You Heard It Said

The Protestant Church has attempted to course correct since the reformation, stepping back from a number of bad habits the Catholic Church had adopted. But, in the process, we've dropped a lot of helpful practices too. Ash Wednesday is often seen as a very Catholic practice but can we still do that if we're not Catholic? Let's find out.

Evil and sin is kind of a big part in the story of the bible. Not a good part, but a large part. Which drives a lot of people to ask the questions, "where does it come from? How did it enter the world? If God is good and God is all powerful....how does he allow it to exist...?" Yea, we're gonna try to tackle that, even just a little.

What happens to Christianity or the church when we bring pagan ideology into worship? How does or modern culture and maybe even American worldview impact that way we walk out our Christian faith. It happens faster than you might think and the impacts aren't good.....Take a listen.

As you heard in the opening of this series, we often like to think we can just open the Bible and understand what it says or means. The problem is, we all bring an intuitive interpretation system to our reading whether we're aware of it or not. Today, we're going to talk about some of the pit falls, bad practices, wrong approaches to understanding scripture.

When it comes to reading the bible, a pretty important starting point is which bible are you reading....? Obviously, as Christians we believe all (good) translations are still considered scripture, however, all the translations available to us still raise the questions; which one is best?, which should I read as a new christian?, which is better for study?, and so on. There's a lot that goes into that and hopefully this conversation get's you started in the right direction.

Welcome to our next series - Reading the bible. While Jesse may not like the word literally, we're kicking off with what it means to interpret or read scripture from a literal viewpoint, when that is or isn't appropriate, and what the Reformed perspective on literal translations is.

If reformed Christians believe that God chooses people and that we have no choice in salvation, what's the point in sharing the gospel? A very common question with a simple and also a not as simple answer....let's talk about that.

Sharing the gospel can be an intimidating task. We're called to spread the good news, but where do you begin? What if you don't have all the answers? What if you say something wrong? Let's talk about the important baselines from a reformed perspective.

Revelation often gets a bad rap because it's seen as cryptic and confusing. A main area of confusion surrounds the idea of the millennium and what is meant by the length, the timing, and the involvement of Jesus and His followers in it. After a break over the holidays, we're diving back in to tackle a heavy topic from the reformed perspective.

Church structure is not the most common party topic or the most eye-catching podcast conversation, but it impacts a lot more than you realize. There are also a lot more variances across American churches than you realize, too. So, what does it look like in the American Church? What does it look like in the Reformed Church? What did God intend for it to look like? Let's talk about that.

Kingdom is a word we use a lot, both within Christianity and in common culture. When talking about the Kingdom of God, our understanding of it becomes a little fussy. The more you dig, the more differing views you realize are around you. So, what does Jesus mean when he talks about the Kingdom of God?

Scripture talks about covenants frequently and it's a common word in the Christian vocabulary but what does it mean when you add "theology" to the topic? Covenant theology isn't the default view for American Christianity but it is pretty foundational for Reformed Theology. So....what does it all entail? Let's talk about that.

Continuing in our reformed 101 series, today we're talking about a really important but commonly misunderstood pillar of the reformed faith. Salvation. All Christians agree that it's pretty important, but the rub comes when we talk about how it works out practically. From the reformed perspective...let's talk about that.

What happens when you find yourself in the spotlight? Or, what happens when we elevate Christian figures into the public spotlight? Having public influence can be tricky and so can trying to match the energy of modern culture. Today, we're taking a break from our reformed 101 series to talk about some pertinent issues in the Christian public sphere, how Christian content has become what it is, and what we need to refocus on.

As we continue through our Reformed 101 series, we wanted to pull this old episode out of the archives to prime you for our coming predestination follow-up conversation. It's often seen as a roadblock or a sticking point when it comes to the reformed tradition, and we want to help uncover the important truths behind the doctrine of predestination.

It might seem like a simple Sunday routine, but preaching in the Reformed Christian tradition has a lot more to it. Maybe you're used to a very formal, liturgical reading of scripture for your morning word or something that more resembles a Christian TED talk...let's talk about why we approach preaching the way we do in the Christian Reformed Church.

There are many views and assumptions about what a true church looks like, but there is much more to it than our common American Christian traditions. Even down to the question about the difference between a Christian School chapel and a church service. From a reformed point of view, let's take a look at what makes them different and how you can identify a true church from one that may be missing the mark.

A.J. H of Eden Dust joins us for another installation of Reformed 101 as we continue our conversation about worship and how it shapes us. Join us as we discuss what liturgy is and how it's used to guide us through worship.

We're continuing our Reformed 101 series, this week with a guest, AJ of Eden Dust and VCRC. This week, we discuss different styles and focuses of worship.

Confessions and creeds are important teaching guides as you read and understand scripture. The Heidelberg Catechism is a big one for the Christian Reformed Church and is an incredible tool for teaching and preaching. Join us for a second-half explanation as we cover the rest of the Catechism more in-depth.

