Real Bible Rob for Teens - Inclusive and Affirming Christianity Minister Rob Christ Podcast

Send us Fan MailThe conquering of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was the worst thing that ever happened to the ancient Israelite people. Some of the people were dragged off to Babylon and many of them were left behind. For 50 long years, they were separated. Then suddenly King Cyrus allowed the people who were taken away to go home, back to Jerusalem. Would the people be able to get along with the people who stayed behind. In this episode, I tell you about the troubles of the chief priest Ezra, what it was like to have people against him. It is the like the story of a teacher of mine, who moved to Korea. They felt in between. They weren't sure they felt American or whether they felt Korean. Many people who come from other countries feel like this. Perhaps you have felt confused about where you fit. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are all about finding a new sense of home. 

Send us Fan MailThe Bible is all about language. Many stories are about misunderstandings and whether people can understand each other. The Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 is at once a very old story and a story we can understand. Who hasn't been confused when someone is speaking a different language than us? I tell the story of a Korean man that I know who said that the story is not a negative story like we think it is. Instead it is a story about diversity and how we are all human beings with a common origin without being exactly the same. The Tower of Babel is closely connected with the story of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Again the meaning is not so simple. The coming of the Holy Spirit meant that people could speak in each other's languages and understand each other. We don't know if that means that they miraculously spoke in each other's languages or that this was a symbol for having a common purpose and understanding in the Holy Spirit. Either way it is a vision of peace and unity that is possible when we understand each other. 

Send us Fan MailJesus had a lot more in common with the civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. than your typical pastor. This makes people uncomfortable, because they think there is no politics in the Bible. But they usually say this because they don't like what it says about it. Freeing poor people is what the gospel is all about. We really see this in the symbols of John 21. In this episode, I show how catching fish and eating them is an act of resistance. It's a much more meaningful and fun story than most people realize. If the gospel doesn’t make you an activist, then you aren't reading it. Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.”They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus.5 Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”They answered him, “No.”6 He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t far from shore, only about one hundred yards.9 When they landed, they saw a fire there, with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Send us Fan MailGod commands us to Love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and to Love our Neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said that every other law and rule in the Bible hangs on these two things. If you love God and you love your neighbor then you will follow everything else naturally. So what does love your neighbor mean? Who is your neighbor? Someone asked Jesus this very question. Jesus chose one of the most hated person he could think about and then told the story of the Good Samaritan. In this episode, I tell about this story. But then I will go to the Old Testament to show you where "love your neighbor" comes from originally and that it means so much more than people think. Loving your neighbor doesn't just mean a feeling or praying about them, it means protecting them. Great commandmentMatthew 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together. 35 One of them, a legal expert, tested him. 36 “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”Loving your neighbor25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?”27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”[a]28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31 Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 32 Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33 A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36 What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”Leviticus 19:16-18 ESV16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.CEB16 Do not go around slandering your people. Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed; I am the Lord. 17 You must not hate your fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your fellow Israelite strongly, so you don’t become responsible for his sin. 18 You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Send us Fan MailThe Bible was written in ancient languages long before we got it in English. English like we know it wasn't even around until about 500 years ago, but the Bible is over 2000 years old. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. A lot of people work hard to understand what the Bible really said, because it is hard to translate from one language to another. You know this if you speak Spanish or French or any other language than English too. What makes it even harder with the Bible is that Hebrew and Greek are so old that we can't just ask someone what they meant. I had to learn about Hebrew and Greek to become a pastor. I am not an expert, but I know enough to know what is important. In this episode, I tell you about the history of the Bible and how it came into English. Then I tell you why it is still important to know something about these ancient languages. We continue to learn so much more and our English bibles are still changing. It is always interesting and exciting. 

