light of the world.” And instead of worship, he gets cross-examined. We’re back in John 8:12–20, where Jesus steps into the same unresolved conflict from John 7 and makes a declaration that leaves no room for...
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John 8:1-11 Let Him Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone
Send us Fan Mail A room full of certainty can still be a room full of blindness. Pastor Harry Barrens walks us into the temple courtyard of John 7:53 to 8:11, where a woman is dragged into public shame and the religious experts come armed with Scripture, witnesses, and stones. But before we even...
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John 7:40-52 Who Really Decides What You Believe?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when truth collides with our safest assumptions? We walk through John 7:40–52 and watch the room shift: a stirred crowd, officers disarmed by a single voice, and religious authorities who trade honest inquiry for status and shame. The scene is tense and painfully...
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Why Did God Save at All? | Easter Message
Send us Fan Mail Easter is easy to summarize and strangely hard to see. We all know the lines: Jesus died, Jesus rose, sins are forgiven. But I want to slow down and ask the question that keeps pressing underneath the familiar story: why did God choose the cross at all, and why this moment in...
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Johm 7:37-39 If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink
Send us Fan Mail A crowded temple, songs still ringing, and a golden pitcher just poured out—then a voice rises above the feast: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” We step into John 7 on the great day of the Feast of Tabernacles and follow Pastor Harry Barrens as he draws a…
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John 7:32-36 Why Some People Seek Jesus — But Never Find Him
Send us Fan Mail Some words refuse to soften. “You will seek me and you will not find me; where I am, you cannot come.” We walk through John 7:32–36 to uncover why Jesus says this, how it confronts flesh-driven religion, and what it means to belong to where he is going rather than simply follow...
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John 7:25-31 Could Jesus Really Be the Christ?
Send us Fan Mail The crowd thinks they have Jesus figured out: they know His hometown, His family, His visible story. But as we walk through John 7:25–31, that certainty starts to crack, and a bigger truth breaks through—origin is not the point; sending is. We unpack why Jesus anchors His…
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John 7:19-24 Why Religious People Protect Control
Send us Fan Mail Accusation stings most when you were trying to help. We open John 7:19–24 and watch Jesus aim past the noise to the heart, exposing how appearance-based judgment and religious language can shield our need for control. Along the way, we hold that mirror to our own lives, asking...
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John 7:10-18 Your Authority To Speak Begins Where God Has Already Revealed Himself To You
Send us Fan Mail What if the confidence you’ve been waiting for isn’t the qualification you need? We open John 7:10–18 and follow Jesus as he steps into public view on the Father’s timetable, stripping away the myth that authority comes from polish, pedigree, or performance. The crowd is divided,...
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John 7:1-9 Why God Doesn’t Move on Our Terms
Send us Fan Mail What if the holiest thing God does for you today is refuse to be hurried? We step into John 7 at the Feast of Booths, where a celebration of God’s presence turns into pressure on Jesus to perform. The crowds want visibility, his brothers offer strategy, and danger is already in…
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A New Exodus: How John 6 Fulfills God’s Long Desire To Form A People
Send us Fan Mail Start with Exodus 32 and a hard question: did Moses change God’s mind, or did God reveal a deeper desire that waits for fulfillment in Jesus? We trace that line straight into John 6, where wilderness, Passover, and a hungry crowd reset the stage. The feeding is not just a…
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John 6:52-71 Abide Or Walk Away
Send us Fan Mail Hard words are only unbearable when they threaten what we refuse to release. Today we follow John 6:52–71 into the heart of that tension, where Jesus tells a synagogue audience to eat his flesh and drink his blood—and then doubles down when they object. We trace why the crowd...
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John 6:41-51 Grumbling At The Bread Of Life
Send us Fan Mail A calm crowd turns restless the moment Jesus claims He came down from heaven. We follow that pivot in John 6:41–51 and unpack why the issue isn’t the miracle of bread or the promise of resurrection, but the authority of the One who stands before them. I walk through the…
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John 6:38–40 The Fathers Work in Salvation - Part 2
Send us Fan Mail What if salvation doesn’t begin with your search for God, but with God’s purpose for you? We walk through John 6:38–40 to show how Jesus anchors faith in the Father’s will, not in human effort, and why that makes assurance more than wishful thinking. Jesus’ claim—“I have come…
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John 6:35–37 The Fathers Work in Salvation - Part 1
Send us Fan Mail What if the hunger that keeps you up at night isn’t about food, success, or certainty, but about a source you cannot generate? Pastor Harry Barens walks through John 6:35–37 and sits us in the crowd’s sandals—where bread means survival, thirst means danger, and the daily grind...
