The UnCommon Christian Podcast

Why do you keep fighting the same battle over and over again? Maybe the real problem isn't where you're fighting…it's when you're fighting. Most believers think the battle is lost when they finally give in to temptation. But Scripture teaches that the battle is usually won or lost much earlier, in the thoughts we choose to entertain. In this episode, Jon Ellis opens God's Word to reveal where the...

In this episode, Pastor Jon Ellis explores one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Christian life: renewing your mind. Many believers assume that more information will automatically produce transformation. But Scripture teaches that lasting change happens when lies are replaced with truth through a deliberate process of renewal. Discover why strongholds persist, why transformation often feel...

Many Christians know the truth but struggle to trust it when life gets hard. In this episode, Jon Ellis explores the gap between what we know and what we actually trust, and why that gap often leaves believers feeling spiritually frustrated. Discover why information alone doesn't transform us, how trust is built, and why faith becomes real when God becomes the first place we run. You know God is f...

Why do Christians keep returning to the same struggles even after they've repented, prayed, and asked God for help? In this episode, Jon Ellis explores the deeper reasons recurring sin remains so powerful in the lives of many believers. Looking beyond behavior modification, he exposes the hidden beliefs, emotional attachments, and fleshly patterns that keep people trapped in cycles they desperatel...

There’s a battle happening inside of you that most Christians don’t fully understand. You pray. You try harder. You want freedom. But somehow the fight keeps showing back up. What if the struggle itself is proof that God is already working? In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis exposes the real war happening beneath temptation, conviction, obedience, and spiritual growth. This is no...

Most believers don’t lose the battle in a big moment. They lose it in the gap. The gap between the temptation… and the decision. The pull… and the agreement. The moment where feelings get louder than conviction. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis breaks down what actually happens inside temptation and how to fight back before compromise becomes action. This is not just another co...

You’ve prayed about it. You’ve repented of it. You told yourself this was the last time… and then you ended up right back in it. So why does this keep happening? In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis breaks down the real reason you keep going back to the same sin, pattern, or struggle—and why trying harder hasn’t worked. Because you’re not dealing with a habit. You’re dealing with a...

Why can’t you break that pattern—even when you know it’s wrong? In this episode, Jon Ellis reveals that the issue isn’t just behavior—it’s belief. Many believers try to change what they do without ever confronting what they believe, which is why cycles continue. Through Scripture and practical application, this episode unpacks how strongholds are formed in the mind, how agreement gives patterns po...

Title: You’re Fighting the Wrong Battle (It’s Not What You Think) Most believers aren’t losing because they don’t love God… They’re losing because they’re fighting the wrong battle. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis breaks down one of the most misunderstood areas of the Christian life: the difference between your flesh and real spiritual warfare. Not everything is the devil. Not...

You love God… so why do you keep losing battles you thought you’d already won? Most Christians have been taught how to fight sin, but not how to live free. So they keep trying harder, pushing more, and falling into the same cycles of frustration. But what if the problem isn’t your effort…What if it’s where you’re fighting from? In this episode, Jon Ellis breaks down what Scripture actually teaches...

You love God… So why does it still feel like a fight every single day? Same struggles. Same temptations. Same cycles you thought you were done with. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis exposes a truth most believers have never fully understood: You’re not fighting for victory… you’re learning how to live from it. The cross didn’t just forgive you, it paid for your freedom. And the...

You love God. You want to obey Him. So why do you keep doing the very thing you said you’d stop? This isn’t just a discipline issue. This isn’t just a lack of willpower. There is a war happening inside of you, and most believers have never been taught how to fight it. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian Podcast, Jon Ellis exposes the internal battle described in Scripture, the tension betwee...

What if the freedom you’ve been chasing… isn’t actually freedom? In today’s culture, freedom is defined as doing whatever you want, following your feelings, and living your truth. But what if that definition is incomplete, or even misleading? In this episode, we unpack a powerful truth that challenges the way most people think: what culture calls freedom, Jesus often calls bondage. You’ll discover...

