RUF Michigan: Recent Episodes
Robert Knuth
"I'm busy." It's the refrain you hear everywhere. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks the book of Haggai for us, and pushes back on the lie that: "we're too busy for God."
Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he looks at Zephaniah 3:14-17 and pushes back on the lie that "God loves you, but He doesn't like you."
The ability to get real and raw in a relationship is a good indicator of relational depth and intimacy. Why is it difficult to get to that point with the God of the Bible? Are we missing something? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up the book of Habakkuk and explores the possibility that Christians don't have all the answers...and that's okay.
Does Christianity promote injustice? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he sets out to answer this question from Nahum 1:1-8
"If I don't feel guilty, then I'm not guilty." Join campus minister Robert Knuth in the book of Micah to hear why knowing we're guilty apart from our feelings is sometimes the first step to receiving the best news in the world.
If you walk into any Ann Arbor healthcare clinic, you'll read somewhere that "the world needs victors." Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up the book of Jonah to find out why there is better news out there.
We all want justice. But why is letting your politics define what is right or wrong ultimately such a dangerous lie to believe? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up the book of Amos to show why God's view of justice doesn't fit into a political box.
"The best years of your life are in college." Surely, most American college students have heard that at some point. Is it actually true though? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he dives into the book of Joel for some answers.
"In order to be loved, you have to be good" is a premise that we instinctually grow up believing, and is so much of how we operate on the day to day in college. But what if we could be loved in our badness? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he finds truth from the book of Hosea to counteract this prominent lie.
Forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity, but how much do we really understand practically what it should look like? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks Psalm 32 and all the implications that come with the fact that God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ.
Who is the Holy Spirit? What does He do? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he shows from John 14 that the Holy Spirit is better and more beautiful than common notions we typically have about His identity.
"Don't judge me," is a refrain we hear all the time nowadays. Campus minister Robert Knuth opens up Psalm 146 to show us why judgment (especially God's judgment) should be a welcome idea and something we long for as people who desire justice.
We're taking a break from our series, "A Better Story" to hear guest preacher DeMyron Haynes (Associate Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Detroit) dig into Psalm 23 and what it means that God identifies as our Good Shepherd.
Where is Jesus? Why does it matter? Have you ever considered the mystery of how Jesus' humanity interacts with His divinity? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at Psalm 110 and the repercussions that the ascension of Jesus has for us today.
Rev. Justin Clement (senior pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church in Lexington, VA) preaches on Romans 3:9-20
What does the Taylor Swift Eras tour have to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Tune in to hear campus minister Robert Knuth unpack 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 and the wonder of living in light of the resurrection reality.
Secular atheism says, "there is no reasonable point to human suffering." But could there be something good that actually comes from suffering? Would that make intellectual sense? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at Isaiah 53 and consider the implications of a God who suffers on His people's behalf.
Who is the GOAT (greatest of all-time) for you? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he looks at Luke 1:26-38 to make the case that the Bible's understanding of greatness is better and more beautiful than the way secularism has defined greatness.
Psalm 19 declares God to be the creator of heaven and earth. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he makes the case that true freedom doesn't come by throwing off authority, but instead, by submitting to the right authority.
What does it mean for Christians to refer to God as "Father?" What implications does that have for both men and women? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he looks at John 8:48-58 and the more beautiful story that Christianity invites us into when it calls us to see God as our Father.
This semester, campus minister Robert Knuth is unpacking a 2nd century Christian creed called "The Apostle's Creed." From Mark 9:14-25, we first look at what it means for the creed to echo over and over again the two words, "I believe."
Acts 9:1-19 is a famous chapter because it details the Apostle Paul's conversion. What is so significant about it for college students today? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we break down the implications of forgiveness--specifically, the opportunity it brings to both us and others when God, in Jesus Christ, has the power to forgive sin.
Matthew 15:21-28 can be confusing and even offensive. What is Jesus trying to communicate here? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we gain clarity both on the mission of Jesus as well as the margin he has for unexpected people.
Luke 18:18-30 is the parable of the Rich Young Ruler. Join us as campus minister Robert Knuth unpacks the perils of self-reliance and the beautiful vision of living counter-culturally; where losing is winning.
You live out of your scars. How does this affect how you view school, your career, marriage, friendships, and ultimately God? Join Robert Knuth as he opens up John 20:24-29 to showcase the good news that Jesus invites Thomas (and you!) to live out of His scars.
Do you WANT to be healed? Seems like a dumb question. What is Jesus getting at with this question in John 5? Join Robert Knuth as he digs into the heart behind Jesus' question and the heart behind our human condition.
Everybody evangelizes. It doesn't matter who you are: when you experience a good or beautiful thing, you tell other people. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up John 4:31-42 and specifically the idea that: if Jesus is the most beautiful thing the world has ever beheld, His people should evangelize in a way that is both thoughtful and beautiful.
One of the most distinctive aspects to the character of Jesus in the Bible: the way He interacts with women. What does it say about how God views you? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up John 4:1-30 to display a God who is not cheap with His people, and is instead, a God of abundance.
