231 | Can Christians Talk About Politics?

231 | Can Christians Talk About Politics?

With cultural tribalism, division, and anxiety at an all-time high, public life has become incredibly fraught. Too often, the Christian witness is tarnished when the allure of power and the desire to be on the "winning team" overshadow our primary allegiance to Jesus. In this first episode, Calum Shaw and Matt Sones launch a new stand-alone series aimed at evaluating what a mature political witness looks like for a Christian. Together, they break down a working definition of politics, address the paradigms of pursuing change through law or love, and introduce the 7 Layers of Political Discourse to help us have healthier, more humble conversations In this episode: * What is “politics”? Moving past simple voting to understand how communities organize power, resources and rules. * Law and Love: The paradigm of how change happens and our tendency to misplace our expectations. * 7 Layers of political discourse: Why political conversations collapse when we view complex issues through a single, reductionistic lens. LINKS & RESOURCES Companion PDF Guide: Single Page [https://www.northridgerochester.com/s/Christians_and_Politics-PDFResource_EP1.pdf], Spreads [https://www.northridgerochester.com/s/Christians_and_Politics-PDFResource_EP1-spreads.pdf] Submit a Question: Got a question you want answered on the show? Submit it here: https://forms.gle/faT1hp7kngFv1NkA6 [https://forms.gle/faT1hp7kngFv1NkA6]

Bonus: Can We Even Be Here? | Nate Bantle | The Egypt Trip

In our final bonus episode of The Deliverer, Nate Bantle and Drew Kaschner reflect on the highs, lows, and everything in between from the Egypt trip. Tune in to hear the tense moments, the unexpected lessons, and how they learned the lessons of the series they were about to teach on. Sunday’s Message [https://youtu.be/ArbhT3cV174]

230 | The Unlikely Road to Freedom and the Struggle to Embrace It.

What happens after you’re finally free? In this episode of the Deliverer series, host Calum Shaw and Drew Karschner dive into the complex reality of life after liberation. We often think of freedom as a destination, but the transition can be overwhelming, confusing, and even harder to embrace than the struggle itself. Drawing from the journey of the Israelites leaving Egypt, we explore: * The Muscle Memory of Sin: Why our minds and bodies often cling to old patterns even after the chains are broken. * The "Other Side" of Deliverance: Navigating the instability and regression that can happen on the road to redemption. * Finding Jesus in the Mess: Understanding that the path to true freedom is rarely a straight line. Sunday’s Message [https://youtu.be/ArbhT3cV174]

Bonus: Falling Off The Mountain | Javi Torres | The Egypt Trip

Less than half of Americans have a passport. Much less travel transatlantically. For Javi, this was his first time out of the country. How does someone who hasn’t experienced a foreign country’s culture and food do on an intense filming trip? Let’s just say hummus is a takeaway. Sunday’s Message [https://youtu.be/gE9IPxSgft4]

229 | How Does God Get Your Attention?

Is God still "flexing" today, or have we just stopped paying attention? In this episode of A Little Better, Drew and Calum dive into one of the most intense showdowns in history: God vs. Pharaoh. We often think of the ten plagues as random natural disasters, but they were actually a calculated, direct assault on the false gods of Egypt. We’re asking the hard questions: If the plagues struck modern-day America, what would those "gods" look like? How do we know if we are accidentally playing the role of Pharaoh in our own lives by ignoring God’s wake-up calls? In this episode, we discuss: * The Collision of Power: Why God appeared to be "toying" with the most powerful man on earth. * The Hardened Heart: How to identify when you’re ignoring God and what Moses teaches us about interacting with difficult people. * The Firstborn Plague: Wrestling with the "meanness" of the final plague and seeing it through the lens of eternity. * Freedom’s Cost: How a 430-year wait ended in a release that foreshadowed the ultimate Passover Lamb—Jesus. Whether you’re in a season of waiting for your own "430-year" relief or you’re trying to understand the character of God in the Old Testament, this conversation explores how the God of the Exodus is the same God pursuing your heart today. Sunday’s Message [https://youtu.be/gE9IPxSgft4]