Send us Fan MailThe New Testament talks about Paul and his travels more than anyone else. In this episode, I talk about who Paul was and why he traveled so much. There are so many stories about Paul in the book of Acts, it is like a big adventure story. Shipwrecks, jail, big crowds, and huge success, Paul saw it all. One of most interesting stories is when Paul goes to Athens. It tells so much about him and how he worked. He was very flexible and he looked for any story that would work with the crowds. Everything he did was always about spreading the message of Jesus everywhere. Join me to hear about this fascinating story. Acts 17:15 Those who escorted Paul led him as far as Athens, then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible.16 While Paul waited for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to find that the city was flooded with idols. 17 He began to interact with the Jews and Gentile God-worshippers in the synagogue. He also addressed whoever happened to be in the marketplace each day. 18 Certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers engaged him in discussion too. Some said, “What an amateur! What’s he trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” (They said this because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19 They took him into custody and brought him to the council on Mars Hill. “What is this new teaching? Can we learn what you are talking about? 20 You’ve told us some strange things and we want to know what they mean.” (21 They said this because all Athenians as well as the foreigners who live in Athens used to spend their time doing nothing but talking about or listening to the newest thing.)22 Paul stood up in the middle of the council on Mars Hill and said, “People of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. 23 As I was walking through town and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown God.’ What you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you. 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples made with human hands. 25 Nor is God served by human hands, as though he needed something, since he is the one who gives life, breath, and everything else. 26 From one person God created every human nation to live on the whole earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God made the nations so they would seek him, perhaps even reach out to him and find him. In fact, God isn’t far away from any of us. 28 In God we live, move, and exist. As some of your own poets said, ‘We are his offspring.’29 “Therefore, as God’s offspring, we have no need to imagine that the divine being is like a gold, silver, or stone image made by human skill and thought. 30 God overlooks ignorance of these things in times past, but now directs everyone everywhere to change their hearts and lives. 31 This is because God has set a day when he intends to judge the world justly by a man he has appointed. God has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”32 When they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some began to ridicule Paul. However, others said, “We’ll hear from you about this again.” 33 At that, Paul left the council. 34 Some people joined him and came to believe, including Dionysius, a member of the council on Mars Hill, a woman named Damaris, and several others.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I tell about one of the most important people in the whole New Testament. There are only two verses about her, but her story is much deeper. She was the person who carried the letter to the Romans. This was Paul's most important letter and Phoebe as a single woman had to carry 500 miles and then read and explain it to people in Rome. How do we know all of this? Bible scholars know what the cultures were like. They know how Paul worked with other people. Most of all they know how the early church was supported. The story of Phoebe tells us so much about how we can know so much about the Bible almost 2000 years after it was written, especially about how women worked in the church. Introduction to Phoebe16 I’m introducing our sister Phoebe to you, who is a deacon (servant) of the church in Cenchreae. 2 Welcome her in the Lord in a way that is worthy of God’s people, and give her whatever she needs from you, because she herself has been a sponsor (benefactor) of many people, myself included.

Send us Fan MailCan you trust your heart? Can you trust your mind? It's really important to know what this means. Sometimes you will hear Christians trying to convince you that your heart and your mind can't be trusted. They will use these two verses in a bad way without understanding what they mean to trick you into thinking badly about yourself. I will show you that the real meaning is the opposite of what most people say. In fact, these verses actually encourage you to use your heart and mind together to trust in God. God gave us the ability to think for ourselves. God gave us a conscience so that we know what is good and what is evil. When we use heart and mind together, we can do what God wants us to do. Jeremiah 17:9-10 "The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds. I examine people’s hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done."Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.

Send us Fan MailIn this serious episode, I tell you about the most heartbreaking messages I receive from young people when ask me if they have committed the unforgivable sin. They worry they are doomed to hell because of blasphemy. I always wonder if it was a pastor or a Sunday school teacher who filled them with this fear. In this episode, I tell you why you don’t need to fear it. Blasphemy is a very aggressive and special kind of sin that few of us, and no teenager, can commit. Also, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was something very special that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30. If you are worried about this, it is really important to understand what it means and how people use this fear to scare and control you. This is important knowledge to have. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is a story of unconditional love, repentance, and forgiveness. This is super useful for understanding the character of God. The unforgivable sin, or "unpardonable sin," in the Gospels is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, specifically described in Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, and Luke 12:10. It involves willfully and persistently attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, as the Pharisees did when accusing Jesus of using demonic power, indicating a hard-hearted, final rejection of Christ's salvific work.

Send us Fan MailThomas was one of the most impressive apostles for a number of reasons. Sometimes people feel bad about him because he told Jesus that needed to put his hands on Jesus’s wounds to believe Jesus had risen. But Thomas shows up 3 times in the Gospel of John. He also inspired the Gospel of Thomas which many people thought should have been in the Bible. The “doubting” was really more about being practical and smart than about unbelief. In this episode I explain why we should look up to Thomas. Also why many people really admire him even today. John 11:8 The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish opposition wants to stone you, but you want to go back?” 16 Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other disciples, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.”John14 “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. 2 My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. 4 You know the way to the place I’m going.”5 Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”John 2024 Thomas, the one called Didymus,[a] one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”26 After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”29 Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

Send us Fan MailDaniel is such a fun book. It has the men with funny names thrown into the fiery furnace. They are saved without even the slightest burn and with angels appearing in the fire with them. It has Daniel thrown into the Lion's Den by the King in a fit of rage. Then the lion's mouth is shut. These miraculous stories are amazing. A follower of mine said, "why don't you talk about Daniel's dreams in Chapter 7?" So I will tell you about this amazing dream because it connects the two parts of Daniel: the first part with these amazing stories and the second part with all these crazy images, just like Revelation. Dreams are such a big part of the Bible. Daniel was the last book of the Old Testament written between 167 and 165 BC. That is confusing, because our Bible's put Malachi last, but they did this to link the Old Testament with the New Testament. Even though Daniel was written about things that happened 400 years before, it's story telling tells us so much about the people living just before Jesus. If you could take your Bible apart and put it back together, you should put Daniel last. I explain how this timeline is so interesting and how it helps to make this weird dream make sense.

