LARKCAST

Untangling Transformation Pt.2 Our attempt to untangle transformation continues in part two. _________________________________________________________ Connect with Lark! . . . Web: https://larksite.com Larkcast: https://larksite.com/larkcast Book: Reclaim (Available on Amazon) https://larksite.com/reclaim Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lark_social/ ___________________________________________...

Untangling Transformation Pt.1 Wow! You guys have lots of questions about transformation. Don’t the Scriptures tell us to pursue it? Shouldn’t we be experiencing it? What is my role in being transformed? What is my role in other’s transformation? I get that God welcomes us as we are, but I’ve heard it said that he loves us enough to not leave us where we are? Why am I not experiencing the transfor...

LARKCAST EP26 | Grace Just Doesn't Work Throughout history, every person committed to teaching grace (with no fine print) was ridiculed. "Grace encourages lawlessness!" "People will think they have permission to do any old thing they want!" "This will lead to ghostly faith that is of no benefit to neighbor or society!" Whether you find yourself on the religious left, concerned with a better world,...

Parabolic Reflections After 21 podcasts on the parables of Jesus, the guys take a minute to reflect on their favorite and most frustrating moments. They also lay down the plans for the Larkcast moving forward. You better submit your questions, comments, thoughts, and suggestions at Howdy@larksite.com because the Larkcast is now in your hands. _______________________________________________________...

The Ballad Of The Yays & Nays  (Parables #21) The last podcast in the parables series is a doozy. Not only is it a long podcast, it’s a weighty one. The parable of our focus is the last of the Matthew 25 trio—The Parable of the Sheep and Goats. It’s also known as “The Final Judgment.” In this episode, the guys point out some sneaky, but blatant, ways in which God’s grace appears in the text. T...

Fearing An Imaginary God  (Parables #20) Yes, this is a parable of judgment, but not how you may think. While much of Christendom insists that judgment is based on our performance, the Lark crew is committed to the good news that we are “in” due to Someone Else’s performance. Since beliefs lie at the heart of every and any action, “What is God like?” is still life’s most important question. The Pa...

Accept Your Acceptance  (Parables #19) God is throwing the party of the ages in honor of his Son and nothing will deter him. The date is secured. The guests are invited. The meats are ready. The estate is prepared and decorated. You could say, “it is finished” and ready to be enjoyed. Sadly, there are some who refuse (and others who boldly refuse) to accept the incessant invitation of the King. Yo...

Dear Jesus, Just Leave Us Alone (Parables #18) Jesus was and is a disrupter. And rather than heed his warnings regarding the cracks in our religious foundations, discrediting the one disrupting us is much easier. Like those on the receiving end of this episode’s parables, we’d rather live in the illusion of our control and controlled environments than deal with the violence that is the grace of Go...

The Party At The End Of The World (Parables #17) The Larkcast duo is headed to our last wedding of the season. It's the wedding party at the end of the world, and the groom is running unusually late to the reception, which converts this wedding into a slumber party—at least among the bridesmaids. When the groom finally arrives to consummate all of human history, some feared being seen as they trul...

The First Shall Hate Happy Hour (Parables #16) Tony and Russ are back after taking a month off, and they're taking a trip to a winery. But before we get to spend some time in the tasting room, we have to spend some time in the vineyard with the employees. It's harvest time, and there is a big job at hand. It's so big that it takes four waves of laborers throughout the day to get it done. The jovia...

Thank God For A Shady Savior (Parables #15) In what some have called “the hardest parable,” God decides to introduce himself to creation as a shady owner of a debt consolidation business rather than an upright bookkeeper who demands every penny of what we owe. And, as it turns out, as disreputable debtors ourselves, we’d prefer to buy from the trunk of the car in an alley than full-price in the st...

Two Guys Walk Into A Temple (Parables #14) Aware of his audience's perpetual love affair with performance, Jesus tells his best "two guys walk into a bar" joke to help them to stop trusting in themselves. Stop me if you've heard this one. The Pharisee went to the temple to pray and present his impressive personal religious resume. At the same time, the Tax-Collector—the community outcast and playb...

The Unjust God (Parables #13) For a good long while a widow demanded a local judge to justify her in court against her adversary, but her case was dismissed time and time again because it had no legal merit. The widow, unable take no for an answer, kept coming back to the judge. At the risk of his reputation and an ethic committee investigation into grounds for disbarment—he decides to justify her...

How To Pray Improperly The disciples want Jesus to host a prayer retreat so they can learn how to pray properly. After Jesus underwhelms them with the Lord’s Prayer, he then tells the story of a shameless neighbor who (apparently) doesn’t know there are appropriate and inappropriate times of day to ask your neighbor for things. Listen in as Russ & Tony talk about the Parable of the Friend at M...

Parables • #11 • Death Before Resurrection A hot-shot young lawyer, looking to make a name for himself, went to pick a theological fight with Jesus. Let’s just say death is an uncomfortable topic for those who imagine themselves as winners. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is up to bat on this week’s episode of the LARKCAST. Listen in as Tony and Russ do a deep dive on yet another misnamed parabl...

Parables • #10 • The Real F-Word Part 2 The conversation surrounding the complex topic of forgiveness continues with part two of The Real F-Word. Just after Tony and Russ each share a story of a time when they've wanted to kill each other, they dive into several things, like: • The snare of not forgiving • The burden of bitterness • The freedom of forgiveness • Personal stories of wrestling throug...

Parables • #9 • The Real F-Word Imagine having 3.5 billion dollars in debt erased in an instant and the next day you're choking out a neighbor over eighty bucks. Join Russ and Tony as they dive into the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, where Jesus shows us just how astonishingly immense God's forgiveness is and just how bad we all are at receiving and extending it. ————————————————— ———————————...

The Two Lost Sons The grace parables of Luke 15 end with a familiar story—or so you think. Russ and Tony invite you to take a closer look at what is commonly referred to as ‘The Prodigal Son’ in order to see a dad who is willing to risk public shame and humiliation on his way to loving his two lost sons. ————————————————— ————————————————— Web: larksite.com Email: Howdy@larksite.com  Instagram: @l...

The Lost & Dead Search Party Heaven is throwing a party in honor of the lost and dead, and there’s only one person on the planning committee. Join Tony and Russ as they kick off the Parables of Grace in Luke 15. ————————————————— ————————————————— Web: larksite.com Email: Howdy@larksite.com  Instagram: @lark_social ______________________________________________________________________ Helping...

Parables • Ep.6 • Last Call: Kingdom Edition With the Kingdom Parables wrapping up, Russ and Tony turn up the empty bottles and drain the dregs to serve one last round of thoughts before moving on to the Grace Parables.  ————————————————— ————————————————— Web: larksite.com Email: Howdy@larksite.com  Instagram: @lark_social ______________________________________________________________________ Hel...

Parables • #5 • Caught in the Net The Kingdom is going fishing in this week’s podcast. The whole world, both good and bad, has found itself caught in the net of the kingdom. Eventually, this net will reach the shore and be sorted out, but until then it mysteriously operates as an indiscriminate catch-all of everything and everyone. Come for the parable, stay for Russ’ bedtime story.    ———————————...

Parables • #4 • Out In Left Field A field filled with rodents, weeds, sinkholes, marshes, poison ivy, and thorn bushes is an unusual place for a valued treasure. And liquidating your entire business capital to purchase one rare pearl seems a bit eccentric. Listen in as Tony and Russ spend all their time taking a hard look at two short but impossibly rich passages about the kingdom.  ——————————————...

Parables • #3 • Time To Take Our Lumps The parabolic podcasting presses on with the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven. Like the kingdom itself, feel free to take your time and lie around like a lump of dough while listening to Russ and Tony discuss yet another parable on the invasive and universal nature of the Kingdom. ————————————————— ————————————————— Web: larksite.com  Email: Howdy@...

Parables • #2 • The Threat of Religious Help What does any respectable person do when they see evil and injustice in the world? They take immediate action. In the parable of the weeds, the hired hands at a local farm display an eagerness to jump in make an insidious wrong right only to find out that their well-intentioned good deeds are an actual threat to the good they want to preserve.    ——————...

Parables • #1 • Last Call: Are You In Or Out Of The Kingdom Final and extra thoughts that didn't fit in the full episode. Check it out!  ————————————————— ————————————————— Web: larksite.com Email: Howdy@larksite.com   Instagram: @lark_social ______________________________________________________________________ Helping You Learn To Live Loved . . . Become a Lark Supporter: https://larksite.com/do...