Podcasts about Christians

The assassination of Charlie Kirk They frame Kirk’s death as a political assassination, comparing it to historical killings of JFK, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. The hosts emphasize concerns about political violence, the dangers of polarization, and left-wing reactions online. They highlight messages of unity from unexpected voices on the left, such as Cenk Uygur, while contrasting that with those celebrating Kirk’s death. Persecution of Christians in Nigeria Cruz details violence by Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, citing statistics of tens of thousands of Christians killed and thousands of churches destroyed. He introduces the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which seeks to: Classify Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom. Keep Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa labeled as terrorist groups. Sanction Nigerian officials complicit in persecution. The discussion connects this to broader issues of U.S. foreign policy, criticizing past administrations (especially Obama and Biden) for not doing enough to defend persecuted Christians. Tucker Carlson’s controversial statements Carlson’s remarks about offering condolences to Osama bin Laden’s family, questioning Hamas’s designation as a terrorist group, and sympathetic portrayals of Russia and Iran are strongly criticized. Cruz and Ferguson accuse Carlson of moral relativism, equating his views with those of progressive politicians like Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib. They reaffirm that groups like Hamas, al-Qaeda, and ISIS are terrorist organizations, citing both U.S. and international designations as well as historical attacks. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We are Christians. [Persecution] can happen any time.” As the pastor of an illegal house church in China, “Brother Enfu” knows the truth of that statement. Listen as he shares why and how he prepares his wife and children for the day he may eventually be arrested and sent to prison. He will give an update on Christian persecution in China and how believers there are responding faithfully despite increasing government pressure. Enfu will explain how a new law prohibits foreigners in China from talking about their faith—even in private settings. He'll also share how the CCP's persecution strategy has changed, charging pastors and other church leaders with “fraud” or other financial crimes rather than using overtly religious criminal charges. “Christianity is the narrow way, and the government is warning people about it,” Enfu says. Instead of large church events, the gospel is spreading through one-on-one conversations with co-workers or neighbors as Christians share what Jesus has done in their lives. Brother Enfu encourages pastors and church leaders he trains to stay in China and serve Christians there, rather than leaving China for a more comfortable position in the West. He says that when he hears of a brother or sister imprisoned for their faith, it's an encouragement to him, even as he acknowledges the suffering they are enduring. Pastor Wang Yi is one of those Chinese pastors who stayed in China and stood firm in his faith. He is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence. Pray Chinese believers will be faithful in their daily life and ministry and pray for government leaders, including President Xi Jinping, to find and follow Christ. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.

In this episode of Pray the Word on Mark 14:9, David Platt reminds us that a life poured out in love for Jesus is never wasted.Explore more content from Radical.

Timcast- Media Warns of Civil War In Wake of Charlie Kirk Assassination. Sheep No More: Rise Up   Media Warns of Civil War In Wake of Charlie Kirk Assassination https://youtu.be/RpCAv3kgNgU?si=-F73eTNLZr3Hd150 Timcast IRL 2.44M subscribers 154,772 views Sep 12, 2025 Timcast IRL Stories SUPPORT THE SHOW BUY CAST BREW COFFEE NOW - https://castbrew.com/ Join -    / @timcastirl   Hosts: Tim @Timcast (everywhere) Phil @PhilThatRemains (X) Mary ⁨@PopCultureCrisis⁩ (everywhere) Tate @RealTateBrown (everywhere) Serge @SergeDotCom (everywhere) Guest: Jay Johnston Podcast available on all podcast platforms! Media Warns of Civil War In Wake of Charlie Kirk Assassination   Sheep No More: Rise Up https://youtu.be/HJ9_gKeZj2c?si=mtwlgrDILltJOSBB ThePatriotNurse 578K subscribers 41,854 views Sep 12, 2025 In this video, Patriot Nurse breaks down the arrest of Charlie Kirk's suspected assassin—and why one arrest won't stop the threat facing our nation. Millennials and Gen X must wake up, train, and protect the next generation. If you care about your children's future, watch now and join the conversation. Support Patriot Nurse: Paypal: http://tinyurl.com/pz6c9uum Patreon: http://tinyurl.com/43hppwu7 Subscribestar: https://bit.ly/2RESD4S Bitcoin: 3FxJWbSL9nFSMRgymSsicniPxTPd26Kuvj Ethereum: 0x5134d6f2700Fa21cEcE6ED1ABDE240b3B320bDDd Litecoin: MC1qkabuDXGCrjNcXwxvz5qgtsFGVpXYKF Follow Patriot Nurse: X: https://X.com/ThePatriotNurse Rumble: https://rumble.com/ThePatriotNurse Instagram:   / thepatriotnurse   Facebook:   / thepatriotnurse     --------------------------------------------------------------------  Check out our ACU Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ACUPodcast   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Also Rate us on any platform you follow us on. It helps a lot. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites ACU on Twitter- https://twitter.com/AmerConU . Warning- Explicit and Violent video content.   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com   Endorsed Charities -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Born! Saving babies and Souls. https://preborn.org/ OUR MISSION To glorify Jesus Christ by leading and equipping pregnancy clinics to save more babies and souls. WHAT WE DO Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. We are designed to strategically impact the abortion industry through the following initiatives:… -------------------------------------------------------- Help CSI Stamp Out Slavery In Sudan Join us in our effort to free over 350 slaves. Listeners to the Eric Metaxas Show will remember our annual effort to free Christians who have been enslaved for simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, join us in giving new life to brothers and sisters in Sudan who have enslaved as a result of their faith. https://csi-usa.org/metaxas   https://csi-usa.org/slavery/   Typical Aid for the Enslaved A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food A dairy goat A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks. Release celebrations include prayer and gathering for a meal, and medical care for those in need. The CSI team provides comfort, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on while they tell their stories and begin their new lives. Thank you for your compassion  Giving the Gift of Freedom and Hope to the Enslaved South Sudanese -------------------------------------------------------- Food For the Poor https://foodforthepoor.org/ Help us serve the poorest of the poor Food For The Poor began in 1982 in Jamaica. Today, our interdenominational Christian ministry serves the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Thanks to our faithful donors, we are able to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions and much more. We are proud to have fed millions of people and provided more than 15.7 billion dollars in aid. Our faith inspires us to be an organization built on compassion, and motivated by love. Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless.   Report on Food For the Poor by Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/592174510   -------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer from ACU. We try to bring to our students and alumni the World's best Conservative thinkers. All views expressed belong solely to the author and not necessarily to ACU. In all issues and relations, we hope to follow the admonitions of Jesus Christ. While striving to expose, warn and contend with evil, we extend the love of God to all of his children. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Is There Life After Death? Scholar Analyzes 500+ Cases over 50 Years. Gary Habermas was one of the first Christian scholars to study near-death experiences in the early 1970s. Thus, he has been studying them over 5 decades! How has the evidence changed? According to Dr. Habermas, we have hundreds of NEW documented, evidential cases just in the past few years. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Habermas about the cases he has collected and analyzed. Some involve accurate details observed miles away from the patient's body, blind individuals seeing for the first time and verifiable medical data that naturalistic explanations simply cannot explain. READ: On the Resurrection: Evidences, by Gary Habermas (https://amzn.to/3JkWaky) Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/JGYYT0YZaG8?si=Mogi4GfZL-lLmoXh Sean McDowell 350K subscribers 42,683 views Premiered Aug 22, 2025 Sean McDowell Show *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [SMDCERTDISC] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell... Instagram:   / seanmcdowell   Website: https://seanmcdowell.org   --------------------------------------------------------------------  Check out our ACU Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ACUPodcast   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Also Rate us on any platform you follow us on. It helps a lot. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites ACU on Twitter- https://twitter.com/AmerConU . Warning- Explicit and Violent video content.   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com   Endorsed Charities -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Born! Saving babies and Souls. https://preborn.org/ OUR MISSION To glorify Jesus Christ by leading and equipping pregnancy clinics to save more babies and souls. WHAT WE DO Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. We are designed to strategically impact the abortion industry through the following initiatives:… -------------------------------------------------------- Help CSI Stamp Out Slavery In Sudan Join us in our effort to free over 350 slaves. Listeners to the Eric Metaxas Show will remember our annual effort to free Christians who have been enslaved for simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, join us in giving new life to brothers and sisters in Sudan who have enslaved as a result of their faith. https://csi-usa.org/metaxas   https://csi-usa.org/slavery/   Typical Aid for the Enslaved A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food A dairy goat A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks. Release celebrations include prayer and gathering for a meal, and medical care for those in need. The CSI team provides comfort, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on while they tell their stories and begin their new lives. Thank you for your compassion  Giving the Gift of Freedom and Hope to the Enslaved South Sudanese -------------------------------------------------------- Food For the Poor https://foodforthepoor.org/ Help us serve the poorest of the poor Food For The Poor began in 1982 in Jamaica. Today, our interdenominational Christian ministry serves the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Thanks to our faithful donors, we are able to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions and much more. We are proud to have fed millions of people and provided more than 15.7 billion dollars in aid. Our faith inspires us to be an organization built on compassion, and motivated by love. Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless.   Report on Food For the Poor by Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/592174510   -------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer from ACU. We try to bring to our students and alumni the World's best Conservative thinkers. All views expressed belong solely to the author and not necessarily to ACU. In all issues and relations, we hope to follow the admonitions of Jesus Christ. While striving to expose, warn and contend with evil, we extend the love of God to all of his children. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

What happens when Christians stop short of God's promises? They die in the wilderness of mediocrity. In this message from Saturated, Pastor Phil Hopper invites us to consecrate ourselves as Israel once did at the Jordan. The call is the same today: stop managing sin, surrender fully, and trust God to part the waters. On the other side is resurrection, freedom, and the life He always intended. If God calls us to more, why would we settle for less?

Jon responds to questions concerning the murder of Charlie Kirk and what the future holds for Christians. America (1000 Charlie Kirks): https://open.spotify.com/track/5EQjYGOg6vgFCqPsrUactW?si=b9cc151bdbd14fddTo Support the Podcast: https://www.worldviewconversation.com/support/Become a Patronhttps://www.patreon.com/jonharrispodcastFollow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonharris1989Follow Jon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonharris1989/Our Sponsors:* Check out Express VPN: https://expressvpn.com/CONVERSATIONS* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code HARRIS for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/conversations-that-matter8971/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Responding to questions from listeners about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the murder of a woman in Charlotte and how Christians should think about it, and whether pastors should preach with a manuscript. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

In this episode, I reflect on the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk and what his example means for us as Christians moving forward. Charlie was a man of discipline, conviction, and grit—a reminder that Christianity is not for the faint of heart. We are called to run the race with endurance, to stand firm in the truth, and to live with courage even when it costs us. I'll walk through what it means to have GRIT as followers of Christ—Grounded in God's Word, Resilient in trials, Intentional in faith, and Tenacious for the truth. This is not about applause or comfort but about finishing the race well, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9. As we grieve, we don't grieve as those without hope. We remember that our God is unchanging, sovereign, and victorious over death itself. The best way to honor Charlie's legacy is to live with the same grit and conviction, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Find Shanda www.shandafulbright.com Instagram & Facebook: @shandafulbright Email: hello@shandafulbright.com Free Resources: https://shandafulbright.com/links YouTube: http://bit.ly/ShandaYT2021 Store: www.Shandafulbright.com/shop  

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank addresses a question he is often asked, which is whether people of science can be people of Scripture as well.Hank also answers the following questions:If life begins at conception, what happens to twins? Do they each have half a soul? Dave - Summerville, SC (4:07)Could there be scientific explanations for the miracles we see in the Bible, or are they purely supernatural? Jonathan - Hyattsville, MD (5:34)In 1 Samuel 28, did the medium of Endor actually conjure up a spirit of Samuel? Bill - Collierville, TN (7:22)What are your thoughts on the book To Heaven and Back by Mary Neal? Katie - Redmond, WA (8:29)I was recently diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer. Is it biblical to continuously pray for healing, or should I trust the Lord? April - Edmonton, AB (15:12)Is it okay to euthanize pets? Will we see our pets in heaven? Amy - Olathe, KS (19:13)Is it acceptable for Christians to drink wine? Jonathan - San Francisco, CA (23:41)

As a fifth grader, Charlie Kirk surrendered his life to Jesus, confessing his sin and acknowledging his need for a Savior. That decision set him on a path of growth, conviction, and public witness that deeply impacted the youth of our country. His open discourse on campuses and his public presence gave him a platform for the gospel and introduced an entire generation to the name of Jesus Christ. He believed his mission was to confront the sin in our culture and boldly proclaim truth, defend the faith, and call believers to live unashamedly in the world.Charlie's ministry and activism were marked by a radical belief that Scripture is not only true but also sufficient to guide every area of life — personal, cultural, and political. He called Christians to stand firm in their identity, resist compromise, and let the Word of God shape their actions. His life, though cut short, serves as a living example of what it means to take Jesus at His word and to spend every ounce of energy for the sake of the gospel and the advancement of God's kingdom.Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and outspoken apologist, was assassinated this week. Over the last few days, we have watched as the nation has divided further along ideological lines. Why did this happen? What does it mean for our country? And what does this situation mean for Christians?Today on the show, we have invited Brian Hedges, pastor of Heartland Bible Fellowship in Harrisonville, MO, to chat with us about the impact of Kirk's death and how Christians should respond to this tragedy.Visit https://www.lfbi.org/learnmore 

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's passing, this episode reflects on how Christians respond to tragedy.

