Check out our James onepager!

James is not interested in what we call ourselves. He’s interested in what we actually do.

In this episode, we turn to James chapter 2, where James confronts something most of us assume we’ve outgrown: favoritism. But as we slow down and look closely, it becomes clear this isn’t just about rich people and poor people sitting in church. It’s about influence, status, compatibility, social capital, and the quiet ways we gravitate toward people who benefit us.

James calls that what it is: a denial of the gospel.

When we show favoritism, we’re drawing distinctions where God has drawn none. At the foot of the cross, there is no hierarchy—no wealthy tier, no influential tier, no “more valuable” category of Christian. Yet we constantly make subtle judgment calls about who deserves our attention, our time, and our warmth.

And James doesn’t treat this lightly. He ties favoritism to the breaking of the “royal law”: love your neighbor as yourself. He places it alongside serious sins and warns that mercy and judgment are inseparably linked. In other words, this isn’t a small relational misstep—it’s a litmus test for whether our faith is real.

This chapter forces us to ask uncomfortable questions:

• Do we love people for what they can give us?
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• Are we generous only when it costs us nothing?
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• Has our faith changed how we see the overlooked and inconvenient?
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James 2 presses on the difference between talking faith and living faith. It’s confrontational, timely, and deeply relevant in a world where influence and visibility carry enormous weight.

If James 1 exposed our endurance under pressure, James 2 exposes our love under proximity.

And that’s where things get real.

Check out our James onepager!

We officially step into the weeds of the Book of James with a deep dive into chapter one—a chapter that sounds simple at first and then quietly refuses to let us stay comfortable. James opens with a command that feels almost offensive in its honesty: consider it joy when you face trials. And from there, he never really lets up.

In this episode, we explore how James understands trials not as interruptions to faith, but as the testing ground where faith is actually formed. Trials produce endurance, endurance leads to maturity, and maturity leads to a life that is whole and lacking nothing. That reframes suffering entirely—but it also raises hard questions about God’s role in our pain, temptation, and desire. James anticipates those questions and draws careful distinctions: God may use trials to form us, but temptation toward sin does not come from Him. That battle happens within our own hearts.

From there, James turns his attention to wisdom—not as intellectual knowledge, but as a moral and relational quality that steadies us under pressure. Wisdom is what enables us to endure without becoming divided, bitter, or double-minded. And that theme of inner division carries us into the second half of the chapter, where James presses on how we respond to God’s Word itself.

Hearing Scripture without obeying it, James says, is a form of self-deception. God’s Word acts like a mirror, showing us who we really are—not so we can walk away unchanged, but so we can respond, repent, and live differently. Real faith doesn’t just listen well; it moves, acts, and shows itself in quiet obedience, self-control, and care for the vulnerable.

James 1 sets the tone for the entire letter: less talk, more walk. It’s a call to integrated faith—one that holds together endurance in trials, trust in God’s goodness, and a lived response to His Word. This episode invites us not just to understand James, but to let him diagnose us—and, ultimately, move us toward wholeness.

It’s a new book, a new series, and a very different kind of challenge. In this episode, we kick off our deep dive into the Book of James—a short, punchy, no-nonsense letter that somehow manages to feel both incredibly simple and profoundly uncomfortable at the same time.

We spend this overview episode helping you get your bearings before we move chapter by chapter through the book. We talk about who James likely was (Jesus’ half-brother), who he was writing to, and why this may be one of the earliest books in the New Testament. Along the way, we explore why James sounds so different from Paul, why it’s often called the Proverbs of the New Testament, and why its structure can feel disorienting if you try to read it like a linear argument.

James doesn’t waste words. With over fifty commands packed into just 108 verses, this letter presses relentlessly on the gap between what we say we believe and how we actually live. Again and again, James exposes the divided heart—where devotion to God and devotion to self quietly coexist—and calls us toward a faith that is whole, integrated, and lived out in everyday life.

This episode is meant to whet your appetite for what’s ahead. James is honest, confrontational, practical, and deeply pastoral. It’s not a cozy book, but it is a necessary one. As we begin this journey together, our hope is that you’ll read along with us, let James diagnose what’s beneath the surface, and discover the kind of faith that doesn’t just sound right—but actually shapes the way we live.

