The Almond Branch

Happy Feet to the Sons of Ishmael. Nick and Dylan talk about how God sees the Muslim world, fatherlessness as a root of crime and terror, and where the word "Jew" actually comes from. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Happy Feet to the Sons of Ishmael. Nick and Dylan talk about how God sees the Muslim world, not as an enemy to fear but as sons and daughters he wants to come home to. They dig into fatherlessness as a root behind so much crime and even terrorism, trace where the word "Jew" actually comes from, and ask AI a few pointed questions along the way, including whether the Quran teaches God as Father and whether a Christian can enjoy Harry Potter.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

Becoming Who You Already Are (with C.D. Baker). Nick talks with author C.D. Baker about a 12-year-old's take on Jesus' character arc, what it means to be truly human, and Jesus' own fear of the cross. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Laughter Over Terror: 9/11 and the Future of the Church. Nick and Dylan mark 25 years since 9/11 with a message about joy outlasting fear, and the surprising growth of the church in Iran since. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Laughter Over Terror: 9/11 and the Future of the Church. Nick and Dylan mark 25 years since 9/11 with a message about joy outlasting fear. They pull from Monsters Inc. and Harry Potter to talk about laughter as a weapon against fear, look at how the disciples in Acts kept getting filled with joy even after persecution, and trace the surprising growth of the church in Iran in the decades since that day.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

Hard Sayings of Scripture: Romans 7. Nick and Dylan use a Wile E. Coyote parable to unpack Paul's "I don't understand myself" chapter and the law as an X-ray that exposes the problem. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Hard Sayings of Scripture: Romans 7. Nick and Dylan use the Wile E. Coyote cartoons to unpack one of Paul's hardest chapters, the guy who knows exactly what he wants to do and keeps doing the opposite anyway. They talk about the law as an X-ray that exposes the problem without fixing it, and ask the same question Paul asks: who's going to rescue him from this? It lands in Romans 6, free from sin, not just free to sin.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

Hard Sayings of Scripture: Claiming to be Without Sin? Nick and Dylan work through 1 John, the cross as an exchange, and why grace, not law, is what actually sets you free from sin. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Hard Sayings of Scripture: Claiming to be Without Sin? Nick and Dylan tackle the tension in 1 John between "if you're living in Jesus, you won't keep on sinning" and the reality that Christians still sin. They talk through the cross as an exchange, not a payment to satisfy an angry Father, how confession fits into a finished-work identity, and why they'd argue it's actually the law that gives sin a license, not grace. It's a look at how to hold "you're a new creation" and "you still sin sometimes" together without losing either one.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

Hard Sayings of Scripture: Old Testament Wrath. Nick and Dylan trace the sword of judgment through Ezekiel and Zechariah, and look at the rainbow after the flood as a weapon aimed back at God himself. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Hard Sayings of Scripture: "Pick Up Your Cross." Nick and Dylan dig into what Jesus actually meant, what a cross meant under Roman rule, and how dying and rising with Christ in Romans 6 reframes the whole passage. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

Hard Sayings of Scripture: "Pick Up Your Cross." Nick and Dylan take on one of Jesus' hardest lines and push back on the way it's often preached, that it's mainly about not being selfish. They walk through what taking up a cross actually meant in the first century, how Romans 6 ties into dying and rising with Christ, and why your soul being worth the blood of the Son of God changes the whole frame around denying yourself.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

How to Walk the Christian Life, Really? Nick and Dylan dig into what it actually looks like to live this out day to day: how you can't love God or love people until you first receive his love, what "be joyful always" really means when you read it in context, and how Abraham was commended for believing when everything visible said otherwise. Nick also shares a personal picture of Jesus feeding him like a baby bird before the day even starts, and they talk about the practice of retuning, learning to pause and get back in harmony instead of pushing through.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

How to Walk the Christian Life, Really? Nick and Dylan talk about receiving God's love before you can give it, what "be joyful always" actually means, and Abraham's invisible faith. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

The Song of the Universe. Nick and Dylan talk about cruciform theology, how death and resurrection show up everywhere from seeds to supernovas, and how the whole universe sings God's glory in Psalm 19. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

The Song of the Universe. Nick and Dylan pick up the cruciform thread this week, the idea that death and resurrection show up everywhere, in seeds breaking apart to grow, in stars going supernova, even in the universe itself. They talk about finding the "key of the cross" that puts your whole life back in tune, and how Psalm 19 says the heavens themselves are singing out God's glory. There's even a detour into how the cross shows up in stories like Harry Potter.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

The Cross is the Center of the Universe. Nick and Dylan look at the cross as the kiss of God, as Jesus' coronation in John's Gospel, and as a gift we have to learn to receive, not just labor for. Subscribe to the free monthly magazine at elishasriddle.com

The Cross is the Center of the Universe. Nick and Dylan unpack the cross from a few different angles this week: it as the kiss of God, the moment he sealed his love for us in his own blood, and it as Jesus' coronation, the "lifting up" language in John's Gospel pointing to a king being crowned. They also dig into the crown of thorns as an unexpected coronation and what it actually means to receive the gift of the cross instead of just working for God.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

How to Read the Bible, Really? Nick and Dylan read some familiar passages with fresh eyes, from Elisha leading a blinded enemy army to a feast instead of a slaughter, to Proverbs 8 where the Father and Son laugh and play as they create the universe, to the letters in Revelation where even repentance flows from tender love. It's an episode about learning to see the heart of God behind the text instead of reading it like a Pharisee.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

How to Read the Bible, Really? Nick and Dylan read some familiar passages with fresh eyes, from Elisha leading a blinded enemy army to a feast instead of a slaughter, to Proverbs 8 where the Father and Son laugh and play as they create the universe, to the letters in Revelation where even repentance flows from tender love. It's an episode about learning to see the heart of God behind the text instead of reading it like a Pharisee.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

Ecclesiastes and the Meaning of Life. Nick and Dylan open up Ecclesiastes, a book that stares straight at the vanity of life under the sun and somehow ends up pointing to the meaning of it all. They talk about what Solomon was actually getting at, why everything feels like vapor apart from God, and how the whole book finds its answer in Christ.The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things. Support Elisha's Riddle and join our online community by subscribing to our free monthly magazine at http://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle

What is the Grace of God, Really? Nick and Dylan spend this episode on the kindness of God and why grace still offends people. They walk through Peter's story, how Jesus kept meeting him after every stumble, and what it means to actually grow in grace the way 2 Peter describes."The Happy Trinity", available here: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Trinity-Dylan-Demarsico/dp/0999180622/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+happy+trinity&qid=1596225890&sr=8-1The Elisha's Riddle Podcast is a prophetic conversation unraveling the Riddle of Christ in all things.Subscribe to our monthly magazine and join our online community:https://www.elishasriddle.com/subscribeWebsite: https://www.elishasriddle.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nick.padovani.12/Nick: https://www.instagram.com/njpadovani/Dylan: https://www.instagram.com/dylandemarsico/Eyes Open Press: https://www.eyesopenpress.com/about

What is the Grace of God, Really? Nick and Dylan spend this episode on the kindness of God and why grace still offends people. They walk through Peter's story, how Jesus kept meeting him after every stumble, and what it means to actually grow in grace the way 2 Peter describes.Subscribe to our monthly magazine: https://www.elishasriddle.com/subscribeFollow us: https://www.instagram.com/elishasriddle/