Podcasts about Old Testament

Fr Mike celebrates the accomplishment of reading the entire Old Testament and wraps up the books of 2 Maccabees and Wisdom, talking through the key themes of the Old Testament visible in the conclusions to these books. He also discusses the motivation of the Maccabees to defend the temple and maintain its purity as well as uphold God's honor. Today's readings are from 2 Maccabees 15, Wisdom 19, and Proverbs 25:21-23 For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

7. The Iconic Earthrise Photo and the Genesis Reading Broadcast. Bob Zimmerman discusses how while orbiting the moon, the crew captured the now-iconic "Earthrise" photographs. A dispute over who took the famous color picture was resolved by transcript analysis: Frank Borman quickly took a black-and-white image, and Bill Anders subsequently captured the celebrated color image after scrambling to change the film. For their Christmas Eve television broadcast, Frank Borman sought guidance for a message that would match the "majesty and the significance" of the moment, as NASA's public relations chief refused to dictate the content. Borman's friend, Joe Leighton, struggled to find suitable, non-sectarian text. Leighton's wife suggested starting at the beginning of the Old Testament. Leighton realized the opening verses of Genesis were perfect, as they were fundamental to the world's major religions and fit the theme of beginning a new era of exploration. Anders, Lovell, and Borman read the verses, surprising the world, concluding with Borman wishing "God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth." 1790 GREEENWICH

“Can I understand indulgences?” This episode dives into the topic of indulgences and their origins, while also addressing a variety of questions such as the reasons behind the cessation of Old Testament sacrifices and the validity of crystal healings. Join us as we explore these intriguing aspects of Catholic faith and practice. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 02:42 – I'm recently getting more into apologetics. What can I read to get myself more familiarized with it? 07:15 – If there is a pleasing odor to the lord, why did we stop those sacrifices? 15:11 – I don’t understand Indulgences. Where did they come from? 23:58 – Is there validity in crystal healings? 36:01 – Rev. says 144,000 are only going to heaven. Can you explain what it means? 43:01 – Did the Catholic Church ever try to assassinate Martin Luther? 48:11 – I heard the claim that Vatican II eradicated choir lofts. Where might that idea come from? 52:09 – Should I kneel when I watch adoration on TV?

Josh Monday Christian and Conspiracy Podcast Ep. 317How to Support the ministry: $5.99 a monthpatreon.com/JoshMondayChristianandConspiracyPodcastJoin the Patreon here: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Joshmonday_podcastIf you want to donate to the Ministry CashAPP:https://cash.app/$JoshmondaymusicNew affiliate: https://wsteif.com/ Paul and Crystals links: https://thetinfoilhatfactory.com/Flat Earth Books by Sakal Publishing Affiliate Link: https://booksonline.club/booksonlinecYoutube: ⁠@joshmondaymusicandpodcast ⁠ Tips for the show to Support our Ministry: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/joshmondayCoffee Mug Is Available email me your mailing address Joshmonday⁠@rocketmail.com ⁠ Please subscribe to our Spotify and You Tube Channel Joshmondaymusic and Podcast and help us grow so we can keep on spreading the good news. To all of our current and future subscribers thank you for your time, we appreciate you. Please do us a favor subscribe to our You Tube Channel, hit that bell, share, like and comment below on our You tube. Please leave us a 5-Star review on Apple and Spotify.Check out my new show Sunday Service and Wednesday Brought to you by Cult of Conspiracy Podcast. On Cult of Conspiracy Spotify, Patreon and Apple Podcast Channel.Join the study as I go deep into the Bible. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/josh-monday-christian-and-conspiracy-podcast--6611118/support.

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As we get closer to the end of the Old Testament, Fr. Mike highlights one of the lessons we've seen time and time again—that God continues to fight for each of us, despite the brokenness and messiness of our lives. He also points out how the reading from Wisdom foreshadows the coming of Jesus. The readings are 2 Maccabees 14, Wisdom 17-18, and Proverbs 25:18-20. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Today we're studying D&C 128:19 in just one minute! Grab your scriptures and let's dive into them together!And grab study guides for the whole family here: - Kristen's daily scripture study help is available for kids/teens/adults in digital and physical form here :https://kristenwalkersmith.com/starthere/And for weekly help understanding the storyline of Come Follow Me check out her YouTube videos here: https://kristenwalkersmith.com/youtube/- To get Cali's scripture study guide for adults click here: https://comefollowmestudy.com/shop/ Discount code: OMSSOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0pKf8XtGet our NEW 365-day Old Testament daily devotional book in Costco stores in Utah, Idaho, ArizonaOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0p3Ds0t Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Old Testament gives us very specific, almost scientific declarations that point us to Jesus' eternal existence before His birth in the New Testament.  Join Rabbi as he explains predictive prophecy and continues his study in this eye-opening series.  **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner  **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate  **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/f3o 

