Podcast: On The Trail

God wants to walk with us. In this week’s episode, we continue discussing the Incarnation by looking at this incredible truth that God wants us to be in relationship with Him. This is a listening, conversational relationship characterized by trust and obedience, where He seeks us and we seek Him.

God understands our weakness. The incarnation paved the way for Jesus Christ to become our High Priest, so we can approach God boldly and find the mercy and grace we need. What does it mean for Jesus Christ to be our High Priest? (And who was Melchizedek?) We discuss this and more in today’s episode. […]

Has your life ever felt chaotic or empty? From Genesis 1 onward, God has shown us His purposes for bringing order and fullness to our lives. As we enter the Advent season, we’re turning our attention to the Incarnation of Christ and God’s heart and plans for this redemption story. In this episode, we specifically […]

What does it look like to have authority in Christ? In this episode, we discuss the legal understanding of the believer’s authority and some practical applications.

What does it mean for a believer to have authority in Christ? Do we have all the authority Christ has? Do we have none of it? Or is the answer somewhere between? In this episode, we discuss the authority believers have in Christ.

We are a people who believe God defines reality. In the start of a new mini series on the authority of the believer, we’re talking about occult vs. Kingdom. In this episode, we’re looking at these worldviews regarding the involvement of spirits in the world and the roles of power & authority. P.S. There was […]

The invasion is already here. Now what? In this 37-minute special, we address the elephant in the room. It’s Halloween season, and spiritual warfare is on many minds. What is the occult? How do we recognize it? How do we love well in the midst of it?

Do you know your identity in Christ? The Gospel is not just a ticket to Heaven. It is the foundation of Discipleship. In this episode, we’re reconnecting Identity to its Gospel foundation and reviewing how it all fits together.

“We are a people who…” In this episode, we look at the role of Community in identity formation. How does community bring the two sides of our brain together? How can we resist mistaking our malfunctions for our identity? Community is key to answering the question, “Who am I, and how is it like me […]

Are you a sinner or a saint? In this episode, we wrap up the acrostic P.A.C.T. with a look at our New Covenant identity as bearing the Title “Saint.” What is holiness? What does it actually mean to be a saint and how does that relate to sin?

You have a Kingdom passport. In Christ, you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. What does this practically mean in our present age? In this episode, we’re looking at our identity as Citizens.

What does the Roman Empire teach us about the context of “adoption” language in the New Testament? What are the practical realities of this adoption? In this episode, we look at what it means to be a child of God.

4 Keys to Understanding Your New Covenant Identity in Christ: You are Pardoned by God, Adopted by God, made a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, and given a new Title: Saint. In this episode, we unpack what it means to be pardoned by God.

Who does God say you are? We've been talking about who the world, the flesh, and the devil say you are. This week we’re moving into the Kingdom perspective! What is the New Covenant, and how does it inform not only how we understand our own identity but God’s as well? We’ll be taking […]

Are you believing a lie about yourself? About God? We’ve been talking about how the world, the flesh, and the devil try to shape us. In this episode, we look at how the devil uses deception to affect our identity.

What pockets of pain are shaping you? No one goes through life without experiencing pain, and that pain comes in all shapes and sizes. We can have pockets of pain from the bad that happens to us, from the absence of the good that we need, and from the way we compare ourselves to […]

How do the Kingdom and the Kosmos inform our identity? The Kingdom teaches us how to see reality, God, and ourselves as God sees. In Christ, the Kingdom gives us our New Covenant identity. The Kosmos involves the world, the flesh, and the devil working together to give us an identity. In this episode, we […]

You are not beyond repair. There is hope for you and for your children to grow and repair your identity formation for your whole life. Last episode we talked about attachment-based identity. This episode, we’re pushing into the hope of joyful identity, looking at childhood development and the possibility for growth and repair in adults.

From our brain's perspective, identity is always relational. Our brains work from right to left, from attachment to beliefs. As we embark into this identity series, we begin with an understanding of how attachment affects our identity. In this episode, we look at Scripture and brain science, digging into the fascinating idea of how the brain […]

Time for a new series! We’re looking at personal identity formation from brain science and biblical realities. Why does identity matter? How did God design us to form our identity? What does the Bible teach us about our identity? What can we do to overcome obstacles and repair holes that keep us from living out […]

Anxiety, VCR, Community, Joy – We cover it all in this episode based on your questions as we celebrate one year On the Trail together! We have gifts for you in this episode, including 1 month free of Learning Library Premium. Visit the Online Learning tab at our website and use code “streamfree” when you […]

What story is your brain telling you? Is it true? In this episode, we wrap up our discussion about the joy elevator and the pain processing pathway with a closer look at the brain’s narrative engine.

“Show, don’t tell” is the thing to remember for resolving pain stuck at Level 4 of the pain processing pathway. In this episode, we start celebrating OTT’s 1-year anniversary, and we camp out on level 4 of the pain processing pathway.

