When Your Worst Mistake Becomes Your Identity

When Your Worst Mistake Becomes Your Identity

In this episode, Scott Sauls explores the difference between guilt and shame through The Scarlet Letter, Genesis 3, Brené Brown, Brennan Manning, and the mercy of Jesus. Shame says, “I am something bad,” and it drives us to cover, hide, and fear being fully known. But from Eden to the cross, Scripture tells a better story: we cover ourselves badly, but God covers us truly. If you have carried a scarlet letter of your own, this episode offers a gospel-centered reminder that in Christ, you are fully known, fully loved, and no longer left hiding. ADDITIONAL LINKS: The Mercy King: https://tinyurl.com/3prx4wp3 Website: https://linktr.ee/scottsauls [https://linktr.ee/scottsauls]

My Most Personal Book So Far

In this episode, Scott Sauls shares personally about struggles like perfectionism, drivenness, shame, and the exhausting attempt to find worth through achievement. He also shares the invitation Jesus gives to every overextended, over-functioning heart: to stop striving for an approval that has already been freely given. Drawing from Psalm 23, Luke 15, and themes from his newest book, The Mercy King, this episode is for anyone who has succeeded and still felt empty, failed and wondered if God was disappointed, or carried shame while struggling to receive grace. The good news is not that we finally run hard enough toward God. It is that his goodness and mercy have been pursuing us all along.

Words I Wish I Hadn't Said

In this episode, Scott Sauls explores why gossip can feel satisfying in the moment while quietly damaging the soul. Drawing from Scripture and personal experience, he looks at the difference between healthy processing and sinful gossip. When does venting become gossip? Why do we use another person’s failures to manage our own hurt? And how can confession, repentance, and the grace of Jesus lead us toward healing? The path out of gossip is not merely trying harder to control the tongue. It begins with honesty, confession, and receiving the grace of God that refuses to perpetuate sins He has already forgiven. Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 16:28; Psalm 141:3; James 3:6; James 5:16.

We All Want Justice (Until We Don't)

We all demand justice until it shows up at our own front door. In this episode, Scott Sauls works through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, the bishop and the silver candlesticks in Les Misérables, and the cross itself, drawing on Fleming Rutledge, Isaiah 53, and Psalm 130. The real question underneath every cry for fairness: are you willing to receive what justice would require of you, or would you rather be rescued by mercy? VIDEOS: http://youtube.com/scottsauls [http://youtube.com/scottsauls] ADDITIONAL INFO: Website, Essays, Socials: http://scottsauls.com [http://scottsauls.com]

The Sickness That Poses as a Virtue

Workaholism is the most socially acceptable addiction in our culture. Nobody stages an intervention for it. Nobody tells you to get help. Instead, we get rewarded with raises, promotions, and applause. In this episode, Scott Sauls draws from his forthcoming book The Mercy King (Zondervan, June 2026) and a clinical study from the University of Bergen to expose what compulsive working actually is: a slow form of self-enslavement. Scott also describes the three chapters of the workaholism story many of us are living inside, and the invitation Jesus offers to anyone who feels tired from their own striving. VIDEOS: http://youtube.com/scottsauls [http://youtube.com/scottsauls] ADDITIONAL INFO: Website: http://scottsauls.com [http://scottsauls.com] Essays: http://scottsauls.substack.com [http://scottsauls.substack.com] Socials: https://linktr.ee/scottsauls [https://linktr.ee/scottsauls]