Adventures In Grace

In this episode, you will— Hear about my busy summer! :D Listen to an amazing Q&A session with Brad Jersak Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Hear God has chosen certain images of Himself to reveal Himself to us Discover how the Lion-ness of God is revealed as a Lamb, and that it is a Lamb that conquers Hear that Jesus is the beginning point of truly knowing God. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Hear about what Incarnation means and why it is vital to understand Discover how the birth, life, and death of Jesus reveal God Hear that Jesus is the beginning point of truly knowing God. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, I talk about the hectic last few weeks I've had ... and some of the lessons I've learned.  We will return to our previous study in the next podcast.

In this episode, you will— Hear about how the Western church seems at conflict seeing God as freedom vs love Discover how the issue of freedom is the center of the current Reformed understanding of theology Hear that Jesus is the beginning point of truly knowing God. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Hear of 4 types of un-Christlike images of God that are prevalent in the Western Church: the doting grandfather the dead-beat dad the punitive judge the Santa Claus Discover the way we bring our bias into understanding God. Hear that Jesus is the beginning point of truly knowing God. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Look into how we constantly "box" God in, including theology Discover the way we bring our bias into understanding God. Hear that Jesus is the beginning point of truly knowing God. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Hear details on our new series on "A More Christlike God" by Brad Jersak Understand the themes of the book. Hear my interview with Brad about the major topics of the book. Discover what we will be covering in the next weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Understand the various ways to interpret prophecy. Discover the symbolic nature of the book of Revelation and why this is vital to understanding its message. Hear some discussion about the various controversies around the issue of Revelation and prophecy. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Understand the various words used for "hell" in the Bible. Discover that some instances of "hell" might not reflect an "eternal torment" idea as originally thought. Hear some discussion about the various controversies around the issue of hell. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Understand that man was who killed Jesus. Learn that the Bible infallibly points us to the Father being in collaboration with Jesus. See that we must always start our understanding of God with Jesus. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Understand that man never fully understood who God is until Jesus. Learn that the Bible infallibly points us to Jesus. See that we must always start our understanding of God with Jesus. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Hear about our new study on Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. Listen to Brian Zahnd talk about the idea of who God is and details of his book. Be offered a free worksheet/guide on the topic of this month. Hear a preview of what will be covered in future weeks. To get a copy of the free worksheet for this study, please click here.

In this episode, you will— Understand why I quit podcasting. Learn why I decided to return to podcasting. Hear where we will be going with the podcast in the next year.

In this brief episode of Adventures in Grace, I talk about how I am returning to the world of podcasting.  I give you a brief update on this.

Hamartia … this is the original Greek word for “sin.”  Last week we started discussing what this word really meant back in ancient times. We saw this didn’t mean “breaking rules” but simply a mistake by which a person would tragically miss their purpose.  This was used by Aristotle in many of his stories. Of […] The post #078 – Christianese (Hamartia/Sin – Pt 2) – Pt 2 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

One of my biggest pet-peeves in the modern church is how we pick up a language that we don’t understand.  We use funny words that we never used before … words like sin, faith, prayer, holiness … and we really don’t understand them at all. If you are like me, we are never really told […] The post #077 – Christianese (Sin – Pt 1) – Pt 1 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

And now the ending … We have covered many interesting issues in our study on The Shack.  In this episode, we conclude our study by going through (quickly) through the last 5 chapters of the book. How will the story end?  How will Mack now approach his life after this amazing encounter with the Holy […] The post #076 – The Shack (The Ending) – Pt 12 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

A Meeting of Hearts … Mack and Papa talked about his reunion with Missy through the waterfall and suddenly Mack thought of Missy’s favorite legend of the Indian princess whose death over the waterfall saved her people – was it for him that Missy had to die? Papa said that his ability to work good […] The post #075 – The Shack (Chp. 13 – A Meeting of Hearts) – Pt 11 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

In the Belly of the Beasts … As Jesus and Mack head back across the water, Mack confides that he has always been troubled by the idea of Missy all alone with her abductor. Jesus explains that she wasn’t alone; he was with her the whole time and that as they talked she gained great […] The post #074 – The Shack (Chp. 12 – In the Belly of the Beasts) – Pt 10 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Jesus sent Mack into a dark cave where he met this beautiful woman who is the judge. As she and Mack talked, it surfaced hat he didn’t think that God truly loved all his kids, or Missy wouldn’t have been murdered; in light of that, she asked Mack to take her place and be the […] The post #073 – The Shack (Chp. 11 – Here Comes Da Judge) – Pt 9 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

