What do you do with a Bible story that doesn't sound like the God you know? In Ezra 9–10, a godly, Bible-loving priest orders a mass divorce, sending vulnerable women and children away, and the book just ends. Was he right? Wes McAdams and Barrett Bingham wrestle with one of Scripture's most troubling passages: how to tell when the Bible is prescribing and when it's merely describing, what the prophet Malachi might say about it all, and why well-meaning, God-fearing people so often make bad situations worse. Plus, listener questions about staying friends with someone practicing demonology, wrestling with sins committed after baptism, and loving LGBTQ neighbors without compromising the truth. If you've ever read a Bible story and thought, "That can't be right," this conversation is for you.

This week's full sermon, "Ezra Rebuilds the People," can be found at: https://www.ccmcdermott.org/sermons/ezra-rebuilds-the-people/

Ever feel like you did everything right, and it's still not enough? The returned exiles rebuilt the temple, but it didn't look like the good old days and they didn't live happily ever after. Sound familiar?

This week Wes and Matt discuss Sunday's sermon, and a new series through Ezra and Nehemiah called Unfinished Business. They talk about how disillusionment quietly slides into discouragement and distraction. They dig into why churches — and individuals — reach for what's easy instead of what's hard, what it means to hold grief and joy in the same hand during worship, and why every generation is tempted to believe its moment is the grand finale. If you've ever wondered whether faithfulness is worth it when nothing seems finished, this conversation meets you there.

This conversation was prompted by the sermon, "Zerubbabel Rebuilds the Temple" (preached Sunday, July 5). You can find that full sermon here: https://www.ccmcdermott.org/sermons/zerubbabel-rebuilds-the-temple/

"I'm trying to forgive myself," it's something many of us have said. However, here's a question that might stop you cold: where does the Bible actually tell you to forgive yourself? In his Father's Day sermon, Wes made the case that it doesn't. That may sound controversial until you realize how freeing it is to realize that you don't have the authority to extend forgiveness to, or withhold forgiveness from, yourself.

In this episode, Wes and Barrett unpack that surprisingly liberating claim from 1 John 1:5–10. If you're stuck replaying old failures, trying to convince God you're worth saving, or wondering whether your sin is somehow the exception, this conversation could be incredibly encouraging. The way out isn't self-forgiveness, it's self-forgetfulness.

This conversation revolves around the sermon, "Don't Freak Out When You Mess Up." Which can be found at: https://www.ccmcdermott.org/sermons/when-you-mess-up/