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Communion can feel familiar, but that familiarity can hide a dangerous misunderstanding. We dig into what the bread and the cup actually represent, why the Lord’s Supper is never a spiritual trick, and why taking communion without real faith in Jesus Christ can leave us hardened instead of healed. If you’ve ever wondered “Am I supposed to take communion?” or assumed it works automatically, this conversation brings you back to the plain, powerful center: Jesus’ body broken and His blood shed for sinners.

From John’s Gospel we walk through Jesus washing feet, calling His people to costly servanthood, and warning that following Him won’t always be welcomed by the world. We connect that to the daily life of believers who are already made clean in Christ, yet still need ongoing cleansing through Scripture, confession, and honest encouragement inside the church. We also talk about how “love” gets redefined in our culture and why Jesus defines love by taking sin seriously enough to die for it.

Then we sit in the tension of the table scene with Judas: receiving the dipped bread, stepping out into the night, and showing how close someone can be to Jesus outwardly while never truly believing. We tie that to Paul’s warning about taking communion in an unworthy manner, the need for self-examination, and the hope that Jesus restores failures like Peter.

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Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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A towel, a bowl of water, and one sentence that stops you cold: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” We step into John 13 with Pastor Carl from The Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina, and we slow down long enough to see what Jesus is really doing when He kneels in front of Peter. It isn’t a random act of kindness or a leadership trick. It’s a living picture of the gospel, where the Lord Himself provides the cleansing we could never earn.

We also connect the foot washing to bigger biblical themes that shape Christian faith and assurance of salvation: Jesus loving His own “to the uttermost,” Jesus as our Advocate who intercedes for us, and the temple imagery from Hebrews where the veil once separated people from the Holy of Holies. Through the blood of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, we’re given a new and living way to draw near to God with a clean conscience. That changes how we pray, how we repent, and how we see ourselves when shame and condemnation try to take over.

Then we bring it down to everyday discipleship and sanctification. Jesus says the bathed person is clean but still needs feet washed, and that lands right where most of us live: forgiven, yet still picking up dirt from a broken world. We talk about why Judas is “not clean,” why works can’t purify the heart, and what it really means to “wash one another’s feet” by restoring, encouraging, and reminding each other of the gospel.

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Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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Eternity feels far away right up until it doesn’t, and that’s the pressure behind Pastor Carl’s message from John 12. We talk about the kind of “belief” that stays private when it might cost reputation, comfort, or approval, and why the gospel pushes past vague spirituality into a real response to Jesus Christ.

Pastor Carl connects John’s words about hardened hearts to Pharaoh’s repeated refusals and to Isaiah 6, where Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up and immediately realizes how unclean he is. That contrast matters: when we truly see God’s holiness, we stop bargaining and start repenting. We also dig into a hard truth from John 12: some leaders believed Jesus was the Messiah but would not confess him because they loved the praise of people more than the praise of God.

From there the message turns practical and personal. Jesus is not only Savior but also Advocate and Judge, and “I’ll represent myself” is a terrifying strategy. We walk through Romans 10:9, why confession flows from a changed heart, and what it means that Jesus came as light into darkness to save the world before he returns to judge. We end anchored in John 3:16-18 and the simple, urgent invitation to believe and be made new.

If this challenged you, share it with a friend who needs clarity, subscribe for more Bible teaching through the Gospel of John, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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“Guilty” is a hard word to hear and an even harder one to outrun. We open with a courtroom picture that lands with force: the verdict over the world is guilt, and the payment is death. Then the story pivots to the most unexpected move in history, Jesus Christ stepping into our place to take the punishment we earned, so anyone who believes can receive the righteousness of God.

Pastor Carl walks us through John 12 as Jesus approaches the cross during His final week, acknowledging a troubled soul yet refusing to call for rescue. Instead, Jesus prays, “Father, glorify your name,” and a voice from heaven answers. We talk about why some people hear God clearly while others dismiss Him as noise, and how spiritual deafness can look like skepticism, delay, or endless objections. From there we dig into Jesus’ words about judgment, the ruler of this world being cast out, and the real meaning of “lifted up” as crucifixion, not a vague spiritual slogan.

To make the gospel unmistakable, we connect John’s commentary to Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant prophecy that describes substitution, healing, and forgiveness with startling detail. We also address the uncomfortable theme of hardened hearts: why people refuse belief when it threatens comfort, power, or cherished sin, and why Jesus’ warning to “walk while you have the light” is urgent, not dramatic.