Today we pause to remember Charlie Kirk—a bold voice who tirelessly called Christians to stand for truth and engage the culture with courage and conviction. Charlie reminded us that faith isn't meant to sit on the sidelines; it's meant to be lived out courageously in the public square. His race is finished, but the baton is now in our hands. It's time for the next generation to get off the bench, step into the arena, and carry forward the work of faith, freedom, and truth in our nation.Prime Sponsor: No matter where you live, visit the Functional Medical Institute online today to connect with Drs Mark and Michele Sherwood. Go to homeschoolhealth.com to get connected and see some of my favorites items. Use coupon code HEIDI for 20% off!Lifestone Ministries | Lifestoneministries.com/heidiShow mentions: heidistjohn.com/mentionsWebsite | heidistjohn.comSupport the show! | donorbox.org/donation-827Rumble | rumble.com/user/HeidiStJohnYoutube | youtube.com/@HeidiStJohnPodcastInstagram | @heidistjohnFacebook | Heidi St. JohnX | @heidistjohnFaith That Speaks Online CommunitySubmit your questions for Mailbox Mondayheidistjohn.net/mailboxmonday

A new era has been marked; Christians must tell the truth.  __________ To download, print or share this commentary, or to receive these daily commentaries in your email inbox, go to breakpoint.org.   

Pr. Jonathan Conner of Zion Lutheran-Manning, IA Artificial Intelligence and the Need for Real Wisdom, Part 1 Pastor Conner's Blog The post Christians and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2 – Pr. Jonathan Conner, 9/12/25 (2551) first appeared on Issues, Etc..

In this episode of Pray the Word on Mark 11:17, David Platt urges us to turn from self-centered faith and live to spread God's glory among the nations.Explore more content from Radical.

This week, Sean and Scott discuss:How should Christians respond to the assassination of Charlie Kirk?Will the CDC recognize the suffering of individuals who've attempted to change their sex and regret it?A study across 5 continents finds that men and women with multiple sex partners are less desirable as long-term matesIn an Atlantic essay, a high school student bemoans the effects of AI on their generation==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

It's week two of Wider Lens. This week, Jonathon shares his story of recognizing his addiction, confronting the root causes beneath it, and finding freedom through Christ. From misordered priorities to the hidden struggles many Christians face, this conversation explores recovery, sanctification, and the hope that healing is possible. We are praying that this episode encourages you to reflect, reprioritize and hold tightly to the hope of Jesus!   Episode Highlights: Understanding addiction as a spectrum allows for earlier intervention and support. Acknowledging one's addiction is the first step towards healing and transformation. True recovery requires deep honesty and accountability beyond surface-level admissions. Embracing those with messy sanctification stories fosters healing and growth.  Identifying and correcting disordered priorities is crucial for recovery. Quotes from Today's Episode: Part of what kept me in a disordered relationship with alcohol is what the devil uses “I don't look or act like what I think an alcoholic looks like.” - J. Seidl Radical vulnerability, when you start practicing it, it's contagious and the devil hates it. -J. Seidl Anything that is misordered is disordered.-J. Seidl The mommy wine juice culture, mommy needs this to be mommy, right? It's become accepted.-J. Seidl I finally was able to stop drinking when I stopped trying to stop drinking. When I shot for Jesus, I got sobriety thrown in.-J. Seidl If you don't get to the root of those, it's just going to be something else. -J. Seidl Jesus is always going to meet us there. He's not going to let us down.- Dr. Kim I was ultimately addicted to escapism. -J. Seidl The muscle memory was forged and formed at a very young age. -J. Seidl A Wider Lens: Questions for Self Reflection What habits or priorities in my life might be “good things” that I've elevated above God, and how are they shaping my heart? Where might I be numbing pain or avoiding deeper heart work instead of bringing it honestly before the Lord? What step of accountability, surrender, or fellowship could I take this week to move closer to freedom and wholeness in Christ? Mentioned in this Episode: Find Jonathon on Instagram Buy Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic Check out his other books. Dr. Kim is on Substack. Dr. Kim goes broader than just marriage. You can get wisdom, personal stories, and godly encouragement from him weekly. Sign up today!  

In this episode of the Thinking Fellows podcast, the hosts engage in a comprehensive discussion about Islam, exploring its theology, the role of Muhammad, the authorship of the Quran, and the differences between Islamic and Christian beliefs. Caleb, Scott, and Bruce take turns asking Adam questions that Christians may or should have about Islam.  Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Caleb Keith Scott Keith Adam Francisco Bruce Hilman  

NatCon 2025 | Muslims, Catholics, & JewsMinistry Sponsors:Genesis Gold GroupFaith-Based Gold IRA: Genesis Gold Group helps Christians protect their retirement with physical precious metals aligned with scriptural stewardship principles.https://www.RightResponseBibleGold.comReece FundChristian Capital. Boldly Deployedhttps://www.reecefund.com/Backwards Planning FinancialWant to build a financial legacy for your family with a plan that starts at the end goal? Connect with Joe Garrisi at https://backwardsplanningfinancial.nm.com/ to get help with a legacy-driven strategy for your future.Covenant EyesGet 30-days free by using discount code "RRM" at checkout on their website.https://www.covenanteyes.com/

Romans 7:1-4 — What does marriage have to do with the relationship to the law? Paul begins Romans 7 by discussing how the relationship with the law closely mirrors a relationship with a spouse. In the sermon on Romans 7:1–4 titled “Not Subject to the Law,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones creates four points to show how Paul is using the marriage relationship as an illustration. Just as the woman is bound to her husband by law, so also the Christian is bound to the law. This reflects the leadership that the husband has over the household. In a marriage, the spouses are bound until a death breaks that agreement. Christians are also bound to the law until a death occurs. Death brings a freedom from the law. In the same way, Christians have died to the law and are now able to enter into a relationship with righteousness. Finally, the purpose of marriage is to replenish the earth and the relationship with God is to bring forth fruit. All must be delivered from the power and dominion of the law if they are to produce fruit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the Christian must first be separated from the old in order to conform to the new.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk and the murder of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte have shaken many, raising urgent questions about truth, persecution, and the Christian response to growing hostility. In this episode, we reflect on Charlie Kirk's legacy of respectful dialogue, the cost of speaking truth in today's world, and the wisdom scripture offers in times of grief and confusion.Jesus warned that persecution would come—and history confirms it. Yet even in the face of evil, God remains sovereign. We'll explore what it means to stand firm with conviction, to defend the vulnerable with grace, and to fix our eyes on eternity rather than fear. Turn off the noise, open God's Word, and rediscover the peace that only Christ can provide.Psalm 5Send us a textPlease leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith. Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.

Support the show

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” (Exodus 20:8–11 NLT) The fourth commandment has produced more confusion, misunderstanding, and hard feelings than any of the others. Let’s find out what it is and what it is not. It should be noted that this commandment was given specifically to Jewish people. The Sabbath—the seventh day of the week, Saturday—was to be a day of total rest. This command does not really apply in its literal form to a Christian living under the New Covenant. Let me give you a few fast facts about the fourth commandment to help explain why. Number one, it is the only commandment that is not repeated in the New Testament. Every other commandment is repeated; breaking the Sabbath is never mentioned. Number two, Jesus never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath. In fact, He Himself was accused of violating the Sabbath. That’s one of the reasons that He was crucified. The religious leaders had so perverted and twisted the meaning of the Sabbath that it was turned into a miserable religious mess. Because Jesus healed people on the Sabbath, those leaders accused Him of breaking the fourth commandment. Number three, the Sabbath was fulfilled in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In Hebrews 4, we read, “So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest” (verses 9–11 NLT). The Sabbath foreshadowed what Christ would accomplish on the cross. All other world religions essentially say, “Do.” Christianity says, “Done.” Enter into that rest. Enter into the finished work of Jesus Christ. So, for Christians, the Sabbath is a day set apart for God and our relationship with Him. A day when we unplug from the distractions of life and recharge ourselves spiritually. A day to focus on who God is. A day to spend at church with family and friends. A day to think of the things of the Lord. When we “remember the Sabbath,” not only do we honor the Lord, but we also grow in our relationship with Him. Reflection question: What does observing the Sabbath—or the Lord’s Day—look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday, September 10, 2025 was a dark day. Charlie Kirk, Executive Director of Turning Point USA, was killed at age 31.How do we as Christians process this tragedy? How do we respond? What does God's Word say and how does it help us in times like this?Pastors Scott & Chris lead us through these questions in this episode of Thinking With Your Bible. In it, you'll hear:An overview of Wednesday's events and the life of Charlie KirkThe devastation of a life lostHow to prayWhat our response ought to be in light of Scripture and the comfort of ChristWe pray this episode helps you navigate this devastation and look to the hope of our Savior.Follow Us on InstagramVisit Our Website

