The 66 Podcast

As Paul brings this letter to a close, he returns to the issue of the “idle” (ataktoi). The word means “loafers,” “freeloaders,” “spongers,” “disorderly,” or “unruly.”  Having already mentioned them in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, he mentions them three times in 2 Thessalonians 3 (vv. 6, 7, 11).

Persecution wasn't the only problem plaguing the Thessalonians. They were also facing the problem of false teaching. Misunderstandings regarding the second coming still threatened to shake the church's spiritual stability. In response, Paul answers five important questions. His answers supplement the teaching from the first epistle and the instruction he gave during his short time with the Thessalonians.

The second epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written shortly after the first. Between the writing of the two epistles, while Paul remained in Corinth with Timothy and Silas, the apostle received another report about the church in Thessalonica (3:11). Among other things, he heard that the persecution Paul experienced in Thessalonica continued to threaten the church that he had established (Acts 17:1-9). Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians begins with encouragement to a group of Christians who are facing serious affliction.

Last episode, we discussed 1 Thessalonians 4, where Paul answers the question, "What happens after death?" This week he answers another, similar question, "What will happen at the end of the world?"

Because Paul had so little time with the church at Thessalonica, they misunderstood some of the most troubling questions of reality: questions about death and life after death.

1 Thessalonians 3 shows the results of investing your soul in ministry. During those days when Paul had no news concerning the Thessalonians' welfare, Paul's concerns were "unbearable" (vv. 1, 5; cf. Acts 17:15-16; 2 Cor. 11:28). Was it worth the risk?

Paul discusses the development of the church at Thessalonica in four stages of progression.

1 Thessalonians 1 describes a healthy church for which Paul was thankful.

Join us as we close out our discussion of Ezekiel!

The leaders of Israel had failed miserably. Join us as we discuss Ezekiel's prophecy of the days when Israel would be led by a new, capable shepherd.

What would you expect to find in a world without GOD? Sorrow. Falsehood. Pain. Injustice. Selfishness. Indifference to morality. Perhaps it's a world not too unlike our world today. The nation of Judah was meant to be a light in such a world. In this episode, we cover GOD's HIS judgment on the seven nations who committed adultery with Judah.

A year after Ezekiel's first vision he again sees the glory of GOD. This time Ezekiel will witness idolatry, destruction, and the departure of GOD's glory from the temple.

The Lord gives Ezekiel four parables explaining the plight of the Jews in Babylonian captivity.

Join us as we finish up the symbols of Ezekiel!

Ezekiel begins his life of proclaiming God's word by acting out four symbols before the people. By the end of chapter five, Ezekiel creates a model of the siege of Jerusalem, lays down without moving for 430 days, starves himself, and shaves his head and face bald - all to depict Judah's coming punishment.

Nearly five years after being exiled from Jerusalem, a young priest was called by God to serve as the watchman of Israel. The vision that Ezekiel sees is too great for him to handle; he is left overwhelmed for seven days afterward. Join us as we discover what brought this priest to such a state.

Titus 3 combines the efforts of God and man to bring about salvation.  In the text we'll see three things: Christianity has been historically achieved by God. Now it must be affirmed and amplified.

Titus was to "declare these things...with all authority" (Titus 2:15). What things? And by what authority?

A person's last words are often significant. They measure one's whole life. 2 Timothy 4 is the last inspired chapter Paul wrote. Writing from the prison cell that served as his final residence, the apostle gave three final admonitions to Timothy.

As Paul draws near to the close of his final address to Timothy, he gives the young minister sound advice for navigating the storms ahead. He warns Timothy that certain people among the congregation in Ephesus will soon begin to reject his gospel. To combat the misguided teachings of others, Paul encourages Timothy to hold fast to the example and to the gospel which he had learned from the apostle Paul.

Paul urges Timothy to be a an approved worker (2 Tim. 2:15). What does it mean to work hard as a minister of the gospel? And what does it mean to be set aside for good works?

The circumstances surrounding Paul's second letter to Timothy are much different from those attending his first letter. Paul is now enduring his final imprisonment. He knows that the “time of his departure has come” (4:6). Maybe this is why he is so introspective as he begins what has been called “Paul's Farewell Letter.” In chapter 1 Paul reveals what is going on in his soul. Audio Player

In this last chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul explains how Christians should live in the "present age" (v. 17) by keeping the return of the Lord at the "proper time" (v. 15) in perspective.

In the last chapter, Paul encouraged Timothy, saying, “Let no one despise you for your youth” (4:12). Now the apostle turns to the other side of the coin and addresses the respect that should be shown for those who are older: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father…older women as mothers” (5:1). How should the elderly be treated in the church? Paul discusses three examples so that Christians may learn how properly to respect this valuable group in the church.

The believers in Ephesus had a choice to make: listen to the words of faith from Timothy or listen to the words of deceit, myths, and meaningless debate from the false teachers. In this chapter, Paul encourages Timothy to stay immersed in the words of faith in order to combat the deceit in Ephesus and to win the souls of the Ephesian people.

1 Timothy 3 begins with Paul saying, “The saying is trustworthy.” All of the words the apostle Paul wrote by inspiration are important, but this introductory phrase suggests that he wants his readers to pay close attention to what he is about to say in 1 Timothy 3. Why? Because he is beginning a discussion on the qualifications of elders and deacons, a matter that has a powerful effect on the health and wellbeing of any congregation of the Lord's church.

Having warned Timothy about the danger of distractions in the church at Ephesus, in 1 Timothy 2 Paul turns to the subject of order in the church. This same apostle wrote that “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” and commanded the church at Corinth, saying, “All things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:33, 40). His commands in 1 Timothy 2 are challenging in our libertine, “anything goes” society, but that doesn't make them less true.

The church in Ephesus was very important to Paul. Paul had spent three years with this church, and now he has left it in the hands of his “true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2), Timothy. Paul met Timothy in Lystra on his second  missionary journey. Timothy had learned about Christ from his Jewish mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Although his father was Greek, Timothy had become a Christian, and Paul was so impressed that he invited him to join him and the others as they continued their mission efforts (Acts 16:1-5). Timothy was a gifted preacher (1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), but like all of us, he struggled with weaknesses (1 Tim. 4:12; 5:23; 2 Tim. 1:7).At the time of the writing of 1 Timothy, the church in Ephesus was struggling with a lack of focus. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul instructs his young friend on how to stay the course.

The time of the end has come! Join us as we end our study of Daniel in this discussion of one of the most incredible prophecies in the Bible.

Study with us in the only prophecy that uses the term "Messiah" concerning Jesus in the Old Testament.

Join us as we seek to understand Daniel's second troubling vision.

Having finished the narrative portion of Daniel, we move into the prophecies and visions of the second half of the book.

Having survived the entire Babylonian captivity, Daniel and the rest of the Israelite captives are introduced to a new empire: Persia. Join us as we discuss some potentially unfamiliar themes in a familiar story.

It's the final night of the Babylonian empire. Outside the city, the Persian army prepares their attack. Inside the city, the king of Babylon is having a celebration. Listen and find out what happens to the king of Babylon on his final night.

Join us as we study & discuss one of the strangest chapters in the Old Testament.

Standing against an enemy is sometimes difficult, but what about standing against your own people? Check out our episode on the Fiery Furnace of Daniel 3!

In this episode we cover Daniel 2 with Jordan Ware, Youth & Family Minister at the Decatur Highway Church of Christ in Gardendale, AL.

Join us as we begin a new study in the book of Daniel. Our first episode introduces the book and covers the first chapter.

Listen in for our final episode on Romans! In this episode we cover the final three chapters of the book.

In chapter 12, the focus shifts from the doctrine of the gospel to the application of the gospel. In chapter 12 alone we see as many as 21 characteristics of the transformed Christian mind. Join us as we study through the practicality of living out the Gospel.

In our study of Romans 9-11, our main focus is GOD's sovereign ability to choose whom HE will save and how HE will save them.

After proving justification by faith, Paul shows his Roman readers how they have been set free by faith in chapters 6-8. Paul reveals that we have been set free from sin (chapter 6), from the Law (chapter 7), and even from death (chapter 8).

After proving that none are righteous except GOD alone in chapters 1-3:20, Paul moves on to explain the good news of the Gospel of Christ in the following chapters. He begins his explanation of the gospel by making the point that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law (3:28).

Paul's explanation of the gospel starts off with the need for salvation (or the why). In the case of the cross, the good news is only necessary on account of the bad news.

Often referred to as “Paul's Gospel,” Romans is Paul's carefully crafted explanation of the good news of Christ.

A short, often overlooked book full of rich, thought provoking content concerning the marriage relationship - "the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's."

The bitter punishment of the nation of Israel had been realized. What was once a radiant light shining from the hill was now nothing more than a flickering glow hidden underneath the ruin of the once-mighty Jerusalem. The “gods” which Israel had chosen to protect them had failed miserably, while the true GOD was preparing to heal the wound of HIS fallen people.

The assassination of Gedaliah began a twenty-six-year period of no rule in Judah. In the absence of an official leader, Johanan does his best to organize the people near Bethlehem. What shall they do? The consensus was to flee to Egypt to avoid Nebuchadnezzar's wrath. But first, they decided to hear what the Lord through Jeremiah had to say. Jeremiah had described his people as “having eyes but not seeing, having ears but not hearing” (Jeremiah 5:21). The people's response to his prophecy proves that description to be correct.

2 Kings 24:20 reveals why Jerusalem met its tragic end: “For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.” God's patience had run its course, and it was time to end his relationship with his people, with most of them anyway.

During Jerusalem's waning years, the officials of king Zedekiah threw one of the cities' few righteous men into a deep, dark, ineffective cistern. As it turns out, the cistern that served as Jeremiah's prison also served as an excellent metaphor for the king's psychological state. Throughout Jeremiah chapters 37-38, Zedekiah wears a number of “faces,” all revealing his weakness as a leader over God's people.

How do you know when someone's lying to you? The truth is pretty important, so we must have some way of knowing whether or not a person is lying to us. Jeremiah dealt with liars. They were misleading the nation he was appointed to guide. What did he do to expose their falsehood? In this lesson we will learn the tactics and the demise of those who twist the truth.