Resident Strangers

This episode focuses on silent Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter. It's not a day that is typically recognized. Have you ever stopped to think about what that day might have been like? We know the end of the story but those that were there in that time had to face whether what they had been told about the resurrection was true. What we can gather from scripture is that those who...

This episode focuses on the events of Good Friday. Steve walks us through a timeline of that day, starting very early in the morning on Friday. The episode ends with a reading of John 20:30-31. John recorded the events in this book to persuade us to believe that Jesus truly is the Messiah. We hope this helps you to reflect on your belief in Jesus and the magnitude of the cross.  If you are local t...

Today's episode focuses on John 13:1-14 (NIV). Rich gives us some background on what some know as Maundy Thursday. This is a remembrance of the night that Jesus spent with His disciples. An amazing thing to draw out from this passage is that Jesus washed His disciples' feet. His care for His disciples was so evident, He loved them until the very end. He even washed Judas' feet knowi...

Today's episode focuses on Luke 21:1-13 (NIV). It is Wednesday of Passion Week and in a little over 24 hours Jesus will be betrayed. In a little over 48 hours, He will be on the cross. We see Jesus' care and compassion for others as He tells this story of the widow. There is nothing small in the eyes of God when it is done in a heart of faith. As Jesus talks of His second coming, He is r...

Today's episode focuses on Matthew 22:15-40 (NIV). The people bringing the questions in this passage were trying to trick Jesus and yet He handles this masterfully. He answers the questions in a way that conveys the truth to not only His audience then but to us living now. This is a passage that has been referenced in many episodes of Resident Strangers. In these answers we see that Jesus is...

Today's episode focuses on Mark 11:11-17 (NIV). There should have been fruits of repentance; the fruit of embracing Jesus as Messiah but there wasn't. Jesus knew where this was going as He saw the lack of fruit. In a lot of ways Jesus was giving last warnings to Israel to repent in the days leading up to the cross. We cannot allow things in our lives to become more important than the wor...

Happy Palm Sunday! Today's episode focuses on Matthew 21:1-9 (NIV). Jesus came on a lowly donkey knowing that what was ahead of Him was a very humiliating death. It's also interesting to stop and consider that those who praised Him so greatly on this day were the same ones who would shout "crucify Him" just five days later.  Would you please subscribe and leave us a review? Thi...

With Passion Week approaching Steve and Rich wanted to share some special devotionals on the Resident Strangers podcast as we prepare our hearts for Easter weekend. Starting today short 5-10 minute episodes will be released every day until Sunday, March 31st to help center your heart on scripture and gratitude for Jesus and His sacrifice. Today's episode focuses on John 12:1-3 (NASB). Would y...

Baptism is the focus of today’s Resident Strangers conversation! Sarah, Steve, and Rich share their own baptism stories, including Rich’s unique journey of being baptized as an infant and then later as a teenager after placing his faith in Christ. What does infant baptism mean? Can it be considered believer’s baptism? Steve unpacks why this topic can create confusion, especially when it comes to s...

Rich and Steve jump right back into the conversation of eternal security. If you did not listen to last week's episode you should catch up before joining in on this one. Rich brings some clarity to some passages that some might use to argue the idea of losing salvation. Steve brings clarity as well getting into some specific contexts certain passages were written in (you may want to take note...

In this week's episode Steve and Rich cover something that is crucial for believers to understand. It has a lot to do with our identity and our security in Christ. It is also something that is heavily debated amongst Christians even to this day. Eternal security is what is being discussed and if you haven't listened to the last two episodes on salvation, we would highly encourage you to...

On Resident Strangers this week Steve and Rich pick up discussing the question Sarah threw in last week; what happens to babies when they die? Since we're born alienated from God how do we process things like infant death and those who die with severe mental handicaps? We think this part of the conversation will fill you with hope and a better understanding of God's grace. They then shif...

