Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re exploring a messianic prophecy in the Old Testament to excavate a treasure worth more than all the gold in Ft. Knox, all the pearls in Japan, all the cheese in Wisconsin, and all the turkey legs at Dollywood! Isaiah chapter 9 is one of the most memorable of all the Old Testament prophecies and it’s especially familiar during the Christmas season. However, like the old adage says, unfortunately sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. Most of us have heard the “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given” part of Isaiah’s promise recited so many times that we’re prone to miss the breathtaking miracle at the beginning of the passage which proclaims: But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. Despite all the perky taglines of commercials this time of year and the endless photos on social media depicting perfectly matched, professionally lit, smiling families with Labradoodles, ‘tis also the season of anguish for many because sometimes the public celebration serves as a poignant reminder of private grief – of the stocking that’s missing from their mantle or the chair that’s going to be empty at this year’s Christmas dinner table. Isaiah’s Advent announcement isn’t pithy positive thinking or sloppy sentimentality – instead, he acknowledges the gloom, the inherent darkness that came with the Fall – but he juxtaposes our human pain against the backdrop of divine hope, just listen to verse 2 of chapter 9: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. I believe today’s conversation is going to breathe fresh hope into someone’s flagging sails, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible– unless you’re currently driving one of those itty-bitty cars in a holiday parade down Main Street, of course – and come spend some quality Christmas-is-right-around-the-corner time on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.If you are looking for suicide prevention resources or help, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.  You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’ve got the whole gang in the studio – Alli, Dr. Howard, Belle – from Ring My Belle – and me – and we’re going to spend some time gawking at God’s faithfulness and how He’s gotten us to our 100th episode – which is today, December 11th! We’re two years into this podcast adventure and we’re still pinching ourselves that we get to do this and get to do it together. One of my favorite, long-dead church fathers – those ancient spiritual leaders that I like to refer to as my pretend theological boyfriends – Bernard of Clairvaux – said this: “I preached myself, and the scholars came and praised me. I preached Christ, and the sinners came and thanked me.” We’ve certainly made some mistakes and shared lots of shenanigans in the studio while recording the first 99 episodes of BPT, but it’s been a profound privilege to attempt to make Jesus the Hero of every podcast leading up to this centennial celebration. And we’re beyond grateful that y’all consistently carve the time out of your days to lean into His unconditional love for us on the porch. Honestly, when Alli and I started, we thought our listeners would be comprised of her husband Jonathan, and my mom, Patti. Thank you for enlarging our dreams and better yet, our community. Now most of y’all know the drill - please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’ve gotten all Pinteresty this season and need both hands to finish those dadgum handmade ornaments before Christmas is over, of course – and come hang out on the porch for this super special praise party with us. You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, Alli and I are still neck-deep in all things Advent but the itinerary we’re taking to the Christmas creche is much more scenic than Waze would route you. We’re going all the way back through the family tree of Jesus to a little boy named Obed, who was also born in a little town called Bethlehem, in the Old Testament. The New Testament gives us two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus – Matthew starts with Abraham and works forward, while Luke works backward from Jesus to Adam. But neither of these Gospel writers gives us as many redemptive details as the Book of Ruth. She and Esther are the only two women who have an entire book of the Bible dedicated to them and Ruth’s story reads like a colorful prelude to the miracle of Christmas, complete with a baby born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread. Surely, you’ve sung about this little town and how still we see it lie, but today you’re going to find out why a tiny village in the Middle East means that you don’t have to spend Christmas alone, ever. So grab a cup-a-joe and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands full of popcorn and fresh cranberries because you’ve watched too many episodes of Little House on the Prairie or have spent way too much time on Pinterest! – and come prop your feet up on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, and me! You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are happily diving into all things Advent! And we’re focusing on a few ancient outliers in biblical antiquity who would naturally have been invited to clean out stalls in some First Century barn but