Luke 8:1-3

Who am I? What does it mean to be me? People wrestle with this question when they are young, in adulthood, through midlife crises, in retirement, and even at the end of life. We find ourselves trying to be someone we are not. Copying someone else. Believe our inner critic. Riddled by anxiety and self-doubt. Slaves to ego and pride. Bombarded by voices telling us that we are what we own, we are who other people say we are, and we are what we accomplish. We slip into daydreams wishing we had someone else's life. This episode helps you wrestle with this question: "Why weren't you...you?"

Credits & Sources:

Leonard Sweet, David McDonald, Brennan Manning, Steve Cuss, Craig Keener, Joel Green, Donald Kraybill.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(09/29/24)

What do you do when your heart is in the right place despite your deficiencies, brokenness and flaws, but it isn't enough? Others are focused on your past. They only see the negative and what you are currently “getting wrong”. What do you do when your best isn’t enough?

Credits & Sources:

Kenneth E. Bailey, Craig Keener, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, David Wenham, Luise Schottroff, Edwin M. Yamauchi, Marvin R. Wilson, Moises Silva, Seth M. Rodriquez, Tim Geddert, Alan Culpepper, Joel Green, Fred Craddock, Tim Chester.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(09/22/24)

But what about "goodnewsing"? There are a myriad of reasons that a lot of Christians don't intentionally practice any kind of evangelism, and there are many non-Christians who hope a Christian won't try to evangelize them. This episode explores the ways that regular people actually come to faith in Jesus.

Credits & Sources:

Brian Ross, Leonard Sweet, Brian Zahnd, Tim Geddert, Dallas Willard, Saint Anthony of Egypt.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(09/15/24)

A lot of people want God to prepare the way for them. They want God to lead them. There is a kind of knowing, a kind of wisdom that God wants you to catch, but you can't catch it by standing still. This episode explores the way God prepares the way for us, and how we respond and catch what God is doing.

Credits & Sources:

Leonard Sweet, Justo Gonzalez, Fred Craddock, Walter Brueggeman, Alan Culpepper, David Garland, Tim Geddert, Tim Chester, Robert J. Karris.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(09/08/24)

Why is it that we say one thing, but if we could peel back the layers of the onion, if we could look for the thing underneath the thing, if we could get to what is actually going on- We would find something else. Our deeper questions are often much more simply and much more vulnerable. Why is it so hard to say the thing underneath all the layers to begin with? What does Jesus do when you are praying one thing, but Jesus knows there are more layers to be peeled back, there's a different question at the bottom of it all?

Credits & Sources:

Vern Hyndman, Eugene L. Lowry, Brian Ross, Steve Cuss, Alan Culpepper, Justo Gonzalez, Tim Geddert, Fred Craddock, David Garland, Joel Green, Donald Kraybill, Greg Boyd, Esau McCaulley.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(08/25/24)

You long to be seen. You long for someone to feel the way that the world hits you. The way it hits your body. But people only partially see you. You end up having to explain yourself. You have to tell people what happened. You have to tell people how it feels. All of that can be so exhausting. Words fall so short of capturing the way it actually hits you. You can end up feeling like you have to justify the ache you feel for compassion. You feel like you have to earn compassion. Or worse, you feel undeserving of compassion. This episode explores the ache we all feel for compassion.

Credits & Sources:

Steve Cuss, N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Craig Keener, David Garland, Fred Craddock, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, Alan Culpepper, Justo Gonzalez, Tim Geddert, Joel Green, Darrell Bock, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Joshua A Krish, Edwin Yamauchi, Roland K. Harrison.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(08/18/24)

Are there moments in your life that take Jesus' breath away? Are there moments in your life that cause Jesus' jaw to go slack, and cause him to marvel in the wonder of your faith? And...are any of those moments the times that you would expect Jesus to be impressed, or are they completely....other?

What might it do within you to hear Jesus say, "You have such incredible faith!"

Credits and Sources:

Justo Gonzalez, Alan Culpepper, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, David Garland, Craig Keener, Tim Geddert, Bob Ekblad, Nijay Gupta, John F. Defelice Jr., N.T. Wright, Matthew Bates, Eldon Fry.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(08/04/24)

The storms that knock you down come from unexpected places. Sometimes you are flooded by circumstances. Sometimes by emotions. There are storms you never imagined and weren't prepared for. Sometimes they are big. Sometimes they are small. Sometimes they pile up. Everyone gets the storm they weren't prepared for. This episode explores what Jesus has to say about your experiences of getting flooded, getting your feet knocked out from under you, and collapsing into an ugly version of yourself.

Credits and Sources:

Charles DuHigg, Edwin Friedman, Brennan Manning, Dallas Willard, John Gottman, and Lee Camp.

For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org

(07/21/24)