The Scott Sauls Podcast

The small acts of faithfulness in your life may feel ordinary, hidden, and easily forgotten. But because Jesus walked out of the grave first, none of it is wasted. The meal cooked for a struggling neighbor, the correction spoken to a child, the good work done when no one was watching, and the forgiveness extended in secret are all being folded into a future that has already begun in the resurrecti...

Leo Tolstoy had nearly everything people associate with a successful life: literary genius, wealth, family, fame, influence, and security. Yet by his own account, he found himself deeply restless and despairing. In this episode, Scott Sauls reflects on Tolstoy’s crisis and the three false gospels that still steal joy today: comfort, control, and approval. Each one begins as a good desire. Each one...

You can believe in grace and still live as though God is disappointed in you. In this episode, Scott Sauls reflects on the hidden equation many Christians carry: God’s love equals Jesus plus our current spiritual and moral performance. Through the story of Peter in Luke 5, the ache beneath achievement, and the difference between forgiveness and mercy, Scott considers why grace can feel unsafe to r...

What should you do when your prayer is not calm, composed, or polite, but angry? In this episode, Scott Sauls looks at Habakkuk, C.S. Lewis, Job, the Psalms, and Martin Luther to explore whether anger toward God is always a sign of weak faith. Scripture is far more honest about complaint, grief, protest, and unanswered questions than many church cultures have allowed. Angry prayer may not be the d...

In this episode, Scott Sauls reflects on John 11, the death of Lazarus, and Jesus’ stunning promise to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Drawing from Elie Wiesel’s Night, Tim Keller’s preaching after September 11, and C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, this episode explores the difference between mere consolation and true Christian resurrection hope. When suffering, grief, unanswered pray...

In this episode, Scott Sauls explores the difference between guilt and shame through The Scarlet Letter, Genesis 3, Brené Brown, Brennan Manning, and the mercy of Jesus. Shame says, “I am something bad,” and it drives us to cover, hide, and fear being fully known. But from Eden to the cross, Scripture tells a better story: we cover ourselves badly, but God covers us truly. If you have carried a sc...

In this episode, Scott Sauls shares personally about struggles like perfectionism, drivenness, shame, and the exhausting attempt to find worth through achievement. He also shares the invitation Jesus gives to every overextended, over-functioning heart: to stop striving for an approval that has already been freely given. Drawing from Psalm 23, Luke 15, and themes from his newest book, The Mercy Kin...

In this episode, Scott Sauls explores why gossip can feel satisfying in the moment while quietly damaging the soul. Drawing from Scripture and personal experience, he looks at the difference between healthy processing and sinful gossip. When does venting become gossip? Why do we use another person’s failures to manage our own hurt? And how can confession, repentance, and the grace of Jesus lead us...

We all demand justice until it shows up at our own front door. In this episode, Scott Sauls works through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, the bishop and the silver candlesticks in Les Misérables, and the cross itself, drawing on Fleming Rutledge, Isaiah 53, and Psalm 130. The real question underneath every cry for fairness: are you willing to receive what justice woul...

Workaholism is the most socially acceptable addiction in our culture. Nobody stages an intervention for it. Nobody tells you to get help. Instead, we get rewarded with raises, promotions, and applause. In this episode, Scott Sauls draws from his forthcoming book The Mercy King (Zondervan, June 2026) and a clinical study from the University of Bergen to expose what compulsive working actually is: a...

Easter Monday brings us back to everyday life. The resurrection has happened, but the disciples still have to work, eat, and move forward. This is where most of us live. Not in dramatic moments, but in ordinary days. This episode explores what it means to live in light of the resurrection in real life. Faith is not only about belief, but about how we work, love, and serve in daily rhythms. If Jesu...

Easter Sunday is the turning point of the Christian story. The resurrection of Jesus is not only about what happens after we die, but about what is already happening now. It signals the beginning of a new kind of life and a restored world. This episode explores the deeper meaning of resurrection and why it changes how we think about fear, suffering, purpose, and hope. If Jesus truly rose from the...

Silent Saturday captures the space most of us know well. A space where prayers feel unanswered, clarity is absent, and God seems quiet. The disciples lived this reality without knowing what would come next. This episode explores what it means to remain in that tension. Faith is not always confident or clear. Sometimes it is simply staying present in uncertainty without giving up. If you have ever...

Good Friday forces us to reconsider everything we believe about power, suffering, and love. As Jesus hangs on the cross, he refuses to save himself, even though he has the power to do so. This episode explores the meaning behind that choice. The cross reveals not weakness, but the most deliberate and costly expression of love. A God who absorbs violence and responds with forgiveness instead of ret...

Maundy Thursday captures a moment that reshapes how we understand power, leadership, and love. On the night before his death, Jesus kneels and washes the feet of his disciples, fully aware that they will soon betray, deny, and abandon him. This episode explores the deeper meaning behind that act. It is not performance or symbolism, but a revelation of what true love looks like in action. A love th...

Spy Wednesday is a quiet day on the surface, but something decisive is unfolding in secret. Judas, one of Jesus’ closest followers, moves toward betrayal through a series of hidden choices and compromises. This episode explores how spiritual drift happens slowly and often unnoticed. It is not driven by doubt or honest questions, but by unexamined motives and growing self deception. If you want to...

Holy Tuesday reveals a side of Jesus we often overlook. Under constant pressure, criticism, and traps, he responds with clarity, composure, and truth without becoming defensive or harsh. In a culture that rewards outrage and quick reactions, Jesus embodies a better way: engaging without attacking, standing firm without needing to dominate. This episode explores what that looks like in real life, a...

Holy Monday is one of the most surprising moments of Holy Week. In the temple courts of Jerusalem, Jesus overturns the tables of the money changers and disrupts a religious system that had turned worship into a marketplace. Why did Jesus react so strongly? And what does this moment reveal about his heart? In this episode, we explore the deeper meaning behind the temple cleansing and why Jesus show...

Palm Sunday begins Holy Week with celebration—but it also reveals a profound misunderstanding about the kind of king Jesus came to be. In this episode, Scott Sauls reflects on the moment when crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with palm branches and cries of “Hosanna,” believing he would overthrow their oppressors and restore their nation. Yet within days, those expectations collapsed when Jesus...

Why did Jesus spend so much time eating with people respectable society rejected? In the Gospels, Jesus regularly shares meals with tax collectors, sinners, and outsiders—people the religious establishment avoided and often condemned. But in the ancient world, table fellowship carried deep meaning. To eat with someone was to extend dignity, belonging, and relationship. In this episode of That’s a...

Most people focus on the final week of Jesus’ life. But what about the thirty years before his public ministry began? In this episode, Scott Sauls explores the hidden years of Jesus leading up to Holy Week. From the temple encounter at age twelve to his baptism and wilderness testing, the Gospels reveal a deeper story of preparation and identity. Drawing from Scripture and theological insights, th...

Being ghosted by someone can be confusing and deeply painful. In this episode, Scott Sauls explores why ghosting wounds us so profoundly and what a healthy response actually looks like. Drawing from psychological research on rejection, Brené Brown’s work on belonging, and the honesty of the Psalms, he offers practical guidance for navigating the silence without losing your dignity or self-worth. I...

Why do the people closest to us sometimes trigger our deepest fears? In this episode, Scott Sauls explores the strange vulnerability that comes with love. Drawing from Psalm 62 and the life of Henri Nouwen, he explains why we often place expectations on human relationships that only God can carry. The result can be anxiety, insecurity, and fear of loss. But Scripture points to a deeper foundation...

Knowing Scripture doesn’t always quiet health anxiety. Psalm 139 offers something deeper than information - it offers the steady presence of a God who fully knows us and does not turn away. Through the story of missionary David Brainerd, who suffered chronic illness and died at 29, this episode explores how peace can coexist with unresolved fear. Being fully known by God is not exposure - it is sh...

Many believers assume that if anxiety lingers, they must be failing spiritually. But in Matthew 6, Jesus’ words “Do not be anxious” are not a demand for emotional perfection. They are an invitation into the attentive care of a Father who already holds tomorrow. Drawing from the Sermon on the Mount and Søren Kierkegaard’s reflections on anxiety, this episode reframes worry - not as a test you must...