RESOURCES:

One Pagers

Patreon Partners get one pagers free!

Radically Whole by David Gibson

Check out this book by Leland Ryken about genres in the Bible.

Short Sentences Long Remembered by Leland Ryken

Want to try out the See For Yourself Bible study? Try it out today! 

Go here! 

In this Q&A episode, we respond to some of the most thoughtful and practical questions we’ve received about reading and studying the Bible. From Hebrew and Greek word studies to reading Scripture with non-believers, translation uncertainties, learning differences, and the frustration of Bible reading that feels like it’s “going nowhere,” we tackle the real obstacles that keep people stuck or discouraged.

We talk honestly about the value—and the limits—of word studies, emphasizing that tools like Greek and Hebrew can be helpful, but only when used with humility and attention to context. We also address how to read the Bible with non-believing friends, encouraging curiosity, honesty, and the freedom to say “I don’t know” while modeling how to seek good answers together.

Along the way, we discuss why translation notes and uncertainties should actually increase our confidence in Scripture rather than undermine it, and how God’s Word can be faithfully engaged by people with learning differences through creative, accessible approaches. We also spend time with one of the most common frustrations: reading the Bible consistently but feeling no immediate impact. Here, we make the case for long obedience, delayed transformation, and the slow formation that comes from years of steady exposure to God’s Word.

This episode is about recalibrating expectations, cultivating humility, and learning to trust that God’s Word is at work even when progress feels invisible. If you’ve ever felt confused, intimidated, or weary in your Bible reading, this conversation is meant to encourage you to keep showing up—with patience, prayer, and hope.

Resources:

--ESV Dyslexia Friendly Bible

--CSB Dyslexia Friendly Bible

--Clear Focus Bible for Kids (NIrV)

--CSB Grace Bible for Kids

Listen to the Bible using Dwell!

Get translator notes for free at netbible.org

Want to try out the See For Yourself Bible study? Try it free today!

You can know how to study the Bible and still feel completely stuck when you actually open it. In this episode, we talk about the real obstacles that derail Bible reading—not lack of intelligence, tools, or training, but the everyday realities of confusion, offense, and busyness. These are the moments that quietly convince us to close the Bible and not come back.

We walk through what to do when Scripture doesn’t make sense, when it says something we don’t like, and when life feels too full to slow down and read at all. Along the way, we make the case that confusion isn’t failure, offense isn’t a flaw in the Bible, and boredom doesn’t mean nothing is happening. In fact, these moments are often where the most meaningful formation takes place—if we’re willing to stay.

This conversation is less about Bible study techniques and more about endurance: learning how to keep showing up, how to build tolerance for discomfort, and how to trust that time in God’s Word is doing something even when it doesn’t feel spectacular. If you’ve ever thought, I want to read the Bible, but it’s harder than I expected, this episode is for you.

Check out our Bible Study that teaches you to read all of God’s word.

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In this episode, we tackle what we believe is the single most overlooked skill in Bible study — not better tools, deeper knowledge, or more information, but the simple discipline of slowing down and noticing what the text actually says. It sounds obvious. It isn’t. And it’s the reason many of us miss the richness of Scripture altogether.

We walk through why our instinct to rush to meaning, application, or personal takeaway often short-circuits understanding. Instead, we make the case that careful observation — paying attention to repeated words, contrasts, grammar, structure, and small details — is the foundation of faithful Bible reading. Using examples from Luke 18, Leviticus 4, Romans 8, and Galatians 5, we show how noticing what’s right in front of us unlocks clarity, depth, and theological insight that most of us skim past.

Along the way, we talk about why this practice requires patience, curiosity, and a conviction that every word of Scripture is intentional and inspired. We also explain why familiarity with the Bible can actually become a liability if we don’t approach the text with humility and a healthy suspicion of our first impressions.

If your Bible reading often feels flat, rushed, or confusing, this episode offers a reset. It’s an invitation to linger, observe, and let God’s Word unfold — trusting that real transformation comes not from trying harder, but from seeing more clearly.

Check out our Bible Study that teaches you to ready all of God’s word.

