Legacy Unchained

Day 23 | The Cross Rome Built: Status Annihilation and the Choice to Breathe

Four years ago, if you walked into my cell, you would have seen a man living under a system built on power and domination. Today, we look at the ultimate collision between that kind of empire and a different kind of kingdom. This is not your Sunday School version of Luke 23. We are going under the surface of the cross to explore why Rome used it as psycholo...

Grant breaks down emotionally as he talks about Jesus looking back at us. In Luke 22, only one Gospel records the moment when Jesus, beaten and betrayed, turns and locks eyes with Peter just after his denial. No words. No condemnation. Just a look that shatters Peter—and ultimately restores him.

In this episode, Grant goes into the valleys we all walk through: the moments of failure, shame, disillusionment, and silence where we’re c...

What happens when faith collapses after a relapse?

In Luke 21, Jesus watches a widow give her last two coins while a corrupt religious system stands in marble and gold behind her. Most sermons call this a beautiful act of generosity. Jesus saw something else entirely.

In this episode, Grant unpacks the overlooked historical and economic context of the widow’s mite, exposing how first-century religious systems extracted from the vulne...

In this episode, we step into the center of the Temple for Luke 20. This is the day of the Great Debates, where the religious establishment tries to use logic, taxes, and theology as weapons to discredit Jesus. For anyone who has lived in a "Laboratory of Shame," this chapter is a masterclass in how to respond when the "Old System" tries to pull you back into the mud.

What we cover today:

• The Vineyard Rebellion: Why we often try ...

If you walked into my cell four years ago and told me a 2,000-year-old tax collector held the key to my psychology, I would have told you to keep walking. But in the "Laboratory of Shame," the ledger of our lives eventually has to be balanced.

In this episode, we dive into the gritty, historical reality of Zacchaeus. Forget the Sunday School songs. We are looking at the "Balsam King" of Jericho, a high-stakes financial player who tr...

What if the armor you built to survive is the very thing keeping you from being healed?

In this episode of Legacy Unchained, we step into the "social club" of a loud prison library where a brother named Nic handed me a life-changing book: Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. We track the journey from that library to a Grinnell College classroom, realizing that the "tough guy" front isn't strength—it’s armor. And in Luke 18, Jesus holds a ...

Luke 17 is about the lonely middle ground of faith.

The celebrations of finding God have faded. The hard work of staying faithful has begun. And suddenly being right with God feels more complicated, not easier.

In Day 17 of The Luke Challenge, Grant dives into the uncomfortable spaces Jesus addresses in Luke 17. What it really means to cause someone to stumble. Why forgiveness can feel impossible. How entitlement quietly sabotages ob...

Luke 16 is Jesus at His most unsettling. Forget the soft sermons; this episode breaks down two challenging parables that confront our values, our urgency, and our blindness.

• The Shrewd Manager: The Holy Hustle. We define shrewdness (phronimos) and show how this white-collar crook can teach us to re-deploy our survival instincts. Grant shares the intensely personal story of how he, as a hotel GM, leveraged his final days before i...

Luke 15 is the heart of the Gospel, but it is often cleaned up. In this episode, Grant strips away the sentimental view to reveal the costly, aggressive nature of the God who hunts the lost.

• The Shepherd's Terror: We dive into the harsh reality of first-century shepherds, who were low-class, "unclean" workers, and examine the economic panic that drove the search: losing one sheep meant financial ruin and personal debt.
• The Burnin...

Luke 14 is one of the most uncomfortable chapters Jesus ever taught, and that is exactly why it matters so much for those of us in the valley.

In this episode, I unpack the historical and cultural weight behind Jesus healing on the Sabbath, choosing the lowest seat, and inviting the people who could never repay the favor. In an honor shame society obsessed with image, control, and hierarchy, Jesus flips every value system upside dow...

Luke 13 asks the question everyone in a valley whispers: Why me? Join us as we dismantle the cruel theology of blame and confront the lie that tragedy is a scoreboard of moral failure.

This episode is a lifeline for anyone carrying invisible pain. We dive deep into the valleys of addiction, divorce, and personal collapse, and offer specific, compassionate focus on the silent grief of miscarriage and abortion, affirming that your wor...

Day 1: Where Legacy Unbroken Begins (The Luke Challenge)

In this crucial episode, we kick off a 24-day journey leading up to Christmas: The Luke Challenge.

Your host shares the raw, personal story of how his brother Nic, first introduced him to this exact challenge, an experience that completely rebuilt his foundation.

Today, we open Luke 1 to see the beginning of a broken legacy becoming unbroken. This chapter reveals God stepping in...

Day 2: Born in the Stable (Why God Loves Your Lowest Place)

Welcome to Day 2 of the Luke Challenge! We dive into Luke Chapter 2, the familiar story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, and reveal the profound truth hidden in the manger and the fields.

Bethlehem was insignificant. The stable was undignified. The shepherds were the bottom of society. Yet, God chose these "low places" to launch the greatest legacy in human history.

Your host sh...

Legacy Unchained: Day 3: The Wilderness is Preparation (Luke 3 & The Baptism of Identity)

Welcome to Day 3 of the Luke Challenge! Today we dive into Luke Chapter 3, an explosive chapter about preparation, identity, and radical life-change.

Luke starts by setting the scene: a world of political corruption (Tiberius, Pilate) and religious hypocrisy (Annas, Caiaphas). Then, after 400 years of silence, John the Baptist thunders from ...

Today we dive deep into Luke 11, where Jesus teaches the most foundational spiritual pattern of all time: The Lord’s Prayer. But we don’t just read it, we break it apart word by word, uncovering the cultural meaning, the Jewish context, the rabbinic structure, and the deep emotional weight Jesus intended.

We talk about why the disciples begged Jesus to teach them to pray, how “Father” would have sounded shocking to first-century Jew...

In today’s episode, we dive into Luke 10, one of the richest chapters in the Gospels.

Jesus sends out the 72, teaches what true spiritual authority looks like, confronts the danger of spiritual pride, and gives us one of the most disruptive parables ever told: the Good Samaritan.

We explore why these teachings mattered in the first century, why they still matter in your valley today, and how God is calling you to step into compassion...

Today’s episode goes deep, because Luke 9 is deep. Jesus sends out the Twelve, feeds the five thousand, reveals His glory on the mountain, calls us to carry our cross, and teaches us what it really means to leave behind the life we thought we wanted.

We break down the historical context behind each moment. From why people expected a political Messiah to what “let the dead bury their own dead” and “don’t look back” actually meant in ...

Welcome to Day 8 of the Luke Challenge. Today, we step into Luke Chapter 8 a chapter that acts as a mirror for anyone walking through a valley of addiction, shame, or rebuilding.

In this episode, we look briefly into the neuroscience of spiritual growth. We take a look at the psychology of storms, and the radical way Jesus restores dignity to the broken. We explore why Jesus intentionally builds His Kingdom with the people culture e...

Legacy Unchained : Day 7- Forgiven Much, Loved Much (Faith of the Outsider and the Scars of Shame)

Welcome to Day 7 of the Luke Challenge! In Luke Chapter 7, Jesus shatters every expectation of worthiness, revealing that His greatest faith is found in the outsider and His deepest love is reserved for the sinner.

This episode forces us to confront our shame and where we still judge others. We dive deep into three radical moments:

1. T...