Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology

During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to wade into the refreshing waters of eucharisteo – which is a Greek word sprinkled throughout the New Testament that means “to give thanks.” There have been numerous scientific and psychological studies that back up the Bible’s encouragement to develop our gratitude muscle – it’s actually been proven that people with higher gratitude levels show more activity in the hypothalamus, which leads to improved rest, less physical discomfort, and lower stress and anxiety, y’all. That means the conversation we’re about to have might just lead to the best night’s sleep you’ve had in a long time, baby! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or doing Pilates of course – and come hang out on the porch with us. Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

Theology, we’re going to explore the theological concept of theodicy, which is defined as: the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil. In other words, our Creator Redeemer is good and does good even when our lives are anything but. I once had a surgeon tell me I was a bad patient because I tried to gut it out instead of being honest about the. pain I was experiencing. He said my stubborn refusal to admit how much I hurt reflected my lack of trust in his competence as a healer. Here I was thinking it was heroic of me to hang tough when all I’d done was put distance between myself and the kind doctor whose main goal was to mitigate my pain! What would it look like to actually admit our ache, trust in God’s goodness, and lean into His presence even when it feels like our heart’s in pieces? We’re about to dive deep into that question, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or deboning fish, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us. Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive deep into the pool of desire and talk about how to get our emotional needs met by Jesus. Brennan Manning wrote: The deepest desire of our hearts is for union with God. From the first moment of our existence our most powerful yearning is to fulfill the original purpose of our lives – “to see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly. We are made for God, and nothing less will satisfy us.” We’re also going to have a blast digging into two Greek words – homoousios and hypostasis – which are the building blocks of the foundational walls of Biblical orthodoxy. If you don’t have a firm grip on these two concepts, your theological scaffolding is going to come crashing down faster than a bowling ball help up by Twizzlers! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving, or cleaning fish of course! – and please come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re kicking off the conversation with a profound observation from my imaginary theological boyfriend, the late great A.W. Tozer who said, “Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms.” About 15 years ago I came to the sad realization that I’d unwittingly sanitized and emasculated Jesus into a mild-mannered, passive, kinda guy not unlike the Biblical iteration of Clark Kent, which left me less than compelled to worship Him! Today we’re embarking on a journey to reimagine the REAL Jesus – He’s the Prince of Peace AND He comes with a sword to cut away everything that threatens our intimacy with Him; He embraces lepers and flips tables. He is infinitely more compelling, interesting, mysterious, and provocative than our flannel graph boards of old have allowed us to depict Him. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or rock-climbing of course – and please come hang out on the porch with us! Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to consider the gentle command found at the top of Hebrews chapter 3: Consider Jesus. In other words, think about our Savior. Focus your attention on our Redeemer. Concentrate on the King of all kings. This simple command to meditate on our Messiah is the answer to every tangled relational web we’ve ever been caught in, every steep circumstantial hill we have to climb up, and every deep valley of depression that has left us gasping for hope. Plus, Jesus’ not so gentle attributes of majesty, power and authority extend well beyond our finite human comprehension so we hope to jumpstart some good, old-fashioned awe and wonder on today’s podcast too! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or practicing with your roller derby team of course! – and please come hang out on the porch with us. Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to explore how God’s supernatural sovereignty reconciles with our human understanding of the time and space continuum and we’re also going to explore a story in Mark’s Gospel account that proves Romans 8:28 – all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose – is not hyberbolic but 100% true! We really can trust that God’s providence will never take us to a place where His grace will not be sufficient for us even in those dark seasons when we can’t see around the corner of our circumstances, y’all. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or enjoying a manicure – and please come join us out here on the porch with us.  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about the difference between simply being delivered from our sins and God truly delighting in us. There’s a memorable scene in the movie Notting Hill when Julia Roberts says to Hugh Grant: Don’t forget, I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. The only time I’ve ever identified with Julia Roberts is when I watched her character, Anna Scott, speak those words of unrequited love to a man who’d essentially just explained that she wasn’t worth the trouble of pursuing. I know what that feels like. But that’s so not the Gospel, y’all. In fact, according to the Bible, our divine bridegroom King Jesus is utterly mad about us and might even get a little weak in the knees when He sees us! Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive into some divine drama in the book of Acts and talk about risky faith, radical love and the willingness to kick comfort to the curb for the sake of the Gospel. Dr. Martin Luther King once lamented how the church used to be a thermostat that had the power to change the temperature of culture, but how it was losing its urgency and efficacy and was becoming a thermometer that simply measured the climate of culture. I think it’s time for Christ-followers to turn off our passivity, turn up our spiritual passion and get to work fanning the flames of revival in this great, big beautiful and broken world, don’t you? Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about the necessary synergy between orthodoxy – that is what we believe to be true of God – and orthopraxy – that is how we live in light of what we believe to be true of God. Obviously, we’re all sinners and nobody’s faith walk is flawless this side of glory but the gap between what we profess and how we live is a seedbed of hypocrisy that has the power to shred communities and families, as well as empower those who insist Christianity isn’t credible because its practitioners are a bunch of liars and fakes. And frankly, y’all, our detractors have some valid points. If what we believe to be true of God is simply printed on a mission statement and hung on a wall but isn’t lived out with conviction, authenticity and love, then our faith isn’t legitimate.  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about how God’s redemptive plan for humanity is set in the context of community. Our Creator Redeemer is a trinitarian God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - and since we were made in His image, we are divinely hard-wired for relationship. Plus, the huge majority of biblical imperatives are about “we” instead of “me.” The bottom line is we’re much better together and Western Culture’s tendency to over-privatize Christianity inevitably leads to loneliness and faith-fatigue. Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast@LisaDHarper@AllisonAllen@Jim.Howard.Co Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Purchase NIV Application Bible here.