The Branch

We see the theme of exile throughout the Bible in God's people. The "fish out of water" theme is also seen in lots of stories and movies as well. This episode, we look at the film "The Terminal" and connect to the exilic theme in the Bible.

We often see the monomyth in popular stories as well as seeing depictions of Christ-like figures. One of the places we see that is in The Green Mile. We look at some of the lessons we pull out of that story in this episode.

Woody and Buzz deal with the transition of their owner going off to college while also navigating relationships and the personality of a manipulative and evil toy named Lotso. What do we learn from people who might be like Lotso? How do we love them?

Asking some questions and offering some answers about fear and being afraid.

Fear and love don't mix. God has given us the Holy Spirit, not a spirit of fear. Do we live in such a way that we show others the love of Jesus Christ or do we evoke fear and other emotions from people? 1 John 4:13-21

Jesus tells his disciples not to be afraid of those who can only damage our bodies or our reputations while we should be more worried about the One who can touch our soul. Luke 12:4-12

Sometimes we find ourselves straining at the oars, fighting the storms of life and needing Jesus to show up. When he does, do we recognize him and receive his help? Mark 6:45-54

Do we believe that God can bring healing? Do we need a healing touch from Jesus? Mark 5:21-43

Our friend Mike Abbamonte looks at Matthew 4:1-11 and how we follow Jesus's example when we encounter dry places and wildernesses in our own lives.

God tells his people that he will fight for us and invites us to have a front row seat and see his provision and his deliverance. 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

God invites us to come and see and then to go and tell what we have witnessed. Matthew 28:1-10

Do we fear being alone? God tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us so that we might be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:1-9

The Lord goes before us to show us the way, so we do not need to fear or be anxious. Deuteronomy 1:19-33

When we do something wrong, we can be filled with fear of being found out and caught. God calls us to confession and repentance. Genesis 3:1-12

What are we afraid of? Do we fear the Lord? Deuteronomy 10:12-22

We wind down our series on identity and try to answer in some texted in questions.

We meet a woman in Luke 7:36-50 who pushes past barriers to sit at Jesus' feet. What do we learn from her about our own identity in Jesus?

Why did God form relationships? What are we looking for our relationships to be? Are we looking for others to fix us or are we looking to fix others? Looking at Genesis 2:18-25 as we see this in context of what God created.

How do Christians engage politically? We look at Paul's words in Romans 13:1-7 to find a way through these difficult times.

Through the lens of Joseph and his treatment by his brothers, we look at how we respond to hurt and pain in our lives. Do we let bitterness and anger take root and let our pain and hurt define us or do we allow God to use it for good?

Are you generous with what you have? Are you looking to what you have to give you life and save you? Luke 12:13-21

What motivates us to do what we do? Are we looking for an immediate reward and payoff? Matthew 25:31-46

As we look at the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42, we ask ourselves questions about what we do in and with our work.

Who am I? Through the lens of Genesis 1:26-27 we answer this question.

It's easy to look at all that we don't have. Do we look at what we do have and look at it in the hands of Jesus? John 6:1-15