Messiah's Upper Room Podcast

Pastor Otte leads a discussion on examining ourselves first when it comes to calling out sin and the topic of judging with right judgement. Jesus criticizes the Pharisees who uphold the letter of God’s law so strictly that they neglect the spirit of God’s law. Join the Upper Room Bible class as we learn about this and more in this week’s episode.

We continue this week through chapter 7 of the Gospel of John with a discussion on how we may tell the difference between preaching for God’s glory and preaching for personal glory. The class also talks about how they may approach someone preaching the gospel in a way they do not understand.

Pastor Otte and the rest of Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class complete John chapter 6 and their discussion about predestination with thoughts on God’s elect, free will, and the gift of faith. The class then moves on to chapter 7 where Jesus talks to his brothers in Galilee.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class struggle with the concepts of pre-determination and election as they discuss why Jesus chose Judas as one of the twelve, knowing since the beginning that he would betray Jesus.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class talk about cracked eggs and culling the herd on this week’s episode. We continue through the Gospel of John with a discussion on what Jesus means when He says that He is the “living bread that came down from heaven” and that “whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” - John 6:44 brings about much discussion in today’s podcast as the class struggles why people must be drawn to the Father first, what others mean when they say “God has a plan” and much more as we continue our journey through the Gospel of John in today’s episode.

Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class returns this week with Pastor Otte to resume their study in the Gospel of John and how the will of the Father, that belief in Jesus as your Savior, grants you eternal life with Him.

Pastor Otte and Phil Kasper sit down one final time this year to chat about bridging the worlds of psychology and theology, mental health, and the altruism of atheism.

Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class continues their break from the gospel of John, but that doesn’t mean the podcast is left out. Pastor Otte and Phil Kasper sit down to discuss reading the entirety of the Bible, how we may better understand and communicate with other cultures, reading books of other faiths, and more.

Messiah’s Upper Room Bible class time exploring the gospel of John has been postponed this week due to the Christmas holiday season. However, that doesn’t mean you on the podcast must go without. Pastor Otte and Phil Kasper sit down to discuss anxiety, what we can do to ease it, how to maintain consistent Christian values while tackling societal issues, and much more.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class continue the trek through the gospel of John with a discussion on the food that perishes versus the food that endures forever, what it means to be doing the works of God, and what Jesus’s love means for you.

Pastor Otte and the Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class continue through the Gospel of John after Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and how He told His disciples to not be afraid when the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on the water. The class discusses what type of “fear” Jesus means and what different generations today may fear.

Join Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class as we continue our journey through the book of John. This week we complete Chapter Five with a discussion on what it means to be a people pleaser, to be self-pleasing, and why, in our efforts to do what is pleasing God, we may end up displeasing others. The class then jumps into Chapter Six of John where Jesus performs the miracle of feeding th...

A supplemental session from last week, the class of Messiah’s Upper Room and Pastor Otte continue where we left off in a discussion about whether we should judge someone as being a Christian or not.

This week Pastor Otte and the Upper Room Bible class continue through John chapter 5, talking about who and what the witnesses are that testify to the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. The class also discusses what it means to abide in the Word, and to have the Word abide in you.

Pastor Otte and the rest of Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class jump back in to the book of John, picking up where we left off with Jesus performing a miraculous healing on the Sabbath. Here the class discuss Jesus’s teaching and proclamation that a time is coming when the dead will come to life again, and those who do good and evil are judged.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class complete their series over the Red Letter Challenge with a discussion on the principle of “going” to make disciples of all nations. What did Jesus look for in terms of making someone a disciple? What fears may keep us from going forward to be disciples for Christ? The answers to these questions and more on this week’s episode.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room discuss what it means to give generously, and how being a grateful receiver of God’s gifts can change our focus from having a “scarcity mindset” to an “abundant mindset.”

Messiah’s Upper Room continues the church-wide series The Red Letter Challenge as John Switzer leads the class in discussing the challenge week of Serving.

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room Bible Class continue into the second week of the #RedLetterChallenge with a focus on what the Bible says about “forgiving.” Why should we forgive others? Is there a difference between forgiving someone in our head versus forgiving them in our heart? What does Jesus say about forgiveness? Listen to this week’s episode as Pastor Otte discuss these questions and m...

Gina Lerhmann is our guest speaker while Pastor Otte is out this week as we continue with the first full week of the Red Letter Challenge. This coming week is all about “being” - being with God and being with His Word. The class discusses what it means to “be” and what it means to “feel”, what earthly treasures we may try to place over heavenly treasures, the importance of rest, and our identity g...

Messiah’s Upper Room takes a break from the book of John as they participate in a 6-week church-wide event called the Red Letter Challenge, exploring the words of Jesus Christ (often shown in red text across translations of the Bible) and putting those words into action. This is a short introductory episode to this new series with a sneak peek at what is to come.

Pastor Otte and the Upper Room Bible Class continue their talk about the man at Bethesda. The class discusses what Jesus may have meant when He tells the man “sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” Was the man paralyzed because of a past sin? The class also discusses Jesus’s clarification on why He is performing work even on the Sabbath, since His “Father is working until now.” Jesus...

Pastor Otte and Messiah’s Upper Room continue through the gospel of John with the story of the invalid at the pool of Bethesda. The class discusses whether the man truly wanted to be healed when Jesus Himself asked the question. What would be the ‘cost’ of being healed? We quickly learn what the price may be as the man is soon accosted by orthodox Jews for carrying a burden on the Sabbath.

Pastor Otte and the class complete chapter 4 of the book of John. Jesus speaks to His disciples about the type of food that sustains Him, and the bountiful harvest that has come.