Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 3 – Repent Doesn’t Mean Grovel

🔍 Episode Summary

When you hear the word repent, what comes to mind? For a lot of us, it’s crying at the altar, begging God for forgiveness, and hoping this time it sticks. But that’s not what Jesus meant at all.

In this episode, James digs into the real meaning of repentance. You’ll hear the story of Grandma’s roast (and why everyone cut the ends off without knowing why), and learn why Jesus’ word metanoia wasn’t about tears or shame — it was about changing how you think. Repentance isn’t wallowing in guilt; it’s turning around, seeing differently, and walking in a new direction.

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why the church turned repentance into guilt and groveling
• What Jesus actually meant when he said, “Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand”
• How Grandma’s roast shows us the danger of never questioning what we’ve been taught
• Why real repentance feels more like turning a car around than crying at an altar
• How to spot everyday opportunities to think differently and live freer

🧠 Key Quotes “Repentance was never about wallowing. It’s about walking.”

“When you realize you’re going the wrong way, you don’t pull over and cry about it. You just turn around.”

“Repentance isn’t about groveling. It’s about God saying, ‘There’s another way to see this — and I want you to have it.’”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try This week, pay attention to one everyday moment where you’d normally beat yourself up — a harsh word, a negative thought, a habit you fall back into. Instead of spiraling in guilt, pause and ask: “What if I just turned around here? What if I chose to see this differently?” That’s repentance in action.

Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 2 – Born Again Doesn't Mean Start Over

🔍 Episode Summary

In this episode, James unpacks one of the most familiar — and misunderstood — phrases in Christianity: born again. For many of us, it meant endless altar calls, rededications, and the fear of hell if we didn’t get it right. But when Jesus first used the phrase, he wasn’t talking about rituals, emotions, or membership. He was pointing to something already inside us.

You’ll hear the story of Jesus’ late-night talk with Nicodemus, discover why “born of Spirit” has nothing to do with pressure or performance, and explore what it means to wake up to who you already are — whether in church, by a lake, or even playing with your golden retriever.

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why “born again” was never about fear, formulas, or altar calls
• What Jesus actually meant when he said, “Be born of Spirit”
• Why rebirth isn’t becoming someone else — it’s uncovering what’s always been in you
• How spiritual awakening can happen anywhere, not just in church
• Why being “born again” isn’t a one-time event, but something you live again and again

🧠 Key Quotes “Being born again isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about letting out what’s always been in you.”

“When you were born the first time, you didn’t change your behavior from womb to air — you just came alive.”

“You don’t need religion to wake up — the spark of life is already in you.”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try Ask yourself: “What would waking up look like for me right now?” Then spend one hour living as if love, not fear, is your truest self.

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Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 1 – The Kingdom Isn’t in the Sky

🔍 Episode Summary

In this first episode of Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong, James rethinks one of the biggest ideas many of us grew up with: that heaven is a city in the clouds you go to when you die. We were told to say the prayer, behave enough, and someday we’d get our mansion and walk streets of gold. But Jesus never said that. What he did say was, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

This episode looks at how that changes everything. What if heaven isn’t about escape, but about waking up? What if the “city” and “gold” in Revelation were never meant to be real estate listings, but symbols of presence, peace, and community? And what if the Kingdom isn’t only about later — but also about now?

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why the “heaven in the sky” version came from fear and tradition, not Jesus
• What Jesus meant when he said, “The Kingdom of God is within you”
• Why the “city with golden streets” in Revelation was symbolic, not literal
• How Paul’s words, “Eye has not seen,” point to a hope better than anything we imagine
• How to recognize heaven breaking through in forgiveness, peace, laughter, and love

🧠 Key Quotes “Heaven was never meant to be a consolation prize for what you gave up. It was about waking up to life now.”

“If this is just a feeling, that’s not that great. I gave up a lot to get my mansion next to Elvis! And see—that attitude shows how far we missed it.”

“The Kingdom isn’t a future prize. It’s a present reality. Not looking up, but waking up.”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try Pause today and ask: “What if the Kingdom is already here?” Then notice it in something small — a laugh, a deep breath, or the peace that sneaks up on you when you stop trying so hard.

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