Best Ladder Christ Community Podcasts (2025)

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The Passion of Christ Meets the World | S4 E25 17:33

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9M ago17:33

17:33

So Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus rose, and Jesus conquered. After going through the Gospels, what else is left to say? “How to Buy Drugs From Desperate Panicked Criminals With Guns” is one of the essays I wrote at the University of Arizona before I dropped out and had to restart my life. I wrote it about the experiences I had leaving my home at age…

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The Strangeness of the Ascension | S4 E24 33:08

9M ago33:08

33:08

The life of Jesus gets strange on this episode of The Extraordinary Story. According to some prominent religious art, this is the episode where he flies into the sky. And according to snake handlers, this is the episode where he gives us all sorts of crazy powers. But I want to show how it doesn't have to seem so strange after all, and then finish …

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Evidence for the Resurrection | S4 E23 36:25

9M ago36:25

36:25

In this episode of The Extraordinary Story, I want to share with you the story of a scholar who poked holes in the resurrection story — and then I want to let you know how I fill those holes in. If you've been following this podcast from the beginning, you know that there’s a long gap between season two and season three. That's because I went on a …

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Peter Faces Jesus By the Sea | S4 E22 25:12

9M ago25:12

25:12

Remember when you made that crazy promise to God where you said you'd do anything for him? Remember, you laughed it off later as too enthusiastic and figured he laughed it off too. Well, Peter finds out the hard way that no, he didn't laugh it off. We will look at the second to last resurrection appearance in the Gospels today, and see the apostles…

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Frightened Apostles and Doubting Thomas | S4 E21 31:33

10M ago31:33

31:33

Jesus had a busy day after he rose from the dead. We are still right there with him on Easter evening as he visits the Twelve Apostles. Or 10 anyway: Judas was gone and Thomas couldn’t make it. Jesus gives surprising evidence of the Resurrection and helps the Apostles understood exactly why this all happened this way. Then Thomas shows up … Learn M…

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Our Emmaus Moment | S4 E20 27:29

10M ago27:29

27:29

It’s Easter afternoon and two disciples are leaving town in a hurry in the wake of Jesus’s death. There are some very strange features to this story. Why don’t they recognize Jesus? Why does he do such a strange miracle? This episode asks these questions and shares one hot take on a longstanding mystery: Who was the unnamed disciple headed out of t…

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The Women at the Empty Tomb | S4 E19 24:50

10M ago24:50

24:50

Today we will be looking at the first people to encounter the risen Jesus, which happened to be women. We will talk about how this was awkward for the first disciples, but kind of great for us today. We'll start to notice also how different the different people's encounters with Jesus after the resurrection were, and ask for the first time, but not…

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What They Saw in the Empty Tomb | S4 E18 26:29

11M ago26:29

26:29

Jesus died on Good Friday. He was in the ground on Holy Saturday, but now it's Sunday morning. Now we get to the good part, the triumph, the redemption. There are a number of resurrection experiences to talk about, but we'll start early on Easter morning at first light, when Mary Magdalene, then Peter, then John saw the inside of the tomb. What the…

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Holy Saturday and the New Eden | S4 E17 28:13

11M ago28:13

28:13

The Lord is dead. Jesus bowed his head and breathed his last in the previous episode of The Extraordinary Story. But now, even before he is sealed in his tomb, astonishing things begin to happen. The Gospel of John shares a surprising detail that echoes back to the Samaritan woman at the well and passed back through salvation history all the way to…

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Why Jesus Carries the Cross for Us | S4 E15 32:28

11M ago32:28

32:28

Today on the extraordinary story, we will walk with Jesus up the hill of Calvary carrying a cross, and ask again, "Why did Jesus have to die?" Paul says he did it to save us from the wrath of God. How is that okay? And then we will see what happens when Jesus takes up the cross of our sin and it knocks him down. Why is it that the Son of God Himsel…

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The Death of the New Adam | S4 E16 28:15

11M ago28:15

28:15

We come at last to the big culmination of Jesus's earthly ministry. The goal of his life. The event he has set his face like flint toward. The event he has been marching forward to reach: the crucifixion. No one expected the Messiah to die on the cross. But we will look back and see that the signs were there in the Old Testament, left there like wi…

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Behold the Man; Behold Your King 28:28

1y ago28:28

28:28

Today we will hear the famous words of Pontius Pilate as he presented Jesus Christ for his accusers to see. "Ecce Homo," translated to, "Behold, the man." His words tap into the heart of who Jesus Christ is and who we are. As they reach back to the origins of the human race. But we will also hear him say words that reach forward to the very end of …

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The Trials of Jesus, Judas and Peter 31:29