When the joy elevator in our brain gets stuck, our pain isn’t able to fully process. In this episode, we continue to unpack the joy elevator and the five levels of the pain processing pathway.

Sometimes the joy elevator in our brain gets stuck and our pain isn’t able to fully process. In order for suffering to keep from becoming traumatic, our brains need to process the pain at all five levels of the pain processing pathway. In this episode, we begin to unpack the joy elevator and the pain […]

It’s no secret – negativity robs our joy. Toxic thoughts can imprison us in unpleasant emotions. How do we get free and return to joy? In the next phase of our joy series, we’re discussing some of the brain science of toxic thoughts and strategies for how to replace them.

When emotions are dragging, there is an amygdala to soothe. In this episode we finish our discussion about how to tame the amygdala and return to joy when we find ourselves trapped in one of the big six negative emotions.

We’re continuing our joy series with a little brain science. When something triggers the amygdala as “personal,” it sends out a signal of good, bad, or scary. If bad or scary is signaled, it triggers one of six emotions: sadness, shame, disgust, despair, anger, or fear. For the next two episodes, we are talking about […]

Would you describe your inner world as joyful? Whether conscious of it or not, most of us live out of an inner world of fear or joy. Last episode we talked about tearing down that inner fear house. In this episode, we are talking about building an inner joy house. Building a joy house can […]

Let’s tear down the house of fear and build a house of joy. Last episode we introduced Joy Bonds. Our brains are designed to run on the fuel of joy, but they can default to fear. In this episode we’re looking at the counterpart—fear bonds.

A joy-filled life is possible. Let’s talk about how to cultivate one. Marcus says two words blew up his old paradigm: Joy Bonds. His old paradigm said belief + choice = transformation, but what about joy and attachment? We’re starting down a new trail for the summer where we explore the transformative nature of joy, […]

Did your ancestors open the door to the devil? We are wrapping up our series on the acrostic SOUL-L, which looks at five common areas where the devil claims ground in our lives and how to reclaim that surrendered ground. Today’s episode addresses lineage. Sometimes the enemy has permission to work in our lives because of the […]

Can believing a lie give the devil permission to my life? We are in the midst of looking at five common areas where the devil claims ground in our lives and how to reclaim that surrendered ground. Today’s episode looks at lies we believe. The devil is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). When we […]

We are in the midst of looking at five main areas where the devil claims ground in our lives and how to reclaim that surrendered ground. Today's episode looks at unforgiveness. The remedy for unforgiveness is forgiveness. In this episode we talk about what forgiveness is and what it is not.

If sin is like leaving your front door unlocked for the enemy, the occult is like throwing open the garage door and hosting a block party. We are in the midst of looking at five main areas where the devil claims ground in our lives. The goal is to help us know where to revoke permissions and […]

For the next few episodes we are looking at five main areas where the devil claims ground in our lives. These five areas can be remembered with the acrostic SOUL-L: Sin, the Occult, Unforgiveness, Lies we believe, and Lineage. Today's episode gives the overview of these five areas and then starts unpacking Sin.

Satan thought he had defeated Christ at the cross only to discover that Jesus had completely flipped the tables on him. Christ is Victor. At the cross, Jesus Christ disarmed the principalities and powers and canceled the debt against us (Col. 2:14-15). This victory is the foundation of our freedom and our authority in Christ. […]

In this episode, we look over the various main approaches to spiritual warfare – from power encounters to a legal understanding. From there we examine the legal approach, digging into the concept of permission and authority.

In this episode, we dig into some Scripture that exposes the devil's nature, and we begin to talk about some strategies for breaking and staying free of the enemy and his snares.

Last episode we talked about R.E.A.L. Prayer and how to invite Jesus into our emotional healing. This episode we are digging deeper into that discussion and looking at some of the obstacles people encounter when engaging in inner healing prayer. Are your relational circuits off? Are you encountering demonic interference? Is it possible that a […]

Last episode we talked about listening prayer and how this practice can help us connect with God more intimately in our lifestyle. This episode we are digging into the emotional healing side of listening prayer and looking at the acrostic R.E.A.L.

In this episode, we are talking about prayer, especially as it relates to connecting with God. Do our attachment styles, maturity levels, or relational skills affect our prayer life? What is Listening Prayer (and what is it not)? This conversation focuses on listening prayer at the lifestyle level. In the next episode, we'll focus on […]

As we wrap up the Resilience series, we're looking at the final topic, “Connecting with God.” What does it look like to connect with God – to know, trust, and obey Him? We also take the first part of the episode to discuss the Asbury Revival 2023.

In this episode we continue our “Connecting with People” discussion by digging into the super helpful tool “VCR,” which stands for Validate, Comfort, Recover. You can use this tool to help yourself and to help others. We talk about VCR in different situations and age groups, left- vs. right-brain emotions, and more.

We've been talking about the ABCs of Bounce, and today we come to “C” – Connecting with People and with God. In this episode we're specifically looking at Connecting with People. What is belonging and why is it important? Vulnerability, empathy, boundaries – we're discussing all this and more.