would never have been invited to anyone’s party. Well, anyone except the Creator of the Universe! What does it mean for us today that 2,000 years ago God chose a group of outliers with a reputation for petty thievery, who were nomadic, illiterate, maligned in rabbinic literature, and scorned by most everybody else to be the very first humans – besides Joe and Mary, of course - to witness the Incarnation? Why is it so significant that God chose the least of us to greet the One who came to rescue and redeem all of us? We’re making a life-giving visit back in time to that original nativity scene in Bethlehem and our proverbial tour bus comes complete with a spoiler alert because Dr. Howard is also going to exegete a passage in Revelation that rivals Dr. Luke’s birth narrative but that’s not until the end of this episode so you’re going to have to hang out with us the whole time! Which means you’d better grab a mega mug of coffee and your Bible –unless you’re hot-gluing a rope headband on a bathrobe for some precious punkin’ in your life who’s been chosen for the super-important - albeit non-speaking – role of a shepherd in the church Christmas play, of course - and come sit for a spell on the porch with us! You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are diving into one of my favorite passages about thanksgiving found in the synoptic gospels. One of our theological heroes, the late, great Dr. Tim Keller, said: “It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.” In other words, thanksgiving is not simply the warm fuzzy feeling that bubbles up in Americans when we gather around a table laden with Turkey, sweet potato casserole, and cornbread stuffing in late November – mind you there is something truly glorious about a heap of hot, mashed sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and melted marshmallows – but rather for Christ-followers the world over, thanksgiving is about developing the joyful discipline of celebrating the beneficence and compassion of our Creator Redeemer. And deliberate, actionable gratitude is a double blessing, y’all because it’s not just fruit of the Spirit, it’s fuel from the Spirit because the praxis and posture of giving thanks supernaturally propels us into deeper intimacy with God. Today’s conversation has the potential to transform your emotional trajectory so please grab a cup of coffee with a generous splash of Hazelnut creamer, and your Bible – unless you’re currently shelling pecans for homemade pie, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me. You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. Today on Back Porch Theology, Ally and I are continuing the conversation about sanctification – the ongoing process of becoming less like who we were before we fell in love with Jesus and more like Him. One of my pretend theological boyfriends, ancient theologian and church father Thomas Chalmers, uses the phraseology of the expulsive power of the new affection to describe spiritual maturity. He reasoned that the further we fall in love with Jesus, the less room there is for ungodly affections and entanglements in our hearts. He wrote, “We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our hearts than to keep in our hearts the love of God.” Much like the theme last week, Chalmers emphasized how sanctification is less about remediating our behavior and more about recognizing our belovedness. Checking off every item on some spiritual to-do list doesn’t have the power to transform our hearts and minds into the shape of Jesus, y’all! However, leaning into His unconditionally loving embrace will absolutely fertilize personal holiness and fuel our desire to obey the imperatives of God’s Word. Speaking of the symbiotic relationship between love and sanctification, in John’s Gospel account Jesus declared that people will recognize we’re His disciples by how well we love each other, which means we’re going to connect the dots between sanctification and community today too, baby! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re rinsing your bougie yet clogged espresso machine out with stinky vinegar, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us! National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is November 13-20. Click HERE to learn more.  You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are dipping our toes into the transformative waters of sanctification. Sanctification initially presents in the Old Testament as a thing/object that is “set apart as sacred” – such as the Sabbath Day or utensils used for worship ceremonies in the Temple. However, in the New Testament, the concept of sanctification reflects the idea of how ragamuffins like us - who’ve put our hope in Jesus - are being progressively conformed into His image. In his book “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” from the iconic Narnia series, C.S. Lewis explains sanctification through a stinker of an adolescent named Eustace: It would be nice and fairly nearly true, to say that 'from that time forth, Eustace was a different boy. To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun. The “cure” C.S. Lewis wrote about wasn’t transactional, it was relational. I will surely step on some prim and proper toes with this assertion but sanctification is not primarily the embodiment of biblical ethics, nor is it accelerated by checking off more items on some proverbial religious “to-do” list. Spiritual maturity is less about our remediating our behavior and more about recognizing our belovedness. So please take a deep breath and relax – you’re not about to get a sanctimonious smackdown or lectured about how unholy you are! Now grab a steaming cup of coffee or apple cider or pumpkin spiced something and your Bible – unless you’re up to your elbows in alpaca wool because you thought handknit Christmas stockings would be a breeze, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me.     