Fluent Grace Podcast

**DISCLAIMER** This podcast was recorded the week after the Super Bowl. Since Tim has to do all the editing and post production and doesn't really have the time or necessary skills it has taken this long to get published. In this episode Tim and Tyler discuss the two biggest cultural events in the world of sports to date in 2020; Kobe Bryant's death and the controversial Super Bowl Halftime Show. We specifically talk about how the Gospel should influence our response to these events, and how in the case of death the Gospel is our only hope when faced with the question of eternity.

We're back!! Our first episode of 2020 is finally here. Don't get too excited though... Tim had the flu, Tyler was at a coffee shop, and Collin was busy saving someones life so our first episode was all over the place. That being said, we're glad to be back and look forward to getting into a more consistent recording routine.

It's Christmas!! In this episode the guys bat around all things Christmas, from Elf on the Shelf, to Lifetime movies, to what about the Christmas story they find most amazing. From each of us, we hope you have had a great Christmas season, and may you live the other eleven months of the year in the reality that God sent his son to become Immanuel. Merry Christmas!! Tim, Tyler, and Collin

This episode was recorded before 28; we were just not able to get it published. Because of that, some of the content is a bit dated (it was recorded on Veterans Day). In this episode we talk through a listener submitted question on Psalm 25:10. Within the question we talk about God's love and faithfulness, along with our responsibility as followers of Christ as we respond to Him. This springboards us into a discussion of a number of other passages in the Psalms, all of which point to the faithful love of God.

The problem has been around since the beginning of time... why is there sin and evil. More specifically, did God create evil, does He orchestrate it, or as some might say, can He not even look upon it? In no way do we fully answer these timeless questions; in fact, we would submit that in many ways this is a subject that will never be fully understood until we are living in eternity with Jesus. Still, we will always try to answer an honest question and so in this episode we discuss the problem of evil, and talk about whether or not God can even look upon sin.

In this episode, we discuss denominations. Is there one that is right and all the others are wrong? Are they all basically the same thing? What's the difference between them? While none of these get answered exhaustively we touch on them and leave you with our thoughts on how we should approach those who may be part of a different denomination than we are. We also touch on the difference between a cult and a denomination, AND we define what Lafoying would be.

In this episode the guys talk about celebrity Christians. What should our response be when high profile celebrities with questionable lifestyles turn to Christ? What about celebrity pastors? We talk specifically about the recent conversion of Kanye West, and the profession made by Justin Bieber in recent years. The reality is that we are all saved by grace, regardless of our level of celebrity. If Christ is being proclaimed, as Paul said in Philippians 1 we rejoice!!

This week we are re-posting one of the episodes we published a few months ago related to salvation. The doctrine of salvation is a non-negotiable for one desiring to follow Christ, but what about predestination and election? How do we make sense of something that has been discussed and even argued about for thousands of years?

If we were to make a list of the most confusing or misunderstood verses in scripture, John 12:25 would definitely be on the list. One of our students asked about this verse, specifically if Jesus is telling us to hate our life. In this episode we interact with the verse and hopefully provide a bit of clarity around this admittedly strange statement.

In this episode we answer a question that has been submitted to us related to James chapter 1. We talk about the context of wisdom in this passage and how we should approach God in requesting this wisdom. We also draft our three ingredient Subway sandwiches and have a new segment called "Someone argues something stupid." You don't want to miss out!!

Let’s be real. Sometimes sin is just more appealing or attractive than Jesus. Why is that? And what are we to do when faced with a situation like this? Tim and Tyler discuss these questions, both from the perspective of a believer, and from the perspective of one who is struggling to make the life changing commitment to Jesus.

A lot of times we know the right answers but are unsure how those answers should apply to daily life. In this episode we talk about some ways the Gospel should be practically evident in the day to day life of a student. Not only a student though, the question of living the Gospel is something we all have to wrestle with and figure out how to do it in a way that brings honor to Jesus. As a bonus question, we had a live audience this week and were asked if it was possible to love someone without liking them. Check out the episode to see how we answered!!

We are officially twenty episodes into our podcasting journey and we have loved every minute of it. In this episode we give a shout out to the 50 countries that have listened over the past couple months, AND we enjoy something that has not happened in any of the previous 19... a studio audience. On top of that we talk through our disgust of handkerchiefs, our perplexity at TSA regulations, and our frustration at those who harmonize when singing happy birthday. Oh, and we talk about church marques signs, phrases Christians probably shouldn't use, and the worlds longest birthday cake. We packed a lot in so give it a listen!!

In this episode Tim and Tyler discuss more verses that are often used out of context. We all know them; we all probably use them, but as followers of Christ we have a responsibility to properly read and speak of God's word. In Ephesians 6 we are told that God's word is our only offensive weapon against the devil, but scripture taken out of context is not only a weak weapon, but can also paint an inaccurate picture of Christ to an unbelieving world.

Scripture is essential in the life of a believer. Scripture taken out of context though can be used to justify most anything, even things that clearly do not line up with the rest of God’s word. In this episode we run through some of these verses and talk about ways in which they are taken out of context, along with giving the full context and a brief meaning of the passages. We also introduce a new game where we try to determine if a news story is from Mississippi or the Onion... just for fun.

One of the hardest doctrines to understand in all of scripture is the doctrine of predestination, or election. In this episode we jump into that discussion, though in full transparency even we do not fully understand it. The one thing we do fully understand is that salvation is a gift from God and whether you believe in predestination or not that fact doesn't change. Salvation is only possible because of Jesus, his sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection to new life. Unless we get that piece right, everything else is wrong.

One of the hardest questions in the Christian life is why does God allow trials and temptations. Actually the question is easy; it’s the answer that is hard. We see things from our limited human perspective, and through that lens it sometimes appears as if God doesn’t really care about us, or even that God isn’t truly good. How do we deal with this question, and how should our answer affect how we live?

Let’s be honest; Life is hard. More specifically, life is really hard for teenagers. How does one in that season stay consistent as a follower of Christ, especially with all of the distractions that come with it? In this episode we talk about some of the challenges of being a Christian teenager, and explore what a genuine relationship with God really means.

The topic all students want to hear about is sex. So we talk about it. Unlike most platforms that broach this subject however, we do not talk about the do's and don'ts. Rather, we talk about the reason behind the "rules" and how we can honor Christ in this area. We also talk about how we should respond in the event of a broken relationship; be it a romantic break-up, or any other relational split.

Life would be a whole lot easier without having to deal with other people. But then again, most things are easier when you can just take care of it by yourself. The reality though is that we can’t live under a rock for very long, and we have to be in relationships with those around us. In fact, the very reason we were created is to be in a relationship. Our earthly relationships, easy or difficult, are meant to picture the relationship between God and man. In this episode we talk about how to navigate some of the more difficult aspects of being in relationship with other people, specifically when they hurt us.