This is a special announcement for the podcast.  Just a quick update on what has been happening and making sure everything is working properly in my system. I have had numerous problems of late with the site … from malware shutdowns … to podcasts not showing up … to Bluehost crashing … I think everything […] The post Can You Hear Me Now?! … Special Announcement appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Mack’s walk with Jesus quickly becomes a test to see if Mack trusts Jesus.Heading off down the dock, Jesus walks past all the boats, not stopping until he reaches the end. Mack is thinking that it’s awfully cold for a swim and a long way to the other side of the lake, but he’s game […] The post #072 – The Shack (Chp. 10 – Walk on Water) – Pt 8 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Mack’s next encounter is with Sarayu whom he has decided is the Holy Spirit … in the garden of his soul. She is gentle, somewhat ethereal, but also down-to-earth in her gardener clothes. She is delighted at Mack’s assessment of her garden as “chaotic,” although she assures him that her garden isn’t just a mess of […] The post #071 – The Shack (Chp. 9 – The Garden) – Pt 7 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Over breakfast, Mack discusses with Jesus, Sarayu and Papa the hierarchy of the Trinity, only to learn there isn’t one. They are in a circle of relationship and choose to serve each other above themselves. In perfect unity there is no need for authority. This transitions to a discussion about how God works in the […] The post #070 – The Shack (Chp. 8 – A Breakfast of Champions) – Pt 6 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Mack’s introduction to the three holy beings continues and he is delighted to watch the relationship among them. Each one seems to have a particular message and so their conversations with each other take on a different tone. As they begin to share what they have to teach him Mack is overjoyed at the holy […] The post #069 – The Shack (Chp. 7 – God on the Dock) – Pt 5 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Meeting the three beings in the shack evokes a number of emotions in Mack. First is relief that the note was not sent by the murderer so he will not need his gun. Next is wonder at the strange creatures who are obviously holy; in fact, Mack is quickly convinced that he is in the presence […] The post #068 – The Shack (Chp. 6 – A Piece of Pi) – Pt 4 [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

We pick up our study of the Shack this week.  In previous weeks, we discussed our purpose in studying the book, as well as how the story is a metaphor for what happened in the author’s life. This week, we discuss the backdrop of the story … the introduction of Mack, as well as how […] The post #067 – The Shack (Pt 3: Chps. 1-5) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

I’m back! After a VERY long absence, I decided to return to podcasting. Where have I been? What have I been up to? What is the future of the show? Hear all about it! Click to Listen “The Return” Show Notes No Show Notes for this week. “The Return” Episode Resources   No resources for […] The post #066 – The Return [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

We’ve talked in general about The Shack and why we are studying the fictional book. In this episode, I want to get the author’s perspective of his side of the story. Knowing why an author wrote the book is a huge benefit to understanding the book.  Once we understand this, we have a better grasp […] The post #065 – The Real Story: The Shack (Pt 2) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

I’ve wanted to talk about The Shack for quite some time. The first time I read this book, it healed me of so many wounds in my life. We start up a study of the book, followed by Baxter Kruger’s book on the theology of The Shack But before we begin, I want to talk […] The post #064 – The Shack (Pt 1) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

We end our study (for now) on the issue of self-worth and why we struggle in life. In this episode, I want to hit upon the topic of renewing the mind. What is this? Can we detail it to make it practical and get away from “religious answers” on this? I detail a lot of my […] The post #063 – Renewing the Mind [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

I’ve always struggled with why I struggled after salvation. And I’ve equally struggled with a good analogy for how I saw truth now. In this episode, I share one of my own whacky analogies … a whacky computer analogy … of who we are in Christ and what our flesh is. I have posted the […] The post #062 – Flesh: The Whacky Computer Analogy [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Bill Gillham has been a great influence on me in my understanding of “flesh.” I thought it would be good to hear him explain it in a rare teaching by Bill that I don’t believe is available anywhere. Last week we discussed what “flesh” patterns are. This week we hear from Bill Gillham about the structuring of […] The post #061 – Bill Gillham: Structuring Flesh Patterns [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

