The Signpost Inn Podcast

What does Jesus actually feel when he looks at you — worn out, knocked flat, barely holding on? The Gospels have a word for it. And it's nothing like the soft, managed thing we usually call "compassion." Today Brandon and Matt dig into Matthew 9:36, the Greek behind two of the most overlooked words in the Gospels, and a gut-level emotion that drove everything Jesus did. Then we close with an imagi...

A listener asked a question we couldn't stop thinking about: if nothing we do saves us, are we just supposed to sit back and let Jesus do everything? Are we "grace potatoes"? This episode untangles what it actually means to work on your relationship with God — and why the real question might be bigger and better than you realized. Links: Liv’s Substack https://livbooth.substack.com/ Not Home Yet h...

Join Matt and Brandon for an incredibly moving discussion with Tom Gibbs, the creator of Art Lectio. After a brief introduction and explanation of Tom’s unique method for meditating on and praying with art, Tom guides the gents through three meditations on three completely different paintings. Each one opens up thoughts, and prompts prayers, that are profound and beautiful.  If you are listening t...

When the structures we lean on for spiritual safety collapse, what remains? Terri Fisher joins Liv Booth and tells her story of leaving a “mechanized faith” and spiritually abusive past and discovering a quieter and more durable faith. After years in rigid ideological communities that promised predictable outcomes, Terri found herself without words, stripped of spiritual identity, and wondering wh...

In this episode, we read John 5:1-18 together and enter the story of a man who's been disabled for 38 years. We ask the question Jesus asks him: do you actually want to become whole? Not just relieved. Not just a little better. Whole.  Links: Death Comes to the Soul: The Vulnerable Christian in Distress — Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell The Thomistic Institute Podcast https://podcast.thomisticinstitute.org/...

In this episode, we read John 4 together and invite you to enter the story of the woman at the well with us. As we go, we reflect on soul thirst, the deeper questions that drive our lives, and the way Jesus makes himself available to people who feel ashamed, skeptical, or far from God. This is a slow, prayerful episode for anyone who needs to be reminded what Jesus is really like.        Links: Bo...

In this episode, we dive into the topic of our very popular webinar on “reading the Gospels with your imagination” What is it, what do we teach, and we answer some of the big questions and concerns people have been asking. Whether you're wondering how reading the Gospels with your imagination works, concerned about staying grounded in Scripture, or curious about how this practice can be a powerful...

This episode releases on Good Friday, and we're leaning into the gravity of the day. We explore the universal experience of grief exhaustion—that bone-deep weariness that comes from living in a world marked by loss, disappointment, and unrelenting demands. We give you permission to name it: life IS hard. Then we ask the harder question: what do exhausted people actually need? And we discover that...

"By any human measure, Jesus' life was an abject failure." If he ever dreamed of a successful career in ministry, or of being hailed as king. That dream died.  What about you? Which of your dreams have died? Brandon, Liv, and Matt explore a hard but hopeful truth: God is in the habit of making good things come out of death. This episode digs into Brandon's article of the same name, wrestling with...

"The God of the Old Testament is a monster." If your teen or adult child has said something like this, you know how it feels. And if you're honest, part of you might wonder the same thing. Today Brandon sits down with Old Testament scholar Adam Hensley to tackle the hardest questions head-on. How can the God who commands "utterly destroy" be the same God who says "love your enemies"? What do we do...

Why do disagreements with my kids, or anyone I love, feel like the end of the world?        When my kid comes at me with 'Dad, you CAN'T believe that!' It feels like everything is on the line. Like if we can't agree, we're done. Have you felt that way recently? Brandon and Liv explore the concept of a "relational home"—that safe emotional space where we can hold pain without being destroyed by it....

Here's an uncomfortable reality: we parents can easily idolize our kids. When your teen or adult child is distant, critical, or just doesn't seem to like you, it cuts deep. You want their approval, their friendship, their gratitude. That's not wrong—it comes from love! But what happens when their opinion of you becomes the measure of your worth? Brandon, Liv, and Matt explore the common trap of ne...

