The Yellow Balloons Podcast

In this episode we explore the typical arc of a Christian journey. How does discipleship play out in a person’s life? Each story is unique, but there are some consistent elements that can help us as we navigate our unique journeys. Humans have an immense and inexhaustible need for love. And God loves us because he chooses to. We want to be loved and we also want to find something to love. A place...

In this episode, we do a deep dive into Psalm 8. This incredible Psalm guides us through some of the most fundamental truths about life. It shows the reason God created us, who He created us to be, and why it matters. Psalm 8 casts us as stewards with significant responsibilities and as royalty in waiting. Life is about seeing the opportunities God has placed in front of us and taking advantage of...

We continue exploring what it takes to live life as an epic journey. Our life is a story and stories are important. We will look into the nature and purpose of stories, the fundamentals that make up a story, and how it all applies to the decisions we are trying to make in our own lives. God likes stories. Life is full of them. Heroes and villains. Adam, Lucifer, Jesus. How will you live your story...

In this episode, we look at two more challenges that come with prosperity: Fame and spiritual highs. Our success can be a catalyst toward our destruction or toward a truly meaningful life. The key is in the choices we make. With a healthy perspective around fame and mountaintop experiences, we prevent them from becoming idols and can use them as resources.

In this episode we see how good circumstances can be a test of our faithfulness just as much as hard circumstances. Prosperity is a difficult challenge. It is an opportunity and we must choose how to use it. We need perspective to do this well. To help with this, we will look at the three things we can control and three specific challenges regarding prosperity.

In this episode, we continue looking at the six different perspectives on everyday life, leaning into perspectives two through six. If we adopt these perspectives, it will transform how we view faithfulness, how we steward our lives, and how our character is shaped and developed. Doing excellent internal work opens doors for us to influence the world around us. The epic journey of life is about bo...

In this episode, we examine the rhythm of ordinary life and how we can be faithful even in the basic routines we sometimes view as mundane. Faithfulness is an opportunity available to us in every arena of life. We begin looking at six different perspectives about everyday human existence and how they fit into our desire to live life as an epic journey.

We continue with the story of Job and his friends. Struggling to find the right perspective, Job, his wife, and his friends are all doing their best to make sense of the world around them. With confusion and uncertainty at its highest, God speaks to Job’s friends and then to Job himself. We also see Job’s response, which invites us into an incredible perspective on our lives and suffering. And sho...

In this episode we look at the story of Job. This epic journey is widely considered the first book of Scripture ever recorded. The life of Job ebbs from triumph to tragedy. He is a man who God calls righteous but suffers through some the most tragic circumstances imaginable. Through it all, Job exercises his faith, a feat that fascinates angels. We will walk into the depths with Job and see how ou...

In this episode, we discover Jesus as the ultimate hero of our story and every story. He is the main character and the center around which the plot gravitates. Amazingly, Jesus invites us to be a part of His story, to share in His Kingdom and His glory. We are drawn to great tales because we see ourselves as participants in a meaningful adventure. Participating in God’s Kingdom involves overcoming...

In this series we explore life as an epic journey, a great tale, and a story of great significance. Our time on this earth is an adventure, filled with struggle and learning, hope and despair, love and loss. The roles we inhabit, the circumstances we face, and the characters we surround ourselves with are all opportunities to steward this great epic adventure. Beginning with Psalm 8 and traveling...

In this episode, we continue to explore excess in the story of The Prodigal Son. Both brothers are guilty of excessive foolishness. The younger brother experiences a certain kind of death because of his foolishness and the older brother a very different kind. God offers unconditional acceptance but a conditional approval. How we seek God’s approval and how we respond to HIs acceptance, affects not...

In this episode we discover what home is really all about and what the Bible says about abiding effectively. Using the famous parable of The Prodigal Son, we examine the journey of every human life. The Prodigal Son is a story of excess - the sons’ excessive folly and the father’s excessive love. Even when we hit rock bottom, when our folly seems beyond repair, we are God’s children. There is an o...

In this episode, we bring in the words of the apostle Timothy to help us as we close out our study of The Book of James. The final ingredients for how to win at life are revealed. Although wealth can be a burden, it is also an opportunity. And prayer has the power to transform everything. As we wrap up James, we talk about how to apply the lessons we have covered in the daily routine of our lives.

In this episode, we begin getting into the final chapter of James - chapter 5. It teaches about the way we pervert and misuse our opportunity to steward this one lifetime we have been given. James instructs us how to overcome these distractions and perversions through listening to God and caring for one another. 

In this episode, we explore the give and take of pursuing relationship with God. If we submit to God, he engages with us and blesses us. If we resist the devil, he will flee. As we draw near to God, he draws near to us. We will walk through a personal testimony of wisdom and obedience. Our days are limited and it is time to make our decision. Whom will we pursue?

In this episode, we continue through the fourth chapter of The Book of James. It will show us the impossibility of serving two masters. That it is not in our nature to let in just some of one thing and some of another. We must either choose God’s kingdom or this temporal world with its temporal promises. The choice is binary. Whom will we serve?

In this episode, we begin by talking through the metaphor of sacrifices seasoned with salt. We are the salt of the earth and are called to bring out the flavor of reality, to emphasize the truth of God’s created order. The Book of James tells us about two kinds of fire - the fire of judgment and the refining fire. One destroys and the other cleanses.

This episode begins by talking about Gehenna and what it represents. Then we move onto a brief teaching on hell, looking at scenes in the gospels that have key insights and speak to the message of James. The episode wraps up with a look at how we are tested by trials and refined with fire.

We have a deception problem. We believe too many lies and trust in too many idols. The only way to overcome deception is by being exposed to the truth. The Word and wisdom of God. In this episode, we talk about how to interact with the world constructively and inspect ourselves often. We do this so that deception does not reign in our hearts. In its place, we are called to trust God, to be salt an...

The third chapter of James gives us a significant key for how to do life well. In this episode, we discover that key and further explore the connection between believing and doing. There are two power sources inside of us, constantly wrestling for our commitment and attention. One is God and the other is the forces of evil - including Satan, the world, and our own flesh. The tongue is the gear shi...

In this episode, we explore the balance between mercy and judgment. We begin by jumping out of the Book of James to see what Paul has to say about judgment. We look more closely at the law of liberty and how it sets us free from judging other people. There are similarities between James and Paul’s letter to the Romans that help us discover the depths of truth behind these two significant character...

We begin this episode by rehashing some of the complicated issues in The Book of James. What seems like a contradiction on the surface can often be untangled with a bit of patience and perspective. We will compare the royal law, the law of liberty and the Acts 15 council. We’ll look at the words of James next to the words of the apostle Paul. how do we balance these complex truths and complex real...

In this episode, we investigate an objection that is raised in Chapter 2 of James regarding the dynamic between faith and works. James makes a powerful distinction between believing that God exists as a point of information and entrusting one’s life to him. One is an act of knowledge and the other an act of faith. To help with the delineation, we take a closer look at some of the giants of Christi...

In this episode, we look at the difference between living faith and inactivity. Beginning in Chapter 2, we continue to explore the famous question that James addresses: can faith and works be separated? Is it possible for one to exist without the other? Winning at life takes more than a morning devotion or weekly church attendance. Is it our works or our faith that saves us? What is the relationsh...