Why does doing what God says sometimes feel harder than doing what we know is wrong? Many believers quietly struggle with this tension. We know what Scripture says. We feel the Holy Spirit prompting us. Yet something inside us still hesitates. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis explores why obedience can feel difficult in the moment and why sin often seems easier at first. Drawin...

Most Christians were told how to believe in Jesus. Very few were actually shown how to follow Him. Somewhere along the way, Christianity in the modern world became centered around decisions instead of discipleship. We invited people to pray a prayer, attend church, and try to live a good life, but many believers were never shown what it actually means to walk with Jesus day by day. And the result...

What if Christianity didn’t become casual… What if we simply stopped repeating what Jesus actually said? In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis walks through Luke 14, John 6, and several defining encounters from the Gospels to rediscover a truth many modern believers rarely hear clearly: Jesus never hid the cost of following Him. He said: Count the cost. Take up your cross. Deny your...

What if people aren’t walking away from Jesus… What if they’re walking away from a version of Him that was never deep enough to carry them through a storm? In this episode of The Uncommon Christian, Jon Ellis tackles a sobering question: What did casual Christianity produce? When decisions outpace discipleship… When attendance outpaces obedience… When growth outpaces depth… Faith may look strong,...

How did Christianity become this casual? How did a faith that once required surrender turn into something that rarely disrupts us? In this episode, Jon Ellis traces the subtle shift that took place in modern American Christianity; a shift from discipleship to decisions, from formation to momentary response, from surrender to convenience. This isn’t an attack on evangelism. It’s not criticism of ch...

Faithful doesn’t always feel peaceful. Sometimes it feels heavy. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian Podcast, Jon Ellis speaks directly to believers who haven’t quit, haven’t compromised, and haven’t walked away, but are tired in a way rest alone doesn’t fix. This conversation reframes weariness through Scripture, not shame. You’ll learn the difference between burnout and betrayal, why growi...

Following Jesus doesn’t just change what you believe; it changes your direction. And whenever direction changes, resistance shows up. Many believers are surprised by how much harder obedience feels after they commit to following Jesus. More tension. More pressure. More internal conflict. And when no one explains why, faithful people start assuming something is wrong with them. In this episode of T...

Pressure doesn’t just test obedience, it amplifies voices. In this episode, Jon Ellis goes deeper into what happens internally when pressure increases. Why doubts feel louder. Why thoughts feel heavier. And why faithful believers often start questioning themselves, not because their faith is weak, but because pressure removes the filters. Using Scripture from 1 Kings 19 and James 1, this episode e...

Why God Uses Faithful People Who Refuse to Move Sometimes obedience doesn’t look like progress. Sometimes faith doesn’t feel victorious. And sometimes standing still feels like failure. In UNC020, Jon Ellis speaks directly to believers who didn’t quit, didn’t compromise, and didn’t walk away, but still feel stuck because nothing has changed. Using Exodus 14 and the moment Israel stood trapped at t...

Some of you think you’re stuck, but you’re not stuck. You’re standing. And standing is exactly what the enemy hoped you’d stop doing. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian Podcast, Jon Ellis speaks directly to the believer who obeyed God, stood firm, and refused to compromise, but is now growing tired of doing the right thing with no visible results. Drawing from Ephesians 6:13, Galatians 6:9,...

Obedience was never meant to be easy, and Scripture never pretended it would be. In this episode of The Uncommon Christian Podcast, Jon Ellis exposes a truth many believers aren’t prepared for: Obedience is Warfare. If following Jesus has made your life harder, more resisted, or more pressured, not easier, you’re not failing. You’re engaged. Drawing from Ephesians 6, Galatians 5, Luke 4, and 2 Cor...

A new year doesn’t need better intentions, it needs divine power. In this New Year episode of The Uncommon Christian Podcast, Jon Ellis exposes why so many believers feel spiritually exhausted: they’re trying to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit leading it. The Spirit-filled life isn’t emotional hype or theological preference — it’s the difference between survival and victory. In thi...