Conversate

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin have a conversation about Judgment Day. How do you feel when you think about Judgment Day? If you're like most people, just the idea of judgment conjures up negative emotions. Or, perhaps it makes you afraid. 

Aaron and Kevin discuss their own experiences thinking through judgment. And, what we find out when we look at the whole of the Bible is that the judgment of God is actually a good thing for those of us who are in Christ. Judgment actually means we will be delivered from all of the evil things that enslave us. That's good news! 

But, what about for those who are outside of Christ - those who have rejected him? Well, the guys talk about this too. They discuss the kind of urgency we should live with in witnessing those who do not believe in Jesus, but how an appropriate view of the coming judgment affects our witness. 

As always, we hope you take something from this conversation and start another conversation with someone else. 

We hope you enjoy it!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin are talking about the return of Christ. 

It's our Christian faith. It's all throughout the Bible. We confess it in the Creeds. There is a simple, Biblical, and historic belief about the return of Christ. He will come again. Once and for all. In the meantime, he's not far away. He's making himself known to us. He reveals himself in His Word, in His Sacraments, in His Church. He's ruling and reigning over all things even right now. 

On the day that Christ returns, it will be a welcome relief for those of us who are in Christ. Our Savior and King will return to set all things right, raise the dead, and make the creation all new. 

This is the historic, Biblical teaching about the return of Christ. But, there are also many teachers who profess a different sort of "end times" theology. In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about some of these other teachings and help to understand why they're not Biblically accurate and can actually be damaging for people's faith and walk with Jesus. 

As always, it's our goal you'll listen to this conversation and then start another conversation with someone else about something you heard. 

We hope you enjoy it! 

In this week's episode Aaron and Kevin are having a conversation about the ascension of Jesus into heaven. We confess this in the creed, "He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." 

In Acts 1, we see Jesus lifted up on a cloud which took him out of sight. The disciples who were with him looked up at the sky wondering where Jesus had went when two angels appeared and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

So, it begs the question, "Where is Jesus now?" We talk like Jesus is with us. But, is he really? Or did he leave the creation for awhile and he'll come back again some day. How active is he? How close to us is he? 

We hope you enjoy this conversation.

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin sit down with Jesse Johnson and discuss the practical implications of Jesus' resurrection on daily living. 

Jesse and his wife Michelle, along with their four children, are active members at Saints Peter and Paul. Jesse is also the proud owner of Gartner's Gallery in Hancock, MI. 

In light of "Surprised by Hope," these three guys discuss how the fact Jesus rose from the dead 2000+ years ago affects our daily lives now. 

As always, it's our goal that you will take what you hear in this conversation and start a conversation with someone else. 

We hope you enjoy it!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin discuss the importance of having a Biblical worldview that's centered in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that changes everything including our worldview. 

Many people in this world operate from a worldview of progress. They think that things are getting better and better and give it enough time and human ingenuity and things will continue to get better. 

Others have a worldview of despair where they think that this material world is all falling apart. Some would even say that the material world is evil and we just can't wait to get out of these bags of flesh and get onto our spiritual existence. 

Each of these worldviews borrow from Christianity so sometimes they look a bit Christian. And other times, the Christian church has mistakenly adopted these worldviews. 

In this podcast, Aaron and Kevin work on sorting this out for us. They also practically demonstrate how each worldview has results in this world.  That conversation leads Aaron and Kevin to talk about issues like abortion, euthanasia, social justice, and more. 

As always, it's our goal that you will take what you hear in this conversation and start a conversation with someone else. 

We hope you enjoy it!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin begin a discussion about the Biblical hope we have in the resurrection of the dead. 

This is a topic that (perhaps) you've heard about before. Or, if you've spent any time in a Creed-confessing church you've spoken these words many times, "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." 

So, what is this resurrection? When is this resurrection?
Is this the same thing as "dying and going to heaven?" 
Do we die and go to heaven?
What is our Christian hope as the Bible teaches? 
And, does hope in the resurrection mean anything for my life today? 

These are the questions Aaron and Kevin talk about in this episode of the podcast. 

As always, take something that you hear in this conversation and start another conversation with someone else. 

We hope you enjoy it! 

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about Palm Sunday. There were a lot of perceptions and expectations about who Jesus was and why he was riding a donkey into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. But, no one really fully understood the depth of the problem and the extent of Jesus' solution to the problems of sin, death, and the devil. 

In this conversation, Aaron and Kevin discuss 3 misconceptions that many Americans have about who Jesus is and what it means to believe in him. 

Take a listen to this conversation and see if you resonate with what they have to say. 

It's our goal that you will listen to this conversation and then take the topic and start a conversation with someone else in light of what you have heard. 

As always, we hope you enjoy it!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin discuss the phrase of Jesus, "The first will be last and the last first." 

How do we know if we're in last or if we're in first? Is it bad to live a life in which we come in first place? Some people might think this phrase means, "Don't ever compete. Or, if you do, make sure you lose." But, that's not what Jesus is getting after. 

Jesus is getting after our hearts. Do our hearts place Jesus first? Or do they place ourselves first? 

In this conversation, Aaron and Kevin discuss these questions and many more. 

As always, we hope you enjoy this conversation!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin discuss the words of Jesus "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." 

What does this mean, and how do we live it out? 

Does it mean I have to sell everything, give up my family, and move to Africa to become a missionary? Is that it? Or, is there a way to continue doing what I'm doing, but do it in light of these words of Jesus? 

What we hope to demonstrate to you in this conversation is that denying yourself, and taking up your cross (while it may seem scary) is actually the only way to true freedom and life. 

We hope you enjoy this conversation!

In this week's episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about the ways that Jesus is offensive. Now... maybe you hear that and you're offended. You might think, "Jesus isn't offensive!" Well, what about when he doesn't tell you what you want to hear? What about when he says he's the only way to salvation? 

Now, it's not our goal for you to be offended by Jesus. We don't think you should strive to be offended. And, we'll certainly clarify some of that for you in this conversation. But, at the same time, we also want you to recognize and acknowledge that it's okay (good even) to have Jesus speak the truth to you. And, sometimes, we might not like that truth in the moment. 

So, take a listen to this conversation, and as always, we hope you enjoy it!