Jesus was political- but he was not partisan.

In this episode of the Truth and Way Podcast, we explore what it means to take the politics of Jesus seriously without turning Christianity into an extension of a political party, ideology, candidate, or nation.

The Kingdom of God has real consequences for how Christians approach power, justice, the poor, the stranger, our enemies, and the common good. But the kingdom does not give us a party platform. Instead, it gives us a way of evaluating every political system and every claim to power.

Politics can accomplish real good. But no election can bring resurrection, no government can create the Kingdom, and no political leader is the Messiah.

We participate because we love our neighbors. We hope because we belong to the Kingdom. Faith that confronts empire, Hope than transcends it.

Living the Kingdom in the Midst of Empire

What if the church was never meant to conquer the world, control the culture, or become an institution competing for power?

In this episode of the Truth and Way Podcast, we explore the church as an alternative society- a community living in the present according to the future God has promised.

The church;s calling is not to become powerful enough to rule the world. it is to become faithful enough to show the world another way.

Faith that confronts empire. Hope that transcends it.

Across the world, questions of national identity, borders, culture, and belonging are once again shaping political movements. But why now? And what happens when identity becomes closely tied to fear and the pursuit of power?

In this episode, we explore the resurgence of nationalism through the lens of empire, examining how uncertainty can strengthen identity, how fear can reinforce political systems, and why the Kingdom of God offers a fundamentally different understanding of belonging.

Rather than rejecting national identity, the episode asks a deeper question: What happens when any identity becomes ultimate? The teachings of Jesus invite us into a community that transcends fear, resists empire, and finds its deepest identity in the Kingdom of God.

Faith that confronts empire. Hope that transcends it.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Power, Wealth,and the Global Pattern

Political revolutions often promise freedom, equality, and a new beginning. Yet history repeatedly shows that power has a way of concentrating again- sometimes in monarchs, sometimes in governments, and increasingly in economic and financial elites.

In this episode, we explore how modern oligarchies emerge, why wealth and influence have become defining features of today's global order, and how economic systems can reinforce patterns of empire. Rather than focusing on one nation or ideology, we examine the broader structures that shape power acoss the world.

From a Kingdom perspective, followers of Jesus are called to recognize these patterns without putting their hope in them. The Gospel offers a vision of human dignity and community that stands apart from every empire- past and present.

Faith that confronts empire. Hope that transcends it.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Empire does not take only one form- it adapts to history, culture, and identity. In this episode, we turn to the Russian Federation and explore how faith, power, and national story have become intertwined in a different- but familiar- way.

From the vision of a "Third Rome" to the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, and into the present day, we trace how systems of control, identity, and meaning continue to take shape. What happens when faith returns to public life- not apart from power, but alongside it?

This is not about one nation alone. It is about recognizing a pattern. Because across different contexts, the same question emerges: where does the Kingdom of God stand in relation to every empire?

And the answer invites us to see more clearly- and to live with a deeper, more grounded allegiance.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Few places carry the weight of history, faith, and identity like Israel. But when modern political realities are given theological meaning, the question becomes more complex: are we understanding the story- or elevating it beyond what it was meant to carry?

In this episode, we begin widening the lens beyond a single nation, exploring how faith and power can become intertwined. Looking at the theology often used to interpret Israel today, we ask how the New Testament reframes the promises of the past- and what happens when theology is used to justify politcal outcomes.

This is not a call to dismiss history, but to see it more clearly. Because the Kingdom of God is not confined to land or borders- it is a reality that moves beyond them, reshaping how we understand belonging, identity and hope.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

As the world around us feels increasingly uncertain, the question becomes unavoidable: what actually holds?

In this episode, we bring together everything we've explored- empire, identity,and formation- and turn toward something deeper. If so much of what we rely on can be shaken, where does real stability come from?

The Gospel does not point us back to what once felt secure. it points us to a Kingdom that cannot be shaken- one built on power, control, or outcomes, but on the faithfulness of God.

This is not a cll to withdraw, but to lie differently. To become a people shaped not by fear, but by hope. A people who engage the world as it is, while rooted in what God is it toward.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Coming off a season where identity, symbols, and shared stories are powerfully reinforced, it's worth asking a deeper question: how are we being shaped?

In this episode, we explore how influence works beneath the surface- through media, emotion, repetition, and the subtle formation of identity. What we often call "information" is not neutral. It forms how we see, what we feel, and what begins to feel like common sense.

Looking at what Jesus called Mammon, we consider how systems of value- centered on power, control, and accumulation- shape our perception of reality without us even realizing it.

But it is not a call to withdraw. It is an invitation to become aware- and to rediscover a freedom rooted not in reaction or reinforcement, but in truth, community, and a different way of being.

Credits:

• Music: 'Passage Of Time' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
• Scripture: Revised Standard Version

Links:

• Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailto:tcotton@truthandway.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://substack.com/@truthandway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