Send us Fan Mail

Daniel starts with stories that feel familiar: pressure at school, pressure at work, pressure to fit in, and the quiet strength it takes to stay faithful. Then Daniel 7 through 12 hits like a genre change. Suddenly we are staring at beasts, horns, angels, spiritual warfare, and timelines that do not line up the way we want. If you have ever opened these chapters and thought, “What in the world is happening?”, you are not alone. Daniel felt troubled and overwhelmed too, and we say that part out loud.

We take a guided, listener friendly tour through the final six chapters of the Book of Daniel, highlighting what the visions are doing and why they matter. The big idea is not cracking a secret code; it is learning how to live as people of faith in exile. We talk about “Babylon” as the spiritual pressure of our world, the pull toward pride and control, and the exhaustion that comes from nonstop news and anxiety. We also name the real life fires and beasts we face: illness, grief, money stress, broken relationships, and the feeling that you cannot make sense of what God is doing.

At the center is one of the clearest Old Testament pictures of Jesus: the Son of Man receiving an everlasting kingdom. Kingdoms roar for a while, but they do not get the last word. God does. If you need steady hope, practical encouragement, and a reason to keep praying when you do not understand, press play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the promise that outlasts the pattern.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

Some Bible passages don’t just confuse us, they unsettle us. If you’ve ever read Old Testament laws about severe punishment and thought, “How does this belong in the same Bible as Jesus?”, you’re not alone. We hear that exact question from a listener reading Scripture chronologically, and we slow down long enough to name the tension between troubling passages in the Hebrew Bible and the mercy, forgiveness, and enemy love we see in Christ. 

We also touch a real moment from church history: Marcion’s attempt to solve the problem by separating the “Old Testament God” from Jesus. It’s a clean answer, but it costs too much, and it doesn’t match how Christians have understood Scripture as a unified story. From there, we offer something you can actually use the next time you hit a hard text: a Jesus-centered way of reading the Bible, what Ryan calls putting on “Jesus lenses.” Hebrews 1 becomes a guidepost here, pointing to Jesus as God’s clearest word. 

The heart of the episode is the cross. We talk about why the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus reframes everything, and how starting with God’s self-giving love helps us hold difficult passages in tension without denial or despair. If you want a practical Christian framework for Bible interpretation, Old Testament violence, and faith that doesn’t flinch at the hard stuff, press play. If this helps you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

Life is hard. We usually try to soften that truth, especially for kids, but what if naming it is one of the most loving things a community can do? Pastor Ryan explores the ancient idea of rites of passage and why so many cultures intentionally guided young people through a real transition into adulthood, not just a birthday or a legal milestone, but a communal experience that forms character and clarifies identity.

We unpack what a rite of passage actually is, why it often involves being sent out from the safety of the group, and what’s lost when modern Western life offers few meaningful rituals beyond “figure it out yourself.” Ryan shares why that absence can lead to self initiation, and why the church can play a healing role by rebuilding age-appropriate rituals that combine blessing, challenge, and a clear welcome back into the community.

Then we focus on the first core message found across many initiation traditions: life is hard. We talk about pain, suffering, disappointment, and discomfort, not as things to glorify, but as realities that can shape spiritual maturity if we stop numbing them long enough to learn from them. The episode closes with practical questions you can carry into your week: what might your struggle be trying to tell you, and how could it grow you into a more loving, awake adult?

If this resonates, subscribe to Reflections, share it with a friend who needs steady perspective, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

100,000 kids in the United States are waiting to be adopted, and there are about 300,000 churches. When you hear those numbers side by side, the problem starts to look less like an impossibility and more like a calling we can actually answer. We sit down with Casey Stanley, founder of the Real Hope Project, to talk about foster care adoption, why older youth still need a forever family, and what it looks like for the Church to “head for the hills” the way early Christians did for abandoned children.

We get real about the fear people feel around foster care and adoption, and we don’t pretend trauma disappears at the front door. Casey walks us through the stakes for kids who age out of the child welfare system, then introduces us to David, a teenager in Minnesota who is still waiting for the family that will show up for his whole life, not just until he turns 18. Along the way, we bust persistent myths: adoption from foster care is not the expensive option people assume, kids are not in care because they are “bad,” and “someone else will do it” is not a plan.

