Real Bible Rob for Teens - Inclusive and Affirming Christianity Minister Rob Christ Podcast
Teens form their own faith as they grow. Engaging with the Bible is often confusing and frightening. This podcast helps young people approach the Bible with fascination and humor, allowing them to question and grow in faith. Harmful teaching is challenged, and young people are encouraged to move to an inclusive and affirming faith.
Episodes
30 episodes
Jesus lost. Was the cross a defeat or a triumph? Philippians 2:5-11
When I said “Jesus lost!” a few years ago thousands of people on social media got very angry and they told me so in the comments. But it’s true. It is the central part of what Jesus came to do. I like to say that the cross couldn’t be emptied u...
Don’t be pressured to evangelize. What being born again really means.
You don't have to accept the pressure that many Christians put on other people to evangelize. They will say "You must be born again to go to heaven!" or "if you aren't born again, you are going to hell!" The Bible in John 3:3 does not say that ...
Talking to people you disagree with: Redeemed Zoomer on YouTube
I spoke with Richard Ackerman, also known as the Redeemed Zoomer on YouTube, to the podcast. I really disagree with him, even though he is in the same kind of church that I am. He believes things in a way that I think are harmful. In this episo...
Should you worry about your non-Christian friends going to hell?
Salvation is the major concern of Christian teens. They look at all the people they love. Their family and friends are not all Christians, at least in the way they are told that they should be. It causes extreme worry. You might think, "What if...
Why did Jesus yell at Peter “Get behind me Satan" in Matthew 16:23?
It seems like Jesus is crazy. Jesus yelled out his angriest rebuke against Peter when he said "Get behind me Satan!" in Matthew 16:23 We are used to Jesus saying rough things to Pharisees and Scribes who were intolerable religious bullies. But ...
Biggest Problem in Christianity: “I’m better than you” thinking. How and when to pick fights.
When I said the American church must repent of its white supremacy & its colonialism, I got howls of resistance of two kinds. First was the individual response, They said, "Should I be responsible 4 what my ancestors did?" My answer w...
Nice and Gentle Paul. Really? Yes. Romans 12 and 13.
This is unexpected. Paul is done ranting and his urging becomes much more gentle in last chapters of Romans. If this seems weird to you, these chapters are also misused by Christians for some pretty aggressive things that Paul never intended. P...
Is Sin always about just you? Sins of the community. Sins of the nation.
You are told about your sin all the time by preachers and the church. It is really easy to get stuck into thinking that everything is personal. Your personal relationship with God. Your personal morality. Your personal sin. It is all on you. Bu...
Why was Peter so mean to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11?
Jesus showed mercy to Peter many times, especially when Peter did the awful thing of denying Jesus three times. We know Peter had a temper. He blurted out things. Jesus even told him to shut up in Mark 8:33, when he said "Get behind me Satan!" ...
What "Jesus Is Lord!" really means. Paul meant something different than we usually hear.
Jesus is Lord! What do you think when you hear that? Most Christians when they hear it in church say "Yes, right on!" But when I hear it on the street, or on social media, or when it is said about politics, I do a double-take. "Jesus is Lord" c...
Is the Bible real? Who Jesus really was and how we believe what is true
Lots of people fight over the reality of the Bible and God. Maybe you have thought, "Why should I believe in something that I can't even believe is real?" Many people say that God must be real. They say that the disciples would have never put t...
What is Sin? Can you control what you do? Lessons from Paul and Science
Sin is a hard topic because it makes us feel ashamed. It makes us worried about being saved. But most of all it is confusing. In this fascinating episode, I talk about the science of sin. Do we have instincts like animals? Do animals sin? Must ...
Humor of Paul’s Ranting in Romans. We are too serious.
People take the Bible way too seriously. By reading it out loud and you can see the humor . Paul was a master at using exaggeration to shake up his audience. He often uses "vice lists" where he throws the kitchen sink. Romans 1:18-32 is the fam...
Where is Home? Ezra and the Returning Exiles
The conquering of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was the worst thing that ever happened to the ancient Israelite people. Some of the people were dragged off to Babylon and many of them were left behind. For 50 long years, they were separated. The...
Tower of Babel and the Many Languages of Pentecost
The Bible is all about language. Many stories are about misunderstandings and whether people can understand each other. The Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 is at once a very old story and a story we can understand. Who hasn't been confused w...
Jesus and Eating Big Fish in John 21
Jesus had a lot more in common with the civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. than your typical pastor. This makes people uncomfortable, because they think there is no politics in the Bible. But they usually say this b...
What does it mean to Love your Neighbor?
God commands us to Love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and to Love our Neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said that every other law and rule in the Bible hangs on these two things. If you love God and you love your neighbor then ...
It's Greek to Me: Why knowing the languages of the Bible helps understanding it
The Bible was written in ancient languages long before we got it in English. English like we know it wasn't even around until about 500 years ago, but the Bible is over 2000 years old. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testame...
The Unknown God: Paul in Athens
The New Testament talks about Paul and his travels more than anyone else. In this episode, I talk about who Paul was and why he traveled so much. There are so many stories about Paul in the book of Acts, it is like a big adventure story. Shipwr...
Phoebe: the woman who carried Paul’s letter to Rome
In this episode, I tell about one of the most important people in the whole New Testament. There are only two verses about her, but her story is much deeper. She was the person who carried the letter to the Romans. This was Paul's most importan...
Listen to your heart and your mind: Proverbs 3:5 and Jeremiah 17:9
Can you trust your heart? Can you trust your mind? It's really important to know what this means. Sometimes you will hear Christians trying to convince you that your heart and your mind can't be trusted. They will use these two verses in a bad ...
Unforgivable Sin: Is it real? Should you fear it?
In this serious episode, I tell you about the most heartbreaking messages I receive from young people when ask me if they have committed the unforgivable sin. They worry they are doomed to hell because of blasphemy. I always wonder if it was a ...
Doubting Thomas was smart and careful, John 20:19-31
Thomas was one of the most impressive apostles for a number of reasons. Sometimes people feel bad about him because he told Jesus that needed to put his hands on Jesus’s wounds to believe Jesus had risen. But Thomas shows up 3 times in the Gosp...
Daniel and His Dreams
Daniel is such a fun book. It has the men with funny names thrown into the fiery furnace. They are saved without even the slightest burn and with angels appearing in the fire with them. It has Daniel thrown into the Lion's Den by the King in a ...
Moses and the 10 Commandments Do Over
Moses lost his temper and broke the first set of tablets. So God told him to do it all over again. The first set of tablets was made and written by God. The second set was made and written by Moses at God's direction. Why do it again? It is suc...