If you’re searching for a clear, Bible-based explanation of the cross, salvation, atonement, and why Jesus had to die, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who asks honest questions, and leave a review to help more people find Come On Up.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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A crowd can shout “Save now” on Sunday and demand “Crucify” by Friday, and that swing is more than ancient history. We walk through the Gospel of John with Pastor Carl and sit in the tension: real worship versus performative religion, soft hearts versus hard hearts, and a King who refuses to win the way we expect. If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is just talk or something that actually changes you, this message gets uncomfortably honest and surprisingly hopeful. 

We start with the core of the Christian gospel: Jesus Christ died for sinners, was buried, rose again according to the Scriptures, and reigns today. Pastor Carl uses the “paid bill” picture to make it plain: your sin debt is not managed, minimized, or postponed, it is paid in full by the blood of Christ. From there we contrast Judas, called out as a thief who stays unchanged, with Mary, whose costly anointing becomes a lasting memorial of gratitude and trust. 

Then the story widens. Lazarus becomes living evidence that threatens religious power, Palm Sunday fulfills prophecy as Jesus rides in on a donkey as the Prince of Peace, and the crowd’s confusion exposes how easily we misunderstand the Messiah. When Greeks arrive and ask, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” Jesus announces the hour has come and describes His death like a seed buried to produce fruit, redefining victory, discipleship, and what it means to serve and follow Him. 

If you’re searching for Bible teaching that connects Scripture, salvation, repentance, and everyday life, share this with a friend and keep the conversation going. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: where do you feel most tempted to trust yourself instead of Jesus?

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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A pound of perfume worth a year’s wages hits the floor, and suddenly everyone has an opinion. Some call it waste. Jesus calls it worship, and he ties it to what’s coming next.

We’re in John chapter 12 with Pastor Carl, walking back into Bethany just days before Passover. Lazarus is alive, the dinner table is set, and Mary of Bethany does something unforgettable: she anoints Jesus with costly spikenard and wipes his feet with her hair. We talk through why this moment is not about religious spectacle, but about a heart that knows what Jesus has done and responds with gratitude, humility, and surrender.

Then we zoom out to the other gospel accounts and head into Luke 7, where a woman known for her sin weeps at Jesus’ feet while a Pharisee keeps his distance. Jesus answers with a story about two debtors and one freeing act of forgiveness, pressing the question of whether we admit our need for salvation or protect our pride with self-justification. Along the way, we contrast Mary’s devotion with Judas Iscariot’s “charity” objection, and we follow the story forward to opposition hardening, a plot against Lazarus, and the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday as prophecy is fulfilled and the Prince of Peace arrives.

If you want a clear, Bible-centered look at worship, repentance, forgiveness of sins, and what real faith in Jesus Christ produces, listen through and share it with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what challenged you most.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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A stone rolls, a name is called, and everything we think we know about effort and earning is upended. We walk with Pastor Carl from the tomb of Lazarus to the shadow of the cross to explore why trying harder can’t raise the dead in us—and why grace can. The moment Jesus prays aloud and commands, “Lazarus, come forth,” becomes a mirror for our own lives: we don’t climb out by willpower; we respond to a voice that gives life. Even the awkward in-between—the waiting, the whispers, the doubts—teaches us how belief grows when sight falters.

As the crowd divides, the stakes rise. Some see the Messiah and believe; others run to the Pharisees, fearing Rome more than God. We unpack the leaders’ anxiety over power, place, and nation, and how that same fear still tempts us to protect our platforms instead of trusting the kingdom Jesus brings. Caiaphas speaks what he thinks is political calculus, but God turns it into prophecy: one man will die for the people. We dive into the heart of the gospel—Jesus, the Lamb of God, becomes sin so we become God’s righteousness, gathering a scattered family from every nation.

All along, Pastor Carl urges a simple, costly step: repent and come as you are. Stop polishing the image. Stop striving for a purity you can’t produce. Admit the need you can’t meet and receive the gift you can’t earn. As Passover nears and opposition hardens, we see not chaos but appointment—Jesus moving toward the hour that changes history. 

