Episodes

No one enters into a marriage from the beginning with plans for the relationship to fail, but the unfortunate reality is that more than half of marriages in the USA end in divorce. Marriage is hard. It is also true that couples who spend even 2 hours in premarital counseling cut their likelihood of getting a divorce in half. Pastor Adam and Steph discuss the importance of identifying potential weaknesses, being clear about non-negotiables, and bringing in an unrelated third party to talk about t...

In an age where we can access the world's finest orators and preachers with a simple click, it is very easy to shop around for the perfect church to attend. There is beauty in the diverse expressions of faith and worship in Jesus, and it's good when you find something that lines up well with your preferences. Even so, Pastor Adam and Steph caution against hopping from one church to another instead of plugging in and committing to a local church community. Listening to the best sermons online eac...

If we are being honest with ourselves, there are many frequent questions and circumstances that make us doubt the existence of God. At the very least, these things make us doubt that he cares about us, or that things in the Bible are really true. Many people see doubt as a sign of weak faith, but whenever genuine followers of Jesus came to him with questions he did not reprimand them. Jesus always gave his followers just enough to prove God is trustworthy. In this episode, Pastor Adam and Steph ...

Pastors want to see people grow into deep, meaningful relationships with God and others. They desire people to have a strong, developed understanding of scripture and to live in the ways that God has instructed, as that is what is best for humanity. According to Pastor Adam, there are many common pitfalls that he has observed people slipping into time and time again. The goal of this series is to share the things he would urge listeners to do or avoid. This week, Pastor Adam and Steph encourage ...

To tease the start of a new series, Pastor Adam and Steph reveal the title and topic of the episodes to come. *Scripture referenced in this episode: 1 Peter 5:1-3, Hebrews 13:7

Politics. Even the word itself has become evocative, stirring up strong emotions in many who hold firmly to their views on policies, leadership, and morality. As the United States of America approaches another presidential election, Pastor Adam and Steph offer a series of questions we can ask ourselves to see where our true allegiances lie. Are we being misled by the sneaky golden calf of politics, or are we putting our trust in Jesus and allowing his teachings to be the filter by which we shape...

It is good for people to have positive relationships, be they platonic, professional, or romantic. On the other hand, when the relationship becomes the ultimate concern in our lives it creates a problem of controlling our thoughts and actions. Thus the relationships we have with the people closest to us can become a sneaky golden calf. To help us keep our priorities straight, Pastor Adam and Steph refer to the command of Jesus to love God above all else, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. *...

Every person, when faced with enough hurt, shame, regret, loneliness, or stress is susceptible to falling into the tight grip of addiction. We can become addicted to all sorts of things. Unfortunately, these addictions take positions of power and cause more harm than good. Although the sneaky golden calf of addiction may leave us high and dry, Pastor Adam and Steph seek to reveal how Jesus Christ is the long-term solution for dealing with human struggles. *Scripture referenced in this episode: R...

One of the most common sneaky golden calves in our culture is money. Not that money is objectively evil; it can be a great resource to accomplish all sorts of good in the world. However, when the pursuit of money becomes the most important thing in our lives it makes it impossible for us to earnestly serve God. With this in mind, Pastor Adam and Steph talk about the idolization of money, and how to practice gratitude and contentment. *Scripture referenced in this episode: Matthew 6:24, 1 Timothy...

Reputation is a double-edged sword, and it can easily become a sneaky golden calf. When speaking of a person's reputation, we are often describing how their character is perceived by others, which is closely tied to whether the person is well-liked or not. As we read our Bible, we find both passages that encourage having a good reputation, and passages that give caution to being liked by everyone. How do we reconcile the two? Pastor Adam and Steph help us break down the differences between activ...

The value of success, particularly career success, is instilled in us from a very young age. There are those of us who are driven to achieve, to become the best we can be, and we want to accomplish it by almost any means necessary. The value of success and career climbing can become a sneaky golden calf in our lives when we don't take the time to humble ourselves before God. Pastor Adam and Steph remind us that even the most successful people can lose it all in a moment. It is the Lord who gives...

Being a parent is a great gift and honor. For those who have children, their kids are a joyful piece of life, and nothing seems more important than making sure their sons or daughters have the best there is to offer. It's not wrong to love your children. The problem is that sometimes our love for our children can easily overshadow our love for God and our commitment to Him. We can find ourselves worshipping another sneaky golden calf without realizing it. Pastor Adam and Steph discuss the danger...

In the first episode of a new series called "Sneaky Golden Calves," The Messy Walk Podcast host, Steph, is joined by her husband Jonathan as they talk about idols that we commonly have without realizing it. This week's episode focuses on the sneaky golden calf of entertainment. Oftentimes the things we enjoy are not inherently sinful, but our desire to be entertained can become more important to us than our need to spend time with God. With a little intentionality we can pay closer attention to ...

In today's episode, Pastor Adam and Steph share details about future episodes of The Messy Walk Podcast. This includes the title of the upcoming series, the topics that will be covered, and ideas for the following series.

Not everyone has been a bully, and not everyone has been bullied before, but the odds are that most people have at least witnessed someone else being bullied. There is always a bystander in every bullying situation who sees someone else being mistreated. When faced with such a situation, what is the bystander to do? Pastor Adam & Steph give an example of someone from the Bible who we can take inspiration from. David was a young man of no influence who saw his people being bullied, and he chose t...

Being a victim of bullying is hard. It can make a person feel defeated and resentful toward the bully and even themselves. Sometimes it feels inescapable. What is a victim to do when they are constantly being pestered? Pastor Adam and Steph take us back to scripture to show us what Jesus taught is the appropriate response to bullies. The goal is to repay evil with good. We are not told to allow ourselves to be a doormat or pushover, not are we told to fight back or retaliate in harmful ways, but...

No one can be bullied unless there is someone to bully them. We know that bullies pick on people they perceive as different from themselves in some way, but the question is: why? The truth is that hurting people often hurt other people. In this week's episode, Pastor Adam and Steph talk about the continuous cycle of bullying among those who have been bullied before, and they discuss how to repent of the sin if you realize the bully is you. God is personally offended by the mistreatment of other ...

Bullying is not limited to kids on the playground, nor does it always involve stealing someone's lunch money. There are many different ways people are bullied, and it is a frequent problem in all age groups. This week's episode is the start of a new series about bullying, and about understanding the four players involved in each bullying situation. Pastor Adam and Steph first talk about the "outsider," which they define as those who are vulnerable to being mistreated. Rest assured that God cares...

The Bible is in a lot of ways complex, yet there are also many things detailed in scripture that seem to fall outside of the natural order of things. Miracles, paradoxes, odd stories, controversies, and a plethora of difficult commands are all inside. It's enough to sprout seeds of doubt in the mind, and to cause skeptics to ask, "Is everything in the Bible really true?" Pastor Adam and Steph take this episode of the podcast to remind us that, while it is good to seek knowledge and wisdom, the m...

Do other people care about me? Each of us has asked this question from time to time. Maybe it seems like people are only nice in order to gain something, or maybe it feels like people pay no attention at all. In any case, this is a question that puts us at the center of our own world. On today's episode, Pastor Adam and Steph explain why we should change this self-centered question to one that helps us think more like Jesus. Instead of asking, "Do they care about me," we should ask, "Do I care a...

We all sin, and we have all done things that weigh heavy on our conscience. Guilt keeps us from enjoying the life we have, and it disables us from being truly free. Because we know that we have messed up, we ask, "Does God forgive me?" Jesus's answer to that question is an emphatic "Yes!" However, there are times when we just don't feel forgiven, and it is during those times when we must change that question and ask, "Do I forgive myself?" This week Pastor Adam and Steph dive into the topic of f...

When thinking on what actions to take, what career to pursue, or any other big decision, we might feel pressure and ask God, "What do I do?" It is good to seek God for guidance, yet sometimes it is helpful to look inwardly, change the question, and ask ourselves, "Who am I becoming?" Our identity is not tied to our work, but is given to us by God's design. In this week's episode Pastor Adam and Steph talk about the differences between what we do and who we are, and the significance of being.

In today's episode, Pastor Adam and Steph address an age-old question. There is undeniably so much suffering in our world which also leads people to debate about the problem with evil, pain, or suffering, and to ask, "Why doesn't God do something?" It is reasonable to wonder why life ahs been made so hard, and the Bible does offer some explanations for that often shared sentiment. Yet, if we see that there is a problem that seems to be unaddressed, rather than questioning God's reasons behind it...

We all wonder at times, especially during difficult seasons, if God really loves us. However, God has made his love for us very clear, and he has demonstrated it by sending Jesus to die for us even though we sin against him. Although we can not expect to live flawless lives, it would not be right to accept God's love and then ignore the ways he says to honor him. The question we must ask instead is, "Do I love God?" In this episode Pastor Adam and Steph point out that Jesus and his apostle John ...