Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus

Join Rick for the 10th episode of the series IN HIS IMAGE. We all long to be noticed and enjoyed and appreciated for who we really are—to be pursued by a Lover who will sacrifice to be with us. Today we explore the way Jesus moves toward us in our life, captured best by the word “Pursuit.” And though we long for His pursuit, we are also frightened by it… In much the same way a squirrel freezes whe...

Join Rick for the ninth episode of the series IN HIS IMAGE. Today author Jeff White is on the podcast to talk about “Authenticity.” His new “Story Bible for Adults” called Eyewitness is just out—Jeff’s challenge was to tell the stories of the Bible from a raw, first-person perspective. There’s much in the Bible that might be called “not suitable for children,” so Rick and Jeff explore together wha...

Join Rick as he dives into the eighth episode of the series IN HIS IMAGE. Today we’ll be exploring an overlooked-but-crucial aspect of how Jesus lived His life—the word is “Presence.” Jesus lived in “a state of active, open attention on the present,” which is how the editors of Psychology Today describe “mindfulness,” a New-Agey word that is actually rooted in how Jesus engaged His environment and...

Join Rick as he dives into the seventh episode of the series IN HIS IMAGE. Today we’ll be exploring why “Relaxed” is theologian Dallas Willard’s favorite one-word description of Jesus. When we “live and breathe and move” from a relaxed place in our life, we are fully living our dependent relationship with Jesus. Discover the source of a relaxed soul, and how to drink deeply from that source. Have...

Join Rick as he dives into the sixth episode of a new series IN HIS IMAGE. Today we’ll be exploring why Work is a core expression of Jesus’ heart, and why he honors effort but not earning. Work is the transformational expression of His redemptive love, and is therefore central to who we are. But we don’t always work from a place of rest, which is what Jesus modeled. Have you joined the Pigs? We're...

Join Rick as he dives into the fifth episode of a new series IN HIS IMAGE. Today we’ll be exploring how Trust is central to the Kingdom of God, and is at the core of Jesus’ “operating system.” A proverb reminds us: We gain trust in drops, but we lose it in buckets. Why is this proverb true? Why is it so hard to build trust and so easy to lose it? Can we ever develop an unshakeable trust in anyone...

Join Rick as he dives into the fourth episode of a new series called IN HIS IMAGE. Jesus said a lot of hard things—things that sound impossible, actually. But none harder than this: “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just an...

In this episode we’ll dive into one of the “Big Three”… In 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul says: “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” We think of these words as verbs and nouns, but they’re also characteristics that describe Jesus’ “operating system.” Let’s explore one of the “slightly less greatest” of the Big Three—Hope… What is dangerous about this...

Yes, like sheep, we are a needy people. But we don’t really want to live under the shadow of desperate circumstances as a prerequisite for our intimate dependence on Jesus. It’s hard to live that way. But there is an “alternative fuel source” that those who are living a dependent life with Jesus have discovered. It’s the same fuel that propelled Jesus in His relationship with His Father and the Sp...

During our Pandemic Apocalypse, we’ve competed in the “decathlon” of emotional workouts. Uncertainty, fear, and disorientation are powerful, and a steady stream of bad news is like getting emotionally water-boarded. We feel more needy than ever, and therefore more vulnerable than ever… Jesus wants us to find Home in Him, a relationship that invites our vulnerability, and gives us a safe place to b...

To win in a game of Simon Says, we have to radically obey what we’re told. And we’re living in one big challenging game of Simon Says in our culture right now… The tension that exists as we’re “opening up” is real and widespread, because our obedience to “Simon”—government leaders and scientists—is in tension with our determination to choose what we think is right and good. Jesus also had a compli...

Ever had a friend recommend something, so you try it, and then you realized... you hate it? How can something be “truly good” if not everyone agrees that it is truly good? John Krasinski’s online pandemic show Some Good News brought us a weekly dose of “good”—but how does his good compare to the way Jesus defines good? Join Rick as he explores how Jesus determines what is good and what is not, and...

We're washed over by waves of grief, fear, and uncertainty in our world right now. As followers of Jesus, we know that racism is contrary in every way to the heart of Jesus. And yet, it persists like the “weeds scattered in secret by the thief” in Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and Weeds. Join Rick as he explores Jesus’ shrewd and redemptive response to racism, and what we can learn and practice as a...

Although God is self-sufficient in every way, he decides to create more. The “heavens and the earth.” You and me (and look what trouble He invited when He did that). What is the purpose of more when you are already enough? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s focus in on two “more encounters” with Jesus and pay...

On the seventh day God finished his work of creation, so he rested. But why did an all-sufficient God need rest? What kind of rest is this—and what is the truth about the rest Jesus is inviting us into? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s explore Hebrews 4, and Jesus’ promise of rest in Matthew 11, and embrace...

“Hard” is a word we’re likely using more now than we did before. In these times, what factors make “hard” something people embrace, rather than avoid? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s explore ways Jesus used hard in others’ lives, and why. Have you joined the Pigs? We're a group of friends ready to go all in...

Some of us are more than a month into quarantine and “normal” life may seem like a distant memory. Now that we’re living in the “awkward in-between,” how can Jesus’ time after his Resurrection help guide us through these uncertain times? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s explore what Jesus did in the 40 days...

Jesus was able to take death seriously while also not being afraid of it. In a time where we seem to be surrounded by death, let’s start to focus on hope and how Jesus gives us hope. Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s explore examples in the Bible of Jesus living in hope. Have you joined the Pigs? We're a grou...

With the coming of Easter, we also look forward to Good Friday. Although it is “good,” it is also a day filled with a lot of pain. What can we learn from this pain as we apply it to our everyday reality? Join Rick and his wife Bev as they continue a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s explore the story of Jesus and the death of Lazarus in...

We’ve heard the phrase “Jesus is the light of the world,” but what does this really mean? In a time when the darkness we’re living through is producing so much fear and anxiety, it’s important for us to take a deep dive into what “light” really means. Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at th...

Now that “social distancing” is becoming the new norm, how can we still be in community? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at examples in the Bible where Jesus defines love in community. Have you joined the Pigs? We're a group of friends ready to go all in with Jesus--to live a life that's...

We live in tension between the scientific and the spiritual. There are many different perspectives on creation, but in what ways do we understand the Bible--and is it right? Join Rick as he continues a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at the details of creation in the Bible. Have you joined the Pigs? We're a group of...

We know that asking Jesus for help is a primary way we live out our relationship with him. So, what does it mean when what we were hoping for doesn’t happen? Join Rick and his daughter Lucy as they continue a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at examples of when “no” was a reality in relationships with Jesus. Have you...

We know that following Jesus is supposed to change our lives, but what are the mechanics of that transformation? What, if anything, can we do to help it happen? Join Rick as we continue a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s dive into Ephesians 4:17-32 and what transformation looks like when we choose Jesus. Have you joined the Pigs? We're...

The Old Testament and the New Testament both have the phrase “chosen ones,” but with very different meanings. When it comes to salvation, what qualifies a person to be “chosen”? Join Rick as we continue a series exploring the foundational truths connected to Jesus and his mission in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at two specific passages in the Bible where salvation is described. Have you joi...