Deeper

Self-control in our spiritual lives is very similar to that necessary when starting a workout routine. How do we start good spiritual disciplines in a way that helps us sustain it long-term? 

Gentleness is a super important filter for all our actions, but it's not one we like to use. Our culture tells us that gentleness is weakness, but Jesus talks often about the subversive power of gentle words and actions. Has gentleness ever solved systemic injustices? Is there ever a time to use a "whip" (metaphorically or literally) in defense of the faith or in an effort to bring Christ's kingdo...

Reliability (or Faithfulness, depending on what term you want to use) is easily lost and difficult to gain. How can we recover lost reliability? 

In what feels like an especially charged election season, it can be very easy to get caught up in our politics and forget that we are Christ-followers first and foremost. So, in this special episode, Dan and Austin talk about the mindset to bring into our research on candidates, Christlike responses to our candidates of choice winning and loosing the elections, where we can find hope when politics...

Sometimes we get so caught up in our defense of the faith that we can do more harm than good. How do we know when to engage our apologetic mind? And how can we tell if our generosity is really self serving? 

When we are told to make every effort to live at peace, it means CONSTANTLY be making every effort. ANd not just with people we like, but with people we dislike and disagree with. What can we do to make sure we are relying on the Peace of God more than the peace this world offers? 

Joy is so much more than mere happiness, it's a whole lifestyle and attitude. What can we do if we are struggling to find joy? How do we recover if we've lost all our hope? 

Pastor Eric Everhart sat down with Austin and Dan for his first ever Deeper podcast, where we asked him about freedom, uncomfortable love and botany (briefly). 

On this special "double feature" episode, Austin and Dan talk about the last two weeks' sermons! They discuss dangers to salvation and the challenge of underestimating our spiritual resumes, and then turn to our "Danger Zones" and ways we can identify dangeorus situations before we find ourselves caught up in them. 

When we go through big challenges, we often find ourselves in similar seasons as Noah did - seasons of darkness, hope, planning for the future and an arrived destination. Though we aren't at our final destination as believers, we are given tools to navigate these seasons better. What are they and how can we use them well? 

If you watch a movie like "Fight Club" for the first time and expect it to be a comedy, you'll be very confused and come away with probably a different message than the writer intended. Similarly, if we read scripture without knowledge of the genre it is, we may misinterpret or misunderstand what God tried to teach us. How do we learn about biblical genres and ancient historical contexts? And, mor...

There are few examples of people actively running from God's plan as clearly as Sampson. Yet, God still used him- and his parents- as examples of faithfulness and support. What can we learn from the parents of a child who avoided his calling like the plague? 

Snakes are commonly used symbols in the Old Testament, but often in conflicting ways. They can be Good - like Aaron's staff or the Bronze Serpent from Numbers 21 - or Bad, like the Serpent in the Garden from Genesis. What do we do with these conflicting symbols? 

We spend so much time trying to determine who is "in" when it comes to faith matters that we often end up driving people away. Today, Dan and Austin talk about our tendency to divide instead of unifying and ask questions about what it means to care well for people who might not be fully on board with "All that Jesus stuff". 

Armed with a slew of gardening and gym metaphors, Dan and Austin explore more about prayer. How can we actually, genuinely pray for our enemies without our natural ulterior motives? They take a stab at that while also addressing habits, challenges and practical steps for improving our prayer lives. 

Crowns display a person's importance, role in cociety, job, and family lineage. Though we might not have actual crowns, we all have roles in society and in our families that are worth celebrating. How do we balance those crowns with our "crown" of salvation? What takes precedence? 

For quite a while, it was very "in" fashion to wear punny t-shirts identifying us as believers. Is that a good practice, or do we run the risk of being performative? Dan and Austin ask that question as well as others about encouraging others with our faith, ways we can get more battle-ready when the enemy finds a crack in our faith, and how to tell if we are using our faith as a bartering tool wit...

After debuting a new, "fun" segment of the podcast, Austin and Dan dive again into the concept of Shalom peace- a mindset and goal as opposed to our common understanding. They then discuss the prevalance of modern day idols and ways we can be more intentional with our self-reflections. 

Righteousness is a big topic... what does it mean to live righteously? What roles do gratitude and justice have in our desires to live in a righteous manner? And is Deeper officially a sponsored podcast (spoilers: we are not, despite it maybe looking like it)

Christians believe that the Bible is our main source of truth... so what do we do when people disagree on interpretations? Dan and Austin discuss the challenge of living by a standard the world doesn't need to hold itself to, as well as the issues around interpersonal disagreements about truth. 

After a few weeks spring break, Deeper is back and more ready than ever! Austin and Dan today delve into what it means to wear the full armor of God, as compared to the partial armor of God. We also talk about the lack of spirituality in the American Church, and prepare for the upcoming sermon series. 

What does it mean to grieve as a church? What about as a country? We are very familiar with grief, how do we give space for other people to grieve something that we just genuinely don't feel as strongly about? Important questions to be asked, and Austin and Dan attempt to give some answers. 

When is reformation ok? How do we reform well? And is it important to read "apocryphal" texts? Dan and Austin address these questions and more on this episode of Deeper!

It's natural to want to fight or flee when we are faced with challenges. Neither response is christlike, though. What can we do when we fear that people are working against God's plan?  We don't fight OR flee.  We Trust. 

Pastor Tim is finishing up his time as one of the pastors here at Friendship. This week, Austin asked him about the upcoming transition, expected highs and lows of the new experience, and ways that we can continue to support Tim and his family through this new season.  Also, we noticed during editing that Austin's mic sounds very harsh and fuzzy. That should be addressed by next week, but until th...