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What if "turn the other cheek" was never meant to teach oppressed people how to become better victims? For centuries, these words of Jesus have been used to tell people to stay quiet, endure abuse, and submit to oppression. But what if Jesus was actually teaching something far more disruptive, a way to resist evil without becoming what we resist? Maybe turning the other cheek isn't surrender. Maybe it's resistance. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

What does Jesus' command "Do not swear at all" have to do with a world of spin, propaganda, alternative facts, and "God said"? In Part 14 of Unlearning Empire, we explore how Jesus moves beyond simply telling the truth toward becoming the kind of people whose lives can be trusted. In a culture built on manipulating reality, truth becomes an act of resistance. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Divorce may be one of Jesus' most difficult teachings and one of the most weaponized. In Part 13 of Unlearning Empire, we wrestle with what Jesus actually says about divorce, the patriarchal world behind the text, and the shame Christianity has placed on people whose marriages ended. Marriage is sacred. And so are the human beings inside it.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

They told us Jesus said sexual desire was dirty. Don't lust. Don't touch yourself. Don't look. Don't think about it. And women? Cover up so you don't cause men to stumble. But what if we got this passage completely backward? Jesus isn't teaching us to fear our sexuality. He's teaching us how to take responsibility for its power. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Jesus said if you're angry, you're liable to judgment. If you call someone a fool, you're in danger of hell. What do we do with that? In Part 11 of Unlearning Empire, we talk about anger, dehumanization, reconciliation, and how these words of Jesus have been used to silence the very people who have every right to be angry. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

In Part 10 of Unlearning Empire, we explore biblical authority, interpretation, and why the point may not be to simply quote the words but to become them. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Jesus didn't call the powerful the salt and light of the world. He gave those names to the people the empire overlooks. What if changing the world has less to do with gaining power and more to do with preserving what is good and revealing another way to be human? Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

What if what American Christianity calls persecution is actually the loss of privilege? In Part 8 of Unlearning Empire, we explore Jesus' final Beatitude and why justice, mercy, peace, and truth inevitably collide with empire. Persecution was never Christianity's greatest threat. Power was. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

What if the greatest threat to peace isn't conflict but the wrong definition of peace? Jesus invites us beyond the peace of empire into shalom: justice, healing, restored relationships, and human flourishing. Blessed are the peacemakers.    Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

"Blessed are the pure in heart" may be one of Jesus' most misunderstood teachings. What if purity isn't perfection, but wholeness? Let's get into it. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Mercy sounds beautiful until it starts challenging the systems that create suffering. In this message from Unlearning Empire, we discover why Jesus' words, "Blessed are the merciful," are far more disruptive than they first appear.  Video Cody references in sermon: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/swa6x5ngij49rl045hrky/Video-Jul-15-2026-10-50-33-AM.mov?rlkey=ejdxgoqtcbte0w7ok3xq8quar&st=rwvifogw&dl=0   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Many of us inherited a version of Christianity focused on getting souls into heaven. Jesus offers something much bigger, a new humanity. Join us as we explore what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness and discover why those who still long for justice, mercy, truth, and love are the very people Jesus calls blessed.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

What does Jesus mean by "the meek"? Drawing from Psalm 37, Roman occupation, and our own political moment, this message explores why the future does not belong to the cruel, but to those who refuse to become what they hate. Link to Stephen Colbert clip referenced by Cody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6Z_m6Hh0A  (Timeframe 0:00 - 2:30) Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

In this episode, Rob Bell joins Vinings Lake as a guest speaker. Learn more about Rob here: https://robbell.com/ Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

What if the opposite of joy isn't grief but numbness? In this message, we examine Jesus' blessing on those who mourn and discover why lament may be one of the most human, courageous, and hopeful acts available to us in an age of anxiety, spectacle, and spiritual exhaustion.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake