Tenth & Broad Church of Christ Podcast

Faith often feels like a roller coaster with incredible highs followed by confusing lows. The disciples experienced this same pattern when Jesus revealed his mission would lead through suffering rather than earthly triumph. Peter's dramatic shift from confessing Jesus as Messiah to rebuking him shows how quickly faith can falter. Jesus calls all followers to deny themselves and take up their cross, trusting him completely. When the...

In Mark chapter 7, Jesus confronts the Pharisees about their obsession with ceremonial hand washing, revealing that true cleanliness comes from the heart, not external rituals. He explains that evil thoughts and actions originate from within a person, making outward ceremonies powerless to address the real problem of sin. Jesus then demonstrates this truth by performing miracles for Gentiles - those considered outsiders - while the...

Life reminds us of our physical limitations, but our souls matter more than our temporary bodies. While suffering wasn't part of God's original plan, He can use even our most difficult circumstances for our ultimate benefit. Sickness itself doesn't honor God, but our response to it can glorify Him through prayer, maintaining joy, and allowing pain to become a pathway for spiritual transformation. God's ultimate goal isn't our perpe...

Divine healing creates tension between what we know about God's power and what we experience in reality. We see some people healed while others continue to suffer, leading to questions about why God doesn't always heal. This tension isn't a sign of weak faith but reflects living in God's kingdom that is already here but not yet complete. All healing ultimately comes from God, whether through natural processes, medical intervention,...

Your body absolutely matters to God, as evidenced through creation, salvation, and the promise of resurrection. Jesus' ministry consistently included physical healing alongside preaching and casting out demons, demonstrating God's kingdom breaking into our world. We are created as embodied souls, fearfully and wonderfully made by God's design. The incarnation proves God's commitment to physical bodies - He became flesh to redeem us...

The cross represents both humanity's darkest cruelty and God's brightest love. Jesus willingly endured a week of escalating tension, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his ultimate sacrifice on Friday. He suffered physical torture, false accusations, and spiritual agony, bearing our sins and taking the punishment we deserved. But death could not hold the Son of God. On the third day, he rose victorious, conquering death its...

In Mark chapters 5 and 6, we see a powerful truth: encountering Jesus always demands a reaction. From the demon-possessed man who fell at Jesus' feet to the townspeople who responded with fear and amazement, no one could remain neutral in his presence. Whether it was the bleeding woman reaching out in desperate faith, Jairus pleading for his dying daughter, or the people of Nazareth rejecting him with indignant disbelief, everyone ...

Jesus consistently drew crowds who gathered in a circle around Him, demonstrating that He should be the center of our lives too. From these crowds, Jesus chose twelve disciples to be with Him, watch Him closely, and learn from His actions. He calls all His followers to three main activities: preaching the good news, helping and healing others, and pushing back against evil. Following Jesus means facing misunderstanding from others ...

Through the story of a paralyzed man and his faithful friends in Mark 2, we discover that while suffering and unfulfilled dreams often drive us to seek Jesus, He sees our spiritual condition as our greatest need. When Jesus first said 'your sins are forgiven' before healing the man physically, He revealed His priorities - spiritual healing comes first. Jesus approaches us as the Great Physician, not as a judge, offering healing and...

Mark's Gospel opens with a revolutionary declaration that Jesus is the true King, not Caesar. Through John the Baptist's call to repentance, Jesus' baptism where heaven opens, and His wilderness testing, we see how to prepare for and encounter Christ. Jesus calls ordinary fishermen as disciples, demonstrates authority over demons in the synagogue, and shows that following Him means turning God's blessings into service to others. Th...

Many of us can see Jesus but struggle to see Him clearly, like looking at a tree and thinking it's just one big leaf. Through the story of Jesus healing a blind man in two stages in Mark 8, we learn that spiritual sight often requires a second touch from Jesus. The disciples could identify Jesus as the Messiah, but their vision was still blurry when it came to understanding what that truly meant. Our spiritual blindness comes from ...

King Jehoshaphat demonstrates that true courage isn't found in grand gestures, but in the ordinary, intentional decisions we make daily to follow God. Unlike the impulsive King Ahab, Jehoshaphat showed three keys to ordinary courage: setting his heart on the Lord, seeking God while turning away from distractions, and teaching God's Word to others. When we practice these principles, God provides everything we need to grow steadily i...

Fasting is a forgotten spiritual discipline that Jesus expected His followers to practice regularly alongside prayer and giving. The modern church has largely abandoned this biblical practice, missing out on its spiritual benefits including developing self-discipline, bringing spiritual purification, and facilitating generosity. There are four main types of fasting: major fasts (abstaining from food and drink), minor fasts (abstain...

John wrote his first letter to give believers blessed assurance about their eternal life. He addressed Christians who were confused by false teachers with complicated ideas, reminding them that faith is simple. Authentic Christian living involves three essentials: believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, obeying His commands, and loving others. John emphasizes that God's commandments aren't burdensome because they all sum up to...

Our hearts often condemn us because we struggle to love perfectly and doubt God's unconditional love for us. John teaches that God knows everything about us - our failures, weaknesses, and struggles - yet loves us anyway. This isn't frightening news but hopeful, as God's omniscience is connected to His mercy throughout Scripture. When we understand that God wants to make His home in our hearts rather than distance Himself from us, ...

The Apostle John reveals three key marks of true Christianity: believing in Jesus, walking in obedience, and loving fellow believers. In 1 John 3:11-18, he exposes two dangerous lies about love that our culture promotes. First, that love comes later after we get our doctrine right, when actually love has been foundational from the beginning. Second, that love comes naturally, when true Christian love is actually supernatural and on...

Jesus didn't come to earth just to show love and mercy—He came on a search and destroy mission against sin and the devil's works. According to 1 John 3, real Christians don't take sin lightly because they understand it separates us from God. We can't settle for sin management, constantly asking for forgiveness while never addressing the root problem. God's plan required two moves: His incarnation as a sinless man to take our place,...

From the beginning, God created us to bear His image and share in the family resemblance. When sin entered through Adam and Eve's disobedience, we lost that image and experienced shame and separation from God. But God chose to pursue us rather than abandon us, sending Jesus to restore our capacity to bear His image. Through faith in Christ, God adopts us as His children and begins transforming us from the inside out. This isn't jus...

During seasons of waiting, Christians are called to demonstrate love that goes beyond feelings to active service. Jesus modeled this radical love throughout His ministry by putting others' welfare first, even loving His enemies. When we show love to others - whether family, strangers, or those who oppose us - God counts it as love shown to Him. True Christian love seeks the good of others above our own comfort, serves those who can...