Art of Noticing bookmark

As we kick off a new year, we turn our attention to something many of us want to do more faithfully — reading the Bible — but often struggle to do with joy, clarity, or consistency. In this episode, we reframe what’s actually happening when we open the Scriptures by walking through four metaphors that reshape how we approach God’s Word.

We talk about the Bible as a bridge that leads us into relationship with Jesus, not an end in itself. As vocabulary, giving us language to recognize God’s voice and understand what’s happening in our hearts and in the world. As a library, made up of real books with real authors, purposes, and narrative arcs that deserve to be read as whole works. And finally, as a window, revealing the glory of God and transforming us not by self-inspection, but by beholding Him.

This conversation is about more than reading plans or checking boxes. It’s about recovering wonder, confidence, and joy in Scripture — especially when passages feel confusing, boring, or distant. We also introduce the heart behind our upcoming study See for Yourself, and explain why equipping people with skills for Bible reading has been a central passion of ours for years.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, discouraged, or unsure of what you’re supposed to be doing when you read the Bible, this episode is an invitation to see Scripture differently — and to come to it with renewed expectation, clearly.

Christmas rom-coms, alternative universes, and Nicolas Cage — yes, somehow they all make it into this episode. We walk through Kelly’s Christmas message on Luke 2, exploring why God’s answer to our deepest brokenness wasn’t a strategy, a checklist, or a five-step plan… but a person. A baby. The most unexpected rescue operation of all time.

In this teaching, Kelly shares why the arrival of Jesus is far more than a sweet nativity scene: it’s the moment God sits down at the desk, takes our exam for us, hands us His perfect score, and then delights — truly delights — to give it away. We talk about how salvation is more than debt-forgiveness, how righteousness is a gift earned on our behalf, and why God is far more eager to be with us than to simply fix our circumstances.

Whether you’re in a season that feels heavy, hopeful, confusing, or all of the above, this message is a reminder that God didn’t send us a plan to execute — He sent us Himself. Emmanuel. God with us. And that changes everything.

It’s that time of year when people start panic-Googling “gift ideas that don’t feel like I bought them in the checkout line.” So we decided to help — Clearly style. Which means: we gave ourselves permission to talk about our favorite things, roast each other, confess our competitive board-game issues, and accidentally pitch half a dozen companies who did not ask for our endorsement but probably should.

In this episode, we walk through the books, tools, gadgets, apps, candles, pens, games, and wonderfully analog objects that make our daily lives happier, smoother, or at least less chaotic. From Bibles to board games, from Greek notebooks to Suno AI bangers, from Kelly’s beloved Remarkable to Jimmy’s Micron pen obsession — it’s all here.

If you want gift ideas, want to feel better about your own quirks, or just want to laugh your way through our most unserious episode of the year… welcome. These are a few of our favorite things — clearly.

• New Inductive Study Bible — Amazon Link
• Greek New Testament Notebooks — Amazon Link

• Analog To-Do List (Uggmonk) — Product Page
• Remarkable Tablet — Amazon Link
• An Exercise in Proactive Repentance

• Jackson Vaughn Candles — Official Site
• Portable Charger — Amazon Link

• Suno — suno.com

• House Rules Board Game Shop — Official Site
• Ticket to Ride — Amazon Link

Telestrations — Amazon Link

We are sponsored by America World Adoption Agency. Join us in moving God’s kingdom forward in supporting adoption by signing up for their emails here.

We love our kids. We really do. We just don’t always love the sticky floors, the endless questions, the “surprise” tantrums in the Target parking lot, or the way someone always needs a snack the literal second we sit down. But somewhere along the way, our culture decided that children themselves are the burden — and that’s where we draw the line.

In this episode, we push back on the modern “kids = life-ruiners” narrative and look at what Scripture actually says (spoiler: only blessings, zero curses). We explore why children are image bearers, sanctifiers, future world-changers, and, yes, occasional free labor and potential retirement plans.

If you’re a tired parent, a hesitant soon-to-be parent, or just someone who’s accidentally internalized the cultural eye-roll toward kids, come laugh, rethink, and get recalibrated with us — clearly.

• Who Should a Church Help (and Not Help)?
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• Your Child Is Your Neighbor — The Gospel Coalition
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• A Jesus Heart for Children (Part 1)
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• Children: Burden or Blessing?
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• The Sanctity of Unwanted Life