Sometimes church folk envision complicated timelines of events they believe must happen in world history in order for Jesus to come back (we explored this kind of thinking in our first episode of this series), and often those timelines involve assumptions about events pertaining to the modern nation-state of Israel. And sometimes, religious voices will take verses from the Scriptures originally about the ancient descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and interpret them to mean that anything the modern state of Israel does must be God's will--even though the prophets often critiqued the actions of ancient Israel's kings and society. So what are we to make of this? Is the modern nation-state of Israel identical with the ancient people of God? What about the large Jewish population all over the whole world who do not reside in Israel? And how can Christians avoid a theology that just reduces other people groups to being props or chess pieces in their schemes for end-times scenarios? These are some of the questions we'll explore on this week's episode of Crazy Faith Talk!

We've all seen the classic poster with Uncle Sam trying to recruit soldiers for previous war efforts, with his severe look and the caption, "I want you!" But is that how God operates? Does God need our help to fight some cosmic battle in the future, or is the victory already won in Christ? And when the Bible talks about wearing the "armor of God" is that for some kind of literal, physical battle to come, or about letting our whole lives be prepared for being faithful witnesses to Jesus and daring examples of love? We'll explore these questions in this week's episode of our Eastertide series, "Why Our End Times Theology Matters," here on Crazy Faith Talk!

From action-packed summer blockbusters to pop culture references, people use the word "Armageddon" to talk about any cataclysmic disaster, real or imagined. But what does the word actually mean, and where does it come from? In this episode, colleagues in minister Erica, Natalie, Sarah, and Steve explore the history behind this word, the misnomer that it's about a grand future battle, and the way God really wins victory--by the sheer authority of God's Word, rather than human weapons.

Every so often, it seems there is a flare-up of folks worried about Jesus' coming again, or whether current events in the news could be triggering the end of the world. In this new series for Eastertide, colleagues in ministry Sarah, Erica, Natalie, and Steve will be exploring why a faithful and thoughtful end-times theology (sometimes called "eschatology") matters, and why it's worth being wise readers of Scripture rather than getting swept up in the latest talking point or fear tactic. In this first conversation, we'll ask the basic question, "Is there anything WE can do to speed up or slow down Jesus' coming again?" And if the answer is no, then what ARE we supposed to be doing with our lives in the mean-time?

While we often think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, around Christmas time, amid the stories of angels, shepherds, and mangers, the gospels and the book of Acts remind us that Mary was a presence throughout Jesus' ministry, that she persevered through the horror of the cross, and continued to be an important figure in the early Christian community as well. We'll consider Mary's example in discipleship in this final week of our Lent 2026 series.

While many think of the apostle Paul primarily as a theologian--someone who talked and wrote about what Christians believe--he also gives us a powerful example of Christian discipleship as a matter of taking the gospel seriously, and living out what we understand by faith. In this conversation, we'll explore how Paul's life story, journeys, and writing give us a glimpse of the kind of life we are called to as well!

Of course, Christians would look to Jesus as part of their faith, right? But is everything Jesus did in the Gospels meant to be copied? Are there some ways in which Jesus is unique? And if two people sincerely ask, "What would Jesus do?" and they get very different answers, what do we do about it? How do we take Jesus seriously as a model of our discipleship, and also find hope in Jesus' grace in all the times we fail? This week's episode of Crazy Faith Talk explores these questions and more.

In many Christian traditions, when new disciples are baptized or affirm their faith, they are explicitly asked if they will speak and act in ways that seek peace and justice for all people. That might look different for each of us, but we can learn something about this calling to work for the good of those who are suffering and speak to help end mistreatment from the story of Moses, who spoke up to Pharaoh to set the enslaved Hebrews free. Join us on this episode of Crazy Faith Talk to see how Moses' calling to speak up for the sake others might give direction to us!

In much of the ancient biblical world, it was taken as a given that one must show hospitality and genuine welcome to strangers who come to your door. That's visible in the early storytelling in Genesis when Abraham welcomes the three divine visitors, but it also becomes a central theme in the Torah when Israel is commanded to welcome foreigners and treat them the same as their own citizens, because they were supposed to remember what it was like to be mistreated as foreigners. In this week's episode we'll look at care for the stranger as an essential part of Christian discipleship, and where that theme shows up elsewhere in Scripture. Join us for this week's Crazy Faith Talk!

In our previous series, we explored how God has a way throughout the Bible of calling unlikely and unexpected people to belong... but what exactly is the life we have been called into really all about? That's what discipleship is all about, and in this new series for Lent, we're going to explore several big ideas of what it looks like to be a disciple, starting with a classic description from the prophet Micah, who summarized it as "doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God." What could that look like in our lives? Join us for this new conversation here on Crazy Faith Talk to find out more!