1y ago31:29

31:29

We will see Jesus Christ get arrested in this episode, and then we'll follow him as he's tried first by his own people, the Jewish leaders, and then by the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. We will ask and answer the question, why was Jesus silent before his accusers so often? And what was Pilate's wife's dream? And if Judas is in hell, what might …

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The Agony in the Garden | S4 E12 23:21

1y ago23:21

23:21

Jesus continues his epic project of re-edenizing the world, this time in a literal garden, but not the garden of Eden - the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane means "oil press." And we see Jesus here in the Mount of Olives, being crushed like a grape in the fingers of Satan for our sins. We will see what the greatest failure of the apostles was, and …

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The Eucharist and the Kingdom | S4 E11 30:28

1y ago30:28

30:28

Today we're going to look at the institution of the Eucharist and the institution of the priesthood and the foundation of the whole sacramental system. Here is where Jesus Christ brings the life of God in eternity and unites it with our lives here in the maze. Here is where God makes us his family, so that we can live in a new way, starting now and…

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Jesus Washes Feet and Gives a New Commandment | S4 E10 25:51

1y ago25:51

25:51

Jesus has been saying, "My hour has not yet come." Today he'll say, "My hour has arrived." It is Holy Thursday, and on this great and ominous night filled with huge moments in salvation history. The first thing he chooses to do is wash the feet of his apostles. Now, why did he do that? And why is it significant that Judas left right after he did th…

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Judas vs. Mary on Spy Wednesday | S4 E9 23:18

1y ago23:18

23:18

It's Wednesday of Holy Week, the day before the big days. The chief priests hold a special meeting. They want to find a way to arrest Jesus without alarming the crowds of people in Jerusalem. It's hard because Jesus knows their plans and is steering clear. They're stuck and they can't find a way. And then there's a knock on the door and a man is us…

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The Sheep, the Goats, and David | S4 E8 23:29

1y ago23:29

23:29

The veil drops and we see the Kingdom of Christ for what it is. Angels and thrones and icons all around us. And we ourselves for what we are. Either sheep seeing the true worth of our neighbor or goats. We also get to see some sweet payback when Jesus, tired of the Pharisees trying to trap him, verbally traps them instead. Learn MoreThe Extraordina…

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Woes of the Pharisees | S4 E7 28:01

1y ago28:01

28:01

This week on the extraordinary story. Jesus stages an intervention for the Pharisees. And for me, too. In a way, we will discuss the seven woes of the Pharisees and a surprising hero who is the opposite of what they are. Learn MoreThe Extraordinary Story is a podcast about the life of Jesus Christ, who entered the maze of our world to transform it …

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Caesar and the Greatest Commandment | S4 E6 31:30

1y ago31:30

31:30

In this episode of The Extraordinary Story, we are with Jesus during the last week before his death, where we learn how two challenges from his opponents provoked Jesus to share wisdom that has changed the course of history. We will discover who asked him to pay taxes, and why his answer addresses the fundamental problems of alienation in the world…

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Marriage As the End Goal of History | S4 E5 34:14

1+ y ago34:14

34:14

As Jesus faces his imminent death in the final week of his earthly life, he reveals that the end goal of history is marriage. We'll learn in what way Jesus considers his relationship with us a marriage, why we wont be married to our spouses in heaven, and how to fight the darkness that threatens to swallow us whole while we wait for the wedding. Le…

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The Work of the New Adam | S4 E4 33:12

1+ y ago33:12

33:12

As the incarnation of of Son of God approaches its most dramatic moment, Jesus urgently decides to... tell some stories. In this episode, we'll learn why the stories Jesus tells in the last week of his life actually are very urgent, and why Jesus focuses here on stories about work. Along the way, we'll learn what kind of "boss" God is, what kind of…

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Cursed Fig Trees and Fruitful Soil: God's "Nature Logic" | S4 E3 25:01

1+ y ago25:01

25:01

We return to Jerusalem on the morning after Jesus's triumphal entry as he curses a fig tree. We'll learn why he did such a strange thing, why he insisted to Greeks that he himself was a grain of wheat, and what all of this reveals about the Garden of Eden - and ourselves. This episode is all about the “nature logic” of the Gospel, and the way the d…

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Jesus' Triumphal Entry on a Donkey | S4 E2 25:10

1+ y ago25:10

25:10

This week, we follow Jesus in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and discover the raw power of Jesus alone on a donkey. We'll learn why a donkey is a more kingly steed than a chariot. We'll learn what it means that God's kingdom is "already, but not yet." And we'll learn what the wrath of God looks like from God's perspective. In this episode: Toda…

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Why Did Jesus Have to Die? | S4 E1 30:27

