Answers from Above: Recent Episodes
Brian Roloff
Pastor Brian Roloff finds the Bible's answers to listener-submitted questions.
An online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church, Plymouth, MN.
Submit more questions, send us feedback, or get to now us by visiting our website: AscensionPlymouth.com or downloading our app in any store by searching for "Ascension Lutheran".
You can also check out our Answers from Above KIDS at: https://podcasts.subsplash.com/w5h43q6/podcast.rss
God bless your day!
This will be the final episode of our first "season" of podcasts. Please keep sending in your question on our website and app over the summer and we'll resume anew in Fall of 2021!
Angels are mentioned repeatedly in Scripture, but there's one angel that deserves our special attention. The so-called "Angel of the LORD". This angel appears frequently in the Old Testament, speaking and acting on God's behalf. What exactly is the identity of this angel? Pastor Brian gives us the Bible's answer.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Few issues could be more central to our society today than that of racism, and while this has become a very politicized topic, it need not be so for us as Christians. Along with all our other sins of thought, word, and action, the sin of racism has the same root within and the same cure at the cross of Jesus.
As with any subject that is as deep and sensitive and personal as racism is, there is always more that can or often should be said. If after listening to our podcast you should have further questions or want additional clarification, please don't hesitate to contact us. Or if you have a question on a tangential issue, go ahead and ask it, and perhaps we'll answer it on a future episode!
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
In a previous podcast (#25) we investigated what believers will experience upon death--that our souls will be in the joys of heaven where we will see Jesus. One of our listeners asked the follow up question of, "What do the unbelieving experience upon death?" We need to know the answer to this question because it serves as a warning for us against sin and drifting away from faith in Jesus. It also means we have time to share the good news of Jesus with those we love so that by believing in him as their Savior, they won't have to suffer in hell now or ever.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
From our point of view looking back not only in time but also to a culture much different than our own, it could seem like John's baptism came on the scene totally unexpectedly. We might wonder why God's people would have flocked to John and received his baptism if it was something so new. In this episode Pastor Brian explains that although John's baptism was something new--it was a washing for the forgiveness of sins--there were many ceremonial washings that took place in the Old Testament to prepare God's people for this baptism and the coming of the Messiah.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Share these podcasts with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
This last Sunday we celebrated our Lord's resurrection victory. Who of us doesn't wish that we too could have been with the women seeing Jesus' empty tomb and then seeing and touching the Lord himself? We all look forward to the day when we will finally see Jesus face to face. Pastor Brian and Michelle, look to our Savior's own words from the cross to reassure us when that will happen.
Share these podcasts with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
It's something we can so easily say, "All sins are equal in God's sight," but what does that mean? Moreover in what sense is it true and in what sense are some sins "unequal"? Pastor Roloff and Michelle investigate in this week's podcast.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
As Jesus hung on the cross he spoke seven times. One of those times he cried out in anguish, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When we go through times of pain and trouble, we might feel the same way and ask the same question. Yet we can easily ask that question with doubt or impatience in our hearts, but Jesus could not because he is perfect. In this episode Pastor Brian and Michelle consider how we should understand Jesus' words.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
The Bible records people, conversations, and events as they actually happened complete with people sinning, being rash, speaking in ignorance, or even opposing the Lord. In such circumstances we might wonder how we can know when someone is speaking for the Lord? In this podcast Pastor Brian explains the importance of context and the unity of the whole message of Scripture written by the Holy Spirit.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Language is a powerful gift from God. Words can hurt and words can heal. With words we make promises and write poetry. But with more than 6000 languages spoken in the world, language also divides us and keeps us from understanding each other as we wish we would. In this podcast Pastor Roloff and Michelle discuss the origin of languages and God's solution to unite all people in heart and mind through the spread of the gospel that transcends culture.
Share these podcasts with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Although God's Word is clear on the answer to this question, the answer is not one that the visible church--past or present--and individual Christians have done a very good job communicating clearly, consistently, and compassionately. In this podcast Pastor Roloff explains that all human sexuality has been ruined by sin and that brokenness expresses itself in different ways. When we start on the common ground of confessing what God says is sinful in each of us and cling to Christ for God's mercy, given power to struggle against sin until by his grace Jesus brings all us repentant sinners home to heaven.
Given the sensitivity of this topic and all the tangential issues connected to it, Pastor Roloff would appreciate that if after listening to the podcast, you should have additional questions to contact him directly for a one-on-one conversation, so that we can come to a consensus on the basis of God's Word.