If you’re tired of the grind and hungry for real change, this message points you to the only voice that can call you out of the tomb and the only hands strong enough to loose your grave clothes. Listen, share with someone who needs hope, and if this encouraged you, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the good news.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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An empty tomb is one thing. A folded head cloth is another. When you slow down and let the resurrection accounts speak together, the first Easter morning becomes a gripping, minute-by-minute story filled with fear, tenderness, and hard-to-ignore details.

We tell the resurrection of Jesus Christ using a “Gospel harmony” approach inspired by Johnston Cheney’s *The Life of Christ in Stereo*, blending Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John into one continuous narrative. We follow the women who come at dawn with spices, the earthquake and angel that shake the guarded tomb, and the scramble that follows when Mary Magdalene runs to Peter and John. Inside the tomb, the linen cloths and the carefully placed covering raise a simple question skeptics and believers both have to face: who would steal a body and leave a scene like that behind?

From Mary’s tears outside the sepulchre to the angels’ reminder to remember Jesus’ own words, the story keeps pressing toward a decision. We also talk about the competing explanation that the disciples stole the body, how that rumor got fueled, and why it still echoes today. Then we walk the Emmaus road, where Jesus opens the Scriptures and turns crushed expectations into burning hearts, pointing us back to Bible study, the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and a living hope that reaches beyond Easter weekend.

If you’ve been searching for a clear Easter sermon, an “empty tomb” explanation, or a fresh way to read the four Gospels, press play and come up the mountain with us. 

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Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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Death shows up like a wall; Jesus meets it like a door. Walking through John 11, we sit with Martha and Mary in raw grief, hear Jesus name Himself as “the resurrection and the life,” and watch a stone roll back on four days of finality. Pastor Carl wrestles with the ache we feel when God seems late and the deeper truth that love sometimes waits so glory can be seen. We talk about tears that tell the truth—Jesus wept over sin’s wreckage and stubborn unbelief—and the risky obedience of moving the stone when everything in us wants to keep loss sealed away.

Together we explore what it means to trust God’s timing, not only for comfort but for transformation. This isn’t a story about avoiding pain; it’s a story about a Savior who steps into it, speaks to it, and calls us out of it. We draw a clear line between physical death and eternal separation, and we name the hope that holds in the darkest rooms: the crucified and risen Christ who judges and saves, confronts and comforts. The crowd’s doubts, the whispered “if only,” and the grave clothes around Lazarus all mirror our own moments of paralysis—and the same voice still calls, personally and powerfully.

We end by asking the question that shapes everything: “Who do you say He is?” A self-made Jesus cannot save. The biblical Jesus—eternal Son of God, crucified for our sins, risen in power—still opens tombs and hearts. If your faith has cooled, this conversation invites you back to simple, sincere steps: bring your honest prayers, obey in small risky ways, and keep your spiritual fervor. 

If this message strengthens your hope or challenges your assumptions, share it with a friend, subscribe for more teaching, and leave a review to help others find this conversation.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

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When faith doesn’t fit into neat boxes, what do we do with the questions that won’t sit still? We follow Thomas. Across the Gospel of John, his honesty pulls truth into the open—from let us go that we may die with him to Lord, we don’t know the way to the breathtaking confession, My Lord and my God. We walk through Thomas’s candor, his absence in the upper room, and the moment Jesus meets him with scars and peace, and discover why honest doubt can be the doorway to a stronger, clearer faith.

From there, we step into Bethany, where grief sits heavy and timing hurts. Martha meets Jesus on the road with If you had been here, and he answers with both promise and presence: your brother will rise again and I am the resurrection and the life. We connect this living hope to the bedrock of Scripture—1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15—where Paul insists that the dead in Christ will rise, mortality will put on immortality, and death will be swallowed up in victory. This isn’t wishful thinking; it’s the Christian horizon that shapes our choices, softens our grief, and strengthens our endurance.

Along the way, Pastor Carl shares a candid story of job loss and provision that didn’t look like comfort, reminding us that trust isn’t denial. It is steady obedience when outcomes remain unclear. We talk about following Christ when the cost is real, asking specific questions when understanding is foggy, and finding that Jesus doesn’t shame us for needing clarity—he answers with himself. If you’re wrestling with uncertainty, grieving a loss, or hungry for hope that lasts, this conversation will steady your steps and lift your eyes.

If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope today, and leave a quick review so others can find the show.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com.