Confessions and creeds are important teaching guides as you read and understand scripture. The Heidelberg Catechism is a big one for the Christian Reformed Church and is an incredible tool for teaching and preaching. Join us for a more in-depth conversation about what this tool is exactly and why it's so helpful.

Reformed Doctrine, Reformed Theology comes with a lot of questions. What makes it different from other Christian thinking? Why is there even a need for multiple thought lines? Why are reformed people so pretentious? As Youth Pastors in a Christian Reformed Church, these are questions we get a lot so we wanted to put together a pod series on what it means to be a Reformed Christian and why we think it's the way to go.

Is there a difference between a Christian concert and a worship night? If it's a worship night, does that make it a church service? There is a lot of mixed feelings around christian concerts and today, we're bringing in a special guest (or turning on his mic) that has some hot takes.

There are a lot of questions around Catholicism. Is it different than Christian? Should we all "go back" to pre-reformed times? How do we as reformed protestants relate to the catholic church? Let's talk about that

Sometimes Christianity and the Bible can become commonplace. They lose their Holiness, their power, their awe. That's a dangerous place to be.....let's talk about how that happens and how to counteract that.

Why are we so intrigued with celebrities' faith? Does it matter if they're Christian or not? Should that change how we view them? Let's talk about that.

Is there a difference between signs and wonders? Do they still happen today? Let's talk about that.

What does it mean that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and what does that mean for how we understand God's interaction with humanity's free will? Big, scary questions, but good to talk through...let's do that.

Some would say you can be spiritual but not religious, some would disagree. What does it even mean to be spiritual, or religious? Let's talk about that.

You may have heard it said that you need to collect all the fruits of the spirit like Pokémon...but is that really what the bible says? Let's talk about that.

The Exodus narrative has a lot of details, and that can lead to an abundance of misconceptions. Today we touch on a number of the common cultural views of the Exodus and dig into their validity.

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Join us for a special Sunday edition as we sit down with our Jubilee speaker about this summer's theme, The Valley.

You may have heard it said that demons are big, red, scared-horned monsters but I think they're more cunning than to be so obvious. Maybe they present scarily sometimes but how else do we potentially encounter demons? Let's talk about that.

The Holy Spirit is a confusing part of the Holy Trinity and is often overlooked. We don't claim to have the answers...but lets tackle a few of the heavy questions.

While it may seem like a daunting, big, formal idea, Christian discipleship is a lot more commonplace than you might think. While it can be formal, it doesn't have to be rigid. Let's talk about what it really should look like.

The Christian community has a lot of different opinions about dinosaurs since there doesn't seem to be any mention of them in scripture. Does that mean that didn't actually exist or just that they didn't get a mention?...Let's talk about that.

There is a lot of debate on whether or not the Old Testament law should still be followed or maybe just some of the laws. It might take longer than 1 podcast episode to cover this whole debate but let's get the conversation started.

This Holy Meal is an important sacrament in the Christian church but each denomination seems to have their own understanding of what it means and how to structure it...let's talk about why.

Baptism is a pretty pick topic when talking about differences in the modern church and how we understand scripture. Sit down with us to figure out why and maybe get a step closer to figuring out which side you agree with most.

We're all been a part of a bible study or small group at some point and we know how valuable they can be...but starting your own can be daunting and confusing. Today, let's talk about some good tips and tricks to get a quality start to an important group.

How far did the waters really reach? Were there truly no survivors outside of Noah's family? I thought it was only 2 of every animal!? We've all heard this story in Children's Church, but there are greater details than we often dig into and we seem to forget to revisit stories that we feel like we've heard. Today, lets's dig back into a classic bible story and ask some of those harder questions.

The Nephilim are a topic that is surrounded by a lot of wild ideas. Scripture doesn't speak on them directly, leading to people's wild assumptions to fill in the gaps. Let's see if we can bring a little light to a wild topic.

The adversary is a complicated figure in scripture. There's a lot to say about him but there's also a lot misunderstood about him. Today, let's start with part 1 of many.

Mark 3:28-29 tells us that "all sins can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is an eternal sin." What does that really mean, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Let's talk about that.

While we begin our discussion today specifically on sin, we will move into talking about all 7 of the list of "deadly sins", where that list originated, and how each play into our humanity.

In the running list of questions that are too big to answer in one podcast episode, let's add the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is very complicated and, therefore, often overlooked. But!, it plays a bigger role in your everyday life and faith than you realize. So, let's talk about that.

We've talked about camp, we've talked about mountaintop moments, now let's bring them together. What is so special about a week at summer camp that you so often feel God more deeply? Is God really more in that place or is it just in my head?

As a follow-up to our conversation on "Where was Jesus before the incarnation," we are joined by our resident expert on the OT figure, Melchizedek. Buckle up because it's a heavy one!

Angels are majestic, beautiful, yet confusing creators. They've often, throughout history, been wrongly worshiped because of their majesty. The bible tells us we aren't to worship them but, what is their purpose? Join us this week will we seek that answer as well as dig into the different "categories" and holy creatures.