In this introductory episode to their new series on the Parables of Jesus, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb explore the profound theological significance of Christ's parables. Far from being mere teaching tools to simplify complex ideas, parables serve a dual purpose in God's redemptive plan: revealing spiritual truth to those with "ears to hear" while concealing these same truths from those without spiritual illumination. This episode lays the groundwork for understanding how parables function as divine teaching devices that embody core Reformed doctrines like election and illumination. As the hosts prepare to journey through all the parables in the Gospels, they invite listeners to consider the blessing of being granted spiritual understanding and the privilege of receiving the "secrets of the kingdom" through Christ's distinctive teaching method. Key Takeaways Parables are more than illustrations—they are comparisons that reveal kingdom truths to those with spiritual ears to hear while concealing truth from those without spiritual illumination. Jesus intentionally taught in parables not to simplify his teaching but partly to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy about those who hear but do not understand, confirming the spiritual condition of his hearers. The ability to understand parables is itself evidence of God's sovereign grace and election, as Jesus states in Matthew 13:16: "Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear." Parables vary in form and function—some are clearly allegorical while others make a single point, requiring each to be approached on its own terms. Proper interpretation requires context—understanding both the original audience and the question or situation that prompted Jesus to use a particular parable. Parables function like Nathan's confrontation of David—they draw hearers in through narrative before revealing uncomfortable truths about themselves. Studying parables requires spiritual humility—recognizing that our understanding comes not from intellectual capacity but from the Spirit's illumination. Understanding Parables as Revelation, Not Just Illustration The hosts emphasize that parables are fundamentally different from mere illustrations or fables. While modern readers often assume Jesus used parables to simplify complex spiritual truths, the opposite is frequently true. As Tony explains, "A parable fundamentally is a comparison between two things... The word parable comes from the Greek of casting alongside." This distinction is crucial because it changes how we approach interpretation. Rather than breaking down each element as an allegorical component, we should first understand what reality Jesus is comparing the parable to. The parables function as a form of divine revelation—showing us kingdom realities through narrative comparison, but only those with spiritual insight can truly grasp their meaning. This is why Jesus quotes Isaiah and explains that he speaks in parables partly because "seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand" (Matthew 13:13). The Doctrine of Election Embedded in Parabolic Teaching Perhaps the most profound insight from this episode is how the very form of Jesus' teaching—not just its content—embodies the doctrine of election. Jesse notes that "every parable then implicitly teaches a doctrine of election," because they reveal spiritual truth to some while concealing it from others. This isn't arbitrary but reflects spiritual realities. The hosts connect this to Jesus' words in Matthew 13:16: "Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear." This blessing comes not from intellectual capacity or moral superiority but from God's sovereign grace. Tony describes this as "the blessing in our salvation and in our election that we are enabled to hear and perceive and receive the very voice and word of God into our spirit unto our salvation." The parables thus become a "microcosm" of Reformed doctrines like election, regeneration, and illumination. When believers understand Jesus' parables, they're experiencing the practical outworking of these doctrines in real time. Memorable Quotes "The parables are not just to illustrate a point, they're to reveal a spiritual point or spiritual points to those who have ears to hear, to those who've been illuminated by the spirit." - Tony Arsenal "Jesus is giving this message essentially to all who will listen to him... And so this is like, I love the way that he uses that quote in a slightly different way, but still to express the same root cause, which is some of you here because of your depravity will not be able to hear what I'm saying. But for those to whom it has been granted to come in who are ushered into the kingdom, this kingdom language will make sense." - Jesse Schwamb "But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. There's a blessing in our salvation and in our election that we are enabled to hear and perceive and receive the very voice and word of God into our spirit unto our salvation." - Tony Arsenal About the Hosts Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb are the regular hosts of The Reformed Brotherhood podcast, where they explore Reformed theology and its application to Christian living. With a conversational style that balances depth and accessibility, they seek to make complex theological concepts understandable without sacrificing nuance or biblical fidelity. Transcript [00:00:45] Introduction and New Series Announcement [00:00:45] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 460 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. [00:00:54] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. [00:00:59] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. New series Time, new series. Time for the next seven years that, that's probably correct. It's gonna be a long one. New beginnings are so great, aren't they? And it is. [00:01:10] Jesse Schwamb: We've been hopefully this, well, it's definitely gonna live up to all the hype that we've been presenting about this. It's gonna be good. Everybody's gonna love it. And like I said, it's a topic we haven't done before. It's certainly not in this format. [00:01:23] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know what, just, um, as a side note, if you are a listener, which you must be, if you're hearing this, uh, this is a great time to introduce someone to the podcast. [00:01:33] Tony Arsenal: True. Uh, one, because this series is gonna be lit as the kids say, and, uh, it's a new series, so you don't have to have any background. You don't have to have any previous knowledge of the show or of who these two weird guys are to jump in and we're gonna. [00:01:53] Tony Arsenal: Talk about the Bible, which is amazing and awesome. And who doesn't love to talk about the Bible. [00:01:58] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's correct. That's what makes these so good. That's how I know, and I could say confidently that this is gonna be all the hype and more. All right, so before we get to affirmations and denials, all the good ProGo, that's part and parcel of our normal episode content. [00:02:12] Jesse Schwamb: Do you want to tell everybody what we're gonna be talking about? [00:02:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I'm excited. [00:02:17] Introducing the Parables Series [00:02:17] Tony Arsenal: So we are gonna work our way through, and this is why I say it's gonna take seven years. We are gonna work our way through all of the parables. Parables, [00:02:25] Jesse Schwamb: the [00:02:25] Tony Arsenal: gospels and just so, um, the Gospel of John doesn't feel left out. [00:02:30] Tony Arsenal: We're gonna talk through some of the I am statements and some of that stuff when we get to John. 'cause John doesn't have a lot of parables. Uh, so we're gonna spend time in the synoptic gospels. We're gonna just walk through the parables one by one. We're taking an episode, sometimes maybe two, sometimes 10, depending on how long the parable is and how deep we get into it. [00:02:47] Tony Arsenal: We're just gonna work our way through. We're gonna take our time. We're gonna enjoy it. So again, this is a great time to start. It's kinda the ground floor on this and you thing. This could really be its own podcast all by itself, right? Uh, so invite a friend, invite some whole bunch of friends. Start a Sunday school class listening to this. [00:03:04] Tony Arsenal: No, don't do that. But people have done that before. But, uh, grab your bibles, get a decent commentary to help prep for the next episode, and, uh, let's, let's do it. I'm super excited. [00:03:14] Jesse Schwamb: When I say para, you say Abel Para, is that how it works? Para? Yeah. I don't know. You can't really divide it. Pairable. If you jam it together, yes. [00:03:24] Jesse Schwamb: You get some of that. You can say, when I say pair, you say Abel p [00:03:27] Tony Arsenal: Abel. [00:03:31] Jesse Schwamb: And you can expect a lot more of that in this series. But before we get into all this good juicy stuff about parables, and by the way, this is like an introductory episode, that doesn't mean that you can just skip it, doesn't mean it's not gonna be good. We gotta set some things up. We wanna talk about parables general generally, but before we have that good general conversation, let's get into our own tradition, which is either affirming with something or denying against something. [00:03:54] Affirmations and Denials [00:03:54] Jesse Schwamb: And so, Tony, what do you got for all of us? [00:03:58] Tony Arsenal: Mine is kind of a, an ecclesial, ecclesiastical denial. Mm-hmm. Um, this is sort of niche, but I feel like our audience may have heard about it. And there's this dust up that I, I noticed online, uh, really just this last week. Um, it's kind of a specific thing. There is a church, uh, I'm not sure where the church is. [00:04:18] Tony Arsenal: It's a PCA church, I believe it's called Mosaic. The pastor of the church, the teaching elder, one of the teaching elders just announced that he was, uh, leaving his ministry to, uh, join the Roman Catholic Church, which, yes, there's its own denial built into that. We are good old Protestant reformed folks, and I personally would, would stick with the original Westminster on the, the Pope being antichrist. [00:04:45] Tony Arsenal: But, um, that's not the denial. The denial is that in this particular church. For some unknown reason. Uh, the pastor who has now since a announced that he was leaving to, uh, to convert to Roman Catholicism, continued to preach the sermon and then administered the Lord's supper, even though he in the eyes, I think of most. [00:05:08] Tony Arsenal: Reformed folk and certainly historically in the eyes of the reformed position was basically apostate, uh, right in front of the congregation's eyes. Now, I don't know that I would necessarily put it that strongly. I think there are plenty of genuine born again Christians who find themselves in, in the Roman Catholic, uh, church. [00:05:27] Tony Arsenal: Uh, but to allow someone who is one resigning the ministry right in front of your eyes. Um, and then resigning to basically leave for another tradition that, that the PCA would not recognize, would not share ecclesiastical, uh, credentials with or accept their ordination or any of those things. Um, to then just allow him to admit, you know, to administer the Lord's Supper, I think is just a drastic miscarriage of, uh, ecclesiastical justice. [00:05:54] Tony Arsenal: I dunno if that's the right word. So I'm just denying this like. It shows that on a couple things like this, this. Church this session, who obviously knew this was coming. Um, this session does either, does not take seriously the differences between Roman Catholic theology and Protestant theology, particularly reformed theology, or they don't take seriously the, the gravity of the Lord's supper and who should and shouldn't be administering it. [00:06:22] Tony Arsenal: They can't take both of those things seriously and have a fully or biblical position on it. So there's a good opportunity for us to think through our ecclesiology, to think through our sacrament and how this applies. It just really doesn't sit well and it's not sitting well with a lot of people online, obviously. [00:06:37] Tony Arsenal: Um, and I'm sure there'll be all sorts of, like letters of concern sent to presbytery and, and all that stuff, and, and it'll all shake out in the wash eventually, but just, it just wasn't good. Just doesn't sit right. [00:06:48] Jesse Schwamb: You know, it strikes me of all the denominations. I'm not saying this pejoratively. I just think it is kind of interesting and funny to me that the Presbyterians love a letter writing campaign. [00:06:56] Jesse Schwamb: Like that's kind of the jam, the love, a good letter writing campaign. [00:07:00] Tony Arsenal: It's true, although it's, it's actually functional in Presbyterianism because That's right. That's how you voice your concern. It's not a, not a, a rage letter into the void. It actually goes somewhere and gets recorded and has to be addressed at presbytery if you have standing. [00:07:17] Tony Arsenal: So there's, there's a good reason to do that, and I'm sure that that will be done. I'm sure there are many. Probably ministers in the PCA who are aware of this, who are either actually considering filing charges or um, or writing such letters of complaints. And there's all sorts of mechanisms in the PCA to, to adjudicate and resolve and to investigate these kinds of things. [00:07:37] Jesse Schwamb: And I'd like to, if you're, if you're a true Presbyterian and, and in this instance, I'm not making light of this instance, but this instance are others, you. Feel compelled by a strong conviction to write such a letter that really you should do it with a quill, an ink. Like that's the ultimate way. I think handwritten with like a nice fountain pen. [00:07:54] Jesse Schwamb: There's not, yeah. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like that's, that is a weighty letter right there. Like it's cut to Paul being like, I write this postscript in my own hand with these big letters. Yeah, it's like, you know, some original Presbyterian letter writing right there. [00:08:07] Tony Arsenal: And then you gotta seal it with wax with your signe ring. [00:08:10] Tony Arsenal: So, and send it by a carrier, by a messenger series of me messengers. [00:08:14] Jesse Schwamb: Think if you receive any letter in the mail, handwritten to you. Like for real, somebody painstakingly going through in script like spencerian script, you know, if you're using English characters writing up and then sealing that bad boy with wax, you're gonna be like, this is important. [00:08:30] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, this, even if it's just like, Hey, what's up? Yeah, you're gonna be like, look at this incredible, weighty document I've received. [00:08:36] Tony Arsenal: It's true. It's very true. I love it. Well, that's all I have to say about that to channel a little Forrest Gump there. Uh, Jesse, what are you affirming or denying tonight? [00:08:44] Jesse Schwamb: I'm also going to deny against, so this denial is like classic. [00:08:49] Jesse Schwamb: It's routine, but I got a different spin on it this time, so I'm denying against. The full corruption of sin, how it appears everywhere, how even unbelievers speak of it, almost unwittingly, but very commonly with great acceptance. And the particularity of this denial comes in the form of allergies, which you and I are talking about a lot of times. [00:09:09] Jesse Schwamb: But I was just thinking about this week because I had to do some allergy testing, which is a, a super fun experience. But it just got me think again, like very plainly about what allergies are. And how an allergy occurs when your immune system, like the part of your body responsible for protecting your body that God has made when your immune system mistakes like a non-harmful substance like pollen or a food or some kind of animal dander for a threat, and then reacts by producing these antibodies like primarily the immunoglobulin E. [00:09:36] Jesse Schwamb: So here's what strikes me as so funny about this in a, in a way that we must laugh. Because of our, our parents, our first parents who made a horrible decision and we like them, would make the same decision every day and twice in the Lord's day. And that is that this seems like, of course, such a clear sign of the corruption of sin impounded in our created order because it seems a really distasteful and suboptimal for human beings to have this kind of response to pollen. [00:10:03] Jesse Schwamb: When they were intended to work and care in a garden. So obviously I think we can say, Hey, like the fact that allergies exist and that it's your body making a mistake. [00:10:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:10:13] Jesse Schwamb: It's like the ultimate, like cellular level of the ubiquity of sin. And so as I was speaking with my doctor and going through the, the testing, it's just so funny how like we all talk about this. [00:10:25] Jesse Schwamb: It's like, yeah, it's, it's a really over-indexed reaction. It doesn't make any sense. It's not the way the world is supposed to be, but nobody's saying how is the world supposed to be? Do you know what I mean? Like, but we just take it for granted that that kind of inflammation that comes from like your dog or like these particles in the air of plants, just trying to do a plant stew and reproduce and pollinate that, that could cause like really dramatic and debilitating. [00:10:49] Jesse Schwamb: Responses is just exceptional to me, and I think it's exceptional and exceptional to all of us because at some deep level we recognize that, as Paul says, like the earth, the entire world is groaning. It's groaning for that eschatological release and redemption that can only come from Christ. And our runny noses in our hay fever all prove that to some degree. [00:11:09] Jesse Schwamb: So denying against allergies, but denying against as well that ubiquity of corruption and sin in our world. [00:11:15] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I just have this image in my head of Adam and Eve, you know, they're expelled outta the garden and they, they're working the ground. And then Adam sneezes. Yes. And Eve is like, did your head just explode? [00:11:28] Tony Arsenal: And he's like, I don't know. That would've been a, probably a pretty terrifying experience actually. [00:11:33] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's that's true. So imagine like you and I have talked about this before, because you have young children, adorable. Young children, and we've talked about like the first of everything, like when you're a child, you get sick for the first time, or you get the flu or you vomit for the first time. [00:11:45] Jesse Schwamb: Like you have no idea what's going on in your body, but imagine that. But being an adult. [00:11:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, where you can process what's going on, but don't have a framework for it. [00:11:52] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, exactly. So like [00:11:54] Tony Arsenal: that's like, that's like my worst nightmare I think. [00:11:55] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's like, to your point, 'cause there, there are a lot of experiences you have as an adults, even health wise that are still super strange and weird. [00:12:01] Jesse Schwamb: But [00:12:02] Tony Arsenal: yeah, [00:12:02] Jesse Schwamb: you have some rubric for them, but that's kind of exactly what I was thinking. What if this toiling over your labor is partly because it's horrible now because you have itchy, watery eyes or you get hives. Yeah. And before you were like, I could just lay in the grass and be totally fine. And now I can't even walk by ragweed without getting a headache or having some kind of weird fatigue. [00:12:23] Jesse Schwamb: Like I have to believe that that was, that part of this transition was all of these things. Like, now your body's gonna overreact to stuff where I, I, God put us in a place where that wouldn't be the case at all. [00:12:35] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Sometimes I think about like the first. Time that Adam was like sore or like hurt himself. [00:12:42] Tony Arsenal: True. Like the, just the, just the terror and fear that must have come with it. And sin is serious stuff. Like it's serious effects and sad, sad, sad stuff. But yeah, allergies are the worst. I, uh, I suffered really badly with, uh, seasonal allergies. When I was a a kid I had to do allergy shots and everything and it's makes no sense. [00:13:03] Tony Arsenal: There's no rhyme or reason to it, and your allergies change. So like you could be going your whole life, being able to eat strawberries and then all of a sudden you can't. Right? And it's, and you don't know until it happens. So [00:13:14] Jesse Schwamb: what's up with that? [00:13:15] Tony Arsenal: No good. [00:13:16] Jesse Schwamb: What's up with that? So again, imagine that little experience is a microcosmic example of what happens to Adam and Eve. [00:13:24] Jesse Schwamb: You know, like all these things change. Like you're, you're right. Suddenly your body isn't the same. It's not just because you're growing older, but because guess what? Sins everywhere. And guess what, where sin is, even in the midst of who you are as physically constructed and the environment in which you live, all, all totally change. [00:13:40] Jesse Schwamb: So that, that's enough of my rants on allergies. I know the, I know the loved ones out there hear me. It's also remarkable to me that almost everybody has an allergy of some kind. It's very, it's very rare if you don't have any allergies whatsoever. And probably those times when you think you're sick and you don't have allergies could be that you actually have them. [00:13:57] Jesse Schwamb: So it's just wild. Wild. [00:14:02] Tony Arsenal: Agreed. Agreed. [00:14:03] Theological Discussion on Parables [00:14:03] Tony Arsenal: Well, Jesse, without further ado, I'm not, I, maybe we should have further ado, but let's get into it. Let's talk about some parable stuff. [00:14:13] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, let's do it again. When I say pair, you say able pair. [00:14:17] Tony Arsenal: Able. [00:14:20] Jesse Schwamb: When I say [00:14:21] Tony Arsenal: para you say bowl. [00:14:24] Jesse Schwamb: That's what I was trying to go with before. [00:14:26] Jesse Schwamb: It's a little bit more, yeah, but you gotta like cross over like we both gotta say like that middle syllable kind of. Otherwise it's, it sounds like I'm just saying bowl. And [00:14:34] Tony Arsenal: yeah, there's no good way to chant that. Yeah, we're work. This is why Jesse and I are not cheerleaders. [00:14:39] Jesse Schwamb: We're, we're work shopping everybody. [00:14:40] Jesse Schwamb: But I agree with you. Enough of us talking about affirmations, the denials in this case, the double double denial. Let's talk about parables. So the beauty of this whole series is there's gonna be so much great stuff to talk about, and I think this is a decent topic for us to cover because. Really, if you think about it, the parables of Jesus have captivated people for the entirety of the scriptures. [00:15:06] Jesse Schwamb: As long, as long as they were recorded and have been read and processed and studied together. And, uh, you know, there's stuff I'm sure that we will just gloss over. We don't need to get into in terms of like, is it pure allegory? Is it always allegory? Is it, there's lots of interpretation here. I think this is gonna be our way of processing together and moving through some of these and speaking them out and trying to learn principally. [00:15:28] Jesse Schwamb: Predominantly what they're teaching us. But I say all that because characters like the prodigal son, like Good Samaritan, Pharisees, and tax collector, those actually have become well known even outside the church. [00:15:40] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And [00:15:40] Jesse Schwamb: then sometimes inside the church there's over familiarity with all of these, and that leads to its own kind of misunderstanding. [00:15:46] Jesse Schwamb: So, and I think as well. I'm hoping that myself, you and our listeners will be able to hear them in a new way, and maybe if we can try to do this without again, being parabolic, is that we can kind of recreate some of the trauma. In these stories. 'cause Jesus is, is pressing upon very certain things and there's certainly a lot of trauma that his original audiences would've taken away from what he was saying here. [00:16:13] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Even just starting with what is a parable and why is Jesus telling them? So I presume that's actually the best place for us to begin is what's the deal with the parables and why is this? Is this Jesus preferred way of teaching about the kingdom of God. [00:16:30] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think, you know, it bears saying too that like not all the parables are alike. [00:16:35] Tony Arsenal: Like true. We can't, this is why I'm excited about this series. You know, it's always good to talk through the bible and, and or to talk through systematic theology, but what really excites me is when we do a series like this, kind of like the Scott's Confession series, like it gives us a reason. To think through a lot of different disciplines and flex like exercise and stretch and flex a lot of different kinds of intellectual muscles. [00:17:00] Tony Arsenal: So there's gonna be some exegetical work we have to do. There's gonna be some hermeneutical work we're gonna have to do, probably have to do some historical work about how the parables have been interpreted in different ways. Yes, and and I think, so, I think it's important to say like, not every parable is exactly the same. [00:17:14] Tony Arsenal: And this is where I think like when you read, sometimes you read books about the, the parables of Christ. Like you, you'll hear one guy say. Well, a parable is not an allegory. Then you'll hear another guy say like, well, parables might have allegorical elements to it. Right. Now if one guy say like, well, a parable has one main point, and you'll have another guy say like, well, no, actually, like parables can have multiple points and multiple shades of meaning. [00:17:37] Tony Arsenal: And I think the answer to why you have this variance in the commentaries is 'cause sometimes the parables are alleg. [00:17:44] Jesse Schwamb: Right. And [00:17:44] Tony Arsenal: sometimes they're not allegorical. Sometimes they have one main point. Sometimes there's multiple points. So I think it's important for us to just acknowledge like we're gonna have to come to each parable, um, on its own and on its own terms. [00:17:57] Tony Arsenal: But there are some general principles that I think we can talk about what parables are. So parables in general are. Figurative stories or figurative accounts that are used to illustrate, I think primarily used to illustrate a single main point. And there may be some subpoints, but they, they're generally intended to, uh, to illustrate something by way of a, of a narrative, a fictional narrative that, uh, helps the reader. [00:18:27] Tony Arsenal: Uh, or the hearer is just, it's also important that these were primarily heard, these are heard parables, so there are even times where the phrasing of the language is important in the parable. Um, they're helping the, the hearer to understand spiritual truth. And this is where I think it's it's key, is that this is not just. [00:18:48] Tony Arsenal: When we're talking about the parables of Christ, right? There's people tell parables, there's all sorts of different teachers that have used parables. Um, I, I do parables on the show from time to time where I'll tell like a little made up story about a, you know, a situation. I'll say like, pretend, you know, let's imagine you have this guy and he's doing this thing that's a form of a parable when I'm using. [00:19:08] Tony Arsenal: I'm not, it's not like a makeup made up story. It's not asaps fables. We're not talking about like talking foxes and hens and stuff, but it's illustrating a point. But the parables of Christ are not just to illustrate a point, they're to reveal a spiritual point or spiritual points to those who have ears to hear, to those who've been illuminated by the spirit. [00:19:29] Tony Arsenal: And I just wanna read this. Uh, this is just God's providence, um, in action. I, um, I've fallen behind on my reading in The Daily Dad, which is a Ryan Holiday book. This was the reading that came up today, even though it's not the correct reading for the day. Uh, it's, it's for September 2nd. We're recording this on September, uh, sixth. [00:19:48] Tony Arsenal: Uh, and the title is, this is How You Teach Them. And the first line says, if the Bible has any indication, Jesus rarely seemed to come out and say what he meant. He preferred instead to employ parables and stories and little anecdotes that make you think. He tells stories of the servants and the talents. [00:20:03] Tony Arsenal: He tells stories of the prodigal son and the Good Samaritan. Turns out it's pretty effective to get a point across and make it stick. What what we're gonna learn. Actually that Jesus tells these stories in parables, in part to teach those who have spiritual ears to hear, but in part to mask the truth That's right. [00:20:24] Tony Arsenal: From those who don't have spiritual ears to hear, oh, online [00:20:26] Jesse Schwamb: holiday. [00:20:27] Tony Arsenal: So it's not as simple as like Jesus, using illustration to help make something complicated, clearer, right? Yes. But also, no. So I'm super excited to kind of get into this stuff and talk through it and to, to really dig into the parables themselves. [00:20:42] Tony Arsenal: It's just gonna be a really good exercise at sort of sitting at the feet of our master in his really, his preferred mode of teaching. Um, you know, other than the sermon on the Mount. There's not a lot of like long form, straightforward, didactic teaching like that most of Christ's teaching as recorded in the gospels, comes in the form of these parables in one way or another. [00:21:03] Tony Arsenal: Right. And that's pretty exciting to me. [00:21:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right. And there's so many more parables I think, than we often understand there to be, or at least then that we see in like the headings are Bible, which of course have been put there by our own construction. So anytime you get that. Nice short, metaphorical narrative is really Jesus speaking in a kind of parable form, and I think you're right on. [00:21:25] Jesse Schwamb: For me, it's always highlighting some kind of aspect of the kingdom of God. And I'd say there is generally a hierarchy. There doesn't have to be like a single point, like you said. There could be other points around that. But if you get into this place where like everything has some kind of allegory representation, then the parable seems to die of the death of like a million paper cuts, right? [00:21:40] Jesse Schwamb: Because you're trying to figure out all the things and if you have to represent something, everything he says with some kind of. Heavy spiritual principle gets kind of weird very quickly. But in each of these, as you said, what's common in my understanding is it's presenting like a series of events involving like a small number of characters. [00:21:57] Jesse Schwamb: It is bite-sized and sometimes those are people or plants or even like inanimate objects. So like the, yeah, like you said, the breadth and scope of how Jesus uses the metaphor is brilliant teaching, and it's even more brilliant when you get to that level, like you're saying, where it's meant both to illuminate. [00:22:13] Jesse Schwamb: To obfuscate. That is like, to me, the parable is a manifestation of election because it's clear that Jesus is using this. Those who have the ears to hear are the ones whom the Holy Spirit has unstopped, has opened the eyes, has illuminated the hearts and the mind to such a degree that can receive these, and that now these words are resonant. [00:22:32] Jesse Schwamb: So like what a blessing that we can understand them, that God has essentially. Use this parabolic teaching in such a way to bring forward his concept of election in the minds and the hearts of those who are his children. And it's kind of a way, this is kind of like the secret Christian handshake. It's the speakeasy of salvation. [00:22:52] Jesse Schwamb: It's, it's coming into the fold because God has invited you in and given you. The knowledge and ability of which to really understand these things. And so most of these little characters seemed realistic and resonant in Jesus' world, and that's why sometimes we do need a little bit of studying and understanding the proper context for all those things. [00:23:12] Jesse Schwamb: I would say as well, like at least one element in those parables is a push. It's in, it's kind of taking it and hyping it up. It's pushing the boundaries of what's plausible, and so you'll find that all of this is made again to illuminate some principle of the kingdom of God. And we should probably go to the thing that you intimated, because when you read that quote from, from Ryan Holiday, I was like, yes, my man. [00:23:34] Jesse Schwamb: Like he's on the right track. Right? There's something about what he's saying that is partially correct, but like you said, a lot of times people mistake the fact that, well, Jesus. Is using this language and these metaphors, these similes, he speaks in parables because they were the best way to get like these uneducated people to understand him. [00:23:57] Jesse Schwamb: Right? But it's actually the exact opposite. And we know this because of perhaps the most famous dialogue and expression and explanation of parables, which comes to us in Matthew 13, 10 through 17, where Jesus explains to his disciples exactly why he uses this mode of teaching. And what he says is. This is why I speak to them of parables because seeing they do not see and hearing, they do not hear they nor do they understand. [00:24:24] Jesse Schwamb: So, so that's perplexing. We should probably camp there for just a second and talk about that. Right, and, and like really unpack like, what is Jesus after here? Then if, like, before we get into like, what do all these things mean, it's almost like saying. We need to understand why they're even set before us and why these in some ways are like a kind of a small stumbling block to others, but then this great stone of appreciation and one to stand on for for others. [00:24:47] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think you know, before we, before we cover that, which I think is a good next spot. A parable is not just an illustration. Like I think that's where a lot of people go a little bit sideways, is they think that this is effectively, like it's a fable. It's like a made up story primarily to like illustrate a point right. [00:25:09] Tony Arsenal: Or an allegory where you know, you're taking individual components and they represent something else. A parable fundamentally is a, is a, a comparison between two things, right? The word parable comes from the Greek of casting alongside, and so the idea is like you're, you're taking. The reality that you're trying to articulate and you're setting up this parable next to it and you're comparing them to it. [00:25:33] Tony Arsenal: And so I like to use the word simile, like that's why Christ says like the kingdom of God is like this. Yes. It's not like I'm gonna explain the kingdom of God to you by using this made up story. Right on. It's I'm gonna compare the kingdom of God to this thing or this story that I'm having, and so we should be. [00:25:49] Tony Arsenal: Rather than trying to like find the principles of the parable, we should be looking at it and going, how does this parable reflect? Or how is this a, um, how is this an explanation? Not in the, like, I, I'm struggling to even explain this here. It's not that the cer, the parable is just illustrating a principle. [00:26:10] Tony Arsenal: It's that the kingdom of God is one thing and the parable reveals that same one thing by way of comparison. Yes. So like. Uh, we'll get into the specifics, obviously, but when the, when the, um, lawyer says, who is my neighbor? Well, it's not just like, well, let's look at the Good Samaritan. And the Good Samaritan represents this, and the Levite represents this, and the priest represents this. [00:26:32] Tony Arsenal: It's a good neighbor, is this thing. It's this story. Compared to whatever you have in your mind of what a good neighbor is. And we're gonna bounce those things up against each other, and that's gonna somehow show us what the, what the reality is. And that's why I think to get back to where we were, that's why I think sometimes the parables actually obscure the truth. [00:26:53] Tony Arsenal: Because if we're not comparing the parable to the reality of something, then we're gonna get the parable wrong. So if we think that, um, the Good Samaritan. Is a parable about social justice and we're, we're looking at it to try to understand how do we treat, you know, the, the poor people in Africa who don't have food or the war torn refugees, you know, coming out of Ukraine. [00:27:19] Tony Arsenal: If we're looking at it primarily as like, I need to learn to be a good neighbor to those who are destitute. Uh, we're not comparing it against what Jesus was comparing it against, right? So, so we have to understand, we have to start in a lot of cases with the question that the parable is a response to, which oftentimes the parable is a response to a question or it's a, it's a principle that's being, um, compare it against if we get that first step wrong, uh, or if we start with our own presuppositions, which is why. [00:27:50] Tony Arsenal: Partially why I think Christ is saying like, the only those who have ears to hear. Like if you don't have a spiritual presupposition, I, I mean that, that might not be the right word, but like if you're not starting from the place of spiritual illumination, not in the weird gnostic sense, but in the, the. [00:28:07] Tony Arsenal: Genuinely Christian illumination of the Holy Spirit and inward testimony of the Holy Spirit. If you're not starting from that perspective, you almost can't get the parables right. So that's why we see like the opponents of Christ in the Bible, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, constantly. They're constantly confused and they're getting it wrong. [00:28:26] Tony Arsenal: And, and even sometimes the disciples, they have to go and ask sometimes too, what is this parable? Wow, that's right. What is, what does this mean? So it's never as simple as, as what's directly on the surface, but it's also not usually as complicated as we would make it be if we were trying to over-interpret the parable, which I think is another risk. [00:28:44] Jesse Schwamb: That's the genius, isn't it? Is that I I like what you're saying. It's that spiritual predisposition that allows us to receive the word and, and when we receive that word, it is a simple word. It's not as if like, we have to elevate ourselves in place of this high learning or education or philosophizing, and that's the beauty of it. [00:29:03] Jesse Schwamb: So it is, again, God's setting apart for himself A, a people a teaching. So. But I think this is, it is a little bit perplexing at first, like that statement from Jesus because it's a bit like somebody coming to you, like your place of work or anywhere else in your family life and asking you explicitly for instruction and, and then you saying something like, listen, I, I'm gonna show you, but you're not gonna be able to see it. [00:29:22] Jesse Schwamb: And you're gonna, I'm gonna tell you, but you're not gonna be able to hear it, and I'm gonna explain it to you, but you're not gonna be able to understand. And you're like, okay. So yeah, what's the point of you talking to me then? So it's clear, like you said that Jesus. Is teaching that the secrets, and that's really, really what these are. [00:29:37] The Secrets of the Kingdom of God [00:29:37] Jesse Schwamb: It's brilliant and beautiful that Jesus would, that the, the son of God and God himself would tell us the secrets of his kingdom. But that again, first of all by saying it's a secret, means it's, it's for somebody to guard and to hold knowledge closely and that it is protected. So he says, teaching like the secrets of the kingdom of God are unknowable through mere human reasoning and intuition. [00:29:56] Jesse Schwamb: Interestingly here though, Jesus is also saying that. He's, it's not like he's saying no one can ever understand the parables, right, or that he intends to hide their truth from all people. [00:30:07] Understanding Parables and God's Sovereign Grace [00:30:07] Jesse Schwamb: Instead, he just explains that in order to highlight God's sovereign grace, God in his mercy has enlightened some to whom it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. [00:30:17] Jesse Schwamb: That's verse 11. So. All of us as his children who have been illuminated can understand the truth of God's kingdom. That is wild and and that is amazing. So that this knowledge goes out and just like we talk about the scripture going out and never returning void, here's a prime example of that very thing that there is a condemnation and not being able to understand. [00:30:37] Jesse Schwamb: That condemnation comes not because you're not intelligent enough, but because as you said, you do not have that predisposition. You do not have that changed heart into the ability to understand these things. [00:30:47] Doctrine of Election and Spiritual Insight [00:30:47] Jesse Schwamb: This is what leads me here to say like every parable then implicitly teaches a doctrine of election. [00:30:53] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, because all people are outside the kingdom until they enter the Lord's teaching. How do we enter the Lord's teaching by being given ears to hear. How are we understanding that? We have been given ears to hear when these parables speak to us in the spiritual reality as well as in just like you said, like this general kind of like in the way that I presume Ryan Holiday means it. [00:31:12] Jesse Schwamb: The, this is like, he might be exemplifying the fact that these stories. Are a really great form of the ability to communicate complex information or to make you think. [00:31:21] The Power and Purpose of Parables [00:31:21] Jesse Schwamb: So when Jesus says something like The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, wow, we, you and I will probably spend like two episodes just unpacking that, or we could spend a lot more, that's beautiful that that's how his teaching takes place. [00:31:34] Jesse Schwamb: But of course it's, it's so much. More than that, that those in whom the teaching is effective on a salvation somehow understand it, and their understanding of it becomes first because Christ is implanted within them. Salvation. [00:31:46] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. [00:31:48] Parables as More Than Simple Teaching Tools [00:31:48] Tony Arsenal: I think people, and this is what I think like Ryan Holiday's statement reflects, is people think of the parables as a simple teaching tool to break down a complicated subject. [00:32:00] Tony Arsenal: Yes. And so, like if I was trying to explain podcasting to a, like a five-year-old, I would say something like, well, you know. You know how your teacher teaches you during class while a podcast is like if your teacher lived on the internet and you could access your teacher anytime. Like, that might be a weird explanation, but like that's taking a very complicated thing about recording and and RSS feeds and you know, all of these different elements that go into what podcasting is and breaking it down to a simple sub that is not what a parable is. [00:32:30] Tony Arsenal: Right? Right. A parable is not. Just breaking a simple subject down and illustrating it by way of like a, a clever comparison. Um, you know, it's not like someone trying to explain the doctrine of, of the Trinity by using clever analogies or something like that. Even if that were reasonable and impossible. [00:32:50] Tony Arsenal: It's, it's not like that a parable. I like what you're saying about it being kind of like a mini doctrine of election. It's also a mini doctrine of the Bible. Yes. Right. It, it's right on. [00:33:00] The Doctrine of Illumination [00:33:00] Tony Arsenal: It's, it's the doctrine of revelation. In. Preached form in the Ministry of Christ, right? As Christians, we have this text and we affirm that at the same time, uh, what can be known of it and what is necessary for salvation can be known. [00:33:19] Tony Arsenal: By ordinary means like Bart Iman, an avowed atheist who I, I think like all atheists, whether they recognize it or not, hates God. He can read the Bible and understand that what it means is that if you trust Jesus, you'll be saved. You don't need special spiritual insight to understand that that is what the Bible teaches, where the special spiritual. [00:33:42] Tony Arsenal: Insight might not be the right word, but the special spiritual appropriation is that the spirit enables you to receive that unto your salvation. Right? To put your trust in. The reality of that, and we call that doctrine, the doctrine of illumination. And so in, in the sense of parables in Christ's ministry, and this is, this is if you, you know, like what do I always say is just read a little bit more, um, the portion Jesse read it leads way into this prophecy or in this comment, Christ. [00:34:10] Tony Arsenal: Saying he teaches in parable in order to fulfill this prophecy of Isaiah. Basically that like those who are, uh, ate and are apart from God and are resistant to God, these parables there are there in order to confirm that they are. And then it says in verse 16, and this is, this is. [00:34:27] The Blessing of Spiritual Understanding [00:34:27] Tony Arsenal: It always seems like the series that we do ends up with like a theme verse, and this is probably the one verse 16 here, Matthew 1316 says, but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. [00:34:40] Tony Arsenal: And so like there's a blessing. In our salvation and in our election that we are enabled to hear and perceive and re receive the very voice and word of God into our spirit unto our salvation. That is the doctrine of of election. It's also the doctrine of regeneration, the doctrine of sanctification, the doctrine. [00:35:03] Tony Arsenal: I mean, there's all of these different classic reformed doctrines that the parables really are these mic this microcosm of that. Almost like applied in the Ministry of Christ. Right. Which I, I, you know, I've, I've never really thought of it in depth in that way before, but it's absolutely true and it's super exciting to be able to sort of embark on this, uh, on this series journey with, with this group. [00:35:28] Tony Arsenal: I think it's gonna be so good to just dig into these and really, really hear the gospel preached to ourselves through these parables. That's what I'm looking forward to. [00:35:38] Jesse Schwamb: And we're used to being very. Close with the idea that like the message contains the doctrine, the message contains the power. Here we're saying, I think it's both. [00:35:47] Jesse Schwamb: And the mode of that message also contains, the doctrine also contains the power. And I like where you're going with this because I think what we should be reminding ourselves. Is what a blessing it is to have this kind of information conferred to us. [00:36:01] The Role of Parables in Revealing and Concealing Truth [00:36:01] Jesse Schwamb: That again, God has taken, what is the secrets that is his to disclose and his to keep and his to hold, and he's made it available to his children. [00:36:08] Jesse Schwamb: And part of that is for, as you said, like the strengthening of our own faith. It's also for condemnation. So notice that. The hiding of the kingdom through parables is not a consequence of the teaching itself. Again, this goes back to like the mode being as equally important here as the message itself that Christ's teaching is not too difficult to comprehend as an intellectual matter. [00:36:27] Jesse Schwamb: The thing is, like even today, many unbelievers read the gospels and they technically understand what Jesus means in his teaching, especially these parables. The problem is. I would say like moral hardness. It's that lack of spiritual predilection or predisposition. They know what Jesus teaches, but they do not believe. [00:36:47] Jesse Schwamb: And so the challenge before us is as all scripture reading, that we would go before the Holy Spirit and say, holy Spirit, help me to believe. Help me to understand what to believe. And it so doing, do the work of God, which is to believe in him and to believe in His son Jesus Christ and what he's accomplished. [00:37:02] Jesse Schwamb: So the parables are not like creating. Fresh unbelief and sinners instead, like they're confirming the opposition that's already present and apart from Grace, unregenerate perversely use our Lord's teaching to increase their resistance. That's how it's set up. That's how it works. That's why to be on the inside, as it were, not again, because like we've done the right handshake or met all the right standards, but because of the blood of Christ means that the disciples, the first disciples and all the disciples who will follow after them on the other hand. [00:37:33] The Complexity and Nuances of Parables [00:37:33] Jesse Schwamb: We've been granted these eyes to see, and ears to hear Jesus. And then we've been given the secrets of the kingdom. I mean, that's literally what we've been given. And God's mercy has been extended to the disciples who like many in the crowds, once ignorantly and stubbornly rejected God and us just like them as well in both accounts. [00:37:49] Jesse Schwamb: So this is, I think we need to settle on that. You're right, throughout this series, what a blessing. It's not meant to be a great labor or an effort for the child of God. Instead, it's meant to be a way of exploring these fe. Fantastic truths of who God is and what he's done in such a way that draw us in. [00:38:07] Jesse Schwamb: So that whether we're analyzing again, like the the lost coin or the lost sheep, or. Any number of these amazing parables, you'll notice that they draw us in because they don't give us answers in the explicit sense that we're used to. Like didactically instead. Yeah. They cause us to consider, as you've already said, Tony, like what does it mean to be lost? [00:38:26] Jesse Schwamb: What does it mean that the father comes running for this prodigal son? What does it mean that the older brother has a beef with the whole situation? What does it mean when Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? How much do we know about mustard seeds? And why would he say that? Again, this is a kind of interesting teaching, but that illumination in the midst of it being, I don't wanna say ambiguous, but open-ended to a degree means that the Holy Spirit must come in and give us that kind of grand knowledge. [00:38:55] Jesse Schwamb: But more than that, believe upon what Jesus is saying. I think that's the critical thing, is somebody will say, well, aren't the teaching simple and therefore easy to understand. In a sense, yes. Like factually yes, but in a much greater sense. Absolutely not. And that's why I think it's so beautiful that he quotes Isaiah there because in that original context, you the, you know, you have God delivering a message through Isaiah. [00:39:17] Jesse Schwamb: Uh. The people are very clear. Like, we just don't believe you're a prophet of God. And like what you're saying is ridiculous, right? And we just don't wanna hear you. This is very different than that. This is, Jesus is giving this message essentially to all who will listen to him, not necessarily hear, but all, all who are hear Him, I guess rather, but not necessarily all who are listening with those spiritual ears. [00:39:33] Jesse Schwamb: And so this is like, I love the way that he, he uses that quote in a slightly different way, but still to express the same root cause, which is some of you here. Because of your depravity will not be able to hear what I'm saying. But for those to whom it has been granted to come in who are ushered into the kingdom, this kingdom language will make sense. [00:39:54] Jesse Schwamb: It's like, I'm going to be speaking to you in code and half of you have the key for all the code because the Holy Spirit is your cipher and half of you don't. And you're gonna, you're gonna listen to the same thing, but you will hear very different things. [00:40:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, the other thing I think is, is interesting to ponder on this, um. [00:40:12] The Importance of Context in Interpreting Parables [00:40:12] Tony Arsenal: God always accommodates his revelation to his people. And the parables are, are, are like the. Accommodated accommodation. Yeah. Like God accommodates himself to those he chooses to reveal himself to. And in some ways this is, this is, um, the human ministry of Christ is him accommodating himself to those. [00:40:38] Tony Arsenal: What I mean is in the human ministry of the Son, the parables are a way of the son accommodating himself to those he chooses to reveal himself to. So there, there are instances. Where the parable is said, and it is, uh, it's seems to be more or less understood by everybody. Nobody asks the question about like, what does this mean? [00:40:57] Tony Arsenal: Right? And then there are instances where the parable is said, and even the apostles are, or the disciples are like, what does this parable mean? And then there's some interesting ones where like. Christ's enemies understand the parable and, and can understand that the parable is told against them. About them. [00:41:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. So there, there's all these different nuances to why Christ used these parables, how simple they were, how complicated they were. Yes. And again, I think that underscores what I said at the top of the show here. It's like you can't treat every parable exactly the same. And that's where you run into trouble. [00:41:28] Tony Arsenal: Like if you're, if you're coming at them, like they're all just simple allegory. Again, like some of them have allegorical elements. I think it's fair to look at the, the prodigal son or the, the prodigal father, however you want to title that. And remember, the titles are not, generally, the titles are not, um, baked into the text itself. [00:41:46] Tony Arsenal: I think it's fair to come to that and look at and go, okay, well, who's the father in this? Who's the son? You know, what does it mean that the older son is this? Is, is there relevance to the fact that there's a party and that the, you know, the older, older, uh, son is not a part of it? There's, there's some legitimacy to that. [00:42:02] Tony Arsenal: And when we look at Christ's own explanation of some of his parables, he uses those kinds, right? The, the good seed is this, the, the seed that fell on the, the side of the road is this, right? The seed that got choked out by the, the, um, thorns is this, but then there are others where it doesn't make sense to pull it apart, element by element. [00:42:21] Tony Arsenal: Mm-hmm. Um, and, and the other thing is there are some things that we're gonna look at that are, um. We're gonna treat as parables that the text doesn't call a parable. And then there are some that you might even look at that sometimes the text calls a parable that we might not even think of as a normal parable, right? [00:42:38] Tony Arsenal: So there's lots of elements. This is gonna be really fun to just dig stuff in and, and sort of pick it, like pull it apart and look at its component parts and constituent parts. Um, so I really do mean it if you, if you're the kind of person who has never picked up a Bible commentary. This would be a good time to, to start because these can get difficult. [00:42:59] Tony Arsenal: They can get complicated. You want to have a trusted guide, and Jesse and I are gonna do our, our work and our research on this. Um, but you want someone who's more of a trusted guide than us. This is gonna be the one time that I might actually say Calvin's commentaries are not the most helpful. And the reason for that is not because Calvin's not clear on this stuff. [00:43:17] Tony Arsenal: Calvin Calvin's commentaries on the gospel is, is a harmony of the gospels, right? So sometimes it's tricky when you're reading it to try to find like a specific, uh, passage in Matthew because you're, you, everything's interwoven. So something like Matthew Henry, um, or something like, um, Matthew Poole. Uh, might be helpful if you're willing to spend a little bit of money. [00:43:38] Tony Arsenal: The ESV expository commentary that I've referenced before is a good option. Um, but try to find something that's approachable and usable that is reasonable for you to work through the commentary alongside of us, because you are gonna want to spend time reading these on your own, and you're gonna want to, like I said, you're gonna want to have a trust guide with you. [00:43:55] Tony Arsenal: Even just a good study bible, something like. The Reformation Study Bible or something along those lines would help you work your way through these parables, and I think it's valuable to do that. [00:44:06] Jesse Schwamb: Something you just said sparked this idea in me that the power, or one of the powers maybe of good fiction is that it grabs your attention. [00:44:15] The Impact of Parables on Listeners [00:44:15] Jesse Schwamb: It like brings you into the plot maybe even more than just what I said before about it being resonant, that it actually pulls you into the storyline and it makes you think that it's about other people until it's too late. Yeah. And Jesus has a way of doing this that really only maybe the parable can allow. [00:44:30] Jesse Schwamb: So like in other words, by the time you realize. A parable is like metaphorical, or even in a limited case, it's allegorical form you've already identified with one or more of the characters and you're caught in the trap. So what comes to my mind there is like the one Old Testament narrative, virtually identical, informed to those Jesus told is Nathan's parable of the You lamb. [00:44:52] Jesse Schwamb: So that's in like second Samuel 12, and I was just looking this up as you were, as you were speaking. So in this potentially life and death move for the prophet Nathan confronts King David. Over his adultery with, or depending on how you see it, rape of Bathsheba, and then his subsequent murder of her husband Uriah, by sending him to the front lines of battle. [00:45:10] Jesse Schwamb: So he's killed. And so in this parable that Nathan tells Uriah is like the poor man. Bathsheba is like the Yu a and the rich man obviously represents David. If you, you know what I'm talking about, go back and look at second Samuel 12. And so what's interesting is once David is hooked into that story, he cannot deny that his behavior was unjust as that of the rich man in the story who takes this UAM for himself and he, which he openly. [00:45:38] Jesse Schwamb: Then David openly condemns of course, like the amazing climax of this. And as the reader who has. Of course, like omniscient knowledge in the story, you know, the plot of things, right? You're, you're already crying out, like you're throwing something, you know, across the room saying like, how can you not see this about you? [00:45:53] Jesse Schwamb: And of course the climax comes in when Nathan points the finger at David and declares, you are the man. And that's kind of what. The parables due to us. Yes. They're not always like the same in accusatory toward us, but they do call us out. This is where, again, when we talk about like the scripture reading us, the parable is particularly good at that because sometimes we tend to identify, you know, again, with like one of the particular characters whom we probably shouldn't identify with, or like you said, the parable, the sower. [00:46:22] Jesse Schwamb: Isn't the Christian always quick to be like, I am the virtual grounds? Yeah. You still have to ask like, you know, there is not like a Paul washer way of doing this, but there is like a way of saying like, checking yourself before you wreck yourself there. And so when Jesus's parables have lost some of that shock value in today's world, we maybe need to contemporize them a little bit. [00:46:43] Jesse Schwamb: I, and I think we'll talk about that as we go through it. We're not rewriting them for any reason that that would be completely inappropriate. Think about this though. Like the Jew robbed and left for dead. And you know the story of the Grace Samaritan may need to become like the white evangelical man who is helped by like the black Muslim woman after the senior pastor and the worship leader from the local reformed church passed by like that. [00:47:05] Jesse Schwamb: That might be the frame, which we should put it to try to understand it whenever we face a hostile audience that this indirect rhetoric of compelling stories may help at least some people hear God's world more favorably, and I think that's why you get both like a soft. And a sharp edge with these stories. [00:47:20] Jesse Schwamb: But it's the ability to, to kind of come in on the sneak attack. It's to make you feel welcomed in and to identify with somebody. And then sometimes to find that you're identifying entirely with a character whom Jesus is gonna say, listen, don't be this way, or This is what the kingdom of God is, is not like this. [00:47:35] Jesse Schwamb: Or again, to give you shock value, not for the sake of telling like a good tale that somehow has a twist where it's like everybody was actually. All Dead at the end. Another movie, by the way, I have not seen, but I just know that that's like, I'll never see that movie because, can we say it that the spoiler is, is out on that, right? [00:47:54] Tony Arsenal: Are we, what are we talking about? What movie are we talking about? [00:47:56] Jesse Schwamb: Well, I don't, I don't wanna say it. I didn't [00:47:57] Tony Arsenal: even get it from your description. Oh. [00:47:59] Jesse Schwamb: Like that, that movie where like, he was dead the whole time. [00:48:02] Tony Arsenal: Oh, this, that, that, that movie came out like 30 years ago, Jesse. Oh, seriously? [00:48:06] Jesse Schwamb: Okay. All right. [00:48:06] Tony Arsenal: So Six Sense. [00:48:07] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. That movie came out a long time ago. [00:48:10] Jesse Schwamb: So it's not like the parables are the sixth sense, and it's like, let me get you like a really cool twist. Right. Or like hook at the end. I, and I think in part it is to disarm you and to draw you in in such a way that we might honestly consider what's happening there. [00:48:22] Jesse Schwamb: And that's how it reads us. [00:48:24] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I, I think that's a good point. And, and. It bears saying there are all sorts of parables all throughout the Bible. It's not just Jesus that teaches these, and they do have this similar effect that they, they draw you in. Um, oftentimes you identify it preliminarily, you identify with the wrong person, and it's not until you. [00:48:45] Tony Arsenal: Or you don't identify with anyone when you should. Right. Right. And it's not until the sort of punchline or I think that account with Nathan is so spot on because it's the same kind of thing. David did not have ears to hear. [00:48:58] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Until he had That's good point. Ears [00:49:00] Tony Arsenal: to hear. [00:49:00] Jesse Schwamb: Good point. [00:49:01] Tony Arsenal: And he heard the point of the parable. [00:49:03] Tony Arsenal: He understood the point of the parable and he didn't understand that the parable was about him, right? It's like the ultimate, I don't know why you're clapping David, I'm talking about you moment. Um, I'm just have this picture of Paul washer in like a biblical era robe. Um, so I think that's a enough progam to the series. [00:49:20] Preparing for the Series on Parables [00:49:20] Tony Arsenal: We're super excited we're, we'll cover some of these principles again, because again, different parables have to be interpreted different ways, and some of these principles apply to one and don't to others, and so we'll, we'll tease that out when we get there next week. We're gonna just jump right in. [00:49:34] Tony Arsenal: We're gonna get started with, I think, um, I actually think, you know, in the, the providence of, of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and then obviously the providence of God in Christ's ministry, the, the parable that kind of like frames all of the other parables,

