Radical Grace/the Lutheran Difference

Brothers and Sisters, are you obsessed with end times?  Does ever prophecy that comes out of the mouths of today's would be prophets keep you glued to the edge of your seat?  Does Harold Camping make you salivate?  Does Global Warming and the prediction of future destruction by the likes of Al Gore make you giddy?  Does news of dwindling resources and Martial Law make your stomach quiver?  Well, you my friend, are likely an "Apocoholic".  In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, we turn our problem over to a the Highest power.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, We talk about Math.  Yup, you read that right.  It's a simple formula, one that can easily destroy a Christian.  A = God's will for your life.  B = God's blessings.  If performing A Leads to B, then performing A squared leads to B squared, right?  But B hasn't been worked out properly and like Pi hasn't been fully expressed nor can it be fully expressed.  So in response, we give a framework for understanding the Gospel.  You read that correctly too.  Listen to find out why it's important.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

This edition of Radical Grace Radio is contagious.  Literally, if you were in the studio with me that is.  Pastor makes fun of me and my voice.  Admittedly I sound terrible.  So today's show was a stream of consciousness show about the Image of God, the Olympics, the Curiosity Rover, Life on other planets, what would happen to theology if life were to be discovered on other planets.    Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

On this week's Radical Grace Radio we talked about an article by Brian Housman on the Christian Messenger website titled "Reasons why teenagers abandon Christianity!"  It was an insightful article with some rather damning conclusions, and since nearly all the church everywhere is deeply concerned about this issue, we thought it was important. Click here to read the article. Pastor also has a few things to say to everyone about "getting filled with the Spirit"...  Another topic that in the last one hundred has never left the minds of Christians.  After all, if we could all just get filled up, we could fix a lot of problems, right?   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

In this week's Radical Grace Radio, we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the shooting in Aurora Colorado, and address the topic of Making Sense out of Suffering.  Again, the talk is "how could God allow this to happen?"  We give our answer, but more importantly we offer help for coping with this and other tragedies in our lives.  For those touched by the events in Aurora, our hearts and prayers are tuned to lift up your situation to God in this difficult time.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Is the so called "Sinner's Prayer" Biblically valid?  Is there really a way to know that you are saved?  Did you know that the way to know that is connected to your baptism?  This edition of Radical Grace Radio investigates the Southern Baptist Convention, the Sinner's Prayer, Decision theology, and more.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Does our lack of faith have any effect on Jesus' ability to do what he promised?  Is our sinfulness something that can stop God from doing all the good things he wants to do in this life for his children?  More trouble has been caused in the last 20 years by this teaching that just about anything else, so Pastor Gary is intent on destroying this stronghold, for good.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio we analyze an incident that occurred in Dearborne Mich, where a group of Christians were stoned by Muslims...  or so the story goes.  But more importantly we examine a situation where a Synagogue leader named Jairus has a problem:  His daughter is dying and Jesus is standing around listening to a long drawn out story about blood and doctors.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, we talk about Seeds...  You know, Mustard Seeds, Abraham's Seed, stuff about the Reign of God.  Powerful seeds in fact, powerful enough to take over the garden...  and the fact that those seeds are carried by highly breakable jars of clay.  People just like us.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

The church at large has always been rife with those who would manipulate people, and these days are no exception.  In this edition of Radical Grace Radio we talk about some of the stupid things that happen in our own church body along with the stupid things going on in Evangelicalism.  Just to be fair, because there's been plenty of stupid to go around of late.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Reverend Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach in Florida has decided to hang Barack Obama in Effigy outside his church...  Is it just us, or as time goes by is there more and more just stupid stuff going on in the name of Christ?  Pastor Gary and I have challenged Terry Jones and his best pick to a Cage Match that will be on pay per view live streamed on Youtube.  Because?STUPID SELLS!   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1It's easy to abuse Christian Freedom, no so easy to use it wisely.  Again, anyone's ability or inability to live a proper Christian life has no bearing on their adoption as Children of God.  However it can have a lot of bearing upon our neighbors, which is why we're taking on this topic.    Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Who could be on the radio the day before Memorial Day and not talk about Memorial Day?  So that's what we did, but we also talked about the Valley of Dry Bones from Ezekiel 37, and how that which Ezekiel saw was a beautiful vision of what Jesus did for us.  There's just no way of getting tired of this stuff!   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Someone objects to "Radical Grace" because it sounds too much like "Gnarly Grace".  So in response, we get Gnarly with Christian living by telling you how to just stop sinning because that will apparently make everyone feel better and whatever...  So stop sinning!  Stop it!  Just stop!  That's how you stop.Now, when you have found that even that simple advice doesn't work, Let's talk again about why God's grace is so important, not as a power source, but rather as God's divine mercy towards you.  That grace never stops.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

How can the Christian life be about abiding the love of Jesus today, and how is it relevant to giving meaning for a Christian life?  Seriously folks, there's a Doctrine for everything in the Christian's life, and all of them have something do with what Jesus has done, is doing or will do.    Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

People are so worried that their Christian life is Mediocre that they'll do anything to improve it.  So Christian Self Help books are all the rage, iPods and iPhones are filled to the last bit of ram with Sermons and teaching Mp3s, and everyone goes here and there searching for that magic ingredient that will make the Christian life really take off.What if it's more simple than that?  What if it's as simple as joining a local Congregation?  Where else are you going to find the Christ if not with his people?  And finding him, don't you then believe that your Christian life will improve?  I'm not going to say this edition of Radical Grace radio will change your life, because we're not really trying to change your life.  We're merely pointing out the obvious here.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Bill Marallo of Adoptions Services joins us to talk about "re-parenting", and we of course talk about in terms of God re-parenting us.  A lot of people think of "sanctification" in a lot of weird ways, but try listening to this program for a better perspective.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

So the person you're witnessing to doesn't believe in God or Hell.  What do you do?  You could try to make him feel guilty under the law, but he doesn't believe in any of that.  Now what?  On Radical Grace Radio we talk about what you could do besides just give up.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

The most common way of evangelizing these days is to ask this question of people:  If you were to die tonight, where would spend eternity.  In this show we submit to you that this is categorically the wrong method of persuasion.  In fact, I personally think that the approach of asking "where will you spend eternity" does nothing but appeal to our narcisim.  But this is exactly the problem.  We've been trained by the world to think of things in terms of how it benefits us, how it impacts our lives, so much so that any other way of thinking is deemed as backwards and irrelevant.  But how do you begin to offer a corrective to this viewpoint?How about proclaiming "the kingdom" like Jesus did?    Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Do those words bore you?  "He is Risen!"  I was reading an article that was Newsweek Magazine and in the Huffington Post where the Author (More about him next week) keeps referring to Jesus as though he's not around anymore.  "He was" and "If he were here"...  even though this guy swears he believes in Jesus' divinity and the Resurrection he keeps talking about Jesus as though he were dead.  No.  HE...  IS...  Risen!  Three important words.  Let's talk about the Gospel.  Let's talk about Christ raised from the dead.  Yeah, let's do it.  I like this plan.