In this illuminating episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Jesse and Tony explore Jesus' parables of the mustard seed and leaven found in Matthew 13. These seemingly simple parables reveal profound truths about God's kingdom—how it begins imperceptibly, grows irresistibly, and transforms completely. The hosts delve into what these parables teach us about God's sovereign work in both our individual spiritual lives and the broader advance of His kingdom in the world. Believers can find hope in understanding that God intentionally works through what appears weak and insignificant to accomplish His purposes. This episode offers practical encouragement for Christians who may feel discouraged by the apparent smallness of their faith or ministry impact. Key Takeaways The kingdom of heaven begins in small, hidden, or seemingly insignificant ways, but grows powerfully through God's sovereign work. The mustard seed illustrates the kingdom's visible expansion (extensive growth), while the leaven highlights its internal transformative influence (intensive growth). Both parables emphasize that God's kingdom often appears to "disappear" initially but produces outsized results through His work, not our own. These parables provide encouragement for times when the church feels weak or our personal faith feels insufficient—God's power is made perfect in weakness. God's kingdom transforms both outwardly (extensive growth illustrated by the mustard seed) and inwardly (intensive growth shown by the leaven). Cultural transformation happens most effectively through ordinary Christian faithfulness rather than flashy or provocative engagement. Christians should not despise small beginnings, recognizing that faithfulness rather than visibility is the true measure of fruitfulness. Understanding Kingdom Growth: From Imperceptible to Unstoppable The parables of the mustard seed and leaven powerfully illustrate the paradoxical nature of God's kingdom. In both cases, something tiny and seemingly insignificant produces results far beyond what anyone would expect. As Tony noted in the discussion, what's critical is understanding the full comparison Jesus makes—the kingdom isn't simply like a seed or leaven in isolation, but like the entire process of planting and growth. Both parables involve something that initially "disappears" from sight (the seed buried in soil, the leaven mixed into dough) before producing its effect. This reflects the upside-down nature of God's kingdom work, where what appears weak becomes the channel of divine power. For first-century Jewish listeners expecting a triumphant, militaristic Messiah, Jesus' description of the kingdom as beginning small would have seemed offensive or disappointing. Yet this is precisely God's pattern—beginning with what appears weak to demonstrate His sovereign power. This same pattern is evident in the incarnation itself, where God's kingdom arrived not through military conquest but through a humble birth and ultimately through the cross. Finding Hope When Faith Feels Small One of the most practical applications from these parables is the encouragement they offer when we feel our faith is insufficient or when the church appears weak. As Jesse noted, "God is always working. Even when we don't feel or see that He is, He's always working." The kingdom of God advances not through human strength or visibility but through God's sovereign work. These parables remind us that spiritual growth often happens imperceptibly—like bread rising or a seed growing. We may go through seasons where our spiritual life feels dry or stagnant, yet God continues His sanctifying work. Just as a baker must be patient while bread rises, we must trust the invisible work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the church. When we feel discouraged by apparent lack of progress, these parables assure us that God's kingdom—both in our hearts and in the world—is advancing according to His perfect timing and plan. As Tony explained, "The fact that it feels and looks and may actually be very small does not rob it of its power...in actuality that smallness is its power." God deliberately works through weakness to display His glory, making these parables powerful reminders for believers in any era who may feel their impact is too small to matter. Memorable Quotes "We shouldn't despise small beginnings. Let's not despise whatever it is that you're doing in service to God, to your family, to your churches, especially in the proclamation of the gospel... Faithfulness and not visibility—that's the measure of fruitfulness." — Jesse Schwamb "The Kingdom of Heaven is at work not only in our midst as a corporate body, but in each of us as well. God's grace and His special providence and His spirit of sanctification, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of holiness and the one who makes us holy. He is doing that whether it feels like it or not, whether we see outward progress or not." — Tony Arsenal "What cultural transformation looks like is a man who gets married and loves his wife well, serves her and sacrifices for her, and makes a bunch of babies and brings them to church... We transform culture by being honest, having integrity, by working hard... without a lot of fanfare, without seeking a lot of accolades." — Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 468 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother, you and I have said it over and over again. One of the incredible truths that the Bible conveys about the kingdom of God is that it's inaugurated in weakness. It's hidden. It advances irresistibly by the sovereign work of God through the Word and the Spirit. It transforms both individuals and nations until Christ's reign is fully revealed in glory. And so as we're about to talk about parables today, I can't help but think if that's one of the central positions of the Bible, and I think we both say it is how would you communicate that? And here we find Jesus, the son of God, our great savior, you know where he goes. He goes, mustard seeds and yeast. So that's what we're gonna talk about today. And if you're just joining us maybe for the first time or you're jumping into this little series, which is to say, we do know tiny series, this long series on parables, you, I go back to the last episode, which is kind of a two-parter because Tony and I tried this experiment where we basically each separately recorded our own thoughts and conversation, almost an inner monologue as we digested each of those parables, both the one of the mustard seed and then the leaven sequentially and separately. And now we're coming together in this episode to kind of talk about it together and to see what we thought of the individual work and to bring it all together in this grand conversation about the kingdom of God that's inaugurated and weakness and hiddenness. [00:02:31] Affirmations and Denials Explained Jesse Schwamb: So that's this episode, but it wouldn't be a episode without a little affirming. And a little denying it seems, 22, we should this, every now and again we pause to say why we do the affirmations and denials. Why, why do we do this? What, what is this whole thing? Why are we bringing it into our little conversation every time? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I mean, it, it, at its core, it's kind of like a recommendation or an anti recommendation segment. We take something that we like or we don't like and we spend a little bit of time talking about it. Usually it ends up taking a little bit of a theological bent just 'cause that's who we are and that's what we do. And we use the language of affirmations and denials, uh, because that's classic, like reformed confessional language. Right? If you look at something like the, um. I dunno, like the Chicago statement on Biblical and Errancy, which was primarily written by RC sprawl, um, it usually has a, a statement, uh, of doctrine in the form of things that we affirm and things that we deny. Um, or you look at someone like Turin, a lot of times in his, uh, institutes of elected theology. He'll have something like, we affirm this with the Lutherans, or we affirm that or de deny that against the papus or something like that. So it's just a, a little bit of a fun gimmick that we've added on top of this to sort of give it a little bit of its own reformed flavor, uh, onto something that's otherwise somewhat, um, Baal or, or I don't know, sort of vanilla. So we like it. It's a good chance for us to chat, kind of timestamps the episode with where we are in time. And usually, usually, like I said, we end up with something sort of theological out of it. 'cause that's, that's just the nature of us and that's, that's the way it goes. That's, and that's what happens, like when we're talking about stuff we. Like when we're together at Christmas or at the beach, like things take that theological shift because that's just who, who we are, and that's what we're thinking about. Jesse Schwamb: By the way, that sounds like a new CBS drama coming this fall. The nature of us. Tony Arsenal: The nature of us? Yeah. Or like a, like a hallmark channel. Jesse Schwamb: It does, uh, Tony Arsenal: it's like a a, I'm picturing like the, the big city girl who moves out to take a job as a journalist in like Yosemite and falls in love with the park ranger and it's called The Nature of Us. Jesse Schwamb: The nature of us Yes. Coming this fall to CBS 9:00 PM on Thursdays. Yeah. I love it. Well, this is our homage to that great theological tradition of the affirming with, or the denying against. So what do you got this week? Are you affirming with something or you denying against something? [00:04:55] No Quarters November Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming. This is a little cheeky. I'm not gonna throw too much, much, uh, too much explanation. Uh, along with it. I'm affirming something. I'm calling no quarters, November. So, you know, normally I'm very careful to use quarters. I'm very careful to make sure that I'm, I'm saving them and using them appropriately. And for the month of November, I'm just not gonna use any quarters. So there'll be no 25 cent pieces in my banking inventory for the month. Oh. So I'm, I'm making a little bit of fun. Of course. Obviously no, quarter November is a tradition that Doug Wilson does, where he just is even more of a jerk than he usually is. Um, and he, he paints it in language that, like, normally I'm very careful and I qualify everything and I have all sorts of nuance. But in November, I'm just gonna be a bull in a China shop, um, as though he's not already just a bull in a China shop 95% of the time. So I'm affirming no corridors. November maybe. No corners November. Everything should be rounded. Jesse Schwamb: That's good too. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. No, no. Quatro November. Like we don't do anything in Spanish. No fours in Spanish. I don't know. Okay. I'm just making fun of that. I'm just making fun of the whole thing. It's such a silly, dumb enterprise. There's nothing I can do except to make fun of it. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I think that's fair. That's basically the response it deserves. This time, we, we brought it up for several years going, it's such a strange thing. [00:06:13] Critique of Doug Wilson's Approach Jesse Schwamb: It's hard not to see this thing as complete liberty to be sinful and then to acknowledge that. Yeah. As if somehow that gives you, reinforces that liberty that you're taking it, it's so strange. It's as if like, this is what is necessary and probably we'll get to this actually, but this is what is necessary for like the gospel or the kingdom of God to go forward is that kind of attitude at times. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I will say this, I do always look forward every year to seeing what he sets on fire. 'cause the, the videos are pretty great. I'm not gonna lie. Like the video quality is, is certainly compelling. Um, and you could say it's lit is another little punny way to get at it. Uh, I, I haven't seen it this year. I mean, that's, we're recording this on November 1st, so I'm sure that it's out. Uh, I just haven't seen it yet. But yeah, I mean, it's kind of, kind of ridiculous, uh, that anyone believes that Doug Wilson is restraining himself or engaging in lots of fine distinctions and nuance. You know, like the rest of the year and November is the time that he really like holds back, uh, or really doesn't hold back. That's, that's just a silly, it's just a silly gimmick. It's a silly, like, I dunno, it's a gimmick and it's dumb and so I'm gonna make fun of it 'cause that's what it deserves. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I think that's right. You know, I was thinking recently because as you said, the counter just rolled over. And generally this time of year I end up always watching that documentary that Ligonier put together on Martin Luther, which is quite good. And I think it does, has a fair treatment of him, including the fact that he was so bombastic and that he was very caustic with his language. And I think they treat that fairly by saying, oh, that some of the same things that we admire in somebody can be some of the very same things which pull them into sinful behavior. And there's no excuse for that. And, and, and if that's true for him, then it's true for all of us, of course. And it's definitely true for Luther. So I think this idea, we need to be guarding our tongues all the time and to just make up some excuse to say, I'm not gonna do that. And in some way implying that there's some kind of hidden. Piety in that is what I think is just so disturbing. And I think most of us see through that for what exactly it is. It's clickbaits. It's this idea of trying to draw attention by being bombastic and literally setting things on fire. Like the video where he sets the boat on fire is crazy because all I can think of is like, so if you judge me, one more thing on this, Tony, 'cause I, I, when you said that, I thought about this video, the boat video implicitly, and I've thought about this a lot since then. There's a clip of him, he sets the boat on fire and it's kind of like him sitting on the boat that is engulfed in flames looking out into the sea, so, so calmly as if it's like an embodiment of that mean this is fine, everything is fine, this is fine. Right? Yeah. And all I can think of is that was great for probably like the two seconds that somebody filmed that, but guess what happened immediately after that? Somebody rescued you by putting out the fire on the boat. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: It's just like insanity to presume that, encapsulating that single moment and somehow conveying that he is a great champion, pioneer advocate of things of the gospel by essentially coming in and disrupting and being caustic and that him setting thing on fire makes everything better is a mockery, because that's not even exactly how that shoot took place. Yeah. So I, I just really struggle with that, with the perspective he is trying to bring forward. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I'm dubious whether or not there was actually any fire involved. Well, that's, I think 95% of it is probably camera magic, which is fine. Like, I don't know. That's fine. Like, I don't want Doug Wilson to burn up. That's, that wouldn't be cool either. But, um, yeah, I mean, like the fruit of the spirit is love, joy piece patience, kindness, good as gentleness, setting things on fire and being a jerk in November, apparently. And I, I just don't, I, I've never fully understood the argument. Um, and this is coming from someone who can be sarcastic and can go over the top and go too far. And, and I recognize that about myself. I've just never understood the argument that like, it's okay to be a jerk sometimes. Or, or not even just, okay. It's necessary to be a jerk sometimes. Exactly. Um, there's a difference between boldness and being a jerk. And, you know, I think, um, the people who, who know me well are gonna like fall off their chairs. I say this like, Michael Foster is actually someone who I think. Does the boldness with a little bit of an edge. I think he actually does it really well. And just like all of us, I, you know, he, he probably goes over the line, uh, on occasion. Um, and, and, but I think he does the, I'm just going to be direct and straightforward and bold. And sometimes that might offend you because sometimes the truth is offensive. Um, I think he does that well. I think where we go sideways is when we try to couch everything in sort of this offensive posture, right? Where, where even the things that shouldn't be offensive, uh, somehow need to be made offensive. It, it's just, it's dumb. It's just, um, and I'm, I'm not saying we should be nice just for the sake of being nice. I think sometimes being nice is. When I say nice, I mean like saccharin sweet, like, like overly uh, I don't know, like sappy sweets. Like we don't have to be that. And uh, there are times where it's not even appropriate to be that. Um, but that's different than just, you know, it's almost like the same error in the wrong direction, right? To be, just to be a jerk all the time. Sometimes our words and our behavior and our actions have to have a hard edge. And sometimes that's going to offend people because sometimes the truth, especially the gospel truth is offensive. Um, but when what you're known for is being a jerk and being rude and just being offensive for the sake of being offensive. Um, right. And, and I'll even say this, and this will be the last thing I say. 'cause I didn't, I, I really intend this just to be like a, a jokey joke. No quarters, November. I'm not gonna spend any quarters. Um, I don't know why I was foolish enough to think we weren't gonna get into it, but, um. When your reputation is that you are a jerk just to be a jerk. Even if that isn't true, it tells you that something is wrong with the way you're doing things. Right. Because I think there are times where, and I'll say this to be charitable, there are times where Doug Wilson says something with a little bit of an edge, and people make way too big of a deal out of it. Like they, they go over the top and try to condemn it, and they, they make everything like the worst possible offense. And sometimes, sometimes it's, it's just not. Um, and there are even times where Doug says things that are winsome and they're helpful and, um, but, but when your reputation is that you are a jerk just to be a jerk, or that you are inflammatory just to get a reaction, um, there's something wrong with your approach. And then to top it off, when you claim that for November, like you explicitly claim that identity as though that's not already kind of your shtick the rest of the year. Um, and just, it's just. Frustrating and dumb and you know, this is the guy that like, is like planting a church in DC and is like going on cnn. It's just really frustrating to see that sort of the worst that the reformed world has to offer in terms of the way we interact with people sometimes is getting the most attention. So, right. Anyway, don't, don't be a pirate. N November is still my way. I celebrate and, uh, yeah, that's, that's that. Jesse Schwamb: That's well said. Again, all things we're thinking about because we all have tendency to be that person from time to time. So I think it's important for us to be reminded that the gospel doesn't belong to us. So that means like that sharp edge, that conviction belongs to Christ, not to our personalities. So if it's tilted toward our personalities, even toward our communication style, then it means that we are acting in sin. And so it's hard for us to see that sometimes. So it does take somebody to say, whoa. Back it down a little bit there and you may need to process. Well, I'm trying to communicate and convey this particular truth. Well, again, the objective that we had before us is always to do so in love and salt and light. So I agree with you that there is a way to be forthright and direct in a way that still communicates like loving compassion and concern for somebody. And so if really what you're trying to do is the equivalent of some kinda spiritual CPR, we'll know that you, you don't have to be a jerk while you're doing it. You don't have to cause the kind of destruction that's unnecessary in the process. Even though CPR is a traumatic and you know, can be a painful event by it's necessary nature, we administer it in such a way that makes sure that we are, we have fidelity to the essential process itself, to the essential truths that's worth standing up for. Yeah, it's not a worth being a jerk. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. [00:14:37] Practical Application of Parables Tony Arsenal: Jesse, let's, let's move along. What are you affirming or denying tonight Jesse Schwamb: and now for something much lighter? So, my, my affirmation I share at the risk of it being like so narrow that maybe nobody will actually want to use this, but I actually had you in mind. Tony, I've been sitting on this one for a little while 'cause I've been testing it. And so we're, we're just gonna run like an actual quick experiment 'cause I. I'm guessing you will find this affirmation useful and will come along with me and it and might even use it, but you and I are not always like representative of all the people in the world. I say that definitely tongue in cheek. So we're a little bit nerdy. We love our podcasts and so occasionally, I don't know if this happens to you, I'm guessing it does, but I want to capture like a moment that I heard while podcast is playing on my phone. Maybe somebody says something really interesting, it's great quotes, or it's mathematical nature and I wanna go back and process it. And so generally what I do is I, I don't know, I stop it. I try to go back and listen to it real quick if I can, or maybe I can't because running, driving, all that stuff. So. When I hear something now that I want to keep, I just cry out to my phone. I have an, I have an iPhone, so I say, Siri, you could do this with Google. Take a screenshot. What happens is the phone captures an image of my podcast app with a timestamp showing of course what's being played. Then I forward this image, this is the crazy affirmation part. When it's time to be alive, I forward this image to a certain email address and I get back the text transcript of the previous 90 seconds, which I can then either look at or file into my notes. What is this email address sent it to you. Well, here's the website so you can go check it out for yourself though. Website is actually called Podcast Magic App, and there's just three easy steps there, and this will explain to you how you actually get that image back to you in the format of a transcript. And the weird thing about this is it's, it's basically free, although if you use it a lot, they ask for like a one-time donation of $20, which you know me, I love. A one time fee. So I've been using this a lot recently, which is why I've been sitting on it, but it is super helpful for those of you who are out there listening to stuff. They're like, oh, I like that. I need to get that back. And of course, like you'll never get it back. So if you can create this method that I've done where you can train your phone to take a snapshot picture of what's on the screen, then you can send it to Podcast Magic at Sublime app, and they will literally send you a transcript of the previous 90 seconds no matter what it is. Tony Arsenal: That is pretty sweet. I'll have to check that out. Um, I don't listen to as many podcasts as I used to. How dare you? I just, the I know. It's, it's crazy. Where do we even do it Feels like heresy to say that on a podcast that I'm recording. Yes. Um, Jesse Schwamb: we've lost half the audience. Yeah. Tony Arsenal: Well, yeah. Well, the other half will come next. Um, no, I, I, I just don't have as much time as I used to. I, I live closer to work than I used to and um, I'm down to, we're down to one car now, so, um, your mother is graciously giving me a ride to work. Um, 'cause she, she drives right past our house on the, the way and right past my work on the way to her work. Um, but yeah, so I guess I say that to say like, the podcast that I do listen to are the ones that I really wanna make sure I'm, I am, uh, processing and consuming and, uh, making sure that I'm kinda like locking into the content. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: So this might be helpful for that when I do hear something and I do think, like, it's hard because I use matter, which is great, and you can forward a podcast to matter and it generates a whole transcript of the entire episode, which is great. Um, but I don't often go back and, you know, a lot of times, like I'll go through my matter, uh, queue and it'll be like three weeks after I listened to a podcast episode, I be like, why did I put this in here? Right? I get that. I don't wanna listen to the entire 60 minute episode again to try to remember what that special thing was. So I just end up archiving it. So this might be a good middle ground to kind of say like, I might set, I might still send it to matter to get the whole transcript, but then I can use this service to just capture where in the transcript actually was I looking for? Um. It's interesting. I'll have to look at it too, because you can, you can send, uh, through Apple Podcast, the Apple Podcast app and through most podcast apps, I think. Right? You can send the episode with the timestamp attached to it. Yes. So I wonder if you could just send that, that link. Okay. Instead of the screenshot. Um, you know, usually I'm, I'm not. Uh, I don't usually, I'm not driving anymore, so usually when I'm listening to a podcast I have, my hands are on my phone so I could actually send it. So yeah, I'll have to check that out. That's a good recommendation. Jesse Schwamb: Again, it's kind of nuanced, but listen, loved ones, you know what you get with us, you're gonna get some, it could be equally affirmation, denial that Doug involves Doug Wilson, and then some random little thing that's gonna help you transcribe podcasts you listen to, because life is so hard that we need to be able to instantly get the last 90 seconds of something we listen to so that we can put it into our note taping at note taking app and put it into our common notebook and keep it. Yeah, there you go. Tony Arsenal: There's a lot of apps. There was actually a, a fair number of apps that came out a while ago that were, they were trying to accomplish this. Where you could, as you were listening to the podcast, in that app, you could basically say, highlight that and it would, it would highlight whatever sentence you were on. But the problem is like by the time you say highlight that you're already onto the next sentence, you now you're going back trying to do it again. And I didn't find any of that worked really seamlessly. It was a lot of extra friction. So this might be kind of a good frictionless or less friction way to do it. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I'm totally with you. [00:20:08] The Kingdom of Heaven Parables Jesse Schwamb: I mean, speaking of like things that cause friction, there's no doubt that sometimes in Jesus' teaching on the parables that he himself brings the heat, he brings a little friction in his communication. And since you and I basically did go through each of these parables, we don't have do that again on this conversation. In fact, what I'm looking forward to is kind of us coming together and coalescing our conversation about these things, the themes that we both felt that we heard and uncovered in the course of talking through them. But I think as well ending with so what? So what is some real good shoe leather style, practical application of these ideas of understanding the kingdom of God to be like this mustard seed and like this lemon. So why don't I start by just reading. Again, these couple of verses, which we're gonna take right out of Matthew chapter 13. Of course, there are parallel passages in the other gospels as well, and I'd point you to those if you wanna be well-rounded, which you should be. And so we're gonna start in verse 31 of chapter 13. It's just a handful of verse verses. Here's what Matthew writes. Jesus puts another parable before them saying The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It's the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. He told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flower till it was all leavened. Alright? Yeah. So Tony, what do you think? Tony Arsenal: Uh, I mean, these are so like, straightforward. It was almost, it, it felt almost silly trying to like explain them. Yeah. One of the things that, that did strike me, that I think is worth commenting too, um, just as a, a general reminder for parables, we have to be careful to remember what the parable is saying, right? So I, I often hear, um. The smallness of the mustard seed emphasized. Mm-hmm. And I think your, your commentary, you did a good job of kind of pointing out that like there's a development in this parable like it, right? It's a progression and there's an eschatology to it, both in terms of the, the parable itself, but also it comments on the eschatology of the kingdom of heaven. But it's not just that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It's the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sewed in his field. Right? It's that whole clause that is the, the kingdom of heaven is like likewise, the kingdom of heaven is not just like leave, it's like leave that a woman took in hidden in three measures of flour till all was leavened. So when we're looking at these parables. Or when we're looking at really any parable, it's important to make sure that we get the second half of the, the comparison, right? What are we comparing the kingdom of heaven to? You know, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a sower who sowed seeds among, you know, in three types of four types of soil. This kingdom of Heaven is like, this is like that. We don't wanna miss part of the parable because we latch on to just like the first noun, and that follows the word like, um, but I think these are great, these are great little, um, parables that in some ways are almost like, uh, compliments or ex explanations of the other parables that we're looking at too. They, they explain to us something more about what the Kingdom of Heaven is using similar kinds of analogies that help us flesh out the parables that are surrounding them. So the Kingdom of Heaven. You know, again, we always want to caution against kind of like overinterpreting, the parables, but the, the parable of the sower is talking about the seed that is sewn into the field, right? And then there's the parable of the wheat and the tears, and there's seed again. And we, we might have a tendency to sort of miss the nature of the kingdom in a certain sort of dynamic. This fleshes this out. So we might think of like the parable of the sowers, like we don't know what, what proportion is of good soil, you know, good soil versus bad. We know that there's three types of soils that are bad soils or unproductive soils and one type, but we don't know like how much of the soil is, um, like what percentage of the field is that. Similarly, like we don't know what percentage of the field was wheat and what was weeds. This is kind of reminding us that the, the kingdom of heaven is not found primarily in the, um, the expansiveness of it. Right. It's not, it's not initially going to look like much. It's going to initially start out very small. Right. And in some ways, like in both of these, it appears to disappear entirely. Right? You sow a grain of mustard seed. I don't, I've never seen a mustard seed, so, but it's very small. Obviously you sow that into the ground. You're not gonna find it again, you're not gonna come back a week later and dig up that seed and figure out where you sewed it. Um, similarly, like you put a, you put a very small amount of yeast or lemon into a three measures of flour. You're not gonna be able to go in even probably, even with a microscope. You know, I suppose if you had infinite amount of time, you could pick a every single grain of flour, but you're not gonna be able to like go find that lemon. It's not gonna be obvious to the eye anymore, or even obvious to the careful searcher anymore. So that's what the kingdom of heaven is like in both of these. It's this very small, unassuming thing that is hidden away. Uh, it is not outwardly visible. It is not outwardly magnificent. It is not outwardly even effective. It disappears for all intents and purposes. And then it does this amazing thing. And that's where I really think these, these two parables kind of find their unity is this small, unassuming thing. That seems ineffectual actually is like abundantly effectual in ways that we don't even think about and can't even comprehend. Jesse Schwamb: Right? Yeah. I would say almost it's as if it's like, well, it's certainly intentionally, but almost like offensively imperceptible. And I think that's the friction that Jesus brings with him to the original audience when he explains it this way. So again, from the top, when we said this idea that the kingdom of God is imperceptible, it's hidden, it grows, it conquers, it brings eschatological resolution. And I'm just thinking again, in the minds of the hearers, what they would've been processing. I think you're spot on. I liked your treatment of that by focusing us to the fact that there is verb and noun and they go together. We often get stuck on the nouns, but this, that verb content means that all of this, of course, is by the superintendent will of God. It's volitional. His choice is to do it this way. It is again, where the curse becomes the blessing, where it's the theology of the cross or theology of glory, where it is what is small and imp, perceptible and normal by extraordinary means becomes that which conquers all things. And so I can. Picture, at least in my mind, because I'm a person and would, would wanna understand something of the kingdom of God. And if I were in a place, a place of oppression physically and spiritually living in darkness, to have this one who claims to be Messiah come and talk about the inauguration of this kingdom. My mind, of course, would immediately go to, well, God's kingdom must be greater than any other kingdom I could see on this earth. And I see it on the earth that the sun rises. And cast light across provinces and countries and territories in a grand way. And then we have this kingdom of God, which, you know, theory, the, the sun should never set on it and the sun should never be able to shine, but on a corner of it. And it doesn't have provinces or countries, it doesn't even have continence, but it has, it encapsulates worlds. And it doesn't stretch from like shore to shore or sea to shining sea, but from sun to sun or star to star from the heavens to the earth, its extent couldn't be surveyed. Its inhabitants couldn't be numbered. Its beginning, could never be calculated because from Tard past, it had no bounds. And so I'm just thinking of all these things and then like you said, Jesus says, let me tell you what it's really like. It's like somebody throwing a tiny seed into a garden. Or it's like a woman just making bread and she puts yeast into it. These seem like not just opposites, but almost offensive, I think, in the way that they portray this kingdom that's supposed to be of great power and sovereign growth, but it comes in perceptibly and how perfect, because the one who's delivering this message is the one who comes imperceptibly, the person of Christ preaching the gospel and the hearts of believers. But that grows into a vast and global proportion, and that of course, that aligns exactly with so many things you and I have talked about in process before. These doctrines are providence and sovereign grace, that God ordains the means that is the seed and ensures the outcome, which is the tree. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I think too, um, you know, I don't, I don't know of any affinity with mustard seed in like the Old Testament law, but there's, there's a sort of a reversal of expectation here too, because although Levin is not always associated with like impurity, um, I think most Jewish listeners would immediately have a negative connotation with Levin for sure. Right? So when, when all of a sudden he's comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven it, it becomes sort of this, um, the reason Levin is so pernicious and the reason that in the Old Testament law, you know, they're, they're, they're not just not making their bread with leave for the, for the Passover. They have to like sweep out their whole house. They have to empty all their stores out. They have to clear everything out. And that's not just because like. In, in, in Old Testament, sort of like metaphors, leaven does get associated with sin, right? Uh, and that gets carried on into the New Testament, but just the actual physical properties of leaven is like, if there's any little bit of it left on the shelf or even in the air, like even on your hands, it's can spoil the whole batch. It can cause the entire batch to go a different direction than you want it to. And in a certain way, like the Kingdom of Heaven is like that, right? Um. [00:30:21] The Resilience of God's Kingdom Tony Arsenal: You hear about, um, you hear about situations where it seems like the presence of God's people and the, the kingdom of God is just, it's just eradicated. And then you find out that there's actually like a small group of believers who somehow survived and then like Christianity is thriving again like 50 years later. Um, you can't just wipe out the kingdom of heaven because it is like leaven and any small remaining remnant of it is going to work its way back through the entire batch in a way that is, uh, mysterious and is somewhat unpredictable and is certainly going to surprise people who are not expecting it to be there. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. [00:31:04] Understanding Theological Concepts Jesse Schwamb: One of the things I really picked up in your treatment of that, that kind of drew me in in a special way was, you know, we think of some theological terms. We have really, I think, strong. Rubric for processing them, and especially like their multifaceted nature. So for instance, when we think about sanctification, we often talk about positional and progressive. And those are really helpful ways to understand a concept that brings us into modeling where it's finite and precise to a degree that allows us to understand it and comprehend it with a greater degree of confidence. And knowing it's many parts, because it is many parted. [00:31:36] The Parable of the Leaven Jesse Schwamb: And I was thinking as you were talking about the leaven, how the kingdom of heaven here that is inaugurated by Christ, that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit is growth and always deny that. But what you drew out for me was I think we're definitely seeing in that this idea of the intensive growth and then of course in the. Parable of the mustard seed. It's more extensive growth and they're both important. So they're in consummate harmony. It's not just like one recapitulating the other. And what that made me think about was even as you were speaking now, this really interesting difference, you know, the woman is taking this, again, talking about the verb, there's two nouns here actually. There's like the, the proper pronoun of the woman there is the act which she's doing, which she's taking the leaven and working it as it were like into the flower. I just did like a weird motion here on the camera if you're watching on uh, YouTube. Sorry about that. [00:32:28] Practical Lessons from Bread Making Jesse Schwamb: Almost like I was giving CPR, but she's working it into this meal or this flower and the working it from within outwards and that working itself like changes the whole substance from the center to the surface of this meal. Now I was thinking about this 'cause you noted something about bed bread. Bread baking in yours. And I did actually just a couple weeks ago, make some bread and the recipe I was using came with this like huge warning. Some of the recipes are like this, where when you're using some kinda lemon, most of the time we're using yeast. You have to not only be careful, of course, about how much yeast you put in because you put in too much, it's gonna blow the whole thing up. You're gonna have serious problems. You're not gonna make the bread anymore, you're gonna make a bomb, so to speak, and it's gonna be horrible. You're not gonna want to eat it. But the second thing is the order in which you add the ingredients, or in this recipe in particular, had very explicit instructions for when you're creating the dry ingredients. When you have the flour, make a little well with your finger and delicately place. All of the yeast in there so that when you bring the dough together, when you start to shape it, you do it in a particular way that from the inside out changes the whole thing so that there's a thorough mixing. Because the beauty of this intensive change is that. As you know Tony, like there's so many things right now in my kitchen that are fermenting and I talked about before, fermenting the process of leavening something is a process of complete change. It's taking something that was before and making it something very different. But of course it retains some of the essential characteristics, but at the same time is a completely different thing. And so it's through a corresponding change that man goes to whom the spirit of God communicates His grace. It's hidden in the heart and chain begin, change begins there. You know, the outward reformation is not preparing a way for inward regeneration. It's the other way around that regeneration, that reformation on the outside springs from a regeneration that's on the inside, growing out of it as a tree grows from a seed as a stream flows from the spring or as leave, comes and takes over the entire lump of dough. [00:34:26] The Power of Small Beginnings Jesse Schwamb: It's amazing. This is how God works it. We again, on the one side we see the kingdom of heaven. That is like the manifestations of his rule in rain coming, like that seed being sown and growing into this mighty tree. It brings shade. The birds come nest in it. And that may be a reference Allah to like Ezekiel or Daniel, the Gentiles themselves. There's that inclusion. And then to be paired with this lovely sense that, you know what else, anywhere else, the power of the kingdom of heaven is made. Manifest is in every heart in life of the believer. And so the Christian has way more in religion in their outer expression than they do anybody else. Because the inner person, the identity has been changed. Now you and I, you and I harp all the time on this idea that we, we don't need some kind of, you know, restoration. We need regeneration. We don't need to be reformed merely on the outside by way of behaviors or clever life hacks. We need desperately to be changed from the inside out because otherwise we. Where it's just, I don't know, draping a dead cold statue with clothing, or all we're doing is trying to create for ourselves a pew in the house of God. What we really need is to be like this bread that is fully loving, that grows and rises into this delicious offering before the world and before God. Because if you were to cut into this outwardly looking freshly baked bread and find that as soon as you got through that delicious, hard, crispy crust on the outside, that in the inside all it was, was filled with like unprocessed, raw flour, you would of course say, that's not bread. I don't know what that is. But that's not bred. What a great blessing that the promise that God gives to us is that the kingdom of God is not like that. It lies in the heart by the power of God. And if it's not there, it's not anywhere. And that though the Christian May at times exhibit, as we've talked about before, some kinda hypocrisy, they are not essentially hypocrites. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is leavening us by the power of the Holy Spirit. That gospel message is constantly per permeating that yeast through all of who we are, so that it continues to change us. So that while the natural man still remains, we are in fact a new creation in Christ. So to start with, you know, bread and or not bread to end with bread, but to start with flour and water and yeast and salts, and to be transformed and changed is the intensive power of the growth of the gospel, which is with us all our lives, until we have that beautific vision. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I think, um, you know, to kind of take a, a pivot maybe to the practical, I think this is, this is not the point of the parable necessarily 'cause the parable. I think there's a lot that these parables have to say to us about like, personal, individual growth, but they really are about the growth of the kingdom or the, the, maybe necessarily the growth of the kingdom. I think that's there too. But really like the nature of the kingdom as this sort of like, hidden, hidden thing that then grows and creates big results. [00:37:34] Encouragement in Times of Darkness Tony Arsenal: I, I think this is a, this is a parable that should encourage us. Like absolutely for sure we should look to this and, and be encouraged because. It is not the case. Um, I know there are lots of people who wanna act as though like this is the worst time anyone has ever lived in, and everything is the worst as it's ever been. It's, this is not even close to the worst time that the church has ever existed in, um, there are, it's funny, um, we'll give a little plug. Some of our listeners have started their own new show called Over Theologizing, and, um, it, it was, it was funny listening to the second episode they had, um. Pete Smith was on there and they were saying, like, they were talking about like, how do you feel about the nature of the church? And Pete was like, it's fine. Like it's great out here. Like there's lots of churches, lots good. Like I, I think that there are pockets in our, in our world, um, particularly, you know, my, my former reference is Western World and in the United States and in some senses in, in Europe, um, there are certainly pockets of places where it's very dark and very difficult to be a Christian, but by and large it's not all that challenging. Like, we're not being actively persecuted. They're not feeding us to the lions. They're not stealing our businesses. They're not, um, murdering us. You know, like I said, there are exceptions. And even in the United States, there are places where things are moving that direction. But there are also times when the church is going to feel dark and small and, and like it's failing and, and like it's, it's weak. And we can look at these parables and say, the fact that it feels and looks and may actually be very small does not rob it of its power that does not rob the kingdom of heaven of its power. It in, in actuality that smallness is its power, right? Leave is so powerful of an ingredient in bread because you need so little of it, right? Because that it, you can use such a small quantity of lemon to create such a, a huge result in bread. That's the very nature of it. And it, its efficacy is in that smallness. And you know, I think the mustard seed is probably similar in that you, you don't need to have, um. Huge reaping of, of mustard seed in order to produce the, the crop that is necessary, the trees that are necessary to, to grow that. So when we look around us and we see the kingdom of heaven feeling and maybe actually even being very small in our midst, we should still be encouraged because it doesn't take a lot of leave to make the bread rise, so to speak. And it doesn't take a lot. And, and again, like of course it's not our power that's doing it, that's where maybe sort of like the second takeaway, the baker doesn't make the bread rise by his own like force of will, right? He does it by putting in this, this agent, you know, this ingredient that works in a sort of miraculous, mysterious way. It's obviously not actually miraculous. It's a very natural process. But I think for most of history. So that was a process that probably was not well understood, right? We, we, people didn't fully understand why Bread did what it did when you used lemon. They just knew that it did. And I think that's a good takeaway for us as well, is we can't always predict how the kingdom of heaven is gonna develop or is gonna operate in our midst. Um, sometimes it's gonna work in ways that seem to make a lot of sense, otherwise it's gonna seem like it's not doing anything. Um, and then all of a sudden it does. And that's, that's kind of where we're at. Jesse Schwamb: I like that. That's what a great reminder. Again, we all often come under this theme that God is always working. Even when we don't feel or see that he is, he's always working and even we've just come again on the calendar at least to celebrate something of the Reformation and its anniversary. Uh. What again, proof positive that God's kingdom will not fail. That even in the places where I thought the gospel was lost or was darkens, even in Israel's past in history, God always brings it forward. It cannot, it will not die. [00:41:26] Faithfulness Over Visibility Jesse Schwamb: So I wanna tack onto that by way of, I think some practical encouragement for ministry or for all believers. And that is, let's not despise small beginnings. Like let's not despise whatever it is that you're doing in service to God, to your family, to your churches, especially in the proclamation of the gospel. This is from um, Zacharia chapter four, beginning of verse eight. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, the hands of the rebel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zabel. So I love this encouragement that is for all Christians. That's one. Again, God is doing all the verbs like just. For one last time for everybody in the back. God does all the verbs. Yeah, and in so doing, because he is doing all the verbs, he may, but he chooses to start with small things because again, he is always showing and exemplifying his glory and he does this in these normative ways. It's a beautiful expression of how majestic and powerful he is. So let's embrace those things with be encouraged by them. The gospel may appear weak or slow in bearing fruit, yet God guarantees its eventual triumph. God guarantees that he's already stamped it. It's faithfulness and not visibility. That's the measure of fruitfulness. So if you're feeling encouraged in whatever it is that you're doing in ministry, the formal or otherwise, I would say to you. Look to that faithfulness, continue to get up and do it, continue to labor at it, continue to seek strength through the Holy Spirit, and know that the measure of his fruitfulness will come, but maybe in a future time, but it will come because this is what God does. It's God doing all the work. He's the one, he's essentially the characters needs of these parables, sowing the seed, working in lemon. Yeah. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I think, you know, like I said, the, the parables are not necessarily about individual personal growth. Um, but I, I think the principle that is here applies to that as well is I think oftentimes we feel like, um. I'll speak for myself. There are have been many times in my walk as a Christian, um, where it just feels like nothing's happening. Right? Right. Like, you just feel like it's dry and like you, you're, you know, you're, you're not like you're falling into some great sin or like you've walking away from the faith, but it just feels sort of dry and stale and like God isn't doing anything. And, um, I've only ever tried to bake bread once and it was a, it was just a terrible, terrible failure. But, um, I think one of the things that I've. I've read about people who bake bread is that there is a level of patience that has to come with it, right? Because oftentimes it seems like the bread isn't rising. It seems like the, the lemon is not doing what it's supposed to do until it does. Right? And like, if you take the bread out of the oven every couple of minutes to check and see if it's rising, it's never going to rise. It's never going to do what it's supposed to do. And, um, you know, I think that is kind of like the Christian life in microcosm too, is we, we have these spiritual disciplines that we do. We pray, we read the scriptures, we attend faithfully to the Lord's Day service. And oftentimes it doesn't feel like that's doing anything right. But it is. The Kingdom of Heaven is at work in not only in our midst as a corporate body, but the kingdom of heaven is at work in each of us as well. That's right. God's, God's grace and his, uh, special providence and his spirit of, of sanctification, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of holiness and the one who makes us holy. Um, he is doing that whether it feels like it or not, whether we see, um, outward progress or not. If the spirit dwells within us, he is necessarily making us holy and necessarily sanctifying us. Um, and and so I want us to all think about that as we, we kind of wrap up a little bit here, is we shouldn't be. I, I don't wanna say we shouldn't be discouraged, um, because it's easy to get discouraged and I don't want people to feel like I'm like, you should never be discouraged. Like sometimes the world is discouraging and it's frustrating, and it's okay to feel that, but we should be able to be encouraged by this parable. When we look at it and we remember like, this is just. This is just the parable form of Paul saying like, God glories by using the weak to demonstrate his strength. Exactly right. He, he is, his power is shown in, in using the weak and frail things of this life and this world to accomplish his purposes. And so when we are weak, when we are feeling as though we are failing as Christians, we should be able to look at this and say, well, this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. It's like a tiny mustard seed, a tiny mustard seed of faith that grows into a large tree. It's, it's like this little little spark of leave that God puts in us and it's hidden in us and it leavens the whole loaf. And that's us, right? And that's the church, that's the kingdom. It's the world. Um, God is at work and he is doing it in ways that we would not ordinarily see. Even the person who has this sort of like explosive Christian growth. That's not usually sustained. I think most people when they first come to faith, especially if they come to faith, you know, as a teenager or a young adult, um, they come to faith and they have this like explosive period of growth where they're like really passionate about it and on fire. And then that, that passion just kind of like Peters out and you kind of get into like the, the day in, day out of Christianity, um, which is not, it's not flashy. It's not sexy, it's not super exciting. It's very boring in a lot of ways, like right, it's, it's basic bread, it's basic water. It's hearing a, a person speak and it's, it's reading words on a page. But when the Holy Spirit uses those things, he uses them faithfully to finish the work that he started. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. The spirit's work of leavening, it continues quietly, but it powerfully, yeah. And we shouldn't despise that quietness or that smallness that I think is altogether a gift of God. And again, we're talking about the one who embodies the perfect will of God, who came and condescended to his creation was like us in every eight, where every way without sin. This is the one who became, I think as Paul writes in Galatians, a curse for us. And so again, this blessedness arises out of, again, what I think is this offensive means. And if that is the model that Christ gives to us, we ourselves shouldn't despise that kinda small beginning or even despise the sacrifices we're often called to make. Or those again, I would say like offensively and auspicious kinds of beginnings. All of that is peace wise, what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And there's a beauty in that. And I would say, I want to add to what you said, Tony, 'cause I think it was right on, is this idea that's easy to be discouraged is. It doesn't require any explanation. I, I, I'm totally with you. If you were to pick up any, or go to any kind of website and just look at the headlines for their news reporting, you're going to find plenty of reasons to be discouraged and to feel melancholy. And yet at the same time when I think we, you and I talk about these things, what I'm prone to consider is what Paul writes elsewhere to the church in Corinth, where he says in two Corinthians chapter 10, we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Being ready to punish every disobedience when you're disobey, when you're obedience is complete. And so what I think that applies to us in this particular case is understanding that this is the promise of God. Like you're saying, you and I are saying. Discouragement happens. And yet the truth is that small inauspicious beginnings in the kingdom of heaven always result in outsized gains that God never ceases to work. That he's always with us, that he's always for us. Then we do have to take captive those thoughts that lead us into kind of a disproportionate melancholy that pull us away or distract us from this truth of God, the knowledge of God, which is that he is super intending, his sovereign will completely over every molecule in the universe because this is what the Kingdom of Heaven does. And so that gives us, I think as I said last week, hope and evangelism we're storming those gates of hell we're coming for you like because there is a triumphalism in Christ that will be manifested in the final day. It's the reformed understanding of the here but not quite yet. [00:49:57] Cultural Engagement as Christians Jesse Schwamb: And like the last place that Le that leads me to like some practical, I think application is, and I wanna be careful with this, so I'm curious for your opinion. It's cultural engagement. You know, if we're thinking about this, leave permeating this dough, this tiny seed growing to overtake the garden, then I think believers should labor to continue to bring biblical truth into every sphere. So your family, your vocation, arts, politics, everything under Christ's lordship. I think sometimes that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be. As we've talked about the top of the show, really outspoken in a provocative kind of way. I think sometimes, again, that same quiet though, consistent work that the Holy Spirit does that's powerful in leavening us is the same thing that we can do with just our attitudes at work or our attitudes in our family, or our willingness to serve or our kind words. Of course, it does require us to preach the gospel using words. It also means that the power of the leaven is that quiet power. It doesn't jump outta the bread. It doesn't boast, but it is present. So maybe I'm saying Christians, let's be present, and leavening means to be present with the attitude and the mind of Christ. What? What do you think? Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I think that's, um, I think that's right on, you know, um, it, it's not quite a parable, but Christ, Christ commands his people to be like salt and light and true. Um, and, and by saying that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, you know, like a, a measure of leaven that was hidden away in three measures. Um, he's also commanding us to be like leaven, right? And he is commanding us to be like the, the mustard seed because that is what we are. And I think, um, we shouldn't think that we can cloister off or sequester off the kingdom of heaven from the rest of culture and create like, um, I'm not quite, uh, I'm not quite to the point where I'm, I'm a transformational in the sort of like Tim Keller sense, but I do think that. We, and I don't like this word, but I'm not sure of a better, a better way to say it, but like, we like to set up these little Christian ghettos where like we, we isolate ourselves culturally into these little subcultures and these little sort of cordoned off areas of culture. Um, where we, we actually then strive to look just like the culture that's around us, right? Right. We subsection off Christian music and although it's, you know, typically it's like a decade behind the curve in terms of what music is good, we're really just doing the same music as the rest of the world. We just baptize it with Christian language. Like, I remember my, my youth pastor in high school rewrote the song closing time to Be Quiet Time. And like that was like, that was like the most Christian thing he could do at the time, was rewrite the lyrics to a song. But like, that's, that's absolutely not what cultural transformation looks like. Right. Well, cultural transformation, and maybe I'm channeling a little bit of, of Michael Foster here, what cultural transformation looks like. Is is a man who gets married and loves his wife, well, serves her and sacrifices for her, and makes a bunch of babies and brings them to church, right? Like that's, that's cultural transformation. And in our culture, like that is a very counter-cultural way to do things. It's actually very counter-cultural. There have been times when that's not particularly countercultural and there probably will be times again where it is. And actually it seems like our broader American culture is moving away from the sort of like two kids, two kids and a dog is a, is a bygone era fantasy. And now it's like two single people living in a house together with a dog. Um, you know, and, and that's not to say that that's the only way to be, to transform culture, right? That's just one example of sort of the most mundane, natural thing is actually the way that we do it. Um. We transform culture by, um, by being honest, having integrity, yes. By, um, working hard, right? Yes. Going to work, doing your job well, uh, without a lot of fanfare, without seeking a lot of accolades, um, and just doing a good job because that's what God commands us to do when he tells us to honor our employers and to be good, faithful bond servants in the Lord. Um, that is also very, uh, that also will transform culture. Um, you know, I think we think of cultural transformation and we, I think we immediately go to, for better or worse, we go to like the Doug Wilsons of the world and we go like, that guy's engaging the culture. Well, yeah, I guess in a certain sense he is. Um, or we, or we go to. The Tim Keller's of the world where they are, they're engaging culture in a different way. But I think for most of us, for most Christians, our cultural engagement is very nor like very normal and very boring. It's living a very ordinary, quiet life. Um, you know, what does Paul say? Work quiet life. Mind your own business. Work with your hands, right? Like, don't be a busy body. Um, like that's, that's actually the way that culture is transformed. And that makes perfect sense. We will have to come back and do another episode on this sometimes, but like, that makes perfect sense. When you think about how God created Adam and what he was supposed to do to transform and cult, cultivate, right? The word cultivate and culture come from the same roots to transform and cultivate the entire world. What was he supposed to do? Plant a garden, tame the animals, right? You know, bake babies. Like, it's, it's not, um, it's not. Rocket science, it's not that difficult. And again, we are all called to different elements of that. And God providentially places us in situations and in, in life, you know, life circumstances, we're not all gonna be able to fulfill every element of that. But that's where this, that's where this becomes sort of the domain of the church, right? The church does all of these things in the culture, and I don't mean the church as institution. I mean like the people who are the church. They do all of these things in very ordinary, normal ways, and that will, that will transform the culture. Um, right. You, you show me a. And this is not, you know, by God's common grace, there are lots of really nice people out there who are more or less honest and have integrity and work hard at their jobs. So it's not as that, that's a uniquely Christian thing. But you show me a, a, a person who is known to be a Christian and works hard as honest is straightforward, is kind, is charitable, is self-sacrificial in, in all arenas of their life. Um, people will notice that and they will see it as different and they will associate it with Christianity. They will as