1+ y ago30:27

30:27

Welcome back to The Extraordinary Story, a podcast about the life of Christ. Season Four will guide us through the final week of Jesus’ life as he approaches the ‘hour’ for which he came: death on a cross. But Tom Hoopes has done some thinking during the break, and returns with a fresh perspective to share with us about why all of this even matters…

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Waste It All on Jesus | Season Three Finale 22:31

2y ago22:31

22:31

Jesus is back at dinner again with Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus. There's a growing sense of doom in the air. It's the feeling we all know too well - that something is about to go terribly wrong, and we're not sure what. Mary takes out a jar of ointment, and everyone would have been impressed when they saw it, because it was worth a year's w…

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The King Wants to See Your Talents | S3 E22 31:50

2y ago31:50

31:50

Jesus has been headed to Jerusalem: determined, relentless, and unstoppable. He has been telling anyone who would listen that he is going there to die, but no one is listening. Just before they reach the top of the Mount of Olives with a view of Jerusalem he stops to tell them a strange parable. This week Tom Hoopes dives into the Parable of the Ta…

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Two Surprises on the Jericho Road | S3 E21 31:44

2y ago31:44

31:44

Jesus is headed to Jerusalem and nothing is going to stop him- certainly not on the rough and dangerous Jericho Road. A multitude joins Jesus on the path, and as they proceed to Jericho a crazed voice calls out to him: "Son of David, have mercy on me!" In the city, a little man hangs out of a tall tree staring at him. And suddenly, Jesus isn't so u…

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The Lowest Place | S3 E20 31:59

2y ago31:59

31:59

"They are going to kill me," Jesus told his disciples. It was his third great prediction of how it was all going to end: "We are going to Jerusalem where they will condemn me to death." At this moment James, John, and their mother decided to approach Jesus and demand places of honor in the Kingdom. Jesus's response was not what they were expecting.…

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Jesus Raises Lazarus (and His Sisters) | S3 E19 31:37

2y ago31:37

31:37

Jesus is devastated. His friend is dead. He is crying. He stands before Lazarus' tomb and cries out. Was his voice startlingly strong, or broken with the pain that had finally reached a fever pitch? We don't know how he said it, but we do know what he said: "Lazarus, come forth." In this episode, Tom Hoopes explores Jesus' relationship with the fam…

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What the Rich Young Man Lost | S3 E18 28:33

2y ago28:33

28:33

Pope Benedict XVI said, "The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness." We're going to explore just that in this episode as we read the story of the Rich young Man, which is a hinge story in the gospel. One of the big important turning points in the gospel. And we'll even touch base with Ted Turner be…

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Is God Even Listening? Prayer Parables | S3 E17 33:10

2+ y ago33:10

33:10

Jesus has told us all along how loving and caring our Father is and how terrible sin is. But in the parables of the Persistent Widow, and the Pharisee and the Publican, He casts God as uncaring and indifferent in the parable anyway. Then he shows us an unrighteous, righteous man and a righteous sinner. He wants to do is powerfully put across how so…

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Jesus’ Marriage Revolution | S3 E16 30:29

2+ y ago30:29

30:29

The Pharisees try to trip Jesus up by asking him about divorce and marriage. Jesus answers in words that have caused a lot of trouble ever since. "Where God has joined together, let no man put asunder." So we're going to look at divorce and marriage today. I'll try to make the case that what Jesus did here was actually a very freeing thing. I'll ev…

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Parables of Salvation | S3 E15 31:57

2+ y ago31:57

31:57

God is so unfair. Jesus tells three parables today, and each one shows God being unfair. What is up, for instance, with the shrewd steward who cheats his boss and then gets praised for it? What's up with a rich man who enjoys food and drink like you and I do? And Jesus doubles down and then quadruples down on the torment he deserves for eternity. T…

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Painful Truths About the Prodigal Son | S3 E14 31:49

2+ y ago31:49

31:49

Today in three Parables of Divine Mercy, including the big one, The Prodigal Son. I always think I know about the prodigal son already. When I hear someone about to talk about the prodigal son. If that's what you're thinking, just wait. I always get more out of hearing the same thing again and I have a couple of things that I think amount to a new …

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The Reality of Hell (and Mercy) | S3 E13 36:19

2+ y ago36:19

36:19

Today we will hear Jesus, the loving Savior, the Good Shepherd, the Lord who calls us friends, talk all about hell. "Will few be saved?" someone asks him. His answer raises issues that resound to our day. Why is there a hell at all? Why would guide make a world in which people He loves end up in hell? And what about non-Catholics? Where will they e…

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Discovering God in Nature | S3 E12 34:13

