In this episode of Church is Messy Pastor Caleb Smith (who gave this week's message) and Svea discuss Paul's teaching from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 about the paradox of the cross - how God's "foolishness" is wiser than human wisdom and his "weakness" is stronger than human strength. Their conversation explores how this ancient message applies to modern Christians facing intellectual persecution and cultural rejection, emphasizing four key responses from Luke 18: reliance on God, humility, trust, and obedience as a framework for engaging with contemporary challenges while standing firm in faith and leading with love.

At about the 24 minute mark Caleb talks about a statement Transform MN (of which Autumn Ridge is a part) put out about praying during the events unfolding in Minnesota. The link to that document is https://transformmn.org/portfolio/this-is-why-we-pray/

Topics discussed in this episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:46 Different approaches to the passage.
• 03:27 Oxymorons and paradoxes.
• 07:32 The foolishness of the cross.
• 09:04 The scandalous nature of the cross.
• 11:27 Modern application - being called a moron.
• 12:34 Encouragement to persecuted followers of Jesus.
• 16:01 Responding with empathy.
• 17:11 The power (dunamis) of God.
• 19:54 Connection to the garden and original sin.
• 22:12 Application to contemporary culture.
• 26:08 Four principles from Luke 18: reliance on God, humility before God, trust in God, obedience to God.
• 28:48 Living out the four principles.
• 30:25 Series overview and looking ahead.