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Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin explores Scripture and its place in everyday life. Here are the episodes behind our stories, paired so you can move between the conversation and the reflection.

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Two women talk quietly across a diner table on a rainy morning, with coffee cups and a blank index card between them.

Episode aired October 26, 2026

Are You Making Disciples? - Matthew S8E1

The episode studies Matthew 28:16-20 as a personal commission to every follower of Jesus. The hosts connect Christ's authority and promised presence with the call to make disciples among all peoples. They describe discipleship as declaring and demonstrating the gospel, joining evangelism with a continuing life of obedience, and helping people follow Jesus instead of only collecting information. Since no person can create faith or control another person's response, the work calls for humility, prayer, and dependence on Christ.

Listen to episode Read The page she left blank.
A man sits at a kitchen table before sunrise with a phone, a mug, and a folded memorial program nearby.

Episode aired October 19, 2026

Why the Resurrection Changes Everything - Matthew S7E4

The episode examines Matthew 28 and the historical, spiritual, and eternal meaning of Jesus' resurrection. The hosts discuss the empty tomb, eyewitness testimony, fulfilled Scripture, the changed lives of the early church, and the difference between believing that the resurrection happened and trusting the risen Christ. They hold fear and great joy together, frame the resurrection as the ground for trusting God's promises, and describe faith as action that can move forward even while questions and fear remain.

Listen to episode Read The morning after the funeral.
Two men stand across a folding table after a community meeting, with an attendance sheet and an untouched pen between them.

Episode aired October 12, 2026

Is Jesus Really Worth It? - Matthew S7E3

Matthew 26–27 follows Jesus through His trial and crucifixion while religious and political leaders protect their power. The episode examines Pilate's fear of the crowd, Peter's denial and restoration, Judas' attempt to repair his guilt without returning to Christ, and Jesus taking the guilty person's place. The hosts ask whether familiarity with Jesus has become surrender to Him, especially when obedience carries a cost.

Listen to episode Read The line he would not sign.
A man listens to a woman across a counseling room while holding a folded page, with an empty chair between them in warm morning light.

Episode aired October 5, 2026

The Strength to Surrender - Matthew S7E2

Matthew 26 and John 18 present Jesus' arrest as willing surrender. The episode contrasts His submission to the Father with Peter's sincere but harmful intervention, Judas' betrayal, and the soldiers' false sense of control. It describes meekness as strength under authority, warns that being near religious activity is not the same as knowing Christ, and holds Peter's failures beside God's patient grace and Peter's return. The hosts also discuss betrayal, confession, repentance, honest motives, and the fact that we cannot control how another person receives us.

Listen to episode Read The promise he did not make.
From inside a rain-streaked parked car, a man holds a phone while a warmly lit community building waits beyond the windshield.

Episode aired September 28, 2026

The Blood of Jesus Speaks a Better Word - Matthew S7E1

In Matthew 26, the episode connects Passover with the Lord's Supper and presents communion as remembrance of Christ's sacrifice, present grace, and promised return. It emphasizes that Jesus knew the disciples would fail yet spoke of meeting them again, that Christ's faithfulness is stronger than their failure, and that Gethsemane's call to watch and pray exposes the danger of self-reliance. Jesus' request for companions in prayer also grounds the episode's insistence that people were made for honest, burden-bearing relationships.

Listen to episode Read The call before the door opened.
A woman's hand rests near a plain cream envelope in an open kitchen drawer touched by morning light.

Episode aired September 21, 2026

Saturated 2026: Is Jesus Worth Your Everything?

Through Matthew 26 and its contrast between Mary's costly offering and Judas' betrayal, the episode asks whether Jesus is worthy of trust beyond what He provides. It connects worship and lordship with surrender of cherished resources and personal agendas, including when life brings suffering.

Listen to episode Read What She Kept in Reserve
A woman comforts an older woman on a wooden bench beside a rain-streaked window.

Episode aired September 20, 2026

Saturated x Deepen with Pastor Jason Shepperd

This conversation makes room for suffering within Christian faith and challenges the assumption that trust guarantees protection from loss. Surrender can coexist with unfinished grief; the discussion values trustworthy companions, counseling, and small acts of continuing when a hopeful future is hard to imagine.

Listen to episode Read When all she could do was stay.
A man's open hand places a brass key on a worn wooden table beside a closed notebook.

Episode aired September 19, 2026

Saturated x Deepen with Pastor Jonathan Pokluda

The episode challenges religious familiarity without whole-life trust. The rich young ruler illustrates costly surrender, while the discussion of assurance locates confidence in Christ's work and God's promises rather than personal goodness or the absence of doubt.

Listen to episode Read The spare key.
Two women sit across a kitchen table, their hands beside a small plain sheet of paper in warm light.

Episode aired September 18, 2026

Saturated x Deepen with Jennie Allen

This conversation connects repentance and honest need with God's welcoming grace, drawing especially on Luke 15. It distinguishes confession from changed direction and emphasizes ongoing discipleship and intergenerational care beyond an emotional moment.

Listen to episode Read The sentence she almost erased.
A weathered porch chair with a draped blanket beside a warmly lit screen door at sunrise.

Episode aired September 17, 2026

Saturated x Deepen with Pastor Robby Gallaty

The conversation uses Peter in Matthew 26 to challenge self-reliance, approval seeking, and activity that outruns character. It invites prayerful dependence and a small, regular practice of returning attention to God, with patience when the mind wanders.

Listen to episode Read Five minutes on the porch.
A brass oil lamp glows beside an open notebook and a face-down phone in a quiet room before dawn.

Episode aired September 14, 2026

Are We Living in the End Times? - Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin: Matthew S6E6

In this episode, the team explores Matthew 24–25, treats disputed end-times timelines as a secondary issue among orthodox Christians, and centers what is clear: Jesus will return; believers are called to know Christ, resist fear and coldness, stay ready, and make Him known.

Listen to episode Read The lamp before dawn.
Two chairs and coffee cups beside an open door on a rainy evening.

Episode aired September 7, 2026

Are You Missing the Heart of God? — Matthew S6E5

In this episode, the discussion of Matthew 23 examines religious appearances, hypocrisy, and losing sight of God’s heart.

Listen to episode Read The chair at the door.
House keys beside an open weekly planner in quiet morning light.

Episode aired August 31, 2026

Is Jesus Really Lord of Your Life? — Matthew S6E4

This episode explores surrender, identity, and allowing Jesus to have authority throughout life rather than fitting Him around existing plans.

Listen to episode Read The empty square.
An opened envelope on a kitchen table beside a fruit bowl, with a welcoming doorway beyond.

Episode aired August 24, 2026

The Invitation You Can’t Afford to Reject — Matthew S6E3

This episode explores Jesus’ invitation, repentance, and grace through the parables in Matthew 21:23–22:14.

Listen to episode Read The unopened envelope.
An empty wicker basket beneath lush tomato vines in morning light.

Episode aired August 17, 2026

Is Your Faith Actually Producing Fruit? — Matthew S6E2

This episode connects the fruitless fig tree with the difference between outward religion and a life shaped by surrender to Jesus.

Listen to episode Read Nothing but leaves.
A dish towel and clean cups in a modest community kitchen after a gathering.

Episode aired August 10, 2026

What Does It Mean to Be Great in God’s Kingdom? — Matthew S6E1

This episode contrasts the pursuit of position with humility, dependence on Jesus, perseverance, and service.

Listen to episode Read After the applause.
A plain sobriety token beside a coffee cup and folded napkin on a diner table.

Episode aired August 3, 2026

Comparison Is Stealing Your Joy — Matthew S5E10

This episode uses the workers in the vineyard to explore comparison, entitlement, and grace that cannot be earned.

Listen to episode Read Someone else’s milestone.
Worn work gloves laid palm-up beside a tool bag in a softly lit garage.

Episode aired July 27, 2026

Come with Nothing. Receive Everything. — Matthew S5E9

This episode explores childlike faith, the rich young ruler, and salvation received through surrender rather than earned by performance.

Listen to episode Read Empty hands.
Folded towels and two mugs at opposite ends of a kitchen table in morning light.

Episode aired July 20, 2026

Marriage Is a Picture of the Gospel — Matthew S5E8

This episode explores marriage as a picture of covenant love, with themes of reconciliation and grace.

Listen to episode Read The towels on the table.

These are the episodes currently covered in our story collection. Our fiction is an independent response to the themes; it is not part of the original podcast.