In our study of self-worth and significance in God, we started last episode to look at the issue of why we struggle.  Why is basing our identity upon what God says about us SO difficult? The reason is because of the flesh. Last week we discussed what the Bible means by the word “flesh.” This week […] The post #060 – Flesh Patterns [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

In our study of self-worth and significance in God, we want to now turn to the issue of why we struggle.  Why is basing our identity upon what God says about us SO difficult? The reason is because of the flesh. But here we get into trouble.  What is the “flesh” that the Bible talks […] The post #059 – Flesh [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

To find true healing in our lives, we must learn to deal with past hurts.  This is all part of the journey into significance based on God. There is a lot of confusion in Christian circles about what forgiveness is about.  In its simplest definition, it means to “divorce” the other person. Click to Listen […] The post #058 – Forgiveness [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

To find true healing in our lives, we often have to go through brokenness.  This is all part of the journey into significance based on God. In this episode, I play a special interview by Paul Young (who wrote The Shack) as he describes his “shack” and his healing in God. Click to Listen “Healing” […] The post #057 – Healing [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Finding our significance in God is a journey … a journey into love.  This isn’t an instance of love … this is a journey.  That means we work this out, step by step, in real life. We have spent several weeks talking about the problem in the fall of man and The Lie.  Now I […] The post #056 – Journey into Love [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Toxic love, unhealthy relationship, toxic relationship, and bad relationship are all different names for the same thing as I see it. Toxic love is a sickness in the hearts of the participants. It is a union of unhealthy and needy individuals. It is a parasite of the human spirit. It uses another person’s weakened spirit […] The post #055 – Toxic Love [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

The fact that man has believed The Lie and fallen results in chaos in his life … he no longer knows who he is … he is divorced from any value he had, since his relationship with God was to be the fullest expression of his worth. Today, at the end of the twentieth century, […] The post #054 – Fallen Results [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

To understand the goal of salvation, we must look at the original creation.  In so doing, we run across “The Lie” … not just any old lie, but The Lie which is the foundation of all our problems. This Lie is not a call to atheism, but of independence … that we would live out […] The post #053 – The Lie [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Father God? Or Daddy God?  A listener recently wrote me and mentioned how they had their “father’s shadow” looming over their lives as they dealt with their self-worth. I can relate. Being raised without a dad, and even having some disturbing encounters with him at an early age, I struggled with seeing God as my […] The post #052 – Father God vs Daddy God [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

The Significance Journey … to learn a new self-worth based on what God says about you isn’t easy.  We’ve built up years of “stinkin thinkin” that just doesn’t go away over night. The lie of the fall in the Garden of Eden was that man could live independently from God, govern his own life, control […] The post #051 – The Significance Journey [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Last week we discussed the Performance Trap part of the Lie in the fall of man:  Self-worth = My performance + Others’ Opinions.  But we left with the problem, and not the solution. In this episode we return to this topic and talk about God’s solution to this problem.  On what basis are we supposed to […] The post #050 – Fear of Failure & God’s Solution [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Back in episode 5 and 6 of Adventures in Grace, we started doing a series on self-worth and significance that we never returned to. In this episode we return to this topic and talk about the Fear of Failure … or the Performance Trap. Click to Listen “Performance Trap” Show Notes In this episode, I […] The post #049 – The Performance Trap [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Before we begin our next study, I wanted to talk about some of the recent happenings in my life. I also want to ask your help with the Podcast.  I would love to hear from you with a short survey to know what you have liked, and what topics you would like to hear in […] The post #048 – The Future of Adventures in Grace [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

This week we finish up our study on the Western Worldview by looking at the issues of rules, vices, and self. There’s no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts. […] The post #047 – Rules, Vices, and Self in Western Worldview (Western Eyes Pt 5) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Before we end our studies on mindsets and spirituality, I ran across an interview with Brandon Obrien (one of the authors of the book).  In this episode, we listen to some of this interview. Next week, we will conclude our study on this topic and then move on to some new topics. Click to Listen […] The post #046 – Brandon Obrien Interview (Western Eyes Pt 4) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Our second look at cultural influences on our faith deals with the issues of individuals & time. There’s no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts. Click to Listen “Individuals […] The post #045 – Individuals & Time (Western Eyes Pt 3) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.

Our first look at the “lens” which can distort our understanding of Scripture is religious traditions … particularly in the areas of mores, race, and language. There’s no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in […] The post #044 – Religious Traditions (Western Eyes Pt 2) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace.