Ryan is joined by two of Raleigh's most interesting people, Dan and Grace Casey, as they reflect on who Jesus is to them. Grace reflects on her calling as a creative and the ways God is reflected through her work, and Dan shares how coaching football has given him a perspective on how God encourages us. 

Former FOCUS Raleigh staffer Amy Moreau joins the pod with Caroline (who used to be one of her students!) to talk about what it means to really believe Jesus when he promises life to the full. Amy gives some examples from her time in youth ministry as well as from the perspective of a parent, and even goes back to her own experiences of those first years of faith. 

Kelly is joined by musician and worship leader Tyler Wright as he shares why seeing Jesus as his advocate means so much in a world where weariness and trying to prove ourselves worthy is the norm. They discuss being okay with lament, the beauty of having Jesus speak on your behalf, and even preview a short clip of an unreleased song by Tyler. 

Math teacher Eric Whitfield joins Ryan to discuss seeing God's design in a subject that lots of people (Ryan included!) work hard to avoid in high school. 

Kelly is joined by Vintage Church pastor Jordan Penley to talk about the simple observation that the Bible posits to Jesus asking "who do you say that I am?": Jesus is, in fact, God. It's a statement we are probably all familiar with and yet haven't often thought about what it really means for our lives, so listen in as Kelly and Jordan unpack why this realization means so much.

Continuing our series asking "Who do you say that I am?", Kelly is joined by FOCUS alum and therapist Rachel Wakeford as examine the ways Jesus heals, the encouragements of more people speaking openly about mental health, and the ways the Bible addressed psychological wellbeing long before our current cultural moment.

Seminarian Brandon Russell stops by the podcast to share why it's important not to consider God someone that we wrestle with - we talk about suffering, struggle, relationships and ultimately why it's a good thing that we don't always just get the easy answers.

Ryan is joined by Duke physician and FOCUS parent Andy Alspaugh as he discusses why, as someone working with illness and disease every day, it matters to say that Jesus is Life.  They also discuss how  we have an environment where more people feel comfortable admitting they are thirsty and broken, and the choices that we face to drink the water of life or stay thirsty.

And we're back! Time to kick off a new series on the FOCUS Raleigh devotional podcast where this winter we're exploring  the question that Jesus asks his disciples directly: "who do you say that I am?" 

There are some stories we've heard so many times, we become numb to how incredible and surprising many of the details are. For our last Advent podcast, Ryan and St. David's student Tom DeLoache highlight  unexpected details in a familiar story - the narrative of Jesus' birth - and ask big questions like why God would choose to come in this way and what it says about who He is.