- 52 minutes 23 seconds"The B-I-B-L-E" by Jeff O’Rear
292 | Seven Sermon Summer Surfin’ Spectacular | Stand Firm on the Word of God
Surf's up for another installment of our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular! This week, our buddy Jeff O'Rear returns to take us back to Sunday School basics with a fresh look at a classic VBS childhood song: The B-I-B-L-E. In a digital age where the Scriptures sit on our smartphones right alongside social media, games, and house-hunting apps, Jeff asks a searching question: Do we treat the Bible as just another self-help book or convenience app, or do we revere it as the living Word of God? Moving from the delight of the blessed man in Psalm 1 to Ezra's three-step blueprint for spiritual leadership (study, do, teach), this sermon challenges us to rediscover the gritty depth of Bible stories, move past "first and second opinions," and stand firmly on the sufficient, inspired scriptures.
The Big Idea: The Bible is not merely a self-help manual or one app among many on our screens, but God's inspired, complete, and sufficient Word.
Show Notes
- Judson Road Church of Christ (WEBSITE)
- The Law of the Lord is Perfect (PASSAGE)
- Delighting in the Law (PASSAGE)
- Ezra Set His Heart (PASSAGE)
- Inspired and Sufficient Scripture (PASSAGE)
- Preach the Word in Season and Out (PASSAGE)
31 July 2026, 1:23 am - 50 minutes 2 seconds"When You’re Spiritually Dry" by Emerson Brown
291 | Seven Sermon Summer Surfin’ Spectacular | Find Hope and Refreshment
Surf's up for another entry in our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular! This week, guest speaker Emerson Brown joins us to tackle a deeply relatable reality every Christian faces: seasons of spiritual drought. When prayer feels like a routine, worship lacks spark, and Sunday mornings feel exhausting rather than refreshing, it’s easy to worry that our faith is slipping away. Drawing from the raw emotional landscape of Psalm 42, Emerson shows why feeling dry isn't a sign of lost faith — it's an invitation to honest lament. From learning how to speak truth back to our own downcast hearts to discovering spiritual survival tips from backyard squirrels navigating ten inches of snow, this lesson equips us to stay anchored in faithful routines until the rain returns.
The Big Idea: Spiritual droughts are a natural part of walking with God, and experiencing them is not a sign of failed faith.
Show Notes
23 July 2026, 6:22 pm - 40 minutes 58 seconds"Every Perfect Gift" by Ryan Goodwin
290 | Seven Sermon Summer Surfin’ Spectacular | Peel Back the Layers of God's Grace
Grab your sunscreen and a cold glass of homemade watermelon agua fresca — the Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular is rolling on! This week, guest speaker Ryan Goodwin joins us to unpack a fascinating question: Why does James 1:17 make a distinction between "every good thing given" and "every perfect gift"? Through a beautifully illustrated lesson with Grandpa's baseball mitt, a hand-forged Roman iron spike, and a set of custom Russian nesting dolls, Ryan breaks down "the gift behind the gift." We'll explore how our human craving for sentiment, beauty, and relational depth completely dismantles pure materialism and serves as an undeniable, built-in proof of God's existence. Get ready to peel back the layers of God's perfect gifts!
The Big Idea: While "good things" satisfy our immediate physical needs, "perfect gifts" point directly back to our Creator.
Show Notes
16 July 2026, 10:36 pm - 49 minutes 29 secondsJames Inside-Out | "There You Are"
289 | Build a Whole Faith
What if faith isn’t mainly about what you know or what you say, but what’s happening inside you that inevitably works its way out into your everyday life? To close out the season, we’re diving into the book of James for a deep look at “blue-collar,” inside-out Christianity. With a high-stakes lightning round of “Jesus or James,” we see how heavily James borrows from the Sermon on the Mount. Then, we pull back the hood on all five chapters to map out how a wholehearted faith radically reframes our trials, transforms our words, and exposes the inner wars driving our outer conflicts. From practical tracking strategies in the brutal heat of life to using the tongue as a mechanical steering lever, this episode is a diagnostic check for the soul. Plus, stick around for a quick look at the road ahead as the show gears up for the Seven Sermon Summer Surfing Spectacular and a major cross-country studio relocation!