It's Friday, September 12th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus Chinese pastor dies after years of persecution After enduring years of persecution, Pastor Zhao Huaiguo, founder of Bethel Church in Hunan, China, has died, leaving behind a legacy of faith and resilience, reports International Christian Concern. In 2007, Pastor Zhao relocated to Hunan to establish Bethel Church, with a focus on serving elderly Christians and those who had previously avoided the Communist Party-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement churches. Since Bethel Church's founding, Pastor Zhao and his wife have faced relentless attacks. In 2019, authorities raided Bethel Church, confiscated Bibles, destroyed property, and pressured members to join the Three-Self movement. Then, in November 2024, Zhao and his wife were detained for 10 days for delivering unsanctioned online training. Pastor Zhao died in his early 50s. Revelation 2:10b says, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown.” Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison On September 11th, a panel of the Brazilian Supreme Court sentenced former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to overthrow the government following his loss in the country's 2022 election, reports The Epoch Times. Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with five counts, including an attempted coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence, and a serious threat against the state's assets and deterioration of listed heritage. Bolsonaro has denied any involvement and said that he is the target of political persecution under the administration of his former competitor, Brazilian President Luiz Lula. Trump honors the power of prayer In the United States, President Donald Trump announced the “America Prays” initiative in preparation for the country's 250th birthday next year. The White House is asking if one million Americans can dedicate one hour a week to praying for the U.S. Listen to comments that President Trump gave this week at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. TRUMP: “So, America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer. And we will never apologize for our faith, ever, ever, never, never. We will never surrender our God-given rights. We will defend our liberties, our values, our sovereignty, and we will defend our freedom.” DHS to offer $110 million of security to Christian groups The Department of Homeland Security awarded $110 million in security grants to faith-based organizations last month. The move came just a week before the deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A Senior Department of Homeland Security official said, “DHS is laser-focused on ensuring the safety of the American people. Instead of using grant money to fund climate change initiatives and political pet projects, we are using this money to protect American communities—especially places where people gather in prayer.” Charlie Kirk's assassin's cartridges contained ‘transgender” ideology Law enforcement have found a rifle near the Utah Valley University campus where conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10th. The cartridges were all “engraved” with expressions of “transgender and anti-fascist ideology,” reports LifeSiteNews.com. On Thursday morning, Steven Crowder posted to X an exclusively obtained email from the American Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) which shared internal findings about the weapon used by Kirk's yet-unidentified assassin. The ATF message said, “The suspect fired one shot from an elevated position on a rooftop in an adjacent building on the campus and surveillance video shows the suspect jumping off and fleeing the area on foot.” Law enforcement, including ATF, “located an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus,” in a location that “appears to match the suspect's route of travel. The spent cartridge was still chambered in addition to three unspent rounds at the top-fed magazine. All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology.” One person at the scene reported that when he was shot, Kirk had been speaking about “how many trans mass shooters there have been.” Appearing on Fox News, former FBI Agent Stuart Kaplan provided his analysis. KAPLAN: “This assassination was a very well planned, very well-orchestrated plot that was put in motion days before. This individual had a plan of escape, to elude detection of being out up on a rooftop, and also being able to evade and elude law enforcement after that shot was taken. This assassination of Charlie Kirk, to me, is indicative of a professional hit.” Charlie Kirk wanted to be remembered for his courage and faith On the Iced Coffee Hour podcast, Charlie Kirk was once asked a provocative question. HOST: “How do you want to be remembered?” KIRK: “If I die?” HOST: “Everything just goes away. How would you, if you could be associated with one thing, how would you want to be remembered?” KIRK: “I want to be remembered for, for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing. Most important thing is my faith in my life.” How Charlie Kirk shared Christ with an atheist student Charlie Kirk, an evangelical Christian, spent most of his time on college campuses having dialogue with students with whom he disagreed.  As you can hear from this exchange, recorded some time ago, he did not hesitate to share Christ. STUDENT: “Are you a Christian by any chance?” KIRK: “Very, very much.” STUDENT: So, like, why is that exactly?” KIRK: “Oh, Jesus saved my life. I'm a sinner, gave my life to Christ, most important decision I ever made.” STUDENT:  “So, you believe the Bible is real?” KIRK: “Yes, I believe the Bible is true and real.” STUDENT:  “Why is that?” KIRK: “Well, I could give you the technical answer. There's never been an archeological discovery that has contradicted the truth of the Bible. And then, of course, the wisdom. There is not a truth of the Bible, that if you apply to your life, your life does not improve it dramatically. “And then finally, we have the most accurate and transparent, historically robust account that one can have, of the most important figure ever to live in the history of the world: Jesus of Nazareth. And the resurrection is the pinpoint of my belief that Jesus did rise from the grave so that we may live.” STUDENT:  “What makes Christian mythology real?” KIRK: “So, that's not mythology, but that is theology. If Genesis 1:1 and the resurrection is true, anything in the Bible is possible. You're looking at the greatest miracle. The greatest miracle is creation, and then the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. And I say, ‘How do you know that Jesus rose from the dead?' “Well, show me another historical piece of a story where so many people willingly died a brutal death for a lie. Every single person around Him had everything to lose, and yet they went to the absolute death, from Paul to Peter to James, saying that, ‘Jesus is Lord. Jesus rose from the dead.' “Not to mention, if you were gonna fake a story, you would not use female witnesses in the ancient world. In the Scriptures, it said that the women were the first ones to see Jesus Christ. If you're trying to fake a story, you would never do that.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1 was no doubt on the heart of Charlie Kirk as he shared his faith so publicly and so boldly. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored.” Charlie Kirk urged young people to come to Christ In one of Charlie Kirk's final X posts this past Saturday, he wrote, "Jesus defeated death so you can live,” reports Fox News. Kirk was a significant figure who inspired millions of high school and college students not only to become engaged politically, but to consider the claims of Jesus Christ and live lives guided by faith. Turning Point has a branch focused purely on faith, called Turning Point Faith, "dedicated to empowering Christians to put their faith into action." Pastor Rob McCoy, who is founder of Godspeak Calvary Chapel and the co-chair of Turning Point Faith, said Charlie Kirk called him his pastor but that he prefers to be known as his “friend and greatest fan.” Pastor McCoy said, "Charlie never used violence but was threatened every day with violence by those who couldn't contend with logic and truth — and now they have done to my friend what evil always does. It takes away life." McCoy said, "Charlie did not die. Instead, he has begun to truly live. His life was secured eternally by his Savior, Jesus Christ. This truth allowed Charlie to face every threat with courage because he didn't fear death." Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” McCoy added, "All evil knows is death, and they derive power from death. Charlie lived for life and will be remembered for this. My heart is broken for his family — his wife Erika and his two precious children. Evil has not prevailed, and it will not win." American conservative social media activist Robby Starbuck said “Charlie's greatest achievement is talking about God to young people during a time when too many were afraid to do that. The result has been a revival on college campuses all over the nation. It's our responsibility to carry on [Charlie's] work now." Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, September 12th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Romans 7:1-4 — What does marriage have to do with the relationship to the law? Paul begins Romans 7 by discussing how the relationship with the law closely mirrors a relationship with a spouse. In the sermon on Romans 7:1–4 titled “Not Subject to the Law,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones creates four points to show how Paul is using the marriage relationship as an illustration. Just as the woman is bound to her husband by law, so also the Christian is bound to the law. This reflects the leadership that the husband has over the household. In a marriage, the spouses are bound until a death breaks that agreement. Christians are also bound to the law until a death occurs. Death brings a freedom from the law. In the same way, Christians have died to the law and are now able to enter into a relationship with righteousness. Finally, the purpose of marriage is to replenish the earth and the relationship with God is to bring forth fruit. All must be delivered from the power and dominion of the law if they are to produce fruit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the Christian must first be separated from the old in order to conform to the new. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

