Against the Grain

The idea of spiritual warfare can be complex and overwhelming. Often in our culture, we combat this by ignoring it completely. Scripture urges us against this and encourages us to press into truth seek to understand how to armor up against spiritual attacks. In this episode, Eric, Thayne and Cindy discuss how we can recognize the presence of evil in the world and live against the grain in how we deal with it.

Show notes:

Praying the Armor of God pdf

The Adversary by Mark Bubeck

Spiritual Warfare by Karl Payne

Money matters. The Bible mentions finances over 2,300 times, and Jesus devoted 11 of his 39 parables to the subject. But what does a counter-cultural approach to money actually look like? In this episode of Against the Grain, Eric and Vince explore how biblical wisdom challenges our modern relationship with finances and invites us to live differently.

Being a parent in this cultural moment is tough. The biggest danger for our kids is the ideas that bombard them from every direction. How do we equip our kids to see through the lies of our culture and see things biblically? Andrea Crum joins Eric and Courtney to discuss this question. She is the Author of "Christ over Culture” and organizer of the Raising Biblical Kids Conference. 

Show Notes:

Raising Biblical Kids Conference

Alisa Childers Website & Podcast

Theology Mom

Center for Biblical Unity

Colson Center

Summit Ministries

In a world that tends to value quantity of friendships over quality, one way that we live against the grain is in the close, meaningful friendships we intentionally cultivate. In this episode, Eric, Ross, and John explore what it looks like to both have and actively pursue godly friendships.

This episode explores deep, Christ-centered relationships, the importance of vulnerability and accountability, and practical ways to invest in the friendships that matter.

Conflict is an unavoidable part of being human—you've probably already faced it at least once today. Our culture typically pushes us toward one of two extremes: viewing conflict as a competition where we fight for our way, or avoiding it altogether. Yet neither approach brings us closer to peace or genuine unity.

In this episode, Eric, Steve & Jessica examine Scripture and the life and teachings of Jesus to discover a countercultural path to resolving conflict—one that challenges our cultural instincts and leads toward reconciliation.

Resource:

Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande

As we look around, we often find ourselves discontent, focused on what we don’t have or don’t t get to do. It is so easy to get stuck in this trap.  How do we turn that around and move toward contentment? How do find freedom and joy in our life? 

Being slow to speak and slow to become angry is much easier said than done. Each day we are confronted with situations that spark us to anger in work, parenting, marriages and relationships in general.

In this episode, Eric, Can, and Carmen discuss how we can break the anger cycle as we follow Jesus' example to move forward in love.

Faith is the assurance of what we cannot see, but that doesn't mean it's a blind faith. There is evidence for our faith all around us, fingerprints left by a designer.

In this episode, Eric, Jason and Rick take a close look into the world around us to examine the evidence that leads us to a common understanding of a creative designer.

Living a life of service extends far beyond than the occasional service project. A life of service calls us to live against the grain in how we view our time and resources, at every stage of life.

In this episode, Eric, Joe and Randy discuss how to cultivate a lifestyle dedicated to serving others.

We are officially back to school, which for many families means back to hectic morning routines and activity filled evenings. In the midst of family life, how can we as parents create rhythms that build a culture of faith within our families? How do you run your schedule so your schedule doesn't run you?

In this episode, Eric, Jermaine and Laura discuss rhythms that establish praise in your household, cultivate a love for His word and grow little hearts into big hearts of prayer.