Because Christ has triumphed in the cross, no one can judge Christians based on those things that Jesus has fulfilled. The Old Testament regulations concerning food and drink and Sabbaths are a shadow of the body of Christ who has now been revealed. Although false preachers peddle practices that may look religious, any worship or piety that does not teach us to cling to Christ has no value. Only Christ, the Head of the Church, can hold His body together and cause it to grow and bear fruit.  Rev. Ryan Ogrodowicz, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church and School in Brenham, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Colossians 2:16-23.  To learn more about Grace Lutheran, visit gracebrenham.org. “Letters from Prison” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that studies Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Even when Paul was imprisoned for the sake of Christ, the Word of God remained unbound. The apostle's letters from prison still fill us with the same joy that his chains could never silence. Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

A new MP3 sermon from Beaverlodge Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus in Psalm 28 Subtitle: Jesus in the Old Testament Speaker: Rick Taillefer Broadcaster: Beaverlodge Baptist Church Event: Devotional Date: 11/6/2025 Bible: Psalm 28 Length: 2 min.

Send us a textEver wonder how Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and David—deeply flawed and openly sinful—could be called friends of God and welcomed into His presence? We walk through the hard question with a clear answer: God never changed the rules of salvation; He changed the sacrifice. Using Hebrews 10 and Romans 3, we unpack why animal sacrifices were temporary shadows and how the cross became the public demonstration of God's righteousness, showing Him to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.We explore the tabernacle's mercy seat, the meaning of substitutionary atonement, and the vivid picture of blood covering the law that everyone had broken. Then we connect the dots to Isaiah 53's prophecy of a righteous Servant who would be pierced for our transgressions and justify many. Old Testament believers trusted God's promise of a coming Redeemer; New Testament believers trust the Redeemer who has come. Different vantage points, same object of faith. That's why you can say the ancients were “saved on credit” and the debt was paid in full at Calvary.Along the way, we confront the lives of Scripture's imperfect heroes to show that grace doesn't minimize sin; it magnifies the Savior. No sin goes unpunished and no sinner who trusts Christ stands beyond forgiveness. If you've wrestled with guilt, shame, or confusion about how the Bible's two halves fit together, this conversation offers a single, sturdy bridge: one cross for all time. Join us to see how justice and mercy meet in Jesus and why salvation has always been by grace through faith alone.If this message helped you see the gospel's unity across the Testaments, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it.Support the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Send us a textEver wonder how Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and David—deeply flawed and openly sinful—could be called friends of God and welcomed into His presence? We walk through the hard question with a clear answer: God never changed the rules of salvation; He changed the sacrifice. Using Hebrews 10 and Romans 3, we unpack why animal sacrifices were temporary shadows and how the cross became the public demonstration of God's righteousness, showing Him to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.We explore the tabernacle's mercy seat, the meaning of substitutionary atonement, and the vivid picture of blood covering the law that everyone had broken. Then we connect the dots to Isaiah 53's prophecy of a righteous Servant who would be pierced for our transgressions and justify many. Old Testament believers trusted God's promise of a coming Redeemer; New Testament believers trust the Redeemer who has come. Different vantage points, same object of faith. That's why you can say the ancients were “saved on credit” and the debt was paid in full at Calvary.Along the way, we confront the lives of Scripture's imperfect heroes to show that grace doesn't minimize sin; it magnifies the Savior. No sin goes unpunished and no sinner who trusts Christ stands beyond forgiveness. If you've wrestled with guilt, shame, or confusion about how the Bible's two halves fit together, this conversation offers a single, sturdy bridge: one cross for all time. Join us to see how justice and mercy meet in Jesus and why salvation has always been by grace through faith alone.If this message helped you see the gospel's unity across the Testaments, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it.Support the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Dr. Arnold is the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary. He joined the faculty of Asbury my freshman year, so we have grown up at Asbury together. He has written extensively on the Old Testament and ancient Near Eastern Culture. Look for his excellent book, Introduction to the Old Testament, if you want to get a start on his scholarship. He is currently writing a two-volume commentary on Deuteronomy, the first half of which was released in 2022. He served on the Old Testament translation team for the New Living Translation, and was responsible for translating the books of 1 and 2 Kings. And that's why we want to talk to him today … because we love Bible translators! Let's jump in. 

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”   Isaiah 1:18–20 (ESV)   If you want to know that "the LORD He is God! the LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39) your search for confirmation finds its best resolution in the book of Isaiah. I would argue that Isaiah, more even than Elisha, "wore the prophetic mantle" of Elijah. Only John the Baptist was a greater merely human incarnation of the role of prophet (Matthew 11:11). Isaiah 42:9 tells us: "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Below find two articles that discuss fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. By any objective measure, only God could do this. As with other books of the Bible, we suggest this brief overview of Isaiah. May your listening to this great OT prophet be as blessed by God as was our reading of it!   https://youtu.be/d0A6Uchb1F8?si=Nhsvg2DCZgWRZq_7   Check out these two articles on calculations of the probability of one first-century man, Jesus, fulfilling so many OT prophecies! https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/ https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20Jesus%2

All Is Vanity | Ecclesiastes 6:7-7:10

The Beatitudes … GUEST Rev Bill Glaze ... Bethany Baptist Church, Homewood. The inherent spirituality of Science… GUEST Dr Sy Garte ... biochemist who has taught at NY Univ, the Univ of Pgh, and Rutgers Univ ... He's the author of "The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith," “Science & Faith in Harmony: Contemplations on a Distilled Doxology,” and the most recent, “Beyond Evolution: How New Discoveries in the Science of Life point to God” Does the Church still matter in our Modern World? … GUEST Dr Carmen Joy Imes … Associate professor of Old Testament at Biola Univ and author of “Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters” … her new book drops later this month, “Becoming Gods Family: Why the Church still matters (new book)… GUEST Carmen Joy Imes … Associate professor of Old Testament at Biola Univ and author, most recently, of “Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we continue our reading in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings in the Amplified Bible translation with 1 Kings chapter 20 from the Word of God.If you want to support the work of this podcast, please consider becoming a subscriber! For less than $1 USD/month you can assist in making this podcast even better, helping raise funds to purchase a new microphone, sound-proofing materials and so on. Subscribe today: https://anchor.fm/theaudiobible/subscribeThanks for listening and being a part of this community!

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Year of Prophecy – Episode 45: When imagining what Heaven was like when Jesus returned after ascending at the end of the gospels, I picture something similar to what one psalm hints at in the Old Testament. Discover what we can learn from this psalm, and what Jesus’ ascension foreshadows for all of God’s people living throughout history. Listen to this episode and/or subscribe on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com...

Today we're studying D&C 127:3 in just one minute! Grab your scriptures and let's dive into them together!And grab study guides for the whole family here: - Kristen's daily scripture study help is available for kids/teens/adults in digital and physical form here :https://kristenwalkersmith.com/starthere/And for weekly help understanding the storyline of Come Follow Me check out her YouTube videos here: https://kristenwalkersmith.com/youtube/- To get Cali's scripture study guide for adults click here: https://comefollowmestudy.com/shop/ Discount code: OMSSOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0pKf8XtGet our NEW 365-day Old Testament daily devotional book in Costco stores in Utah, Idaho, ArizonaOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0p3Ds0t Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are different takes on the exact meaning of the temple Ezekiel sees in today's passage, some say it is symbolic, others heavenly, while others take note of it's cross-shaped floor plan. Here's what we know. First, it was never built. Second, this passage is the longest recording of a revelation in Scripture and it gives very specific dimensions for a temple design with measurements that differ from the original temple. Third, in the original Hebrew, the measurements are in cubits and multiples of 5 and 25 abound; and this vision takes place after 25 years in exile. Fourth, but certainly not finally, other than Moses, Ezekiel is the only person in the Old Testament to receive and transmit specific legislation directly from God.Ezekiel  39 - 1:08 . Ezekiel 40 - 8:30 . Ezekiel 41 - 18:53 . Psalm 139 - 24:23 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (11/05/25), Hank shares the seven points of identification that point to Jesus Christ as the only one who can enter through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy.Hank also answers the following questions:How do I share with my Muslim friend about the true Jesus, who is the Son of God? Noel - Memphis, TN (3:41)What is your opinion of using marijuana for medical purposes? Nick - NJ (15:12)What does it mean to pray in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit? Is this the same as speaking in tongues? Erlene - St. Charles, MO (19:38)Doesn't the Bible say we will know when the end is near? Dan - Oak Hill, WV (22:30)

Fr. Spitzer and Doug discuss that the proof that illustrates the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and confirms their subsequent wandering in the desert.

