Thrive: Perspectives

Thrive Today
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This is Thrive: Perspectives. An ever-growing discussion about the issues that shape our lives with your guide Dr Matthew Jacoby. www.thrivetoday.tv

  1. 18 Jun

    Who Defines Justice? Pt. 2

    What if justice isn’t just a political buzzword or a hashtag people weaponise when it suits them? What if it reaches deeper—into the way we see human dignity, power, poverty, guilt, and responsibility? In this episode, we take on the raw, uncomfortable question of what justice actually demands when every human life carries real worth and grace refuses to let us stay detached. This is not a safe, sanitised conversation. We’re pushing past the tired left-versus-right script and asking harder questions about injustice, generosity, systems, and what it means to stand with people who are easy to ignore. So, if you’re tired of hollow outrage and faith that stays theoretical, join us as we talk about a vision of justice that is fierce, costly, and impossible to ignore once grace gets hold of you.

    54 min

  2. 4 Jun

    Who Defines Justice? Pt. 1

    Everybody’s talking about “justice” right now—social justice, racial justice, climate justice. Your feed is full of call‑outs, hashtags, and hot takes. Modern Social Justice Theory tells you the world is a battlefield of oppressed vs. oppressors, where morality is measured by where you sit on the grid of race, gender, and sexuality. It gives you a language of systems, privilege, microaggressions—and a mission: dismantle power. But there’s an older, sharper word sitting on the table: justice in the Bible. Not just “be nice,” not a thin “God loves everybody,” but a thick, demanding vision where God Himself defines right and wrong, defends the poor, confronts the powerful, and calls everyone to account. A justice that sees sin deeper than systems, grace deeper than guilt, and hope bigger than the latest revolution. An Introduction to Foucault's ThoughtDialectic of Enlightenment Enlightenment Now

    55 min

  3. 21 May

    Mission: People not Projects.

    Western thinking inherits a “modern worldview” that separates what is spiritual from what is material—producing false dichotomies such as evangelism vs social action, “saving souls” vs “meeting needs,” and church ministry vs development work. In this episode we discuss how God’s reign encompasses bodies and bread, worship and justice, reconciliation with God and repaired relationships within society. Christian mission offers a coherent presence—serving without condition, speaking with humility, praying with consent, and inviting discipleship as a response to God’s grace. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara KingsolverThe God of the Empty Handed - Jayakumar ChristianMurriyang: Song of Time - Stan GrantEternity in their Hearts - Don RichardsonOrientalism – Edward Said One Blood: 200 Years of Aboriginal Encounter with ChristianityThe New Shape of World Christianity

    48 min

  4. 7 May

    Catholic. Protestant. Orthodox.

    In this episode we discuss the 3 primary Christian traditions: Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox—three accents, one confession: Jesus Christ is Lord—crucified, risen, reigning. Absolutely, the differences matter—authority, sacraments, salvation—real history, real bruises. But the centre holds: Trinity, Scripture, baptism, prayer, worship, and grace that moves first. Of course, we affirm the Protestant position on the ultimate authority being the Word of God, but let’s drop the caricatures as we reaffirm that unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism - Book by Larry Siedentop

    54 min

  5. 23 Apr

    Thrive Perspectives: Leviticus. Superfluous?

    Those dense chapters of Leviticus and Deuteronomy . . . are they ancient history, or do they still have a claim on us? Which commands were for Israel then, and which, if any, are for God’s people now? What happens when holiness has rules, worship has regulations, and everyday life is wrapped in “you shall” and “you shall not”? And when we hit the strange, the confronting, or the culturally distant, are we tempted to throw it all out as irrelevant—discarding not just the specifics, but the principles beneath them? Let’s slow down long enough to ask ourselves what these laws were shaping, protecting, and revealing, what might they show us about God’s character—and our own—today? Thrive Deeper Episode - Levticus

    51 min

  6. 9 Apr

    Thrive Perspectives: Costly Faith in a Cheap World

    We live in a world that’s increasingly cost‑averse. We want convenience, comfort, and the lowest possible price. And that mindset doesn’t stay in the shopping trolley; it shapes the way we think about relationships, commitments… and even faith. But Jesus never offered a discounted version of discipleship. Jesus calls us to be holy. To be set apart. Holiness means we won’t always fit neatly into the expectations of the crowd, and that “set apart” life can feel expensive when belonging is the currency of our age. How can we live set-apart in a culture, where the highest good is often staying accepted, staying comfortable, and staying unbothered. The question isn’t whether following Jesus will cost you… but what you’re willing to pay.

    35 min

  7. 26 Mar

    Thrive Perspectives: Conviction or Comfort?

    Jesus never hid the fine print. He warned that following him would be costly—that the road is narrow, the crowd is small, and comfort is never guaranteed. Yet today, the pressure many Christians feel isn’t open persecution, but the quiet expectation to blend in, stay agreeable, and keep conviction private. Our culture tells us to be ourselves—right up until our beliefs challenge the accepted script. Acceptance is rewarded. Dissent is costly. And faithfulness can feel isolating. In this episode of Thrive Perspectives, we explore why conformity has such a powerful hold on us, how social pressure shapes what we believe, and why Jesus’ call still demands courage. If discipleship means denying ourselves and following him, what does that look like in a world that prizes comfort above conviction? The Madness of Crowds. Douglas Murray. - Are we living through the great derangement of our times?Brave New WorldInventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism - Book by Larry Siedentop

    47 min

  8. 12 Mar

    Thrive Perspectives: Where Trust Began

    In this episode of Thrive Perspectives, we explore a story hidden in plain sight—the way the Christian church has shaped modern Western culture itself. Long before trust was placed in governments, markets, or systems, it was formed through the life of the church. A gospel vision of shared responsibility and care gave rise to schools, hospitals, and networks of support—places where people learned to trust that they were not alone, that the vulnerable mattered, and that community carried responsibility together. That legacy still underpins Western society, even as our culture has shifted toward individualism and self-reliance. So what happens when a world built on communal trust begins to forget the source that formed it? Explore how the church shaped our instincts of trust and responsibility—and why recovering a gospel-shaped vision of community matters now, more than ever. The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous : Henrich, Joseph: Amazon.com.au: BooksDominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World - Book by Tom HollandInventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism - Book by Larry Siedentop

    54 min
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About

This is Thrive: Perspectives. An ever-growing discussion about the issues that shape our lives with your guide Dr Matthew Jacoby. www.thrivetoday.tv

Information

  • Creator
    Thrive Today
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Thrive Today© 2020
  • Show Website
    Thrive: Perspectives

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