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John 6:22–34 How does Grace work?
Send us Fan Mail Hungry for change but exhausted by striving? We open John 6:22–34 and walk with the crowd who chased Jesus for another meal while missing the meaning of the miracle. Pastor Harry Burns draws a clear line between the life we try to manage on our own and the life Jesus alone can...
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John 6:16–21 Jesus Walks on Water
Send us Fan Mail Bread filled a hillside, but the real turning point happens on black water where oars bite wind and fear tastes like salt. We pick up in John 6:16–21 and trace the movement from provision to presence, watching Jesus walk into the very place his friends feel most helpless. The...
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John 6:1-15 The Remnant Jesus Forms
Send us Fan Mail Hunger can hide the heart. We step into John 6:1–15 and watch a familiar story open like a doorway: a hillside crowd, five loaves, two fish, and a question from Jesus that exposes motives and invites surrender. What begins as a need for food becomes a revelation of identity,...
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John 5:30–47 The Courtroom Of The Son
Send us Fan Mail Step into the scene where the religious leaders thought they were trying Jesus, and watch as he takes the judge’s seat and calls five witnesses that leave no doubt about his identity. We walk through John 5 with open eyes and open Bibles, tracing how the prophetic voice of John,...
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John 5:19–29 The Authority of the Son
Send us Fan Mail What if the miracle was only the opening act—and the real shock was what Jesus said next? We walk through John 5 as Jesus moves from healing to declaring divine authority, claiming unity with the Father and staking out two breathtaking prerogatives: to give life and to judge.…
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John 5:1-18 Rise and Walk
Send us Fan Mail What if the very words of Jesus don’t just tell you what to do, but give you the power to do it? We step into John 5 and the crowded colonnades of Bethesda, where a man has waited thirty-eight years for change. Jesus sees him, knows him, and speaks a simple command that carries...
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John 4:43-54 Faith Beyond Sight
Send us Fan Mail When the cheers of Samaria fade, Galilee greets Jesus with polite admiration and cold hearts—and that tension exposes a deeper question: what sustains faith when the signs stop? We trace John 4:43–54 with Pastor Harry Behrens as a royal official rushes to Cana, not with polished...
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John 4:27–42 Living Water, The Harvest
Send us Fan Mail A single conversation at a well turns into a townwide awakening—without a strategy meeting, a platform, or a polished script. We follow the Samaritan woman’s journey from shame to fearless witness and explore why Jesus calls obedience his food, not his reward. It’s a story that...
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John 4:1-26 The Living Water
Send us Fan Mail A midday encounter at Jacob’s well becomes a masterclass in how God rescues hearts. We walk through John 4 with Pastor Harry Behrens to uncover a striking pattern at the core of the gospel: God commands, sin is exposed, grace is offered, and glory rises in worship. From the quiet...
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Talk Show: The Glory Behind His Love
Send us Fan Mail What if the problem isn’t that we talk about God’s love too much—but that we talk about it without His glory? We dig into how a well-meaning focus on feelings and personal fulfillment quietly turned worship into a performance and faith into self-help, and why Scripture’s story...
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John 3:22–36 What If Success Is Surrender?
Send us Fan Mail What if the greatest joy in ministry is learning to step aside? We walk through John 3:22–36 and watch John the Baptist face the moment many leaders fear: the crowds shift, influence fades, and another rises. Instead of clutching the spotlight, John rejoices. His secret is simple...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Teaching believers how to have a more intimate relationship with Jesus as we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/harry-behrens/support
HOSTED BY
Pastor Harry Behrens
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The TakeAway have?
The TakeAway currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The TakeAway about?
Teaching believers how to have a more intimate relationship with Jesus as we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/harry-behrens/support
How often does The TakeAway release new episodes?
The TakeAway has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The TakeAway?
You can listen to The TakeAway on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The TakeAway?
The TakeAway is created and hosted by Pastor Harry Behrens.
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