The Hebrew Bible offers a multitude of ways to defend your faith and stand steadfast in God's Word.  Join Rabbi Schneider in this episode to become fully confident and convinced that the scriptures point and bring us to Messiah Jesus. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner  **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate  **** TEACHING NOTES -  https://djj.show/4ce 

Josh Monday Christian and Conspiracy Podcast Ep. 315How to Support the ministry: $5.99 a monthpatreon.com/JoshMondayChristianandConspiracyPodcastJoin the Patreon here: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Joshmonday_podcastIf you want to donate to the Ministry CashAPP:https://cash.app/$JoshmondaymusicNew affiliate: https://wsteif.com/ Paul and Crystals links: https://thetinfoilhatfactory.com/Flat Earth Books by Sakal Publishing Affiliate Link: https://booksonline.club/booksonlinecYoutube: ⁠@joshmondaymusicandpodcast ⁠ Tips for the show to Support our Ministry: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/joshmondayCoffee Mug Is Available email me your mailing address Joshmonday⁠@rocketmail.com ⁠ Please subscribe to our Spotify and You Tube Channel Joshmondaymusic and Podcast and help us grow so we can keep on spreading the good news.To all of our current and future subscribers thank you for your time, we appreciate you. Please do us a favor subscribe to our You Tube Channel, hit that bell, share, like and comment below on our You tube. Please leave us a 5-Star review on Apple and Spotify.Check out my new show Sunday Service and Wednesday Brought to you by Cult of Conspiracy Podcast. On Cult of Conspiracy Spotify, Patreon and Apple Podcast Channel.Join the study as I go deep into the Bible. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/josh-monday-christian-and-conspiracy-podcast--6611118/support.

The Bible's Old Testament books of Judges and Ruth occur during a time of great trial and often violent encounters for Israel – the time between the exodus and establishment of the monarchy. For insight into how to read and understand these challenging passages, Pastor Clayton interviews Old Testament expert Dr. Sandra Richter, the Robert … Continue reading "Bible Savvy Interview | How to Read Judges & Ruth w/ Dr. Sandra Richter"

Presented by Julie Busteed I'm looking at some strategies to help grow and build relationships—principles that apply at work, home, church—with everyone. The first two strategies I looked at were loving others and communication skills. I think integrity is also an important component in healthy relationships. Integrity really covers several qualities. It's being honest, having strong moral principles, and being trustworthy and reliable. A great example of integrity in the Old Testament is Daniel. He was taken into captivity from Israel to Babylon, and he became an adviser to the Babylonian kings because of his integrity and trust in God. For many, it's a familiar story but to recap: Daniel refuses to bow down and worship a man-made idol. He worships and prays to God. As a result, he is thrown into a literal lion's den. The next morning, he testifies that my God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight (Daniel 6:22a). Not only did God protect and preserve Daniel, but King Darius also decrees everyone in his kingdom must fear and revere the God of Daniel. Daniel's integrity and courage not only effected his own life, but the entire kingdom was now to fear God. He trusted and honored God in his actions, and his integrity was evident to his employer, resulting in a testimony to the entire kingdom. Integrity can also be something significant done privately, not for public recognition. A friend of mine recently showed a great example of integrity. She just published a book through a traditional publisher. Normally, when you work with a publisher, you receive an advance against future royalties—meaning you don't earn additional royalties until the book's sales cover that advance. And if the book doesn't sell enough to cover it, the author doesn't have to pay it back. That's completely normal. But my friend told me she wants to make sure her book's sales do reach that advance amount. She's putting in extra effort to promote and market her book because she doesn't want to be a burden to the publisher. She isn't required to do this—it's not part of her contract—but she feels it's the right thing to do. Quiet integrity. In both of these examples, integrity was a vital characteristic in dealing with others. Integrity directed how they should act in certain situations—be it life or death—or something that's not really seen by others. With faith in God and belief he is faithful, they lived out their lives in honor to him. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out (Proverbs 10:9). When we live our lives with integrity, we can walk securely—quietly resting upon God's favor and gracious providence.

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Don't forget to grab your free scripture journal at ⁠⁠⁠PrayingChristianWomen.com/journal ⁠⁠⁠today!What if you’re flat on your back—physically worn, emotionally frayed—surrounded by whispered judgments, stung by a friend’s betrayal, and wrestling the uneasy tension between your own failings and your hope in God’s mercy? What if kindness hasn’t shielded you from hardship, and doing good hasn’t guaranteed a soft landing, yet your soul still reaches for the God who promises to uphold the weak and heal the wounded? Psalm 41 pulls us into that exact space: the sickbed of sorrow, the sting of treachery, the ache of confession, and the stubborn trust that God sees, sustains, and ultimately vindicates. David threads together blessing for the merciful and pleas for deliverance, echoing the Beatitudes’ upside-down kingdom while foreshadowing Christ—the betrayed One who forgives, restores, and anchors us not in earned favor, but in unshakeable grace. Join us for this 18-minute prayer through Psalm 41 on the Praying Christian Women podcast where host Jamie Hampton invites us into honest spiritual wrestling. She confronts the discomfort between Old Testament reciprocity and New Testament grace, asks what mercy really looks like when life hurts, and reminds us that God doesn’t demand perfection—He forms forgiven hearts that overflow mercy because they’ve received mercy. Step into this episode ready to question, receive, and rest in the God who turns confusion into communion and holds us steady when life’s equations don’t add up. Discover More: Explore additional episodes of Praying Christian Women, Mindful Christian Prayers, and other Christian podcasts at Lifeaudio.com Check out our new podcast, Christian True-Crime Junkies!, on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts! Connect with Us: Stay updated and engage with our community: On Substack @PrayingChristianWomen On Facebook @PrayingChristianWomen On Instagram @PrayingChristianWomen On YouTube: @PrayingChristianWomen Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Is it wrong to read the Old Testament with out constantly looking for Jesus in every passage? Many Christians assume that if we're not readind the Old Testament (should we even call is that?) through the lens of the New, we're somehow missing the gospel - or worse, denying it all together. In this episdoe, we unpack the misconceptions surrounding that idea.    We'll explore why understanding the Old Testament on its own terms doesn't diminish Christ - it actually deepens our understanding of Him. From the coventant promises and prophetic hopes to the rich picture of God's character and grace, the Old Testament holds its own sacred voice within the grand story of redemption.  Join us as we talk about what's lost when we rish to the New Testament too quickly, and what's gained when we let the Old Testament speak for itself- before seeing how it beautifully leads us to Jesus. 

How to Be a Priest | Rochester Christian ChurchWelcome to Rochester Christian Church online! In today's message, “How to Be a Priest,” Pastor Connor Saunders explores what it truly means to live as priests unto God and how that calling applies to us today. In the Old Testament, priests stood between God and His people, offering sacrifices and representing His presence. Now, through Jesus, every believer is called to do the same—to reflect God's holiness, serve others, and carry His presence into the world. Discover how to walk confidently in your priestly identity and live a life that honors Him daily.

November brings us to the end of another church year, which focuses our attention on the last things, on death and resurrection, on heaven and hell. We confess in the creeds, “I believe in … the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”; “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” It is remarkable that these creedal truths were already as good as accomplished thousands of years ago, with prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by men such as Job (19:25–27), Daniel (12:2–3) and Isaiah (26:19). Some Christians take Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and other prophetic books of the Bible to be “guidebooks to the end times.” However, careful study of both the Old and New Testaments shows that their focus is on comforting the church on earth with knowledge of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death and the devil and His promise to take us to Himself for eternity. As we open the Old Testament and see our present and future revealed there, we will need to keep in mind the “prophetic perspective” that could be observed in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Joel 2:28–32, in which some predictions have been fulfilled in the messianic age but others must wait until the end of time. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The New Heavens and New Earth” on Isaiah 65-66. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

Andrew Osenga on How to Remember - Episode 602 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)   Rick Lee James welcomes musician, author, and The Pivot Podcast host Andrew Osenga to discuss his new book How to Remember: Forgotten Pathways to an Authentic Faith. They talk about the spiritual practice of remembering, finding beauty in ancient rhythms, and Andrew's work on Andrew Peterson's A Liturgy, a Legacy, and the Songs of Rich Mullins (Live at the Ryman). Connect with Andrew:

Faith invites us to believe, and obedience invites us to become. Through the stories of the Old Testament, we learn that belief without obedience leads to delay and wandering, but obedience is always the doorway into God's promises. In this message, we'll see how radical obedience moves us closer to the heart of God and how Jesus' own obedience opened the way for us to follow Him in freedom. Recorded at Hope Church in Springfield, MO.

Joy is the serious business of Heaven. All of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus and the New Testament is His work. His work was the Gospel, which is GOOD news. This is joyful news. Every believer has been fully and completely set free of every spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and financial enslavement through Jesus. This is the Gospel. And this is JOYFUL news.