We're continuing the ABCs of Bounce with “B” for Beliefs. What is the connection between beliefs and emotions? How do attachments influence beliefs? How can we win the battle for our mind? We're looking at this and more in this week's episode.

This episode continues the ABCs of Bounce discussion with Part Two of Appreciation. We're walking through the acrostic G.A.M.E.S. This is a great acrostic to work through for yourself or in a group to build joy and appreciation. It stands for Gratitude, Anticipation, Memories, Experiences, Singing.

In this episode we’re starting a sub topic within the larger Resilience series. We are looking at what Marcus calls the ABCs of Bounce. We'll give an overview of the ABCs and then dive deeper into the “A” – Appreciation.

We're continuing our conversation about emotional resilience by looking at the importance of nurturing a rhythm of joy and rest. What are joy and rest from a biblical and brain perspective? How can we start nurturing a rhythm to grow and sustain our emotional capacity?

Are you scraping the bottom of the barrel? We're starting 2023 with a much-needed look at emotional resilience. For this episode, we're setting up capacity. What is it? Why is it important? What are some small steps we can take to get more of it?

In this episode we wrap up our Life of Jesus series with a look at the resurrection. Marcus has two acrostics for you! We'll be taking a break for Christmas and be back with a new episodes in 2023. In the meantime, Merry Christmas!

In this episode we continue discussing the life of Jesus with a look at the crucifixion. Marcus has an acrostic to help us remember the main points of meaning attached to Christ's crucifixion. This acrostic is aptly C.R.O.S.S.

If Jesus made a bumper sticker, what would it be? In this episode we're talking about Jesus' teachings on the Gospel, and Marcus names and discusses four core values of the Kingdom of Heaven: Salvation, Stewardship, Spirituality, and Servant Love.

Do you want an easy way to remember the basic timeline of the ministry of Jesus? In this episode, we're talking through one of Marcus's acrostics, which will help you feel S.M.A.R.T. as you piece together the five stages of Jesus' earthly ministry.

This episode starts a new series about the life of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in the Bible. We'll talk about three prophetic pictures we can use as anchors for how we think through some of these prophecies. Like in our last series, these anchors can be remembered with three S's: Seed, Suffering […]

In part six of our Kingdom Worldview series, we're concluding the series with a look at the third pillar of a Kingdom Worldview: Spiritual Warfare.

In part five of our Kingdom Worldview series, we're looking at the second pillar of a Kingdom Worldview: Sovereign Lordship.

In part four of our Kingdom Worldview series, we're looking at the first pillar of a Kingdom Worldview: Sacred Romance.

In part three of our Kingdom Worldview series, we're looking at an overview of the three pillars of a Kingdom Worldview. These three pillars are Sacred Romance, Sovereign Lordship, and Spiritual Warfare.

In part two of the Kingdom Worldview series, we explore how belonging affects worldview and how to think about worldview theologically.

In episode seventeen, we begin our third series! We’re talking about the Kingdom worldview. What is worldview? Why is it so important for Christians to understand?

Today we wrap up our conversation about the heart-focused discipleship model “F.I.S.H.” In this episode, we talk about maturity, groups and individuals on the journey, and more.

Today we finish our conversation about the “F” of F.I.S.H. – Freedom. In this episode, we approach the topic from a spiritual warfare perspective.

Today and next week we're looking at the “F” of F.I.S.H. – Freedom. In this episode, we're talking about dealing with wounds from the past.

Today we finish our conversation about the “I” of F.I.S.H. – Identity. This episode approaches identity from the brain science perspective.

Today and next week we're looking at the “I” of F.I.S.H. – Identity. This episode approaches identity from the New Covenant perspective.

Today we're continuing to look at the “S” of F.I.S.H. – Spirit & Scripture.

Today we're covering “Living in the Spirit” – a look at the “S” of F.I.S.H.

Today we're looking at the “H” of F.I.S.H. – heart-focused community.

In this episode, we apply the F.I.S.H. model to mission, affectionately known as “Go FISH.”

An introduction to the heart-focused discipleship model known as “F.I.S.H. and Go FISH.”

We wrap up discussing concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. This episode focuses on how Post-Modernism and the “Solution of Tolerance” impacted the church's approach to discipleship and then begins to introduce how to fix the broken discipleship factory.

We continue discussing concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. This episode focuses on how Modernism and the “Solution of Power” impacted the church's approach to discipleship.

We continue discussing concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. This episode focuses on how Voluntarism and the “Solution of Choice” impacted the church's approach to discipleship.

We continue discussing concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. This episode focuses on how the Enlightenment and the “Solution of Truth” impacted the church's approach to discipleship.

This episode is an introduction to the concepts found in the book The Solution of Choice by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder. It discusses how the Enlightenment impacted the church's approach to discipleship.

An introduction to the who and what of Deeper Walk and the On the Trail podcast.