Podcast
Paradox Redlands Podcast
Hosted by Paradox Redlands · EN
Paradox Church discusses humanity, beauty, love, laments, God, absence, and Christianity
38episodes
Episodes
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A Guide to Living with Religion
2d ago00:34:36Tap to summarizeDoes your faith feel like a system of control, or does it inspire wonder? In this continuation of our series in 1 John, we explore what it really means to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) in a modern world. Without critique, religion can quickly become idolatry. We dive into the dangers of a strict "binary" worldview, what the horror movie Heretic gets right about toxic religion, and why healthy faith requires us to embrace paradox and mystery. If you've ever felt like God is infinitely bigger than the "bucket" of organized religion, this message is for you.
Transcribe →A Guide to Living with Sin
1w ago00:36:03Tap to summarizeWhat if everything you were taught about sin was designed to keep you ashamed, not free? In part 2 of our series on 1st John, we dig into a word that shows up 27 times in this short letter: hamartia — sin. The author of 1st John claims believers can rise above sin entirely, a claim that helped split the early church in two. This week we ask what sin actually is, trace 2,000 years of atonement theology from Origen to Anselm to the Reformers, and land on a healthier, more honest way to hold our own imperfection — without losing sight of who we really are: children of God, not sinners first.
Transcribe →A Guide to Living With the Antichrist
2w ago00:42:28Tap to summarizeWhat if the "Antichrist" isn't a mysterious end-times villain — but someone your church just had a falling out with? In this opening message of our series on 1st John, Pastor Craig dives into the strange, drama-filled origin story behind one of the Bible's most feared words. Written by a small church community in ancient Turkey around 105 CE, 1st John claims to be a letter all about love — yet it labels former members as "Antichrist." So what really happened? And what does this 2,000-year-old church conflict have to teach us about handling disagreement, heartbreak, and division in our own relationships today?
Transcribe →Paradox Unscripted
3w ago00:46:32Tap to summarizeThis happened on July 4, 2026 at Paradox. Craig has not seen these questions ahead of time.
Transcribe →Pride & Penitence
Jun 2700:23:07Tap to summarizeWhat if your disability isn't a punishment — and the healing you need isn't a cure? As Paradox wraps up its Pride series, guest speaker Christian Barrera-Sandri brings a deeply personal message connecting Psalm 38's "penitent's plea for healing" to the overlapping experiences of queerness and disability. Drawing from his husband's 20-year journey with diabetes, his father's kidney transplant and ongoing fight for disability justice, and his own unexplained seizure episode, Christian challenges the idea that illness, disability, or queerness are signs of God's punishment — and points instead to what Jesus actually offers: not a magic cure, but a restored community. 🔑 What we cover: Psalm 38 and the ancient question: "Is this my fault?" John 9 and Matthew 9 — how Jesus responds to those seeking healing, and to a community that gatekeeps who's "worthy" of it Why queerness and disability are overlapping, not competing, spectrums of human experience HIV/AIDS as a present reality, not a relic of the past, in queer life and disability conversation Shalom: the Old Testament concept of healing as peace, justice, and belonging — not just physical cure Whether you're navigating a chronic illness, loving someone who is, or just rethinking what healing really means, this message invites you into a more honest, more compassionate picture of community. Paradox Church | Redlands, CA paradoxredlands.com | @paradoxredlands #PrideAndPenitence #Psalm38 #DisabilityTheology #PrideMonth #ParadoxChurch #FaithAndDisability #LGBTQFaith #ChristianSermon #Healing #Shalom #InclusiveChurch #RedlandsCA #SundaySermon #ChurchMessage
Transcribe →That the Works of God Might Be Seen in Them
Jun 2200:23:31Tap to summarize"Who sinned, this man or his parents?" That's the question that opens John 9 — and it's a question that still gets asked, in different words, about anyone whose body or identity doesn't fit the frameworks we're handed. In this guest message, Esther Loewen — a licensed marriage and family therapist and former pastor — walks through three places where the story of the man born blind in John 9 echoes her own experience, and the experience of many trans people today: being treated as a puzzle to solve rather than a person, the holiness of embodied transformation, and the demand to testify again and again before being believed. Esther shares pieces of her own transition story and ends with a question for the whole church to sit with: if God were doing something sacred in the life of a trans person, would you be able to see it? 🔑 Why John 9 "rhymes" with trans experience — from suspicion, to interrogation, to exclusion 🔑 The difference between Side A, Side B, and fully affirming approaches to LGBTQ+ people in the church 🔑 Why physical, embodied transformation can be an act of faith, not a failure of it 🔑 The role of personal testimony in Christian faith — and why it deserves to be heard before it's judged 🔑 The closing challenge of John 9: would you recognize the works of God if you saw them? Wherever you find yourself in this conversation, we invite you to listen with an open heart. This message is for anyone wrestling with identity, belonging, or what it means to be fully seen. Paradox Church | Redlands, CA paradoxredlands.com @paradoxredlands #JohnChapter9 #TransFaith #ParadoxChurch #RedlandsChurch #AffirmingChurch #LGBTQFaith #ChristianityAndGender #InclusiveChurch #FaithAndIdentity #ProgressiveChristianity #ChurchSermon #SeenByGod
Transcribe →The Great Commission
Jun 700:41:50Tap to summarizePastor Craig Hadley gave this sermon on Saturday, June 6, 2026
Transcribe →The Sheep and the Goats
Jun 100:42:26Tap to summarizePastor Craig Hadley gave this sermon at Paradox on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Transcribe →The Parable of the Vineyard
May 2400:30:43Tap to summarizePastor Craig Hadley gave this sermon at Paradox on May 23, 2026. Is the Kingdom of Heaven fair? In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable where workers hired at different hours all receive the same pay — and the ones who worked longest are furious. Pastor Craig unpacks why Jesus intentionally describes heaven as "unfair," and why that's actually the most liberating news you'll ever hear.
Transcribe →Forgiving the Unforgivable
May 1900:39:35Tap to summarizePastor Craig Hadley gave this sermon at Paradox on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Transcribe →