The heart of Real Hope is simple and bold: stories change the world. We unpack why the current system often reduces a child to a short blurb and then a case file filled with only the hardest moments, and how ethical, trauma-informed storytelling helps families see the whole kid. Casey also shares practical next steps, from monthly giving to funding a full video, plus an invitation to celebrate Real Hope’s 10-year anniversary gala.

If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it and take a next step toward helping kids find family.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

A five minute nap on a plane turns into a dream that won’t leave Ryan alone and it starts with a strange detail: he’s reading Carl Jung’s “Man and His Symbols” right before he falls asleep. When he wakes up, the dream feels less like random brain noise and more like a mirror held up to midlife, purpose, and the quiet fear that time is moving faster than we admit.

We walk through the scene in plain language: Ryan’s nephew Isaac, a living symbol of youthful energy, stands on the porch wearing a shirt Ryan loved years ago and says, “Bye, Ryan.” That single goodbye opens a bigger conversation about dream interpretation, spiritual growth, and what it looks like to enter the second half of life with intention. We talk about putting away childish things like selfishness and narrow thinking, and about growing from self centered living toward deeper service, wider compassion, and a more grounded sense of your place in the world.

Then we add the twist that makes the dream truly useful. A friend suggests it might also be a warning: don’t abandon the best parts of your childhood self. We connect that to Christian faith and the Bible, holding Paul’s call to maturity alongside Jesus’ words about becoming like a little child. The result is a practical invitation: let adult wisdom steer the car, but keep childlike wonder, hope, and joy alive so your life doesn’t harden as it gets more responsible.

If this resonates, share the episode with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review that helps others find the show.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

A death sentence gets signed because a king likes being flattered, and a faithful old man refuses to let a new law rewrite his prayer life. We dig into Daniel 6, the Daniel in the lions’ den story many of us think we already know, and we slow down long enough to ask two better questions: what is God doing here, and what is God showing us right now?

We trace the context from Babylon to Persia, and we notice the pattern that keeps showing up in Daniel’s life: integrity, wisdom, and a steady devotion that enemies cannot exploit except by attacking his worship. When the decree drops, Daniel does not hide or negotiate. He goes to the same place, keeps the same rhythm of prayer, and even starts with thanksgiving. King Darius ends up saying the quiet part out loud twice: Daniel serves God continually. That phrase becomes the hinge for everything that follows.

From there, we get practical and personal. We talk about circumstantial faith versus consistent faith, using the images of mirrors and anchors. A mirror faith reflects whatever week we are having, good or bad. An anchor faith holds us to the promises of God, even when life is messy, painful, and full of seaweed. We also linger on a detail that changes the tone of the whole narrative: Daniel could have gone home when the exiles were freed, but he stayed, because God was not done with him, and God is not done with us either.

If you’ve been feeling pulled around by your circumstances, press play, then share this with a friend who needs steady hope. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: are you living more like a mirror or an anchor right now?

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

Two sentences can save your day, but only if you carry both. We keep reaching for a single story about ourselves, either “I’m the center of everything” or “I don’t matter at all.” Ryan offers an old rabbinic practice that refuses both extremes: put one note in your pocket that says, “For me, the whole world was created,” and another that says, “I am but dust and ashes.” 

We talk through why the first truth matters when you’re spiraling into shame, feeling invisible, or convinced you can’t get anything right. Ryan shares those oddly holy moments that feel tailor-made for one person, a sunrise nobody else notices, deer racing through a backyard, a shooting star over a quiet lake. They become a reminder of purpose, dignity, and identity in Christ: you are seen, known, and loved by God. 

Then we pivot to the second pocket, the grounding truth that keeps confidence from turning into ego. We trace the Bible’s earthy wisdom through Genesis, where humanity is formed from dirt and animated by God’s breath, and Ecclesiastes, where breath returns to God and the body returns to the ground. It’s a reflection on Christian humility, mortality, and what it means to live fully without pretending we’re invincible. 

If you want a simple daily practice for spiritual formation that brings peace, perspective, and emotional steadiness, this one is easy to start today. Subscribe, share the podcast with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us which note you need most right now: the one about being loved or the one about being dust?

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

A party is roaring inside Babylon while an army waits outside the walls, and the king acts like nothing can touch him. Then a hand appears and writes a message no one can explain. We walk through Daniel 5 and the moment “the writing on the wall” stops being a saying and becomes a confrontation with pride, control, and the danger of treating God like a prop in our own story.

We follow King Belshazzar’s choices step by step: the lavish banquet, the intentional disrespect of sacred temple vessels, the sudden fear when the warning becomes undeniable, and the empty promises of wealth and status offered to anyone who can make the problem go away. When Daniel arrives, he won’t take the bribe. He points back to Nebuchadnezzar’s hard-earned lesson and names the real issue: Belshazzar already knew the history, yet refused humility. The result is sobering: God’s standards are not impressed by power, and a life built on ego does not hold.

From there, we bring the story home. We talk about the warning lights we all ignore, how pride hides as self-sufficiency, and why knowledge without obedience becomes truth left unread. We also end where the gospel leads: God doesn’t write to shame us, but to call us back, and the final word over a repentant life is forgiveness through Christ. If this message hits close to your life, subscribe, share this episode with someone you care about, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

“Should Christians drink alcohol?” is the question that sparks this conversation, but it doesn’t stay in rule-land for long. We start with what Scripture actually highlights, not a list of modern do’s and don’ts, but repeated warnings about drunkenness as a way of life that pulls people toward chaos, harm, and what we call “non-life.” If Jesus comes to give life to the full, then the real issue isn’t whether a drink is technically allowed. The issue is whether a habit produces life in you and the people who have to live with you.

From there we zoom out to the bigger question behind the question: what does it mean to be a Christian in a world full of gray areas. We walk through the kind of brutally honest self-audit most of us avoid: What is my relationship with alcohol? Do I plan my week around it? Do I need it to relax or to numb out? Do my friends, spouse, or kids get nervous when I drink? And we apply that same lens to marijuana, psychedelics, caffeine, sugar, sex, workouts, and even the intoxicating need to be seen as a “really good” Christian. Any good thing can become an idol when it starts ruling your desires and decisions.

A turning point comes from Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians: “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.” Christian freedom is not about getting by, it’s about living well and helping others live well too. That means your choices aren’t just personal preferences; they’re acts of love, especially when someone near you is vulnerable, like a friend in recovery. We also name a few boundaries where the wisest move is simply to stay away, then end with a practical invitation to ask trusted people what they see in you.

If this helped you think more clearly about alcohol, addiction, idolatry, and Christian freedom, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org

Send us Fan Mail

Pride is sneaky because it can look like success. One minute we’re standing on the roof of our own “Babylon,” taking credit for what we’ve built, and the next minute we’re wondering why our inner life feels fragile, reactive, or out of control. Daniel 4 puts that tension on full display through Nebuchadnezzar, a king with unmatched power and a stubborn habit of missing what God is clearly saying. 

We walk through the dream of the towering tree, Daniel’s unsettling interpretation, and the warning that pride always carries a cost. Along the way, we connect the story to real life with an honest moment from a “day with God” that went sideways: I’m reading about being a better pastor, a man asks for help, and I miss the chance to show compassion while someone else steps in and does it beautifully. That’s the point of the chapter and the point of the message: spiritual formation is not just knowing the right things, it’s noticing God and responding with humility. 

The turning point is simple and unforgettable: “I raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored.” We talk about what it means to lift our eyes as an act of surrender and repentance, how God’s sovereignty reshapes our politics, our certainty, and our obsession with control, and why the real transformation is not beast to man but captive to free. We also explore why Daniel 4 reads like a public testimony and what it looks like to share your story of change with someone who needs hope. 

If you’ve ever felt your “beast inside” leak out under pressure, you’re not alone, and you’re not stuck. Listen, share this with a friend, and then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what helps you lift your eyes when pride takes over?

Join us!   Facebook   |   Instagram   |   www.clcelkriver.org