Your kid doesn't want to go to church. Before you panic or strategize, take a breath. This episode isn't about fixing your kid. It's about looking in the mirror first. Brandon, Liv, and Matt explore why kids resist church (some reasons are healthy, some are legitimate critiques, some are heart resistance) and then ask the harder question: What implicit theology are you modeling at home? Your kids...

Have you ever stood in your kitchen, listening to your kids scream at each other, and thought: "A good parent wouldn't have kids like this. Did I screw them up?" How about the holidays with family? Was it like a Hallmark movie, or were there disagreements and fights? Did you feel a little helpless and wonder if you failed your family? Today we're going to talk about this feeling, because if you've...

Why does pain feel like "reality" and joy feel like a vacation?  It is December 26th. The wrapping paper is in the trash, and for many of us, that "magical" feeling—if it was there at all—is starting to fade into the gray reality of winter. When the Christmas lights come down and we discard the tree we often feel like we are "homeless" in a broken world again.  Join Matt and Brandon as they discus...

We tend to believe that trials and times of fear or grief, mean we've done something wrong. We feel that if we just prayed more, were more faithful with our spiritual disciplines, etc, we would feel fine, even through the worst! But Scripture offers a different picture. Feeling our grief, fear, and pain, while lifting it all to God is prayer. Feeling bad is NOT a sign that I am bad. It’s an honest...

🥳 Donate to our matching fund drive! https://www.signpostinn.org/donate Happy "National Pie for Breakfast Day." Or as most people call it... the day after Thanksgiving! How is your soul doing this morning? Maybe you woke up a little cringe? Maybe you’re wondering "Why did I bring that up?" "Why was I so awkward?"  Psychologist Brené Brown calls this a "Vulnerability Hangover." That regret we feel...

A technical glitch becomes a beautiful opportunity. This week, Brandon and Liv pull back the curtain and invite you to the back porch for a special, from-the-heart conversation. In celebration of Signpost Inn's 5th birthday, they share the real story of the ministry's journey: the unexpected joys, the raw and honest struggles, and the passionate vision that fuels it all.  It's also a chance to par...

On this special Halloween episode, hosts Liv and Brandon ask why creating AI avatars of the dead seems so alluring. What does it say about our deepest soul questions and longing for the permanent approval of the dead? And what does God have to say about all of this? Liv and Brandon wrap it up with lots of hope as we talk about the real promise of resurrection life in Christ that we celebrate on Al...

What do you do when you know you need to make things right with someone, but you have no idea where to start? We've all been there - stuck in a conflict where we know something needs to happen, but we're paralyzed. Maybe you're the one who got hurt and people keep telling you to "just forgive," but you don't even know what that means. Or maybe you're the one who messed up and you want to apologize...

In our polarized world, we're facing an epidemic of relational silence. Maybe it's your child who's pulled away. Your spouse who's emotionally checked out. A friend who's gone cold after a disagreement. A sister who won't return your calls. The silence is deafening, and it hits us at the deepest level because we're wired for connection. When those we love most won't engage, we long for restoration...

WHY IS IT SO DANG HARD TO TRUST GOD? I know I should trust him, but more often than not I don’t and hang on to my fear, my anger, my sin. What’s going on here? This week we getting a real and talking about our own struggles with trusting God and how getting to know Jesus for who he really is has helped! Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.s...

This week the Signpost Inn Podcast goes off the trail and into the uncharted wilderness with an unscripted and unfiltered episode! We're missing Matt, saying “goodby” to Peter, and wrangling technology… but then the conversation took “a leap” into the deep end and we talked about how our souls’ have a longing for adventure — real risk — and how God doesn’t only provide security and comfort but als...

Do you wake up in the morning with the vague sense that you’re already falling behind?    In today’s episode, the group talks about how each of us have deep questions of the soul that we need God to answer or else we’ll spend our lives demanding answers from everyone and everything else. Questions like, “Am I capable?” “Am I enough?” and especially, “Am I lovable?” We are often completely unaware...

Have you ever felt childish for believing in beauty — in meaning — in Jesus? Like, the really “grown up” way to think is that faith is a cutesy, meaningless fairytale?   If so, we want you to know you’re not alone! Also, you’re not naive, you’re just remembering home. In this conversation we talk about The Chronicles of Narnia and how they teach us childlike faith in goodness, truth, and beauty. W...