Episodes

  • Justice Lessons from the Gospel of John

    Justice Lessons from the Gospel of John
    Apr 30 2026
    John 14:1-14 Our imagery this week offers a vision of radical belonging. In a world structured by exclusion, where systems determine who is in and who is out, this imagery disrupts scarcity and hierarchy. There is room, not just for some but for many. Jesus says, “Many rooms.” For Jesus followers committed to justice, this becomes a theological grounding for inclusion: immigrants, LGBTQ people, the poor, the marginalized, and those historically pushed to the edges are not afterthoughts in the Divine household. They are already accounted for. The work of justice, then, is not creating belonging from scratch, but aligning our communities with a reality of belonging that already exists in the heart and “house” of the Divine. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    18 mins
  • The Imagery of a Good Shepherd

    The Imagery of a Good Shepherd
    Apr 23 2026
    John 10:1-10 As Christianity moved from the margins to the center of power, particularly after Constantine the Great legalized it in the fourth century and it align with the Roman Empire, the dominant imagery of Jesus began to shift. The cross, once a symbol of state terror and execution, became the central emblem of the faith and replaced the image of the Good Shepherd. What had been a sign of imperial violence against dissidents became, paradoxically, a symbol that often supported those imperial structures. This symbolic shift was not merely artistic but also theological and political. The shepherd image emphasizes care, guidance, and the flourishing of the community, particularly the most vulnerable. It invites us to imitate acts of compassion and justice. By contrast, an overemphasis on the cross, especially when interpreted through frameworks that prioritize passive suffering or divine sanction of violence, becomes religious imagery that accomplishes its original purpose (terror) with a religious twist. Recovering the image of Jesus as shepherd is a way of reclaiming a vision of faith rooted in solidarity, protection, and the flourishing of all, espeically those marginalized. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    20 mins
  • The Road We Walk When Our Hopes Have Been Deeply Disappointed

    The Road We Walk When Our Hopes Have Been Deeply Disappointed
    Apr 16 2026
    Luke 24:13-35 Our story this week speaks powerfully into our own lived experiences in justice work because it refuses to deny despair. The disciples are not portrayed as faithless for their sorrow; they are honest. They had hoped for a different outcome, and instead they witnessed state violence, public execution, and the silencing of Jesus’ prophetic voice. In this way, the road to Emmaus begins not with triumph but with trauma. For modern justice movements confronting racism, economic inequality, gender unfairness, environmental collapse, LGBTQ exclusion, or other forms of systemic harm, our story mirrors the emotional landscape we often find ourselves inhabiting. Hope can sometimes be naive. Either way, hope also involves risk, and in moments where things don’t turn out the way we hoped, hope is something we can lose. We might even find ourselves feeling foolish. This week Emmaus does not erase deep disappointment, glossing over it with easy, pat, or trite answers. Instead, it provides a framework for navigating the complexities of justice work in our midnight hours. In moments when things don’t turn out the way we had hoped, we can acknowledge our grief, we can practice presence with one another. We can lean into our community. It is here that hope is often renewed, new visions are born, hope reawakens, and we return to the struggle with a new understanding of what we have just encountered. This story reminds us that even when hopes are dashed and the path forward is unclear, we are not alone, and, sometimes, the very act of walking together is where transformation begins. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    19 mins
  • When Doubt Leads to a More Tangible Experience

    When Doubt Leads to a More Tangible Experience
    Apr 9 2026
    John 20:19-31 Thomas offers an important lesson for us: authentic faith does not require suppressing questions or ignoring evidence. In Christian movements for justice especially, people are often confronted with competing narratives, misinformation, and systems that obscure truth. Like Thomas, we are called to seek truth honestly, to question easy answers, and to resist accepting claims without examination. This kind of critical engagement strengthens, rather than weakens, our commitment. Additionally, Jesus’ response to Thomas models a compassionate approach to those who struggle. He does not shame or exclude Thomas but meets him where he is. This informs us that we too are to create spaces where people can wrestle with uncertainty, unlearn harmful assumptions, and grow at their own pace. Transformation rarely happens through coercion; it happens through deconstruction, reconstruction, community, relationships, and believing the best about one another. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    16 mins
  • The Resurrection and Our Hope for Liberation

    The Resurrection and Our Hope for Liberation
    Apr 2 2026
    Matthew 28:1-10 Ultimately, Easter invites us to live differently, to embody resurrection in our daily lives, and to practice compassion, pursue equity and equality, and confront injustice with courage. The empty tomb is more than something to “believe in” in the sense of belonging to a creed; it also tells a truth at the heart of every movement for change: change doesn’t happen without struggle and setbacks. Even in our midnight moments, the dawn is still ahead. Winter gives way to spring. And in that light, the resurrection is something to participate in. It asks us to roll away stones in our own communities, to bring life where there is death, and to come together in the ongoing work of renewal. In a world still marked by injustice and inequality, Easter proclaims that another way is possible, and we are called to be part of bringing it to life. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    18 mins
  • Justice Lessons from the Final Scenes of the Gospel Stories

    Justice Lessons from the Final Scenes of the Gospel Stories
    Mar 26 2026
    Matthew 26:14-27:66 Our reading this week offers profound lessons for justice work today. Beyond the theological significance that so many have derived from the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection, this story also highlights the dynamics of power, oppression, and systemic injustice. Jesus is betrayed, falsely accused, and executed by an unjust system. His experience reflects the plight of marginalized and silenced individuals. His courage, nonviolence, and steadfast commitment to speaking truth challenged social structures rooted in complicity, imperialism, and harm for those made the most vulnerable. This narrative invites us to reflect on what it means for us today, as Jesus followers, to participate in the work of resisting injustice, advocating for the vulnerable, and embodying moral integrity in the face of oppression, in our own time and contexts. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    19 mins
  • A Story of Hope for our Present Moment

    A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
    Mar 19 2026
    John 11:1-45 The command Jesus gives at the tomb in our reading is also significant. Although Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, he then tells the surrounding community, “Unbind him, and let him go.” In our reading this week, Lazarus emerges alive, but still wrapped in the burial cloths. It is the community’s task to remove them. Seen this way, the resurrection of Lazarus becomes not only a miracle story but a call. Communities that follow Jesus are invited to help roll away the stones of injustice and participate in the unbinding of those whom death-dealing systems have harmed and wrapped in despair now. In the story of Lazarus, resurrection interrupts grief and despair in the present, today, not later. It doesn’t ask us to wait for hope in the future. It offers us hope for today. It restores a person to community, relationship, and dignity today, not only as Martha says, “in the resurrection.” Christian social justice work can be understood in similar terms. Ours is the work of participating in life-giving transformation here and now. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    20 mins
  • Justice Lessons From Being Expelled

    Justice Lessons From Being Expelled
    Mar 12 2026
    John 9:1-41 This week’s reading presents to us a story of standing up to the status quo and the risks involved in standing with the marginalized when doing so contradicts religious and political institutions. This kind of action is not abstract sentiment. It is costly. It demands we move from private belief to public solidarity, to love our world and those in it who are being harmed, even when that harm is supported by religiosity. Following the Jesus of our story this week also calls us to confront systems that crush life and stand where solidarity and harm mitigation is risky. Our story calls us to step out of our comfort zones and redirect our loyalties, resist injustice, and commit to transformative action alongside the marginalized, for the flourishing and thriving of all as we work to shape our world into a just, compassionate, safe home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    20 mins