The Big Idea: Real faith transforms the whole person from the inside out, producing practical obedience.
This Week's Challenge: When relational friction or personal irritation bubbles up this week, pause and trace the outer conflict back to its inner root.
Show Notes
25 June 2026, 2:59 pm - 25 minutes 13 secondsMini: Imagining Home | "Eutychuses Everywhere"
288 | Think of Your Eternal Home
When you close your eyes and imagine eternity, does it feel a little fuzzy, blurry, or — dare we say — boring? Too many of us treat our final destination like a vague cloud-land instead of the vibrant home it’s actually designed to be. Inspired by a late-night question from Ryan’s daughter and a beautiful womb analogy, this mini-episode takes a sledgehammer to the misconceptions of the afterlife. We’re kicking open the door to Revelation 21 and 22 to look at the powerful “negatives” that reveal a beautiful positive. From the erasure of the chaotic sea and restrictive temples to the end of night, pain, and death, we explore how our eternal reality is filled with absolute access, deep relationships, and the ultimate joy of seeing Christ face-to-face. It’s time to stop settling for a blurry hope and start daydreaming about our true forever home!
The Big Idea: The Bible gives a clearer picture of the world to come than we might realize, letting us envision our future with happy hope.
This Week's Challenge: Take time to daydream about your “forever home” with the Lord.
Show Notes
19 June 2026, 12:57 am - 48 minutes 3 secondsPaul Upside-Down | "That Doesn't Make Any Sense"
287 | Live the Upside-Down Life
What does real strength look like in the kingdom of God? We live in a world obsessed with a scorecard of independence, power, polish, and visible success. But in this episode, we dive into 2 Corinthians to look at Paul’s completely inverted, upside-down life. From the shocking historical context of a Roman triumphal procession — where we discover we are actually the captured slaves walking behind the Conqueror — to the fragile reality of being a literal “shoebox” holding a priceless treasure, Paul flips our ideas of success completely on their head. We explore how to stop obsessing over “fixing the jar” and learn to embrace our thorns, our cracks, and our weaknesses so that Christ’s power can fill all things.
The Big Idea: Grace turns our lives upside-down by freeing us to embrace weakness, sacrifice, and self-giving so that Christ’s power and glory can shine through us.
This Week's Challenge: Identify a current weakness, physical limitation, or frustrating trial in your life, and explicitly hand it over to God in prayer — shifting your focus away from trying to make yourself look invincible and toward letting His grace be sufficient.
Show Notes
11 June 2026, 7:22 pm - 50 minutes 34 secondsBlueprint for Unity | "We Just Say Stuff"
286 | Build the Body
We’ve all been part of a nightmare group project — whether it’s pulling an all-nighter sleeping on a lab floor or surviving a high-stress church event that tests your marriage. But while human collaborations constantly break down, Ephesians 4 gives us a flawless, practical blueprint for spiritual unity. This week, we’re diving into Jesus’ high priestly prayer to see what a “Trinitarian union” actually looks like in everyday church life. We talk about the difference between creating unity and maintaining what the Spirit already built, how to tell a load-bearing truth from a personal opinion, and why church leaders are more like sports coaches equipping a team. Finally, we look at what it means to “truth in love” so you can stop behaving like a relational wrecking ball. Strip off the masks, pull up a chair, and let’s find out where our churches need to grow!
The Big Idea: Christ provides the guidance and gifts we need to maintain unity.
This Week's Challenge: Identify the specific grace and spiritual gift Christ has given you, and take one practical action to use it for the vulnerability, communication, or building up of your local congregation this week.
Show Notes
4 June 2026, 5:09 pm - 23 minutes 14 secondsMini: Grace’s Unlikely Community | "Receive Your Face"
285 | Reclassify Strangers Through Shared Grace
We naturally drift toward people who look, think, and vote like us because echo chambers are comfortable. But the gospel does not find a community that fits; it creates a family out of people who do not. In this mini-episode, we play the “Galatians 3:28 Sledgehammer Game” to see how God's grace smashes through first-century status and identity walls. From the radical social reclassification of Philemon and Onesimus to the barrier-breaking dinner tables of Peter and Cornelius, we look at how grace functions as the ultimate social leveler. We also discuss historical insights from Pliny the Younger, an ancient prayer turned completely on its head, and what it practically means to be a “face receiver” in our modern, divided culture. Grab your sledgehammer and let's pull up a chair to grace's unlikely community!
The Big Idea: Grace doesn't just forgive isolated individuals — it reclassifies enemies and strangers into an uncommon family.
This Week's Challenge: Audit your relationships this week for any "scorecards" you’re keeping on someone and consciously "burn the list" by finding one way to receive from them as an equal contributor in Christ.
Show Notes
28 May 2026, 6:38 pm - 48 minutes 9 secondsGrace in the Old Testament | "So Good, You Are the Worst"
284 | Experience the Grace of the Old Testament
Think the Old Testament God is all thunder, lightning, and judgment while the New Testament God is all gracious and loving? Think again! This week, we're diving into the exact moment God defined Himself right after Israel's absolute worst failure — the golden calf incident. It turns out Exodus 34:6–7 is essentially the "John 3:16 of the Old Testament." We pull apart deep Hebrew concepts like “rachum” (visceral, gut-level compassion) and “hesed” (loyal, covenant love), explore why Jonah tried to weaponize God's goodness as a complaint, and discover that Jesus isn't a shift from the Father — He's the perfect, face-to-face reflection of who God has always been.
The Big Idea: God’s grace isn't a New Testament update, it is the heartbeat of his character from the beginning.
This Week's Challenge: Before you check your phone in the morning, let the God of Sinai define his heart toward you: merciful, gracious, and abounding in steadfast love.
Show Notes
- Watch Episode 284 (VIDEO)
- God Declares His Character (PASSAGE)
- Jonah's Complaint About Mercy (PASSAGE)
- Draw Near for More Grace (PASSAGE)
- Full of Grace and Truth (PASSAGE)
- He Will Rejoice Over You With Singing (PASSAGE)
21 May 2026, 8:06 pm - 41 minutes 32 secondsBracket Winner: Esther | "I Put On an Audiobook"
283 | Walk by Faith Not Sight
Our Bible bracket has a winner, and it's none other than the cinematic, high-stakes Queen of Persia — Esther! But why is God's name totally missing from the script? This week, we're geeking out on the "shadow cabinet" of the Persian court, looking for the fingerprints of a God who works through insomnia, coincidences, and "reverse cards" to save His people. Whether you're dealing with your own Haman or feeling stuck in exile, Esther’s story reminds us that silence doesn’t mean absence. Ready to see how God's hidden hand is at work in your own "for such a time as this" moment? Tune in study with us!
The Big Idea: God’s providence is often hidden, but his character is certain, and that’s enough as we walk in faith.
This Week's Challenge: Look back at your own life and identify the "dominoes" where God’s hidden providence worked through seemingly random circumstances to bring about a good outcome.
Show Notes
14 May 2026, 11:30 pm - 43 minutes 34 secondsRescuing Romans 7 | "Retrain My Brain"
282 | Find Hope in the Struggle
Ever feel like you’re stuck in a loop of doing the very things you hate? This week, we’re joined by our friend Allen Greeley to tackle what some call the “Mount Everest of Pauline issues”: Romans 7. From a debate that started on a ski lift to a deep dive into the “already, not yet” of our adoption as sons, we’re looking at how to navigate the very real struggle with sin without losing our hope in Christ. Whether you see Paul as a struggling Christian or a Jew under the law, one thing is clear: chapter 7 only makes sense when you flip the page to the "no condemnation" victory of chapter 8.
The Big Idea: Christians don’t lead a life of sinless perfection, but of Spirit-led hope, power, and grace amid the struggle.
This Week's Challenge: Read Romans 7 and 8 back-to-back this week, noting how every "wretched" moment in chapter seven finds its resolution in the "no condemnation" of chapter eight.
Show Notes
7 May 2026, 4:54 pm - More Episodes? Get the App