It doesn't matter what you believe, we all want humility. However, the humiliation that produces humility comes at a great cost. Campus minister Robert Knuth opens up John 3:1-15 to reveal one religious man's motivation for coming to Jesus. The answer he gets from Jesus might surprise you and actually offer hope to anyone who's ever felt humiliated.
Guest preacher and local pastor, Rev. Ryan McVicar, opens up one of the best chapters in the entire Bible for us, John 21:1-23. Tune in to find out why this chapter cuts to the heart of the Gospel.
Are you distracted? If so, join a club that goes back to the advent of time! The more applicable question for you might be: what do I do with the fact that I'm distracted? Scroll less on Instagram? Become more disciplined? Or something else entirely? In this sermon, campus minister Robert Knuth unpacks Luke 10:38-42 and two distinct ways of dealing with our distraction.
The scandal of Christianity is that Jesus is BOTH 100% human AND 100% God. But how? Why does it matter? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we dive into Matthew 4:1-11 and the relevance of what theologians refer to as "Christology."
This semester we're deep-diving into conversations the person of Jesus has with different types of people. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we open up Luke 7:36-50 to see how Jesus views forgiveness and love. It might surprise you. Special thanks to Derek Bates for illustration help.
How does what you believe (or not believe) about the future affect your present day reality? Spoiler alert: it does in SOME way. It's impossible for the future to not affect the present in SOME way. The problem? We're all inconsistent in how we apply what we believe the future into our present lives. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we conclude our Revelation series by looking at Revelation 21 and the hope of healing found in the last chapter of the Bible.
"Don't be on the wrong side of history." It's said about everything today. We shape our ethics around it. But have you ever stopped to consider what this phrase presumes? That history is, indeed, marching forward? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at Revelation 20 and see that true justice, the justice we long for, is only found by considering the destination that time is ultimately marching toward.
Theologian Taylor Swift declares in her billboard top song, "Anti-Hero," that she is the problem in her relationships. It's a problem so bad and so deep-seated that it only drives people away. It's a narrative played over and over in the course of her life. Can you relate? What does this narrative have to say about your identity--about who you fundamentally are as a person? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks Revelation 14 and the better narrative that the Bible gives to our identities.
Midterm elections are less than 2 weeks away! Question: why do you care so much? Or not at all? How do politics and the political system give us insight into evil? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we unpack Revelation 13 and the infamous "mark of the beast."
The book of Revelation reaches a climax in chapter 12. It's a confusing scene that leaves us with a lot of questions about God's sovereignty, the power of evil, and how we should respond to suffering. At the center of all of it is the beauty and brokenness of the Church. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we try to understand the blessing and pain that comes from interacting with God's people.
Who are your people? A question all of us are trying to figure out. Regardless of how you might answer that question, there are good things and bad things we absorb from our people. How do we know how to make sense of all of it? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up Revelation 7 to try and answer this question.
How do you think about the judgment of God? For most of us, it's pretty scary. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up Rev 6, 8:1-5 to explore the idea that judgment is actually something any Christian should desire from God. And it doesn't show up in ways that we often think.
Revelation is a picture book. And what's the picture that the apostle John sees in the middle of the throne room of heaven? A slain Lamb. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks Revelation 5 and the scandal that is power through weakness.
Conquer or be conquered. It's the reality of every war. Revelation 2: 12-17 unveils a battle of the mind through Jesus' words to the church at Pergamum. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks the supernatural reality of our intellectual ideas.
Revelation 1 introduces this idea that to see is to believe. The Apostle John's agenda from the very get-go is to unveil a Jesus to us who is alive and, perhaps, much different than the version that we have had formed in our mind's eye---both from the Church as well as from the culture. But how does Revelation portray the risen Christ? Rev. Robert Knuth attempts to unpack the text for us in the first sermon of our series through Revelation this semester.
Isaiah 43:1; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 118:6-7; Isaiah 41:10; 1 John 4:18. Content taken from Matt Howell and Richie Sessions.
Ephesians 6:1-4; Exodus 20:12. Content inspired largely from Matt Howell and Sammy Rhodes!
Although we're made for relationships, to be deeply known and loved, we often don't feel that way. What's wrong with our relationships? Why is there "bad blood" between us? Before you're tempted to answer "sin" or "it is what it is," join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at Gen 3:1-21.
We're calling our new series for Winter 2022 "Relationships Re-imagined" because we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to fundamentally change how you relate to yourself, to other people, to the world, and most importantly, God Himself. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we start in Gen 1:1-3, 26-31, Gen 2:18-25 to see just how much every single one of us is made for relationships.
What defines you? What is it that makes you who you are? It took Peter a lifetime to answer these questions for himself. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-21; specifically what conclusions Peter came to at the end of his life about his identity and how following and believing in the risen Jesus Christ changed everything.