2+ y ago34:13

34:13

Take a long look at the grass and birds and flowers, and relax. Jesus contrasts two worldviews. One is the worldview of Mammon, the false God of wealth. The worldview that traps us in a technological bubble as anonymous wage slaves worried about our bank accounts. The other worldview is the one where we are the billionaire children of the King of t…

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The Road to Jerusalem | S3 E11 32:21

2+ y ago32:21

32:21

Jesus is on his relentless road to Jerusalem. He uses the road as a school of discipleship. He warns that wealth and selfishness will dog us every step of the way. Gospel: Luke, 12 The Extraordinary Story is a podcast about the life of Jesus Christ, who entered the maze of our world to give us his Cross as a ladder up and out. The Extraordinary Sto…

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Set Your Hand to the Plow | S3 E10 29:26

2+ y ago29:26

29:26

Christ tells us how to behave when we have set our hand to the plow and how to treat our families. In this episode we consider the paradoxes of Jesus. We learn that the only destruction Jesus commands is the destruction of your paradigm. That love and sentimentality are very different things. And the only fire Jesus wants to set is the fire of love…

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The Good Samaritan and the Laity | S3 E9 36:39

2+ y ago36:39

36:39

Jesus sends out seventy disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and he tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan to answer a lawyer's trick question. The mission of the seventy and the story of a robbery victim both reveal the Church's "secret weapon" - laypeople who evangelize and minister to the world's lost and wounded. The Extraordinary Story i…

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The Good Shepherd | S3 E8 33:22

2+ y ago33:22

33:22

Jesus publicly announces that he is the "Good Shepherd," but this does not mean that he is a friendly farmhand. The Pharisees know this, and they attempt to silence him. If Christ is the Shepherd, who are the sheep who "know his voice?" The Extraordinary Story is a podcast about the life of Jesus Christ, who entered the maze of our world to give us…

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The Man Born Blind | S3 E7 33:36

2+ y ago33:36

33:36

Jesus gives sight to a man who has been blind from birth. This miracle brings Christ into further conflict with the Pharisees. We were all like the man born blind - lost in the maze of the world until we meet Jesus. When the blind man encounters the Lord, everything changes for him. Will we be like him, or like the Pharisees who are so entangled in…

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The Woman Caught in Adultery | S3 E6 35:17

2+ y ago35:17

35:17

Parental Advisory: This episode addresses contemporary sexual problems and behaviors. Listener discretion advised. Religious leaders bring before Jesus a woman "caught in the act of adultery." They expect to trap Jesus in a moral dilemma with no solution. How does Christ respond the woman entangled in sexual sin? How does he react to the religious …

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Revelation in the Temple | S3 E5 36:51

2+ y ago36:51

36:51

Christ travels from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, where the he declares that he himself is Living Water. What is the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of Booths) and why does Christ choose it as the occasion to make this announcement? What is it about calling himself "water" at this feast that makes the scribes and Pharisees want …

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Man vs. God | S3 E4 37:34

2+ y ago37:34

37:34

What is sin, and why does Jesus make such a big deal about it? How should we respond to our own sin and the sin of others around us? In this episode of The Extraordinary Story, we dive into several teachings of Christ that focus on themes of sin and forgiveness. From Peter's famous question, "How many times should I forgive my brother?" to the "Par…

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Become Like A Child | S3 E3 31:27

2+ y ago31:27

31:27

What is it about children that Jesus wants us to imitate? Many of us remember our childhood selves and ask: "What happened to that person full of wonder? What happened to my childhood dreams?" In this episode of The Extraordinary Story, we dive in to Matthew 18 and discuss how God, the source of endless surprise and joy, can help us to "become like…

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A Demon Who Requires Fasting | S3 E2 31:32

2+ y ago31:32

31:32

In this episode, Tom Hoopes examines the story of the boy with a demon in which Jesus puts on a master class in what it takes to cast out demons through faith, hope and love.By Benedictine College

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The Transfiguration | S3 E1 31:40

2+ y ago31:40

31:40

The Extraordinary Story returns. In our first episode of Season 3, Tom Hoopes discusses The Transfiguration.By Benedictine College

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One Year of the Extraordinary Story | Season Two Finale 27:01

2+ y ago27:01

27:01

In the season two finale, Tom Hoopes is joined by his editor and producer, Michael Coy, to reflect on a full year of The Extraordinary Story. Topics include the origins of the podcast, favorite episodes, and hopes for the future of the church.By Benedictine College

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First Prediction of the Passion | S2 E15 31:12

2+ y ago31:12

31:12

Today we are going to talk about Mark’s Midpoint. It’s the turning point in the Extraordinary Story that Mark is telling about Jesus Christ. Before, Jesus was a mystery man, after this he says who he is plainly and that means he must suffer and die.By Benedictine College