This week on Resident Strangers Steve and Rich begin covering a very weighty and important topic. This week's episode is all about salvation. Everything that has been discussed on this podcast so far has almost been leading to this very point. Man apart from God, left to himself, is without hope. There is no denying that there is a need for salvation. The Bible tells us that every single one...

Steve and Rich continue their discussion on humanity starting off with the topic of sin nature. Rich immediately goes into why he thinks the phrase "sin nature" should be renamed and thought through differently. His reasoning has to do with translation of the original words and understanding of scripture. Don't worry, Rich and Steve break it all down for us. Another question that co...

On today's episode Rich and Steve are diving into the crown jewel of creation - humanity. It seems as though all creation points to being a place for humanity to flourish in. How incredible to think that we as humans are made in God's image. But does being made in God's image specifically point to physical bodies? What does it mean to have a soul? Steve and Rich break down what bein...

Happy Birthday to our co-host Rich! 🎉🎉 This week, Steve and Rich continue the discussion on angels and demons, mainly focusing on the characteristics of Satan. One of the major ways that Satan attacks is through lies and that can appear in a lot of different ways. We see this first in the Garden of Eden when the serpent asked, "did God really say that?" Steve points out that in Ephesia...

This week on Resident Strangers Steve and Rich open a discussion about angelology - angels and demons. Unfortunately, most Christians get their understanding of these topics from culture. However, Rich does point out that when it comes to studying angels and demons in the Bible, we don't have many passages that are super clear. Though there can be important things to learn from studying angel...

Steve and Rich continue last week's discussion on eschatology, the rapture, the Millennial Kingdom and Jesus' return. If you didn't listen to last week's episode, we would highly recommend that you do that before diving into this week's conversation as there is a lot of context you'll need. Today's episode starts with Sarah sharing a cringey story from 8th grade,...

This episode is the first part of eschatology, the study of things to come. This will be a two part episode so make sure you listen closely and plan to come back next week! Two major topics are covered being the Millennial Kingdom and the rapture (can you see why we needed two parts?). From a doctrinal perspective this is one of the most important things we're covering as it goes to how you v...

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first episode of Resident Strangers in 2024. Steve, Rich and Sarah join together to talk about new year traditions and of course how to start the new year centered in the Lord. In some ways New Year's Day is just another day, right? But it is certainly a good excuse to become self-reflective and think about what God has called us to be. As followers of Christ, i...

Merry Christmas from us at Resident Strangers! This will be the last episode of 2023. But don't worry! Steve, Rich and Sarah will be back in January 2024 with some great episodes to kick off the new year. Christmas Day will be here before we know it and in this episode Steve and Rich encourage everyone not to miss the importance of Christmas in that it is when Jesus came for us. If you think...

Steve and Rich are back to it this week talking about the ascension. This is a very theologically significant event. The first thing that is significant about the ascension is the fact that His work in salvation was completed. The ascension also reminds us that heaven is a place - Jesus had to go somewhere! The future hope provided through the atonement is seen through this. Furthermore, the ascen...

Happy Thanksgiving! With this episode being released the week of Thanksgiving, Steve and Rich wanted to take a moment to talk about the practice of thanksgiving from a theological perspective. Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday? Something we do know is that somewhere along the way Christians did have a desire to set aside specific and intentional time to give thanks to God for His blessings. As a...

This week Steve and Rich continue their discussion on the resurrection, specifically highlighting the incredible value it has. The latter part of 1 Corinthians 15 is referenced throughout this episode so we would encourage you to familiarize yourself with it. How does the resurrection affect your life today? Can you answer that? The resurrection affects everything about our lives. It is crucial th...

Today on Resident Strangers Steve and Rich are covering the hallmark of the Christian faith and that is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Have you ever thought about what it would mean if Jesus did not rise from the dead? It is not possible to overstate how important the resurrection is for all of Christianity. This is a central issue of our Christian faith that cannot be comprised or disputed. St...