Stop Preserving What Needs to Die: The Resurrection Power We Keep Postponing | #92

Stop Preserving What Needs to Die: The Resurrection Power We Keep Postponing | #92

In Mark 16, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb with spices to anoint Jesus’ body. They love Him. They are faithful. They show up when others have scattered. But they are still expecting a corpse. Their question is simple: “Who will roll away the stone?” And when they arrive, the stone has already been moved. In this episode, Zach, Jill, and Brandon talk about why the resurrection is not only a future hope or an apologetic argument, it is power for life right now. Jesus didn’t just die so we could be forgiven and wait for heaven. He rose so that resurrection life could begin breaking into the present through the Holy Spirit.

Christian Nationalism? The Bible, America, and How They Go Together | #91

What does Scripture have to do with politics, culture, America, and how we live in public? In this episode, Zach and Brandon pause before finishing the Gospel of Mark to discuss a timely and complicated question: How should Christians think about authority, culture, Christian nationalism, and the public witness of the church? The conversation begins with the authority of Scripture, and what happens when God’s Word confronts our assumptions, preferences, or cultural moment. From there, they unpack why Western civilization cannot be understood apart from the Bible, how Christian ideas shaped movements like abolition and public education, and why phrases like “Christian nationalism” often need careful definition before they can be meaningfully discussed.

Looking At Church Hurt For What It Actually Is and How To Process It | #90

Ashley joins the podcast for the first time, and the conversation turns toward something many people know too well: church hurt. But instead of using that phrase as a blanket accusation against the whole body of Christ, Zach, Jill, Brandon, and Ashley discuss what it really means to be hurt by broken people inside the church, and how Jesus can still heal what people damaged. They share pieces of their own stories: church planting, betrayal, firing, isolation, NDAs, spiritual confusion, and the temptation to “burn it all down.” But they also discuss the moment that changed everything: choosing silence instead of retaliation, prayer instead of accusation, and building a community for Jesus instead of against the people who hurt them.

Seeking The Lord In The Darkness: How To Manage Difficulty And Faith (Mark 15) | #89

We talk often about the death and resurrection of Jesus, but what about His burial? In this episode, Zach and Jill discuss why Jesus' burial is not just an “in-between” moment. It is part of the gospel itself: death, burial, and resurrection. Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was looking for the Kingdom of God, takes courage and asks Pilate for the body of Jesus. And the women, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, watch where He is laid, becoming key witnesses to what happens next.

Rushing Through Trials: You May Be Missing What God Is Saying (Mark 15) | #88

In this episode, Zach, Jill, and Brandon discuss why the cross is bigger than a one-time transaction. In Mark 15:21–39, Jesus is led to Golgotha, mocked by the crowd, crucified between two criminals, and abandoned in darkness. He cries out the opening line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And then, when He breathes His last, the curtain of the temple is torn from top to bottom. Yes, Jesus pours out His blood for the forgiveness of sins, but He is also opening the way back into the presence of God, fulfilling the temple, revealing the true King, and showing us the way of sacrificial love. The cross is where Jesus dies for us, dies ahead of us, and opens the way for us to participate in the life of God.