Author, pastor, preacher Jeff Ebert combines the Good News about Jesus with the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi - finding beauty in imperfection, as he guides you through the literary and spiritual masterpiece called The Gospel of John. For beginners and th
“God. just tell me what to do and I'll do it! Just give me a sign!” Many people approach discovering the will of God like it's mystery to be solved or can only be discerned by their own burning bush. But is it really that hard to find God's will? Surely a loving God would want us to know the path he desires for us. Maybe we need to readjust our thinking about what God's will really is. Find out how in the episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
At the beginning, when two paths diverge, the distance between them isn't that great. But the longer you travel the more they separate and the distance between they grows and grows until they end in completely different places. The Book of Proverbs describes the two paths as the path of Wisdom and the dark path. Find out why is this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The Japanese call it "Sho Shin" - having a beginner's mind, a heart that is ready to listen, to grow, to learn. An eagerness coupled with humility. In Christian terms we call that having a teachable heart and it's one of the main characteristics of a person who seeks a wisdom that comes from a deeper relationship with God. Explore what this means in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The Old Testament book of Proverbs is more than just common sense sayings. Solomon, under God's inspiration, describes the way things work, the way God has put things together, the principles that God put into the fabric of reality that we need to follow if we want the kind of life that is blessed by God. And the main thing to understand at this point is that the Book of Proverbs begins with God. From the very first chapter the priority of a spiritual basis for understanding life is most important. Find out more in this new season of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
It was a long seven miles to Emmaus. Two men walking, and as the sun was sinking, so were they spirits. Their hopes were shattered; their minds confused; their dreams dead. “We had hoped he was the one..." There' so much emotion in those few words. But what they thought was the end turned out to be a new beginning. See how things turned around for these two men in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The three most important words in the English language: He Has Risen! Find out what that means from the women who went to Jesus' tomb in this special episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey he was proving two things. (1) God loves and (2) God rescues. Those are the two most important things you need to know about God. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The younger brother is only half of the story. The older brother is just as lost but in a different way. Both sons don't understand the gracious love of the father. Do you? The answer might surprise you in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Like the prodigal son we may think we can do it all ourselves - even our return to God. But the wayward son needed the father's help, otherwise he never would have made it back home. Explore why in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The Squeeze! Have you ever felt the squeeze? All three of Jesus' parables in Luke 15 end with a squeeze. The shepherd with his arms around the lost sheep; the widow clutching the lost coin in her hand; the father giving the lost son a bear hug. All of these are illustrations of how God feels about you! Find out more in the latest episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The wayward son made two good decisions. (1) To regret the ways he went off track, and (2) that he should return to his father. Many people awaken to regret - and get stuck there. They don't take the next step - to return. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
“There's got to be more.” The “prodigal” son is on a journey to discover where real satisfaction in life comes from. It's not an easy trip and there are some unexpected curve balls along the way. Let's focus in on one of Jesus' most famous stories in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Anxiety stems from wanting to control results, to control what's going to happen – to us, to our children, to our friends, to our circumstances. And yet we know there is so much of life that we can't control. Anxiety is what fills the gap between what we want to control and what is beyond our control. See how Jesus flips that script in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Does prayer really operate like a cosmic pyramid scheme – the more people who pray, the more likely the answer? If not then what is the meaning of intercessory prayer? And why does Jesus prize persistence in our prayers? Explore these questions in this podcast episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Forgiveness is what sets you free from the power of the evil done to you. Whatever it was, it no longer controls your thoughts and actions. Jesus has a better way for you to live. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Just as the Israelites received a DAILY supply of manna in the wilderness, we need a daily encounter with Christ and the spiritual nourishment of his Spirit. Explore the connection between food and faith in this episdoe of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Praying “Your Kingdom come!” is a dangerous prayer. It means you are joing a rebellion against the way of the world and enlisting in Christ's service. Are you ready for Him to rule absolutely over your life? Find out more in this week's podcast from Gospel Wabi Sabi.
The disciples saw a connection between Jesus' private life of prayer and his public powerful ministry. No wonder they wanted to learn from him. But what Jesus taught them about prayer was unprecedented and sets Jesus apart from all other religious teachers. One word makes all the difference. Find out what that word is in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
Be still. Once we're saved by grace, we need to live by grace; and we do that by giving Christ space in our daily schedule. We need a daily rhythm to be with God to be in his presence and pray and listen. Find out more is this episode of gospel Wabi Sabi.
Many people think the story of Mary and Martha is about being too busy for God. How Martha is obsessing over her hospitality, and Mary, the calm one, gets it right by listening to Jesus while the dishes pile up in the sink. Well, I don't think that's the main point of this story. I don't think that's how the original hearers heard this story. No. Something else is going on. Something deeply significant. Something that changed the status of women forever. Find out why in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.
If the purpose of Christ's birth was to bring “peace on Earth” then we would have to say Jesus was a total failure. There is more violence in the world today than ever before. So, what did the angels mean when they announced Jesus birth to the shepherds? Find out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Who got a front row seat and a backstage pass to the greatest moment in history? A few dirty shepherds smothered in sheep-stink. Sounds like a Wabi Sabi thing to me. Check out this podcast episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Mary couldn't keep in it bottled up inside. She had to let it out! Through a song, a story she told about God's power, God's holiness, God's mercy would be revealed in her soon to be born baby. Let her song inspire you through this episode of Gospel Wabi Wabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Good stories usually roll out in threes.: “A priest, a rabbi, and a Baptist minister walk into a bar…” The Parable of the Good Samaritan rolls out almost exactly like a joke with three characters but the meaning of the parable is not what you think. It's not about being good to strangers and showing mercy to victims. That's too conventional. Jesus was actually saying something much more shocking. Find out what in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus is launching his start-up, something that had never existed before. In this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi I explore the kind of people he was looking for to join his venture, and the process he used to make them successful: Parabolic Harmonious Oscillation. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
It is serious business to say you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus had high expectations for those who were his disciples because it's not just a transfer of knowledge but an intimacy of relationship; a life of personal surrender and sacrificial action. A person does not become a believer and then at some point down the road become a disciple of Christ. Discipleship is not a call to some higher level of being a Christian. It is being a Christian. The Bible makes no distinction between the two. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
We can't nest on the crest! We have to come down off the mountaintop and face the problems in the valley. But we don't walk alone. See how Jesus goes with us into the frustrations of our world, and helps us sort out our emotions in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
When faced with an impossible task the disciples learned a very important lesson: Don't let your problems become bigger than your God. God takes what we offer and he multiplies it. So, each day just give him what you have. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There's no better passage in all of the Gospels that illustrates what I am hope to accomplish in this podcast: to show how magnificent Jesus is in protecting and honoring the value of broken people, people who are in need, people who are desperate for God. Take a listen to this week's episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There are too many evil things in this world that can't be explained away by medical terms like psychology or pathology, or economic/sociological terms like dysfunctional or disadvantaged. What happens when we encounter real evil? Jesus shows his power. That's what we see in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
God is sending out his message of grace all the time. The problem is on our end. Are we listening? Are our senses tuned/trained to receive what God is saying? Jesus puts the responsibility for recognizing God's voice squarely on us. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. Are you listening? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus tells a story about four types of soil and how receptive the soils are to the Word of God. But on a deeper level it's a parable about the generous love of God. The farmer sows the seed to all soils with equal hope and generosity. God casts the seed everywhere without evaluation of the soil's current quality. No ground is underserving of the sower's seed. If your life is filled with thorns, rocks, hungry birds and scorching sun God still sows there. God says anyone with ears, let them hear. That's Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
The Author has authority. Jesus demonstrates his unparalleled love, power and authority as he meets someone at their point of deepest need. Could he do the same for you? Explore that possibility in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
The wise and foolish builders. Maybe you don't know this story as much as you think you do. Check it out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There isn't any single word in the English language that carries with it the power, the magnitude, the force of the biblical word “Kyrie” - LORD. Trace the history of this word used by Jesus to describe his essential nature in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There's one Bible verse that everyone knows - “Judge not lest you be judged!” But is it right to see these words from Jesus as a “get out of jail free” card? Are we supposed to make no moral judgments whatsoever? Go deeper in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Conflict is normal and is to be expected. But how do you deal with conflict and antagonists in a healthy way? Jesus shares his thoughts on conflict in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. conflict in a healthy and godly way. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
“Where there's light, there's bugs!” The light of Jesus will always attract opposition because that's the way of the world. Jesus said, “If they treat me this way they will treat you that way, too.” So, what does it mean to be persecuted and what are we supposed to do in response? This episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi explores those realities. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
These two things shouldn't go together - weeping and blessing. But Jesus connects them. Find out why in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Are you hungry for God? Jesus tells us that cultivating an inner hunger for God is indispensable to the spiritual life where you experience the blessedness of His presence. Check it out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Almost universally people will say Jesus was a great religious teacher, but have they ever really read or understood what Jesus actually taught? This episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi begins to explore the profound wisdom of Jesus that we now know as the Beatitudes - the blessedness of God. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There's a divine rhythm to life that's designed to help us be the best we can be...a blessing from God to you, your family, your church, your community. There is rest for the weary, so why do we fight against it? This episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi examines the importance of Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath and what that might mean for us in this anti-Sabbath we live in. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus brings the new wine - a new song, a new heart, a new spirit, a new name, a new covenant, a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth. This episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi explores the newness of Jesus and what that might mean in our lives. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
What one quality is absolutely necessary if someone is going to be a follower of Jesus? Jesus tells us what that is in the story about Levi the tax collector and his seismic life change. Check it out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
One of the most powerful stories in the Gospel, the healing of a paralytic man cracks open deeper truths about forgiveness and the power of Jesus. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus sets an example for us to follow - being with God and meditating on his goodness - that's the antidote for anxiety and so much more. Explore the practice of Christian meditation in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
There is no better story in all the Gospels that illustrates the Wabi Sabi love of Jesus than this one about a leper and his encounter with Jesus. Could it be your story, too? Find out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus focused on people, saw their potential and offered them a grander vision of what life was all about. See how his challenge to think bigger impacted three men in a boat. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Long before Tom Petty sang it, Jesus lived it. He didn't back down in the face of opposition. As soon as Jesus announced that he was the Messiah conflict came at him left and right. See how Jesus responds to conflict in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
What Jesus said in his first sermon at the synagogue in Nazareth was a booster rocket that launched him into public ministry! See why this was so important in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
Jesus and Satan played their own version of "Hunger Games" in the desert. If Jesus failed here the rest of the Gospel never would have happened. The whole salvation story could have dissolved into dust like an ancient manuscript exposed to air for the first time in centuries. So, this could be the most important story in the Bible. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-ebert/support
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