Are you overdue for a spiritual check-up? If you’ve been wondering how to know if you’re growing spiritually or what the Bible says about renewing your mind, this devotional will help you reflect on your faith and realign your heart with God’s Word. In Romans 12:2, Paul reminds us not to conform to the world’s standards but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Yet, it’s easy to compare ourselves to others—whether friends, celebrity Christians, or social media influencers—instead of measuring our hearts against Scripture. Drawing from Paul’s humility and honest self-reflection, this devotional encourages us to stop competing, stop comparing, and start aligning our lives with God’s standards. True spiritual growth comes when we consistently examine ourselves and allow Scripture—not the culture around us—to shape our transformation. ✨ Highlights Why spiritual check-ups matter — Regularly examine your faith, attitudes, and heart alignment with God’s Word (2 Corinthians 13:5). Comparison is a trap — Measuring ourselves against others can lead to pride, shame, or complacency. Paul’s example of humility — Despite his influence, Paul called himself the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), reminding us we all need grace. Renewing the mind — Transformation begins when we filter our thoughts, habits, and actions through God’s Word rather than worldly standards. Pressing toward the goal — Focus on Jesus and the calling He’s placed on your life, not the noise around you (Philippians 3:14).

In this episode of The Ricecast, Pastors Willy Rice and Dan Pigsley breakdown and discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk 09/10/25. Willy lays out what his thoughts are on this tragedy, what Christians should do, and what it means to Stand Firm on the truth.Rise Up - an article written within the first few hours of the assassination of Charlie Kirk by Pastor Willy Rice directed towards Young Men.Support the showFind us at! Calvary.us