Share these podcasts with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Next week Wednesday (February 17th) we begin the solemn season of the church year known as Lent - 40 days (not counting Sundays) during which we ponder our Savior's willingness to suffer for us and through his strength take up the struggle against sin and temptation in our own lives. It is good for us to contemplate Jesus' suffering because it gives us a window into his great love for sinners. In this episode Pastor Brian reminds us that the greatest agony that Jesus endured was not the scourging and the nails and the crown of thorns, but that he finally had to endure the torments of hell for every person. How could Jesus do this? Listen and find out.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Why do some hear the good news about Jesus and believe while others do not? That is an age-old question that theologians have wrestled with for millennia. It perplexes us to know that many contemporaries of Christ who heard his teaching and saw his miracles firsthand still did not believe in him. We wonder how it could be that the Jews who had the Old Testament prophecies and promises of the Messiah and saw how Jesus fulfilled these expectations could by-and-large reject him?
As Pastor Brian answers this question he also reminds us that we dare not think ourselves any better. Believing in Jesus is not a decision that we formulate for ourselves but a miraculous conviction that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts through the gospel.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
Staying optimistic is a challenge for us all and admittedly the events of 2020 threw in some extra hurdles along the way! How can we stay positive and instill hope and joy and persistence in ourselves and our children even when no obvious relief may be in sight? In this episode Pastor Brian points us to four promises of God that give us confidence, purpose, and hope today, even as we wait for the heavenly future to come.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Follow up with Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
The Bible says that angels are all around us, yet normally we can't see them. We hear about God using angels throughout the Scriptures as his personal messengers and his agents of divine protection. Yet we may wonder, how is God still using angels today? Have you or I ever met an angel? If so would we even know it? Pastor Brian considers all these questions and more as we discuss the topic of angels today.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Contact Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
The events of 2020 have had many of us experiencing extra stress and looking for ways to cope with the unanticipated changes in our lives. Some have turned to the practice of meditation to ease their anxiety. Some employers even encourage the practice as a means of reducing stress and increasing productivity.
However, with its origins in eastern mysticism and religions Christians would be wise to be wary of meditation and not go into it blindly, else we may be opening ourselves up to a false spirituality that could do us eternal harm.
While acknowledging that there's nothing inherently wrong with controlled self-calming techniques, Pastor Roloff boils the spiritual side of meditation down to one important question--what is your focus?--and then explains how Christians can regularly meditate on God and his Word.
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ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
Contact Pastor at: PastorRoloff@AscensionPlymouth.com
God bless!
We see our world ruined and broken and obviously gone wrong and we wonder who is to blame? The Bible repeatedly says that the cause of all the evil and misery and death in the world is a result of the first man, Adam's, sin.
However, when we read the Bible it says that his wife, Eve, was the first human to sin by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It could appear to us that God is "unfairly" giving Adam the lion's share of the blame when Eve sinned first.
In this podcast Pastor Brian explains why Adam's sin had more far-reaching consequences than Eve's and shows that God is both perfectly just and amazingly merciful in Jesus.
Please share these podcasts with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com. God bless!
God's Word has two diametrically opposed doctrines: the law and the gospel. The law shows us our sins and makes demands of us. The gospel shows us God's free salvation in Jesus and gives us comforting promises. Both of these teachings are designed to keep us on the narrow way of faith and godliness.
From that vantage point it shouldn't surprise us that God's Word has two opposing teachings when it comes to remaining in faith. On the gospel side God tells us that before time began he has elected (chosen) some to be saved. These he brings to faith in Jesus through the Word and Sacraments and keeps them in faith unto eternal life. At the same time the law warns us that people can be brought to faith but later lose that faith on account of their sinful choices and desires. Because we believers have two natures in us (the sinful nature and the new man) we need both of these doctrines to keep us confident and safe through the spiritual perils of life to our heavenly home.
Please share these podcasts with your friends and family!
Answers from Above is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com
People today are (rightly) very health conscious and also concerned about where our food is sourced from and how it is raised and processed. One of our listeners asked if God's original plan in a perfect world was to have all people be vegans or vegetarians? We'll see what the Bible says about the question of eating meat.
Please share these podcasts with your friends and family!
Answers from Above is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com
Many couples experience the trauma and loss of miscarriages. Yet at the same time few people talk openly about it. In this episode of Answers from Above, Pastor Brian and Michelle explore what the Bible says about babies who die in miscarriage and God's promises and faithfulness that can carry us through that trial and fill us with hope on the other side.
Please share these podcasts with your friends and family!
