You've seen Egypt in Sunday school flannelgraphs. You've seen it in The Prince of Egypt. You've heard it reduced to "the bad guys" in the Exodus story.

But what if almost everything you think you know about Egypt is wrong?

In this episode of You've Heard It Said, we confront the Egypt in your head—the one built by centuries of art, film, and oversimplified retellings. Because if we don't understand what Egypt actually was, we can't fully grasp what God did when He brought Israel out.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why Egypt was a main character in Israel's story, not just a villain
• What ancient Egypt was actually like—and why it was both magnificent and terrifying
• How misunderstanding Egypt means misunderstanding the Exodus
• Why the plagues were a direct confrontation with Egypt's gods
• What it means that the God of enslaved people defeated the greatest empire of the ancient world

This is the foundation for everything that comes next. Welcome to Egypt.

You've Heard It Said: where faith meets history, and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

Follow the show and/or read the written version on Substack (you'll get the reading plan if you do!):👉 https://youvehearditsaid.short.gy/spotify

The Old Testament often feels confusing, outdated, or easy to sidestep, but Jesus never treated it that way.
So why does it still matter?

In this introductory episode of You’ve Heard It Said, we explore why the Old Testament is foundational to Christian faith—and how reading it in its ancient, cultural, and historical context can radically change how we understand Scripture.

In this episode, we explore:
• Why Jesus insisted the Law and the Prophets still matter• How the Sermon on the Mount reframes the purpose of Old Testament law• What the laws of Israel reveal about God’s care for women, widows, and the vulnerable• How legalism missed the heart of the law• Why the Bible wasn’t written into our modern context—and why that matters

And then, we put that lens into practice with one story that changed everything for me:
• Rebekah at the well (Genesis 24)• Eliezer’s test and the theme of hesed (loyal love)• What ancient wells like the Pool of Gibeon reveal about the true cost of Rebekah’s obedience• Why her story is about willingness, not impressiveness

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history, and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

Subscribe to the show and/or read the written version on Substack:
👉 https://youvehearditsaid.substack.com/

Christmas didn’t become big business by accident. It became big business because it already meant something. So how did a sacred season turn into a cultural industry? And what did we lose—and gain—along the way?

In this episode, we explore:• How Christmas moved from the church into the public square• Why visibility made the season scalable, and sellable• How Santa shifted from folklore to storefronts• The role of department stores, Coca-Cola, and branding• How Hallmark industrialized Christmas sentiment• Why Starbucks taught us when Christmas starts• And what commercialization reveals about human longing

This episode closes out our first Christmas series on You’ve Heard It Said.

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

Subscribe to this channel or read the full written version on Substack here: https://youvehearditsaid.short.gy/spotify

Much of the Christmas we recognize today didn’t come from the early church or the ancient world of Rome.

It came—quietly and over centuries—from German Christianity.

From St. Nicholas to Advent wreaths, Christmas trees, markets, candles, and gift-giving, this episode traces how German folk customs, winter survival rituals, and Christian theology blended into the Christmas many of us celebrate now.

In this episode, we explore:
• Why modern Christmas feels so visually “German”
• Who St. Nicholas really was before Santa
• What Yule reveals about humanity’s fear of winter darkness
• How Christianity reframed winter—not with spectacle, but incarnation
• Why Advent taught Christians how to wait
• How the Christmas tree became a symbol of life in death
• And how German traditions became American Christmas

Christmas, it turns out, wasn’t built all at once.
It was shaped by longing—and by the quiet conviction that light still comes.

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

✨ Follow the show or read the newsletter on Substack:👉 https://youvehearditsaid.short.gy/spotify

Christmas hasn’t always been cozy, sentimental, or universally loved.

In fact, for a few centuries, Christians themselves cancelled it.

From Puritan crackdowns in England to a full legal ban in colonial Boston—and even Christmas riots in early America—the holiday nearly disappeared before it ever became a cultural staple. And then a storyteller changed everything.

In this episode, we explore:
• Why Christians once outlawed Christmas altogether
• How Puritan reforms shut down winter festivities
• Why Boston fined anyone caught celebrating
• How Christmas became associated with disorder and class tension
• Why cultural leaders sought to “domesticate” the holiday
• How Charles Dickens helped reinvent Christmas around compassion, hope, and social conscience

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

✨ Follow the show or check out the newsletter on Substack for more history-meets-faith content:
👉 https://youvehearditsaid.short.gy/spotify

If Christmas is so important, why isn’t it in the Bible?
In this pilot episode of You’ve Heard It Said, we trace how December 25 became the most celebrated day in the Christian calendar—without appearing anywhere in Scripture.

From early Christians who didn’t celebrate birthdays…
to secret meeting under the Roman authorities…
to an emperor whose bold move changed the course of history…
this is the surprising story of how Christmas came to be.

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

Follow the show and learn more here:
👉 https://youvehearditsaid.short.gy/spotify

In this episode:
• Why Christmas isn’t in the Bible
• What early Christians thought about birthdays
• Two major theories behind December 25
• Roman persecution and hidden gatherings
• Constantine’s complicated role in Christmas’s history
• What this reveals about the resilience of early Christian faith

Follow along for more historical and cultural context that reshapes how we read Scripture.