What if the Sermon on the Mount is the New Testament's answer to the Ten Commandments, a standard not written to burden us, but to show us how to truly live? In this episode, Dot and Cara sit down for an honest conversation about one of Jesus' most sweeping teachings in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and why it might be the most important thing He ever said. They talk about what it actually means to be set apart, why living like Jesus points people to God rather than away from Him, and the one thing that makes any of this possible at all. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.

Got a question about today’s episode or something else you’d like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know!

• Intro (00:00)
• Write this down: Matthew 5:1-2 (ESV) — Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and begins to teach His disciples (00:07)
• Why the Sermon on the Mount matters: Cara admits she never fully appreciated this passage before, and that’s kind of the point (00:32)
• Jesus taught with authority, not like the scribes or Pharisees, and the crowds were astonished (01:09)
• This teaching was for His followers: the Sermon on the Mount is God’s instruction to His people on how to live set apart (02:43)
• The New Testament parallel to the Ten Commandments: just as Moses gave Israel a standard, Jesus gives His followers one too (07:09)
• We’re not going to reach it on our own, and that is exactly why we need the Holy Spirit (14:45)
• Living like Jesus points people toward God, not because it makes us look good, but because it makes Him visible (10:23)
• Sanctification: what it means that God is always working in us to look more like Him, not as a checklist, but as a life (14:45)
• The spoiler Dot gives: we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength, and that is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (23:22)

This Episode’s Scripture Verse
Matthew 5:1-2 (ESV) — “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them.”

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How do you know if someone is the real deal, and what do you do with that once you do? In this episode, Dot and Cara open up Matthew 7 and talk through Jesus' principle of knowing people by their fruit. Not judging, not writing people off, but paying attention in the way a loving Father says you need to. They talk about what fruit of the spirit actually looks like, why we tend to excuse what we should just be noticing, and how this principle applies to the people in your life, the voices you follow, and the fruit you yourself are producing. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.

Got a question about today’s episode or something else you’d like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know!

Episode Recap

• Intro (00:00)

• Matthew 7:15-20, the warning about false prophets and knowing them by their fruit (00:02)

• Cara shares that this principle is one Dot has taught her, and that she already feels conflicted about it after just the last ten minutes (00:56)

• The difference between judging and recognizing: Jesus didn't say you can judge, he said you will know them (02:15)

• Fruit takes time. It starts from a seed, and whatever is in the heart will eventually produce it, no matter how long someone can pretend otherwise (03:38)

• What good fruit actually looks like: love, joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, the fruit of the Spirit (05:43)

• A moment is not a full-grown fruit, but it does tell you something is there (05:15)

• If you want to know whether a voice, a relationship, or a situation is leading you toward God or away from him, pay attention to the fruit it is producing in you (08:06)

• Dot draws the line between understanding why someone behaves the way they do and excusing it. You can have compassion and still notice the fruit (09:35)

• Isolation is a fruit worth paying attention to. Dot clarifies: alone time with God is not isolation. Isolation means no trusted voice is speaking into your life (11:25)

• Cara gives a real-world example of subtle false prophecy on social media, and why posts that claim to know what God will do for you should give you pause (16:01)

• Dot brings it home: God gave us this principle because he is a loving Father who could not take us out of the world, but he could tell us how to live in it. The fruit doesn't lie (25:39)

This Episode’s Scripture Verse

Matthew 7:15–20 (ESV) — “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.

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Faith and doubt have always gone hand in hand, and the story of Doubting Thomas might be the most honest proof of that in all of Scripture. In this Easter episode, Dot and Cara sit with John 20 and find something tender at the heart of it: Jesus didn't scold Thomas for his doubt. He showed up, scars and all, and met him right where he was. Together they unpack what it means that Jesus kept his scars, why eight days of waiting might matter more than we think, and how the resurrection isn't just something that happened 2,000 years ago. It's something God is still doing in us today. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.

Got a question about today’s episode or something else you’d like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know!

• Intro — Happy Easter! (00:00)
• Write this down: John 20:24-29, the story of Doubting Thomas (00:13)
• The resurrection is the miracle of all miracles, but Thomas missed it the first time (01:56)
• Was Thomas doubting, in awe, or just someone who needed to experience it for himself? (04:44)
• God wrote Thomas into Scripture for us, so that those who haven't seen can still believe (07:38)
• Eight days later: why the timing of Jesus showing up for Thomas matters more than we might think (08:48)
• Jesus kept his scars, and the only man made thing in heaven is the scars on his hands (14:43)
• Our scars don't define us, just like they didn't define Jesus (16:23)
• The resurrection proved Jesus is God, and that changes absolutely everything (18:50)
• God meets us where we are, whether that's doubt, desperation, or somewhere in between (27:11)

This Episode’s Scripture Verse

John 20:24-29 (ESV) — "Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.' Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'”

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

• "The Only Man-Made Thing in Heaven Are the Scars on Jesus' Hands" by B.J. Thomas

Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at hello@dotbowen.com.

Watch Write this Down! on YouTube

Find Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook