Pop Culture Devotionals with Chaplain Dave Remboldt

Americans are raised to win. General Patton said it out loud in front of a giant flag, and he wasn't wrong about us. This Fourth of July, Chaplain Dave looks at what that winning reflex does to our faith, and holds it up against Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, who trusted the Father and walked straight into what looked like losing. A devotional about Peter's sword and a kind of losing t...

"Give a Little Bit" keeps showing up when the country is tired and divided. Supertramp wrote it in the Vietnam years. The Goo Goo Dolls sang it to sixty thousand people in the rain after 9/11. Chaplain Dave thinks we need its posture again. This episode connects the song to Hagar in the desert and the name she gave God, El Roi, the God who sees me. A devotional about presence, being unse...

The new Spielberg film sent Chaplain Dave back to Jurassic Park . John Hammond builds a park he thinks he can control, and the fences fail, the way they always do. This episode connects that story to the Garden of Eden and to God answering Job out of the whirlwind. A devotional about our exhausting need to control everything, and where real rest actually comes from.

In 1974, nobody gave Muhammad Ali a chance against George Foreman. He won anyway, by leaning on the ropes and letting Foreman punch himself out. Chaplain Dave starts with the documentary "When We Were Kings" and the famous rope-a-dope, then turns to Isaiah 53 and the kind of strength that looks like losing right up until it wins. A devotional for anyone who has someone in their life wait...

When Chaplain Dave was seven, he got Castle Grayskull for Christmas — and then he broke the drawbridge. In this episode, that broken toy becomes a surprisingly honest picture of us, and a way into one of the hardest things Jesus ever asked: love your enemies. A devotional on Matthew 9, the real meaning of compassion , and learning to see broken people the way God still sees them. (Yes, there's...

What does Robin Hood have in common with the story of Zacchaeus? More than you'd think. A devotional on Luke 19, going out of your way for the outsider, and why the King coming back changes everything.

Field of Dreams is one of the most beloved movies in American culture, and Chaplain Dave thinks he knows why. In this graduation-season devotional, Dave looks at the famous dad/catch scene through the lens of Hebrews 11 and offers a word to the parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors of this year's graduates. Most of us won't get the Field of Dreams ending. So what then?

Heroes in pop culture don't usually get old. Rocky did. In this episode, Chaplain Dave walks through the scene in Creed where the mentor becomes the one being called back into the fight...and what 1 Peter 5 has to say about humility, wisdom, and the people walking with us.

What can an 80s hit from Crowded House teach us about distraction, endurance, and keeping our eyes on Jesus? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt reflects on “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” connects its warning about walls and distraction to Hebrews 12:1–2 , and explores what it means to keep running the race of faith in a world built to keep us checked out. If you’ve felt...

What if Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is more than a comedy about skipping school? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt looks at Ferris’s famous line about life moving fast, the anxiety and control gripping everyone around him, and the biblical truth that rest is not laziness—it’s trust. With Jesus’ words on Sabbath at the center, this devotional is a reminder that in a c...

What if Cast Away isn’t really about survival at all? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt looks at Chuck Noland’s obsession with control, the strange peace waiting for him at the end of the movie, and how Philippians 4:6–7 reframes what peace actually is. This is a devotional for anyone who’s been white-knuckling their way through life and wondering if letting go of...

What can a training montage in Rocky IV teach us about real strength? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt contrasts Ivan Drago’s polished, controlled training with Rocky’s gritty, real-world endurance and connects it to Philippians 4:13 and the kind of inner strength God actually builds. If life has felt more like the 15th round than a highlight reel, this one’s for...

What can Samwise Gamgee teach us about hope, faith, and keeping going when the road feels impossibly long? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt reflects on Sam’s unforgettable speech from The Two Towers , connects it to Viktor Frankl’s search for meaning, and anchors it all in the biblical truth that faith keeps moving because God is faithful. If you’re tired, discou...

What does The Wizard of Oz have to do with Holy Week? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals, Chaplain Dave Remboldt connects the man behind the curtain to Jesus cleansing the temple—and shows why Christ’s anger wasn’t aimed at “the world acting worldly,” but at religious fraud that made it harder for people to get to God. Centered on Matthew 21, this devotional invites listeners to let Holy W...

What does basketball defense and Peter pulling a sword in the garden have in common? In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt uses the world of hoops to explore a deeper spiritual question: are we confusing defensiveness with faithfulness? Drawing from Jesus’ rebuke of Peter and the call to love with courage, this devotional looks at how the kingdom of God moves—not by g...

What do Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out for a Hero and David’s cry in Psalm 13 have in common? More than you might think. In this episode of Pop Culture Devotionals , Chaplain Dave Remboldt revisits the 80s anthem of longing and connects it to the ancient ache of a heart waiting for God to act. With Psalm 13 as the scriptural anchor, this devotional explores the universal human longing for rescue, the...