Do you feel like following Jesus is a spiritual treadmill of sorts? When it's going well, all is good, but when you fall off, it's somehow hard to get back on? One of the best passages in all of Scripture, John 21:1-19 is a picture of the resurrected Jesus making breakfast for the disciples on a beach. It is Jesus' restoration of a shamed Peter who lives out of the narrative that he is nothing but a failure (and always will be a failure). And as campus minister Robert Knuth highlights, it is Jesus' presence and words that ultimately get Peter back in the game to love and shepherd God's people.
How do you respond to the gut punch of despair? You do 1 of 3 things: condemn it away, prop yourself up above it, or put your head in the sand to forget about it. As campus minister Robert Knuth shows us in Mark 14:66-72, Peter's denial of the events that just took place as Jesus was arrested and lead away by the Jewish leaders highlights something about our humanity. And it's Jesus' response to Peter's denial that ultimately has the power to pierce our souls and embrace redemptive reality.
Jesus is dropping blood in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prays to the Father just hours before He is betrayed. The anguish His body feels as He prepares for the cross is on full display. And yet, His best friends are...sleeping? Why? What is so important about this scene that all four Gospel writers include this story within their accounts? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he opens up Mark 14:27-50 to reveal a Jesus who ceaselessly prays for you "that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:32).
Jesus washes the disciples' feet. For many, it's a familiar story of Jesus' humility and selflessness. We're drawn in by it. But is that really what John 13:1-10 is all about? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he describes the scene, unpacks the posture of Peter's heart, and unveils a Jesus brimming with scandalous grace for those of us who would rather reject it.
No doubt, Jesus being transfigured before his eyes on top of a mountain was most spectacular event of Peter's life. He beheld the glory of the second person of the Trinity with his own eyes! Nothing was veiled from him. And as campus minister Robert Knuth makes clear in Mark 9:1-10, nobody leaves an encounter like this the same. Not Peter. And not us. We are changed as we behold glory.
Who is your best friend? As campus minister Robert Knuth shows from our text in Matthew 16:13-23, we need our friends to define us. We need our friends to tell us what is true about us. Peter certainly did. And when Peter confesses the truth about Jesus as the Christ, Jesus reveals something spectacular about Peter and the Church that Jesus intends to build upon him.
The famous philosopher Tina Fey once said, "my ability to turn good news into anxiety is only rivaled by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne." Does that sound familiar? We all get anxious at good news---it's quite literally "too good to be true." And Peter's the same way. He starts walking on water and then sinks. It's our human experience. Nothing is as good as it seems. But as campus minister Robert Knuth highlights in Matthew 14:22-33, this is how Jesus meets us and calls us deeper into relationship with him.
Do you ever want God to just do something miraculous? Maybe to help you believe? Maybe to help you pay the bills? Jesus gives Peter exactly what he wants in Luke 5:1-11---he miraculously provides FISH, an abundance of fish! But Peter's response surprises us...he doesn't want anything to do with Jesus. It's a scary reality for him to behold. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at this interaction and ask questions about what it means for Peter, and specifically what it means for his life's purpose.
As the famous adage goes, "if you want to know someone's character, then look at who he/she is friends with." With that in mind, what does it say about Jesus that he calls Peter one of his best friends? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks what it must have been like for Peter to behold Jesus for the first time in John 1:35-42. This is the first sermon in a series this semester that we are calling "Life of Peter." It is our effort to try and gain clarity on what it means to follow Jesus and be his friend, using Peter as an example.
In the midst of a global pandemic, the idea of human decency is at the forefront of our minds. Do we have an obligation to our neighbor? What does that look like? How is the Church at the forefront of God's mission to the world? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he revisits the story of Cain and Abel in Gen 4:1-11 to find answers.
Anger: we all feel it. Whether it's your favorite sports team losing, or someone cutting you off it traffic...the rage deep within is all too familiar. So what do you do with it? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he argues from Genesis 4:1-6 that, at the heart of the Gospel, is the reality that in order to be healed, we have to first let God peel back our anger.
We live in a world that clamors for people to take moral responsibility for everything. We range from feeling self-righteous to totally incompetent. It's an unhealthy cycle that either makes us feel exhausted or hopeless. What if God's question then, "what is this you have done?" is actually a grand invitation to live into the reality of a morally responsible existence, while also simultaneously acknowledging the limits to our moral responsibility, and, in the end, letting God be God. Confused? Let campus minister Robert Knuth unpack things for you.
What do you long for? How have the broken experiences of your life shaped what you believe to be true? Is there a better narrative out there? The 3rd question that God asks in Genesis 3 probes our individual stories, and invites us to investigate how our hearts have responded to our stories.
Ideas have fateful consequences. Who tells us what to believe? Genesis 3:1-11 is clear: we all get our ideas from someone or something. How do we know these ideas about the our identity, the world, and God himself are true ideas? Campus Minister Robert Knuth unpacks this question and more.
"Where are you?" The question that has reverberated throughout time as Adam and Eve's shame has been handed down through the generations. We all hide under layers and layers of fig leaves in our efforts to cover the weight of our shame, but yet, at the same time, so desperately desire to be found in our hiding places. What hope is there? Campus Minister Robert Knuth unpacks this and more from Genesis 3:1-9 and Luke 19:1-10.