Send us Fan MailMoses lost his temper and broke the first set of tablets. So God told him to do it all over again. The first set of tablets was made and written by God. The second set was made and written by Moses at God's direction. Why do it again? It is such an interesting story about anger and pleading and forgiveness. God and Moses worked together. In this episode, I tell you the amazing behind the cooperation of God and Moses. God is God, Moses was God's servant, but they had to find another way to work with the people.Exodus 32:1414 And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.Exodus 34:134 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke.Exodus 34:2828 He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Send us Fan MailThere is only one story about Jesus as a boy in the whole Bible. It is very interesting. It tells us a lot about how we know what parts of the Bible are real and what parts are just stories. In this episode, I tell you all the background of Jesus as a 12 year old boy in the temple. He is speaking to the old rabbis and they are super impressed with how smart he is. When you have a story like this, you must always ask whether it make sense in the culture and why the author of the book wrote about it. I explain how the authors of the bible were inspired and how you can know what their purpose was.

Send us Fan MailRuth is an amazing character in the Bible. She is an strong woman. She is loyal and she is full of love for her mother in law, Naomi. Many people are amazed that we have this story about a woman, because we think Bible times were only about men and that women had no power. That is partly true. I explain how Ruth got into the risky position of being a foreign widow in ancient Israel. Naomi didn't want to ruin Ruth's chances to find a new husband in her home country. But Ruth insisted to stay with her, but in the most famous verse Ruth insists that she will stay with Naomi. And then she will try to become Boaz's wife. I also explain that while this story is beautiful by itself, it had a very important message. The people of Israel discriminated against the people of Moab, the country where Ruth was from. She was very bold to stay in Israel where she would not be accepted. It was through the kindness of Boaz that she got to stay. And then she would become the great grandmother of King David, the most important king of Israel, and then many generations later the ancestor of Jesus. It is a good lesson for loving the foreigner and to trust in God. Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do this to me and more so if even death separates me from you.” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

Send us Fan MailRevelation is the craziest book of the Bible. Many people fear it. Some people hate it. It’s much better to understand it and enjoy the crazy ride. In this episode, I show a way to enjoy it without the fear of the hate. It’s all about how to use the book. Most people use it like a secret decoder ring of the future. But most of Christian history people didn’t think this. This is both a fun and a serious episode. Revelation is a fun rollercoaster ride that teaches what God thinks about empire and power at the same time. It can be uplifting and it is used for a lot of harm. I hope you will see it for what it is instead of what people use it for. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we explore one of the weirdest and most fun books in the Old Testament. Most kids are told about how Jonah was swallowed by a big fish for three days and then vomited back on the beach. That is a fun image, but it is not what the book is really about. Instead it is about bullies and how God loves everyone, even them. Jonah is just a drama queen. He hates the bullies in Ninevah so much that he willing to go to the ends of the earth to not follow God's command. Instead, Jonah becomes a bully himself. The story is so absurd, but the fact of God's love is so much deeper than our own prejudices and hatred is the real story.

Send us Fan MailSometime in your life, you give up on just believing what your parents told you. You discover God or not for yourself. Usually in your teens, you start taking it seriously. Some teens really want to get involved in faith and other don't. I started this podcast to help you discover the Bible for yourself. I am fascinated with the Bible. Some stories are terrible. Some stories are comforting. Most stories are just weird. In this episode, I introduce myself "Real Bible Rob" and why I think a fresh new way to look at faith can help you to be fascinated with the stories like I am. The most important thing to know is that a lot of people teach the Bible in a fearful way. This almost always comes from people who don't know what the Bible really says. They think the Bible is magical and frightening, especially if you disagree with it or you don't believe everything it says. Instead, smart people know that's not the way it works. I hope I can help you see this in a fresh new way. To show you how this works, I tell you about the story about Jesus healing the Blind Man. Even if you've heard it before, it's much more fun that most people realize. I also recommend the best Study Bible for teens to own.