Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)

Christ Has Come – Week 2 Episode Title: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace Isaiah 9:1–7 In this Advent episode of Christ Has Come, Keith Harris walks through Isaiah 9 and helps us see the depth of God’s promise to send a Child who would be our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Isaiah spoke these words into a land drowning in darkness, fear, and oppression—yet he proclaimed that God Himself would shine light into their gloom through the coming of a King whose peace would never end. Together, we explore: * The darkness of Isaiah’s day—a people crushed by Assyria, trapped in fear, and running toward everything but the Lord for help. * The surprising promise of God—that the regions hit hardest by judgment would become the first to see salvation when the Light Himself arrived. * The identity of the promised Child, and how each of Isaiah’s titles points clearly and beautifully to Jesus. * The peace Jesus brings, not by removing us from the world’s brokenness but by stepping into it and reconciling us to God through His cross. * Why the peace of Jesus isn’t fragile or temporary, but rooted in His unchanging character, His finished work, and His everlasting reign. This week’s study reminds us that peace isn’t a feeling—it’s a Person, and that Person has come. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who enters our darkness, steadies our restless hearts, and promises to be with His people always. --- If you would like to see a written version of this study, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here [Christ Has Come – Week 2 Episode Title: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace Isaiah 9:1–7 In this Advent episode of Christ Has Come, Keith Harris walks through Isaiah 9 and helps us see the depth of God’s promise to send a Child who would be our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Isaiah spoke these words into a land drowning in darkness, fear, and oppression—yet he proclaimed that God Himself would shine light into their gloom through the coming of a King whose peace would never end. Together, we explore: The darkness of Isaiah’s day—a people crushed by Assyria, trapped in fear, and running toward everything but the Lord for help. The surprising promise of God—that the regions hit hardest by judgment would become the first to see salvation when the Light Himself arrived. The identity of the promised Child, and how each of Isaiah’s titles points clearly and beautifully to Jesus. The peace Jesus brings, not by removing us from the world’s brokenness but by stepping into it and reconciling us to God through His cross. Why the peace of Jesus isn’t fragile or temporary, but rooted in His unchanging character, His finished work, and His everlasting reign. This week’s study reminds us that peace isn’t a feeling—it’s a Person, and that Person has come. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who enters our darkness, steadies our restless hearts, and promises to be with His people always. If you would like to see a written version of this study, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.].

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)

Christ Has Come – Week 1 Episode Title: The Promised King & His Gift of Hope *Matthew 1:1–6, 16 In this Advent episode of the Refresh & Restore podcast, Keith Harris walks through Matthew’s genealogy and helps us see how God threads the gift of hope through the real, messy stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. These women—outsiders, sinners, the broken, and the overlooked—are intentionally highlighted in the lineage of Jesus to show that the promised King came for people just like them…and just like us. Together, we explore: * Why Matthew includes four unexpected women in Jesus’s family line—and how their presence highlights God’s grace. * The difference between vague, anxious human hope and solid, biblical hope rooted in the promises of God (Heb. 10:23). * How God’s faithfulness shines through human sin and suffering, bringing His redemptive purposes to pass through Tamar’s tragedy, Rahab’s past, Ruth’s loss, and Bathsheba’s sorrow. * How these stories point us to Jesus, the Redeemer who came into a broken world to save broken people (Luke 19:10). * The invitation of Advent: to wait with expectation, rest in the faithfulness of Christ, and cling to the hope secured through His coming, His cross, and His promised return. This episode reminds us that Jesus didn’t avoid human brokenness—He entered it, redeeming every story touched by sin with His mercy, and offering real, lasting hope to all who call on Him (Rom. 10:9, 13). If you would like to see a written version of this study, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here [https://justkeithharris.com/2025/12/03/christ-has-come-the-promised-king-his-gift-of-hope-a-refresh-restore-bible-study/].

Thankful: Learning to Number Our Days (Refresh & Restore)

📖 Psalm 90 In this Thanksgiving episode of Refresh & Restore, we opens Psalm 90—“A Prayer of Moses, the man of God”—and reflects on how the Lord has used a difficult season of illness, weakness, and recovery to teach him what it really means to number his days. This psalm doesn’t shy away from the heaviness of human frailty, but it also doesn’t leave us there. Moses leads us into hope, praying that God would satisfy us with His steadfast love and establish the work of our hands. Keith shares how those same prayers shaped his heart in a year marked by suffering—and how gratitude grew in places he didn’t expect. In this episode, Keith explores: ✔️ Why Psalm 90 is the “hinge” prayer for wise living ✔️ How God’s eternality brings comfort into our fragile lives ✔️ What it means to number our days—not by counting them, but by surrendering them ✔️ How suffering can awaken us to the gift of each day ✔️ Why God’s steadfast love is the source of true, lasting joy ✔️ How gratitude becomes the fruit of a heart shaped by wisdom This study is a reminder that a short life held in the hands of an eternal God is a life filled with meaning—and that thanksgiving is the natural posture of a heart satisfied in Him. 🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with the full Bible study text, you can find it here.

"Strengthen What Remains: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Sardis" (The KING is Coming)

📖 Revelation 3:1–6 In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison open up Jesus’s sobering message to the church in Sardis—a church with a good reputation but a dying reality. Jesus doesn’t offer praise; instead, He calls them to wake up and strengthen what remains before it’s too late. Together, Keith and Jamie discuss: ✔️ The difference between a spiritual reputation and spiritual reality ✔️ What it means to be alive in Christ rather than just looking the part ✔️ Jesus’s call to remember, keep, and repent ✔️ Why true repentance is more than words—it’s a whole-life surrender ✔️ The promise of walking with Jesus in white garments and never being blotted out of the Book of Life This letter pulls no punches. But it also holds out real hope—because Jesus is in the business of making the dead come alive. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:6) 🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here [https://justkeithharris.com/2025/07/23/strengthen-what-remains-jesuss-letter-to-the-church-at-sardis-a-refresh-restore-bible-study/].

"Hold Fast Until Jesus Comes: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Thyatira" (The KING is Coming)

📖 Revelation 2:18–29 In the longest of the seven letters, Jesus speaks to the church in Thyatira—a congregation marked by growing faith and love, but plagued by dangerous tolerance of false teaching. In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison unpack Jesus’s confronting and comforting words. He comes with eyes like fire and feet like bronze—both to purify and to establish His rule. In this conversation, we explore: ✅ How Jesus sees not just our actions, but our hearts ✅ The threat posed by the false prophetess “Jezebel” and the spiritual adultery she encouraged ✅ The promise that judgment is real—but so is reward ✅ What it means to “hold fast” until Jesus returns ✅ The hope of ruling with Christ and receiving “the morning star” Even in the face of deception and pressure to compromise, Jesus calls His people to remain faithful. His words echo through time: “Only hold fast what you have until I come.” 🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here [https://justkeithharris.com/2025/07/16/hold-fast-until-jesus-comes-jesuss-letter-to-the-church-at-thyatira-a-refresh-restore-bible-study/].