Relish: a Christian podcast

This episode brings together three conversations that many Christians are trying to navigate today. First, Rowan and Pastor Don discuss how to respond thoughtfully when someone says they don't believe in God, emphasizing questions, listening, and understanding the real reasons behind a person's doubts. They then explore one of today's most debated cultural topics: Can Christians be patriotic? What...

Why would God harden Pharaoh's heart? How did the Roman Empire help spread Christianity? What separated the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots? This episode explores several challenging biblical questions that all point toward one central truth: God often accomplishes His purposes through unexpected people, difficult circumstances, and even hostile governments. If you've ever wrestled with...

Why did God allow the famous bear attack in 2 Kings 2? In this episode, Don and Rowan explore one of the Bible's most controversial stories and discuss how difficult passages should be interpreted. They also examine modern marriage trends, the biblical purpose of marriage, and the often-overlooked connection between atonement and reconciliation. Whether you're wrestling with difficult Old Testamen...

How should Christians treat sinners? It's a simple question that often produces confusing answers. In this episode, Rowan Miller talks with Pastor Don Patterson about Jesus' approach to sinful people, the biblical meaning of grace and mercy, and whether Christians sometimes confuse compassion with approval. The conversation also explores the meaning of agape and shalom, lessons from Don's first se...

Can God's plan and human choice both be true? In this special Q&A episode, students ask Pastor Don Patterson some of the most important questions in Christianity: How do we know the Bible is reliable? Does prayer change God's will? Why does God allow suffering? What happens to children who die? What is the difference between intellectual belief and saving faith? Are Catholic and Protestant tea...

Should Christians try to influence laws with their beliefs? This episode explores the relationship between Christianity, politics, morality, and public life. Pastor Don Patterson discusses how Christians should evaluate news sources, participate in civic life, and think through difficult issues like same-sex marriage and religious influence on public policy. The conversation examines whether moral...

What makes Christianity different from every other religion? This episode explores some of the biggest theological questions Christians and skeptics wrestle with today: human identity, disagreement, grace, resurrection, and whether the Jewish people are still part of God’s covenant promises. Don Patterson and Rowan Miller discuss: the image of God and human purpose, why respectful disagreement mat...

How should Christians read Revelation without falling into fear, speculation, or confusion? In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson explore a careful approach to Revelation, arguing that the book is meant to comfort believers rather than function as a detailed prediction chart. They discuss prophetic imagery, the structure of Revelation, persecution, and why many modern interpretati...

What happened to those who died before Christ’s crucifixion? Scripture says Jesus preached to the “spirits in prison” — but what does that actually mean? In this episode of Relish, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson walk through 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 4, Luke 16, and other key passages to examine how the Bible describes salvation before the cross and the sufficiency of Christ’s work across all ge...

Science and Scripture are often framed as opposites—but that assumption deserves to be examined. In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson walk through key questions around origins, including fossil formation, carbon-14 dating, and the claim of a global flood. Rather than dismissing science, they explore how different starting assumptions shape the conclusions people reach. The conver...

In this episode, Rowan Miller and Don Patterson respond to two common but often misunderstood questions: what happens to pets after they die, and how the Bible actually frames singleness. First, they address the emotional and theological assumptions people bring to the question of animals in the afterlife. While Scripture offers glimpses of a restored creation, it stops short of giving a definitiv...

In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson tackle a question many Christians quietly wrestle with: how much attention should we give to topics like the Nephilim and the Book of Enoch? They examine what Scripture does—and doesn’t—say about these controversial subjects, and contrast that with the clear teaching of Romans 8 on identity in Christ. The conversation addresses pride, the prop...

How do you discern whether something is truly from God—or something internal? In this episode, Rowan Miller sits down with Pastor Don Patterson to examine that question through lived experience. Don shares specific moments that shaped his faith: his early baptism, a growing sense of calling, and the deep loss of his son. They also address more debated areas—speaking in tongues, impressions, and ev...

