Heavy Branches Podcast

How are the Passover and the Lord's Supper connected? What is the purpose of taking communion? How often should churches take communion today? What was Jesus praying about in the Garden of Gethsemane? Why is it significant that Jesus endured the wrath of God at the cross? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 22. 

What made the poor widow's offering different than the offerings from the rich? What is given up in Biblical fasting? Is Jesus talking about His second coming, or the destruction of Jerusalem? What can we learn from all of this prophecy talk for our lives today? How does living a holy life connect to bearing fruit? What does living a holy life actually look like? Jacob and Tanner discuss these top...

What did Jesus prioritize in His final days on Earth? What causes people to stumble over the gospel? How can we bear fruit by giving to God what is God's? What should our bucket lists look like as Christians? What is the relationship between belief and faith? Are they the same thing? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 20.

What happens when we seek Jesus like Zaccheus? How can our purpose as Christians mirror the purpose of Jesus? How do we see Jesus actively seeking and saving the lost? What was the kingdom of God expected to be like? How can we be faithful with what we have been given to advance the kingdom? Why did Jesus weep over Jerusalem? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 1...

What qualities are found in a healthy prayer life? What does this kind of prayer life look like in action? Why does Jesus say we must receive the kingdom of God like a child in order to enter it at all? Why didn't the rich young ruler obey Jesus and follow Him? How does following Jesus and denying yourself correlate? What kind of barriers does faith remove in our lives? Jacob and Tanner discuss th...

How seriously does God take our sins? At what point in time should we no longer offer forgiveness to another person? What kind of faith does it take to obey Jesus? How can faith "make a person well?" What will the second coming of Jesus look like? What are the signs of his return? What will the state of the world be like when it is time for Him to come? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and mo...

How can we be shrewd with the things we have on Earth to prepare for eternity? What does investing our life in eternal things actually look like? What can we learn about the afterlife from the account of the rich man and Lazarus? How would've the rich man lived his last days differently if he knew what was to come? How would we spend our last day on Earth if we knew it was our last day? Jacob and...

Why did the Pharisees grumble at Jesus receiving and eating with sinners? What causes heaven to rejoice? How much value does a lost person have? Why could the older brother not rejoice in the goodness of the gospel? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 15.

If you could eat dinner with one person from the Old Testament, and one person from the New Testament, who would you choose and why? How does Jesus catch the Pharisees being selfish and hypocritical? What does Jesus teach regarding humility? What kind of people should we be generous towards? What did Jesus say a true disciple looks like? In order to be a true disciple of Christ, what should we los...

How important is repentance if we want to bear fruit? What does Jesus teach us about the kingdom of God? What role should church leadership play when false teaching nests in the branches? Are many people being saved? Why does Jesus say the door is narrow? Are we always about our mission like Jesus was? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 13. 

What does it look like to fear God? What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Can Christians commit this sin today? When does a sin truly become unforgivable? Do Christians need to prepare themselves to share the gospel, or will the Holy Spirit just give us the words to say in that moment? How does what we seek in life connect with what we worry about? What does Jesus teach is the solution to our...

How does Jesus teach us to pray? Are Christians devoted to prayer today like they were when the church first started in the book of Acts? How does our prayer life affect our ability to bear fruit? How can we know God's will for our lives? Does the gospel produce obedience, or require obedience? What did the pharisees get wrong? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke...

What is truly good? Is it important to serve in ministry with other people? Who will be a worker for the Lord's harvest? How does Jesus teach His disciples to pray for the lost? Does that line up with our church prayer lists today? How does a good neighbor act towards others? Who actually is our neighbor? We often choose good things over bad things, but do we choose what is best over what is good?...

Why did such large crowds swarm Jesus? What does the feeding of the 5000 prove about Jesus? How does Jesus foretell his life on Earth to end? Whose place is it to cast damning judgment on people? What is the most important question people have to answer? Can we follow Jesus and ourselves at the same time? What might we have to give up in order to follow Jesus as He commands us to? Jacob and Tanner...

Does God still work miraculously today? Can Christians perform miracles like the Apostles could? Can demons repent? Are angels or demons offered salvation like people are? Does God implant faith into us, or do we have the free will to choose whether we believe or not? What has God given us to help us in our faith? What can we rely on when trusting God seems so difficult?  This week Jacob and...

Why did Jesus teach in parables? How does the condition of our heart affect the fruit we bear? How can we shine the light of the gospel? How does Jesus show His authority over creation? What are demons? Where do they come from? Do demons obey Jesus? Can the dead be raised? Jacob, Tanner, and their first special guest discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 8.

Are we worthy enough to approach an Almighty God? Does the church encourage people to have a personal faith enough? How does compassion motivate Jesus to act? Why does John the Baptist question if Jesus was the Messiah? How can someone enter the kingdom of God today? What is so great about being in the kingdom of God? How much of ourselves should we be willing to give to Jesus? Jacob and Tanner di...

Do we still hold the Sabbath day as Christians today? What does this chapter teach us about Jesus' prayer life? Who defines what is right and wrong? Is there a wrong time to do good? What promises are given to people who seek Jesus? What promises are given to people who seek their own? Is love anything more than a feeling? Should we judge other people? What makes the fruit we bear good or bad? Wha...

Who does Jesus call to be fishers of men? How should we relate to God knowing He is our Creator? Should we really be willing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus' purpose for our lives? How did Jesus handle some of the struggles of His human life? What lengths are we willing to go to in order to bring people to Jesus? How did Jesus prove that He was God? What kind of people is the church mad...

What does it mean to say Jesus is the Christ? What lessons can we learn from Jesus about handling temptation? What can we learn about Satan's different strategies to deceive us? What was so different about Jesus? How does Jesus set the example for our prayer lives today? What can we learn about Jesus' purpose on Earth? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 4.

What is the difference between John's baptism and Christian baptism? Is baptism a work? If so, who is doing the work? What is true, Biblical repentance? Does the Old Testament still matter today? Why does John say that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? Are genealogies really needed in the Bible? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 3. 

How can we see God's perfect timing through the birth of Jesus? How much do song lyrics matter when we worship God? Do we set apart a special place in our heart and lives for Jesus? Is there a difference in how the world and the Bible define hope? What areas of life do we need to mature in to be heavy branches? Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they go through Luke 2. Person t...

Can we have certainty about matters of faith, or does the Christian faith rest on wishful thinking? What is said about the man who is “great in the sight of the Lord?” Do we as the church hold teenagers and young people to a high enough standard when it comes to Biblical literacy and personal faith? Check out today’s episode where Jacob and Tanner discuss these topics and more as they begin their...

On today's episode, Jacob and Tanner introduce themselves, and their new podcast, Heavy Branches. They hope this podcast will be edifying and encouraging to Christians, as we all strive to bear fruit for Christ. We will be going through the gospel of Luke, starting today with a brief introduction to the book. Thanks for listening!