Scripture First
Episodes
381 episodes
We’re All Sinking Peter | Matthew 14:22-33 with Sarah Stenson
In this episode, we ask a difficult question: Why would Jesus send his disciples straight into a storm he knew was coming? As the wind drives them farther from shore and fear overtakes them, we discover that the real battle isn't against the wa...
God’s Limits Are Not Ours | Matthew 14:13-21 with Lars Olson
In this episode, we ask what happens when your needs exceed your resources. As Jesus feeds the five thousand, the disciples reach the end of what they can provide, but Christ refuses to let their limitations set the agenda, revealing instead a ...
Election vs Pre-Destination | Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 with Dr. Chris Croghan & Sarah Stenson
What if every one of these parables is describing the same thing from a different angle? In this episode, Jesus paints a picture of a kingdom that grows like a seed, spreads like yeast, captures you like hidden treasure, and frees you from the ...
If God is Good, Where Did All the Weeds Come From? | Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode, we ask one of the oldest questions: If God's creation is good, where did all the weeds come from? As Jesus unpacks the parable of the weeds, we discover that the real temptation isn't simply evil in the world—it's our desire to...
Don’t Be a Fruit Inspector | Matthew 13:1-23 with Sarah Stenson
What if the parable of the sower isn't really about where the seeds land after all? In this episode, Jesus turns our attention away from measuring our faith, improving our hearts, or worrying about how much fruit we're producing, and instead po...
Why Doesn’t Jesus Remove Our Burdens? | Matthew 11:16-19,25-30 with Lars Olson
In this episode, we ask Lars Olson, “If Jesus gives rest to the weary, why does he invite us to take his yoke instead of removing our burdens altogether?” We learn what makes Jesus' yoke easy and his burden light. All things have been handed ov...
Whoever Receives You Receives Me | Matthew 10:40-42 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode, we wrestle with one of Jesus’ shortest promises and one of our biggest temptations: turning the Gospel into a formula we can control. As Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me,” we explore how the kingdom of God comes no...
Are Not Two Sparrows Sold for a Penny? | Matthew 10:24-39 with Lars Olson & Sarah Stenson
In this episode, Jesus prepares his disciples for a hard truth: the Gospel often provokes conflict, not comfort, and a sword, not worldly peace. Yet woven through these warnings is a repeated promise—“Do not be afraid”—because the kingdom of Go...
Preaching vs Teaching | Matthew 9:35-10:8 with Sarah Stenson
In Matthew 9 and 10, Jesus looks out at a world of harassed and helpless sheep and responds not with more demands, but with compassion and the proclamation of the kingdom. In this episode we explore the difference between teaching and preaching...
Mercy, Not Sacrifice| Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In Matthew 9, Jesus walks straight past the people who think they have it together and calls a tax collector, dines with sinners, heals the unclean, and raises the dead—revealing what God actually desires: mercy, not sacrifice. In this episode ...
What Does God Want From You? | Matthew 28:16-20 with Lars Olson & Dr. Chris Croghan
On Holy Trinity Sunday, we step into Matthew 28 where the risen Jesus gathers doubting disciples on a mountain in Galilee and gives them the Church’s mission. In this episode we wrestle with the the Trinity—not as a human invention to explain G...
Clear Proclamation, In All Languages | Acts 2:1-21 with Lars Olson & Dr. Chris Croghan
On Pentecost, the promise Jesus made becomes reality as heaven crashes into earth with violent wind, tongues of fire, and a Word so powerful it overwhelms every other voice. In this episode we explore how the Holy Spirit doesn’t arrive as a vag...
The Scriptures Tell You Who You Are | Luke 24:44-53 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In Luke 24, after the resurrection and before the ascension, Jesus once again tells the disciples that everything in Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms was always about him—and then he does what they could never do for themselves: he opens the...
Are We In Control of Our Hearts? | John 14:15-21 with Sarah Stenson
In this episode we drop into Jesus’ farewell discourse in John 14, right after betrayal and denial are on the table, and hear a line that’s often twisted into a condition: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We unpack how, in conte...
You Need to Be Caught to Be Set Free | John 14:1-14 with Lars Olson
On the night of the Last Supper, with betrayal and denial looming, Jesus speaks directly to troubled hearts—not with a plan to fix themselves, but with a promise grounded entirely in him. In this episode, we wrestle with how the disciples keep ...
In the Sheepfold | John 10:1-10 with Lars Olson & Sarah Stenson
In John 10, right on the heels of exposing the Pharisees’ blindness, Jesus shifts the image and declares that there is only one way into the sheepfold—and it’s not through climbing, striving, or proving yourself. In this episode we unpack how h...
The Road to Emmaus | Luke 24:13-35 with Dr. Chris Croghan
On the road to Emmaus, two disciples walk away from the empty tomb confused and disappointed, even after hearing the resurrection preached to them. In this episode we see how Jesus meets them in their blindness, draws out their unbelief, and th...
MY Lord and MY God | John 20:19-31 with Sarah Stenson
Behind locked doors in John 20, fearful disciples cling only to the word of Mary Magdalene—until Jesus himself stands among them and speaks, “Peace be with you,” a Word that does what it says. In this episode, we trace how that same living Word...
You Killed Jesus | John 18:1-19:42 with Dr. Chris Croghan & Lars Olson [Replay]
This episode is going to be a little different. No background music. No closing summary and calls to action. Why? Because we’re grappling with the question, “Why did Jesus have to die?” in this conversation. Dr. Chris Croghan and La...
What Does Maundy Mean? | John 13:1-17,31b-35 with Lars Olson & Sarah Stenson [Replay]
In the first of two Holy Week bonus episodes, Lars Olson and Sarah Stenson break down what Jesus meant by giving us a new commandment to love one another in this Maundy Thursday text. Jesus demonstrates true humility by washing His ...
He is Not Here | Matthew 28:1-10 with Lars Olson
On Easter morning in Matthew 28, we arrive with Mary Magdalene expecting death, but instead the earth shakes and a new creation breaks in where the crucified Jesus is no longer in the tomb. In this episode we resist the urge to soften the shock...
Everyone is Convicted | Matthew 27:11-54 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode we stand at the cross in Matthew 27, where every voice—religious leaders, Pontius Pilate, the crowd, and even the guilty—joins in accusing Jesus, and no one walks away innocent. As Christ refuses to justify himself and remains s...
Jesus Doesn’t Keep You From Dying | John 11:1-45 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode we walk into the tomb at Bethany and confront a story people often soften into empathy, when it’s really a preview of why Jesus came—to conquer death itself. As Martha and Mary hope Jesus might have prevented death, he instead d...
How Blind Are You? | John 9:1-41 with Lars Olson
In this episode we watch Jesus do what Luther says Christ always does: use the law to uncover real sin, then speak a promise that creates faith, revealing himself as the great “I am” who gives living water as pure grace. As the Samaritan woman ...
Jesus’ Rhetorical Question | John 4:5-42 with Sarah Stenson
In this episode we watch Jesus do what Luther says Christ always does: use the law to uncover real sin, then speak a promise that creates faith, revealing himself as the great “I am” who gives living water as pure grace. As the Samaritan woman ...