Answers from Above is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com
In this week's podcast Pastor Roloff shares how prayer is an essential part of the Christian life. Through faith in Jesus we place our prayers and requests and anxieties and praise before our Father's throne, and he hears us. Prayer is an expression of trust and worship that reflects the personal relationship that we share with God as his forgiven children through Christ.
Please share these podcasts with your friends and family!
Answers from Above is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com
As parents we should always have a solid idea of what our kids are watching and reading and teach them how to discern good from bad, and where and how to draw boundaries about what is appropriate. Because just like "you are what you eat" so too what our eyes and ears and minds take in shapes and influences the way we think, what we believe, and the way we perceive our world.
During this podcast Pastor Brian and Michelle answer a question about the spiritual dangers of witchcraft in books and films like "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings". We'll see how the Bible warns us about Satan and his demons and how we should be on our guard against his deceptions.
We hope this podcast is a blessing for you! Feel free to share it with your friends and family!
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
As believers we are always being pulled in multiple directions. Through his Word and sacraments and his Spirit in our hearts God is always trying to draw us closer to him and his truth and holy living. In contrast the devil and his allies in the world and the sinful flesh within our own hearts is ever trying to tear us away from God's ways so live to satisfy ourselves and our own desires.
This week's question of whether a believer should live with their significant other before marriage is a "case study" on the pull that exists between God's Word on the one side and the desires of our sinful flesh and the culture in which we live on the other. Through this podcast Pastor Brian and Michelle will discuss what God's Word says about cohabitation before marriage and give us some practical advice for why despite people's good intentions, it's neither godly nor a good idea for any couple to live together before marriage.
ANSWERS FROM ABOVE is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church, in Plymouth, MN.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
In a sin-filled world fraught with car accidents, life-threatening health conditions, and random acts of violence, every Christian should be prepared to meet their Maker every day, because we never know when God may call us home. What does the Bible say about untimely deaths and what comfort does God give us who are left behind and wondering, "Why?"
Answers from Above is an online ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church, in Plymouth, MN.
Find us on the web at: www.AscensionPlymouth.com.
We all have had times or seasons in our lives where we struggle with certain sins, sins that seem to have our number as it were. In this episode Pastor Brian discusses sins of habit, why they are dangerous, and how God's grace and forgiveness gives us the power to overcome our sins to God's glory. We all have particular sins that we struggle with, and God doesn't want us to face that struggle in silence or all alone. Talk to your pastor; get the help of a Christian friend; or seek Christian counseling.
Our congregation is associated with a group of psychiatric counselors called, Christian Family Solutions. You can find a link to their website on this podcast.
If you like these podcasts, keep on sending us your questions and sharing with your family and friends!
It's a topic that's coming up on news websites more and more frequently: couples deciding to delay having children or perhaps not have children altogether. There are all kinds of reasons people come up with for not having children. Some couples cite all the tension and uncertainty in our world, others talk about global warming or pollution or other catastrophes, some simply don't want to be tied down with the expense and responsibility of raising kids. Have a listen this week as Pastor Brian answers from a Biblical perspective--"Is it a sin for a couple not to want to have children?"
If you like these podcasts, keep on sending us your questions using the button below so we can keep going to the Bible for more answers!
It's no secret that people are waiting until later in life to get married these days. In the 1950's the median age of first marriage was about 23 years old, today it's closer to 30 years old. This inevitably means that more and more questions are having to wrestle with the question of living singly. Other Christians may not feel the desire to be married. Join us as we go to the Bible to answer this timely question.
If you like these podcasts, keep on sending us your questions using the button below so we can keep going to the Bible for more answers!
This weeks question is: Are there ranks in heaven? It's not a question that the Bible talks much about and our corrupted human reason can't even contemplate this question without imagining eternal envy and competition in the life to come. However, we see that God in his free grace not only gives us salvation through faith in Jesus, but also so much more in the life to come.
If you like these podcasts keep on sending us your questions using the button below so we can keep going to the Bible for more answers!
With advances in medicine and modern technology enabling us to save and prolong life like never before, more and more Christians are coming up against the spiritual and emotional challenge of seeing our loved ones suffer a slow decline and enduring pain. This caused one of our listeners to wonder: Is it wrong to pray that the Lord take home (quickly) a person who has a terminal illness or is in constant crippling pain?
Every Christian believes that God is all-good and all-knowing, so our reason can easily lead us to ask: If God didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and knew that they were going to sin, why did he put it there? Let's see what insights the Bible gives us, in this our first "Answers from Above" podcast.