Mission Upside Down

“The Fundamentals” was a name of Christian booklets published in the early 1900s. While many followers of Jesus like to be known as “fundamentalists,” other followers do not. How about you?

Some Modernists have become quite radical in their teachings. The radical Modernists have more in common with Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism than with historic Christianity.

The most modern version of Christianity is actually not Christianity at all. Not in any historic sense. Let’s discover some of the main teachings of “modernism” today, teachings that are found in many churches.

Many modern churches give new meanings to old biblical words. Consider Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. You might be surprised to learn how many people in many churches think about that teaching today.

Forgiveness is usually a long pathway, not an instant action. But the more we forgive people who have hurt us, the more we heal and the more we grow, both emotionally and spiritually.

Continuing the topic of biblical forgiveness, we learn more about what it is and is not. And if we refuse to forgive people who have hurt us, we should be prepared for the alternatives.

It’s very hard to forgive people who have hurt us in some way. Yet, if we’re serious about following Jesus, we must forgive. In a series of three episodes, we will explore what God says about forgiving those who have sinned against us.

John 3:16 is the most familiar verse in the Bible. Yet as we look more deeply at its meaning, we should be surprised, even shocked, at God’s gift of Jesus.

Continuing their conversation, the pastors give some examples of wonderful Christmas carols. One of them recently has been written. God is glorified and his people are rightly instructed when these kinds of carols are sung.

In this episode two pastors talk together about singing carols during the Christmas season. Some carols have words which do not accurately reflect biblical teaching. The pastors give some examples of these.

The New Earth, not heaven, is the final destination for followers of Jesus. When Jesus returns, God will make all things new, including our bodies, the creation, even the animals. What an incredible future!

What will happen when Jesus returns? Let’s avoid interpretations or ideas not clearly stated in the Bible. Rather, as we gain better understanding about these things, we should be encouraged and be eager to meet our Lord.

Many teachers and preachers have speculated about when Jesus will return. In this episode we’ll learn about some recent speculations. We’ll also learn where Jesus says our focus must be.

Following up on the previous episode, we look at five suggestions for giving good judgment, biblical correction, to someone who might be slipping. All believers have a responsibility to help other believers follow Jesus more closely.

Jesus says, “Do not judge.” What did he mean? Must we never make judgments about right or wrong, good or bad? We will learn what Jesus meant by these words and how we might put his teaching into practice.

Pastor Sam Allberry has written a small book about being a follower of Jesus and being single. As an unmarried man, he not only writes biblically but also very personally. You’ll want to get his book.

In many large urban areas, single adults comprise 50% of the population. How does God view singleness? What does He say about unmarried believers? You might be surprised!

From Romans 1-3 we have learned that God the Father is the giver of the gift of Jesus’ righteousness. We are the recipients of the gift. Concluding this series, we learn from Romans 4-5 how we receive the gift and what results from it.

We could become discouraged about our inborn, human sinfulness and God’s wrath against us. But from the book of Romans, we are greatly encouraged by God’s wonderful gift to us.

The word “gospel” means the good news about Jesus. To know exactly why this is good news, we must know the bad news. Romans 1:18 and following explains our natural condition before God, and what’s bad about it.

In this new season, we start by looking at the Book of Romans. Martin Luther called Romans “the chief part of the New Testament.” In four episodes about the first three chapters of Romans, we’ll understand why Luther said that.

In this episode we look back upon the past year of “Mission Upside Down.” Our listeners have some favorite episodes and so do we. We’re also going to be taking a break and will resume in September.

In Mark 7:27 Jesus says something quite shocking, even potentially offensive. It’s about a certain Gentile woman. But in his words and in her response, we learn a powerful lesson about humility and about simply trusting him.

In 1 Timothy 3:15 we read about “the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” To have life in Christ means that we must have a place in his church on earth.

We in the western world live quite individualistically. The COVID epidemic also has caused us to become more separated from one another. In contrast, Jesus calls us to meet together to worship and to minister together as his church in this world.