Rick and Svea answer your questions about truth.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:58 Loaded Questions takes on a different format from other messages
• 06:38 Why does truth matter?
• 10:51 Is it possible for Christianity to be true and other religions to be true?
• 15:05 How can we know Scripture is true?
• 19:06 In Scripture is it possible the authors were biased?
• 22:48 What do I need God for?
• 24:43 How can you discern if what you're hearing is from God or the devil?
• 26:48 Do you obtain knowledge at all? How do the disciples know they saw Jesus?
• 31:49 How do we know what denominations are teaching truth when they have different beliefs but are still using the Bible as the source of that belief?
• 35:41 The Apocrypha: Is it true and how is it distinguished from Scripture?
• 37:23 Jesus' mother, Mary.
• 39:38 I'm not a Christian for the perks, I'm a Christian because I'm convinced it's true.

Rick and Svea finish off the series on Galatians mostly focusing on burdens, loads, and pride.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 03:26 A LOT of diverse topics to cover is Galatians 6.
• 04:44 What resonated with Svea that she wasn't able to cover in this passage?
• 05:41 Carrying our own load and bearing each other's burdens.
• 11:40 God isn't calling you to fix the people who sinned against you.
• 17:21 I'm responsible for what I contribute, now necessarily how other people respond.
• 20:01 How do you tell the difference between someone caught in sin and someone doing something you don't like?
• 22:00 Presenting pride in the affirmative vs being the root of all sin (the pride Jesus died to forgive vs the pride commended in this passage).
• 29:14 Swinging on the pendulum of feelings of inferiority and superiority.
• 34:49 As Christians how do we engage with people and ideas that offer insight into human nature but are deeply hostile to the gospel?

Today Rick and Svea contrast works of the flesh with fruit of the Spirit.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:21 "Don't bite and devour each other..."
• 04:50 Defining ourselves by obeying rigid rules or religious structures invites comparison on who is and isn't achieving and breeds pride.
• 06:09 How might Jesus has told the parable of The Good Samaritan to Autumn Ridge Church?
• 08:16 If the Gospel stops messing with us, we're changing it; it's not changing us.
• 11:09 Paul was writing to believers, not unbelievers. Works of the flesh happen within church people.
• 13:38 We don't conquer works of the flesh by religious rule-keeping. Change happens by the Spirit growing Christ-like character in you.
• 17:04 Contrasting religious rule-keeping with living by the Spirit.
• 26:03 when we live by the Spirit, we can no longer stomach biting and devouring each other.

Today Rick and Svea look at the allure of certainty instead of clarity, creating environments where litmus tests are the norm vs being in Christ.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:46 Crawford Loritts was at Autumn Ridge Church.
• 03:31 Back into Galatians. Svea says it's a difficult book.
• 05:06 Gravitating toward environments and activities where we feel significant.
• 08:34 Getting into the shoes of a typical Galatian man.
• 11:29 Giving in to the allure of certainty instead of clarity.
• 13:25 Putting so much emphasis on circumcision.
• 15:55 Modern-day litmus tests to see if we're in the "in crowd."
• 16:43 We are people of the Gospel; being in Christ.
• 18:02 Being in Christ - can you lose your salvation?
• 22:06 Deconstruction.
• 31:08 Bad news. Good news.

Welcome to episode 100! Today, as they discuss Galatians chapter 4, Rick and Svea dig into having everything in Christ but living as though we have nothing.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:38 Episode 100: Where did the name "Church Is Messy" come from?
• 03:15 Galatians 4, we've been given everything in Christ but it's so easy for us to live as though we have nothing.
• 06:33 A specific example of how we get it wrong: conflict.
• 17:21 Paul leans in on conflict.
• 18:43 Adoption: the irrevocable security we have in our standing with God.

Today Rick and Svea acknowledge Galatians is a difficult book to understand, especially if we don't have an understanding of the Old Testament. They talk about tools to help gain understanding and spend some time discussing "the law".

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:32 Galatians is a hard book to get through and understand. Use tools like The Bible Project or The Message to help understand the deep content of Galatians.
• 09:05 Looking at Galatians 3, an understanding of the Promise, the law, and Jesus' role in them is crucial.
• 11:02 Understanding "the law."
• 13:29 Misconceptions about the law.
• 22:42 Galatians keeps driving us to stop trying to live by the structure of the law and following its rules but for our hearts to be so aligned with Jesus that he drives our behavior.
• 23:34 Ragamuffins.
• 27:21 Application of being one in Christ, recognizing our distinctions, and seeking to understand differing viewpoints.

This episode is focused solely on answering your questions. We've received four very different questions and today we're putting out this bonus episode to answer them.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:50 Question 1 - In Galatians 2 Paul specifically says gentiles don't need to be circumcised after following Christ - but yet he directs Timothy to get circumcised (Acts 16). This seems like a double-standard.
• 10:29 Question 2 - Jesus became sin for us on the cross. How can God become sin when he's perfect and can't even look upon sin?
• 15:50 Question 3 - What is the difference between an Apostle (capital "A") and an apostle (lower-case "a")?
• 22:44 Question 4 - How do you stay united with someone with whom you have a deep idealogical disagreement?

In this episode Rick and Svea dig really deep into gospel fluency vs gospel gibberish. The gospel isn't just trusting Jesus for salvation, it's trusting Jesus for and with the rest of your life.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:57 Garrison Keillor and fake spring.
• 02:29 "You foolish Galatians..."
• 04:49 The Christian life is NOT trusting Jesus for salvation and then living the rest of your life doing things on your own and following rules.
• 10:40 The problem with trusting in something or someone other than the Holy Spirit to fill the various "holes" in our lives.
• 14:52 Digging in: The gospel isn't just for salvation, it's for the rest of your life.
• 20:56 Series Thesis: The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Antithesis: The only thing that counts is self-reliance expressed through law.
• 24:32 Self-esteem: If you are in Christ you are fully-delighted in by God. Until you believe it, it's going to ring hollow and you won't experience the freedom Paul is talking about in Galatians.
• 30:52 The will power approach to life vs believing the gospel.