When I was about nine years old, I was digging in the yard. My brother saw me with the shovel and said, “If you keep going, you’ll reach China.” He probably meant this as a joke, though I wouldn’t put much confidence in either of our understanding of geography or plate tectonics at the time. I abruptly stopped, finding it disturbing to imagine people from another part of the world crawling up out of my favorite hole project.

At various times throughout childhood, I would return to the dream of digging a really deep hole. When we were eleven or twelve, we attempted to dig a hole big enough to be a boy’s bunker. For the uninitiated, this is like a clubhouse, but just way more subterranean. We never got deep enough to make the bunker, but we had one fantastic mud day, when my younger brother had the idea of filling our in-progress hole via the garden hose.

The deepest hole I have ever seen was actually a cavern, one of those where you can pay a little money and they will take you down into the dark. Although this one was rigged with lights, the tour guide turned them off at one point and let us just experience the dark silence.

Later in the tour, he turned the lights off again and said, “If you were to walk ten steps in the direction of my voice, you would fall forever. Or at least that’s what the first explorers down here thought.” He went on to explain that there was an underground overlook that the previous century’s spelunkers had discovered. When they had thrown a rock over the edge to gauge the depth, they never heard the crash. They wondered if they had truly found a bottomless pit. It turned out that they didn’t hear the crash because the not-so-bottomless hole was lined, a few hundred feet below, with a deep layer of guano. That’s bat poop. Centuries’ worth of it. The rock had landed with a soft, silent plop. It certainly wasn’t bottomless, but it wasn’t the kind of bottom you’d want to find either.

In this chapter of Revelation, we discover a pit so unfathomable that the author calls it the abyss, or in some translations, the bottomless pit.

When I was about twelve, my brother Lance and I were turned loose in the woods while Dad helped a friend build a house. We had matches in our fanny packs—tough-guy gear, somehow still in a fanny pack. We came to a field of tall, crispy, late-season grass. Lance lit a match, dropped it, and we stamped it out. Then another. Then another, waiting a little longer each time. It was fun—until it wasn't. The burn stopped being a little circle and started spreading. One of the other boys wanted to run. We had a moment of indecision that almost divided our group. Fire does that. We turned back, dipped our turtlenecks in a nearby pond, and beat the flames until we were choking and covered in ash. We got it out. When we got back, Dad joked that we looked like we'd been playing in a fire. That night Mom got a call: the burn was the size of three school buses. Our punishment was no fireworks at the church lock-in. We never played that game again. I tell that story because Jesus talks about fire in this passage, and it is jarring.

1998 was a huge year for life-ending meteor strikes to the earth, at least according to Hollywood. I was a freshman in high school when two major movies with the same premise came out only a few months from each other: Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis, and Deep Impact, starring Elijah Wood and Morgan Freeman. These two movies depicted extinction-level events where something from space came to Earth with cataclysmic effects. The fear of space rock impacts was not just in the movies.

The late 90s were already flooded with existential dread. As Y2K (Year 2000) was approaching, there was talk of the end of the world as we knew it. In ’94, astronomers watched in awe as pieces of a giant comet, Shoemaker-Levy 9, smashed into Jupiter. In early ’98, just months before these two movies debuted, the discovery of a mile-wide asteroid, hypothetically on a collision course with Earth, was announced to the public. It splashed across newspapers and outlets worldwide and terrified everyone. The same year that the public panic was peaking, and the movies were released, the US government announced a NASA program called the Spaceguard Survey, a kind of planetary defense that was supposed to chart near-Earth objects that pose a threat. These were my high school years, years we lived in the notion that the end of the world was possibly at hand.

It was in that time that my youth group took up the study of Revelation. As we worked our way through the verses on Sunday nights, I was astonished. Especially in chapter eight, where the content, specifically Wormwood, sounded a lot like the two movies I had just seen in the theater. I was both amazed and not a little scared. As the years have passed, the meteor hysteria has decreased, but one day, it will return with a fiery resolve. That’s one thing we will discover in this chapter.

This week on More To The Story: an exhausted hiker walks down Table Mountain in a rescue exoskeleton, the US–Iran standoff swings between diplomacy and doomsday, drones fill the night sky over Ukraine, gene therapy helps adult retinas rewire and see again, and a Sunday sermon on the war within — stories with more beneath the headlines, and a clear line back to Jesus.

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This week on More To The Story: firefighters pull a kitten from a Colorado well and one of them adopts her on the spot, Hubble and JWST find twenty-seven tiny worlds past Neptune, tankers burn near the Strait of Hormuz as oil jumps, a Russian strike hits a train near Ukraine’s border with Poland, and a missing hiker is found alive after a week on a remote Lake Superior island — five stories with more beneath the headlines, and a clear line back to Jesus.

This week on More To The Story: a privately built German rocket reaches orbit from the Arctic, archaeologists find garden soil under the traditional tomb of Jesus that matches John’s Gospel, a cargo plane goes off a Miami runway, Nepal observes a national day of mourning after catastrophic floods, and endangered red wolf pups from a zoo are thriving in a wild pack — five stories with more beneath the headlines, and a clear line back to Jesus.

The Victim Mentality | Society's Lies Our news is packed with the oppressed. Our conversations focus on the wounded. Even our entertainment is chalked full of those abused.  It's beautiful to live in a country that cares so much about those who have been oppressed, marginalized, and hurt. However, did you know among victims there […]

Six seals broken. The world in chaos. The roar of judgment is deafening. Then... absolute silence. The angels hold back the wind. Heaven holds its breath. In the eerie quiet before the final strike, two mysterious groups emerge from the devastation. An army of 144,000, marked for survival in the crossfire. And a great multitude, […]

<< PREV | NEXT >> In high school, I had a classmate who locked his keys in his car by accident. The campus police officer saw him struggling to get it unlocked and came over to assist. The officer used a slim Jim to get the door open, but my classmate was nervous the whole time, […]

Dive into an uplifting and soul-stirring conversation with Lucas Kitchen and Shawn Lazar as they explore the profound intersection of mental health and spiritual hope. In this engaging episode, they masterfully reframe the struggle of depression through the lens of storytelling, moving away from "tragic" narratives to embrace the "comedy" of a life anchored in faith and future resurrection. With a blend […]

In this episode, host Lucas Kitchen sits down with author Clint Hall to explore his path from making childhood comic books to publishing Christian science fiction and fantasy. The conversation tackles the shifting definitions of the faith-based fiction market and how authors balance genre expectations with their personal beliefs. Hall unpacks the thematic foundations of his major […]

What are you currently anticipating? I still remember the heavy weight of waiting for Christmas morning, or the restless excitement of turning sixteen and the freedom a driver’s license promised. As an adult, looking forward feels more measured, yet life is still filled with that sticky emotion. We wait for tax returns, upcoming vacations, promotions, […]

In this episode, hosts Lucas Kitchen, Shawn Lazar, and Dane Allen explore the stark differences between legalistic and grace-based Christian parenting. By sharing relatable moments of parental frustration—from arguing over cat vomit to navigating bedtime meltdowns—the trio discusses how to move beyond merely enforcing rules and duties. Instead, they advocate for a parenting approach rooted in unconditional love, suggesting […]

What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen? Maybe your top ten most incredible sights would beat mine. For me, my list isn't all that impressive: I recently saw a bald eagle dive for a fish in a lake while it was raining. Not uncommon, but a neat sight. A few months ago, I took […]

Episode Overview Kitchen reflects on the surreal experience of witnessing humanity's return to the moon, specifically following the four astronauts who launched on April 1, 2026. He discusses the mission’s milestones, including the crew breaking the record for the farthest distance traveled in space—surpassing the previous record held by Apollo 13—while on the far side of the […]

Snowstorms & Sunday School. Summary: Lucas and Kristah Kitchen discuss Kristah's history with the ministry, the unexpected weather at the recent FGI Women's Retreat, and the vision for a new FGI children's curriculum. Episode Highlights

In this episode, Lucas Kitchen, Shawn Lazar, and Dane Allen tackle the profound tension between the visible world we struggle through and the eternal reality we are promised. Centered on 2 Corinthians 4:18, the trio explores how "shifting your perspective" isn't just a mental exercise, but a vital lifeline for those enduring "light affliction" and suffering. They dive deep into the moral […]

Discover the powerful, untold story behind "The Deep," the opening track on Lucas Kitchen's latest album. If you are interested in the intersection of real-world ministry and songwriting, this episode offers valuable insights into how complex emotional experiences evolve into art. You will hear why Kitchen chose authenticity over perfection by deciding to sing the vocals himself […]

In this episode, Lucas Kitchen, Shawn Lazar, and Dane Allen engage in a spirited, multi-layered discussion regarding the primary purpose of the Gospel of John. The conversation explores whether the book was written as a purely evangelistic document intended to bring unbelievers to faith , or if its purpose is broader, encompassing the discipleship and spiritual deepening of the church. The hosts examine key passages, specifically the […]

The Restful Work of an Indie Musician: Kevin Schlereth's Story Join host Lucas Kitchen as he sits down with touring musician Kevin Schlereth for a deep dive into an unconventional life on the road. In this episode, Kevin, a singer-songwriter known for his overtly Christian, niche, and theological music—including an entire album focused on the concept of Sabbath—discusses […]

Join Lucas Kitchen, Shawn Lazar, and Dane Allen as they engage in a lively and transparent podcast to discuss a core issue within Free Grace theology: the precise nature of the saving message. The central point of debate revolves around the phrase, "Believe in Jesus for eternal life." Shawn, who has been working on an […]

In this episode, Lucas dives deep into a topic of Christian living: debt. Is borrowing a lack of faith? Are loans inherently unspiritual—or even sinful? Drawing from Scripture, historical context, and modern financial realities, Lucas unpacks what the Bible actually says about lending, borrowing, cosigning, and the nature of wise stewardship. Whether you’ve struggled with debt, wrestled with […]

Has the church gotten its priorities backward? In this message, Lucas Kitchen kicks things off with a hilarious story about a basketball coach who is more concerned with the fans in the stands than the players on his team. This funny "out of whack" parable sets the stage for a challenging look at our own […]

Lucas Kitchen wrestles with the history and meaning of Halloween — from ancient Celtic rites to modern yard displays — and explores how Christians might creatively “flip the script” to celebrate God’s triumph over darkness instead. Along the way, he reflects on his writing projects, faith, and finding light in creative obsession.

In this thoughtful and heartfelt conversation, Lucas Kitchen sits down with Paeter Frandsen, the creator behind Christian Geek Central, to explore what it means to live at the intersection of faith and fandom. They unpack the evolving definition of “geek,” from its circus origins to its modern embrace of passionate niche interests, and discuss how geek culture often overlaps […]

Lucas is back with another ramble full of travel mishaps, unexpected friendships, and one very questionable online purchase. Fresh from a trip to Phoenix for the Free Grace Alliance Conference, he reflects on reconnecting with fellow believers, forging new ministry relationships, and rediscovering the joy of giving away books instead of selling them. Along the […]

In this episode, Lucas Kitchen explores the difference between suffering for doing good and suffering for doing wrong, using a verse from 1 Peter as a starting point. He discusses how some religious circles can misinterpret the consequences of their own obnoxious or damaging behavior as righteous persecution. This "ramble" then transitions into a detailed guide […]

In this reflective podcast episode, Lucas Kitchen takes listeners on a thoughtful journey exploring how the threads of life, faith, science, and art all meet at a single point. From personal moments of renewal and fellowship to the deep mysteries of mathematics, music, and the human mind, Lucas considers how abstract ideas align with the […]

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