How should a Christian decide who to trust? In this episode, we work through Jesus’ warning to “know them by their fruit” and apply it to real-life decisions about counsel, teaching, and influence. What do you do when someone claims faith but lacks consistency, humility, or biblical clarity? We also explore how spiritual habits—Scripture, prayer, Sabbath, and reflection—form the kind of discernmen...

This episode tackles a difficult but necessary question: what is Satan actually allowed to do? Using the book of Job as a foundation, we examine God’s sovereignty, the role of Satan, and what Scripture does—and does not—say about spiritual warfare. We discuss common misconceptions around oppression, possession, and personal responsibility, and why clarity here matters for how Christians interpret...

Students asked direct questions about spiritual warfare, demonic influence, and everyday faith—and we took them seriously. In this episode, we examine: Whether Christians can be possessed or only oppressed How objects like charms or Ouija boards fit into a biblical worldview What “strongholds” actually mean in Romans 6–8 How healing prayer works in practice Whether Satan has any control over the n...

In this episode, Don Patterson and Rowan Miller respond to unfiltered questions from middle and high school students. They address four major areas of confusion: Whether the Bible speaks meaningfully to climate and environmental concerns How Christians should think about evolution and human origins Which Old Testament laws still apply—and why What Scripture actually reveals about heaven and eterna...

Immigration is one of the most emotionally charged political issues in the modern world—but Christians often appeal to the Bible without asking what those passages actually meant in their original context. In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson examine what Scripture really teaches about the “foreigner” or “stranger.” Looking closely at passages like Leviticus 24, they discuss how...

This episode addresses a central theological tension: If God is sovereign over history, are human beings still responsible for their actions? We answer that question through two difficult biblical texts: Judas’ betrayal of Jesus — Did he have genuine freedom, or was he fulfilling an unavoidable script? The execution in Book of Numbers 15 — Why was gathering sticks treated as a capital offense? We...

This episode tackles a difficult but timely question: Does the Bible speak meaningfully about climate change and large-scale earth changes, or is that a modern projection onto ancient text? We explore: Humor and sharp imagery in Jesus’ teaching The testing of faith in Job and James The Flood account in Genesis 6–9 “The springs of the deep” and Peleg’s divided earth Apocalyptic environmental shifts...

In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson examine one central tension: how Christians are meant to hold truth and grace together in the face of real suffering and difficult Scripture. They discuss: • Whether it’s biblically acceptable to be angry at God • How perspective reshapes personal loss • Jesus’ teaching on divorce and remarriage in Matthew 5 • The meaning of confession and for...

Why does God work through weakness instead of strength—and why does the world feel hostile if God created it good? In this episode of Relish, Roan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson explore two biblical tensions many believers quietly struggle with. First, they walk through Judges 6–7 and God’s decision to reduce Gideon’s army to just 300 men, examining why God removes human advantage and what genuin...

This episode was recorded live in front of students at Hillcrest Academy in Kalona, Iowa, using questions submitted directly by students. Pastor Don addresses foundational issues many Christians struggle to explain clearly: why prayer matters if God already knows the outcome, how free will works alongside divine foreknowledge, why suffering is unevenly distributed, what Revelation is actually desc...

In this episode, we explore God’s unique calling for each believer. What does it mean to walk worthy of that calling? How do our skills, passions, and spiritual gifts reveal God’s purpose for us? Rowan, Noah, and Don discuss Scripture, practical examples, and the vital role of community in recognizing and stewarding the gifts God has given you. Do you have questions for Pastor Don?  send them to t...

Reformed theology has become increasingly influential among younger Christians—but many still struggle to understand what it actually teaches and whether it reflects Scripture faithfully. In this episode, Rowan Miller and Pastor Don Patterson are joined by college senior Noah Miller to examine the Calvinist and Arminian perspectives on salvation. The conversation unpacks the TULIP framework, discu...