November brings us to the end of another church year, which focuses our attention on the last things, on death and resurrection, on heaven and hell. We confess in the creeds, “I believe in … the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”; “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” It is remarkable that these creedal truths were already as good as accomplished thousands of years ago, with prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by men such as Job (19:25–27), Daniel (12:2–3) and Isaiah (26:19). Some Christians take Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and other prophetic books of the Bible to be “guidebooks to the end times.” However, careful study of both the Old and New Testaments shows that their focus is on comforting the church on earth with knowledge of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death and the devil and His promise to take us to Himself for eternity. As we open the Old Testament and see our present and future revealed there, we will need to keep in mind the “prophetic perspective” that could be observed in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Joel 2:28–32, in which some predictions have been fulfilled in the messianic age but others must wait until the end of time. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The New Heavens and New Earth” on Isaiah 65-66. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

TONIGHT'S STUDY: Tonight we have Part #4 with Dispensationalism Versus Covenant Theology. In the Reformed and Calvinist traditions, they do not hold to a dispensational view, but rather to something called Covenant Theology. This system treats the entire Bible as one continuous redemptive covenant, blurring or ignoring distinctions between Israel and the Church. Covenant theologians tend to spiritualize or allegorize prophecy (especially Old Testament promises to Israel) and apply them to the Church. This is markedly different from the conclusions you arrive at with a dispensational (biblical) approach. On this episode, we give you everything you need to know to defend Bible truth against an argument supporting Calvinism, and win every time.

Join Pastor Marco from the Community Church of Devore in California as he continues a study through the Old Testament looking at spiritual warfare of the enemy, it's effects and resolutions. This study is scheduled for 12 weeks. This week, Pastor Marco teaches from Joshua 6.

This week, AJ shares with Brandon some thoughts from rereading the story of David and Saul in the Old Testament. What does David's refusal to take vengeance on Saul teach us about justice and trust in the Lord?

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”   Isaiah 1:18–20 (ESV)   If you want to know that "the LORD He is God! the LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39) your search for confirmation finds its best resolution in the book of Isaiah. I would argue that Isaiah, more even than Elisha, "wore the prophetic mantle" of Elijah. Only John the Baptist was a greater merely human incarnation of the role of prophet (Matthew 11:11). Isaiah 42:9 tells us: "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Below find two articles that discuss fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. By any objective measure, only God could do this. As with other books of the Bible, we suggest this brief overview of Isaiah. May your listening to this great OT prophet be as blessed by God as was our reading of it!   https://youtu.be/d0A6Uchb1F8?si=Nhsvg2DCZgWRZq_7   Check out these two articles on calculations of the probability of one first-century man, Jesus, fulfilling so many OT prophecies! https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/ https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20Jesus%2

Is your family perfect? Of course not.Is there someone in your family that rubs you the wrong way? Probably.Everyone can relate to the standout characters in their household, so when reading about a dysfunctional Old Testament family (where everyone is behaving badly) many can relate.In this podcast Dr. Sadaphal will analyze four members of one family (Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau) and explain that when it comes to the transmission of the covenant promise, everyone is to blame. The only One who is blameless and innocent is the Lord.The great hope for all believers is that your sin cannot derail God's gracious purpose for your life.

Wednesday Night Community is back! Join us for The Bible that Jesus Read: 11 Weeks Through the Old Testament. We’ll explore the very Scriptures Jesus studied, quoted, and proclaimed as pointing to Him, uncovering how His story was written centuries before His arrival in Bethlehem.

In this powerful teaching, Rev. Robin-Huws Barnes explores what it truly means to walk in the fear of God — not as a ritual or legal requirement, but as a journey from fearful obedience to reverent love. The message traces the evolution of the fear of God from the Old Testament to the New Testament, showing how the concept moved from ritual fear to moral reverence and ultimately to relationship-based love through Christ Jesus.   The fear of God is not about being afraid — it's about being in awe. When love becomes the motivation, obedience becomes worship. Let your reverence move from ritual to relationship, from fear to reverent love.   Takeaways: Fear of God is not terror but awe-filled love that produces humility and obedience. Grace intensifies reverence — not as law, but as love responding to divine mercy. God desires your heart, not your checklist. The fear of God today is expressed through relationship, trust, and moral alignment with His character.   Scriptures Referenced: Deuteronomy 6:24 – The command to fear and obey the Lord for our good. Psalm 31:19 – God's goodness laid up for those who fear Him. Psalm 33:18–19 – The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him and hope in His mercy. Ecclesiastes 12:13 – The whole duty of man: to fear God and keep His commandments. Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance. Isaiah 29:13 – A warning against worship without heart. Matthew 15:1–9 – Jesus confronts ritualism among the Pharisees. Hebrews 12:28–29 – Serving God with reverence and godly fear through grace. 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 – The love of Christ compels us. Mark 10:17–22 – The rich young ruler and the shift from rule-based obedience to relationship.

In this episode, we continue tracing the movement of the Angel of the Lord through the Old Testament, focusing on His appearances in the book of Judges. From calling Gideon a “mighty hero” to announcing Samson's birth, we see the Angel commissioning, guiding, and revealing God's presence in powerful ways. These encounters remind us that God not only sends His messengers but also sends us with divine purpose. . . . . . Thank you to our sponsors! Clear Focus Bible: Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/BSPClearFocusBible⁠⁠⁠⁠  Piper & Leaf: Get a 10% off discount to the Advent Calendar by using my code biblestories at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/BSPPiperandLeaf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph Smith teaches us the BEST insight into how to actually receive revelation from the Lord right here in D&C 127:10!And grab study guides for the whole family here: - To get Cali's scripture study guide for adults click here: https://comefollowmestudy.com/shop/ Discount code: OMSSOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0pKf8Xt- Kristen's daily scripture study help is available for kids/teens/adults in digital and physical form here :https://kristenwalkersmith.com/starthere/And for weekly help understanding the storyline of Come Follow Me check out her YouTube videos here: https://kristenwalkersmith.com/youtube/Get our NEW 365-day Old Testament daily devotional book in Costco stores in Utah, Idaho, ArizonaOr purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0p3Ds0t Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We dive into the absurdity of religious outrage when a college football player dared to warm up during a pregame prayer at a rival's stadium. This bizarre controversy highlights the insecurity of fundamentalist groups that demand forced reverence from outsiders, revealing classic in-group/out-group boundary defense and intense religious virtue signaling. When are we going to follow the biblical advice to pray in private?News Source:Utah Kicker BYU Prayer Warm-Up Religious Backlash Dillon Curtis RespondBy Grayson Weir for thebrobible.comOctober 23rd, 2025

Dr. R. Carlton Wynne speaks at the Reformed Forum Annual Theology Conference, held at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois on September 27, 2025. Dr. Wynne explores how the vast portion of the Old Testament covering the monarchy and prophetic periods (approximately 417 chapters) points to Jesus Christ. Dr. Wynne first establishes the central, Christ-centered scope of all Scripture, affirming that everything in the Old Testament looks forward to and finds its fulfillment in Christ's person and work, including his death and resurrection. The address then moves beyond viewing Christ merely as being prefigured in the Old Testament through "scale models" or "macro typology." Instead, it seeks a deeper sense in which the pre-incarnate Christ's power and heavenly kingdom principles were actively revealed through the history of Israel's kings and prophets, positioning these figures and institutions as intrusions of heavenly glory mediated by Christ himself. Chapter Markers 00:00 - Introduction: Reformed Forum Conference and Speaker/Topic Introduction 00:23 - Welcome and Scope of the Address (Monarchy and Prophets) 03:19 - Speaker's Three Goals for the Address 03:56 - The Gospel is First and Foremost About Jesus Christ 04:36 - Question 1: What exactly do we mean by Christ being in the Old Testament? * 05:44 - Christ's "Crash Course in Old Testament Hermeneutics" (Luke 24) 08:16 - Moving Beyond Mere Prediction: Was Christ's Power and Glory Revealed Before His Incarnation? 08:41 - The View of Macro Typology (Graeme Goldsworthy) 14:36 - Goal 2: Interpreting the Old Testament with Reformed Voices (Vos, Murray, Owen) 21:40 - Goal 3 (Main Topic): The Monarchy and Prophets as Intrusions of the Heavenly Kingdom 23:25 - The Davidic Covenant and the Kingdom's Typological Rest 25:27 - Israel's Demand for a King: Mistaking the Shadow for the Substance 28:25 - God's Design for the Davidic King (Insights from Proverbs) 30:17 - The Great Example: King David and the Heavenly King 35:23 - Jesus Christ as the Exalted King of all Flesh 36:48 - The Prophets' Role: Calling the Monarchy to its Christ-Centered Design 38:52 - The Suffering of the Prophets as a Type of Christ 41:26 - Conclusion: Christ is the Source, Foundation, and Substance of Every Blessing 42:28 - Christ, Our High Priest and King of Kings 43:54 - Final Exhortation and Benediction 44:30 - Closing Remarks

Summary In this episode, Dr. Michael Easley sits down with Dr. Keith Bodner—Old Testament scholar, author, and professor—to explore the beauty, depth, and divine design of Scripture. Together, they examine how literary artistry and theological truth intertwine throughout the Old Testament, showing that these ancient texts are far more than historical accounts—they're masterfully constructed narratives revealing God's character and redemptive plan. Dr. Bodner unpacks the importance of reading Scripture as both literature and revelation, pointing out how patterns, irony, and structure illuminate meaning. He and Dr. Easley discuss what it means to approach the Bible with reverence, curiosity, and literary attentiveness, and why doing so deepens our understanding of God's Word. Whether you've studied the Bible for years or are just beginning to appreciate its complexity, this conversation will renew your awe for the divine craftsmanship behind Scripture—and encourage you to see the Old Testament not as a collection of disconnected stories, but as a coherent narrative revealing the wisdom and sovereignty of God. Takeaways The Old Testament isn't just a collection of ancient stories—it's a divine masterpiece, crafted to reveal God's character and His redemptive plan. Every narrative, from Genesis to the prophets, carries intentional design and theological weight, pointing us back to the faithfulness of God. When we recognize the literary patterns, irony, and structure within Scripture, we begin to see the brilliance of God's authorship behind every word. Studying the Bible with both literary attentiveness and spiritual humility allows us to appreciate its artistry without losing sight of its authority. The coherence and consistency of the Old Testament remind us that Scripture is not man's invention but God's revelation—woven together by His sovereign hand. Reading Scripture this way renews our awe for God's Word and deepens our confidence that every story serves His eternal purpose. LINKS MENTIONED: Exploring The Financial Parables of Jesus by Dr. Keith Bodner Watch the highlights and full version of this interview on our Youtube channel. For more inContext interviews, click here.

Join the Theology in the Raw community for as little as $5/month to get access to premium content. Dr. Carmen Joy Imes is associate professor of Old Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in Southern California. She is the author of Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters, and Becoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters. Carmen also has a YouTube channel where she releases weekly Torah Tuesday videos. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.