Pastor Nelson of Got Questions Ministries explains how Christians should respond to pride month. All the while, he pretends that the fact that he's speaking calmly while smiling somehow doesn't make the content of his speech hateful bigotry.Cards:Easter is Just Around the Corner!:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-jbM-FKq9USatan DESTROYED My Marriage!:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sTewA8VDJAWhere Do Atheists Get Their Morals?

Mark 1:40-45 (LSB)Andrew, Isack, and Edwin discuss Jesus's healing the leper and how it speaks to the problem of evil in the world.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=22453The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

Ronny and Chris talk recent events that are happening and how we should react at Christians.

In this emergency response episode, Pastor Stephen Martin addresses the shocking death of Charlie Kirk and what it means for Christians in America. Listen as Pastor Stephen reveals why Charlie's death wasn't about politics - it was martyrdom for the Christian faith.Hear powerful biblical teaching about standing firm in hostile times, why there's no such thing as "bipartisan Christianity," and the three types of Christians in today's culture. This urgent message challenges every believer to choose courage over compromise.You'll Learn:✅ The truth about Charlie Kirk's death the media won't report✅ Why Christians can't remain neutral on biblical issues✅ Three categories every Christian falls into✅ How to stand courageously when faith costs everything✅ Charlie's final message: "Jesus defeated death so that you can live"Perfect for your commute or workout - biblical truth for these critical times.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they dive into the Nicene Creed, as this year marks its 1700th anniversary. As the early church absolutely exploded in growth - from about 7,500 followers in A.D. 100 to around 30 million by A.D. 310 - the challenge and question facing them was this: How would they stay united? How would this fast-growing, quickly expanding movement remain unified in vision and values, mission and purpose? The answer became clear, and led to the Nicene Creed being written in A.D. 325 by the Council of Nicaea. Episode Links Modern-day churches are increasingly turning to the words of this ancient creed to ground themselves in the foundations of the Christian faith. In fact, Daniel Silliman recently wrote an article in Christianity Today titled, “How the Nicene Creed Became Cool Again” that you may be interested in reading. In honor of the Nicene Creed's 1700th anniversary, Dr. White recently kicked off a series at Mecklenburg Community Church titled “Credo,” which is the Latin word for creed. If you're interested in checking out this series, you can find it HERE. It's particularly important in our world today to ground the church in the words of the creed, especially in light of the findings of the most recent “State of Theology” survey showing that culturally, there has been a significant lapse in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian - among Christians. You can find that study HERE. Finally, if you are interested in doing some additional study about the Nicene Creed, there are a few books that we would recommend on this topic: Mark Noll, Turning Points; Phillip Cary, The Nicene Creed; Jared Ortiz and Daniel A. Keating, The Nicene Creed; and J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

Phillips, in the Preface to The Book of Revelation:  "In this book the translator is carried into another dimension... He is carried, not into some never-never land of fancy, but into the ever-ever land of God's eternal Values and Judgements". "Although the majority of Christians quite cheerfully accept the inclusion of this mysterious book within the New Testament canon, my strong impression is that very few of them have read it in any detail." On Revelation, from the autobiography The Price of Success: "Certain themes emerge distinctly for the modern reader's profit: (a) The absolute sovereignty of God, and his ultimate purpose to destroy all forms of evil. (b) The inevitable judgments of God upon evil, upon the worship of false gods, which include riches, power and success. (c) The necessity for patient endurance, the ultimate security being the knowledge that God is in control of history (d) The existence of reality, represented here under such symbols as the New Jerusalem, set apart and secure from the battles and tribulations of earthly life, promises complete spiritual security to those who are faithful to God and his Christ.

Episode 191 - In this episode, Father Sean Danda and Nathanael Rea explore the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, focusing on the themes of obedience, purification, and the prophetic roles of Simeon and Anna. The discussion delves into the significance of rituals, the timing of Jesus' presentation, and the deeper meanings behind the canticles of Simeon and Mary. The conversation emphasizes the importance of obedience in our lives and how it can lead to redemption for ourselves and our families.Takeaways:The fruit of the mystery is obedience.Rituals of purification are significant in the community.Timing in the presentation reflects cultural practices.Simeon's canticle highlights the light of Christ.Mary's obedience is a model for all Christians.The sword that pierces Mary's heart signifies her suffering.Obedience can lead to redemption for families.The significance of the tribe of Asher is tied to obedience.Living a life of obedience opens the door to salvation.

Sanctification is not moralism or passive waiting but the grace of God at work in the believer, producing obedience, holiness, and growth in Christ. In this episode, Richard Caldwell explains how Christians are called to discipline themselves for godliness while relying fully on God's Spirit. True sanctification is grace-fueled effort that flows from justification and looks forward to glorification, shaping a life of worship, obedience, and joy in Christ.

Freakonomics Podcast Episode⁠In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, Nathan and Cameron offer a thought-provoking theological response to Episode 644 of the Freakonomics podcast, "Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?"—featuring controversial political theorist Patrick Deneen. With their signature blend of faith, philosophy, and cultural analysis, Nathan and Cameron explore Deneen's critique of liberalism, the spiritual vacuum in Western political life, and the implications of his ideas for Christians navigating a fractured public square. From Why Liberalism Failed to Regime Change, Deneen's work prompts timely questions: Can a pluralistic society truly share a common good without shared faith? How should Christians think about post-liberalism, populism, and the loss of moral consensus in America? This episode is essential listening for believers seeking rich theological engagement with current events, political theory, and the future of Christian witness in the modern West. Whether you're washing eggs on the farm or commuting to work, join us for a deep dive into faith, politics, and the crumbling foundations of our common life.DONATE LINK: https://toltogether.com/donate BOOK A SPEAKER: https://toltogether.com/book-a-speakerJOIN TOL CONNECT: https://toltogether.com/tol-connect TOL Connect is an online forum where TOL listeners can continue the conversation begun on the podcast.

In this episode of Wake Up, Look Up, Pastor Zach addresses the rise of far-right influencer Nick Fuentes and asks if hate has become the new gospel. He warns that Fuentes' messages of racism, antisemitism, and misogyny directly contradict the teachings of Jesus, who calls us to love our enemies and value every human being as made in God's image. Pastor Zach emphasizes that as Christians, our allegiance is to the kingdom of Jesus, not any ethnic identity or political ideology, and following voices like Fuentes risks turning people away from Christ.Have an article you'd like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we wrap up our Thessalonians series with the "O" word. In this lesson, we'll see why Paul made "Obedience" his closing challenge.--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --The O Word: Obedience (2 Thessalonians 3:1-18)As we close our Thessalonians series, Paul leaves his readers with one final reminder: the Christian life is not only about believing the right things (orthodoxy), but also about practicing the right things (orthopraxy). And the word that ties it all together—the “O word”—is obedience.For many of us, “obedience” feels like a word for children. But in Scripture, obedience is at the very center of what it means to follow Jesus. Paul's final lesson in 2 Thessalonians 3 is simple yet profound: God cares deeply about how we live.1. Prayer Fuels the MissionPaul begins by asking the Thessalonians to pray for him and his team. He longs for the gospel to spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes. He also asks for protection from wicked and evil people. The lesson is clear: prayer is not a side activity; it is central to God's mission. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-32. Obedience Is an ExpectationPaul expresses confidence that the Thessalonians will continue to do the things he commanded. That word—command—makes many modern Christians uncomfortable. Yet Paul reminds us that obedience is not optional for true believers. Casual Christians may resist authority, but disciples embrace it because it comes from Christ Himself. 2 Thessalonians 3:4-53. Laziness Is a Spiritual ProblemPaul then gives one of the most practical commands in the New Testament: don't live idle lives. He even tells the church to separate from believers who refuse to work and to stop enabling cycles of dependency. Instead, Paul points to the dignity of work and the example he himself modeled. Obedience is not just about avoiding “big sins”—it includes everyday faithfulness, diligence, and integrity. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-104. Imitation Is a Key to DiscipleshipPaul reminds the Thessalonians to imitate his example. He worked with his hands so as not to burden the church, even though he had the right to receive support. His life matched his teaching—orthodoxy and orthopraxy together. This kind of modeling is essential for healthy Christian discipleship. 2 Thessalonians 3:7-95. Correction Is Done in LoveFinally, Paul addresses those who refuse to obey. They are to be warned firmly, even shamed by the community if necessary—but never treated as enemies. Correction in the church should always be motivated by love, aiming to restore brothers and sisters to faithful obedience. 2 Thessalonians 3:11-15Paul closes his letter with a blessing of peace and grace, reminding us that obedience flows out of God's love and presence in our lives. 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18Big Idea: Obedience isn't just for children. It's the daily calling of every follower of...

Today Pastor Ricky will be explaining how we as Christians are commanded to submit to the governing authorities that have been placed over us. People in general don't like the word “submission”. The last thing they want to do is submit to authority. As believers, we are called to follow the example of Jesus and the Lord practiced humility by submitting Himself under the authority of the Father. The only time we don't submit to authority is when we are asked to do something contrary to God's Word.

Top headlines for Friday, September 12, 2025In this episode, the FBI's latest efforts in the high-profile murder case of Charlie Kirk as they release images of a person of interest and announce a substantial reward for tips leading to an arrest. We then explore the tragic events at Evergreen High School and the police's revelation about shooter Desmond Holly's radicalization. Plus, a new Department of Justice report makes waves with its allegations of a systematic pattern of discrimination against Christians.00:11 House floor erupts after Boebert calls for prayer for Kirk01:03 FBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk murder01:49 MSNBC's Matthew Dowd fired for Charlie Kirk comments02:43 Dead Evergreen High School shooter was ‘radicalized03:35 5 key findings from the DOJ report on anti-Christian bias04:24 La Luz del Mundo leader abused generations of church members: DOJ05:22 Episcopal cathedral employee arrested for soliciting a minorSubscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercastFollow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeGet the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for AndroidSubscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!Links to the NewsHouse floor erupts after Boebert calls for prayer for Kirk | PoliticsFBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk murder | U.S.MSNBC's Matthew Dowd fired for Charlie Kirk comments | PoliticsDead Evergreen High School shooter was ‘radicalized | U.S.5 key findings from the DOJ report on anti-Christian bias | PoliticsLa Luz del Mundo leader abused generations of church members: DOJ | U.S.Episcopal cathedral employee arrested for soliciting a minor | U.S.

As Christians, we are called to love others. The world has somewhat distorted the definition of love to mean accept, affirm, or make others comfortable. Today, Pastor Bill teaches that truly loving others means that… in his words, “There is a time to go Batman on somebody.” When you truly love someone, you desire to see them succeed and grow, and not just stay stuck in their sins. To be a Christian is to be an ambassador for Christ, and to be an ambassador is to make His Word known. 

The Christian voice will no longer be turned off and the temperature will not be turned down as to the free speech of Christians and those with the conservative Christian values they speak-in politics, business and everyday life. It's time to stand up and Reason For Truth, no matter what the case may be. It's time to get off the bench and into the game...all of us. That includes you and me.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reason-for-truth--2774396/support.

Sanctification is not moralism or passive waiting but the grace of God at work in the believer, producing obedience, holiness, and growth in Christ. In this episode, Richard Caldwell explains how Christians are called to discipline themselves for godliness while relying fully on God's Spirit. True sanctification is grace-fueled effort that flows from justification and looks forward to glorification, shaping a life of worship, obedience, and joy in Christ.

In this episode of Pray the Word on Mark 9:23–24, David Platt explains how God's grace can strengthen our faith.Explore more content from Radical.

Divorce is a deeply painful experience that often carries layers of shame and confusion, especially for Christians. While we don't want to glorify divorce in anyway, we also don't want people quietly suffering without a place to turn. In this episode, you'll learn:What it means to be an image bearer of God — whether you're married or single.Why passages of Scripture, like Malachi 2:16, are often misunderstood and how you can know what the original text actually means.How to refuse the shame-filled accusations the enemy throws at you.A special thank-you to our partner for this season: Convoy of Hope. For over 30 years, Convoy of Hope has helped vulnerable communities around the world — and empowering women and girls is a key part of that mission. Convoy of Hope partners with women so they can start their own businesses to better support themselves and their families. Because when women are empowered, entire communities are transformed. Visit convoy.org/p31 to help empower women and girls today.Links and Resources We'll Mention in This Episode:Get your copy of Surviving an Unwanted Divorce by Lysa TerKeurst, Dr. Joel Muddamalle, and Jim Cress.Be notified as soon as new Therapy & Theology episodes are available! Enter your email address here to subscribe and stay connected.We want to hear from YOU! Take this survey to let us know how we can better serve you.See Lysa in a city near you this fall on the Trust Again Tour. Bring a friend, and get your tickets here!The Therapy & Theology podcast is brought to you by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Proverbs 31 Ministries exists to help women encounter the Truth of God's Word in every season. Learn more here!Click here to download a transcript of this episode.Go Deeper:Listen to "How Can I Trust God When I Don't Understand What He Allows?"Listen to "You Are Worthy of Being Chosen" With Jim Cress.Watch "Stop the Shame Scripts Holding You Back."

This week, our nation grieves. We grieve because a fearless voice for truth, for freedom, for faith—Charlie Kirk—was taken from us. Today I wanted to share a bit about the Charlie I knew. A young man who, for the last 10-plus years, has been unashamedly preaching the Gospel to this nation, and the world.Charlie will be remembered for his courage in faith, but will we be remembered for that same kind of courage? Charlie's death is a tragic wakeup call for us as believers. Today we need to stop being afraid. Stop being silenced. Stop compromising. Instead we as the church need to take a stand. No more sitting on the sidelines, no more playing it safe. This is our moment to decide: will we be silent Christians, or fearless Christians? I pray we would all choose the latter.In light of the darkness of this week, and the darkness of this day—September 11th—I want to leave you with the remarks my grandfather shared from the Washington National Cathedral 24 years ago in the wake of the evil attacks we remember today. These words remind us that the losses of 9/11, and the loss of Charlie, are not in vain. Good will one day triumph over evil, and faith will win out over fear.