National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is November 13-20. Click HERE to learn more. Journey to Bethlehem Movie in Theaters. You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. Today on Back Porch Theology Alli, Dr Howard and I are continuing our candid discussion about the current conflict in Israel and how to best respond as concerned Christ-followers. In doing so, we’re going to peruse a relevant passage in Mark’s Gospel account that had First Century folks every bit as concerned about the conflict brewing in their culture as we are today. The overarching takeaway from this colorful chapter in Mark - which includes the same type of apocalyptic imagery that we’re seeing on newsreels right now – is that we need to be alert and prayerful, but we don’t have to be afraid. What’s currently going on in Israel has lots of armchair quarterbacks predicting eschatological consequences and we know that can be both confusing and disconcerting. But we want to encourage you to hang on to hope because while Jesus Himself said He didn’t know the exact hour of His return, the second advent, He did tell us that He’ll be coming back with God the Father and they’ll bring the conclusive end to the war between good and evil. When they come back for us, they’ll usher in the reign of perfect peace that all of humanity longs for and His peace will reign forever. There will be no more wars or rumors of wars. No more horrific abuse or human trafficking. No more dying or crying. But in the meantime - in this messy middle, the already but not yet time - as in we're already saved but not yet glorified - we have to stay alert, don’t let satan’s scaly dragon tail catch you off guard and cause a big bruise. Be ready to jump to the aid of others who are in danger of getting whacked by him too. We don’t have to live as victims, y’all because Jesus has already ensured the victory! So grab a cup of coffee, or an oat milk chai, or some fancy green juice and your Bible – unless you’re walking around the same circle in an increasingly claustrophobic corn maze - and come hang out on the porch with us.  National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is November 13-20. Click HERE to learn more. Journey to Bethlehem Movie in Theaters.  You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. Today on Back Porch Theology Alli, Dr Howard and I are having a candid conversation about the current, seemingly eschalating war in Israel and the Gaza area. We’ll be leaning on Dr. Howard’s academic expertise to explain the significance of how early in biblical history God established Israel as a theocracy – that is a people group He singled out for His favor and so as to represent the kind of convenant relationship He wants with all of humanity. Then we’re going to delve into why Israel’s favored status in biblical narrative still matters in our modern era. Please know we’re not going to tell you what to think – goodness gracious, there so many differing eschatalogical viewpoints and prophecies regarding how conflict in the Middle East may or may not usher in the end times, I don’t think anybody needs another incindiary op-ed. What we do need to be reminded of, however, is that when the disciples were alarmed about wars and rumors of wars during His incarnate ministry, Jesus encouraged them to be alert. In Mark 13, He actually counsels His follwers to be alert 5 separate times…what He does not encourage them to feel is fear. There’s a big difference between being alert and being anxious, between staying informed and staying amped up by 24 hour news reels. Regardless of what’s going on in the world, if you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ, the New Testament describes us as His ambassadors, agents of reconciliation, and people of actionable prayer - and to that end we’re not simply to be consumers of hope, we’re supposed to be carriers of hope too, y’all. Handwringing is not an option for Christfollowers, no matter how messy life gets. So grab a cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, or some fancy vitamin B infused water and your Bible – unless you’re raking up a ginormous pile of Fall leaves for the neighborhood kids to hurl their little sticky, precious selves into - and come lean into safe community on the porch with us.  National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is November 13-20. Click HERE to learn more. Journey to Bethlehem Movie in Theaters. You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!

Purchase A Jesus-Shaped Life here. In this special bonus episode, Lisa shares a guided prayer as we prayer for Israel and what's happening in Gaza. Join us as we lift of those in the Middle East. You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books!