The Waking up to Grace Podcast

What does it mean to experience the peace that surpasses all understanding when life seems to be falling apart? Can we trust Christ even when we cannot feel His presence? Beginning with Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Lenny, Jack, and Melissa explore fear, anxiety, self-righteousness, and our tendency to hold on to the very worries we are told to surrender. Jack shares his experie...

What is biblical discernment, and how is it different from simply having an opinion about what is right or wrong? In this conversation, we look at discernment through the freedom of grace. Romans 12, Philippians, and Hebrews describe a renewed mind that learns to recognize what is good and true. That kind of discernment does not grow from religious rules or from comparing ourselves with other Chri...

What is grace teaching? Is it enough for a church to say that salvation is by grace, or should grace shape the way we understand the entire Christian life? In this conversation, we begin with a simple definition of grace and then look at three teachings that raise harder questions: tithing drawn from the Law of Moses, the idea that Christians move in and out of fellowship with God, and a pastor-ce...

What does it mean that we are one body with many members? Christian gathering was never meant to reduce most believers to an audience while one person does all the speaking. In this conversation, we discuss why every member of Christ’s body is indispensable, how ordinary believers build one another up through honest participation, and why sharing life together does not require a degree, a platform...

Leaving church can create a strange tension. You may recognize that the structure you have known is no longer helping you participate meaningfully in the body of Christ, yet still feel as though walking away means you are doing something wrong. In this conversation, Lenny, Melissa, Jack, and Len talk openly about leaving religious obligation behind, the isolation that can follow, and why the answe...

Are spiritual gifts for today? Paul wrote that prophecy would pass away, tongues would cease, and knowledge would pass away, but that faith, hope, and love would remain. In this episode, we work through 1 Corinthians 12–13 and Ephesians 4 to consider why miraculous spiritual gifts were given to the first-century church and what Paul meant by moving from partial knowledge and childhood toward matur...

How did the early church worship? When Christians gathered in the New Testament, was the meeting centered around a worship service led from the front, or around believers participating together for the building up of the body? In this conversation, we look at 1 Corinthians 14:26–40, where Paul describes a gathering in which each person could bring a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an in...

What does the New Testament actually show about church leadership roles and responsibilities? Did the first-century church gather under one ruling pastor, or did elders share the work of oversight, shepherding, teaching, and care? In this conversation, we examine Acts 20 and several supporting passages to consider elders, overseers, shepherds, deacons, apostles, and the participation of the whole...

What does a Christian look like? Is there a visible standard that proves someone is a genuine believer, or have we confused Christian identity with religious performance? In this conversation, we examine the impossible picture of the “perfect Christian,” the pride and fear produced by comparison, and the difference between asking what we must do next and understanding who we are now in Christ. Gra...

Sometimes life reaches a place where our feelings can no longer reassure us that God is near. In this conversation, Melissa speaks honestly about suffering, and Jack Eldridge shares how grace held him through a sixty-day hospitalization, time on a ventilator, and a moment when a doctor told him he would likely die. Together, we reflect on trusting who God is when emotions fail, why hardship is not...

How could David commit such grievous acts and still be remembered as a man after God’s own heart? In this episode, we walk through Nathan’s confrontation with David in 2 Samuel 12. We consider David’s repentance, the Lord’s remarkable declaration that his sin had been put away, and the important difference between punishment and consequences. David’s story ultimately points us beyond his failure t...

Grace is not about following religious rules or checking spiritual boxes. In this episode, we discuss children, faith, baptism, and the joy of knowing Christ apart from fear-based religion.

This Bible study explores whether infants and young children who die are automatically saved, working through several key passages. Starting with 1 Corinthians 7:14, the group concludes that a child's "holiness" describes the covenant environment a believing parent provides, not a guarantee of salvation. They apply the same logic to circumcision: it set Israel apart outwardly, but t...

This episode presents a full preterist interpretation of biblical prophecy, arguing that Christ's Second Coming, the final judgment, and the establishment of God's kingdom were fulfilled in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The discussion examines passages from Revelation, Thessalonians, Hebrews, and the Gospels to support the view that these prophecies descri...

This episode explores the meaning of “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” in the Lord’s Prayer, arguing that Jesus was speaking prophetically about the coming New Covenant and the establishment of God’s kingdom. The discussion examines Matthew 24, Luke 21, Revelation 21, and Galatians 4, presenting the view that many end-times prophecies were fulfilled in the first century through the destruction...

This episode explores the difficult theological question of the eternal destiny of infants and those unable to consciously believe the gospel. The discussion examines biblical passages about resurrection, original sin, faith, and predestination, emphasizing that Scripture clearly teaches salvation through faith in Christ while offering no definitive answer regarding infants. The speakers argue tha...

The conversation examines whether the Bible teaches that infants who die are saved, arguing that the answer is not explicit in Scripture and that David's words about his deceased child should be understood within the ancient Hebrew expectation of resurrection rather than an immediate entrance into heaven.  The problem which is revealed in the argument is that in shaping the scripture to fit o...

This conversation explores prayer, grace, and the believer's relationship with God from a New Covenant perspective. The speakers emphasize that prayer is not about following formulas, postures, or religious performance but about honest, authentic communication with a loving Father. They discuss how understanding God's acceptance and pleasure toward believers removes fear, guilt, and stri...

The episode explores a grace-centered view of Christianity focused on identity in Christ rather than fear, guilt, or performance. The speakers discuss how believers are loved and accepted by God as “new creations,” and argue that spiritual struggles often come from forgetting that identity. They emphasize renewing the mind, trusting God’s love, and living by faith instead of shame or self-condemna...

This episode explores the concept of authentic Christian community and the true meaning of the church. Lenny and Jack discuss how Christ is revealed and experienced within genuine community, emphasizing that the church is not a building or a program, but the fellowship of believers living out grace together. They highlight the importance of organic relationships over religious formalities and chal...

In this episode, the speakers reflect on their experiences within traditional church denominations and the eventual paradigm shift that led them away from legalism and toward an understanding of grace. The conversation centers on "institutional" Christianity, which they describe as a burdensome cycle of sin, repentance, and self-effort—a system that often leaves congregants feeling guilt...

This episode explores Peter's second epistle as a template for Christian living, emphasizing grace and faith as foundational gifts from God, not earned by personal merit. Peter teaches that believers have received "a faith of equal standing" through Christ's righteousness, and that grace and peace multiply through a growing knowledge of Jesus. The Christian life, according to P...

This episode explores the meaning of "divine nature" as described in 2 Peter 1:3-4. It explains that believers are granted faith as a gift, placing them on equal footing with the apostles, and that true godliness and spiritual growth come through deeper knowledge of Jesus and the gospel—not through outward works or religious effort. The "divine nature" means sharing in God&apos...

This is a biblical reflection on 2 Peter 1:3-4, teaching that believers already have everything they need for life and godliness through Christ. Drawing on scripture, personal stories, and figures like Peter and Abraham, the episode encourages Christians to walk by faith rather than sight, actively build on their faith with virtue and love, and trust in God's provision even through hardship —...

This episode explores the question of whether God wants us to be happy, using Paul's life and writings as the central case study. It argues that God's goal is not our temporal happiness or comfort, but our growth, faithfulness, and deep reliance on Him through every circumstance. Paul's suffering — beatings, imprisonment, anxiety — shows that hardship is normal even for the faithful...