Most of us were taught to see Christmas through the lens of Easter: Jesus was born to die for our sins so we could all go to heaven. The whole story points to the cross.

While that is true, it is not the whole picture.

So we ask a different question in this episode:

What were people celebrating before anyone knew how the story would end?

We talk about the good news Jesus announced from the start:

Hope for the poor.

Freedom for the oppressed.

Comfort for the brokenhearted.

A new kind of kingdom for people who were tired of carrying heavy burdens.

This episode is the side of Christmas many of us never heard growing up, and our hope is it changes the way you see Christmas this year.

If you want to believe there is still something good in the middle of all of *this* - this episode is for you.

The arrival of Jesus was never only about what would happen later. It was also about what he brought with him the moment he showed up.

Restoration. Hope. A place to belong.

Christ is born for you.

Merry Christmas everybody.

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Tension was called Unlearning Youth Group for the first six seasons.

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It has been eight months since our last episode, and a lot has happened.

Jonathan and Eric sit down to talk honestly about why the break happened, how the last year has shifted their relationship with the church, and why speaking about faith in public has felt heavier than ever.

This conversation sits in the tension between loving the church and calling it out. We talk about grief, frustration, Christian nationalism, worship songs that hit different now, the fear of saying the wrong thing in the wrong place, and what it means to represent Jesus when the loudest voices in the American church feel so far from him.

Most of all, we talk about the people who feel stuck in the middle. The ones who still believe in Jesus but do not recognize the version of Christianity around them. The ones trying to love their neighbors when their churches are cheering for ICE raids and political power. The ones who wonder if they are the only ones who feel this way.

If that is you, this episode is for you. You are not alone.

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Follow us on social:

http://instagram.com/jonathan_carone

http://instagram.com/ericw712

https://www.threads.com/jonathan_carone

https://www.threads.com/@ericw712

__________________

Tension was called Unlearning Youth Group for the first six seasons.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Less than 5% of podcasts make it to 100 episodes.

So forgive us if we take a minute to celebrate getting to this milestone.

In our super self-indulgent 100th episode, we take a look back at the impact our show has made in the lives of listeners over the last four years.

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Follow us on social:

http://instagram.com/jonathan_carone

http://instagram.com/ericw712

https://www.threads.net/@jonathan_carone

https://www.threads.net/@ericw712

__________________

Tension was called Unlearning Youth Group for the first six seasons.

AI notice: our outro was created with Suno using AI

The intro theme song is used with permission from the artist. It's High School by 90's Kids.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.