Episodes

Forgiveness seems like a simple word... until you start trying to define it. What is forgiveness, exactly? How do we do it? And what in the world are we supposed to do when we get hurt so badly that we feel like we can't? Chaplain Justin and Ansen break it down, discussing what we can learn about forgivness from both the character of God and the prayers of Jesus.

Being "non-judgemental" is a modern societal virtue. We recite phrases like, "Don't judge others," or "Don't judge a book by its cover." But what about when our sense of justice has been violated by someone else? Suddenly judgement seems appropriate. In this episode, Ansen and Chaplain Justin explore this tension as it relates to God's judgement. Why would a loving God condemn people to eternal punishment? Why would a just God forgive people who have greviously sinned?

The story of Noah's Ark raises several important questions. Is this story even historically plausible? Why do modern Christians treat it like a cutesy children's tale? Why would a loving God want to enact judgement on and destroy his creation? And perhaps most critically of all... why would we want to worship a God like that? Ansen and Justin take a fresh look at one of the most well-known stories in the Old Testament.

How should a Christian worldview shape our understanding of work and vocation? Ansen and Chaplain Justin discuss the tension between work being both a good creation of God, while also affected by sin and brokenness. Ultimately, God's ongoing redemption and restoration means work is a form of worship, both here on earth and on into eternity.

Ansen and Justin build off their previous discussion about the book of Daniel, pointing out that the New Testament calls Christ followers "exiles," comparing them to the Israelites in Babylon. So what does this status as exiles mean? Justin makes the case that a better understanding of what it means to be an exile can help us both look to the future with hope and live in the present with purpose.

There's some iconic Bible stories in the Book of Daniel. Maybe you've heard the one about the lion's den or the fiery furnace? But there's also some pretty obscure passages in this book about dreams, visions, disembodied hands, and even a king going mad and eating grass. Chaplain Justin and Ansen discuss how both the simple Sunday School stories and the confusing prophecies work together to drive home a larger point about the nature of God's kingdom.

Continuing the conversation from the past two episodes on Mark 9 and angelic beings, Justin and Ansen turn their attention to the broader topic of spiritual warfare. What battle is being fought, exactly? Who are the combatants, where are the battle lines, and what are they fighting over? And as Christians, what does it really mean to put on the armor of God?

In our last episode, Ansen and Justin discussed a story from the gospel of Mark involving demon possession. Some of the supernatural encounters with angels and demons described in Scripture can be... eyebrow raising. So what does the Bible actually say about angelic beings, and how do its descriptions differ from the way these beings are described in popular culture and art?

On this episode, Ansen and Chaplain Justin take a fresh look at the story in Mark 9:14-29, which contains one of the more famous verses in the Bible: a distraught dad crying out, "I believe; help my unbelief!" But... what does that mean, exactly? And what else can we learn from the context surrounding this story to make sense of everything that happens?

Words like meditation, mindfulness, or contemplation are sometimes viewed with skepticism within certain Christian communities. And yet, Scripture is filled with examples of people encouraging and engaging in these practices ("meditate on God's law day and night!"). So Ansen and Justin take a fresh look... what is Christian meditation or contemplative spirituality, and how might it benefit our relationship with God?

After discussing Doubting Thomas in the previous episode, Ansen and Chaplain Justin are ready to take on the subject of Thomas' doubt directly... the resurrection of Jesus. This central tenet of Christian belief is also one of the most miraculous and therefore hardest to believe, so what evidence is there to prove that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual, historical event?

Ansen and Chaplain Justin discuss the "Patron Saint" of the Faith Refresh podcast... "Doubting Thomas." How would you feel if you were given a nickname based on a single instance of questioning? Ansen and Justin make the case that Thomas, and even the concept of doubt itself, have gotten a bad rap. After all, Jesus himself responds to Thomas with compassion rather than condemnation.

When was the last time you had a serious conversation about a controversial topic that didn't end in a fight? Our cultural discourse has backslidden into toxicity, particularly online. Ansen and Justin discuss what the Bible can teach us about how to speak to one another with the right combination of conviction, gentleness, and respect.

Ansen and Chaplain Justin follow up on their previous discussion about Genesis 1 with a deeper dive into the often adversarial relationship between religion and science. Our hosts wade through church history, Biblical interpretation, the scientific method, philosophy, personal experience, and more on a quest to discover what it might look like for religion and science to be allies in our search for truth.

The creation account in Genesis 1 is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible, and yet even Christians can't agree on what it means. Ansen and Chaplain Justin discuss how applying a literary framework can help us see that the narrative isn't really focused on the mechanics of creation, but rather on exploring the nature of the Creator.

If Christians are "saved by faith," it's probably pretty important for us to understand what exactly faith is! Ansen and Chaplain Justin dissect the broadly used but often vaguely defined term through the framework of Biblical Theology. What is faith and where does it come from? And perhaps even more critically, what do we do when our faith seems defective or inadequate?

Reading the Bible can be confusing, and no genre of Biblical literature is more confusing to our modern eyes and ears than "apocalyptic" books like Daniel or Revelation. Ansen and Chaplain Justin break down what Apocalyptic Literature is, why it was written with so much figurative language and bizarre imagery, and how we as modern Christians can begin to make sense of it.

After getting a bit sidetracked with John the Baptist in the previous episode, Ansen and Chaplain Justin take some extra time to re-examine this compelling Bible character. Was this guy the ancient equivalent of a crazy street-corner preacher, or was there some method to the camel hair-wearing, locust-eating madness?

There's a lot of confusion and insecurity around the mechanics of baptism. Should we be baptized as kids or adults? By sprinkling or dunking? Does baptism save us, or is it just an optional rite of passage? Ansen and Chaplain Justin try to get to the heart of the issue, and find that perhaps more important than the "how" and "when" of baptism is the "why" and "who."

Scripture tells us to be holy as God is holy. But what does holiness mean? Is the Bible saying we must be good, righteous-acting people to earn God's favor? But if so, how do we live up to God's perfect standard? Justin and Ansen return to discuss both what holiness means and how we can attain it.

After the resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples on a beach and questions Peter about his love for Him. What was Jesus trying to do with this line of questioning? Was he just being passive-aggressive? Ansen and Justin discuss a beautiful truth that becomes apparent upon closer inspection of this story... that our passion and love for Jesus doesn't matter nearly as much as His passion and love for us.

What is confession, and why is it such an important part of practicing the Christian faith? Ansen and Chaplain Justin discuss how confession is so much more than just admitting all the bad stuff you've done. It's "agreeing with God" and telling the whole truth... not just about our character, but about God's... including has faithfulness to forgive and cleanse.

During the season of Lent, Christians around the world spend a few weeks in solemn observance of their own sinfulness and mortality. Sounds like a good time, right? But have you ever heard someone make the case that the Christian doctrine of sin is actually part of the good news of the gospel? Chaplain Justin and Ansen discuss what sin nature means for our lives and futures, and try to answer the question, "Is it really ok not to be ok?"

What do we do with the rather curious story of an oppressed slave-woman named Hagar and her "not the chosen one" son, Ishmael that we find in the book of Genesis? What do we do with Biblical "heroes" like Abraham and Sarah whose actions seem anything but "heroic?" And what can this strange story teach us about God's desires for the oppressed and marginalized nations and people groups of the world?